Welcome to What's Up Wednesday for August. I'm linking up with Shay at Mix and Match Mama and Sheaffer at Sheaffer Told Me To to talk about what we've been up to lately.
image from here
What we're eating this week... I usually have a couple of packages of Mr Noodles on hand to make an easy Napa cabbage salad that our family loves. Well Sam recently discovered that Mr Noodles can be made into soup and so we've been eating a lot of that lately, especially Sam. It's also the time of year when some of my favourite produce is in season -- peaches and tomatoes. We're getting a ton of tomatoes from our CSA and I bought a basket of peaches at our pool's produce stand last week.
I'm starting to get excited though because it's almost time for back to school muffin baking! Yum!!!
What I'm reminiscing about... Seven years ago this week, we moved into our house. It is the first house Dave and I bought and we've loved it. I re-read all my moving blog posts last week and it was so fun to remember those times. You can check out the first of the new house posts here if you're interested. Sam was four when we moved and Rachel had just turned two.
What I'm loving... Last week we went for a couple of walks to check out some local art. A factory near our house was torn down and something new is being constructed. The developers put up a nice fence and provided the supplies so that anyone from the neighbourhood could paint something to display.
Additionally, some local artists were invited to paint some buildings' back doors in our uptown. Normally this would be an overlooked alley but now it's brightened up with some new artwork. I wrote a blog post about these two outdoor art installations which you can check out here, if you're interested.
What we've been up to... We've been swimming, playing games, reading books, checking out art, eating at food trucks and local ice cream places, and trying to get some yard work done. It hasn't been too exciting around here :)
What I'm dreading... Early mornings. I'm so ready for the kids to get back to school and for me to get back to work but could everything just start at 10am every day please? We're a little too used to sleeping in and our slow mornings around here and that's all about to change.
What I'm working on... I'm getting ready for our fall routine to hit. I really want to try and get the kids' rooms in order, including their clothes. We've let things slide a little bit this summer and that needs to stop...
What I'm excited about... Last week we received an email from our local baseball association that they're running a fall baseball program so we signed Sam up. He didn't get to play this summer and I'm excited he'll get a chance to play again this fall. It's only six weeks so it's not a very long commitment either.
What I'm watching/reading... We haven't been watching much of anything around here. Sadly, the Blue Jays have been chased off TV by the Stanley Cup playoffs so we aren't even watching baseball these days. Boo.
As for what I'm reading, I'm just trying to work my way through all my library books. The best two books I've read lately were Family For Beginners by Sarah Morgan and Truths I Never Told You by Kelly Rimmer. Both of these books made me cry.
Also, last week I picked up a Sweet Dreams book from a Little Free Library. Then I went and dug out my stash of Sweet Dreams books so I've been reading those lately too! Hahahaha!!! Do any of you remember reading that series (likely as a pre-teen or teenager in the 80s!)?
What I'm listening to... Blue Jays games on the radio. If we can't watch them, then we'll listen to them. I've been writing this blog post, as I paint my toenails, and listen to the Blue Jays play the Rays. It's pretty much been a perfect afternoon :)
What I'm wearing... New shoes -- my mom gave me a pair of Sketchers Go Walk which didn't fit her so I'm enjoying trying them out. I've also been wearing a fun pair of knockoff Toms which I bought at Ardene.
What I'm looking forward to next month... There's a lot to look forward to next month. The kids are going back to school in person, I'll be able to get back to work, Sam will have baseball and in person dance is starting up for Rachel. There's a lot to look forward to!
Watching the kids do their thing last year.
What else is new... Yesterday our local school board announced that our kids will have a staggered start for back to school. School begins in two weeks and, for the first two weeks, kids will only be going every other day to learn about the new "physical distancing practices and Covid prevention routines" at school. I'm glad we have the opportunity to go back in person (or to attend virtually) in our province and I'm really looking forward to the fourth week in September when (hopefully) our kids will just be back at school every day.
