Summer Weekend Recap & Meal Plan

Under the “personal” category (up at the top on desktop, available under the three horizontal lines at the top left on mobile), I have a whole category of life recaps and it’s fun for me to go walk through memory lane sometimes.

So, in that spirit, let’s chat about the weekend!

Our first week back to school was last week and I was really pleased with how it went! I’m not sure if it’s the fresh curriculum or the fact that deep down we all like a little routine and purposeful time together, but it was a really fun week.

We do school Monday-Thursday and reserve Fridays for passion projects, reading, games, field trips, etc. We paid a long overdue visit to the library where the librarian helped my adventure and fairytale loving girl (Hailey) find a new series, The Sisters Grimm. It sounds right up her alley and she was so excited!

After the library we went to water a friend’s garden and she offered to let us pick anything that was ripe when she was out of town. Lucky for us, her tomatoes are incredible!

We got back home early afternoon and David was finishing up some work stuff. We got in a quick workout while a summer storm rolled through, then as soon as things cleared we headed out to our boat reservation.

We are really enjoying the boat club we joined last year! It gives us access to a variety of boats and lake toys, and the girls have fallen in love with tubing. The lake was fairly quiet thanks to the storm, so we tubed for a long time, then stopped to swim and crack open a cold one before turning the boat back in at 5:00.

From there we grabbed pizzas from Brooklyn Boys and headed home. After quick showers for all, we set up on the couch for pizza and movie night. The girls each had a Zevia and we watched Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Arch and it was great! I remember loving those movies as a kid and both girls were into it as well.

Unfortunately something in the pizza didn’t agree with us, especially Hailey. Poor thing was up every hour throughout the night not feeling well. It was never anything violent but it made for a long a sleepless night, especially for her.

Luckily she finally crashed hard around 5:00 AM and was able to sleep until almost 10:00. While she snoozed, Kaitlyn fed the ducks, which literally walk up to our porch now expecting food, and David and I hung on the porch. I meal planned for what felt like the first time in a long time.

Sheet Pan Teriyaki Salmon with Broccoli and Asparagus (from Eat What You Love) over Coconut Rice
Grilled Chicken Gyro Wraps (Eat What You Love) with Greek Salad
Pulled BBQ Pork with Slaw and Baked Sweet Potatoes
Kale Pesto Pasta Salad with Roasted Butternut and Chickpeas with Grilled Steaks
Eat the Fridge/Spaghetti

I attempted to order groceries from Amazon Prime Now, like I’ve done for most of the past year, but honestly, the service is getting worse and worse. Ever since Amazon bought Whole Foods, they’ve had issues keeping food stocked and oftentimes they are out of basics like broccoli or yogurt. Couple that with the previous week when they delivered my groceries to the wrong house, and it’s getting harder to see the benefits of the service.

These are total first world problems, I know! But since I’m usually such a raving Whole Foods fan, I felt like I owed you my change of heart.

Anyway, for the first time in a long time I went grocery shopping and I forgot how much I enjoy it. We needed a Costco trip, so I put a cooler in the back of the car and hit up Costco and Publix.

Hopping stores also gave me the chance to listen to my book. I have to do a little shout out here to a book I’ve been listening to. It’s taken me so long to get through it, but only for lack of time to listen, not lack on interest. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is wonderful.

To me, it feels like a therapy session. It highlights all the ways we as humans are connected through our experiences and emotions. The book is written from a therapist’s perspective as she shares detailed looks into her client’s stories and her own experience with going to therapy for her own struggles.

It’s so heartfelt and it’s made me tear up on multiple occasions. My dad was the best therapist (biased? maybe, but I stand by it) and parts of it sound like him speaking to me. It also touches on grief and emotions we all experience as humans. It’s also funny in parts, too! I recommend it.

After putting up groceries, we worked out and showered, and got ready for an evening out with friends. After the long night before, I needed a pick me up and went with my favorite- Joy Organic’s Energy Stick (code AHS25 for 25% off your order). The CBD, vitamin, and caffeine combo just works for me!

Late afternoon Danielle and Anthony came over. The girls were so excited to play together (magnatiles are still a strong hit around here, especially after I bought them an extra set).

After the kids ate, the adults headed out to On the Nines. It’s one of our favorite local restaurants because it’s delicious food and it’s upscale casual atmosphere.

After dinner we headed to Molly’s “See You Later” party. Sam did such a great job of creating an uplifting atmosphere with funny signs like “You’re Dead to Us Now.” It lightened the mood and made the the party a place where there was more laughter than tears. We sure are going to miss her so much!

Sunday was a day for being productive and we hit the ground running. Coffee, breakfast, and then a trip back to Costco to buy a treadmill.

We are making some upgrades to the short term rental property we bought, and it includes a new Peleton bike and a treadmill. We are busy purchasing and piling things up in anticipation for our small window in August we have to get up there and implement the upgrades.

Midday we got in a four mile walk/jog and the heat and humidity almost did me in. After that I picked a ton of jalapenos from my plant porch (my new favorite spot in our house) and used this recipe to make pickled jalapenos. It was quick and easy but it still left me feeling like I’m capable to full on homestead now (LOL).

David and I have been so busy with new rental stuff, that we made a point to promise the girls we’d break and play a game with them at 4:30. They picked Ticket to Ride Europe and since we are usually Catan people, it was a really fun switch up!

In between plays, I put our sheet pan dinner (using the wild salmon from Butcher Box; it’s so good and they are offering free bacon for life right now) together. The timing worked out that we ate right afterwards.

After cleaning up dinner, I spent 20 minutes writing out our lessons for the week and doing some laundry so Monday morning me would be set up for success.

David was back in the office working so I gathered the girls on the couch for our favorite way to end the evening- coloring and read aloud. We are over halfway through The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street and we are all enjoying it so much! I was happy to hear there are more books in this series.

They were tired after two nights in a row of not much sleep, so they crashed pretty hard into bed around 8:20. I joined David in the office for another hour or so before calling it a night.