I have not posted on Instagram or Facebook since December 29, 2024. Around that time, it was becoming clearer and clearer to me that social media was no longer providing me with an enjoyable way to keep up with friends and family. I was constantly being fed ads and flash-fast videos whose only purpose was to incite anger and anxiety and keep me scrolling for more. And on top of all that, I had the sense that all of the precious memories I was sharing of my family and my life were being farmed by billionaires to feed the content machine–and their ever-growing AI initiatives.

Leaving social media was easier than I thought it would be, and it’s had an overall positive effect on my mental health. But I also missed the ability to share my thoughts, feelings, victories, and struggles with my loved ones far and wide, and I know many of them also missed the regular updates. I do pop on occasionally to see what my friends and family are up to, but I soon have to close out of the apps before I spiral again into anxiety.

So here is my solution: a family blog. I have had blogs on and off ever since I was probably about fourteen. Back then, everything online was super customizable, and a blog or a website felt deeply personal. Honestly, I can’t even make changes to this blog template without having to pay extra…but my rant against hyperconformist technology is for another time!

I originally planned on doing a full recap of the past year, but I think that would take far too long and not necessarily be as interesting to all readers as it might be to me. So I’ll give a more brief overview and then talk about what we’ve been up to most recently.

In February, Sev turned five, and with that came the realization that she would be starting kindergarten in the fall. Her birthday was also the opening day for school registration, which really drove the point home! She has since started school and absolutely loves it. She’s starting to get the hang of sounding out words, and I can tell that reading is just around the corner. I am absurdly excited about this development! She is also extremely into bats (and animals/animal science in general), which is awesome for everyone in the house, honestly.

Oz is two now, and boy does he act like it! He has always been much quicker to throw a tantrum than his sister was, but that’s ramped up recently. He balances that out by being exceptionally sweet much of the time. Even at daycare he’s recognized as being very affectionate with others, always checking on their well-being and providing plenty of gentle hugs. He has also become heavily invested in things with wheels, especially school buses and trains.

James continues to run, bike, and swim. Right now, he’s prepping for a turkey trot on Thanksgiving, and he’s miserable about it. 😉 He has also instituted a weekly cocktail night, which has been a lot of fun. We’ve been mostly sampling classic Prohibition-era drinks as well as a couple tiki bar staples. Both of us really love the Last Word.

James also continues to tinker with both mechanical devices as well as electronic ones. He actually replaced a part in my sewing machine! It works great now, and I think he was pretty chuffed that he was able to figure that out. He’s also replaced his phone screen and built a few fun little electronic kits. And he’s taken up drawing, though he hasn’t picked that up in a bit. (I won’t lie, I got very excited when he decided that he wanted to get into drawing. I have so many art supplies that I’m not currently using, it was great to give them a purpose again!)

I have been really leaning into the fiber arts this year. Over the summer, I started learning how to knit. I’m still pretty much a beginner, but I feel as though I’ve finally overcome a lot of the hang-ups I had about knitting previously. A lot of that has been changing my perspective; essentially, I’m allowing myself to just be bad at it for a while. That mentality has been really helpful, and I’m trying to apply it to other things as well (like sewing, which I honestly haven’t touched in a while…there’s only so much time in a day!). Crochet continues to go well, but I find that if I do too much at once, I can really hurt my wrist. This is a large part of the reason I’ve decided to branch out into knitting as well.

One of the things I haven’t been doing as much this year, and which I was much better about last year, is writing. Some friends and I had a little writing group for a good part of 2024, and that really lit a fire under me and got me to write more than I had in ages. We all got busy around the holidays last year, and we unfortunately haven’t had a chance to pick the group back up. I think that’s part of the reason I’m interested in working on this blog; I’d like to stretch some writing muscles again, even if it’s just talking about the day-to-day stuff.

In May, all four of us went to California to visit with James’s sister, Rosie. The cross-country flight with two small children and various layovers was…interesting, haha! Honestly, though, the kids bore up really well, and we all had a great time in Truckee. I think we’ll probably take a break from very long plane trips in the next year, but it’s good to know that we have kids who can handle a little discomfort for a fun payoff.

My grandmother was also diagnosed with cancer early in the year, which really colored a lot of my spring and summer. Luckily, she’s been responding really well to treatment, which feels like a miracle. I’ll probably talk about this more in-depth at another time, but my grandmother is more like a second mother to me, so I always knew that her eventual death was going to be a heavy blow. When I thought the inevitable was imminent for a while, I was a real mess. In that regard, it’s been a somewhat challenging year.

There are other big, national and international issues that have also been weighing heavily on James and me. Many of our conversations this year have centered around how we can help our community, how we can be more environmentally conscious, and how we can be more deliberate about our media consumption (including the aforementioned social media). These aren’t topics with easy, straightforward answers, but we’ve been taking steps to change what we can. I hope that in doing so, we’re preparing our children to be more mindful about the choices they make in the future.

I don’t want to leave off on a downer, though, so let’s quickly talk about the last few weeks, including my favorite day of the year: Halloween!

Sev has lost both of her bottom front teeth this month, so she very closely resembles the jack-o-lantern that she designed and carved! All of our jack-o-lanterns came out really well this year, actually. Holidays are getting more enjoyable as both children become more invested in the festivities.

Sev dressed as a bat for Halloween this year, both because they are a current obsession of hers and because I found a crochet pattern for bat wings that I had to try. We also made her a fun little bat nose out of cardboard, tape, polymer clay, and paint. My mask-making and scultping skills are rusty, but the drive is still there!

Oz was a little black cat, and I made him some little kitty paw mitts (combining my very basic knitting skills with some crochet) and a little tail. Black ears were purchased for both kids, but he opted to just use the little bear ears on his black sweatshirt, and I figured that was fine.

I took the holiday off, as I always do. I solo’d trunk or treat at daycare this year since James had to work. That was fun and cute, of course, though the vibe for me is a little different now that Sev has graduated out of the program and I recognize fewer faces. After that, it was home to prep for the night and watch a little Twilight Zone and The Munsters. 

We had the usual set-up with a fog machine inside a cauldron and a silly inflatable/animatronic spider. It was properly cold this year (unlike last year’s 70+ degree Halloween), but also extraordinarily windy. There was no point in me wearing my witch hat, but I did sit outside for a while to pass out candy while James took the kids around. I find sitting outside is easier (and more fun) than waiting inside for trick-or-treaters to knock on the door. Eventually it got too cold, and we all retreated inside to watch Coraline while the kids gorged themselves on their treats.

I frequently find myself with the post-Halloween blues, but I actually feel pretty good this year. I think that for the first time in a long time, I really enjoyed the day to the fullest. Again, I think the kids being really excited and involved helped a lot with that. Besides, making their costumes was a lot of fun for me, and it kind of extended the spooky fun for the while month.

I nearly finished a tacky Halloween cardigan for myself, but unfortunately wasn’t able to get it done in time. I’ve made 78 granny squares and put most of them together, but I discovered that I’m going to need to make the sleeves a big larger. I’m taking a break on that for now, with the goal to finish it in time for next Halloween–sooner, if I’m able! I don’t have a problem wearing a Halloween cardigan at Easter. 😉

Yesterday, we made homemade gnocchi and pesto, partially as a remedy to my overgrown basil problem. Sev got really invested in learning to roll the gnocchi on the board that Zach gave us (I grew up rolling them on a fork!), and it is genuinely heartwarming to watch her learn how to do things that my grandmother taught me thirty years ago. I think this afternoon I’ll rope the kids into helping me make ossi dei morti.

Today is a chill at-home day. James just took the kids to the park while I work on wrapping up this entry, which is honestly months in the making. I am hoping to set aside time every Sunday to put together even a small update, but that may be a stretch goal, especially with the holidays coming up. At the very least, I’d like to provide a monthly update to anyone who is eager to know how the family is doing! My eventual plan is for James and the kids to also provide their own updates down the line, but for now, I suspect you’ll mostly be hearing from me.

Thanks for joining us on this journey/experiment! Until next time~