Last Day of Swimming Lessons + Winter Thoughts in July

Hi there!  We started off our day with a sugar rush.  Today’s letter was D, and D stood for doughnuts!  I used this Real Simple recipe to make some hot, sugary treats for breakfast.

H’s pajamas are from Old Navy. – click here to buy

H finished up his first round of swimming lessons today.  Although I’ve had some time for reading/list making, I’m relieved the commitment is over.  We decided to enroll him in lessons at another place that start next Monday.  This will be quite different as it will only be four children and one instructor, thirty minutes {versus fifty}, a heated indoor pool, and seems to be a more focused lesson on learning the mechanics of swimming {versus the playful nature of the last ones}.  We’ll see how it goes!  H is excited as this place/pool is primarily a dive center.  There were actual scuba divers in the pool practicing/learning when we enrolled him.  He pretended to be a scuba diver for about thirty minutes this morning…just swimming around the den!

Back to today – My view for the first part of the lesson today…That tomato sandwich looks amazing!  I ended up slicing two skinny pieces from a delicious tomato for a mayo-tomato open face sandwich today.  I paired that with a salad, heavy on humus and pickles.

He made great progress over the course of the past two weeks!  Unfortunately, it was a chilly day {no sun, last night’s rain dropped the temps}, so he was less than thrilled with being in the water.  Here he is below doing his swimming thing…

I believe that’s him running into the instructor in the red swimsuit.  It kind of looks like chaos, but today was the “reward day.”  Kids got to play in the water mushroom, go down the twisty slide, and jump off the diving board.  Well, H was having none of any of that.  He came running over to me wanting to dry off and go home.  I convinced him {after lots and lots of talking and some tears} to give the slide a try.  I got 0 pictures since I was actually at the top of the slide with him, BUT he did it!  Somehow, I managed to convince him that he should do the diving board one more time {he did it twice before with one of the instructors kind of lowering him into the water a little}.  After waiting in the breezy air for a bit, he was way chilly and way grumpy about the whole thing.  He wasn’t too thrilled about just jumping himself, but he did let me lower him in from the end of the diving board.  I was so proud of him!

It seems like the Nordstrom sale is all over the internet!  I was doing a little perusing and was reminded of how I so want to get H a good winter gear set up this year.  He really needed a better coat/glove combo last winter, and I vowed to get it straight early this year.  Here are some options I’m thinking of…

Columbia Boys’ Powder Lite Puffer – currently 49.99

L.L. Bean’s Power Puffer Jacket – currently 59.99

North Face Denali E-Tip Gloves – currently 17.90

These are unavailable until tomorrow unless you have a Nordstrom’s credit card.  FYI 🙂

Do you have any brands/suggestions for winter gear?  It seems like some places are having decent sales going on the nicer products.  It does seem a little crazy to spend lots of $$$ on something that he’ll grow out of so quickly, but boy, he got really chilly in a hurry last winter when we were playing outside.  I love how we spend so much time outdoors in the spring/summer.  I hope to keep that going into fall.  Perhaps some warm gear will be a help!

Natalie

Mapping out this Week

Monday is here yet again, and I have to say I avoided thinking about it all day yesterday.  That seems to have done the trick to help me with my sleeping issues.  What may or may not have also helped is beer before bed (just 1) and about an hour, yes 1 HOUR, of reading before bed.  I like to read, but I always seem to not have the time or feel guilty taking the time.  Last night, I pulled out a pumpkin porter beer that was decent from my Trader Joe’s mixed 6 pack (which by the way I had no idea was such a thing until yesterday when I was there with a little boy who was getting a lot of joy from throwing lovely TJ items out of the cart) and cozied up with the book below.  Link to Amazon here.

 I have seriously had this book for YEARS and never read it all the way through.  Several false starts but no follow through.  I really enjoyed the section on women in the colonies, and it did the trick to relax me and get me ready for bed.  Duh!  Why wasn’t I doing this already!??!

In other news, my mommy brought over a fun magazine to me this past weekend, Real Simple.  It is exactly what I needed ideas and info that are real simple!  I planned our meals for the week totally from this magazine.  See below for what we’ll be enjoying.

Sunday – Cheddar Tuna Melts (my own recipe) and Broccoli and Leek Soup (This was pretty good.  It felt very nourishing and hydrating.  However, the Mr. and I agreed that it was missing something.  Maybe garlic powder?  Maybe parmesan cheese melted in?  Not sure, but I was thrilled to get to see my immersion blender – which was a wedding gift – used for the first time.  It’s been over three years, lol!

Monday – BBQ chicken (my own recipe but inspiration from the magazine)

Tuesday – Chicken Spaghetti with Spaghetti Squash (again mine but magazine inspiriation)

Wednesday – H and I are left to our own simplistic devices since the Mr. has an after-work engagement.  Bummer for us, but cooking-wise I’ll make something super easy that’s sure to please my low-key H.

Thursday – Fried Egg with Canadian Bacon and Avocado with Butternut Squash (Sounds crazy I know!  I thought it would be an interesting meat-free night.)

Friday – Wedding Time!  The Mr. and I are off to a wedding in Richmond, and I’ll definitely be missed H.  On the bright side, I’ll be enjoying seeing the Mr.’s family and eating delicious food that was prepared FOR me instead of BY me.  Yay!  

Here is a little linky to the Real Simple Recipe Search website.  I’ve used their recipes before, and for the most part, they are very simple and delish.  

I’ll leave you with a few fun pics from September.  It’s hard to believe today is the last day already!

H’s shoes in his secret hiding place, under the dining room table.

H modeling his cute Stellybelly outfit that I actually won via Instagram. He says, “Duck!”

This is the link to Stellybelly’s facebook site.  Cute stuff.  

Smoothie made with left-over salad greens. Totally creeped out the Mr.

Love weekend breakfasts at home!

Favorite Toy = SHOES!

Have a happy Monday!