The thing about having a newborn is that it eclipses everything else that happened within the last year of your life. I found out we were pregnant in January and had our second boy in September. My entire year was either being pregnant or groping my way through the newborn trenches. In essence, it’s been a pretty exhausting year! Despite this, overall, it’s been a wonderful year, too. It’s hard to think life is bad when there’s a little baby smiling at you and nuzzling into your chest.

Having children really divides your life, too. There is childhood, high school, college, dating and engagement, marriage before kids, marriage with one kid, and now marriage with two. Therefore, this year has truly felt segmented into two different lives. I am not the woman I was in January—not for better or worse, just different. I guess I’m still trying to figure out who I am as a mother, wife, and working woman with two kids instead of one. I’m hoping 2026 brings a little less chaos and exhaustion, a little more patience and sleep, and the same amount of joy and love.

That being said, before I begin my typical list, as usual, here is a brief preface for those who haven’t read my yearly recap before. This list is just what I loved. It’s not what I thought was the best this year nor even what was particularly “good.” It’s just what I was into and/or enjoyed the most. As is typical, all music listed is from 2025, but everything else is from a variety of years. Like the past two years, I did a free-for-all of different ranking systems within categories. One thing you’ll notice that’s different in this year’s post is that I have not included the extensive commentary I normally do. I’m just too tired, my brain is too foggy and, really, what mother of multiples has time for all that?

Television: I watched 30+ seasons of TV this year which, honestly, seems insane. How did I watch so much TV? I’m sure I could’ve used my time more productively… Maybe I’ll try watching less next year.

• Best new shows (first season): Paradise, Stick, & Pluribus
• Best new seasons of existing shows: Severance (s. 2) & Black Mirror (s. 7 – one of their best, in my opinion)
• Best final season: The Bear (s. 4)
• Best limited series (single season): Death by Lightening
• Best to watch when your brain needs to turn off: Great British Bake-Off (I literally binged every season on Netflix in the month after my baby was born.)
• Best political shows: The Diplomat (s. 1-3 are all great) & Homeland (I have watched s. 1-3 and part of 4, and s. 1-2 are definitely the best… at least so far!)
• Worst show: The Last of Us (s. 2 – I literally only made it through 4 episodes.)
• Honorable mentions: Silo (s. 1-2) & Love Life (s. 1 – s. 2 was so mediocre after s. 1 was great; not surprised it was canceled)

Film: I watched 22 movies I’d never seen before this year. Of course, I also rewatched plenty of my favorite (the same 10 or so I watch over and over… maybe one day they’ll get their own post).

• Best rewatch (that I hadn’t rewatched since it came out): Thank You for Smoking
• Most surprising: District 8 (The trailer makes this movie look so mediocre. I was shocked by how legitimately good it was! The storyline was really unexpected.) & Twister
• Best drama: Sing Sing & A Complete Unknown
• Most fun: K Pop Demon Hunters (Seriously, if you’ve been living in a cave and haven’t seen it, it’s as good as everyone says.)
• Best kids movie: The Snowy Day
• Worst plot line trend in movies and TV: cheating on your spouse is cool if the person you cheat with is your real true love or some crap (I’ve noticed a lot of things that I’ve watched that have come out in the last few years have really glorified cheating. It just really bothers me. )

Music: These days, I mostly listen to kids music. In the small amount of time, I have to listen to music by myself, I made it through very little new music this year. However, I did manage to listen to a handful of albums on repeat. And, by repeat, I mean, I listened to them at least three times (haha).

• Most listened to: Evangeline vs. the Machine – Eric Church, Foxes in the Snow – Jason Isbell, I Quit – HAIM, & St. Paul & the Broken Bones (self-titled) – St. Paul & the Broken Bones
• Honorable Mention: Open Wide – Inhaler

Books: In terms of reading, this was a pretty mediocre year. I managed to read a good balance of fiction and non-fiction, but there weren’t that many that really stood out to me. It’s been a bit of a dry spell, honestly. Since September, I’ve only read half a novel. I’ve just been really disappointed in my book selections this year. Also, with being pregnant and having a baby, I only made it through 26 books—a pretty low number for me!

• Best fiction: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
• Best non-fiction (tie): When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi & Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church by Megan Phelps-Roper
• Best Christian: My Dear Hemlock by Tilley Dillehay
• Most disappointing: The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar (I was excited for Sachar’s return to the writing world, especially because he wrote an adult novel. It reads like a middle grades novel, and it seems like the only reason it’s been marketed to adults is because there’s some sexual innuendo. It was a slog for me to finish, and I found the ending to be incredibly disappointing.)

Bible in a year…ish: A big goal I had this year was to make it through the Bible in a year. I listened to Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz, following the plan and learning a ton for a total of 267 days. Unfortunately, with the new baby, I was unable to find the time nor energy to finish it. However, I do plan to finish the remaining days at the start of 2026. I keep reminding myself that finishing in a year isn’t nearly as important as finishing it at all.

• Still favorites: Ecclesiastes & John
• Most interesting: Job (The book presents questions about suffering that never really get answered. To me, the point is that we shouldn’t question God even when we are suffering, and there’s seemingly no reason for it. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but I take comfort in the fact that God chose to save the world through suffering: Christ’s death on the cross brought about salvation for all.)
• Books I changed my mind about: Deuteronomy & Leviticus (If you understand the Law, everything else makes way more sense) & Mark (Jesus just driving out demons, calling out religious leaders, and talking about how easy it is to go to hell. He’s blunt and authoritative and kinda punk.)
• Least favorite: 1 & 2 Chronicles (I read this in parallel with 1 & 2 Kings, so it was basically the same story twice. The differences were interesting, but I had a hard time staying focused on them as they felt really redundant. Plus, it was hard to keep the story straight as they moved through history at different rates.)
• More impactful: the minor prophets (e.g. Hosea) due to reading them side-by-side with the end of the northern kingdom of Israel; they just make more sense with more context!
• Most shocking: Nahum (I was struck by the intensity of judgement present in the book.)
• Most necessary personally: Song of of Solomon (I needed to be reminded of the intensity of deep love between my soul and the Lord) & Jonah (To be blunt, I had just gone to confession for a “holier than thou” attitude right before I read it and, initially, really found myself disgusted by Jonah but then realized I was the same way. Humbling!)
• Most confusing: Ezekiel (There are so many prophesies and so many extended metaphors! It takes lots of brain power and a bible with quality commentary to comprehend. There is a large chunk of temple measurements my eyes glaze over when reading. It’s hard to remember that everything is in the Bible because it’s the word of God and has purpose when you’re reading something that sounds like mumbo-jumbo.)
• Least impactful: Proverbs (In the reading plan, it was just spread out too much that found myself not really soaking it in. Once I finish the whole Bible, I plan to reread this one first.)

Products:

• Most useful for surviving the newborn trenches when you have a very pukey baby: Shout stain remover, Oxyclean, burp cloths, and a carpet cleaner
• Most useful new baby item (we didn’t use with our first): a winter car seat cover

Other highlights:

• I found out I was pregnant in January and our new baby arrived in September!
• I gained a new nephew and a new niece!
• I loved sledding with my toddler. We were lucky enough that it snowed several times in NC–a rarity for where we live in the state. My husband and I are big fans of playing in the snow, so it was thrilling that he, too, wanted to be outside for hours just like us!
• Our yearly trip to the Outer Banks was wonderful this year–as it is every year–but what made it special this year was my toddler no longer being afraid of the ocean. I loved watching him splash around on the shore!
• My husband and I saw The Red Clay Strays in concert with his sister and our brother-in-law. It was awesome.
• My toddler, parents, and I took a quick trip to CT to see family. While there, we took my train-obsessed son to several train museums and on several train rides. Even as an adult who does not have a train obsession, I had a ball! The only downside was that my husband had to work so could not join us.
• My husband and I will celebrate 10 YEARS of marriage on Dec. 31! I can’t imagine living life without him. No one is better!
• Lastly, generally, I just really loved all the great family time we got this year (both with my immediate and extended family). I really value all the days at the park, in the pool, celebrating birthdays and holidays, visiting the library, family dinners, etc. Being part of such a close-knit family truly is a joy!

What did you love this year? And, what would you recommend I check out next year?

–M