Weekend Recap

Hey, hey, friends! It’s Sunday, which means that I’m dumping the photos from my iPhone and sharing our Weekend Recap with all of you! It was a pretty standard week around here, full of crazy weather, tasty eats, and a party! Shall we get right to it?!

Shortly after I posted last week’s recap, I headed out the door on Sunday morning for a walk with Spencer while Keith and the older boys stayed home to prune peach trees. We just went on the road next to our house so that we could squeeze in some fresh air before the rain rolled in for the rest of the day. We caught the tail end of the sunrise on the way out…

and some pretty sunshine on the way back to the house.

Over the weekend, Mollie and I decided to run a local 5K together in April here in Madison. Back in the day, I used to be able to strap on my shoes and show up for a 10 mile race without any formal training — thanks to plenty of daily hours on the soccer field. Well, 3 babies (and 10 years) later, that is DEFINITELY no longer the case! I would consider myself in pretty good physical shape, but definitely not in “running shape.” Here’s the text that I sent Mollie…

That pretty much sums it up! I’ll fill you in on the details of my 5K “training plan” in a separate post, but needless to say, on Monday morning I was happy to see the sun again as I set out on a 1 1/2 mile jog around town when I was done with the various school drop-offs.

Spence happily munched on animal crackers while I struggled to push the stroller up some pretty steep hills! Since we live near the mountains, there’s basically no such thing as a “flat” course. I feel like I should get some sort of bonus points for pushing the kid, though…right?!

And you might remember that I gave up sweets for Lent? Well let’s just say that I’ve been keeping my sweet tooth (relatively) happy with plenty of THIS recently:

It’s a good thing that Costco sells large quantities of fruit, because we definitely go through it FAST. Frozen (and fresh) berries are a favorite at the moment! Plus, Casey has discovered their frozen pitted sweet cherries. They’re like dessert!

Keith was gone for work on Monday night, so the boys and I had leftover fish from Sunday night’s dinner and then I put them to bed early. Shortly after they were all tucked in, I realized that this “little” blog here was down. In fact, my host had completely deactivated the site because apparently the blog had grown too big for the server that it was on (thanks for the warning, right)?! A night of panic and troubleshooting (and very little sleep) eventually resulted in a site that is now hosted with a new service (thank you!!!) and was up and running again by mid-morning on Tuesday. Thanks for your patience while things were in flux!

The kids’ Tuesday morning breakfast included this new cereal, which Gibbs picked out on a recent shopping trip.

It tastes exactly like Froot Loops, but the ingredient list is better…parenting compromises!

Since it was a nasty rainy day, the younger boys and I went on a shopping trip to Walmart to pick up some ingredients for a blog post (plus other stuff we couldn’t possibly live without), before returning home for the rest of the morning.

While Spence played with cars, Casey and I worked on his “All About Me” book for a school project.

And after lunch Hannah arrived to take over so that I could sneak out for an afternoon Board Meeting at the preschool.

The boys spent a long time playing with the cars (some toys NEVER die),

but since Spence refuses to share his prized possessions, he ended up on his own. Ah, two-year-olds. He needs ALL.THE.CARS.

For dinner that evening we had THESE Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps (served in tortillas for the hungry boys in the house)! They were awesome — and SO easy! Plus, the leftovers are great (cold) for lunch!!

Wednesday was a pretty quiet and rainy day. We always have some time to kill after we drop off Gibbs at his school before Casey’s school opens. On this particular day (since I knew that the weather would make outdoor exercise tough), I stopped at Burger King for a quick morning snack,

and some play on the indoor playground.

The boys had to entertain themselves in the house that afternoon,

but at least there was some good news: our first thunderstorm of the season! Why is this “good” news?! Because I think it’s a sign that spring is coming!!? At least it wasn’t a blizzard…

Dinner that night was a cozy bowl of Brunswick Stew (that I pulled out of the freezer), along with grilled cheese sandwiches for dipping!

Friday was a day of errands (not my favorite, but necessary). My mom came for a visit, so she entertained the younger two boys with a hike outside while I got some work done around the house. After a quick rest,

we all headed out to lunch (Subway’s chopped Tuna salad is still the favorite)!

Then I had to take Casey to a doctor’s appointment in Charlottesville, so we made a few stops along the way. Costco!

World Market (where he HAD to buy the Mardi Gras beads?!)!

And he shared some purple beads with me!

I also made an unphotographed trip to the grocery store and a run through the Dunkin Donuts drive thru for afternoon snacks!

That evening I sent this pic to my friend Caryn to let her know that I was starting Day 1 prep of her mom’s famous brisket recipe, which Caryn sent me (at my request) almost a year ago. Hopefully coming to the blog soon!

Friday morning walk with Mollie,

and blue skies…finally!

I also received a few happy deliveries: a new Nutri Bullet to replace my previous one, which finally died after A LOT of daily use! This thing is AWESOME and it makes the creamiest, smoothest…smoothies (especially given the price tag, which is reasonable considering how well it works)! Not sponsored…I just ordered it with my own $$. ?

plus 3 of my favorite magazines in the mail. Weekend reading!

For lunch I tried these spinach, artichoke, and cheese stuffed portobello mushrooms, which I grabbed on a whim in the produce section at the grocery store the day before. I knew they’d be a quick and easy vegetarian lunch for Friday in Lent!

And dinner that night was pasta with marinara sauce…because it was easy…and the kids love it…and it’s vegetarian!?

Saturday morning quick trip to the gym to get my 1.5 mile run in (plus a few minutes of warm-up on the elliptical) — and holding the necessities: water and magazines! Capri leggings are my latest from Fabletics HERE (Sydney Capri in Black Tie Dye).

I did some chores and some work at home in the morning, and then fed everyone quesadillas for lunch!

My quesadilla was the best, though: Chocolate Peanut Butter! I used Chocolate Jif Whips…and it tasted like dessert. Can you tell that I have a nagging sweet tooth since I’ve been good during Lent?! It actually would have been even better with some sliced banana inside (make this for breakfast, friends!!), but Gibbs ate the last ripe banana, so I did without.

The kids enjoyed the sun outside,

and mid-afternoon our longtime babysitter and neighbor (who now teaches school full time), arrived to take care of the boys for the rest of the evening so that Keith and I could head out on an adventure. You might remember Rebekah from this post when we went to her dairy farm!

Keith and I made the trek all of the way up to D.C. to attend an engagement party for my childhood friend Cameron and his fiancee Molly. A break from the routine (and the children), plus an excuse to put on a dress and makeup, is always a nice escape — especially when there’s a happy occasion to celebrate!

With Mom!

Today I think that we’re all pretty tired from our late night, so we’re looking at a quick trip to the grocery store and otherwise not too many plans. The weather is supposed to be almost 70 degrees so you better believe I’ll have the boys OUTSIDE in some way!! Enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a great week ahead!