What We’re Eating…
We are actually without kids until the weekend, so we’ve been eating out while we have the chance for peace and quiet, haha! The kids are at their grandparents, so we are living it up!
What I’m Reminiscing About…
Another great weekend at the ranch last weekend!
What I’m Loving…
Top 2 Things I’ve Bought Recently that I Love:
- Radio Flyer Stroller Wagon– we have a single jogger stroller that I love, and a double stroller that is great, but our nanny uses it much more consistently than we do, so we leave it at her house. I wanted something that would let us carry both kids but wouldn’t be redundant (like another double stroller), and could potentially grow with our kids and be useful for activities and outings coming up, so I started researching stroller wagons. Listen, you can get really deep really quickly with stroller wagons and spend some serious money for some amazing features, but (as with pretty much everything I shop for) I wanted something very simple and basic and reasonably priced. This Radio Flyer model is designed for older kids because there is no infant seat compatibility (which we don’t need) or inserts for cup holders/ snack trays, etc., but there is a five point harness on either end and then the side zips down to make a bench seat and a retractable canopy pops up, which I think will be ideal when Livy starts soccer in the fall. The whole thing accordion folds so I think it will be really handy to just keep in the back of my car and be able to use it easily whenever. I debated a while (A WHILE) about whether to just get the wagon, or upgrade to the stroller wagon with the main difference being whether it had the stroller handle to push along with the wagon handle to pull (the wagon just has the wagon pull handle) and decided it was ultimately worth the extra money to get the push handle. I got ours in store at Target, so it is the classic red, but I *almost* built it custom on the Radio Flyer website because it was the same pricing but the color choices were gray or black. I probably would have preferred one of those colors, but I also didn’t want to wait for shipping since it was in stock at our Target.
2. FitTrack Smart Scale– We are on an adult long struggle to be better about working out and eating better, and some times are better than others. We seem to be in a better time right now- we’ve cut out sweet tea successfully, and are working out more consistently. But along with that, I was influenced by IG influencer Lindsay Gurk (if you haven’t seen her videos of her impersonating her kids talking to each other, they are hilarious. And so accurate it makes you want to laugh to keep from crying 😉 ) to try this Smart Scale from FitTrack. So, it’s a Bluetooth scale that connects to an app on your phone, and it measures way more than just weight, and keeps a record of all of it so you can track progress. The weight number on a scale means really truly little to me because there are times I’ve felt healthier, but been a higher weight, and vice versa, so I like that this breaks down into subcutaneous fat percentage, protein rate, water rate (which I’ve been fascinated by because I think the majority of my liquid consumption is coffee, so I like to make sure I’m not dehydrated, haha!), etc. (all the measurements are in the 2 screenshots below). I also like that you can use the drop down on each measurement and it explains what it is measuring, the clinical ranges, and where your measurement falls in those ranges (like low, normal, high, etc.). I used Lindsay’s code GURK20 to get 20% off, which made it about $70 total with tax/shipping. Steven and I both use it and really like it so far!
What I’ve Been Up To…
We had so much fun celebrating Easter at the beginning of the month! Bebe (our sweet nanny, Betty) dyed eggs with Livy the Wednesday before, and we went to in person church services on Sunday. I could not get a good picture of them together to save my life, but they looked so cute!
I tried to get good bluebonnet pictures of them while Steven was in Dallas, but I got 0% cooperation from both of my beloved children. This was the best one of each of them. I’m not super satisfied, but also not super enthusiastic or willing to try again. I think we’ve just about wrapped up bluebonnet season so my chance may be gone.
Mr. Henry Wyman Smith turned one year old at the beginning of the month! We had a little cake smash with our twin cousin (our niece that’s two weeks older) and then on his actual birthday we had donuts and balloons with Bebe and Pa Wayne, and then pizza and playing at the park that night.
He is just the sweetest little booger and we love his little personality so much. He had to go later that week for his one year check up with vaccines and a blood draw and he was such a little trooper- didn’t even cry! He enjoyed using his ace bandage to make weird noises with his mouth all the way home 😉 And he was feeling himself in that polo shirt! He did look super handsome!
What I’ve Been Working On…
Decluttering! A week or two ago, I went through both kids’ rooms and gathered everything that they had outgrown or didn’t use and sold it or boxed it up to donate. Then the biggest project- I took absolutely every single thing out of my closet and purged probably 40-50% of it to donate and put everything back in an organized way. I don’t have a before photo because it is too graphic, but just know I couldn’t even see the carpet, haha! Now its so clean and makes my heart so happy! And I’m trying to carry that decluttering energy over to all the parts of the house. We don’t have that long until it’ll be time to put our house on the market and the less stuff we have to fight then, the better!
What I’m Excited About…
We have another baby calf! Steven went and checked last Monday after his long stint of call weeks and we had a bull calf on the ground! This is Texas Dust (son of Sweet Brindle Dust and Texana Star).
What I’m Watching/ Reading…
Nothing new to report on the watching front, really. I have read a few good books!
- The Summer of ’69 by Elin Hilderbrand– this was *almost* as good as 28 Summers. I wasn’t quite as sucked in, but I was still very invested and thought it was a great story! It has a few different storylines about a family vacationing in Nantucket in the summer of 1969. Each family member has something happening and the chapters rotate through each story. Thumbs up, would recommend!
- The Rose Code by Kate Quinn– HOLY SMOKES, this was SO GOOD!!! It took me a little longer just because the weightiness made me slow down a little, but I LOVED this book. And I am so impressed at all the research the author did to make it so accurate even though it’s a technically fictional story. It is the story of three women all from different backgrounds and places being recruited to Bletchley Park in the UK during WWII to break enemy codes. It alternates between their past work at BP and the “present” predicament they are all in trying to help one of the women that has uncovered a traitor in the group, set during the days of Elizabeth II’s wedding to Prince Phillip. Prince Phillip actually plays a decent sized role in this story, and it was so coincidental that he actually passed away when I was about halfway through reading this. Definitely recommend this, two thumbs way up!
- The Dutch House by Ann Patchett– I had heard a lot of buzz about this when it came out but hadn’t gotten around to checking it out until recently. I think something about the cover kinda creeped me out? But it was such a good story! It is told from the perspective of the younger brother about his and his older sister’s life as they are abandoned by their mother and their father’s subsequent remarriage. They live in an incredible extravagant house that was built by a Dutch couple that was essentially foreclosed on in the Depression, and they grow up there until their father unexpectedly passes away and their stepmother kicks them out as she was mainly just interested in the house and their father’s wealth, and has no interest in raising her step kids. It follows the siblings through their adult life as the house always maintains a pull over them and influences how they make adult decisions, etc. It was unique and well written, and I would recommend it!
After I loved The Rose Code so much, I started The Huntress also by Kate Quinn but just wasn’t into it. I don’t know if it was because they are both so heavy with the setting of WWII so they were hard to do back to back, or if the storyline just didn’t interest me as much, but I let it go back to the library and I may try again later. I am also about halfway through Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan and am a little meh about it as well, and may or may not finish it. I loved the Crazy Rich Asians series and blew through those three so quickly a few years ago but this just doesn’t seem as smooth or interesting. I read after I started it that it is supposed to be a retelling of A Room with a View, but I’ve never read that so any/all references to that were lost on me. I’ve started The Midnight Library by Matt Haig on Monday and am really enjoying it so far!
What I’m Listening To…
Just podcasts and old Ben Rector albums, haha!
What I’m Wearing…
A few months ago I saw this sweatshirt tunic in store at Target and fell in love. I’ve added three more colors since then and pretty much wear them all the time (I have the clay, coral, dark gray, and green). They are lightweight and thin enough that I can wear them for spring days that warm up, but were warm to layer with back when it was colder. They are longer in the back than the front and perfect for leggings. I think two of mine are smalls and two are mediums and I don’t notice a huge difference in how they fit or prefer one size over the other. I basically live in those four sweatshirts, haha!
I’m also the last person on the planet to discover joggers but I’m a huge fan now. I’ve gotten this pair in green and this pair in black both from Target and like both of them. I got XS in both and they fit pretty true to size- the green is baggier and the black is tighter (the website calls them pocket leggings, but they look like joggers. I bought them in store and just assumed they were joggers without knowing their official name, haha!) but I like both of them. They are both high waisted, which has taken some adjusting, but I think I like it! I’ve got a pair coming in from Old Navy in the next few days and I’m excited to see how they compare!
What I’m Doing This Weekend…
We are headed back to the ranch!
What I’m Looking Forward To Next Month…
Tiny Dancer has her first dance recital next month, and I’m so excited to see her perform! I have a feeling she will either dominate the stage because she does enjoy attention, or she’ll get too shy and break down because she doesn’t do well with too much attention… It’ll be interesting to say the least!
What Else is New…
Spring time means park time which we love!
One Sunday we were smoking a pork butt on the Traeger so we spent most of the afternoon in the garage. Livy did a little work on her Jeep, and then let her brother ride with her. At one point she said “Ok, I go see the boys!” and her father stroked out, and declared he was buying her a moped when she turns 16, haha!
Bebe is from Louisiana and our resident crawfish expert, so we went with them to a local crawfish place a few weeks ago for some boiled crawfish. It is super casual- you just get your crawfish or shrimp, and then they have picnic tables outside and you can hang out, and let your kids play and just have fun. Plus the food is SO GOOD. Henry loved it!
Just a few more of my favorite little handsome! He has just now had one little tooth finally pop through the bottom but those top ones are close! He’s truly very little help with laundry, but he’s pretty cute! 😉
Happy May, y’all! 🙂
Yay for getting out and double yay for getting out without kids! Enjoy every minute for sure. Kids are hard to take pictures of but I liked the ones you took. I also loved their matching outfits – very cute! Congratulations on the new calf. So cool to experience and see that. Amazing circle of life, right?! I wish I read more but it’s hard not to be interrupted. I will add 28 Summers on my list. Sounds like a great read. Happy Wednesday!
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com
Yay for having some kid free time. I can only imagine right now 🙂 And I didn’t know Kate Quinn had a new book out! Aaaahhhh!!! I LOVED The Alice Network but The Huntress didn’t suck me in as much.