Hi-- a brief (re)introduction

 I love seeing new names in the comments section, so I thought I'd back up and say HELLO to anyone new around here.

First of all, SORRY FOR THE TYPOS. My eyes are getting worse and worse, and I can never find glasses, and I never really learned to type properly because I am a gen x-er. 

OK-- here are the quick facts:

I have five kids: Harry(18), a college freshman; Jack (16), a junior in high school; Cooper (13), a 7th-grader; Dorothy (11), a 6th-grader; and Minnie (4), a preschooler.

We have a brand new puppy named Annabel. She's a cavapoo and was born on 8/24.

I am married to Ben, my high school and college sweetheart (we met at speech camp when we were 14 and 15). He is an academic, too, but an administrator, and he works out of town 3 days (2 nights) a week.

I had Harry and Jack when I was getting my PhD and the other 3 after I had settled into my full-time teaching faculty job.

We generally have... a lot... going on, and I like to use this blog to complain about... all of it.

I write about money on Mondays because we are trying to be smarter about how we use ours. Every month, I post a reading round up because I have made an effort since 2013 to read at least 100 books a year. I am a huge feminist and probably politically to the left of you because I am politically to the left of everyone I know even in a super lefty area of the state. I study reproductive justice and am doing a lot of thinking about gender and politics these days. I want to be a novelist and have been working on a book about adult mean girl friendships in the WI suburbs forever. I try to comment on blogs for 20 minutes a day and also sometimes reply to comments on this blog but I am bad at that and getting better. I always want to be thinner and younger looking, color my hair at home, am contemplating botox and maybe new boobs, am very anxious most of the time and generally always think I have a fatal ailment of some sort. I AM SO FUN AT PARTIES YOU GUYS.

Anyway, welcome. 

Time Tracking Tuesdays!!

 THIS IS SUCH A BRILLIANT IDEA from my Google Form. Okay-- here's the premise: 

What about Time Tracking Tuesdays? I love all of your detailed posts like what's in your bag, what you're buying, etc. You could time track 5 different days during the month and report on them on Tuesdays (just tracking Tuesday 5 times might be repetitive I'm guessing but maybe not)

 This was actually the most-asked question on my form and most suggested post idea: HOW DO YOU DO IT ALL and also WHAT ALL DO YOU DO and also either describe what a day in the life actually looks like or tell is how you have so much energy. I also got a bunch asking what I do to exercise-- so these posts will give you a glimpse into that TL; DR, too.

SO, every Tuesday in November, I will give you a play-by-play of a day in my week.

 I am going to start with last Tuesday, which was a typical Tuesday in every way, meaning Ben left for work, and I worked from home before running the drop off pick up gauntlet.

5am: I got up at 5 to exercise and play Wordle/Spelling Bee. My coffee got up at 4:54, so by the time I rolled out of bed and brushed my teeth, a hot cup was ready to pour. I have been working really hard on keeping my coffee and scroll time to an even 12 minutes, and I was off my phone and ready to not wake up the puppy and say goodbye to Ben (off to Peoria) by 5:15.  My nest:

Before I hopped on the elliptical trainer, I wiped down Coop and Jack's bathroom with bleach spray and Windex all purpose cleaner. I also emptied the basement dehumidifier.

Behold, my workout dungeon:

I did 3 quick-ish miles

Before we got Annabel, I would start a load of laundry immediately after brushing my teeth and before drinking coffee, but she sleeps right next to the dryer, and I want her to sleep through my work out, so laundry waits now until she and Minnie are awake, and I am kind of twitchy about it.

I would have done some yoga (with Adrienne!), but Annabel woke up. We went outside, an she did her thing. Twice.

6:40: This is when the clock in Minnie's room turns green, and she is READY TO GET HER DAY STARTED in a very all-caps way. She always tells me to surprise her with breakfast ad then barks a very specific order: SURPRISE ME WITH A PICKLE AND TOAST WITH PEANUT BUTTER AND WATER AND MILK. I am not sure where the surprise part comes in. Maybe I should say BOO when I set her plate down?

6:45: LAUNDRY.

6:48-7: Frantic wiping down of upstairs bathrooms; stripping and remaking my bed; making Ben's bed, Minnie's bed, Dorothy's bed

7-ish: Minnie ate breakfast and then started trashing the place with art supplies while the other kids trickled in to make their breakfasts and assemble their lunches and school stuff. General fighting and chatter, etc. This is when I snuck away to brush my teeth for real (the first time is just to get rid of morning breath), floss my teeth, and wash and moisturize my face.

7:15: Jack took the dog out again because we have started to be able to count on her to poop twice before 7:30am.

7:20: Jack left for school after reminding me for the seventh thousandth time what his post-school life looked like for the day. He is the assistant stage manager for his school's fall play, and last Tuesday was the start of tech week plus he was canvassing with the Young Progressives club at his school.

7:20-7:30: Cleaning up breakfast stuff that kids sort of cleaned up, making sure the dog didn't pee in the house

7:30-8:00: Helping Dorothy with her hair (spirit day-- it was celebrity and bodyguard day. Her friend was her bodyguard, and she dressed up like Sabrina Carpenter) corralling Annabel and Minnie in my bathroom to entertain each other while I put on makeup and threw clothes on.

8-8:10: This is when I ditched the dog and Minnie with Dorothy and Cooper who were doing their final bickering and gathering last minute things. Cooper used this time to pack the dive bag his dad and I had been nagging him to pack since Monday night, and he ended up texting me a list of snacks to include in it because he didn't have time to pack them. Meanwhile, I went downstairs to spot check his and Jack's tidying (IT WAS NOT GOOD YOU GUYS. IT NEVER IS) and gather any dirty clothes/dishes that were left behind (ALL OF THEM) and turn off all the lights. I also stripped Harry's bed because he is bringing a friend home with him overnight for a rally.

8:10-8:28: Walk to the bus stop and back. THIS SHOULD BE A 4-MINUTE ROUND TRIP

Minnie was less than 15 minutes late to school, though, so I feel like that's a win. I stashed the dog in her crate for the preschool run and vacuumed my car on the way home.

WHAT A MORNING YOU GUYS. PHEW!!

9-4: Virtual office hours. Exam grading. Dog playing. A couple of Zooms. Dog inside and outside seven thousand times on repeat. Meeting prep. More exams to grade. 2 lovely student consultations. 2 pomodoros of spring course prep, preschool pick up, etc etc etc. 

Annabel enjoyed a lamb and apple puppy chew that I hoped did not give her raging diarrhea. 

My WFH days and my office work days are very similar in that I have a good mix of meetings and time to just, you know, work.

I read blogs and left comments over lunch and took a fabulous walk outside. 

Leftover chicken tortilla soup-- SO GOOD

After I collected Minnie, she and I also played with the dog and got the house ready for the busy nighttime rush, including putting all the laundry away, putting new sheets on Harry's bed, and getting the car snacks ready to roll.

I always make sure the coffee is ready to brew

Minnie always does an after school art project of some kind

WALKIES

I got tired of guessing when Annabel was going to need to go outside and moved our whole operation to the front yard (too much mulch in back-- she is determined to kill herself by eating mulch)

Snacks and drinks.

Co-pilot (she loved the seat warmer)

4:07: Leave house

4:25: Kid pick up

4:45: Coop dropped off at dive (3 miles from his school tat take 20 mins to travel) (dive starts at 4:30)

5:15: HOME (for 45 minutes-- with a projected 6:00 leave time to make it to dance)

So, the plan was to pick Dorothy and Cooper up at their school, take Coop to dive, go home to have a quick dinner, and take Dorothy to tap team. (6:15) I planned to bring Annabel along and hang out on the studio patio with her since the weather was apocalyptically nice. As I pulled into the driveway, I thought hmmmm, should I just leave my car on the driveway? But then I thought, nah-- Jack won't be home for awhile so it'll be easy to pull out of the garage without another car in the driveway. I pulled in, got the girls and all of their things out of the car, and hit the button to close the garage on my way into the house. As I was hanging up my purse in the laundry room, I heard a horrible crash. BECAUSE THE GARAGE DOOR HAD CRASHED TO THE GROUND WHEN A SPRING SNAPPED!!!! And my car was stuck inside!!!!

No tap team claas. An emergency repair scheduled for first thing the next morning with plans to use Jack's car as needed.

But! I still went with my crappy dinner plans of fruit, toast,and scrambled eggs.

6:30: Jack home from canvassing to eat leftover chili (SO GOOD)

6:45: Annabel put herself down for a nap (lol)

7:25: Dorothy took a shower

7:40: Coop home

7:50: Minnie bath and bedtime (I left the kids in charge of the dog for this and she had three accidents after having NONE all day-- I blame the kids.)

8:15: I took a shower and listened to an audio book on my shower speaker while Dorothy and Coop started Hocus Pocus.

9:00 I joined the kids for candy and a bedtime movie.

LIGHTS OUT by 10:15.

(SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS for the garage door springs. **head desk**)

Money Monday-- so many broken things!

 GAH YOU GUYS.

Since September, we have had to fix our dishwasher (about $300), our freezer and ice maker (another $300), our above-the-stove-microwave (right around-- you guessed it-- $300-- and we ended up replacing it because the last time it was serviced was 5 years ago, and our favorite handyman recommended replacing it then), and our garage door (more about that tomorrow). That's like $1500 in random home repairs, if anyone is playing along at home. Also, I shattered THE BACK of my iPhone. 

Plus, also, you know, THE DOG, who is not super cheap. $150 every time she goes to the vet, plus she cost money to buy, plus we had some dog stuff start up costs.

And then! We got a 5-figure dance bill. Plus diving is a monthly expense with meets on top, and there's preschool tuition. At least we don't pay college tuition again until January and there's only one kid in college for the rest of this year and next? 

LIFE IS EXPENSIVE, is what I am saying.

I stopped tracking for a second there at the end of the month because I didn't even want to write the numbers down (somewhere between garage door and microwave), but! I also did not buy a darn thing. And before I started tracking things, I would have been like FUCK IT and headed to Ulta to assuage my feelings with more spending. So, I think we are still heading in the right direction.

Not a costume, just a regular school day:

Her desk **heart eyes**

Pic of the Week

 Surprising no one, Annabel Squishmallow Jedd is not a huge fan of going outside to pee in the rain.

Halloween Wrap Up

 Dance Halloween:

Middle school Halloween (baby day and then celebrity day)

Preschool Halloween:

ACTUAL HALLOWEEN!!

We started with the traditional monster bagel face and a kid old enough to assemble her own:

Then we had normal work and school days, with Dorothy and Cooper planning to have friends ride the bus home with them and use our house as a trick or treat home base (with pizza!) and Jack planning to have friends over after rehearsal for movie-watching and candy eating (plus some doggy-sitting and door answering).

SUCCESS!

This is the only picture I got of Cooper, and you can't even see him

Minnie and Annabel were SUPER HELPFUL with the candy

I really don't have pics of the kid without their friends **whomp whomp** but I did take a bunch of Minnie as Ben and I followed her through our windy, freezing neighborhood and drank fireball to stay warm

We ABSOLUTELY carved our pumpkins too early

The Care Bears came home mid-evening to use the bathroom and get some water, and I got one picture:

Annabel was a Beanie Baby

Minnie almost didn't go ToTing because she left her wand at school (she also left her wings, and I stopped on my way home from campus to retrieve those, but I didn't notice the wand).

No one went to bed until AFTER 10 pm, so this was Minnie the next morning:

October: What I Read

 As always, I will share a Halloween wrap up tomorrow (I am SO GLAD I still have a little kid on Halloween, you guys!) and will kick NaBloPoMo off today with October's reading round up.

Nothing spooky about how awesome my October reads were-- some BOTY contenders here, and even the backlist was pretty great. As always, they are organized from least favorite to most :)

Big Nope Energy:

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors: Nope. Not a good read. I got it from Book of the Month, so I felt duty-bound to keep slogging. **2024

The Silent Woman by Minka Kent: Not a bad thriller, but not a good one, either. **Audio

Only if You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham: Solid meh on this thriller. I think I am not a fan of this author and will not read her again (unless everyone else is reading her and then I will because baaaaaaah). **2024

Oldies but not baddies:

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune: I like this author. I like her characters. I like her harmless little romances. **Audio

Meet me at the Lake by Carley Fortune: Ditto **Audio

I Know What You Did by Cayce Osborne: I must have put this thriller on hold because it is set on the west side of madison-- and it's true, the setting delighted me the whole time. **Audio

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas: Loved it. Not my fave series by her, but she's great, and I dig romantasy-- WHO KNEW?? **Audio

Now we're getting somewhere:

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston: Darling! And such a good discussion of gender in there.  **2024

Dearest by Jacquie Walters: SO CREEPY and weird-- liked this one and was tense THE WHOLE TIME. **2024

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich: I liked but did not love this book,even though the plot is quick and the characters are engaging. Too many perspectives herhaps? *2024

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty: LOVED IT. **20024

YES YES YES

Identity Unknown by Patricia Cornwell: I absolutely liked a ton this 28th Scarpetta novel. I was going to say LOVED, but I didn't, quite. **2024 **Audio

The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson: I love his books, but this is the first time I have read one that is about a time period I am familiar with--I was a little worried about this-- would his POV match up with what I know about the rhetoric? IT DID, of course. Loved this book. **2024

Hum by Helen Phillips: This book is a brilliant masterpiece but also YIKES. I really loved it-- BOTY material. But also! Is not the time for dystopian fiction?? **2024

THE STATS

This month: 14 books

Audio books: 5

Real books: 9

2024 books: 9

This year: 139

Audio: 61

With my eyes: 78

Books published in 2024: 81

I set a goal of 124 books, and I am technically past it, but I think I would really like to break 100 actual books (not audio). Which means I need to read 11 real book in November and 11 more in December. This seems... not likely?

I am done with my BOTM extras. Just in time for November reads to come out...

Oh gosh-- speaking of fun places my money has gone lately...

 WE GOT A NEW PUPPY!!

Blog friends, meet ANNABEL SQUISHMALLOW (Minnie chose her middle name). She is a cavapoo and was born on 8/24. Friday at the vet, she weighed a whopping 2 pounds, 13 ounces, and we love her so much already.

Seriously, you guys. She is like a little wind up dog toy.

Minnie is SMITTEN and very smug about being the only kid who got to go pick her up from her (pretty idyllic) farm. (The others met her the weekend before we got to bring her home though)

She hung out on my lap in the car the whole time Dorothy had ballet on Friday, and now she is pretty sure I am her bio mom.

She is VERY SWEET. Like, she hated her bath but she was so nice about it (a thousand treats really helped).

When she has had enough of constant playing and adoration, she puts herself down for a nap in her crate.

Everyone adores her, of course

I actually think she's really smart (it's ok to roll your eye at me) because she's super expressive, and it is really easy to tell when she needs to go outside. She's also really getting the hang of walking with a leash (it helps to have someone in front of you with treats. We got these little heart-shaped puppy training treats, and each one is about 6 servings for her-- that's how teeny tiny she is.)

It took her about a day to be comfortable enough around us to eat and drink. The first night she was home, she ate about 6 pieces of kibble and just sort of gently put her tongue in her water (but only the water in her collapsable travel bowl and only if I was holding her and the bowl). She slept all night the first night in a small crate on our bedroom floor, and when she woke up the next morning (she is SO CUTE in the morning because she's all messy and disheveled with bed head only all over her body), she peed and pooped and then ate breakfast and drank a TON of water, and she's been in the groove since then.

The farm was feeding her a pretty cheap brand of food, and we want to use Blue Buffalo, so we've been mixing the two. and her stomach has been fine. We do free feeding, so it's hard to estimate how much she's getting, but the vet said you really cannot overfeed a puppy.

So far, she has slept all night long every night (please universe, do not let me have just screwed that up by typing those words), and I think it's because she is getting SO MUCH ACTIVITY during the day. By the time the dinner hour rolls around, she is EXHAUSTED and naps a bit on and off from about 6-10:30 when we all go to bed. I bought a Snuggle Puppy, and she seems to really like it-- might be helping her sleep? She sleeps in a big crate in the laundry room right next to the dryer. (Our laundry room is ridic now, but it was pretty terrible before, so **shrug**). Eventually, I hope she just sleeps on the couch or in her little dog bed or with Dorothy on on the old American Girl bed Dorothy dreams of her sleeping in.

I am worried that she might wake up during my work out time when Ben is out of town (although she slept until almost 7 on Monday), and I am not totally sure how I will work around that since we are not letting her be anywhere unsupervised right now to help her get the hang of going outside to pee and poop. I think maybe I will take her on a little walk until it's 6 and then give her to a kid to snuggle for a bit while I jump on the elliptical. I feel like she'll be a good addition to yoga, actually-- like a tiny goat. I am also concerned that when everyone is at school and she has either some time by herself taking a nap or is just home with a boring WFH grown up, she might not be as exhausted by bedtime as she is over the weekend. She's going to be my car buddy for the evening drop off/pick up slog (maybe she will make it more fun??), but I think she'll sleep a lot then, too. Also! She shivers outside, and it is like 60-degrees, so we gotta buy some dog clothes (Dorothy is ALL IN for this!).

We are SO EXCITED to have 4 little paws thumping around the house again.