Life has consisted of lazy summer days at the pool and then afternoons at home. The heat truly takes it out of you here! I understand why warm countries have siestas. It’s almost impossible to avoid that afternoon chill time.
I’m in a rut of cooking currently. Any great summer suggestions? I love using the grill so we don’t get the house as hot but it’s hard to just grill things. Plus with all our allergen avoidance we just eat a lot of grilled meat and veggies. So send any recipes my way!
I have been air drying my clothes on this retractable clothesline. We have a huge covered porch and it’s right off my garage – where the laundry is. It’s super convenient AND I love that I’m not wasting electricity heating a dryer when it’s over 100 outside each day. Sounds silly but I enjoy putting the clothes out and taking them off. It just makes me slow down for a few minutes.
Speaking of slowing down, I have deleted Instagram and other apps from my phone and that has really slowed down my sense of time. I’m spending 30% less time on my phone each day as well. I also removed ALL notifications except for phone calls and the baby monitor. Not getting constant buzzes or dings from texts has put me back into control and I can choose when to check in. It’s awesome and I highly recommend removing those notifications!
Another random change is that I’m not multi tasking anymore – which is really an eye opener to how frantic life can get. If I do dishes, I do dishes. If I’m cleaning, I clean. I don’t try to listen to a podcast AND clean because I realized I couldn’t actually hear what it was saying! If I’m playing with my kids, I play with them. Focusing on one thing at a time is really the only way to get things done.
I’m also trying to encourage my kids to play by themselves more so I’m doing more chores when they’re awake. I want my kids to learn to help so I am having them “help me clean” (giving my 3 year old a spray bottle and rag) or help me do laundry. I will give the folded clothes to my toddler and have her put them away for herself and her brother. She loves to help and I want to encourage that! But more importantly I don’t want my kids to think “oh mom does this” or that things just happen. NOPE – keeping a house clean and people fed and clothed takes work! And I want my kids to learn to be helpful and contribute.
I’ve been reading a lot more (since I’m not reaching for my phone) and I just finished Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. It was a quick read and showed how much of our attention is being polluted by social media. And it talks about a lot more – diet, environment – that I didn’t anticipate but really enjoyed. I don’t agree with everything he says but it was still a worthwhile read. I’m working on a post with the full list of books I’ve read in the last few months so check back for that soon!
We have been going to the pool a few days a week and I love this super affordable swimsuit from Target. It’s flattering and easy to wear when swimming or chasing kids! Not winning any high fashion awards but I still love it. I have also been using this Cerave cream for my face after we get back from the pool. The heat and water really takes it out of my skin – more so than I anticipated – and I don’t want to use my expensive face cream multiple times a day. Cerave feels so similar to my favorite from Kiehl’s.
Well this has been a totally random post!
To end, here are some fun pictures from the last few weeks for those of you that made it this far 🙂
