June 03, 2022

Friday Night Photos

I always try to remember to take photos throughout the week because I like using them for Friday Night Photos. These posts act kind of like a journal for me; all of the stuff that doesn't fit in during the rest of the week basically gets thrown onto Friday Night Photos. It usually isn't until Friday night that I realize I didn't take as many pictures as I thought! And I'm almost embarrassed to post the pictures from this week because they are SO not interesting, haha. However, there is an update on the ducklings, which is worth it!

On Monday, we finally got to cook on the grill and and hang out with the kids. Everybody was off work, there was no baseball, and we had good weather. Noah and Eli invited their girlfriends over and Jerry cooked burgers on the grill. After dinner, we played cornhole. Eli is really good at it, and he and his partner won every game (we switched teams a couple of times). Can you believe how grown up the boys look? (Noah's on the left and Eli is on the right.) 



Last year sometime, I wrote about how frustrating it was to get my kids to put away their laundry. At the suggestion of several readers, I gave each of them their own hamper for clean clothes and I decided to stop asking them to put away clothes.

They are in charge of their own laundry--from dirty, to the washer, to the dryer, to their hamper in their bedroom. If they choose to put the clothes away, awesome. If not, they can wear wrinkled clothes ;)  I had to go in Eli's room the other day and I saw his clean clothes; this went exactly how I expected! (There actually is a hamper under there.)



The cats have been loving the warmer weather. I've been opening the windows when it's nice outside and all four of them seek out a window to in front of. Watching the "kittens" is funny; they both move their heads completely in sync when they see something move or they hear a noise.



And this is the old lady section...


Phoebe's fur is not looking great. (Doesn't it make you want to rub her belly, though?) Ever since we saw the vet and learned about her kidney disease, she just hasn't looked her best. But she's eating! I bought SO many different flavors, textures, brands, and types of wet cat food to try to get Phoebe to eat and I finally found one that she loves (it's a creamy shrimp soup for cats--so spoiled!). She won't eat anything else. She seems happy, though--she's gotten a TON of extra attention and she's basking in it. 

I have no memory of taking this photo below, so I'm thinking either Jerry did it himself or one of the kids used my phone to get a picture of Jerry. No idea! But I figured I'd include it.



Noah's girlfriend got very sunburned in a Memorial Day parade and I thought it was cute that he was putting aloe on her burns.



It was 96 degrees at Eli's baseball game the other day and I felt so bad for the players. I'm sure the heat bothers the parents more than it does the players, but I am "that" mom who worries about the kids being miserably hot. Eli is a catcher, so he has to wear all of the catchers' gear as well.

A few years ago, my mom suggested that I soak a washcloth with cold water, put it in a Ziploc bag, and then into a cooler with ice. At the game, Eli can use the ice cold washcloth to cool his face and head. It made me think about how absolutely amazing that would be to have while running a race. When I ran my first marathon and the heat index was over 100, I would have paid probably $300 for one of these! 


I'm only mentioning it here as an idea in case anyone has a summer race; if you have someone watching your race, they could hold onto it for you and give it to you when you run by. Then you can just discard the (cheap) washcloth afterward. When I ran the Rockford Half Marathon, someone was handing out cold wet sponges and "heavenly" doesn't even begin to describe how good it felt to squeeze ice water on my head.


This was at the insanely hot baseball game. It was a district game and they played on really nice fields. They won the game, so they move on in the district tournament tomorrow, where they'll play two games. I'm really hoping that it's a cooler day!



I was working on my blog post a couple of days ago and Phoebe wanted on my lap so badly. I finally let her up, and she was not happy that I was still typing instead of petting her. So this was her solution:



Remember this random, spontaneous purchase I made at the thrift store? Jerry had told me that it would be a waste of $2 because the cats wouldn't use it. I figured even if they only used it once or twice, it was fine. Well, they still love this thing! Phoebe doesn't use it, but Estelle and the kittens do all the time. The other day, it was collapsed on the floor and Estelle didn't let that keep her from making her way inside.



I bought a box of rotini and when I opened it, I found an odd surprise... rigatoni! (Did you think I was going to say pantry moths? haha!) It wasn't just a single noodle, either. They were mixed throughout the box. I opened the second box I'd bought and it was the same. Odd, but pasta is pasta.



I made this "Vegan Grain Bowl" from EatingWell.com and holy smokes--it was SO GOOD. The components are very simple--just roasted sweet potatoes, quinoa, chickpeas, and avocado--but the dressing is what makes it amazing. It's made with olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. 

It tasted like garlicky hummus and reminded me of La Pita, my favorite middle eastern restaurant--it's been way too long since I've been there. This dressing tasted like their hummus and garlic sauce mixed together. Yum!


And finally, here are some pictures of the ducklings! My parents still have them, and I'm assuming they're going to stay with them until they're ready to fly away. If this is what Jerry and I have to look forward to someday, sign me up! ;)





I think this picture is hilarious. My dad is just chillin' in the yard watching the ducklings in their swimming pool.



Have a great weekend! xo

8 comments:

  1. Eh, most of my boys just keep their clean laundry in a laundry basket. My youngest prefers to put his in his bureau "so I can find everything easily". I figure if they're wearing clean clothes and don't smell, my job is done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly! I can always tell when Eli needs to do his laundry because he'll wear pajama pants to school, haha. But the next day, his laundry is done!

      Delete
  2. In that first photo of your two kids, I really thought that was Jerry on the right in the orange shirt! Wow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jerry will be thrilled that you said that, haha. He put on weight when I did, and he's having a tough time taking it back off!

      Delete
  3. I'm very impressed with your approach to the boys and their laundry. So many parents wind up in huge fights with their kids over putting away clothes. It's not as if the kids don't know what to do, but some personality types care about these things and others don't. So I always wonder if it's actually concern for the kids or if it's the parents not wanting others to think they are bad parents. Anyway, kudos to you for the way you've handled it. And the ducks are adorable and thanks for the Phoebe updates too. She looks very happy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I still cringe when I see their clean clothes crammed into their hampers, but you're right about personalities and how some people just don't want to worry about putting away clothes when they're only going to wear them again. Personally, I can't stand having a hamper full of clean clothes! But I also strongly dislike putting away laundry ;)

      Delete
  4. Phoebe looks so sweet! I'm so happy to hear she's doing well! If it makes you feel any better, I'm 33 and basically live out of my hamper lol :) I don't know what it is, I just HATE putting away laundry. Its like making your bed. It feels pointless when you're just going to take it right back out of your closet. Or jump back into bed that evening lol. But I agree with the other comment! Some personality's care about that and some just don't. Now dishes on the other hand, I need to do them right away. I can't stand when the sink piles up! ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree about the dishes! I got SO sick of dishes piling in the sink all day, with the kids expecting ME to clean them. So I made a rule that dishes are not allowed to sit in the sink. We have to put them in the dishwasher right away; if the dishwasher is full of clean dishes, we have to put them away in order to put the new dish in the dishwasher and avoid it going into the sink. My kids are so ridiculous--they frequently hand wash their dishes after eating to avoid emptying the dishwasher. *eyeroll* But we haven't had dishes hanging out in the sink for probably a year now! They know I mean business ;)

      Delete

I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

Featured Posts

Blog Archive