not necessarily in this order

  I think I’ve been letting the false idea that I’ll find the perfect time to write a post and edit and tweak a nd etc. get in the way of actually writing anything. So, here’s to a June of rambles and randoms and not replying to things in my head, haha!   Lil Momma and I have been taking walks in the woods on the weekends in our year of living dangerously with the pollen counts and working on our endurance. Also, we are doing a 2-mile Walk to End Alzheimer’s in the fall, as well, and she wants to be super ready (she specifically asked that we find a “walk” and not a “race”, but she still wants to train, haha). 2 weekends ago, she was super whiny from mile 1 because she actively chose not to bring water even though her mother recommended it multiple times, haha sigh. We’ve been watching all these ultra running documentaries, so I decided for this weekend’s adventure to be inspired by them by both making her carry water AND bringing fun snacks to “fuel”. Let me tell you, a lemon...

Maybe I should have called this “Dancing Uphill” as my life is revolving around these weekend dance competitions right now, haha! A few thoughts from lately:   Lil Momma had an amazing first dance comp of the year 2 weekends ago. Her first-ever duo got one of the special judges’ awards for storytelling and they placed in their category, her hip hop dance placed in its category, jazz was adorable, and she had a wonderful time running around with her friends. Bonus, all of her dances were done in ONE HOUR. Of course, we did hang out for SEVEN HOURS to see awards (not to mention driving down the day before and having a parking nightmare from the comp and a college graduation making spots impossible – I had to drop LM off, watch her go in, and then drive to a parking garage and power walk uphill 15 minutes to get back to her), but it was all worth it to see her having a nice little moment.   Last weekend’s comp was a bit oof, to be honest. We stayed overnight at a hotel, which was...

  One  This week has a bit of a slog. A regular amount of busy but it feels like my brain has been moving on .75 speed. I don’t know if this is it, but after being incredibly consistent with my allergy meds for MONTHS after buying a pill organizer, I somehow missed TWO DOSES this week – so, maybe my brain is just full of pollen and histamines?  Two  I’m having such a hard time commenting on some blogs. I get sent into a weird login loop for platforms I didn’t know I had logins for and the like. I created a new email address for me at this blog (notnecessarilyinthisorder (at) (gmail) etc.) to see if I can get around it. So, if you see that in your spam filters, it’s me!!   Three  The first dance competition weekend is upon us! LM dances  on Sunday afternoon  and awards are  at 7:30 pm  (ON A SCHOOL NIGHT?!?!?) and will be doing a Duo for the first time ever. Her performances will be wild; they are all in an hour, so she’ll go from her Duo...

Sunday funday or Sunday scaries? Here’s how the week ended for us: 7:30 : I hear LM stirring: she loudly whispers that she wants to play for 30 minutes and I go doze.  7:50 : I’m awake and scroll a little while I let the Mr. grab his last 10 minutes of sleep.  8:00  (on the dot!): LM throws herself on my bed and lets me know she’s going to talk the Mr. into donuts.  8:05 : I get out of bed use the bathroom. Glasses, hair in a ponytail, moving at the pace of Sunday.  8:15 : The Mr. gets back with donuts. We sit with our coffee while LM eats hers with a show and a bonus OJ he got her.  8:45 : LM heads up for a show in my bed. I clean up the kitchen and then work on my task list for all my mom’s affairs. (Apparently, I was dragging my feet too much because her financial guy has started giving me homework, oof…) 10:15 : I head upstairs and organize my meds for the week - the only way I can deal with my “did I or did I not take my meds” anxiety… 10:30 : LM and I...

Finally, a day off! We get some stuff done and then we laze about spectacularly! 7:30 : LM comes out of her room and wakes us up. She jumps in the bed once the Mr. heads downstairs to advocate for a “lazy” day and I boot her and scroll a little.  7:50 : I go the bathroom and head downstairs. The Mr. and I whisper about what we could do today while LM eats breakfast with a show in the other room (and Bella begs when we aren’t looking).  8:15 : LM tries on the new hiking shoes we got her. Oof, just a bit too tight ?and I hate returning things) (but that’s a future me problem). We decide the Mr. will go food shop and LM and I will go look for spring / summer clothes and shoes for her because it’s still pretty cold and raw out and I don’t want her get-over-the-cold progress to fall apart if we go walk somewhere. 8:50 : We dig our LM’s various shorts from last year and figure out her size. She negotiates one tv show in my bed before we go and decides on dessert-first Saturday (we u...

5 recap rambles from the weekend that was and a fun blogging challenge for the week that will be!   One  Thanks for all the good thoughts for LM! She was pretty oof on Saturday with a chunky cough and congestion, but  managed to rally for Easter  and went back to school today. (well, that was a fight, but it happened)   Two  Since her babysitter was ok with the cold, the Mr. and I were able to go to the  Murder   Mystery   party  with my former workout friend group! It was  Deadwood themed , so we all dressed up in our best 1800’s Western garb (which was wild) and a couple of friends decorated the house where we met like a saloon! The company we used was called  nightofmystery  and they supplied everything you really need to hold one of these parties (character descriptions, how to “run” the party, costume suggestions, etc.). We all received cards with objectives for our characters to figure out clues (the Mr. ended up bei...

Back in August, when Luke and I planned this long weekend away in Florida, we didn’t know how messy the last month would be. We’ve been used to drama and canceled plans, but our goal was to go make some memories with Lil Momma and have a break from the constant churn of sadness that’s been following us.  This was a surprise for LM, which gave us some grace when we almost canceled 2 weeks ago and again on Sunday. But, where I’ve landed (plane pun, haha) is where I’ve often found myself lately: 2 things can be true at once. We can be sad AND run away to Universal Studios. We can be navigating what’s next AND make some memories right now.  It all feels wild and adventurous - and I kind of love it. Here’s to a weekend away and finding some fun!   

  One  These are the flowers that Luke gave Lil Momma after her performance of  Descendants the Musical  last Friday. He was so proud of how he explained them to me (and anyone else who would listen):  They are just like Lil Momma: bright, loud, and all mum, mum, mum, mum…   The man can’t resist a dad joke, haha sigh..       Two  One month out from seeing (and paying a ridiculous amount) for the nutritionist I had been seeing since October and I feel pretty good. Now, I would never recommend someone else find a nutritionist on Instagram, nor commit to seeing one for 6+ months out of pocket (in my defense, I was in a low moment feeling like I didn’t know how to eat like an adult and she was a RD and an NP); however, the initial months were incredibly helpful for me to break some deeply ingrained “food rules” I held, a lot from growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s in a specific food environment. I really learned so much and  eat so much mo...

some thoughts on the week that was  high . I am still overjoyed at how much I enjoyed Cloud Cuckoo Land . I love time jump-ish, connected timelines, "easter egg" media. Doctor Who  is my jam (though, lots of feelings about the last few years), I intensely read articles about comic book connections within MCU movies, I loved the Tana French Murder Squad  books because of how loosely they were connected. All to say that CCL was right up my alley. I love when sci-fi feels "real" - the characters felt like fully formed people (not devices) and the different "worlds" were vivid. It probably helps that the writing was contemporary throughout (I'm a lazy reader when asked to jump between historical language patterns and modern). It took me both outside of myself from a few of the narrators and also within thinking about decisions and regrets and plotlines. I'm a few books past it, but I still think about it all the time!! moderate low . I've read so m...

notes from a weekend I am more ahead on teacher and activity gifts than I’ve ever been at this point in the month; however, I did forget that we would have to wrap these (oof, tiny details). On a desperation shopping trip to Target, I realized that I could almost be doubling the price of the actual gift by trying to buy gift bags. Luckily, I found a pack of white bags that would fit our little presents. Lil Mama looked a little daunted when I told her I was hoping she would decorate them, but it became the perfect weekend activity! She’s so enjoyed drawing a special picture on each one (even though she did give some feedback about drawing presents in a color she didn’t like for some of the teachers who are not her favorites, sigh). I think we’ll keep this as a tradition! My girl is the most extra extrovert (she gets it from her dad) and very excitedly volunteered to deliver her classroom’s gifts to the local elder that they’ve been gathering for. As the parent who is not as socially...