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.

Money Monday-- Some Unexpected (BUT FUN!!) Buys

 Budget-wise, we did a solidly good job this week. If we are only talking about our normal things. Looking at my monthly calendar where I record spending, we were below our daily spends compared to the last 2 previous weeks. Until (cue the suspense music), Ben told me about a gala we need to attend for his job. 

BOTH of us had to buy new evening clothes (and shoes!!). For Ben, this is a solid investment-- his previous tux is almost 20 and will happily get passed down to Harry. He is on the fence about shoes as we speak. He is thinking about buying some pretty cheap tux-only dress shoes. He'll have these forever since he won't wear them very often, and as long as they look non-noticeable and are kept shiny, they aren't really an important thing. He's sort of thinking about buying nicer shoes that he could also wear in his daily life since he wears suits to work. I think this is fine if that's what he wants to do but I also think that the next time a formal event rolls around, he'll end up buying new shoes since the ones he's considering now will be too worn out to be dressy (as in the case with his current cap-toed oxfords). He is buying a new white french-cuff dress shirt, but, again, this is something he'll wear again and is practical. It might also need to be refreshed next time he gets fancy, but if you are a dude who wears a suit to work, new shirts can just get folded right in.

For me, though, I probably will not wear my dress again. Shoes maybe-- although they are silver and very right-now shaped, so maybe not? I might just start wearing them with jeans and sweaters because YOLO. But, I guess that's why a dress and sparkly shoes cost less than a tux-- I have to keep renewing my look and Ben should be able to coast for the next 2 decades. Hashtag patriarchy.

When shopping though, I did think about my budget, which is probably not something I would have done before. The dress I bought, for example, does not need special undergarments-- it is cut like a sleeveless mock turtleneck on top (honestly not the most flattering for my arms, but I carry weight in my arms and always have-- this is not going to change right now. In fact, they will get more pillowy as I get older, and I think this is just How It Is), so my regular bras will work. I got some sheer control top hose (LOL), so I won't need anything special underneath. I bought close-toed shoes, so my current pedicure in a non-issue. I will probably wear my plain old diamond stud earrings (maaaaaybe I will cruise by Anthro and see what's there-- they have THE BEST fun costume jewelry). The dress will look best with my hair pulled up, and I can do this by myself with a hair-colored tie and maybe some sparkly bobby pins (which I already have because DANCE MOM. Also, Dorothy's giant sparkly dance earrings would look solidly not bad...) All of these things lower the cost of my total look, and I thought of them while trying on dresses. I will need a manicure, and I have stated using cuticle cream in anticipation. I might also need a small clutch, although I am holding out hope that my small black purse with the gold strap might work? Or that my mom (our clutch baby sitter) has something pretty.

Also-- and this is very on brand for me-- my wedding dress fit fine off the rack but was too long, and my solution was to wear TWO GIANT PETTICOATS/hoop skirts instead of one to increase the circumference and make it the right length, too-- I ended up buying a midi dress that fits me evening-length because I am barely five feet tall. 

All of this is to say that the best/worst buys of the week ARE THE SAME THING.

5 on a Friday: High Fives to my Future Self (43/52)

 I am always trying to think of Future Me as I go about my day. What would she appreciate? What could I accidentally do that's really going to make her mad? How can I set her up to live her best life?

 I know that because I get up early to exercise and then stay up later than I would like to because that’s when teens and tweens want to hang out, my energy is going to decline precipitously as the day goes on. I try to front load my day as much as possible while still saving a few fun things to do like little Easter eggs for the late afternoon/early evening hours. I worry about tired and cranky Future Me. Like, I want her to have a nice evening, but I am also going to curse her name if I wake up to a full dish wahser and bedtime snack detritus all over the counter, you know?

Today, I have my top 5 hacks to give Future Me a high five:

1. Stick a little bag of snack in Minnie’s backpack for the after school (7 minute LOL) commute. I also stick snacks in Coop’s dive bag and the middle row door pocket for Dorothy (YES, we are back to eating in the car, sigh). No matter how well I prepare for our big kid pickup and hellish slog through rush hour and back, it’s always hard to get Minnie out the door, so a little prep goes a very long way. Things like bags packed and in the laundry room by the door, water bottles filled and waiting in car cup holders, plugs in every charging outlet to anticipate low phone batteries, correct shoes in Dorothy’s dance bag— these are all the tasks I do when I am filling up Minnie’s snack.

2. Plan for preschooler down time. It is VERY EASY for Minnie to get sucked into the TV. Things start out innocently enough with just one episode and then spiral from there. She’s quiet I can get stuff done. And then before I know it, she is a screened out zombie, and the rest of my day is bullshit because her attention span is GONE, and she’s mad about it. The other day she painted the planets that we traced together on Big Paper (I love Big Paper so much I refer to it by proper name and think it might need it’s own bullet. Big Paper plus paint. Big Paper on the table. Big Paper and markers— such a super hero she is. Yes, Big Paper is a girl **shrug**)

3. Make a bunch of food on the weekend and eat it until Future Me worries about food poisoning. I have baked mac and cheese on repeat because Jack will eat it after work, and Dorothy will put it in her lunch. I have also been making a rando pasta casserole every week that Ben, Jack, and I eat until… Wednesdays? I’ve been changing out the pasta shape, veggies, and sauce (sometimes I even make it with garden tomatoes), and we are not bored yet.

4. Do three things around the house. Laundry, dishes, wiping bathrooms, making beds, cleaning the kitchen forty million times a day— these are things that happen in the course of a normal day. But! To really stay on top of house things, I like to do 3 additional tasks every day on an informal rotation. You know, things like vacuum the bedrooms, dust all the blinds with a swiffer, water the plants, straighten the bookshelves, change all the sheets (I did this all on the same day this week— all 6 beds— and it was a bad idea), dust the living room or family room (or heck— MAYBE BOTH!), wipe down the sliding doors/storm door, clean mirrors, wipe wall smudges with a magic eraser— kind of quick things that make a big difference in the general tidiness of the house. I add these tasks to my daily to-do list, and sometimes they get bumped to the next day. Usually, though, I can cross them off in 15 minutes (total for all 3) or less. This minimal daily effort helps Weekend Me a TON when I am cleaning. I also listen to a podcast or an audiobook while I do these things, and the strategy of pairing really helps me out. PLUS when Minnie goes to bed, I like to be able to mostly put the house to bed, too, so I am just hanging out with the big kids but not working anymore. 

5. Zero out all my emails before the end of the workday. ALL of my accounts. NO NEW EMAILS. This is SO HELPFUL to Future Me who is stuck in mom mode. I love knowing that I have taken care of anything urgent and added the other things to tomorrow’s to-do. I have been unsubscribing to things with a vengeance over the course of the last couple weeks and it is so lovely to log into mostly empty accounts— worth the few extra clicks for sure. This inbox zero practice also helps me resist the pull of checking my email since I know by afternoon each day that I'm all caught up. And when I stop checking my email, I stop reaching for my phone on autopilot and get sucked into the scroll much less often. Huge wins there.

What about you? Any high fives to your future self/ productivity hacks you are loving lately?

Leopard Print and Red Lipstick: Fall "Fashion"

 Leopard print and red lipstick are my favorite fall neutrals. Basically, they're all I wear anymore. Behold:

Mac Ruby Woo and a one million year old H&M t-shirt for diving spectating (where I sat on a towel with Minnie, who brought along a tackle box of mdoeling clay-- preschooler make no sense)

Lancome L'Absolu Rouge Matte Drama in RED IS DRAMA and a really old LOFT cropped cardi for a Cool Blogger walk

ColourPop Lippie Stick in Trust Me (was this Dorothy's dance lipstick a couple of years ago? Maybe) and a giant AE sweater dress

And! I have been bringing the leopard to all parts of my lewk

Also experimenting with socks (NOT SURE how this is working out, honestly) AND wearing boots I haven't worn in literal YEARS (like these Fryes that I think used to have more room in the calf)

I forgot for awhile how easy it is to look polished-- even if you just scrape your hair back and call it a day-- with the addition of a shit ton of lipstick.

Like here, I tried to do my hair, but I didn;'t add lips, and the whole thing is meh. LIKE THAT BOOK-- do not read it. I just took a pic with it because it is my final BOTM and I am ALL CAUGHT UP and ready to pick my November read.

I did NOT buy this at American Eagle, but maybe I should have because it screams SEXY PILGRIM or SEXY JUDGE, and I do not have a Halloween costume yet...

I even added some pretty ludicrous leopard to our family pics

And honestly I should probably lay off this skirt... (On this day, Minnie told me, "Your Dunks, I just feel like they're so cringe.")

What about you? Anything you reach for on repeat this fall?

NaBloPoMo: WHAT THE HECK SHOULD I TALK ABOUT????

 Hi, friends! It is almost NOVEMBER (W I L D, I know), which means it is time to POST ON THIS BLOG EVERY SINGLE DAAAAAAAAAY. But! What! In the world! Should I talk about?!

I am going to do Money Monday (4), Random Word Wednesday (4), Thankful Thursday (4), 5 on a Friday (5), and Pic of the Week Sunday (4). That covers 21 posts. But! I still have 5 Tuesdays and 4 Saturdays without a theme.

Do YOU have any topics you'd like to hear about during NaBloPoMo? If so, fill out this google form, and I will try to answer them in a post or nine.

 HERE is the link, I think

Money Monday

 Ha! It is finally happening! We are starting to only spend what we planned to spend all along, and it doesn't even feel like we are making any sacrifices! I thought we would end up here, but it was a spendy few weeks until we did. 

To stay on our target this past week, we decided to make homemade pizza on PIZZA FRIDAY instead of getting takeout, and Minnie LOVED making the dough in the bread machine. 

Dinner was FREE instead of $80 and was great! (We had sauce, toppings, and salad stuff, plus all the crust ingredients) (I know it wasn't actually FREE because I did buy the ingredients at some point in my life, but except for the veggies, it was mostly just stuff that's been in the cabinet forever anyway)

We even had some extra expenses, and we still managed to be basically on-track even though I needed serum for my face; Jack had to put AP test deposits down, and Minnie's school pics were ready to order. When my period came back from a 138-day vacation (did not actually miss her you guys), and I went wild at Walgreens, it was NBD.

Best thing I bought: Lancome was having a gift with purchase on their website, so I got a cute little gifty set and makeup bag with my serum plus 3 deluxe perfume samples for my car stash (YOU NEVER KNOW)

Worst thing I bought: Freaking STARBUCKS. We have not been there forever, but the girls and I had a fairly frustrating pop-up diving practice commute on Sunday, so I went through the drive thru as a treat. AND IT TOOK 40 MINUTES. We were late to pick up Coop (and I really just went there because I did not want to be awkwardly early), and I drove away without Dorothy's drink because I literally could not wait another second (she also got a cake pop and was Very Cool about it). $20 terrible dollars.

Dorothy and Minnie were OK with the drive thru line, but I was getting STRESSED

Minnie displayed her excellent media literacy skills by yelling THIS SONG WILL HAVE A BAD WORD! THE E IN THE WHITE BOX MEANS IT HAVES A BAD WORD.

LOL.

Also, the divers! Are cute!

5 on a Friday: Things I plan to buy for my fall/winter wardrobe (42/52)

 Ben and I cleaned out our closets last weekend and got rid of 3 lawn care bags worth of clothes that no longer spark joy. I personally went from 18 pairs of cheap jeans to 10 pairs of cheap jeans. I tossed 2 on sight and tried the other 16 on. I ended up keeping 3 pairs of size 4 jeans, 4 pairs of size 6 jeans, and 3 pairs of size 8 jeans. WHICH, WHAT THE EFF. WHY can’t I just be a size and always be that size in every brand? SO FRUSTRATING.

I did keep a pair of skinny jeans, but they are high waisted and have a raw hem, so at least that’s two things on-trend??

Ok. From this purge, I realized there are a (very few) things I need to round out my winter and fall wardrobe:

1. TIGHTS. I love wearing skirts and dresses, and cold weather is no exception, I do need some more tights, though, to make this happen.

*Today I am wearing a pair of Dorothy’s jazz tights. This is silly.

2. A white t-shirt. I used to have a Madewell v-neck and a Target scoop neck, but neither of them was in my dresser when I cleaned it out. I am on the hunt. (I feel like this is a job for Nordstrom Rack perhaps, and I might also want a long-sleeved option…)

3. A longer cardigan I can wear with jeans. I have a cream one from Stitch Fix, a cropped gray leopard print one from LOFT, and a fun print one from Old Navy, but I need one more in a neutral color. Pink maybe? I used to have 2 pink ones, and I have no idea what happened to them, although I suspect bad laundering. 

4. A long denim skirt. This is a tricky item for someone with 5 kids to buy. Denim skirt. Tons of kids. Fundie vibes. But! I see these everywhere, and they’re super cute. Madewell maybe?

5. A pair of shoes in between high heels and Uggs- this is a very real void in my wardrobe. I have one pair of leopard booties and one pair of (really old and maybe too cheap for someone my age to be wearing) Old Navy booties, plus tennis shoes. I want something… else? But I don’t know what that would be.

I have visions of a mom uniform for cold weather that’s basically jeans but with something cute and polished on top and pretty jewelry and fun shoes.

So far I have the jeans part down

I bought 2 pairs of jeans this weekend (before I cleaned out my closet and realized how many I had), a sweater dress from American Eagle, a super cute beat-up-looking sweatshirt from American Eagle, a cozy pink waffle shirt from Old Navy, and a pair of overalls because the straps on my ancient Gap ones broke last fall, and I have missed overalls in my life. And! CLEARANCE RACKS ARE TH BEST— I only spent $75 for these 6 pieces!

Are you on the hunt for any wardrobe needs? Bought anything cute lately?

(Speaking of buying things. My Target order from yesterday. Shout out to Suzanne and a universe of missing spoons).