What's Up Wednesday In April

Another month of sheltering in place down... and it sounds like another one to go.  This may be a fairly boring What's Up Wednesday but I enjoy this link up too much not to participate.
What We're Eating This Week: With our grocery stores back to being fairly decently stocked we've taken to meal planning once more.

Saturday: Grilled chicken, ham & pea pasta salad, and salad.
Sunday: Crock pot turkey breast with squash casserole and salad



Monday: Pork chops with egg noodles and leftover squash casserole



Tuesday: Chili and cornbread



Wednesday: Ham and cheese lasagna with salad
Thursday: Chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole



Friday: Homemade pizzas and salad


What I'm Reminiscing About: Last April when life looked like this...
What I'm Loving: That Alec worked so hard to make Ian's cake.. even though it was made with chocolate, peanut butter, and coffee (three things Alec does not like and won't eat!).





What We've Been Up To: Baking, hiking, and celebrating this guy turning 16!!



What I'm Dreading: Another month or so of quarantine.

What I'm Working On: Mother's day gifts and cards and getting the gardens prepped for spring.. as well as a few puzzles.



What I'm Excited About: We have some potentially big changes coming up for our family and I am pretty excited to see how it all pans out (more details when I have them I promise!).

What I'm Watching/Reading:

 I started watching Good Girls, Perfect Harmony, and a bunch of other shows.  You can read about what I've been streaming here.




I read quite a few books this month too; some great, some good, and some not so good.  You can read all about them here.



What I'm listening to: Absolute silence!  Some days I think that is just amazing; especially when all three boys are home and I can't hear anyone...

What I'm Wearing: April started out pretty chilly and I was still wearing sweaters, scarves, and boots.




I wore this wool sweater (with turtleneck) on Monday!

What I'm Doing This Weekend: If the weather is nice we'll hopefully get to go on another nice long hike in the woods and maybe even tackle some yard work.

 What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month: Celebrating Mother's day and our 19 year anniversary.

What Else is New: Other than new regulations we're following (like wearing masks in public)... nothing much is new at all.


Linking up with:


Comments

  1. Michele MorinApril 29, 2020 at 7:28 AM

    Wow, 16!
    You have so much fun ahead of you! Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 29, 2020 at 2:45 PM

      He keeps telling me in 2 years he'll be an adult so it's like he's already one. LOL

      Delete
  2. Memphis BridgesApril 29, 2020 at 8:04 AM

    This all sounds so nice....the food, baking, walks outside, and projects. Enjoy them all!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 29, 2020 at 2:45 PM

      Thank you! I am trying to just enjoy it.. and not worry/ stress about the future.

      Delete
  3. Kari April 29, 2020 at 8:35 AM

    I love reading what you are up to. Those dishes look amazing and your outfits are adorable.

    ReplyDelete
  4. HollyApril 29, 2020 at 8:46 AM

    I am loving Good Girls too- Happy Birthday to your sweet boy!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dara @ Not In JerseyApril 29, 2020 at 9:48 AM

    The chili and the cake and the casseroles all look really good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 29, 2020 at 2:46 PM

      Thanks! We have been eating well lately that is for sure.

      Delete
  6. AnonymousApril 29, 2020 at 10:04 AM

    I really like all of your sweaters! I try and wear my sweaters as much as I can until it is way to hot to wear them. Since I live in Alabama it is already super warm and we have been swimming already! Looks like y'all are having a fun quarantine! Thanks for an awesome post!

    Abby Kate
    https://thatslifefor-ya.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 29, 2020 at 2:47 PM

      Aw, thanks! Here in New England we have a very long sweater season. It's a good thing I really enjoy wearing them.

      Delete
  7. Andrea NineApril 29, 2020 at 12:16 PM

    You look so good! I really want to make a squash casserole! That cake looks wonderful, reminds me of the Reese’s cake I always make the boys for their birthdays!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 29, 2020 at 2:48 PM

      Aw, thank you! That's nice to hear as I feel like a blob with all this emotional eating. It might be a good thing though at it's gotten me back to tracking food on Weight Watchers. My oldest always picks something with peanut butter and chocolate for his birthday dessert.

      Delete
  8. NatashaApril 29, 2020 at 2:42 PM

    That cake is very impressive. And yes, thinking about this time last year, and how it's all gone this year, is just so odd...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 29, 2020 at 2:48 PM

      It is weird thinking about how different life has changed so quickly.

      Delete
  9. Bri RundeApril 29, 2020 at 3:40 PM

    Wow! Another month?!?! Hang in there! it looks like you guys are really making the most of it. We just reopened this past Monday. That cake looks amazing! You look so great in all the pictures!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 29, 2020 at 7:26 PM

      Yeah, they're hoping for May 20th maybe as a partial re-open date but have warned it may be even later than that.

      Delete
  10. kitty@ Kitty's Kozy KitchenApril 29, 2020 at 4:22 PM

    Your weekly menu sounds wonderful! Your Alec sure is an accomplished baker, and making that cake for Ian was a labor of love. Your look very nice in all your outfits!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 29, 2020 at 7:26 PM

      He sure is! He took to baking like a fish to water a couple of years ago and is constantly asking to bake something up; he loves trying out new recipes.

      Delete
  11. K (Sunshiney Days) April 29, 2020 at 9:53 PM

    That cake looks delicious!! Thanks for recommending Night Road. Just read it yesterday and loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. ChelleApril 30, 2020 at 8:28 AM

    That cake looked AMAZING!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble ChristmasApril 30, 2020 at 9:21 AM

    Looks like you have been eating well, enjoying each other's company, getting outdoors and enjoying some beautiful scenery and getting some reading done too!!
    Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and for letting me know that you did by leaving a comment!! Stay safe, healthy and happy!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 30, 2020 at 11:38 AM

      We sure have been eating well (maybe a little to well!).

      Delete
  14. the 4 M'sApril 30, 2020 at 10:52 AM

    I am enjoying working on our 1000 piece puzzle. It's taking me a while but it is satisfying. That cake your son made sound delicious!!
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 30, 2020 at 11:38 AM

      It is satisfying; I'm attempting a 1500 piece one right now.

      Delete
  15. onceuponatimehappilyeverafter.comApril 30, 2020 at 10:36 PM

    Hope you are soon out of sweatshirts, scarves and boots! Goodness! And soon out of quarantine! The cake Alec made for Ian looks scrumptious in true Alec fashion. We ate chicken-broccoli-rice casserole and chili last week! Great minds. Checked out and pinned your squash recipe. I make something similar but like the idea of adding stuffing. Mmmm.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne May 1, 2020 at 7:21 AM

      The stuffing on top gets a nice bit of crunch to it too; it is delicious! Alec already has a red velvet cheesecake planned for Mother's day and I can't wait to try it.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Favorite TV Shows Growing Up in the 80's and early 90's

Image
Do you remember the TGIF lineups on Friday nights? I can remember planning sleepovers and time with friends around TV Show lineups of our favorite shows... or else trying to set the VCR to record our favorite shows if we weren't going to be home. And through the years I had SO MANY favorites! Growing pains aired in 1985 which put me around age 8 and it stayed on the air until I was 15 or so; I'm pretty sure most people in my age group watched mostly for Kirk Cameron and all his antics.  I still have a soft spot for family sit-coms!  The Facts of Life aired when I was just 2  and stayed on the air until I was 11 so I'm sure the episodes I remember so fondly were either some of the later ones and then reruns shown later on when I was old enough to watch from the beginning. I think everyone would have loved an Edna Garret in their lives.   Benson another sitcom that began airing when I was just 2 and was done by the time I was 9 (another one I must have watched mai...
Read more

Things That Make Me Laugh

Image
I loved the challenge of this week's list for our 26 lists link up.  I don't know about you but I really need to laugh more lately.  It's such a great stress reliever. 1.  Books-- I love a good funny book that makes me laugh out loud.  I haven't read one in a while but if you have any recommendations I'm all ears.  The last book I can remember making me laugh was the Un-Honeymooners. 2  The boys being silly. 3.  Watching shows like America's Funniest Videos or Family Feud. 4. My husband.  Most people don't realize it but he's actually pretty funny and often makes me laugh. 5.  Whenever my sisters/ family get together and we get to reminiscing (particularly if my Aunt Elaine is around) we end up laughing so hard at all the old family stories that we are all in tears by the end of the night.  It's fabulous. 6. Movies like Mom's Night Out, Christmas Vacation, and Grown Ups make me laugh out loud. 7.  When my ...
Read more

Making Gift Card and Money Holders Using Scrapbooking and Cardmaking Supples

Image
I don't tend to keep a lot of crafting supplies on hand so when I saw this month's de-stash challenge I wasn't sure what I was going to make.  I finally realized that with so many of my Christmas gifts being cash and gift cards this year that I needed to make up some fun paper crafting/ creative ways to gift them.   I still want my nieces and nephews to have something to open so I pulled out my papers and stamps and made up some cute little money/gift card holders. They were much easier to make than I thought.  The first one I worked on was to hold some oversized Nintendo gift cards.  I made a standard sized card and folded down one corner of the card front.  Then I ran my double sided tape along the bottom an 1/2 way up the side creating a cute little pocket.  Finally I added some cute embellishments and ribbons.   Voila! A simple and easy gift card holder for those larger sized gift cards.  The bulk of the tweens and teens on my list j...
Read more

Dollar Store Candy Cane Wreath

Image
Today I am linking up with some fellow bloggers for a Dollar Store craft challenge.  I don't often participate in these challenges since I try to stay away from our local Dollar Stores; I find they can be quite dangerous for me!  I knew this was the perfect time to find some inexpensive holiday decorations though and I just LOVE how my wreath turned out!  I hope you stop by and see what the other hosts are sharing. Meet this month's co-hosts! Across the Blvd | Purple Hues & Me This Autoimmune Life | Our Unschooling Journey Domestic Deadline | Sew Crafty Crochet Stone Cottage Adventures | Sum of Their Stories | Two Chicks & a Mom I bought the candy cane wreath base and a few rolls of mesh (not knowing how many I'd need I bought waaay to many; I only ended up using one white roll and one red roll. Using some chenille stems I already had on hand I attached the mesh to the wreath base trying to alternate the whit...
Read more

Making a Sugar Cookie "Gingerbread" House

Image
 Alec really wanted to try making his own gingerbread house this year without using a premade kit.  We talked about how we never really eat the house since they don't taste very good.  Years ago we gave up on the frosting that comes in the kit and began making our own so we thought perhaps we should try making our our house too. Only problem is that no one in the house likes gingerbread.  We talked about trying to make the house using a sugar cookie recipe.  Alec was so excited at that idea since he just LOVES sugar cookies.   He found a recipe online for a simple sugar cookie recipe and mixed up the dough.  He rolled it out an cut it to the size of our cookie sheets-- we had read that it's easiest to cut the house pieces out after the dough has been baked and is still warm and soft because then you don't have to worry about any of the pieces losing their shape while baking. I had picked out a simple cookie cutter set on Amazon and as soon as the ...
Read more