Howwww is summer over? I cannot believe how quickly it went! Now is is the last bits of summer and getting ready for fall. August was fun with a beach vacation and lots of time at the pool, and with friends.

These deviled eggs with BBQ sauce, corn, & crispy onions were so summery. Make some for labor day and they’ll be gone quickly!

Grilled Peach & Ricotta Toasts could be breakfast, lunch, or an app.

I made lettuce wraps with honey mustard chicken and thought they were so fun. The kids were medium on it but in hindsight one said that was “sooo good”. The next day I used some leftovers to make caesar salad ones with parmesan. They were also delicious.

I gave Tomato Basil Chicken a refresh from the dark ages of 2015. This time it was grilled and got a drizzle of balsamic reduction.

September will be a flourish of activity. Kindergarten & 3rd grade (!!), both kids are playing soccer, and back to more time in the office. I’m kind of already mourning our normal dinner routine and timing. It’ll take some adjusting. I’m going to pull together some weeknight meal head-starts, a fun breakfast recipe, and an app.

The Big Kid: 
He was a bit sad for summer camps to be over. We have some fun before school starts but this kid loves a routine. We saw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and loved it. I think he caught 1,000 hermit crabs during our week at the beach. His class next year is packed with friends so he’s ready for 3rd grade.

The Little One: 
She’s 5! A whole hand! She was our little fish at the beach. Kindergarten starts soon and soccer! I’m coaching her team – wish us luck! She’s more than ready to be done at daycare (she isn’t impressed with nap time there) and cannot wait to ride the bus. It has been a lot to juggle in her head of what is happening what days so I’m ready for her to read/follow a calendar better.

Goals:
Year of workwear! I got some tan wedge sandals to dress up summer work clothes.
Salads or side-dishes: 
prep ahead bfasts or lunches for weekdays: Ehh. I’d better get back to this before Sept hits. I blame it on defrosting our big freezer so now I can restock.  
Monthly dates: We went to dinner in Back Bay at Lucie.
Declutter/cleaning: I’ve been on top of pulling out stuff they’ve outgrown or never choose. I’ll count it as a yes.
Workouts as a routine: Yes! I’m medium on these video workouts so I’m giving them a chance but will skip some and move on quickly-ish.
What I’m reading: I read Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo and her first adult novel was fantastic and packed full of dynamic women. I read Best of Friends which had unique characters. Book club’s book was The Paper Palace and did not love. I didn’t connect at all. I also read Park Avenue Summer about NYC and Cosmo in the mid 60s – it was pretty good.

Wrapping up July has me feeling like time is flying by. Our vacation is August so there’s a lot to look forward to but I’m here wanting to fit in all the summery things before time gets away from me. That also has me tired yet antsy. With work having a fiscal year ending June 30th, I don’t feel like it is summer until July 1 so time’s ticking!

In July we had a beach day and went to some town events and dog sat! I was at a conference, went to the Red Sox, and went out with friends. 

I made a chopped BLT sandwich which was so so good. I plan to repeat as an Italian sub or maybe caprese. 

I made a Lemon Dijon Pasta Salad to feel ohh-so-summery. 

Breakfast Crunchwraps were the most exciting thing to come out of the kitchen! (Shhh! You can always form as a burrito or quesadilla if the folding throws you off!)

The Big Kid: 
He has been loving camps. They’re all repeats from last year and he’s had friends there! Packing lunches is 90% easier this year. I love seeing him endlessly jump into the pool and his swimming strokes are looking great! He is always wanting very specific coloring sheets and is very into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  

The Little One: 
She looooves swim lessons and is really proud of herself. Her interest and willingness is what we want. Her birthday is so soon – she has a lot of ideas for themes for this family party…mermaids, wearing her Elsa dress, unicorns and she may have spouted ideas to others.

Next month will include a week at the beach, C’s birthday, more time at the pool, and as much fun as we can pack in!

Year of workwear! I used some store credit to get 2 tops.
Salads or side-dishes: Pasta Salad seems like a side! I had it as lunch, but there are no rules!
prep ahead bfasts or lunches for weekdays: I’ve not been on top of this but need to. 
Monthly dates: We fit in 2! We went to El Centro and Myers & Chang!
Declutter/cleaning: umm, I don’t think I really did.
Workouts as a routine: Yes! I’m doing one that has good workouts but I like the down out the leader with my own playlists.
What I’m reading: I read I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jenette McCurdy for bookclub and we had a lot to talk about. I read Every Summer After and think it was overhyped. Vera Wong’s unsolicited Advice for Murders was kind of fun – the food references and the elderly main character. I thought The Admissions was going to be very different so being so-so on it was prob my own expectations.

Making it to July always feels like such a win. Just surviving June having my end of the fiscal year, all. the. elementary school festivities., and everything else is definitely survival mode. July 1 is so so close! We wisened up and chose this week for camp – I couldn’t have the busiest week of work and be useful in decisions for where/when/what he’d do otherwise.

I kicked off the month with a girls weekend that was everything I needed. It was perfect to set up this full month. We celebrated Mr J’s birthday and father’s day and fit in lots of very spring-feeling things.

In the kitchen, I was most psyched about this Chicken Caesar Salad Burger! It is such a winner.

I also made a cocktail – Pineapple Mojitos with mint, pineapple simple syrup and rum.

We had peach pecan waffles which were so so good. It was too early for fresh peaches but the canned peaches also give you that flavorful syrup to go into the waffle mix. You can thank me later.

The big kid:
He (and Mr J) wrapped up a fun baseball season. Nobody is more bipartisan than the parents at a playoff game who are happy to watch but also happy for the opposing team to keep having more games. He loved the end of year family picnic, field day, all the theme days, and our last day of school party. We had 35 kiddos, 20 parents, and had a great time. He loves a routine which is less of a norm in the summer, but camps are repeats this year so that’ll be good. I cannot believe 2nd grade is done. His teacher was so impressive and I love the friendships he developed.

The little one:
She’s about to start swim lessons and she seems excited! We’re ready for more sunny weekends! She had a daycare “graduation” which was adorable but also she’ll keep going all summer so it could have just been a party for the sake of a party. She seems so big now. There are more and more things she does independently and she cannot wait for kindergarten.

Goals:
Year of workwear! I added some pants that are not exciting, but necessary.
Salads or side-dishes: We had salad bar one night, does that count?
prep ahead bfasts or lunches for weekdays: I had some tomato/mozzarella/arugula sandwiches with balsamic aioli that made for a delicious but mindless-to-pack lunch.
Monthly dates: Ehh, this didn’t fit in.
Declutter/cleaning: I handed over a big bag of hand me downs that will be too warm for our always hot guy.
Workouts as a routine: Yes! I went from one to another one that has too much jump roping but I’m doing it.
What I’m reading: I read Vacationland by Meg Mitchell Moore and liked it for so many points of view in a family/town in Maine. Then I read Bad Mormon by Heather Gay which was pretty good – I don’t know her from Real Housewives of Salt Late City, but imagine readers would be more into it who do. I just finished The Summer Job by Lizzie Dent and was really into it. It is more wine/hotel/hospitality and less summer vibes but that’s fine with me.

April was such a whirlwind. We had the upstairs floors refinished then we got reset and back to normal and the main floor is happening this very minute. It is like moving! School vacation was fun and we are so glad for more outside time. Baseball started back up and Easter was a very nice day.

In the kitchen, I did a month of Chicken, Bacon, Ranch!

I loaded some fries with chicken, bacon, and ranch with cheddar and queso. They were so good!

I made a grilled chicken sandwich with bacon and ranch. I loved it and would definitely repeat or it doesn’t have to be a sandwich.

It started with a pickle & ranch salad. I had it loaded with pickle flavor inspired by a salad kit, but the kids were happy for salad and ranch, minus pickles.

May will bring a dance recital, reunion weekend at work, and some fun stuff – maybe ask me again when the floor-refinishing is done. I’m envisioning some quick or packable meals for the baseball sidelines.

The big kid:
So many birthday parties – almost all at the trampoline place. He loved the school vacation break with some fun days and other days to just be home. Baseball started back up and they’re more coordinated than last year. He’s been less bothered by a meal that isn’t something he’d vote for which has been my goal all along but if it were up to him, it’d be pasta every night. I think he’s just usually hungry at the moment so maybe that makes him more flexible than in the winter.

The little one:
She had some fear-of-missing-out when it came time on Sunday mornings to get ready for dance class. We re-strategized and it went much more smoothly. I’m seeing her take on some spice – she knew that one of the cheese-of-the-month was spicy (it was sriracha gouda) and she kept eating it on multiple occasions. She’s too funny. She loved gnocchi and was more into hot-dogs than I remember from last year.

Goals:
Year of workwear! I tried some dresses but think they’re both going back.  
Salads or side-dishes: Pickle salad!
prep ahead bfasts or lunches for weekdays: being out of our space and normal routines has meant some regular occurrences and some spontaneity
Monthly dates: With all the sleepovers during floor refinishing and us each having a doozy of a cold, we didn’t add it anything else.
Declutter/cleaning: As we move all the stuff off the floors, we’ve cleaned, gotten rid of a good amount.
Workouts as a routine: Ehh. I did a few quick runs but got derailed with a cold that went through most of us.
What I’m reading: I read a lot! I muscled through this memoir – (it might be better as audio) Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to Hope. Then I read The House in the Cerulean Sea, which was from a blind-book-swap with bookclub. I never read fantasy and ended up being really into it. I always love Taylor Jenkins Reid and I breezed through Carrie Soto is Back. Rock, Paper, Scissors was a quick suspense one I liked but absolutely don’t endorse being a movie/mini-series.