Wednesday, May 25, 2022

I struggled with my blog title and I’m not sure I picked the best one, but I wanted to maybe help some of you trying to get into your summer groove with young children at home. I dug into my photo archives – real albums with real printed out pictures and humor me with my “older mom wisdom” if you will!

I have twins and I am a teacher. The daycare/preschool we used allowed us to pull our kids out in the summer without having to pay or lose our spot.

Bucket lists became all the rage at the tail end of my kids’ childhoods. I think they are great. I love that a family can sit down and make a list of things they want to do. It’s very intentional to me. I don’t think they should just be for summer, nor should they just be for kids. In fact, I do plan on making an adult summer bucket list!

What’s funny is that we sometimes think our kids want the extravagant vacations or expensive theme parks, but I bet if you asked them to make a list it would include the simple and wonderful things of summer.

I felt so lucky to be a teacher in the summer and on the same schedule as my kids. My goals were to have a great summer for my kids, not break the bank, and to keep learning but in a much more laid back way.

I know that working parents really struggle in the summers. It is so much to juggle when your kids are too old for daycare, yet not old enough to stay home alone.

Maybe my ideas can help babysitters as well as stay at home and working parents?

A pool membership is absolutely worth it. What a pool membership does is enable you to go for a couple of hours in the evening with working parents, get to know other kids and their moms, and just give you hours of exercise and entertainment. If you had to pay as you go, you might not do that evening swim. Also, many pools have entertainment and family activities.

I love the pool. I was the mom who got in with my kids because I’m a kid at heart, but I’m not gonna lie. I remember how amazing it felt when I could let them go off while I read on my lounger. Does it get any better?

If you have a grandparent who asks, you could say you would like money toward your membership or that could even make a great Christmas gift. You would always think of Grandma’s generosity at the pool!

Take your kids to the farmer’s markets! My city has a ton and they are so popular. There is even music at many of them. You can buy breakfast!

Take them to pick strawberries! I will never forget when we were making a bucket list and my twins were maybe 10. I asked, “would you all like to pick berries?” and Mason replied, “No, thank you. I’m not really into agriculture.” Um, ok, Mason, I wasn’t asking about your career goals.

Feed your kids outside! Less mess and I always found that it led to them wanting to stay outside and play! We took picnics to parks, too. Our kids are seriously nature deprived – even at the high school level.

We had our cousins over once a week in the summer and that was the day I generally stayed home and did a few things like laundry. The cousins were wonderful for entertaining my kids and I think they all have special memories. As they got older, we did crazy things like the Mentos in the 2 liter soda bottle outside, those pop it fireworks things outside, slip n slides and stuff like that.

Hammocks are wonderful and we read in ours a lot!

I did some things with my friends and their kids like the zoo!

We almost always had an afternoon movie before dinner.

Take the toys outside! They loved playing with cars outside.

Join the library summer reading! Go to the library story hours and FYI, the library offers so much more. Our library had a guy who made fighting robots. There was a raptor rehab program and they got to see those up close. Basically, get on your library email list or website and pencil all of their activities in.

For many summers, I dropped my kids off for 3 hours at their daycare once a week for my errand or appointment day. It was absolutely worth it. I was able to be fully present on the other days. I took them on the errands that I thought were fine for kids and pushed everything else to Wednesdays. You could also do the same with a sitter or a family member.

We did crafts at least once a week.

I would get out an old forgotten toy and leave it on the table for them to see when they woke up. That bought me some morning coffee time! Ha!

I let them play “car wash” where I got some buckets of soapy water and they washed all the bikes and riding toys outside. This idea came from my friend Katie!

Another thing that I did that they really loved was…we picked a different school playground to visit each week. There are some really cool playgrounds and they loved exploring new ones. Cheap entertainment!

We had someone over for a playdate about once a week.

Our movie theater had a $1 movie at 10 am. We went to that a few times.

We had a good balance of staying home and going out to do things. I think a lot of kids really just want to be at home. They are going, going, going during the school year.

What ideas do you have for my readers? Do you struggle in the summer?

Amy

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

April 8th was my one year anniversary of my better health journey. May has been crazy and I haven’t tracked my food every day – or I will track through lunch and then stop. I would say I am really in survival mode just with finishing school stuff. I have still been eating pretty well for breakfast and lunch and I have still been doing meal prep. Things have fallen off the rails a little bit in the afternoons and evenings. I have gained a few pounds back.

I have had a sweet tooth since Easter which is a problem…

As far as the gym goes, I have gone at least 3 mornings a week and I am trying to get back to 4 or 5 this week.

I have really been craving salads and I continue to aim for 30-40 grams of protein a meal. I am also continuing to educate myself on nutrition and healthier alternatives to bring into my house.

These salad kits are great! I have been adding chicken to these.

Here is another one that came in more of a container from Trader Joe’s. Kroger has a wide variety, too.

This was an Asian mix:

I made my turkey meatballs Sunday and this is what the family had for dinner:

This was my variation:

I bought these at Trader Joe’s for my kids, but surprisingly, they are only one WW point per puff! I need to buy more because they were a hit with them.

Tom and I are on a yogurt kick. We are enjoying Oikos Pro strawberry with some frozen strawberries and high protein granola. I think the frozen berries are better because if you let them thaw in the yogurt a bit, it gives you a nice syrup to mix in. Yum! It kind of reminds me of the McDonald’s fruit and yogurt parfait.

These have saved me this month. I bought them at Costco and I put half in the freezer. I will not eat anything I don’t like. I just won’t do it. The ready made strips I have tried from other brands are slimey and gross. These are not slimey and gross.

I am anxious to try a few things new things when school lets out…

Follow Snackin_n_trackin on IG. This is like a copycat frozen lemonade. Genius! I plan to mix vanilla Premier with some of my Mio lemon flavored syrup and see how that goes. I plan to freeze the mixture.

I want to try this “sub in a tub” idea from theashleyaf:

I am obsessed with buffalo sauce and this salad is just a work of art:

I believe I need to give credit to allie carte dishes for this one!

I also want to do the Big Mac in a bowl again; so delicious!

I honestly think changing my IG feed to healthy eating accounts has done a world of good for me!

I have requested Daphne Oz’ new cookbook “Eat Your Heart Out” from my library and look forward to getting new ideas that way, too!

I always plate my food and make it look nice. I think that is really important. I try not to stand up and eat or do too much “tasting”.

I am a little nervous about the freedom that summer brings – no packing of my breakfast and lunch – but I want to also enjoy that freedom and try some new food combinations.

Do you have any recommendations for me? What have you been enjoying lately? Do you naturally eat healthier in the summer?

Amy

Monday, May 23, 2022

Ok, Amy, you can do this…four more days with underclassmen (seniors finished Friday) and then two teacher work days.

I am linking up with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday!

I feel like I have really been phoning it in in so many areas of my life lately. If you read my blog and think I have it all together – I most certainly do not.

Let’s go back to Friday. I had food days in 3 classes and it was exhausting. I do all the set up and clean up, but it’s so worth it to see how excited the kids get. They have to make an authentic-ish dish alone or with a partner. They are so proud and want you to try what they made. So sweet!

I also said good-bye to my two senior classes (they had food days the week before) and I couldn’t keep it together. I kinda think they like it when you get emotional because it shows that you care, you know? I said something to the effect of:

“I know you all are sick of me right now but I hope you will have a few warm fuzzies for me after time has passed. I can’t remember feeling as close to a group of students in a really long time. I think it’s because we went through something really hard together. I hope you have understood my teaching philosophy – to have fun with learning, to not take yourself too seriously, to take risks with language, and that the more you give, the more you will get out of it.”

I said a few more things and made them laugh at the end.

Whew – I hate getting emotional.

It’s also been a huge adjustment to having four of us in the house again. Mason is working a lot and Jack is working a fair amount. We are still finding our groove and I am figuring out how to shop and cook for four again.

Friday after school I had the house to myself because all my peeps were at work. I bought another pack of these because they are really good.

Everyone arrived home and I made tacos for them and avocado toast for me. The kids went to a play together put on by Jack’s old theatre. They were doing the Shakepeare in the Parking Lot again and both of my kids apparently love and understand Shakespeare. I do not!

I took a shower and did my first set of press on nails.

I picked them up at CVS on an Instagram rec from a former student. I am imPRESSed! Get it?

Now, almost 48 hours later – they still look really good and they don’t bother me at all. I stuck them on, cut them, and then filed them. I have washed lots of dishes and cooked lots of food, and I have taken two showers. If you get them, read the directions. I looked on their website and there are tons of cute designs.

Saturday morning I did all the things. I did laundry, cleaned, read outside with my coffee, went to Trader Joe’s, Kroger, walked..

Then, I made Tom and I a bagel breakfast sandwich to split and we went down to work on the boat.

We took Ernie and he swam. We weren’t ready to take it out yet because the battery was dead and it was really dirty from the long winter in the storage barn.

Tom brought Ernie and I home and he ran some errands for house stuff and I made a Trader Joe’s salad and added more chicken. It was really good!

Then, I got ready for our friends to come for dinner. Here is my new Old Navy dress:

I saw it all over the internet and fell in love with this color. It has pockets! Yes, it is a big nightgownish, but I am going with it!

I made veggies…

and a small charcuterie with my new board…

strawberry salad…

brussel sprouts with balsamic glave, potatoes, bbq chicken, and ciabatta. It reminded me how much I enjoy cooking for friends.

For dessert, I had Dove ice cream bars in a couple of flavors.

It had rained off and on, but the night ended up being so lovely.

And then it rained a bit yesterday morning and I sat under cover…my favorite thing to do basically!

My last Sunday meal prep of the school year! I baked a couple of potatoes, did hard boiled eggs, 4 breakfast burritos because Friday we don’t have students and I might do something different for breakfast, and…

ground turkey meatballs for a couple of different meals:

I am doing buffalo bowls for Erica and I – cauli rice, buff sauce, these, celery, and ranch and doing meatball subs for the fam and I will probably have sauce, meatballs, and my soy pasta.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Amy

Friday, May 20, 2022

It’s Friday and it’s time to link up here for Friday Favorites! Today is our last day for seniors, but underclassmen still have until next Thursday. It seemed like it would never get here, but now things are happening quickly.

Monday afternoon I made plans to have two friends over for happy hour since I didn’t think I had to work the following day – Election Day. It turned out I did, but I kept my plans. I met the two ladies when our kids were in elementary school; we met because all of our kids walked and we met up at a certain door for “walkers”. They both have older kids than mine and younger kids. This year I have had the pleasure of teaching their younger kids who are seniors. So crazy!

I didn’t expect this at all; they gifted me some wine and a…

charcuterie board.

It was so sweet.

I voted in our primary at the end of my work day. It was cute that my kids walked to vote together when they finished work and our polling place was their middle school. Fun fact: it is also the middle school where actress Jennifer Lawrence attended.

Erica, Elizabeth and I had lunch out on a gorgeous patio that day, too. We shared some fries and…

I had some delicious thai chicken wraps.

That night, Tom and I had dinner on another patio with his boss and his boss’ wife. We went to the Cuban place called Havana Rumba.

I had a sangria, but then chose a salad with chicken and so did Tom. Everything there is delicious!

This is really yummy! I have been mixing this brown sugar cinnamon syrup with my…

fat free half and half for my coffee. I froth the two items up a bit before adding them to my coffee.

This popped up in my Facebook memories. We got Ernie in March and this was our first summer with him, I think. He soon became too big for this chair.

I told you all I didn’t know where to buy my towels for the new bathroom and some readers suggested Costco. Of course! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that! These towels are Charisma brand and super soft. I bought two bath sheets for $13 each, four bath towels for $7 each, and then two four packs of washclothes and handtowels. I decided to do a combo of grey and a grey-ish white. We have them rolled in this basket – photo was before I made them look nicer. We also ordered and received a hall runner rug for the hallway that matches the one in the bathroom. Safavieh Madison is the name and it came from Amazon for a really good price. The quality is really good! We now have five rugs by this brand.

We didn’t really have enough space for a towel bar, so we decided to do hooks. I think I like them better!

I posted about my summer reading list this week here and I made a trip to the library this week.

I saw this on the shelf and picked it up:

This was one that I requested:

Bring on the summer reading!

What were your favorites this week?

Amy

Thursday, May 19, 2022

It’s Thursday! I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files. This week I took photos with my tripod and new phone. I have three outfits for you.

First, we have my Target dress from the fall. It is a short Little House on the Prairie dress and it has pockets! I am wearing my faux Golden Goose from Amazon. Silver Ducks?

I was super comfortable.

On Election Day, we didn’t have students, so I decided to wear shorts. These are old Target Universal Thread drawstring shorts, an old Old Navy blouse, and an old consignment cardigan. I wore my new minimalist Amazon sandals. Jen called something to my attention, as she bought them, too. They make a wheezing sound when you put them on at first because of the cushiony bottom. After that, they “slap” like a flip flop on me. After I get up from sitting, they wheeze a bit again. They are my “asthma sandals” I guess. I wore them to school again yesterday and they passed the 8 hour on my feet teacher test.

And, finally, I wore jeans, the asthma sandals, a white v neck sleeveless, and an old yellow floral kimono.

Do you have a favorite? What have you been wearing lately?

Amy

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

I have said this before, but I am a fair weather reader. I love to read outside! I do read in the winter, but not nearly as much. I guess that also has to do with my job of high school teacher. Summer has always been the time of year that I can easily go through 20 books. Now, we aren’t talking War and Peace; I prefer a fun, chick lit book in the summer. I do sometimes go deep, though. I read American Dirt last summer (or the summer before? Covid time warp) and I read The Nightingale one summer. I went through a heavy WWII historical fiction stage.

Here are the books that I have been snapping photos of or taking screenshots of. Some come from Target shelves, some from Instagram, some from blogs. Thank you if you have given me some of these ideas!

I request almost all of my books from my library and read actual physical books now. I had a Kindle, but when it died – after maybe 10 long years of faithful service – I didn’t replace it. I have already requested many of the books below! There is nothing like a stack of library books in the summer!

Also, I do like to read a bit of non-fiction. I usually tend toward self-improvement and time management type books. I also like personal finance from time to time. I like going into the library and seeing what is on their new releases shelf, too! I go to the library 1-2 times a week in the summer. It was always an important ritual with my kids. Mamas, if you aren’t taking advantage of all that your library has to offer, why not? We went to two-three different libraries and did story times, crafts, summer reading programs, and checked out books, music, and movies.

I recently gave myself a gift of two Target paperback books. I had not bought a novel for myself in probably 3 years? Thank you, wonderful public library! I am not going to read the books again and don’t want the clutter, either, but I didn’t have any library books I was excited to read, so it was all good!

I already finished this and it would be a delightful warm weather read! This was about a girl who needs a place to live and a new start in life and ends up moving in with a recluse man who is grieving the deaths of his parents. They both benefit from this unconventional living arrangement.

By the way, I say I like chick lit, but it has to be well-written and with some depth to it.

I am now onto this! Yes, I do judge a book by its cover. I love the colors. This book is about a girl who takes a chance on a new start in Arizona with her friends.

Thank you Bourbon, Lipstick, and Stilletos! I did not know that Emily Henry had a new book and Beach Read is one of my favorites as of late. I have already requested Book Lovers.

I have already requested The Roughest Draft, too!

I have been hearing a lot about this book, but I have never read a Sally Hepworth book. I plan to request this, too.

This looked interesting – especially because I am a Spanish teacher!

I like books like this…I will have to buy this, I think. I can’t find it on my library website.

Things I Bought and Liked is a fun IG follow. This book sounds interesting!

I can’t remember who recommended this, but it sounds intriguing to me. I have already requested it. I like to have a fiction and a non-fiction going at once.

If you haven’t read Bread and Wine, I urge you to get on that. It is seriously one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read. My friend Kara agrees. We would also say The Happiness Project is up there, too. So, I was super excited to hear that Shauna Niequist had a new book out!

I plan to read Lessons in Chemistry on the rec of Mom Advice blog. My library already had 30 requests for this!

I love Matthew and have already requested Greenlights. I have heard good things! I would love to hear his voice, but I’m not really an audio book person. But, hey – maybe I could be for him?

I really need to stop saying “I’m not a ____ person”, by the way. I think this is really limiting self-talk. I didn’t think I was a bath person before I had a new bath tub. Guess what…I am very much a bath person. If I said, “I’m not a private jet and champagne person”, I might not get the chance to be, you know?

This looks good! Follow LaLaLife on IG for lots of book recs!

This is blurry, but it looks good!

I read the first two books by K.A. Tucker, so I am excited to read this one as recommended by Mix and Match Mama blog.

This looks like the perfect summer read!

And this!

And, this! I am drawn to this because my niece is named Nora!

And, finally this looked good!

Sorry some of them are so blurry – these are all old phone pictures.

So, when do you find time to read? For me, I have lots more time to read if I stay off my beep phone! I am seriously going to work on not even having my phone next to me this summer while I’m reading. It’s all too easy to scroll IG or Facebook again and again and I’m not missing anything! It’s the same people posting the same things, right? No offense! I don’t post much myself, but for some reason I feel obligated to make sure I’m not missing anyones’ news.

I sometimes like to start my day with reading a bit of my book, but my main time is during those lovely afternoon hours of summer before I start dinner. I am not a big evening reader because I tend to fall asleep. I try to always take a book with me if I think I could be waiting somewhere for any amount of time, too.

Are you a summer reader? Any recs for me?

Amy

Monday, May 16, 2022

Ok, the weekends are going by so fast! It’s time to link up with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday, though!

Also, I apologize for being slow to respond to blog comments. And, I have been bad about reading and commenting on other blogs. I promise I will get better…very soon!

May is a weird time to be a teacher. Our classes are all out of whack right now due to AP testing and state testing. Last week I found myself “babysitting” multiple other classes and my own few students who weren’t testing. I have freshmen through seniors in some of my classes, but in most I have a mixture of juniors and seniors. It’s been crazy!

The good thing about this is that I can see former students and have some fun and this was on Friday!

Teaching high school really keeps you on your toes. A student took a picture of my car one day after school…”I always feel like somebody’s watching me”…

When the mask mandate was lifted in March, all the language students and teachers shouted, “Now we can have food day!” I call it the Experiencia Cultural (Cultural Experience) because it sounds more academic. Each student has to choose an authentic-ish recipe to make alone or with a partner and it is for a grade. We did this in two classes on Friday.

Food day wears a teacher out.

Friday night we were all home for dinner and I kinda made everyone a different thing. Tom heated up his chicken corn chowder from Fresh Market and had that with their Waldorf chicken salad. I can’t remember what the kids had and I had an old favorite:

Sandwich thin with vegetable cream cheese, cucumbers, and tomato slice. Yum! This is a great summer lunch food, too! I also had broccoli, half of a baked potato, cottage cheese, and pickles. I told Tom I saved at least $60 by not getting takeout so I would be cashing that in later.

We have settled in to having our college kids home. They both started their jobs last week. Their stuff is a mess and not fully unpacked, but they have contained it to their rooms and their basement hang out space. I just can’t worry about it right now.

And, for my crazy Friday night, I took a bath and read.

And, just like a baby, that made me very sleepy and I was out like a light at 9:00!

Saturday morning was gorgeous! What’s better than breakfast on the porch?

I did all the errands and it reminded me why I hate to do Saturday errands. There are so many people! I did a Target return and didn’t buy anything else. I had been ordering a few clothing items from Target and nothing worked or felt worth the money. I went to Costco – DO NOT go there on a Saturday morning. I find myself going there more now that I am eating healthier because they have a lot of good things for me. See my Costco post here. I also did a Kroger pick up. I had about 10 items I needed even though I did a pick up on Wednesday. I decided it’s ok to do two orders in one week because it’s free if you spend $35 or something and of course I do. It made me so much happier than having to go inside. I also did a return to Amazon at the UPS store. Then, I had to put it all away!

I made Mason and I Greek bowls for lunch. Tom was on a bike ride and Jack was working.

I spent the rest of the afternoon reading on my patio and it was bliss. I fell asleep, too!

Then, Saturday night, Jack had plans with friends and Mason and Tom went to a concert (we had gifted him Leon Bridges tickets for Christmas) and I had my college besties over for a special blue drink…

And, then we went to Churchill Downs for Downs After Dark. The theme was bourbon and beats.

It was so much fun! I made it out until like 11:15! We had concession stand pizza and some Derby drinks – the Lily and the Woodford Spire.

Sunday morning was kind of cool, so I read for a bit inside.

Then, I started some meal prep for the week. I went back to the egg casserole and I am going to have that with AmyLu breakfast chicken sausage links.

And, I am so excited for my Mexican quinoa! You cook quinoa according to package directions. This is only a cup! Then, you mix it with some enchilada sauce, green chilies, salsa and cheese and bake it for about 15 minutes or so.

We have a weird week this week because we have students on Monday, but not on Tuesday due to election day. Then, we have them again Wednesday through Friday, but also have more testing. It will be a crazy one again, I am sure.

What was the highlight of your weekend? I hope you had many!

Amy

Friday, May 13, 2022

It is time for Friday Favorites here!

It’s Friday! We only have one more Friday after today. Our last day of school is Thursday, May 26. Teachers have to work two days after, but that’s ok.

Here are just a few favorites from this week because I seriously didn’t take many photos.

It has felt like summer!

My front landscaping flowering bushes are just so pretty. I feel like the color has never been more vibrant!

I probably made the best burrito bowl ever this week. I cut very thin corn tortillas with a pizza cutter and sprayed Pam and added salt and baked for about 8-10 minutes at 375. Why do this? You can eat way more for the WW points than when you eat tortilla chips. Plus, they are actually better!

And, one night I made skinny pizza.

I ordered some really great tank tops from Target this week. I ordered a black and a white one. This is a Melanie Shankle recommendation. They were very inexpensive!

I got a new iphone for Mother’s Day! I am excited to hopefully have better photos! I actually hate switching to a new phone – new case, new pop socket, etc. It’s not fun for me! Anyone else?

It’s Dove bar season! These are sooooo good. Each one is 4 WW points. Jen taught me to feel for the ridges to try to get my favorite vanilla instead of chocolate. They all look the same inside the box, so this is a great tip!

And, because it is almost graduation time for us, I dug out my high school graduation photo. You know you had hair like that, too!

What were your favorites this week?

Amy

Thursday, May 12, 2022

It is time for another edition of Fashion Files with Jill and Kellyann! I don’t have a whole bunch of outfits for you this week, but let’s get started anyway…

First off, I have an outfit I wore to the steamboat race that is part of Derby. I wore my woven Coconuts by Matisse sandals, dark jeans, new Amazon belt from part of the 4 pack, and my Target blouse.

Next, I broke down and bought a new dress! Kellyann told me about Wanda Loves Sharing on Instagram and I fell in love with this yellow dress (that also comes in black). It is Walmart.com Scoop! You know I fell in love with the Scoop brand due to my blazers!

And, finally, this is actually a senior spirit week outfit. It was soccer mom versus barbecue dad day and I tried to be a soccer mom, but Tom thought I looked nautical. This is a really old Kohl’s skort and a really old Target Universal Thread knit top.

I was comfortable!

What have you been wearing lately?

Amy

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Ok – last bathroom post! I showed you the new bathroom here, but I have added a new rug!

And, we ordered and hung these mirrors. At first I didn’t think I liked them, but now I do. They are backlit and have a defrost feature.

We also now have a blind on the window (thank goodness) and it matches the blinds in our bedroom.

I bought these drawer storage containers at Target.

I have my tooth stuff and face creams in one drawer:

Makeup in one drawer:

And, hair in the tall drawer:

I commandeered the drawers on the right side of my mirror and on the left.

More hair in thie drawer:

Supplies in this one:

I really cleaned out and pared down before we moved into this bathroom. I had only had a pedestal sink to set my stuff on, so now it feels luxurious to get to spread out.

The new bathroom is really coming together and it is really what I envisioned. I have not bought new towels, but I am thinking a dark grey. I really want white, but I know myself and I probably shouldn’t do white. Any recs on color or favorite brand of towels?

Thanks for reading,

Amy

PS – I will be back Thursday for Fashion Files. No Wednesday post this week!