Weekend Recap

Good morning, friends! I'm back to share another week's worth of iPhone photos in this Weekend Recap. Let's get right to it!

After I was knocked down-and-out by the flu last week, I finally started to feel better again on Monday. Not great, but definitely a huge improvement! Casey's preschool had spring break this week, so we spent the morning doing exactly what he requested: a trip to Joann Fabric and Craft so that he could pick out some project supplies. Casey is my creative artist and loves this place! He discovered the section for mini gardens and terrariums, and was in HEAVEN. I realized it's the perfect combination of some of his favorite activities: building (Minecraft, Legos, etc.) + gardening! He wanted EVERYTHING, but finally decided on this house, along with some additional accessories to get his "village" started.

And apparently these miniature gardens are a "thing," because at our next stop in the grocery store he found this magazine in the check-out line (which we brought home for inspiration)! And by the way, Casey insists that this is not a Fairy Garden (which I keep calling it)...

We grabbed lunch at Chik-Fil-A while we were in town,

and then went for a walk to enjoy the warm 60-degree temps while easing myself back into some exercise. Spencer's obviously annoyed by my selfie!

On a warm day, there's no better way to cool off than with a ½ price Frappuccino! This was the new Smoked Butterscotch flavor, which I thought was deeeeeelicious. The caffeine in it was a great pick-me-up for my tired body, too. ?

And since Monday was kind of a crazy day out of the house, we were all happy to stay closer to home on Tuesday. The warm, sunny weather had us outdoors for almost the whole day, playing in the sandbox, swinging on swings,

and building rock forts (with the light saber nearby)!

In his element, and 100% happy!

On a 77 degree spring day, this was quite the happy delivery:

My friends at Arctic Zero Fit Frozen Desserts sent me a cooler full of their new flavors to try out!! What's inside? New creamy pint flavors: Cake Batter (!!!) and Poppin' Pomegranate, as well as the new chunky pint flavors: Brownie Blast, Snickerdoodle Dandy, and Banana Pudding!

Now, you might recall that I gave up sweets for Lent. Hmmm...I've actually been doing really well with this decision, BUT in the interest of work, I decided that it was my JOB to at least taste the Arctic Zero so that I can officially report back to you! Actually, since this "dessert" only has 35 calories (or 75 calories for the chunky pints) per serving, plus 12 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber, I will bend my (already very loose) definition of the term "sweets" and instead call this a "snack"! Totally NOT off limits during Lent, right?! ?

Anyway, I have managed to show some restraint initially, and I've only tried the Cake Batter so far (I'll save the rest until after Easter!). I'm a huge fan of anything Cake Batter flavored, and this was no exception. Cool, creamy, sweet, delicious and FULL of Cake Batter flavor!

I'm also really excited about the Snickerdoodle Dandy, which is a cinnamon-flavored base with sugar cookie chunks,

and the Brownie Blast, which is a dark chocolate base with brownie bites and chocolate chips throughout. Mmmm...

The Arctic Zero frozen treats are lactose free, gluten free, low glycemic, and GMO free, and they don't contain ANY artificial flavors, sweeteners, or colors. Cool (literally)! I have trouble locating them in the middle-of-nowhere Madison County, but you can find them in a lot of grocery stores like Kroger, Publix, Safeway, Walmart, and Whole Foods, as well as online at Amazon.com and arcticzero.com. This isn't a sponsored spot, I just wanted to share the Arctic Zero love because I think it's really good and I know that some of you might want to try out the new flavors, too!

Dinner that night was a delicious Island Chicken Teriyaki Skillet, which I can't wait to share with all of you! Recipe coming soooooooon...

My mom came for a visit on Wednesday, so Casey enlisted his grandmother's help to create the miniature garden he had envisioned. We made a trip to Lowe's for some gardening supplies,

where we had to scale back some expectations, since this kid wanted to buy every plant in the nursery!?

After a quick lunch,

I sat down to get some work done while the boys and my mom created their masterpieces. She's such a good sport!

Our Thursday morning outing to Jump trampoline park with Mollie and Henry!

and lunch in the shopping cart at Costco afterwards. The best way to entertain these kids so that I can actually shop is to feeeeeed them...

I sent this picture to my friend Margeaux because I realized that Spence was dressed entirely in her son's hand-me-downs (including the socks and Crocs)! We're very lucky that Ian has such a nice wardrobe, because Gibbs and Casey often wear-out their clothes before the items can even make it into Spencer's closet!

Thursday night Keith was gone, so I planned to get to bed early and get a long night of sleep. Wellllll, that didn't happen. Instead, I was up multiple times during the first part of the night with Spencer (who NEVER wakes up at night) because he was complaining about his ear. And then once he got to sleep, Casey was up at 3:30 with a bloody nose. Sooooo, on Friday morning I grabbed a wee bit of extra coffee, put on some under-eye concealer and some bright spring colors, and hauled everyone off to the pediatrician's office after we dropped Gibbs at school!

Sure enough Spencer had an ear infection, so our next stop was Target (for drugs and some food!), plus snacks (and caffeine) in the Target Starbucks!

And here's how I know that my sweet tooth is missing desserts during Lent:

I made an impulse purchase of Cookie Dough chewing gum in line at Target. And by the way, I tasted one piece at home, decided it was nasty, and threw the rest away. ?

We made it home in time for a lunch date and an afternoon of play with Casey's friend, Aidan. I'm sure his mom is thrilled to see that Aidan ate Cheetos for lunch (and not much else)! ? No wonder the kids love to come over here to play!?

I hit the gym for a two-mile run on the treadmill on Saturday morning (my training plan is HERE),

and worked on some spring cleaning after breakfast. We all have those pantries or closets where we shove anything that doesn't have a designated home, right?! Well mine had become so full and messy that stuff fell out every time I opened it. Bad! Here's the "before" picture (can't believe I'm posting this on the internet!)...

It was so crowded and chaotic, in fact, that I found TONS of stuff in the back that I had completely forgotten about. Exhibit A: Pumpkin Pie sauce?! I imagine that I originally purchased this to use with some fancy protein smoothie concoction or in my pumpkin spice coffee, but I really have no idea!

And since my boys love this taco sauce (for dipping veggies, quesadillas, or eating with chips), I often throw a jar in the shopping cart if I see it at the store. Well, I discovered that I had 9 JARS OF TACO SAUCE crammed into that cabinet?!?! How did I accumulate 9 jars without realizing it? It just shows you what a disaster that cabinet really was!

And here's the organized end result! Much better...

That afternoon I did some Easter basket shopping while I had a chance to run out without the kids,

and then we all headed over to our friends' farm for a cookout.

After a winter of hibernating, it was so nice to be socializing outside again! The boys ran around with their buddies, ate a ton of food (and roasted marshmallows),

fed Sallie's horses,

and climbed on plenty of tractors, four-wheelers, and golf carts. Boy heaven!

Today we're staying close to home (I'm hoping to do some more spring cleaning), and then we have a fun dinner planned at a restaurant this evening (post about that coming soon)!

Have a great week, everyone!