4th of July Weekend

I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! We sure did!

We went to a couple of picnics and watched fireworks, of course. Just the classic kind of celebrating over here. I love this season with small children. We know it doesn’t last long and so we’re cherishing every holiday and so much of this summer with them.

We also know that my husband and I are growing up right along with them, and so we carved out a day for just the two of us to get out and enjoy one another this weekend, too. We went out for bagels and s’mores lattes. It was a nice treat! Then we went to the lake to walk around and sit together.

The 4th of July picnics were fun and great, too! I made pinwheels as a dish to share and it went over well.

I’d love to say that now that the holiday is over, I am looking forward to getting back on track with eating well but I know there is a lot of “eating out” coming my way these next couple of weeks. 

My sister’s kids will be in town and so we will all be over at my moms house a whole lot, eating out as we go on adventures and just going with the flow most days. These next two weeks will be like a staycation of sorts when they are in town. It’s always a lot of fun and we’re looking forward to it but I also know the extra challenge it is going to be for my healthy eating goals.

I don’t want this to turn into an excuse to have a free-for-all with my eating so I am going to keep balance in mind best I can.

What I Ate Monday - Zoo Trip Edition

Monday morning started out the same way most of our summer mornings have started, with us letting the chickens out to free range in the back yard. 

It’s so peaceful and joyful to watch the chickens and kids run around the back yard together in the morning. These are the days!

Since the weather was warm and cloudy, I thought it would be a great day to walk around the Zoo. I drank a protein shake for breakfast and packed our lunches before heading out.

When we got to the Zoo, I renewed our membership and was thankful for the ability to do that and also for being in the season of life when we hold a Zoo membership for us and our young kids to enjoy.

First we rode the train, and then we walked around to look at all the animals. Our kids loved to see the chickens, even though we have some at home. They also loved seeing ducks, which is so funny because they were the wild ducks in the creek below the train bridge.

For lunch, I packed salami and cheese sandwiches, grapes and some vegetables for the girls.

We walked around the zoo some more after lunch, and the girls rode on the carousel before playing “fox and chicken” at the zoo playground. 

They have the best most comfy chairs at the zoo playground and so I took a moment to sink into one of those while they played and ran around.

We had a great day at the Zoo! Once we got home we had an afternoon snack and relaxed a bit in the air conditioning. 

When my husband got home, he grilled chicken sausage, potatoes, peppers with mushroom and onions on the Blackstone which tasted amazing for dinner!

After dinner, I plugged into work for a couple of hours from home. I was a little tired from our long day, but I was also super grateful to be able to work from home for a bit on top of all the things we did that day. It felt like the best of both worlds, and I know to cherish those moments.

After working for a few hours, I was hungry. I checked my nutrition tracker and I still had 540 calories before I hit my goal and so I made myself some “loaded nachos”. 

It wasn’t a healthy choice but it fit within my calorie range for the day and satisfied a craving. This is a real look into what I ate on Monday, when I was just going with the flow.

Long Live Beach Days

This past weekend we had our first beach day of the summer! Beach days are wonderful because they demand you to slow down and be intentional. We were intentional about the items we packed, the fun that was had together, and the way we rested while we were there.

I brought a book to the beach with me. It’s called “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World”. It was nice to take some time to sit in the sun, and listen to my children play in the waves as I read a book. Those moments were a highlight for me.

Beach days can be a lot of work to prep for depending on how much stuff you bring along with you, but when you’re not in a rush it’s not a big deal. 

“Rushing” is something I’m trying to eliminate from my life in a big way lately. If it involves rushing, count me out. If I find myself wanting to say “hurry up”, it’s time to pause and reevaluate. We had a wonderful, no rush kind of weekend and it was very refreshing!

The Summer of Intentionality

Good news! I already lost the 3lbs that I found earlier this month. Even though it isn’t always easy, it does feel better to focus more on my health.

This was another quick week for us. I can’t believe it’s already Friday! I wish summer would slow down. I noticed that I started sleeping in until the kids would wake up again, which makes my days go too quick. Next week I’ll try waking up a couple hours or at least an hour earlier to try to get some more time in.

I also find that our days feel more balanced when I plan ahead and put more intentionality into our schedule. Being intentional is the big theme of this summer that I keep coming back to. I want to be intentional with our schedule, and how we’re spending our time, and how we’re taking care of ourselves and those around us. Planning ahead and keeping our schedule balanced is a good way to work on this.

Speaking of schedule, here’s a loose meal plan we’ll be working with for this week ahead:

• Saturday: burritos
• Sunday: grilled chicken sausage, potatoes, onions and mushrooms
• Monday: fish with feta pasta and green beans
• Tuesday: egg roll bowls
• Wednesday: chicken salads
• Thursday: burgers with corn and green beans
• Friday: picnic with family

Things may change but it’s good to have an outline to work from. Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

What I Ate Tuesday

Yesterday I took a picture of everything I ate. I did this to help be more aware of what I was eating throughout the day. 

Even though I recently wrote about trying to eat out less, I did eat out yesterday. We had a last-minute opportunity to meet up with my husband for lunch, and I could not pass that up! We love family lunch dates!

Here’s a snapshot of everything I ate on Tuesday!

Breakfast: fried egg on toast, topped with cottage cheese

Lunch: 6 in. Turkey sub with provolone, lettuce, tomato, black olives and mayo

Afternoon Snack: coffee made with cream and maple syrup; bag of popcorn

I sipped on my coffee most of the afternoon, and made sure to get 60 oz of water in before I went to work in the office. On Tuesday evenings, I often go in to the office to work. I also get to work remotely any day, as I find the time. 

This afternoon in particular, my daughters were watching a movie from the projector in the cool basement (on a 95° day) while I got an hour of work in at the dining room table. 

As I set my computer up, I caught a glimpse of my youngest daughter’s lambie on the table amidst the toy clutter from this morning’s play time and I paused to take it the blessings of this day. I am so grateful that I get to be at home with my girls every summer, and that I get these moments of time to work, too.

Dinner: salami and cheese sandwich (not pictured); fiber bar; bag of chips

Evening snack: leftover chicken tender with sauce and 3 mini cow tails 

The evening snack was random. I got home from work around 9pm and I was a little hungry. I had a leftover chicken tender because it sounded good and the protein was filling. I had the mini cow tails as a sweet treat. The total calories for the day came out around 1,710 calories!

It All Adds Up to 3 Pounds

For some reason, I always forget how hard it is to eat balanced and well in the summer. There are the spontaneous ice cream shop visits, the late-night sleepovers, the amusement park food, and just the overall ease of grabbing something while you’re already out, doing all the fun summer things. It all adds up, and it has all added up to about 3 pounds to be exact.

Now that the hot summer days are truly here, I’m reminded of how uncomfortable it is to be overweight. I don’t know how I ignore that fact most days, but when a heat wave hits I am very aware of that truth!

There are definitely some trade-offs I could be doing. For instance, instead of grabbing a latte from a coffee shop, I could be making a lighter version at home. I could be enjoying a cold smoothie in the garden instead of hitting up the ice cream shop. I could be making our own pizza on sleepover nights instead of ordering out. I could be packing cold cut subs instead of ordering subway while we’re out. 

There is also just a general balance in our eating habits that I could be keeping in mind. Like if we ate out yesterday, we should probably not eat out again today, right? Right.

It is summer break and so some of this is to be expected. It is good to be aware of it but I also still want to enjoy a lot of what I’ve mentioned here. There’s really just more balance that could be done and I will work on balancing it all out better in the weeks ahead.

Drinking enough water is something I have been missing, and I am going to work on that today! Now that it’s so hot outside, it should be a lot easier to drink more water. I’m going to take advantage of that and roll with it! We’ll call it my first baby step of trying to get back on track with taking better care of my health.

Fun Things in June

Somehow it’s the last full week of June, already. That seems unreal! Some say time flies when you’re having fun, and I’d agree with that. We’ve been having a lot of fun this month and it has flown by!

Strawberry Picking

Weekly visits to our local amusement park

So many ice cream dates

Visits to various beaches

A couple of sleepovers and playdates 

Lots of flower picking and garlic scape harvesting

Weekly story time at the library with special guests

First eggs from our newest hens

Farm visits

And so much more!

While we’ve done a lot this month, it was done at a balanced pace that made many of our days feel peaceful. I feel good about taking some time each day to savor life just as it is right now, because I know I am going to miss this one day.

While we’ve been having a lot of fun, we have also encountered some struggles this month. I’m currently nursing a deep skin infection that has caused some anxiety, likely from a tick bite. I’m on the correct antibiotic to fight the infection and after three days I’m starting to see some progress. I’m hoping to put this scary episode behind me by the end of this week!

All in all, June has been great and I am glad we’ve got plenty of summer days ahead of us still to enjoy!

The Start of Summer Break

This first week of summer break has felt a bit like a liminal space—technically, we’re on break, but with Piper away at basketball camp from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day, it hasn’t fully felt like summer. 

However, it does help that we decorated for the occasion! This is a little tradition I started for the last day of school each year and the kids love it!

Today is Piper’s last day of camp! Even though summer vacation officially started last Thursday, I don’t think it will truly begin for us until she’s home full-time again, which starts tonight!

Life has slowed down a bit lately, and I’ve been using the time to catch up on all the things that piled up during the busier months. 

One of the big things on my list has been getting the garden in order. It’s been a slow start, but everything is growing! I still need to get the squash planted, but aside from that, I’m feeling pretty caught up. 

The baby chicks we brought home in February are officially teenagers now—and ready to be introduced to the rest of the flock. If you’ve never done that before, let me just say: it’s not always a smooth process. 

We’ve started with short, supervised introductions in the backyard—what I like to call a “soft introduction”—since there’s plenty of space for everyone to spread out. The real test will be when we move them all into the same coop. I’m praying that goes smoothly!

Inside My Fridge + Grocery Haul

It’s the first Monday of summer break, and the house feels a little different. My oldest daughter, Piper, is off at an all-day basketball camp. My youngest, Laney, is at home with me. 

Laney has been my right-hand girl today! This morning we planted the last of our tomato starts, preserved garlic scapes, and picked flowers to put in vases around our home.

After that, she came along to help me pick up groceries. Now that the groceries are unpacked and the fridge has been freshly restocked (and reorganized, sort of), I thought it would be fun to do something a little different: show you exactly what we bought for the week, and what’s in my fridge.

This was a spontaneous decision and so the fridge isn’t deep cleaned or sparkling by any means, and that’s okay. I also didn’t plan a grocery haul with the thought of sharing it in mind so this is going to be as authentic and real as it gets today!

I don’t usually pick up groceries on Monday but, we had a weekend full of fun that kept me pretty busy! I picked up the groceries we needed for the rest of the week ahead, which will supply my dinner meal plan for the week!

Monday: Zuppa Toscana

Tuesday: OTE

Wednesday: Burgers + Corn

Thursday: Egg Roll Bowl

Friday: Chicken Sausage Stir Fry

Since Piper will be at basketball camp the next few days, I made sure to stock up on Gatorade. We also like to have Coke Zero and Spindrift sparkling waters on hand in general each week.

I will say the butter is not usually kept in the fridge but since I made garlic scape butter, I thought it would be best to refrigerate it.

As for the two mysterious looking jars on the top shelf, those would be our bacon grease supply that we use for cooking and a sourdough starter that I keep as a backup just in case my starter dies.

Everything else seems pretty self explanatory. I hope you enjoyed this little peek into what we eat and how we spent our first summer Monday!

Hello June!

Hello, June! It sure doesn’t feel like it’s June. If I were to step outside I’d say it’s the end of April. It’s been a rainy and cold few weeks here. I’m sure the nice weather will eventually come!

To sum up the last month, May got busy and I stopped taking care of myself again. That’s a habit I’m hoping to break, but the only way to do that is to keep working on it. Since it’s a new month, and our season is changing from the school year to summer break, I am going to start working on myself again.

A new routine will begin for us as my kids wrap up the school year and I’m looking forward to it more than I believe I ever have before. Summer break is going to be great!

I plan to sit and think about my goals for the month at some point today, and will be sharing them with you soon. For now, I’ll just share my dinner plans for the week. I try to come up with a meal plan every weekend for the week ahead. I will grocery shop for the whole week later today.

Sunday: Turkey Roll-Ups

Monday: Zuppa

Tuesday: Chicken Sausage + Veg + Potatoes

Wednesday: Egg Roll Bowl

Thursday: Burgers + Corn

Friday: Out to Eat (OTE)

Thanks for being here! I’ll check in again, soon!

Hello and Goodbye

Hello, and goodbye to the 2025 Spring Book Fair! We did it!

I feel like my brain is a lot more clearer and I am ready to refocus on my health goals. There is still plenty going on around here as we plant up our entire garden in the next two weeks, and say goodbye to the school year with various events including my youngest’s preschool graduation.

I am hoping to gain more mental clarity and focus this week by waking up earlier, again. I started sleeping in until the last possible minute these past couple of weeks because my days were exhausting. I would crash immediately when hitting the bed, and sleep in until my kids woke up. That was definitely contributing to my mental fog. I went to bed running, and woke up running, and not in the good-for-you, “workout” kind of way.

While life is still busy, I feel like I have a little more room to breathe. I have decided to step down from my role as PTO secretary after this school year is finished, which is a role I have been in since 2022. This is my oldest daughter’s last year in elementary school and so I want to shed whatever is reasonable from my plate so that I can be more present for it. This is one of those things I will be releasing.

This was an easy decision once I had the time to think and pray about it. I am still going to volunteer with the PTO, but not in such a time-consuming capacity next school year. I thought it would be bittersweet to give that role up, but it isn’t. It feels like good timing as we have a whole new group of parents ready to run!

Hanging in There

We’re almost through book fair week, which drains me in a special but worthwhile kind of way.

I haven’t been taking care of myself very well. I have been eating without much regard and I am bummed that I put myself on the back burner again. I wish I had the strength to focus on my well being first, and then tackle all the things. It’s not what I tend to do when things get overwhelming, though. My default is to take care of all the things first and then take care of myself if there’s time, and spoiler alert, there hasn’t been any extra time.

Self awareness is half of the battle. Once things slow down, which will happen eventually, I can re-establish my health goals. Until then, I’m hanging in there.

Date Night at the Book Fair

It’s Friday and tonight I will be setting up the book fair at my daughter’s school! 

This will be my 6th book fair as the Scholastic Chairperson for our school! As stressful as it can be at times, it is such a privilege to be involved in this way! I also can’t say that I do it alone.

My husband and I love setting the book fair up together! We make it fun and consider it a date night. I usually get to the school early to start, then after Nick’s mom gets to our house to watch the girls, he picks up Mexican food and meets me at the school for dinner.

Last time we set up, he surprised me with a Bluetooth speaker and played music while we ate dinner on book fair boxes. This is the kind of stuff that makes my life so rich! These little moments are truly the big moments. God is so good!

It’s time to make another book fair happen!

What I Ate on a Snacky Monday

On Monday, I took a photo of everything I ate. It was a snacky and busy day. You’ll see what I mean…

Breakfast:

Snack:

Lunch:

Snacks:

Dinner:

Snack:

I couldn’t tell you the nutrition because I didn’t log it all, and I don’t really have the time to calculate it now. But I wanted to show you what a snacky day of intuitive eating looks like! I remember wanting snack after snack on Monday. Probably because I was so busy, but as you can see, I wasn’t too busy to sit down and watch Bubble Guppies with my youngest. 

I love this little life.