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

Linking up

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. 

One-dish dinner: Couscous and Veggies

This is my go-to meatless meal. I make it for myself a lot when Scott isn't here or for a side when he is here. The kids will eat it too. I posted a version years ago and I've probably shared it once or twice since but I'm going to put it into my recipe index for 2026...I shared awhile back that I want to share recipes this year that are mostly brainless, no weird ingredients, no fancy steps...just the dinners I'm already making a few times a month! You can find what I've posted so far here.

2 cups of dry pearl couscous

3 1/2 cups of chicken stock

1 small zucchini, chopped

1/2 onion, diced (or a shallot)

1-2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (not chopped)

1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped

One lemon --grate a teaspoon of zest + 1 tsp of lemon juice (you can use lime too, in a pinch)

Parmesan, about 3/4 cup --shredded from a bag or freshly grated (not the kind from the green can)

Olive oil, sea salt, pepper

In a large pan, heat olive oil to medium heat and saute the zucchini, onion, mushrooms, and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. Once it's all golden brown, pull it off the heat and put on a plate to set aside. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and, on medium heat, add the couscous and stir it around for a few minutes until it gets to be a golden-brown or toasted color. It'll burn quickly so keep an eye on it. 

Add the stock and stir to scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan. Turn heat to low and simmer until the couscous is cooked through and has absorbed most of the liquid, about 10 minutes. 

Stir the vegetables back in. Add the grated lemon zest and lemon juice. Add in the parmesan and stir to melt it. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Enjoy warm but leftovers are fantastic too, reheated with some extra cheese.

Friday things, 3/13

1. I've had horrible allergies in my eyes for the last two weeks. I finally got it under control with steady zyrtec but I couldn't even look at a computer screen for days there. I went to urgent care and got the standard "welcome to Kanas" speech concerning springtime allergies and I always say "it's not my first time and also I've lived in Missouri for the last 4 years..." and that always throws them off a little because they act like everyone complaining of allergies is fresh off the plane from a perfect climate zone like San Diego or a subarctic place like Fairbanks. Either way, the visit was free but I wasn't a fan. 

2. So coming off of not being able to sleep for a week, constantly dealing with switching back and forth between contacts and glasses, and now taking zyrtec every night, I made an eye appointment and turns out I can't actually go to an eye appointment even for an actual concern because of my insurance. I went less than a year ago for a contacts fitting. I would need to go to my PCM and then get a referral to an ophthalmologist, which...the last time I got a referral to someone, it took 11 months. Here I thought just a regular optometrist that I've seen before would be able to check my eyes more closely than the disgruntled PA working on a Saturday at urgent care. 

Either way, military healthcare, as always, is a true you-get-what-you-pay-for-situation.

3. I am in a media rut. I stand by everything I recommended a few weeks ago. I have however found myself back at one of my ultimate favorites, a true comfort-watch:

If you've never watched Homeland, it holds up! It started in 2011, ended in 2020. It's always weird to think that 2011 was so long ago (again, I'm convinced that 2013ish was the last good year lol), but this show does not disappoint if you're thinking about if it will be cringy or awkward today. 

Claire Danes is always cringy anyway. 

Cannot recommend enough. 

4. Because of the allergy issues, I went an entire week without attempting to wear eye makeup and then threw away my cheap e.l.f. mascara because I didn't like it anyway. Because I'd used so many eyedrops, my lashes were starting to break. I did have a moment of panic there. I splurged on Honest mascara because it comes with a primer. I've bought this mascara before and I cannot recommend it enough. It hurts to pay $20 for it, but it's the best out there. 

5. In other news, Wells was really sick for exactly one day two weeks ago and now he still has a cough, Sutton is slightly fever-ish to kick off our spring break, and Scott is pretty sick. It's definitely spring when everyone gets sick! ...I've gotten away with just allergies. But that's basically where I've been: juggling all the things while not really feeling good at all. I do have a lot to write about so let's hope the zyrtec keeps working. 

6. Some of these have been on my desktop for a few weeks so apologies if they're untimely: 

(not me, but Scott)

I was taking so much allergy medication last weekend that I had no idea what was happening. 

Another show ^ (Mad Men) I cannot recommend enough, from beginning to end. 

Linking up with Friday Favorites!