Eye to Wonder

We are flying to Philadelphia for Thanksgiving today. We do this trip almost every year, and it’s a good chance to see lots of family. That said, traveling during the holidays with kids is a lot of work, and it’s easy to focus on the challenging aspects of the trip. We are still in the little kid phase, but every year it gets a little easier to travel, and this year I wanted to think about what things would make the trip feel fun for me too. I’m looking forward to: *Seeing Wicked with my sister-in-law. *Making sentimental recipes with my brother-in-law. We usually do most of the cooking for Thanksgiving, and it’s fun to prep a lot on Wednesday and catch up. I love making my grandma’s stuffing--it reminds me of being a little kid. *Going on a walk and enjoying the woods. I love getting outside in an environment that is so different from the beach/chaparral area we live in. *Taking time in the morning to do a morning routine. I want to take some introvert recharge time and do some of ...

I decided to try out the 5 on a Friday format. Here are 5 things on my mind or that I’m loving this week. 1. The most exciting thing this week is that my friend Emily published her debut novel, Heart Check . She’s been pursuing her dream of being a professional writer for years, and it is so exciting to see her dreams come true! It was such a treat to head to our local romance bookstore, Meet Cute, and pick it up this week. It is such a sweet YA hockey romance. The characters made me feel nostalgic for high school, and it was a cozy, fun read. 2.M has gotten really into singing and dancing, which is pretty freaking cute. My personal favorite this week have been her belting out “Lay All Your Love on Me,” by Abba. She also stopped me while we unpacked groceries to have a dance party. I love it so much. 3. We’ve gotten into making Detroit-Style pizza in deep dish pans, and it is my favorite thing to make people now. Last weekend we brought up the pans and dough and made some for my p...

Growing up, I always enjoyed listening to music. I briefly played piano and clarinet. I was in the middle school band (lured by the promise of a trip to Disneyland to perform). I liked listening to CDs and the radio and later my iPod. Joel is really into music and was in a band in college and coordinated concerts for the campus radio station. When we met, I was doing an internship that had a super long commute, and he used to make me CDs with different weekly playlists. I wish I had kept more of them even though I don’t have a way to play them now. Eventually, I started listening to podcasts and my commute time to work mostly shifted towards new episodes rather than albums although I still listened to music. As I became a parent, and then a few years later, a stay-at-home parent I gradually noticed that music was becoming a less prevalent part of my life as my kids became old enough to request songs and wanted to hear the same songs over and over. There was less time when I was the ...

Our library recently ran a reading program for kids sponsored by In-N-Out. We live three blocks from the library, so we are all over it whenever they have an event or program (or, you know, a new coloring sheet, riddle, or puzzle). After completing the program, my daughter got gift cards to In-N-Out. The other night we were hanging out at the park about to go home and cook dinner, when A asked, “Can we go to In-n-Out for dinner?” My instinct was to say no because I already had something planned for dinner, but then I realized that there was no good reason we couldn’t go. Plus, not cooking or cleaning sounded great. Thirty minutes later, we all loaded into the car and enjoyed some burgers and fries. M is 2.5 and at a tough age for eating in restaurants, but it was so fast that she was in a great mood the whole time and stayed seated and absorbed by the coloring sheets and the novelty of getting lemonade. A kind teenager gave A a bracelet made with her favorite colors after she had ask...

Yesterday I wrote about some of the things I dislike about technology (particularly phones), and I can definitely be skeptical about technology. However, there are a lot of tech uses that make my life better. Going with the 5 Things theme for NaBloPoMo, I thought I’d list 5 apps/technologies that make my life better. 1. Podcasts. I LOVE listening to podcasts. They make doing chores, exercising, and other mundane tasks much better. Some favorites are: The Girls Next Door, Best Laid Plans, Pantsuit Politics, Ezra Klein, Minimal-ish, and the Lazy Genius podcast. 2. My kindle. I know this is a controversial pick because many book lovers prefer physical books, but I use my kindle constantly and prefer it to physical books. I definitely read more since buying it. I love that I can download books from the library using Libby, and can read long books without feeling like they take up too much space when I’m traveling or out and about. 3. Blogs! I love seeing glimpses into other people’s ...

I recently read Daria’s post on 5 Things That Help My Mental Health and particularly resonated with what she wrote about laying off her phone and how she hates it and also loves aspects of it.I know that this is a common feeling and it’s something I think about a lot. In the past, I have found myself drawn to different tech solutions to this problem like the Brick that blocks apps or the Light phone which doesn’t have access to an internet browser and instead only has basic apps like podcasts, music, a camera, and maps. In the end though, there are things that are convenient about having an iPhone, and it seems silly to buy a new phone or thing when mine still works. The thing I dislike about my phone is that it’s easy during a tough parenting moment or when I feel bored to pick up the phone and skim the NYT webpage, a blog, or substack. None of these things are bad on their own, but I don’t like that I’m pulling myself away from my own life and my kids. It definitely doesn’t make a...

Love this photo of the kids with their umbrellas walking to the library. My favorite part is how the 2.5 year old is completely covered by the umbrella.

Today there’s a rainstorm in California due to an atmospheric river. We tend to have pretty uniform weather in Southern California, so when we get a big rainy day it feels very novel. I know this probably seems silly to readers from places with more typical four seasons, but we really lean into hygge vibes at home particularly when it’s the first big rain storm of the year. My six-year-old is particularly excited about the storm. While I was exercising yesterday, she and Joel made a rain gauge for the backyard, which she is regularly checking. Her enthusiasm reminds me of how I felt as an early career teacher in Boston rechecking the weather app in hopes of a snow day! She keeps asking to look at the weather forecast. Earlier today I told her, “you don’t need to look, it’s just going to rain.” She responded, “but Mom there are DETAILS.” Fair enough. I think fascination with weather changes might be universal. I’m hoping that there are not any floods and landslides, particularly in ...

We are 14 days into NaBloPoMo, and I thought I’d try out some of the five things prompts that San shared. I thought it would be fun to remember some favorite trips I’ve taken in the past. I’m hoping this will give me some inspiration as I think ahead to next year and what trips or local adventures we might do in 2026. 1. Costa Rica. This was our honeymoon, which we went to in 2017. It was one of my favorite trips of all time--we took it about a year after we got married. The biodiversity in Costa Rica is mind-blowing, and the people were so friendly. This vacation had a good mix of activity and time to relax. We spent time in the Arenal area, the Monteverde cloud forest, San Jose and Golfo Dulce. Memorable experiences included: visiting the hot springs, ziplining, guided nature hikes in the cloud forest, and the most amazing eco lodge we stayed in that was right in the rainforest. I loved hanging out on our porch and looking into the forest. 2. Argentina and Peru. I went on this...

I love planning ahead and having fun things to look forward to. However there is something special about things that happen spontaneously. For me it’s easier to remember or pay attention to unexpected annoyances or hardships that come without warning, but it’s also true that sometimes there is a lot of good that comes into life unexpectedly. The enjoyment you get from these moments is special because it surprises you! For me this feeling holds whether the surprising event or item is big or small. A few recent unplanned good things: * Going to the beach on Veteran’s Day. We had to scrap our camping trip because my daughter was sick, but fortunately she bounced back quickly. We ended up having a day off with no plans and got to enjoy a morning at the beach. It was a little cold, but I love going to the beach in the fall. It’s way less crowded than in the summer months, and it’s an immense privilege to get to live so close to the beach that you can visit all year long. The kids are ...

My youngest daughter turned 2.5 on Monday, and I thought I’d mark the occasion by jotting down a few notes to capture her at this age. Toddlers feel like they are constantly in the process of transformation, so I want to remember: *How much she loves to climb at this age. She suddenly seems so brave and capable when we visit the park. *Her love of baby dolls. She is constantly pushing a stroller, finding a bottle, wrapping a baby in a dish towel, singing to the baby, or telling me the baby is sad/hungry/wants to play. *That she loves snuggling up and being read to. She’s old enough to attend to books more often and have distinct preferences. At this age she really loves Julia Donaldson books, the Story Orchestra books that play music, Jill McDonald’s Hello World series with books about camping, the body, etc. She also loves some of the Lovevery books that have real photos of kids like You Can Do It Sullivan and The Sleepover . *How snuggly and sweet she is at this age. She li...

I always enjoy getting glimpses into other people’s routines whether that’s what they’re eating, how they start their day, or move. Today I thought I’d share a bit about how my thoughts on exercising have changed over time, and what exercising looks like for me right now. I would say that I like being active but haven’t always loved exercising for its own sake. I played soccer for many years growing up, and loved playing defense. Sprinting for the sake of clearing the ball was exhilarating; running just to run? Not so much for me. When I stopped playing soccer in college, I didn’t really exercise much. I occasionally went to the gym with friends. More successful for me were the occasional yoga, dance or HIIT classes I signed up for. After college, my roommate and I went through periods of working out, especially when we lived two blocks away from the best gym ever , and it was easy to pop in for fun workout classes. I occasionally tried running and signed up for 5ks or 5 mile race...

As I wrote yesterday, one of my daughters got sick, and so we didn’t make it to our camping trip! I had a really good attitude about it for most of the day and mostly felt grateful that she got sick at home and not 2 hours away, in the desert, where we would have to completely takedown a campsite before leaving. But by the afternoon, I was feeling a little grumpy and bummed to miss an adventure we’d been looking forward to and also cooped up from being inside all day with a kid who wasn’t feeling well. Inspired by San’s recent “Five Things That are Saving My Life Right Now” post, I decided to make my own list that was specific to sick days at home. In no particular order: *Emkfit videos on youtube. It’s awesome to have such a fun, silly, sweaty workout to do. I always feel happier having done the dance videos, and it really helps my mood on days when I’m at home a lot and restless *Good books. I posted earlier this week that October was not the best reading month for me, and so I spen...

To help keep up with posts during NaBloPoMo, I decided to have a couple of template days. So far the two I have are Friday Favorites and Photo of the Week. The photo I chose this week is not a good photo from an artistic sense, but I chose it because I want to remember the moment. I took this photo on Wednesday morning right before we took my six-year-old to school. We were ready a few minutes early, so the girls decided to play outside and make a fairy house. It was a nice peaceful moment of sisterly connection, which wasn’t always easy to come by this week, so I wanted to capture it here. And it was peaceful for me to sit in the backyard for a few minutes listening to birdsong. P.S. My older daughter woke up at 4:30 this morning sick, so camping is off for this weekend.

We recently had a bad afternoon. Big picture, nothing is really wrong. But sometimes small things pile up, and we were all dysregulated when we got home from an unexpectedly long appointment. My two-year-old loves to sit in our bedroom next to the big bookshelves, so she found a spot and was pulling books off the shelves. My older daughter and I were hanging out when she spotted my five year journal and asked me to read her some of the entries. We probably spent the next 15 or 20 minutes reading (slightly edited) entries of different days. She’s a beginning reader and wasn’t interested in trying to decode the text, so it was easy to just read the parts I felt comfortable sharing with her. It was incredibly soothing to remember good days, bad days, and all the moments in between from the past year and a half, and it really brought perspective in a moment when we all needed it. My daughter and I loved reminiscing about all of the different things we had done, and it really helped to tur...

Some favorites this Friday: 1. Music class with my youngest. We ended up going twice this week because we had a makeup class, and she was so cute dancing and singing and imitating the teacher. She also had a checkup and entertained herself while waiting by singing all of the songs from class. I tried and failed to get a good video of this. 2. The bands Plains and Snocaps. They both have Katie Crutchfield in them and a folk sound, and something about her voice feels good for my soul. If you want to check them out, my favorite songs from Plains are No Record of Wrong, Line of Sight, and Abilene. I’ve just started listening to Snocaps (the album only came out last week), but so far I’m really liking Heathcliff. 3. We recently stopped doing TV on weeknights. I’m not against the kids watching TV, but I noticed that they were having a hard time getting immersed in playing when my oldest got home from school because it wouldn’t be that long before they watched their show while I cooked dinne...

As I’ve already written about this month, I’m obsessed with Samin Nosrat’s new cookbook. I love the recipes, but I also love the sections on “small good things,” which are very small things you can make to add extra deliciousness to a meal like whipped ricotta. As someone who is currently in a season where I have to make food for my family a lot, this feels doable and accessible. I like all the sauces recipes--they are easy to make in bulk and then add on to dishes to add more flavor to dishes than my children prefer. However, my favorite section of the book is where she writes about her routine of having a Monday dinner night with friends. Every week she and her friends gather for dinner at the same house. People swap cooking responsibilities and chip in, but it happens almost every week. Joel and I were immediately drawn to the idea. We already enjoy having people over for dinner, and we both like cooking and food. A few days later we had our friend over for dinner. I told her about ...

As I look through the calendar for this month, I’m noticing a lot of unusual weeks. This week is normal, but next week the kids have a four day weekend, and we are going camping. The week after that my daughter has minimum days at school all week for conferences, and then the following week we are flying to Philly to spend Thanksgiving with family. Looking ahead at all of this, I am realizing that I might not have the extra time and space to do any big projects outside of getting ready for these trips and enjoying the extra time with both kids at home. If I fall off NaBloPoMo for a day or two, you’ll know what happened! With all that said, I want to try to be intentional about my time and perspective this month. I’m hoping: 1. To have a fun trip to Philadelphia to see my in-laws this month. Traveling for a big holiday to see family can be a lot with little kids. I’m trying to schedule in a few fun things and otherwise relax as much as possible and focus on quality time with everyone...

This weekend we are going camping! This will be our second camping trip as a family of four and our first two night camping trip. Joel and I didn’t grow up camping. We have only camped a handful of times before having kids, so this definitely feels new, exciting, and somewhat daunting. Our last camping trip was about an hour away for one night (my daughter’s 6th birthday, actually). We had a great time, but it felt like a lot of work and set up for one night, so we decided to plan a slightly longer trip and go further away. This weekend we are going about two hours away to Agua Caliente in the Anza-Borrego Desert. I’m really excited about this site for a couple of reasons: 1. They have hot spring pools at the site! I think this will be a huge hit for all of us, especially my oldest. 2. I’ve heard the stars are incredible in the desert, since the nearest town is about 45 minutes away. 3. I’ve never visited Anza-Borrego, so I’m excited to go somewhere new. That said, I’m start...

I always enjoy reading people's end of month reading recaps, so I decided to join in! Favorite Books of the Month: This was not my favorite reading month ever. I reread more than usual, which is atypical for me. I think it made me feel a bit stalled. BUT there were a few books I loved this month: * The Correspondent by Virginia Evans--a fabulous epistolary novel. I really recommend it if you like character-driven novels with complex characters and a unique format. * Heart the Lover by Lily King--A story of two people who meet in college and where the relationship goes from there. Also character-driven, and it almost reads like a series of novellas. I think I read the book in about two days, so it's a quick read. * A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting by Casey Johnson--An enaging memoir that really helped me as I was trying to build a new habit of strength training. I finished this book feeling motivated and like strength...

Day 2 of NaBloPoMo! Trying out the 5 things format today. I just finished filling out my October reflections in my planner . I don't always do this, but I'm glad I did this month as it made me realize how many fun/memorable things happened. Especially in the little kid stage of parenting, a lot of life feels repetitive. Taking a minute to review last month's calendar and see all the fun and novel things that we did helps refocus my attention and see the bigger picture. 1. Our trip to Laguna Beach! We spent 2 nights in Laguna Beach, which is about 90 minutes from our house. It was awesome to go to the beach every day, hang in the hot tub, and see lots of family (both mine and J's). It was great to see my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law for a short and sweet visit while they were in town for a wedding. We see my family more regularly, but it was still great to catch up with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law and hold my new niece! 2. Halloween. Our neighborhoo...

Kind of impulsively, I've decided to attempt NaBloPoMo after about 3 years of not blogging. Lately I've been drawn to the idea of writing more, and I definitely benefit from the outer accountability of a challenge. I think posting every day for a month, even briefly, might help me build a more regular habit of blogging and just writing more generally. So to kick things off, I thought I'd introduce myself, why I stopped writing, and why I'd like to change that. I'm Sam. I live with my family of 4 in San Diego. We moved here 3 years ago from Colorado,and I absolutely love it here. I grew up on the Central Coast, so moving here has felt like moving to the big city version of where I grew up. I live with my two daughters, A (6) and M(2) and my husband (J). I taught for 9 years, but am currently staying home while my youngest is small. I both really miss teaching/working, and also love that right now there is more margin in our lives and I get a lot of time to spend...