Although this was the first entire month we were under the SIP order, I feel like I have a lot to write about! In part it is because of the crazy weather changes (making a snowman and eating outside the next week), and another part is all we have been doing around the house! But it was a good month and I’m glad we were able spend it together!
Books I’ve Read
- Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield- At an inn on the Thames one dark midwinter’s night a stranger bursts through the door with a dead child in his arms. Hours later, the child comes back to life. The child does not speak and so cannot answer where she came from. Three different families believe she belongs to them. But who is she really? I read The Thirteenth Tale a few years ago by Diane Setterfield and enjoyed it, but I think this book was much better. I really liked the intertwining plots and element of fantasy or folk tale. It was a long story that took me a while to get through, but is easy to put down and pick up, until the climax and resolution and then I had to just plow through it! 4/5
Recipes I’ve Tried
- Orange Dreamsicle Salad– Claire made this salad for our Easter dinner. It was fairly easy to put together, used mostly pantry staples and was SO yummy! The best part was how proud she was!
The Dreamsicle Salad is on the bottom left |
- Homemade Cookies & Cream Ice Cream– Claire received an ice cream maker for Christmas this year and now that the weather is getting nicer, we’ve been trying it out. This was the first ice cream recipe we made and it turned out pretty well. We added some mint extract to make it a mint oreo flavor. Very creamy and tasty!
- Butterscotch Toffee Blondies– Obviously we’ve been doing some baking and dessert making lately. I used milk chocolate chips in place of butterscotch chips (I find butterscotch to be too sweet) and doubled the recipe to make a 9×13 pan. My husband really liked the recipe. I liked it too, but I think I prefer fluffier, thicker blondies. I probably could have added more flour.
- Kool-Aid Sherbet– This was a quick recipe to make before lunch so it was frozen in time for dinner. It was REALLY good! Refreshing and light. The Kool-Aid made it really fruity. I think we are going to be trying this again! Just keep in mind you need to leave it out a bit before scooping because it does freeze very solidly.
- Shrimp Boil– Matt made this for dinner this weekend and used his smoker. The flavor on the corn was delicious. The entire meal was delicious! It was a fun new recipe to try and I’m so glad there are leftovers!
Products I’ve Been Using
- Makoshey Clothing- My girls have been loving their new Makoshey shirts and wearing them nonstop! They each got a shirt to try out from Makoshey and Aveline wants to wear hers every time she goes outside to kick the soccer ball around. Makoshey Clothing is a family-owned, Chicago based clothing line that started in 2019 designed for active girls with diverse athletic interests. They have a tee for every sport! The clothing is made to be durable and help then express their interests without the stereotypical girly vibe many children’s clothing can have. While we are at home and unable to participate in many individual or team athletics, it is important that we stay active and encourage our children to stay active as well. Makoshey Clothing can help motivate our children to keep moving! The shirts are made of a blend of 60% cotton and 40% polyester making them very soft, comfortable to wear, and durable. You can use code BAMBRICK15 for 15% off your entire order until 5/15 at midnight!
- Theraputic DERMA E Scar Gel– I won this from Kathrine’s blog back in the fall along with a basket full of other goodies. I’ve been taking my time trying them out. I mentioned I had shingles a few months ago and while it has healed, I have scars and marks left. I found this gel in my drawer and have been applying it once daily (not as often as I should), but the marks are really decreasing! It has a light lavender scent that I find calming, too. And it isn’t just for scars, either. You can use it for other things, too. I found an article on their website highlighting 6 uses for it. This isn’t sponsored, I’d just thought I’d mention a product I’ve been loving this month!
Currently
- Making- We’ve been making ice cream lately. Claire got an ice cream machine for Christmas so we are finally trying out some recipes with it. So good!
- Missing- I’m missing so much. I miss working out at the Y, the run club I do, going out to restaurants, meeting with friends. Everything you all are missing, too!
- Learning– I’m learning so much about educating at home. There are many different resources out there and thank goodness for them! I have now been thoroughly schooled on messenger for kids, and all the different video charring options!
- Loving- We gave the girls a swing set for Christmas and finally had it delivered and Matt put it together this month. Best. Purchase. Ever. They LOVE it! And I love they can play on it for hours.
- Reading- I finally finished Once Upon a River! It was such a great book! I’ve also been readingPinkalicious and Clifford books nonstop. Can I Be Your Dog? and Sleep Like a Tiger are other current favorites. Claire has been making her way through HP and the Goblet of Fire. Almost to the end now!
- Family Updates
- Matt- He has been SO busy lately even working from home! Since he works in the food industry, he is still putting in his hours. We do all need to eat after all. His company converted a line to making hand sanitizer and donating some to local hospitals and selling some to other companies. He also has been tackling projects around the house. He built this blind to cover the AC and compressor last weekend. We also painted the living room and dining room. And he built the kids’ playset 2 weeks ago, too!
- Claire & Avie- Oh man do these girls keep me on my toes! We are getting plenty of outside time and trying to make the most of things. We’ve made s’mores, built a snowman, and made SO. MANY. CRAFTS. this month!
- Easter- I felt this needed it’s own bullet point. We did a lot to make sure they had a memorable Easter. We decorated a bunny cake, had an egg hunt, made shaving cream artwork, and had the Easter Bunny visit our neighborhood! Matt did a wonderful job of smoking the ham for dinner. We also were able to do some calls with family. It was a really lovely day!
April Goals Recap
- Register for virtual 5K- I registered for the Fit You Seek, Run You Must 5K with Claire which has a baby Yoda theme. Nope, we are not Star Wars fans, just fans of anything cute. We ran the 5K together 2 weekends ago so we are just waiting on our medals and tees!
- Plan an at-home date night-We tried a new restaurant in Plainfield called Craft’d. The burgers were SO good! I got one with peanut butter and candied bacon. Delicious! We watched Knives Out, too. Matt and I thought it was a great movie. We had a wonderful date night at home. Better than we ever could have thought.
- Clean out the girls’ closets – Done! I tried to go through everything and ordered them a few more things they were low on like tops and sandals. At least the sales right now are good!
- Organize things for Goodwill – They are bagged and organized. And hopefully ready to go whenever Goodwill is open again. Just currently taking over the guest bedroom closet.
- Look into Tailwind – I just didn’t have time for this one! Hopefully I can get to it in May.
May Goals
- Plant a tree- I’d love to plant a tree in our front yard. I feel like it is missing one and it wouldn’t impact our light in the house at all.
- Touch up paint in house-We painted our living room and dining room this past month. There are just a few touch ups I need to do throughout the house.
- Pick out pillows for the couch-We have new paint, new wood floors, new curtains, and pillows are the final touch to redo our living room. I’m so happy with the changes we have made!
- Plant containers- I love having flowers at our front door so I hope I can get them planted this month.
- Do a craft project- I have a few projects I’d like to take on, but haven’t had a chance. I’d love to set aside some time for myself to do one.
linking up with Anne & Gretchen + Kristen, What’s Up Wednesday