April 13, 2026

Monday things, 4/13

1. For years, I've had lightweight shorts I've worn under dresses. Not all dresses, just the swing-style dresses that are above the knee. They're usually pj shorts and usually from The Gap. However, I threw one pair away years ago and then I LOST my pair that I had from last summer. I have no idea what happened to them and honest to goodness this is what happens when you're constantly packing and unpacking and sorting clothes. So anyway, I grabbed this set from Walmart for $12 and the shorts are perfect for wearing under loose shorter dresses. 

This set also doesn't look particularly pajama-y so I would 100% wear this tank over a swimsuit in the summer.

Follow me for more hacks. 

                                                            pajama set --I got a medium

2. If you know me, I try to keep most of my complaining to Instagram stories and not on this permanent space because the internet doesn't forget. However, in the last several weeks: Sutton was sick, I was sick, Sutton fell and had to get a staple in her head, Scott was out of the country, Scott was sick, Scott was in the hospital for what we think is/was West Nile virus and still doesn't feel great and then he's traveling a lot lately, and then this past week I broke a tooth. 

We also have to move out of this house by the end of June. Where are we going? We have some plans but we're still not sure how it's all going to shake out. We are staying in Kansas for the foreseeable future so it's not like we're moving to a new location but we do have to move houses. 

So if you're wondering why "Friday things" randomly turns into "Monday things", this is why. 

3. 


Ignore the fact that the paper is upside down (sigh). This is what Wells is doing for 2nd grade math right now. Writing out the problems, using real paper, lining things up, etc. Warms my heart. 

4. I've tried to stay out of a lot of these Landfill Core stores but I really needed a new rug because our front door rug is falling apart. I also wanted to see those (hideous) viral beaded bags in person. There were multiple people there taking pictures of them! 
But the kids had some Easter money to spend so they got to look around TJ Maxx...


They got eggs filled with slime. Also...heart-warming, I guess. 


5. Mix sweetened lime syrup into your diet coke. 

6. 










Sutton has been saying 'oh biscuits' for over a year now.






April 7, 2026

Currently in {April}

Planting... I mentioned before that I went to the "water" method of trying to keep my orchid alive after I learned that Big Orchid is just trying to get us to buy new ones every 4 months. I figure I have nothing to lose because it hasn't bloomed since early last fall. Meaning, we brought it home from the store in bloom and then it died and hasn't re-bloomed.

It's probably been a month and it's not dead yet so we'll see. (No pics because it's dark and I'm writing this at 6am.)

Cleaning... My trick is to do the kitchen reset in the morning. So yeah, I often go to bed with a messy kitchen but then I get up at 5:00am every day anyway, so I listen to the Bible reading for the day or a podcast while I spend 20 minutes loading/unloading, wiping counters, washing pots, and packing up lunchboxes. It's not worth doing at night if you're already tired. Don't let social media make you think you need to stay up til 11pm cleaning your kitchen. 

Eating and drinking....I ate more candy this past weekend than I've eaten in months. I could not stop. I actually had to detox yesterday. And then I ate some M&M's and had a diet coke before bed and, I'm not kidding, I slept better than I have in weeks (don't come to me for advice on anything). 

But really, Scott has been sick and not eating, the kids prefer pb&j for 2-3 meals a day, and so I've been grazing. 

Seriously, don't ask me for advice.

Reading and watching... I finished two books over spring break and I'm currently reading this:


I'm woefully behind on my yearly reading goal at this point but it is what it is. I'll catch up this summer maybe. My library card did not renew in Missouri (I haven't been physically there to renew), so that set me back a little and my Kansas library is acting weird ...my holds don't come in anymore?...Excuses, excuses, I guess. 

I've been rewatching Homeland. We are finishing out The Pitt season 2 and we finished season 2 of Paradise. I tried Marshals and I don't like it. I will wait for The Dutton Ranch and then 1944. I like Luke Grimes a lot but the premise of Marshals is dumb. 

We watched The Housemaid over the weekend and I tried to start The Madison but it just seems like a bunch of old rich people. 

I don't read as much because I love to rewatch shows. Since it's spring, it might be time to do my annual rewatch of Better Call Saul. 

Loving.... We really have had some delightful spring weather over the last two days. Windows open and a light breeze. 

But I meant to share this awhile back:

similar, but it's called the Electra 

I got this backpack in 2017 because I just "really wanted one". No idea why, just did. I didn't use it for much for years but now it's my "walking backpack" and I use it every single day while we walk the dogs. My friend found it on Poshmark because she really liked it too, but I got it on Amazon. It's just crazy how I never used it until, like, this year. It's just a testament to how we never know what we'll need in the future. 

Linking up VERY late for Currently!

April 3, 2026

Friday things, 4/3

Not gonna lie. It's been a week. March has kind of done us in at this point but now it's April and it's still going...the metaphor for the week is this:

Mav grabbed my book and ate it during the day on Wednesday.

BUT.

Here are some randoms and recommendations I wanted to share before I forget:

1. Saddleback Kids Easter Story. This is adorable. We watched it at school this week and I really like their content for quick videos when the kids need a reset. I turned it on again this morning for my kids.

2. See Kai Run shoes. I've consumed a lot of content about kids' shoes over the years and SKR is consistently at the top of the list. Sutton needs a pair of sneakers and I glanced around at Target two weeks ago...They are $30 for preschooler-aged shoes and they look so cheap in person. SKR was having a sale and everything was $25 so I let Sutton pick the pattern she wanted <3


It's cute the way the styles all have names and this one has my name. 
But $25 for podiatrist recommended shoes is a definite "yes". I've been buying this brand since Wells was a year old. Sometimes Target does collabs with them and I've bought those too but they price is high so it's usually better to buy them direct when there's a sale. 

3. 


We love this tent so much. She sleeps in it at night. Easily the best $25 we've spent on a birthday gift and I think my niece is getting one for her birthday in May. 

4. I placed a Walmart order last weekend because I needed a bunch of random things and didn't have the energy to wander for an hour with two kids. This is the number of emails they sent me about ONE order over a period of 24 hours. Like, that's enough, Walmart and reason enough not to use them...they didn't used to do this and I've been utilizing this service for almost 9 years. 




5. Whatever I just found screenshotted on my devices: 























iykyk







March 30, 2026

a good old-fashioned recap

The week before spring break, I was dealing with awful allergies and could barely look at a screen. Then, Sutton started getting sick the first day of break and that lasted for an entire week, overlapping with me starting to get sick by the 3rd or 4th day of break. Which then worsened as the week went on. So we've had two solid weeks of not feeling great at this point. Scott had been traveling and also sick and my parents came to visit and they got sick and Wells seems to have escaped this, but he was sick about a month ago so, realistically, he got it all started. 

I ranted about this on instagram a few days ago but honestly, that's where I've been. I kept telling myself over spring break that I had to "lock in". I even went out and bought a $7 iced coffee one day, thinking it would give me the energy and motivation to get something done. All I did for a week was putter, sleep, and scroll. My diet consisted of ibuprofen to stop the body aches because, while I wasn't feverish or feeling chills, I couldn't focus with the body aches. And Sutton was miserable too, so that added to it. Wells played board games with my parents and played outside with his friends. He had a great spring break! 

Anyway. 


Wells' soccer practice (where Sutton first started saying "my legs and arms hurt"..the body aches)

Homeland in bed

More Homeland. Quinn was always my favorite character on that show.

Turned 4!

You can tell she doesn't feel good but she did eat sushi because that's what she wanted.

realizing I don't have nearly as many pictures of Wells because he's bigger and faster and she's the one who won't let me out of her sight..

Flashback to March 2022:

I posted a few pics of Sutton on Facebook for her birthday and included a baby picture and someone I currently know wrote "congratulations" under it and I'm thinking "did she think I just had a baby?

Her 4 year old well-check (where they said it's just an upper respiratory thing)

New toys

That $7 coffee. I did not ask for whipped cream but she enjoyed sharing it.

More soccer.

Randomly falling asleep

New messy toys

She got a tent for her birthday and she would just randomly go sleep in it

The weather was 90s some days and windchill in the teens other days

Then...


Sutton randomly fell off a chair before school on Tuesday morning and we went to the ER and they had to put a staple in the back of her head.


She was promised ice cream for dinner so they literally just ate ice cream for dinner TWO nights in a row this past week because I was in survival mode.


More soccer practice but healthy this time.


And we went to a bounce-house birthday party on Saturday. 

...staple in the back of our head and all.