Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Lots of blog posts are tailored to feeding our kids in the summer, but what about the moms?

I am already enjoying taking a break from my prepping of 5 breakfasts and 2-3 lunches each week, but I had a thought yesterday that I still need to do some prep – cutting up veggies to have with dip, making some cauliflower rice, or just planning ahead with having the right foods to help me eat healthy lunches.

I will be honest and tell you that I feel like I have been slacking since about Easter. I have had a sweeter tooth and I have been enjoying more cocktails as the weather has warmed up. I am increasing my exercise this summer, but I felt like I needed to get back to basics with tracking, so I buckled down on Monday. I don’t want to obsess, but I know that I need to track my WW points a little bit more strictly because I haven’t reached my ultimate goal.

I am doing the WW Personal Points, but basically I am trying to eat lower carb/higher protein. I am reducing my sugar, processed foods, and trying to eat high fiber. So, I think these tips will help anyone just trying to live a healthier lifestyle. Some people think it’s easier to eat well in the summer because of the abundance of fresh vegetables, but I have more time and freedom in the summer to eat whatever I want and it’s always been harder for me, I think!

By eating a really good breakfast and lunch, I can save my calories for those happy hours and dinners out that I want to enjoy. I still am ordering smarter than I have ever ordered before (except for french fries – my nemesis!)

So, maybe this post is more for me than for you! I am getting back to the basics that helped me lose 60 pounds…

First of all, let’s talk staples and condiments to have on hand:

mustard, dill pickles, ranch powder to mix with plain non-fat Greek yogurt, buffalo sauce, Laughing Cow cheese to spread on bread or a low carb tortilla, La Banderita low carb tortillas, Keto buns, Keto bread, slimwiches or bagel thins, frozen cauliflower rice in place of regular rice, quinoa – these are a few of my MUST HAVES. And, my favorite snack foods are popcorn, string cheese, and Dum Dum suckers.

I am also trying to reduce food waste, so I keep a list of possible lunches on my memo board in my kitchen. I also do this for my kids so they know what they need to eat/make for their breakfasts/lunches.

I always keep the Boca burgers and the Boca “chicken” patties in my freezer. I think both of them taste amazing and I have said before that I am not willing to sacrifice taste. I will only eat foods I enjoy! I also make it a point to always plate my food and sit down to eat.

I make a faux Chick Fil A sandwich and this is 5 points for me.

I have really been enjoying these chopped salad mixes lately. I just use the mix as is – sometimes reducing the nuts or the crouton elements and I add…

grilled chicken to make it higher in protein and more filling. Yum! I also added extra dill pickles to this. The variety of these salads is amazing. If you haven’t gone in to your grocery lately, check these out.

Here is the kale salad where I added chicken.

Laughing Cow is so good – I spread it on a tortilla or I use it to make a pasta sauce. I put it on a cracker or celery, too. It is also an element of my buffalo chicken dip.

These sandwich thins are really good. They are big!

Here is my favorite summer sandwich:

For this recipe, you can add as many things as you like, but this is my favorite combo.

-Slimwiches or bagel thins or any bread of your choice (This slimwich is 4 WW points for me)

-garden vegetable cream cheese

-thinly sliced tomato

-thinly sliced cucumber

You can add pickles, banana peppers, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, or anything really!

Spread both slides of your bread with a thin layer of the garden vegetable cream cheese.

Add your vegetables.

Cut in half and enjoy!

It just tastes so good in the summer!

I am sure this won’t be my last summer lunch ideas post, but that’s it for today!

What are your go-to summer lunches and do you struggle with this?

Thanks for reading,

Amy

Tuesday, June 7, 2022

It’s time once again to link up with Tanya for Prime Purchases. I guess I have a love/hate relationship with Amazon. I feel like sometimes it saves me money (because when you go in certain stores for one item – ahem, Target – you come out with a cart full of stuff that spoke to you) and I know it saves me time. But, it’s just so easy and so tempting. If an item is a want rather than a need, I do try to have a waiting period before I click “buy”. Do you do that, too?

I only had two of these glasses and I had been wanting to add two more because I knew of a couple of times that I would be having two friends over. I love these glasses!

I am really pleased with the quality of this brand of rug. I love the pattern and this is what I used in my bathroom and in the hallway outside of the bathroom.

I am enjoying my fat free half and half and this syrup combo in my morning coffees. Starbucks who? Seriously, I really don’t feel the need to go there anymore. I have a couple of gift cards that I plan to use for their tumblers for my iced coffee.

Ok, now I have worn this suit and I am super impressed with the quality. I have not washed it yet, but I plan to today. The green colorway is on sale for $18, too!

I have also now worn these clog sandals and I approve.

My bff’s daughter is having a graduation party this week and is attending Auburn in the fall. I wanted to get her a gift rather than money so here is what I picked for her.

I got her my clear purse, my Gucci-esque strap, a strap in Auburn colors, and an Auburn wristlet. I figured she could take the purse to the games and any concerts she attends. And, the straps give her some versatility. The wristlet might even fit in the bag, but I intended for her to use that alone. I hope she likes it!

And, finally…I needed my fix! I haven’t been able to find cake batter anywhere in person in a long time!

So, what have you been ordering lately? Do you love Amazon?

Amy

Monday, June 6, 2022

Mondays sure feel different now and this is officially my first Monday of summer! How is it already June 6th, by the way?

I am linking up with Holly and Sarah!

Friday morning I headed to my hometown which is an hour away. I stopped at a cute boutique on the way called the Pink Julep. I will definitely go back. They have some really cute gift ideas. I wore my black Walmart cut offs, my raffia wedges, my white linen Old Navy blouse, and my brown cross body. I brought flat shoes to change into, as I usually do! Gotta take advantage of a full length mirror when you can!

First stop was a restaurant on the river. These are my sister Molly’s kids.

Gosh, these girls are getting tall! I should have worn my flat shoes for this photo to really see!

Fun fact: I spent one or two college summers waitressing in this exact location but it was a different boat/restaurant called The Bonnie Belle. It was a really big restaurant that boats could pull up to (they still can with this one) and it had another barge attached that was a cocktail lounge where they did karaoke on the weekends. I made a lot of money in tips and heard a lot of bad singing.

I tried a mango White Claw. I approve.

We shared some really good pretzel bites.

I had a really good salad with warm bacon dressing.

Sister picture:

We went up to the little downtown area where there are a lot of cute little shops.

Yup – I found some Topo Chico earrings that came home with me, and…

a little pouch to hold my credit card and license when I use my clear purse.

Now I am very bothered by how close the two L’s are. Why?

Photo of me using it on Saturday night:

My mom, brother in law, and the kids went to get ice cream and the sisters went to a winery!

After the winery, our Dad’s military service flag is really close by so we thought we would go take a photo and say “hi”.

So, then we kept driving down by the river and I asked them if they had seen the new hotel on the river. They hadn’t so I suggested we park and go check it out.

As we were walking up the path to the hotel, we spotted my Dad’s favorite mints just lying there. He kept these in a bowl next to his t.v. watching area. My kids dubbed them “Grandpa mints” and would come home with their pockets stuffed full of them on many occasions. There were only two mints so I hunted and hunted for a third, but my sister Kate said that our Dad would know she doesn’t believe in signs like this. I was sure to check the lobby to see if they had a bowl and they did not which made it so much more cool to me. Do you believe in signs like this? I really think this made Kate a believer. What are the chances that these exact mints would be somewhere right after we took a selfie with our Dad?

The view from the hotel:

We are in Indiana in this photo and across the bridge is Kentucky.

The day could not have been any more beautiful. Look at that sky!

So, we toasted my Dad with a bit more wine because we found the mints.

It was a really good day. I feel so blessed to have sisters. I don’t feel like we are competitive at all and we laugh and laugh when we are together.

I finished this, as you may know from a previous blog post, and now I have requested a few other of her books!

I started this and it’s deeper than you might think at first glance. I think I have given up on The Roughest Draft, by the way.

I ran to Target and the library Saturday morning, but I spent most of the day just piddling and reading on my porch. If I know I have evening plans, I take it pretty easy during the day. Are you like that? It’s like I can only do ONE thing a day! Ha!

We drove about an hour to hear Tom’s former co-worker play with his band at a Mexican restaurant. I was so pleasantly surprised that they had them set up on their lovely patio.

Their skinny margarita was pretty good. Mine is still better, but they came close!

If you’re gonna drink a marg, you gotta wear the tequila earrings, no?

Queso por supuesto!

We shared some fajitas. I love when they include grilled pineapple!

We didn’t tell Tom’s former co-worker we were coming and he and his wife were so touched, I think. It reminded me of Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project principle of “just showing up”. At least, I think that is where I heard this. It’s basically that all you have to do sometimes for people is “show up”. I used to dread going to funeral visitations because I never knew what to say, but I realized that you don’t really have to say anything. Just “showing up” to the little and big things for people is all you need to do.

Wow – I sure went off on a tangent. And, I am not that great at showing up.Tom is better than I am at this, but he has helped me. I’m not trying to preach and say that I am that great about it. Remember the one event in a day thing? Also, I think it’s important to be able to say no when you need to.

Sunday I woke up and did my reading on the patio. Ahhhhh, summer. It was chilly but nothing a sweatshirt can’t solve.

I piddled around a little and did some meal prep for dinner and then around 11, we went down to the boat.

We had lunch in the cove and I had a kale salad with chicken and Tom…

shared his tuna and crackers with Ernie.

Ernie got tuckered out from swimming!

We stayed in the cove for a few hours and then we decided to check out Captain’s Quarters and we were hungry because we ate such a light lunch.

My high school friend happened to be parked right in front of us! Hi, Jenny!

We ordered a smoken salmon flatbread. It was really good!

We headed home and spent some time on the patio.

We had dinner with Jack but Mason was at work. Jack is working a fair amount, but Mason is working so much, or it feels like it because of the hours, I guess. And, they kind of have opposite schedules so we aren’t getting to see both of them at the same time very often. We are still adjusting to this summer schedule, too, of course. I wish Mason was working a little bit less, but this is a cool opportunity. He leaves at 4:45 p.m. and gets home around 11:00 p.m. It’s hard for me to go to sleep before I know all are safe and sound in the house, too! It is five days a week right now and then it will be six days a week in July and he can’t ask off on a weekend. The internship is with Kentucky Shakespeare and it takes 70 people to run the summer performances in our Central Park.

So…anyway, how was your weekend? Our weather was truly gorgeous for the entire weekend and it really felt like summer.

Thanks for reading,

Amy

Friday, June 3, 2022

Happy Friday! It’s time to link up with the ladies here where everyone shares big and small favorites from the week.

My first day of summer was Wednesday and it was a perfect day. I went to the gym, organized my closet, did two loads of laundry, and then met my friend Beth for brunch at a new to us place called Big Bad Breakfast (it’s a chain, by the way).

We had breakfast margaritas. Seriously. That was what they were called on the menu!

I ordered a vegetable skillet – yum!

It was really cute and cheerful!

Beth had on the coolest earrings from Etsy: She only has one piercing. I think these are called “ear climbers”?

I am still enjoying my morning two cups of coffee with this combo. I put a little of the flavored syrup in a cup with a little bit of the half and half, froth it up, then add to my cup. I ordered the syrup off of Amazon.

Around 10:00, I still have my iced coffee. I use about a tablespoon each of the instant coffee and water, froth it up, add ice, then add my Premier. My favorites are cake batter, caramel, and vanilla. I mix it up so I don’t get too bored.

Tom and I are both enjoying Oikos Pro strawberry yogurt with a bit of high protein granola and some frozen fruit. We like the frozen fruit because it kinda thaws into your yogurt in a good way.

I think I have a new favorite way to make chicken that might get a post of its own. I season chicken with salt, garlic powder, pepper, and this, then marinate with olive oil in a big baggie for a few hours before cooking on a sheet pan or in a skillet.

I made a new recipe here. I am going to change from the chili garlic sauce to oyster sauce. I found the chili garlic to be not only too spicy, but harsh tasting. I already use oyster sauce in my fried rice and my cauliflower fried rice. I had this meal with cauliflower rice and the fam had the regular rice. I didn’t have a bag of mixed veggies so I just had roasted broccoli on the side. It’s really delish!

Tom and I tried to go to a sailboat race on the river but there was no wind and it got cancelled.

I officially joined Jazzercise for the summer. You can go to unlimited classes for two months. I went to a 7:00 a.m. class yesterday.

I popped into Paul’s Fruit Market after the class. I love this store and it’s a chain all around town.

I finished this:

Oh my – it was so good!

Here is my new dress on me. I showed you my recent purchases yesterday.

I have been loving these mixes from Taylor Farm.

Here is what Tom had:

He loved it, but did comment it was heavy on the vegetables!

Here was mine:

The chicken was done in the method I described above with the Trader Joe’s ranch.

So, those were just some of my favorites from the week!

What were yours? I hope you had many!

Amy

Thursday, June 2, 2022

It feels so nice to have more time to devote to my blog posts finally. I hope you haven’t noticed, but I have been phoning it in here on the blog – and in many other areas of my life. The teacher mindset is “let’s just make it through May and in June I will put my life back together!”. I feel extremely grateful to have a job where I get to recharge my batteries each summer. Ahhhhhhhhh…

I am linking up with Kellyann and Jill for Fashion Files. I wore a couple of cute things, but my photo taking took a break from the last couple of days of work through Memorial Day weekend.

Here is what I wore to see Top Gun. I need to sell these Dr. Scholl’s. I just can’t walk well in them. But, dang, they are cute. I wore one of my denim cut off pairs with a Chico’s tank and a red, white, and blue (and tan) kimono my mom bought for me. I thought the long sleeves would work well in the movie theater. My purse doesn’t match, but this is my movie purse. It’s a Fossil and it wipes clean and it’s where I stash my bag of popcorn (yes, we still buy movie popcorn for Tom!) and my dum dum sucker. I’m extra, ok?

I didn’t buy a single thing in the way of clothing and accessories from the beginning of April until mid-May. This is big for me! Since then, I have been wearing every single piece of clothing I own to see if it needs to stay or go. I also made $140 at my consignment store on my too big clothing. Yippee!

So, I started ordering around mid-May.

I bought the famous Lululemon belt bag with extended strap. I am not sure I like wearing it around my shoulder, but I have worn it as a fanny pack a few times. I chose this light neutral color and it was under $40.

My MIA tan clog sandals have been an amazing purchase. My friend Beth also has them. I pretty much wear these any time I wear a dress to go out to lunch or dinner in the summer and even into the fall.

So, everyone loves Cushionaire faux Birks on Amazon and I decided to see what else they had to offer. I bought these which are a great dupe! Black summer dressy sandals were a definite need in my shoe wardrobe.

I loved, loved, loved my highlighter pink Aerie tank swimsuit from last season, but it is just too big. It is in such good shape that I am considering taking it to my tailor. Is that crazy? A blogger recommended this suit and I am debating if I need to see if it comes in long torso or if I need to go up a size. But, if you are looking for a tank suit, the quality is really good and it is around $25. I think the rule of thumb is to go up a size in swimwear. Last summer was my first experience in regularly wearing a tank instead of a tankini and I loved it.

Old Navy Haul:

I must say that I have avoided Old Navy for a couple of years because I was so mad about the quality and irregularity in their sizing. But, I took a chance on this dress I kept seeing everywhere. It is fully lined (still considering cutting the lining out because it is heavy and will be hot) and the quality is surprising. It seems like the quality of Tuckernuck or Draper James, no joke. It has pockets, too!

I also ordered this basic linen blouse and I am impressed with this, as well. I feel like I also want to wear a white blouse in the summer, you know?

Consignment Haul:

My favorite consignment store is called Sassy Fox. They are so nice and have the best stuff. They are picky and don’t take Target, Old Navy, Walmart, or any other fast fashion brand. They have boutique stuff, Ann Taylor, Lululemon, and so much more. Google the consignment stores in your area and give them a chance. I think you will be really pleasantly surprised!

This blouse was new with tags from a local boutique called Lulubelle’s. It is a bright kelly green – kinda hard to see from this picture. I might need to get it hemmed.

This is an Ann Taylor blouse that I thought would look nice under one of my blazers.

This is a Zella workout top.

And, finally this is an Athleta tennis skirt. No, I don’t play tennis, but I like the sport’s clothing.

Target Haul:

You know the white blouse thing? Well, I wanted a white dress, too. I am really enjoying having a few cute dresses to throw on. I have never had cute summer dresses that I can remember.

Universal Thread from Target is one of my favorite lines. I ordered this dress and it has pockets and seems to be of pretty good quality. I think I will keep it!

This is basically the blouse version of the dress. I needed to add a black blouse for summer.

And, don’t judge. I had a few straight skorts, but I like the look of the pleated skort for this season and I ordered a bright pink and a white one from Target’s JoyLab line.

My reader Jennibell commented that these tennis skorts work well with a bathing suit or not for boat rides. Genius! If you want a bit more modesty these look really nice. The material is so much like a bathing suit that you could totally get in the water, too. If you experience a bit of upper thigh “chub rub” the biker shorts that are under the skirt really help with that.

So, I had to come clean on what I have been ordering. No one send Tom this post, ok? Ha!

Amy

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Who says summer bucket lists are just for kids or just for families? In honor of the first day of June, here is mine…

C’mon ladies (and Dan – my only male reader that I know of) – let’s make one for us gals!

-Read lots of books (preferably outside with drink in hand)

-Try new restaurants with Tom and our friends

-See lots of movies with Tom and maybe the kids, too

-Attend Greekfest with my Greek friend Victoria!

-Ride one of those rental scooters with my friend Heather. I am a little afraid for myself. Helmet and pads needed?

-Attend a polo match and tailgate

-Have different friends on the boat

-Have a few picnics

-Do a sunset cruise. We are bad about going out in the evenings and need to do that more.

-Do another summer clothes and accessories de-clutter once I see what I’m wearing

-Do an afternoon at the rooftop pool of the Omni hotel with my friend Beth

-Go to Chick Fil A and buy a bag of ice (the good pellet ice!)

-Develop a new cocktail

-Go to the adult pool that I tried for the first time last summer

-Celebrate Tom’s birthday and Father’s Day

-Celebrate our 22nd anniversary

-Go to a baseball game – Louisville Bats or Cincinnati Reds

-Go to the Van Gogh Experience as a family

-Go out for ice cream

-Find a new tv series and binge it!

-Say YES to fun. Try to say yes when I am asked to do something if I can.

-Go barefoot in my yard as much as I can to get “grounded”. Have you heard of this? I have talked about it before!

I am sure I will think of more, but I am happy to start here. What do you want to make sure to do?

Amy

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

How was your 3 day weekend? I am sorry I didn’t let you know I wouldn’t post yesterday – I didn’t know, either! I was out late Sunday night and it just didn’t happen.

Today I am closing out my school year with a few meetings and a retirement luncheon for our pretty big group of retirees. I will have to count, but I think I am in a group now of about 10 of the teachers who have been there the longest – out of about 120 teachers!

Let’s go back to Friday…I suggested to my department that we have a departmental brunch to start our day. We had no meetings but grades were due at the end of the day and we could spare about an hour to do this. It was so nice!

Do you say “pitch-in”? They are the best because everyone usually brings one really good thing. I made Krusteaz coffee cake. That is really the best brand in the baking aisle.

I worked until 2:30 and then did a library pick up.

Here are a couple of things I read on the patio on Friday after work:

We decided to stay home for dinner and I made Tom a charcuterie board. Mason was working and Jack went out. I honestly was still full from the brunch.

Tom had leftover Mexican restaurant fajitas and I had this:

New fave! I added cut up dill pickles and grilled chicken.

Saturday morning I hit the gym and did legs and then…I tried my first Jazzercise class in a really long time. It was so much fun! They have a summer special until June 6 for $143 for unlimited classes for two months.

I went to Target with Mason and piddled around the house. Then, Mason went to work and Jack went to a friend’s house. Tom and I went to the first outdoor concert of the season at a nearby neighborhood. We were supposed to have two couples join us, but one wife got a migraine and the other couple were working on a home improvement project that took longer than expected.

We got food truck Mexican.

Sunday morning started out chilly, but that doesn’t stop me! Oh, and I gave myself a bright blue pedicure the day before!

I was reading this and it’s cute, but a little slow.

I made a Spanish omelette and took a break from exercise because I was so sore from Jazzercise! I really wish they would change the name; it sounds so 70s! If you want a laugh, look up “Prancercise” on YouTube.

I also made a vegetable mixture because I had some veggies that were going to turn on me. I am really working on less food waste!

Then, we got the boat out for the first time this season!

We ordered hummus for me and chicken strips and onion rings for Tom and then our friends met us there.

We joked that we “went to” Forecastle, the big music festival happening on our riverfront.

After we got off the water, I had plans to check out Elizabeth’s new place and her new puppy Banana was very photogenic.

She lives very close to Shakespeare in the Park, where Mason works this summer.

We enjoyed a lovely night, even though I don’t really speak Shakespeare.

Monday morning was so nice and I spent lots of time on the patio.

I started this and I cannot put it down. I am still trying to finish The Roughest Draft, but I needed a break. This is my first Sally Hepworth book.

I made another omelette.

I kept reading and reading and then made a Greek bowl for lunch.

And, the long anticipated movie was finally here and Tom and I had tickets.

My Dad was an Air Force fighter pilot and joked that he was way better than Tom Cruise in the looks and flying departments.

It seemed pretty appropriate to spend Memorial Day that way. I was outside all day Sunday and half of Monday so it was ok to be in the theater, I thought.

Tom and I agreed that the movie was amazing. I was surprised by how emotional it made me at first – the music, missing my Dad, thinking of how movies used to be in the 80s. Did you see it this weekend?

My nieces and nephews were in my hometown and took a photo with my Dad’s flag!

And, they visited his gravesite. My niece put this on Instagram – so sweet.

We had the most beautiful weather, too. It was a gift!

I hope you had a wonderful 3 day weekend!

Amy

Friday, May 27, 2022

Happy Friday! It’s time to link up with the girls at Friday Favorites here.

My emotions are all over the place with what is going on in the world, the end of the school year, and a few other things.

A senior brought me this gift card from his mom – Total Wine! How funny is that? But, with it came the sweetest, most heartfelt note from a parent. Gosh – this job is so much more than a job.

I received some of the sweetest notes I have ever gotten this year and I swear I think it’s because of all of the emotions wrapped up in the pandemic.

I taught about 45 seniors this year and the rest of my 100 kids are mostly juniors – with a few sophomores. I told them that I keep every single note and that is why notes are so special. It’s not as easy to keep an email or a Google Classroom message; I urged my younger kids to also write notes if a teacher had made an impact this year. It’s such a thankless job at times. We get to know these kids so well and a class becomes like a little family.

Saving this colorful new issue for the weekend!

Why have I not tried this? I love the consistency and I am very picky. I also love the flip top lid on it.

My two hallway school buddies are Erica and Elizabeth. I turned 50 this year, Erica turned 40, and our little baby Elizabeth turned 30 this week! We celebrated her after school one day at Captain’s Quarters. The weather was divine! She has the longest eyelashes!

I laughed at Tom one evening when he had tv on, a ball game on his laptop, and a Soduko going on his phone. Who said men can’t multitask?

Mason has a paid internship this summer with Kentucky Shakespeare. Jack was in one of their plays last summer, you might remember. The first play is 12th Night. The plays are free and in a park with food trucks. It is a really nice event! They will have 3 plays that run until the beginning of August.

I had a lovely patio happy hour at my friend Victoria’s this week.

Look at her sweet golden retriever!

Tom is still putting his keys on my hook at the gym! Ha!

Ok, I bought a clear bag for concerts and sporting events – wait, do I even go to many? No, but I might and I want to be prepared. Here is the bag and here is my bag strap that has been an amazing purchase. I use it with my brown and black purses, too.

Yesterday was the last day of school for 9th-11th grade so we had a popsicle and a photo opp outside. I love these kids! What a weird, hard, wonderful year. I promise I will stop talking about school soon…

My heart is full and I am tired!

What were your favorites this week?

Amy

Thursday, May 26, 2022

Before I post about what I wore now for Fashion Files with Kellyann and Jill, I just want to say…

I had already scheduled yesterday’s post when I heard about the Uvalde tragedy. The irony of me writing about summer activities with your kids when that was just taken away from so many parents…

I really don’t know what to say other than what we are doing is not working. Columbine happened about five years into my teaching career and it was and is still is beyond belief. I remember watching Sandy Hook coverage right before Christmas and just crying and crying. I first saw the news come on in the nail salon as I was getting a holiday pedicure I believe and I thought about leaving because it didn’t feel right anymore.

A few years later, we had to start doing active shooter drills in my school. A few years after that, we were told to keep a heavy piece of furniture next to our door so we could push it in front if need be. Say what?

The solution is not just one thing and it’s not simple.

I had a shopping ban from the end of Spring Break until about mid-May. I was trying to wait until summer but I let myself get something if I neeeded it or if I found something I just loved. I have very few dresses so I have been trying to add a few to my wardrobe. This jumped out at me on the Target website. The pattern! Pockets!

By the way, I am using my new phone on an old tripod and I feel like the clarity of my photos is really bad. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Any ideas?

This next outfit is kinda blah. I just wanted to wear a new consignment blouse I found. It still had tags from a local boutique called Lulubelle’s. I got it from my favorite consignment shop Sassy Fox when I went to check on my items I took to them over Spring Break. I made $140! I was really happy to put some of that back into some new clothes.

I want to try it with white jeans. It is a little bit long and might be worth it for me to have it professionally hemmed.

This is my new Old Navy dress. I fell in love with the pattern and the quality is amazing. It seriously seems like something much more expensive. It is fully lined. Someone I follow online said they cut the lining out. The lining makes it quite heavy but I am a bit scared to try that. It has pockets, too!

I wore this again for our Senior Walk where we say goodbye to our seniors. It is Walmart.com Scoop brand and you have seen it here before.

And, lastly, I wore…

jeans and my tropical blouse.

What have you been wearing lately?

Amy

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