Life Adventures for Miles

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!! Also, happy bday to all those halloween babies (like my sister)!!! This year we spent creating halloween happiness for my kiddio. She was adamant about being Vampirina for Halloween this year (held on to it for half the year too, heh). So I looked at it and had a wonder about how easy her pinafore dress would be to make. The concept was pretty easy as was ther first "mockup" (barring one sleeve strap that was too big and the length of the whole thing), ie, the first try on went pretty well. While the rest of the try on/mockups found to be unfavorable (her actual costume came and she was not interested is mama's sad attempt) this creation turned into a cape and now more apron-like for her daddy/daughter cooking sessions. I have dubbed this "failing upwards" as my creations seem to have this as an over all theme... Mike's Farm was another success(ish) time this month, though it took three time total to achieve said goal of pumpkin-getting,

What is Life? Joy, Peace, Love? Sorrow, Strife, Disdain? Money, Work, Power? Sedentary, Safe, Routine? Wild, Free, Drifting? Living, Death, In Between? What is Life?

This month we've been crafting a lot! Stringing beads, stale cheerios, melting beads, sorting colors and mixing them back again; as well as jewelry making (bracelets and necklaces, (though my kid has commissioned me into making her dog collars and leashes/harnesses for her stuffed pups). I've also almost finished a big ol' fabric box for storage! fun fun! In alignment with the advice I have been given/assigned,  I am trying to narrow down my professional and or personal goals. So far I have done a lot of collecting of the resources! The internet is awesome like that but also very scary in its variety. With that being said the book this month was from Kevin W. Porter : How To Make Passive Income On Amazon: A Step-By-Step Guide To Your Merch By Amazon Business. He explains in various detailed steps of how he made a successful business using Amazon Merch (as the title suggests). He shares how he started his research and product/design ideas to finishing with the apps and outso

Finally got a book in this month! I read Island of the Blue Dolphins. I remember it being a book assignment in grade school and before reading it this time only sort of remembered it was part of the "survival" storylines that are so popular. The one I compared it to was Hatchet, though after reading it, there are very specific differences- maybe, I'd have to get over the what felt like millions of pages of water discription, which was like probably not that long actually to read it again to be sure- and I am only talking first books here; Brian was dropped suddenly in a survival situation where he didn't know much but how to possibly use his hatchet. This would be a very big trial by fire situation. Karana on the other hand is left on her home island with her knowledge of her people's customs and island layout. Yes, she had a trial by fire experience but, I found, this story to be more of a mindset shift of how to survive rather then Brian's complete learning

So reflecting on this month (or month-ish)  while it rains on and off all day is kind of cozy. Again, this month was a home-life adventure as we concentrated on being homebound. The major excitement was the recent adult bicycle thieving right from under my nose (I recall them being there that morning but they were gone by that evening when we went out for our Luna bike pedaling session). Luckily we had full insurance coverage (which my husband used to get a better bike, of course), but it still kind of shocks me every time I think of it, as we had things out there for a good year or more (also, we just got done telling  Grandpa Kunk how safe it is, heh) and they were perfectly not touched or taken until we moved/sold them off...in any case, we have become more careful now.  Now that the pool has opened, Luna has been spending lots of time in it and can now confidently wear her floaties,  wall-climb around the perimeter and doggy-paddle around (though that one, she still prefers us to b

This post has been percolating in my head a good week or so, now. Kind of. First order of business, this blog! As it has not yet gotten deleted as of yet (like the YouTube brand channel that was set up and then forgotten about), I have decided to try once a month postings. Nothing about my post will change, though, as life added a new phase to our adventures, their might be a Luna learning (or maybe Luna lessons?) tag highlighting her adventures in the journey of kindergarten. Luna turned 5 yeas old this month. WOOHOO! As per usual I am late to the game-also we might be moving soon- so we are leaning towards virtual/homeschooling (NC does not require registration for homeschool until the kid(s) are 7 years old). Due to this , I have now been looking into it and creatively planning stuff out. My brain took this and went nuts...it is going in all sorts of directions now! My bright ideas are adding a website that showcase my blog, resources I use (or will use), a gallery of photos (I seem

My battery life is about consistently 6 months, I guess. Then it seems to be a slow recharge, which means I doubt I will backlog any dates I missed between my last post and now (Sorry) or when I will post again...  Lately, I have been watching mental health videos , and one in particular hit me in the guts so hard I had to subscribe. I am always impressed with people youtubing but these vlogs about themselves and their life always seem to hit me harder. It made me think about melt downs, masks and relationships and all the non--fiction tot he fiction of it all. I still find it all so confusing a path to navigate. There hasn't been many NEW adventures, just busy nothings, as it were. Daily imagination play, screens, books and developments. The toilet training seems to be hitting a high note this time around, as she found that she doesn't mind toileting and under-wearing so much (even going on her own and even holding it until she is there-at least once so far. We hit celebration

Today was a day out (sorta). The normal morning of toy play, screens, and books, though the husband came home early so the afternoon was out and about town. The goal was to end our day with pizza out and grocery shopping, however, we left too early for our window shopping AND our errands so instead we just played and looked at our shops, then went home for pizza delivery, forgoing the food shopping altogether.  The shopping plaza strip we ventured into today had stores from sports, to furniture/snacks, to computers/electronics. We got fruit snacks and St. Patrick "snowball" cakes. We practiced our putting skills checked out the new selection of phones. We wandered the Dollar Tree and Walmart.  I found styles at a local clothing store that interested me.  The evening play consisted of a "shopping plaza" hallway and certain stuffed animal figures shopping for their house. After a fuss (that had all involved) for the cleanup, pizza was delivered and eaten and the eveni

Crafting with yarn this week: To make a popcorn stitch is to several things. 1) make a foundation chain, 2) chain one and single crochet (USA) 3) link into chain one 4) single crochet, 5) repeat step 4 with 3-5 rounds, this will result in looking like a ball, repeat process until the project is done. Crafting with food this week: Jambalaya: 1) using a pot (or instapot) poor rice pouch in and cover with water to just above the rice 2) chop choice of meat and add to pot 3)Boil and let simmer till rice is soft 4) add veggies (we used frozen so they are sized appropriately already) when rice and meat are almost cooked through Cook time: boil 10-15 minutes, simmer 30-45 minutes Pasta: 1) boil water into a pot and add noodles, 2) add chopped meat (if browning brown meat first) 3) add veggies (we added bell peppers towards the end to keep the crunch) 4) drain when fully cooked (noodles are soft but not mushy, meat is cooked through) Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Today's adventure was a most normal adventure indeed! Screens, books, toys, and imagination. We went to the doctor, played house (cleaned, cooked, groomed), learned at school, and had many a games such as: hide-and-seek and cross ways (in which we time bearhugs). We also had a singing contest and dance party. Sausages for dinner and starting our new routine up again, the dreaded (but really fun) bubble bath!  

Today while Luna made a mess of the living room (again) and frequently curled up with her blankets to watch the big screen, I found myself deep diving into LOTR territory after listening to some LOTR/Hobbit music.  I also found myself trying to create "popcorn" crochet stiches with the yarn luna used to practice her cutting skills. I figured I could somehow attach it to the side of a blanket in which the sides were too short to properly secure.  The channel I found that has the lore and myth and theories of Tolkien's work is aptly named Nerd of the Rings . Have I posted about this channel before? He has full playlists dedicated to each era (first, second and third) and most of the main pivotal characters. Some of my favorite videos are the theory videos and of course, being the bookworm I am, the readings and review/reaction/discussion videos! I have been reading or retreading "chosen one" trope books lately and was curious about Tolkien and his exploration. Thi

  Yay me! As it was the first of the month I did our monthly bedding change (also our weeks of laundry), dishes, trash, and puck g messes from a Luna Belle. It was happily fairly quiet. We also did the normal screens, play, and books. The main adventure was Luna decided this day was a good day to practice her workbook and her cutting (lots and lots of my yarn and paper). As I agreed with myself that the workbooks were for her to do, the...trials of her doing the work(ie, me only doing the show and tell or hand over hand) came and went throughout the day and this adventure. To end this day, my husband brought home Popeyes and we had more cake. Yum!

We have a birthday coming up tomorrow (me) so today when all are here and home, we decided to make birthday brownies! Yum yum! Triple chocolate fudge brownies that I think have chocolate chips in them. Even more yum! Luna had a blast putting all the ingredients together  (eggs, fudge box mix, brownie box mix, water, and vegetable oil) though she backed away from the sound of the mixer. We were also the lucky ones to lick the tools/ bowl after the mixing and pouring wax was done, I loved doing that as a kid.. then we decorated with lemon icing and sprinkles! Also on another, we noted that the Winnie the Pooh jack in the box has officially broken. I've had it for a long time but with a 4-year-old, I am surprised it lasted this long, heh. Brownie Instructions: 1) Combined the brownie mix and fudge pouch mix with vegetable oil, egg, and water 2) Mix until blended (consistency of goop) 3) Preheat oven for 325 F and cook for 40-50 minutes until consistency has a cakeish moist/spring to

Today we went out in the sunshine. 45 minutes was about all the adults would handle with all the kids there and such. After our nature loop, I am pretty glad we decided to go as Luna was pink-cheeked and seemed a tad bit worn out when we took a drove to get our pullups. First, we made a couple of pit stops, one for food (Chick Fil A) and one for fun (Hobby Lobby), which was I always enjoy. Sadly, I found out the news about some people I know. The fact that my social awkwardness seems to come out the most in such situations does not lend me well as the one for a shoulder to cry on (like I thought I had when growing up). Death can be a sad and scary time and grief is...another complicated concept. What to say when it's of people you know or know of but who you don't feel close to, I suppose empathetic and sympathetic shoes are best to be slipped on and yet, not knowing what reaction to give or that will be received when doing so...feels very awkward and in some way very rude, esp

The friday play was mostly imagination with her Mr potato and all his friends. Creating different looks and putting it in different positions while acting out scenarios with other toys had Luna basically running about the house with great joy. While there were lulls with blankets and big screen watching, I think the fact that she didn't have any more "burritos" (eye ointment) seemed to cheer her the most. The pizza was made by the husband today so it was a full pizza with lots of toppings and not always crunchy crust. Delicious! I have also been mooning over the past. Not the historical past of society like usual (though I DO still think I would have an easier time of it with its structure and understandings-even if it WAS ALL ridiculous). No this time it is more about my history and my ruminating over it. Everyone and their mother knows/says that it is one major attachment to the spectrum (in any part) so one one hand I feel like it should just be forgiven and forgotten

Today was more normal normalness. The main adventure was making her realize that sticker decoration was for paper and NOT walls and furniture -especially if it was for daddy! The evening was spent crafting a house and bus for her toys to play in (following directions from the booklet the blocks came with). Woohoo!

  Today's adventure was a post on an appointment with the eye doc for Luna (they said she is doing just fine and recovering well). The appointment was in the late afternoon so the morning was full of play, big screens (we hid the little screen for now), and cuddling with books and stuffies.  My husband planned the trip as the appointment was a good hour away from home, so after the eye doc visit, hibachi for dinner, it was. Luna was never a fan of the heat and flame the open fire makes that the chefs safely  play/use with and with her still having light sensitivity, she quickly donned her sun glasses and ducked under the table. However, the food was good and the crayons and paper she got to use was lots of fun. To walk it off, my husband decided to let me window shop JoAnn's and even got Ollie's in before the drive home. Woohoo!  

I was unaware of how stressed I felt until this evening. I thought I just had the normal everyday stress of life, yet when thinking it over I realized my stress (or the energy that came from it) found other means. I woke up from a dream about being surrounded by a deep well of water; and while it had the familiarity of it being the Olympic diving pool from my childhood and characters I grew up with (I remember my little sister there), I also remember fighting for us to find a way out and leave when others tried to keep us there. Another way my energy found an output is my child. Again, I thought we were golden after we all settled from the surgery. Luna is recovering without a problem, the red seems to be clearing with every day, and she seems as active as ever. However, I did notice, today, she seemed to be...staying closer and closer to me more than her independence usually likes when she has the run of the house. Our main adventure today was storytelling. Yes, there were screens, an

We started the ointment the day after surgery and found that the best way is to wrap her like a burrito and sit on her. Obviously, my husband had better strength, control, and combination so I know that at least 1 or 2 of the 4 times a day is getting through the putting it in the corner of her eye and let her blink/cry it into the eye itself thing. By this point, she is resigned to the burrito but still can't help but flinch or move when anything comes close to her eyes (refinery my kid as it always took a whole heap of the family to flatten me and pry my eyes open for eye drops). She is more or less back to her active self (no naps today) and the red eyes seem to be clearing slowly. The doc said 7 days for the ointment so we will see. However, she has been living her sunglasses (probably because they are the not flimsy plastic ones and actually stay on and darken the lights for her), though she has been slowing down with the use of them too. The landscapers even gave her an umph t

Again, due to this week,  I wanted low stress so when Luna took out her playdough, I thought it perfect timing! Her goal was to make cookies and dog treats (first for the ghost we were catching, then for her stuffie's) so we spent let's of time rolling out dough and cookie cutting letters and shapes and animal forms for said treats. Also, we want to play with them as much as possible as have a tendency to dry out quicker around my 4 year old. Woohoo for a stress free craft!  

 Due to this week, I did not do any deep reading. We also didn't get to read any new children's books with luna (just the favorite comforts) so this week is short stories. This volume is a fun silly fantasy about dragons. Edith Nesbit wrote the Book of Dragons (a book with 9 short stories) and while I didn't get to read all of them yet, the first 2 were a lot of fun. As all writers in that time do, the style is very proper English and leaves a lot of the details to the reader's discretion; though these and she wrote for children, I'd say they were a lot like children's movies are today: written for adults but pictured and printed for children.  The first 2 shorts in the book I read were "The book of beasts" which is about a little boy who became king and lets out magical creates from his great great great so on and so forth, grandpa (the last king) magic book from his magic book library and in doing so has to save his subjects from the mess he created.

Today was the rescheduled eye surgery. While it sucked for us adults to take up super early to be there on time, I was thankful I didn't have to worry about trying to not feed to water my child-as it states for surgery rules. While I was freezing and worrying in the car (we totally need to remember to grab comfy warm blankets for the truck as this isn't the first time we've suffered through);  my husband was where all the action was, escorting our 4-year-old.  According to my husband's timelines (and his texts), it took 2 hours before they were ready to admit her fully, 20 minutes (at least for prep), 40/45 minutes for surgery, and another hour for my child to wake up and calm down enough to have some juice and be set to be out the door. While I wish I was with them, I think he is the better choice in these cases. He has, at least an outward calming effect on the child and he has more strength than I do. I was told wake up from anesthesia makes them seem (and feel?) lik

    Today's adventures were of the normal sort. We had screens, books, play toys and imagination. For the most part, Peppa pig and her brother dominated the leading role. They are together, played together, shopped, schools, went to the doctor and even went to the beach. It was a fun low stress normal day. It was nice to have with what is coming next.

Today I spent a lot of time watching Naruto Shippuden and the next gen series of his son Boruto (that series is currently ongoing), I got it in my head because my husband found a unbridged (think that's how you say it) version of the Naruto series (a light hearted mock/dubbing of the series); but mostly ninjas! Have I posted about this anime before? I love ninjas! Although from my understanding they have a very...harsh history in actual history. It also is a television show based off a manga (or with lots of volumes) if one would rather read it then watch it. In any case this series starts with a little boy Naruto (I think he's around 10 or so...maybe 12) who is an orphan because of his dad sacrificing him and his wife to save the world (ish) by sealing a angry wild beast (9-tailed fox) in his baby boy. The the beginning his basically this having a track record of being...unpopular and acting out to get attention. He does however, stick to his notions and even with the beast in

Today was a day off for the husband but we had another COVID test appointment so we thought to make it an outing. Sadly, my child caught on and had a stressed out fuss fest that resulted in not wanting to do much this afternoon. We did made it to a couple stores and the playground on this bright and sunny day, however.  We even had a nap! Also tried juice popsicles from ice cube trays (our sticks didn't work as well as I was hoping, I guess that's what I get from using pretzel sticks!) Hopefully it wasn't anything more than that.  Yesterday was presidents day thus we have a couple facts (compiled from a google search)! It was established from the 1968 uniformed Monday Holiday Act It was established in honor of George Washington's birthday (who was actually born FEB 22) and considered for Lincoln's (FEB 12) but ultimately celebrates all our presidents Presidents have a established lots of national/state parks and in returned have been honored with their own monuments

We watched Gone with the Wind yesterday night for Valentine's. Granted we thought it fit the holiday a little better without seeing/remembering it, though it does have a surface level of romance in it, however, it is mostly about a genteel woman doing everything she can to save her home no matter what the cost. While most see the surface layer of it being a selfish white rich lady not getting her way with unrequited love...until she realizes too late what she had was what she wanted, watching it again, I think it was waaay more about her home turf than anything else. I also think she had little growth sports, though Ashley Wilks did get her head turned every freaking time. From the get-go, she did everything to stay and get back to and then keep Tara (her home). It was brilliantly put together, we all disliked (or pitted) the main characters, oohed and awwed over the set, and clothes, and the atmosphere. We even admired that it stuck so freaking close to the book (and oh my gosh we

This book week is more about a series of books that is trending on netflix. The series is the Bridgertons and is based off a series of books by Julia Quin a good decade ago (ish). She is a romance author and if anyone paid attention (or remembered my posting on the beginning of this book broadening adventure), I am and was a avid reader of romance and these posts are trying to steer me way from that. However this week I couldn't resist this new netflix trend. The show is basically (as I determined) mostly a "today's modern" version of a fictional historical world. The clothing is a modern version of historical accuracy, the world setting plays in a history time period with (at least one) historical accurate person (the queen) among fictional characters that play in historical roles. The show keeps- or rather, exaggerates- the playful but serious nature of the books. The characters are swept away into their survival in finding matches, gossip and ultimately living thei

 Today we did all the shopping of this week. It rained all day so we didn't want or even try to make it out of the house until closer to dinner time so we weren't out any later. Thus: the morning was a normal day of gaming, playing and screens. I did, however, try my hand at AMERICAN pancakes and while my husband did eat them, with a bowl full of syrup for dipping, he did claim them not panCAKE-y enough to count; which to be honest is fine, because the batter for american pancakes is waaaaay to glompy and thick for me. It just felt super wrong making them (this obviously is cause german pancakes aer what i am used to making and so are way better, haha!). The afternoon was filled with getting ready to head out, walmart-ing, home depot-ing (just cause) and food shopping with a side of wings and salad for dinner. yum yum! The craft we managed to get ahold of and do is a kid's craft from a nice lady worker at home depot! The craft includes, nails, 2 fence sidesa, a kid-sized, s

Today...was long. I don't when i will ever understand why the second day of anything always feels the worst! Emotional sore, physically sore, mentally sore (long) days always seem to increase in agony on the second day after the fact. In any case, neither I nor my child really wanted to do much today. AS it was and has been raining, it was very much a snuggled and cuddle day with screens, stuffed animals and blankets. The teepee tent and it's food cooking toaster oven imagination from the previous day also made a brief appearance but mostly it was a laying about the house day. I also made a intention on framing some puzzles laying about and doing some little bits of cleaning (de-modeled the shower curtain and dishes! woot!). The evening came with the husband coming home tired (and cranky) as all get out so, the pizza was delivered and house was while slightly more active (the child was well rested and excited that her daddy was home-the balence of having both parents home, I gu

Today was a normal Thursday. We did our screens, our books, our playing and our foods. My husband was on was tagged for another babysitting mission the day ultimately felt longer then it probably was. I am not sure why my brain has trouble deciding to sleep when he is not here considering I stay up (or did) for longer hours then he when he is here anyway. The major adventure was the "camping in the mud" episode we played out from peppa pig. Luna had enough fun with her tent and toys she decided to end up sleeping in it for the night! Woohoo!

 So we woke up uber early so we wont be late for the surgery only to get there and almost immediately turn around to go home. The doc was sick so everything was canceled. These situations, I wish I was a little more...balanced?...in my emotional output because some one like my husband was just pissed off that we did all this work with nothing to show for it for maybe the drive home and then just went on his day (we had to go back to work). I...took longer and agonized over the common thread I saw between this and my original Luna date (ie, we were all set and ready and in motion when she flipped and they suddenly called it off just to -well it felt to me-blame me 2 weeks later when we evacuated her due to me acquiring health concerns, not because she was in any hurry to leave.). Hopefully the rescheduling will be quick and easy.  So the rest of the day was simple. Some errands that were put off due to working hours were done and the rest of the day we-Luna and I-...stayed home and play