What's Up Wednesday: April 2025

Wow, was April ever full of a lot of fun and good things! We started out the month with a dance show, are ending it anticipating another dance show, and the weather is definitively spring which just makes everything so much better!!!

Answering these questions monthly helps me reflect on the past month and I really appreciate having a record of what we've been up to. The questions come from Shay at Mix and Match Mama and Sheaffer at Sheaffer Told Me Too.

image from here

 

What we're eating this week... My principal bought dried apricots at Costco and shared them with me earlier this month. I remembered how much I love apricots so we bought a bag too. They're so good and I've been enjoying snacking on them this month.

We also ended up with a ton of frozen bananas in our freezer so I baked five or six batches of banana muffins this month. I was determined to clear our freezer out and now we're down to three frozen bananas which is a much more reasonable number to have on hand.

What I'm reminiscing about... Well, I'm writing this while I wait for Rachel to get her dance photos done so clearly I'm reminiscing about her first show :)

Rachel as a gem in Aladdin in May 2016. Who is that tiny child?!?!?!

What I'm loving... I am loving the beautiful weather we've had this past week. I've been hanging out laundry, sitting outside reading and drinking Coke with lime, and generally just living my best April life!

 

What we've been up to... As I mentioned above, we started out the month with Rachel being in a dance show. All the dances were based on musicals and Rachel was a zebra in The Lion King and Glinda in Wicked, as well as a dancer in The Greatest Showman.

Sam attended his second semi-formal...

...and Janice and I attended a Blossoms and Brunch event where we drank mimosas and made bouquets. I will write more about this next week, I hope!

 

Emily and her family came to visit us. We survived with nine people in our house and one shower!!! When is that renovation that I've been dreaming about happening again?!?!?!? Seriously though, we had so much fun hanging out with them and then spending a day in Toronto together.

Rachel and I even got to go up the CN Tower while they were in town.

 

And I've been on a few spring walks, discovering the flowers in a woods near us.

What I'm dreading... Well, I'm in the midst of dealing with horrible spring allergies so, on the plus side, I'm no longer dreading them. sigh. I picked up some extra meds for Rachel and I last night and if these don't do the trick, we're heading to a clinic to see if we can get some extra help. My one eye is permanently itchy, red, and watering. I look awesome.

What I'm working on... I've been working on getting our pansies planted and now I'm waging war against the squirrels. The squirrels dig them up and I replant the pansies and it's a continuing cycle. I need to remember to sprinkle cayenne pepper around the pansies so the squirrels will leave them alone.

 

What I'm excited about... I'm excited about various things decorated with bunnies for spring! Hahaha!!! Rachel and I found seasonal spatulas at Wal-Mart and then Janice crocheted me a bunny garland for our dining room.

What I'm watching/reading... Well, the spring dance performance information was ten pages which I highlighted and then Rachel's friend's mom and I coordinated rides for our kids and I also have some volunteer commitments so I'm closely checking the dance schedule to make sure I'm not missing anything. It's going to be a full two weeks from now until performance weekend. And then of course I'll be watching Rachel dance!

 

As for reading, I participated in a low-key way in Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon this past weekend. I read three books and they were all pretty good.

I'm also currently working my way through Babel by R F Kuang and I don't know what I think of it. Have you read it?!?!?

What I'm listening to... Well, since I'm writing this at dance I'm listening to a bunch of excited dancers who are getting their photos taken in all their costumes. It's more than a little chaotic! When it's quieter, since our windows are open, I'm listening to all the birds chirping. It's chaotic in a different way :)

What I'm wearing... I'm wearing such an eclectic mix of clothing these days. Some days it's warm enough for capris in the mornings and other days I'm looking for a sweater. Layers, layer, layers -- it's all about layers. I've definitely ditched my socks for the season though which makes me sooooo happy!!!

 

What I'm doing this weekend... Well, it's my birthday on Friday and we're celebrating a friend's 50th birthday on Sunday so, besides dance, it's all about birthdays this weekend!!!

What I'm looking forward to next month... I'm looking forward to the dance performance of course, and after that I'm just looking forward to a slightly slower month before the craziness of June, and the last month of school, hits. I'm also looking forward to some good times out in the yard, getting it in shape for spring. I've been seriously neglecting yardwork so far this spring and it's starting to show.

 

So that's what's up with us this last day of April. Here's hoping I can actually make some headway on getting my allergies under control so I can enjoy being outside even more.