We live in southern Ohio, where we tend to get either a lot of snow, or hardly any at all. Our winters are unpredictable anymore.

This year, we’re getting lots of snow!

It makes me happy that we always prepare as though it will be one of those cold, snowy winters. It’s nice having plenty of food in the house and a backup plan in case the power goes out (which always happens at the worst time!).

For over a year now, our house has been on strike.

First it was the refrigerator that gave up the ghost. Followed closely by the dishwasher.

Then the stove and the toaster.

Slowly, we have replaced every appliance in our home in the course of 15 months.

I think the house was getting warmed up with cheaper fixes before it moved on…to things like the furnace.  And the roof.

sigh

Needless to say, it’s time for another #yearofno.  We hope this one is much shorter than the last one!

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Well hello again!

I’m sorry to say that I haven’t blogged so inconsistently in the entire time I’ve written at Medium Sized Family as I have in 2020.

This year has stretched me in so many new ways. Some days I feel like I’m rocking the Little House On the Prairie life. Other days, I can’t even get a load of dishes clean (let alone anything else).

I have a feeling I’m not alone.  😉

This week, school started back for our kids. We’ve got some of them back in public school, and some of them I’ll be homeschooling. As in traditional homeschool…which is a lot of work!

But, I hope the new school year will give us a chance to get back to something resembling a routine. And maybe I can make more time for writing.  (It’s my favorite part of blogging!)

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Am I the only one who has lost her desire to shop?

Don’t get me wrong…I don’t think that’s a bad thing. 😉

After all, I spent our #yearofno fighting the urge to buy anything that wasn’t essential.  

And now, wearing a mask (with asthma and a touch of claustrophobia) isn’t appealing to me. It certainly makes me think hard about whether I really need that thing in the back of a big store.

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Well back to school is looking kind of crazy, isn’t it?

Our district announced their plan last night.  And so far I think we’ll be ok with it.

But I do worry that everything can change in an instant (like it did back in March!).  And I’m tempted to pick up some homeschooling curriculum anyway.  It seems to be selling out quickly all over the place!

On the other hand, with my younger kids I feel like we can homeschool without a whole lot of expensive textbooks.  So I’m kind of caught in between.

If I had to use a metaphor for 2020, I think it would be the year stuck between a rock and a hard place.

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