Hello and happy Friday! How was your week? Mine was a good one, busy with homeschool stuff and kid activities, which are now all running at full steam despite the bits of snow we saw this week. David and I sneaked in a midweek date night while the girls were at youth group and it was really nice to have a chance to talk through some topics that aren’t always approachable when you’re in the swing of busy routines at home. Keep reading for
Five on Friday 2.21!

Yesterday the girls and I left the house at 8:15 AM and didn’t step foot back inside it until 9:00 PM. Maybe that’s the norm for some, but I was beyond exhausted by the day. It’s the week before the Shakespeare play put on by our co-op so prep and practice are in full swing. Follow that up by soccer and theater and a traveling husband and whew. Let’s just say I slept like a rock last night!

Five on Friday 2.21

ONE: Reader Favorites

• The Perfect Dinner Bowls – I’ve been on a hunt for these for so long and they are the perfect size (the 7.6″) and shape for burrito bowls, pasta, curries, stews, and more.
• Boiron Oscillococcinum – I’m so happy to see more people are keeping this stocked at home; it’s a flu fighting must. My fav flu fighters.
• Rotary Cheese Grater – for grating your own cheese, it’s a must! But also works well on shredded carrots, sliced cucumber for cucumber salad, and more. Cleans up easy.
• GreenSaver Produce Keeper – extend the life of your greens with this large greens keeper! Spring is coming, after all.
• Basketball Court Stencil – David painted this in white on our driveway and the kids think it’s the coolest to know exactly where to shoot for free throws and three pointers.
• Wheatstraw Snack Containers – made from the same material as my favorite divided plates, these containers make snack packing easy with it’s four neat compartments.
• Boiron Chestal Honey Children’s Cough Syrup – homeopathy for the win during this rough germ season where everyone has a lingering cough.
• Tea Drawer Organizer – I organized my tea drawer with this last week and now every time I open it I feel like a legit adult- ha 🙂
• Glass Food Storage Containers Set – I use these daily and have for years. They hold up well and I love that they are glass not plastic.
• Multi-Purpose Kitchen and Herbs Scissors – every kitchen needs a good set of shears for cutting packing, cutting chicken, stripping herbs, and more- these do it all so well!

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TWO: Little Women

I’m on a classics kick with the kids. I shared with you that we LOVED Anne of Green Gables (though I must retract my love for Anne with an E. We really enjoyed the first few episodes, then I feel it got a little dark. I’m going to try the often recommended Megan Follows movie).

This past week we finished Little Women and again, I teared up at the ending. The classics are classics for a reason; they are incredible. In their detail, in their words choices, in their spirit. I can’t wait to watch the movie version with the girls after we record our favorite parts in our read aloud journal.

Maybe it’s the books or maybe it’s me, but I actually teared up three times on Tuesday. First, at the end of Little Women. Second, when Kaitlyn asked to watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates and the theme song immediately brought me back to toddler summer days post pool and pre nap. And third when I laughed so hard I cried watching Hailey dance around the house acting all silly, happy, innocent, precious. Hello, perimenopause, is that you?

THREE: IPL Face Treatment

On Tuesday I had my first IPL laser treatment done. IPL is a broadband light treatment that targets brown and red discoloration on the skin. The treatment itself isn’t comfortable, but it isn’t painful. It feels like a rubber band being snapped on your face alongside a burst of bright light. Afterwards I felt some tingling on my skin, but there is no downtime or peeling. The targeted spots rise to the surface of the skin over the next week, then flake off. My aesthetician said I’ll notice some results, but I’ll notice it more when I complete all three sessions, that I bought as a package, spaced 4-6 weeks apart.

I’ve been wanting to step up my skin care, and am doing so through these IPL treatments, my red light face mask, and being more consistent with sunscreen and serums. I’d love to try something like a cool peel that targets texture of skin rather than decolorization, but this is me dipping my toe into a whole new world, so, baby steps.

FOUR: Thrifting Find

I’m a thrifting newbie, but after continuously seeing what awesome treasures people discover and having a whole house in need of plenty of art and furniture, I’ve decided to dabble. Dabble I did this past week and checked out a local thrift store and found a homerun of a deal for our library nook. A purply pink soft velvet arm chair for only $20! I brought it home, lint rolled it, then cut off the fabric from the bottom that had permanent cat hair attached. It fit so well into the little nook! I’m now on the hunt for a tiny table, a floor lamp to peek over the back of the chair, and some art work. And I now understand the thrill of the chase!

Also, please notice Hailey cataloging every book we have. She says she wants to do this to better organize them and reference so we don’t double buy books, but I think the real reason is so she can track which books her sister borrowed and has yet to return…

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FIVE: Monthly Meal Planning

I told myself I wasn’t going to talk about this yet because I’m only three weeks into the month, but is it possible I’m a convert to monthly meal planning?? It’s largely worked really well for these three weeks and I have full intentions of doing it again for March. Meal planning always takes dedicated time to sit down, look at the calendar, and plan, and doing four weeks instead of one week at once doesn’t take all that much more effort. Here’s how I did it:

• Wrote down all the days of the month on a piece of paper and pulled out my calendar.
• Note any special events that would effect meal planning (a birthday dinner out for example) and any reoccurring events that effect your dinner choice for a certain day (for us, co-op day is almost always a slow cooker meal) and note that on your meal plan.
• Fill in the lay ups. For us, that’s pizza on Fridays. I filled those all in. And it’s often some form of Mexican on Tuesdays, so I write those in (taco bowls one Tuesday, fajitas the next).
• Mentally note which days I know I have more time to play with a new or more elaborate recipe (usually Sundays), and fill in which recipe I will make those days.
• Fill in the remaining slots with our family’s favorite meals that I can basically make blindfolded.

I’m hoping to write a more detailed blog post and show you what it looks like when I make March’s meal plan, but that’s the quick version of it. So far, like I said, I’m loving it.

I have an eager dog ready for a morning walk after being home alone for so much of yesterday, so I’ll sign off here and wish you a very happy weekend! I look forward to checking in with you Monday morning in my newsletter! <3