What's Up Wednesday

Good morning friends! Our past month has included a lot of staying at home, playing in the backyard, and trying to keep it all "fresh" and "fun". I'm curious to see how you all have been keeping things "exciting" in your neck of the woods because we could use some fresh ideas!

What We're Eating This Week: We have been grilling out as much as possible lately! We've had a bit of rain, but on the days it isn't raining, we are getting outdoors. We've had a lot of hamburgers, grilled chicken, grilled pineapple, and grilled side items, including these grilled cauliflower steaks. They were simple, delicious, and healthy. I love a recipe that checks all of those boxes 😀

I also bought these coconut clusters at Costco last week and they are delicious!! The combination of the seeds with the coconut is amazing. They do have added sugar, so they aren't a completely guilt-free snack, but whatever. Better for you than a cookie 😉

What I'm Reminiscing About: Summer Camp is around the corner, and believe it or not our YMCA summer camps are actually still ON for the moment. They have smaller group sizes, are staying outdoors, and will be doing their best to social distance (I'm curious to see how that goes!). It has brought back all the sweet memories of Lily Grace's first time going to camp last summer. She absolutely LOVED camp and is very excited to go back. Fun fact: Back in college I was a camp counselor at the summer camp Lily Grace currently attends... how fun is that? That camp has a special place in my heart 😍

What I'm Loving: School is out for summer and now I can focus 100% on my kiddos and family from now until FOREVER because I am officially RETIRED!

I know it's not quite "retiring" at 32, but humor me here 😀. After teaching for 11 years at a school that I truly could not love any more than I do, it is finally time to hang up my hat and stay home for a bit. As most of you know, my parents are our childcare when we are at work. Now that my dad is actually retired, my parents are planning to do what they've always wanted: travel the world. They already have been traveling quite a bit (not in the past few months obviously) and they really wanted to continue to travel. They felt guilty leaving us in a childcare lurch if they went on a trip, and we didn't want them to miss out on opportunities because they were watching the kiddos. I had always planned to stay home for a little bit with the kiddos anyway, so we decided now was the time. I may go back and substitute teach on occasion and will possibly even go back to teaching when we are done having kids and they're all in school. But for now, I'm officially a SAHM and am very grateful for the opportunity to get this extra time with my kiddos.

What We've Been Up To: Well, it rained nonstop over here for a full week and we were in desperate need of some new activities, and FAST. Devin found a Youtube channel where you can go on the Disney World rides virtually via a phone, smart TV, whatever way you watch Youtube. 

This activity was a hit! I emptied out two of Liam's diaper boxes, covered them with some brown paper and turned them into "boats" (you know, for all those slow boat rides like Small World?). If you're looking for a rainy day activity, give it a shot!

When it isn't raining, we are trying to get outside as much as possible. Our sweet girl is practicing riding her bike and is starting to get the hang to if!

What I'm Dreading: I'm crossing my fingers and saying my prayers that summer camp gets off to a start safely and that it doesn't get cancelled for the rest of the summer. She's only going for a few hours in the morning, but she really needs to start spending time with other kids her age. She misses her friends something fierce.

What I'm Excited About: Our beach trip in July is still a go! 

Last year at the beach

It won't be a whole big family reunion like it usually is since several family members still aren't keen on flying (don't blame them!), so it looks like it'll be a smaller crew. While we will sorely miss the rest of the extended family, it is logistically easier to do things with a smaller group. I am looking forward to the beach without the "what are we going to do for dinner with 14+ people?!". 

Playing with Aunt J and some cousins

That being said, we will definitely miss our aunts/uncles/cousins! It won't be the same without them.

What I'm Watching/Reading: I am still obsessed with Call the Midwife.

To anyone out there who loved Downton Abbey, if you haven't watched Call the Midwife yet... START TODAY! Fair warning though, it's going to make you want more babies 😉. Anyone else out there who sees a tv show with newborns and wants one immediately?

As for reading, I just finished The Sun Down Motel and LOVED it! I don't usually read "ghost story" type books, so this was new for me but it was a good new! It was different than your typical thriller which kept me intrigued.

What I'm Listening To: I have been asking our Google Home to play "upbeat, happy music" to lift our spirits despite the rainy weather. She keeps playing this playlist from Youtube that has some Justin Timberlake, a lot of Maroon 5, a little Bruno Mars, Whitney Houston, and more. It's a really fun playlist! If you're in need of a mood boost, I highly recommend this playlist!

What I'm Wearing: So, at the beginning of this month I had all these plans to document my Outfit of the Day every day for the month of May. Lindsay does this and I LOVE those posts. It turns out that quarantine was not a good time to try to document all my "cute outfits" because my outfits looked mostly like this:

A whole bunch of yoga pants and t shirts. Is that #outfitgoals or what?? Hah! I was able to get a few pictures of "real outfits" before I gave up and decided to do this in a month where we aren't under quarantine.

These are my favorite denim shorts (old, but similar here) and a J Crew shirt from years ago. 

I pretty much live in these house slippers. Here are my favorite high waisted jeans and a cozy sweater.

I love a good Lilly Popover too!

What I'm Doing This Weekend: Probably some more grilling out, some pool time, and some bicycle practice. 

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month: Finally getting to see my hairstylist 😂. These roots are looking ROUGH!

Have a great day all!! See you back here tomorrow for a recipe!