What's Up Wednesday: April 2021

The last Wednesday of the month means it's time for What's Up Wednesday with Sheaffer & Shay.  April is finishing up which means we only have 6 1/2 more weeks until summer vacation!  I can't wait.  While I am so proud of Alec and have supported his decision to go to high school it has been one stressful year... and one big adjustment for our family. I'm looking forward to summer vacation and an empty calendar.
What We're Eating This Week:  I shared our monthly meal plan yesterday but here's a look at some of my favorite meals and foods we've been enjoying.

A brownie sundae always hits the spot

I just can not get enough of this chicken/orzo/ sun dried tomato dish and at only 5 WW points per serving I don't have to feel guilty either.

Warm sunny days make me want to eat more salads.  I like to top mine with lean protein & fresh fruit.



What I'm Reminiscing About: This guy turned 17 this month-- 17!  


Ian at 2 1/2 holding Alec in the hospital 








What I'm Loving: My vertical mouse!  I have felt such a huge difference in all my arm/neck joints since I started using it.






What We've Been Up To: It's been a quiet month around here.  We celebrated Easter, 3 different birthdays, and Alec started track.  We've been hiking and baking.  We took a day trip to Bass Pro, Cupcake Charlies, & Five Guys.  We enjoyed a field trip to Roger Williams park with our friends.. the usual.  





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What I'm Dreading: In the next few weeks most of our trees should begin blooming and I am dreading finding pollen on everything and how horrible I'll feel for the next 6-8 weeks.  I've already begun taking my allergy pills as my eyes have been so watery and itchy.




What I'm Working On: I have slowly been cleaning the gardens of all weeds, dead leaves, and such and with Ian's help we're redoing one of the gardens completely.   I also made a new wreath for our front door.  Reorganized the pantry and some of my crafting supplies.  I'm in the process of moving all the photos out of some broken photo albums and into photo storage bins. 

This the before and after leaf cleaning of the garden I want to do over.  We'll remove the border, add more crushed stone and make the whole garden bigger while leveling it out slightly.  I want to put in a trellis and a bench. 








What I'm Excited About:  We have a long weekend away planned for next month!

We're staying here--( photo taken from their website)



What I'm Watching/Reading:  I just shared both of these in my earlier two posts on Sunday and Monday. 

 We've been watching a variety of shows but nothing that really stands out as being super fantastic.  I dropped most of my weekly shows like Grey's, This is Us, New Amsterdam, A Million Little Things, etc.  as I just found them so depressing with all the pandemic stuff. So I'm searching through older shows trying to find something I can binge. 



I read 11 books this past month and really enjoyed them all!  Though my favorites have got to be Shadow Box and the Sweetness of Forgetting.  



 
What I'm Listening to: The heat kicking on early in the morning.  Otherwise it's so quiet in here with 2 of the guys gone off to work and the other two still sleeping. 

What I'm Wearing: A weird variety of clothing since we go from 70 to 40 to below freezing and back again in any two- three day time span.













What I'm Doing This Weekend: Hopefully taking Alec back to karate.  His knee seems to be doing much better but I don't want to push him to do to much too soon.  

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month: Kayaking and spending lots of time outside.  We've begun clearing off the patio and getting everything organized down there.  We have a new kayak stand and I love it.  We're still waiting on one more storage shed and I'm debating about buying a new patio table/ chair set for our deck.




What Else is New: We finally got our new dryer in.  We bought a Speed Queen to go with the washer we bought and it had been on backorder.


Linking up with:






Comments

  1. NatashaApril 28, 2021 at 6:57 AM

    Yay for having a getaway booked! That's super-exciting!!! And yes, our weather has been all over the place too. We were close to freezing with a bit of snow on Sunday and today is thunderstorms and some of the warmest weather we've had yet...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 28, 2021 at 10:58 AM

      I can not wait! I have already begun packing (in my head)! Today started in the 40's will reach into the mid 70's and then drop back into the 40/50's by nightfall... just crazy and so hard to dress for.

      Delete
  2. HollyApril 28, 2021 at 7:05 AM

    We love The Mountain View Grand- I think you will too- such a beautiful area!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 28, 2021 at 10:59 AM

      We have never been to that area and I can not wait. Though I am hopeful a few of their restaurants will open up by then as most of them are closed right now.

      Delete
  3. Tamar SBApril 28, 2021 at 7:08 AM

    17! Time flies!
    Glad the vertical mouse is helping you, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 28, 2021 at 11:00 AM

      It sure does. It's crazy to see him driving, heading off to work, and talking about college...

      Delete
  4. Memphis BridgesApril 28, 2021 at 7:25 AM

    Yay for a weekend away! All the food looks delicious :).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Andrea NineApril 28, 2021 at 7:47 AM

    Just love all your tops sweet friend! Happy 17th to your precious Alec! That chicken dish sounds amazing and I’m definitely going to make it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 28, 2021 at 11:01 AM

      I can not get enough of that chicken dish... in fact I just put it on our calendar for next month as well!

      Delete
  6. Dara @ Not In JerseyApril 28, 2021 at 8:19 AM

    Looks like a great month. I'm jealous of your upcoming getaway!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 28, 2021 at 11:01 AM

      I can not wait! We planned a trip for June too.... I just hope nothing gets in our way.

      Delete
  7. EllibelleApril 28, 2021 at 9:37 AM

    Lots of good activities and yummy food! And such cute baby pictures! Your upcoming getaway sounds wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 28, 2021 at 11:02 AM

      Aw, thank you! I have been swapping all our photos out of albums (that have started falling apart) and am loving these trips down memory lane with all the boys' baby and toddler photos.

      Delete
  8. Lindsay's Sweet WorldApril 28, 2021 at 10:14 AM

    I feel ya on the pollen and allergy issues. Everything has finally bloomed here and the pollen has finally stopped, although, grass will continue to bloom through June. I'm glad to finally have some relief from the trees and flowers, though!! I'm sorry you suffer so badly from allergies, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 28, 2021 at 11:03 AM

      Yeah we have a long way to go yet as most of our trees are barely starting to bud. Myself and my two younger boys get all itchy and sneezy and stuffy this time of year-- even with allergy medicine.

      Delete
  9. Kim CarberryApril 28, 2021 at 10:22 AM

    The brownie and ice cream looks so good. I've actually just made some brownies to have tonight.
    Happy belated birthday to your son!
    The vertical mouse looks interesting. I haven't seen one like that before. I'm glad it's helping.
    Ahh! I feel your pain! I am suffering with allergies at the moment. I have about 6 sneezing fits a day, with watery, itchy eyes. Ugh x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 28, 2021 at 11:04 AM

      It really has helped a lot and thankfully was very easy to adapt to.

      Delete
  10. R's RueApril 28, 2021 at 11:45 AM

    Yay.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good Better Best FoodApril 28, 2021 at 1:17 PM

    So exciting you have a trip planned. And a trip to Bass pro is always so fun in my book. That chicken w the orzo looks really Good. I will have to see if I can adapt to gluten free.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 28, 2021 at 8:14 PM

      It is exciting! We had fun with our day trip too.

      Delete
  12. Melissa April 28, 2021 at 3:54 PM

    That chicken and sundried tomato dish sounds amazing! I need to branch out with my meals a little bit. Also, I need to read more Rick Riordan! I always forget how fun his books are!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sparkles and LattesApril 28, 2021 at 6:11 PM

    Ok I need to look into that mouse. How cool is that? I love that it sits vertical. I can't believe you have a 17 year old. The throwback photos are so cute. I want to make salads like that this Summer for lunches.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 28, 2021 at 8:15 PM

      I can't believe I have a 17 year old either. I feel like that went by so fast.

      Delete
  14. handmade by amaliaApril 28, 2021 at 11:37 PM

    Such a happy selection of photos - it has been a full month.
    Amalia
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  15. the 4 M'sApril 30, 2021 at 1:21 PM

    Boys are growing! I can't believe my oldest can go for a driver's permit in a few months. I am about to start eating salads again! Been doing a lot of humus during lent and am ready to get back to my salads.
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne April 30, 2021 at 4:57 PM

      They really are growing so fast and so much.

      Delete
  16. LyshaMay 11, 2021 at 12:09 PM

    So many cute outfits. Loved the purple shirt in the last pic.

    ReplyDelete

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