Weekend Recap

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope that you’re enjoying some nice spring weather wherever you are. We’ve seen more consistent rain in Virginia over the past 3 weeks than any of us would like, but it definitely makes for a very beautiful and green environment when the sun does decide to shine. Since it’s been another full week around here, let’s play catch-up with another Weekend Recap! 

Last Sunday was Mother’s Day, and it was a beautiful one! The sun was out, it was warm and breezy, and I spent the day with my boys! We started with breakfast at the pancake house bright and early (which turned out to be a great decision, since it was PACKED by the time we left)…

Hair still wet…before coffee…can you tell?! ? ?

After breakfast we stopped at a park in downtown Culpeper to go for a short walk and to let the boys run around on the playground. Sitting still for a big breakfast = LOTS of boy energy to burn!

Back home, I spent some time in the kitchen preparing food for the week ahead. I made my Shrimp and Avocado Pasta Salad to have for dinner on Monday night (I left the avocado to dice at the last minute, and kept the dressing separate so that nothing would get soggy).

I also prepped a few salads to have ready for lunches during the week. This was a new-to-me combination, and it was delicious!!! I pulled the recipe out of a magazine not long ago because I noticed that it called for dates…and I have a GIANT bag of pitted dates from Costco that need to be used.

Dates are Nature’s candy, right? There were dates in the dressing and dates in the actual salad!

I used grilled chicken instead of the smoked turkey and I used these Toasted Coconut almonds from my friends at Blue Diamond (instead of the walnuts called for in the recipe) since that’s what I had open in the pantry.

And finally, I pulled my able assistants into the kitchen to help me bake a batch of Kathryn’s Breakfast Cookies to have on hand for the week. YUM!

Grilled burgers were on the menu for dinner that night, so I tried these Tuna Burgers that I picked up at Harris Teeter the week before. They were good for a change!

Oh, Mondays. So crazy…

We headed into Charlottesville for most of the day because we had a couple of appointments there — including one at the pediatrician’s office to check Casey’s ears.

Sure enough, he had two infections!

We made a quick pit stop at the mall across the street from the doctor’s,

and squeezed in an afternoon walk when the rain stopped.

We headed to the soccer fields for Gibbs’s practice that evening, and then enjoyed a late dinner of Shrimp and Avocado Pasta Salad that I had prepared on Sunday. Even the kids liked it, and Gibbs suggested that I make it again soon! ?

On Thursday morning we made it out for a quick walk up the road to check out the cherry picker trucks that the kids had spotted…

and it never ceases to amaze me how much fun boys can have throwing rocks into puddles. Weird!

I had a Board Meeting at the preschool that afternoon, so Hannah came over to stay with the younger two. I then tossed dinner in the Crock Pot so that we could spend another evening out on the soccer fields for Casey’s practice.

On the dinner menu after practice? My Healthy Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken! Always delicious! I served it with rice that cooked in my Rice Cooker while we were at the fields, and steamed broccoli that I popped in the microwave when we got home.

Wednesday morning was gray and yucky (again). I was supposed to walk with Mollie and Amanda after preschool drop-off, but I ended up back home since it was drizzling and we didn’t want to get wet. And since Mollie had been taking care of a family member at the hospital the past few days, I packed up a bag of groceries and brought her an easy dinner to prepare — and it’s one of my kids’ favorites — Pizzadillas! I just printed out the recipe from my site and filled the bag with tortillas, marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella and Parmesan, bell pepper, olives, and pepperoni. Hopefully it saved them a trip to the grocery store, and it certainly didn’t require much effort on my part!

We stayed close to home after I picked Casey up at lunchtime, before heading back out to get Gibbs. While I was in the kitchen helping Gibbs with homework, I also put together my Skinny Mexican Breakfast Casserole for dinner. Who says you can’t have eggs in the evening?! This would also be a great option to make for brunch on the weekend and then enjoy leftovers for easy breakfasts or lunches during the week.

Instead of the ground beef called for in the recipe, I took a shortcut and used these fully-cooked turkey sausage crumbles (worked great!)…

and when he saw what I was doing, Casey wanted to help! I let him assemble the casserole…

Keith went to meet up with one of his college football teammates/fraternity brothers for drinks after dinner, so I was on my own with the boys that evening. I was in bed EARLY to read my book and watch TV.

When I woke up on Thursday morning I was feeling a little bit under-the-weather and like I might be getting sick. Instead of our usual burpees, jumping, or other high-intensity exercises, Mark adjusted the workout to focus on more gentle, static strength training and flexibility. I LOVED the TRX Yoga — it was difficult, but in a very different way. It’s a true sign of a great trainer to be able to adjust on the fly like that and understand that some days LESS is MORE!

Gibbs had “Hat Day” at school, so I was sure to take a photo when he picked out his Princeton hat to wear as his “favorite hat.” Proud alumni/mamma!

After grocery shopping and lunch, the younger boys had fun painting on the porch for a long time. Thank goodness that the weather is getting warm enough again so that they can enjoy these artistic adventures OUTSIDE!

They also spent plenty of time watching a tractor work behind our fence — cheap entertainment!

I was supposed to go out with my girlfriends for our monthly dinner that night, but I had a fever and was definitely NOT feeling up to it. Boo. ?

I served meatball subs for dinner and called it a night! Here’s a pic of a random kid’s plate, since Keith was working late that night and got his meal long afterwards — they loved this dinner and finished just about everything!

Meatball sub with marinara, Parmesan, and mozzarella; Ants on a Log (so weird, but that’s what they requested!); and broccoli with mac and cheese…plus sliced strawberries unpictured.

After dropping the older boys off at school on Friday morning, Spence came along with me to a doctor’s appointment. It was the one-year check-up from my vein surgeries in my legs…and I’m so glad to have that behind me!

That afternoon the boys and I made some wacky bugs,

and then I sent them outside to build houses for their critters in jars (more on that project coming soon)!

Our Friday night dinner was carry-out from the local Italian restaurant (as usual)!

Saturday morning started bright and early outside! I had been planning to run a 5K with my friend Mollie last month, but that race was cancelled. Instead, I decided (at the very last minute) to run a different 5K on Saturday. It started at 8:00 a.m., so I headed off a few minutes early to register,

and then my fan club met me at the starting line.

We live in a very small town, so the 5K was located at the same complex as Casey’s 9:30 a.m. soccer game — making it very convenient for all of us.

Spencer insisted that I hold him until the race started (he was crying when I tried to put him down — total Mom guilt!), but Keith was quickly able to distract him with a trip to the nearby playground while I ran.

It was very hilly, and my only goal was to actually run the entire time — and to not slip on a wet rock or tree root. Loooooong gone are the days of 5:30-minute back-to-back miles from my soccer training days!!! Instead, I was running somewhere between 9:00 and 10:00-minute miles…which was good enough to get me the award of Top Female (and 8th place overall). Clearly there weren’t very many competitors! ?

I didn’t stick around to grab my medal or take photos when the event was over because I had three antsy little boys who were anxious to walk across the road to buy some strawberries and baked goods at the Farmer’s Market (we have our priorities, obviously).

We spent the rest of the morning on the soccer fields,

and an afternoon in the kitchen. I photographed two recipes for the blog while the boys rested, and then Casey and Gibbs helped me with a batch of lemon cupcakes to bring to Casey’s friends at school for his birthday this week.

Keith grilled some Margarita Chicken Kabobs for dinner that evening, which were delicious. Recipe coming soon!

And that’s all I’ve got! It’s Sunday morning and we’re taking care of some chores around the house before heading out to run some errands around lunchtime. We have a busier-than-usual week ahead, so be sure to check back next weekend to see what we’ve been up to. Have a great one!