Weekend Recap

 

This was a busy weekend, but in the best possible way. We did just enough to feel busy, but not so much that it felt overwhelming. Friday I purchased this book that I've been seeing on social media, called 'The Killer isn't Alice'. It's SO fun!! Highly recommend. It's time consuming though, so I have it in my bag to pull out during times when I'd want to scroll social media. This feels like a more fun use of my time instead. The other interesting thing is that you can't cheat - each book is a little different, so if you try to cheat online or with AI, it'll give you the wrong information! 

Saturday we went to the town fair. There were tons of vendors, some delicious New England apple crisp, and I love that Alec still loves a bouncy house ;) We had some food, some sweets and walked around enjoying the beautiful fall day! 

Later that night we took a drive to Bass Pro Shops. I don't know what it is about Bass Pro Shops and boys, but Alec could spend hours in there (and he did!!). We left with a new fishing rod & reel and some fishing accessories.  

Sunday morning was spent organizing his tackle box, but then it started to rain so he was bummed not to be able to meet some friends fishing. He convinced his dad to go out anyway and sit in the rain so he could try his new reel, so off they went. I think he gets some dad of the year points for this one! It was cold and raining and they stayed for hours! 

I used my time to bake some gluten free cookies (I just used the Sweet Loren's chocolate chip cookie dough) and added some extra chocolate chips. 

I also got a large chunk of needlepointing done. Always so relaxing! 

Not sure which needlepoint I'll do next when this is done. I think I want a break from the large Ehrman tapestries, but I don't love super tiny hole needlepoint either. I need something in the middle. Any needlepointers out there with tips?

Hope everyone has a great monday!!

Dental anxiety

 

This quote is in the bathroom at my dentist office, and the timing was great because I had to get a filling done today and high on my list of things in life that give me anxiety is a trip to the dentist. And don't get me wrong, I actually really like my dentist. But something about the whole process really freaks me out.

I had hyperemesis when I was pregnant with my son (who is 12 now, so it's been a long time) but all that vomiting and my teeth are still struggling with some cavities this many years later. 

Any tips for making it less miserable? I can't be the only wimpy adult who gets anxious about dental work...

Weekend Recap

I hope you’re having a great Monday so far! It’s Sunday right now as I type this, but I feel like this weekend flew by! Friday night our town hosted a food truck festival, and Alec wanted to go with some of the neighborhood boys, but it was getting dark and he’s still not old enough (in my opinion) to go 100% with friends in the dark, so we drove the few miles to downtown and he met his friends and we walked around. There were SO many cute food trucks!

How adorable is this lemonaid truck? He got a mango lemonade and it was huge! 

I got a chocolate covered strawberry stick. Delicious too! 

We walked around a while longer then headed home before it got too late.

Alec had gymnastics on Saturday morning, so after practice we drove over to Meadowbrook Orchards in Sterling MA to pick up a frozen apple pie and some of their apple cider donuts. If you find yourself in MA, you have to take a trip to Sterling for these donuts. They’re the best around. And if you go, stop next door at Rota Spring Farms for ice cream. Both are delicious! I’ve lived in New England my entire life and these are for sure the best of both! 

Cider donuts are usually a cake-style donut. These are so soft and delicious and covered in cinnamon & sugar. 

My son especially loves these with a bowl of ice cream and caramel sauce! I’m no food blogger and desperately need a manicure, but you get the idea. The donuts are incredible! 

Saturday afternoon Alec needed his bike fixed, so we packed it up and headed over to get it fixed. The local guy that fixes bikes is so nice…he let him pick out some decorations for it while we were there.

Sunday has been loads of laundry and lots of hanging pommel pants (boy gymnastics moms will understand….you can’t put these in the dryer). I also have to do something with this huge stack of beach towels. I feel like the list is never-ending. Sunday dinner is Andrea’s chicken pot pies (happy it makes 2 servings so I can save one for next week) and the apple pie I bought at the farmstand.

That’s all I have for today. This week will be tricky because Alec’s dad is having eye surgery so we’ll have to coordinate all of that. Hoping it goes as smoothly as possible! 

Have a great week! 

 

Friday Favorites - September 11th 2026

 

Today I'm linking up with Andrea & Erika for Friday Favorites! I wrote a separate post this morning about the 25th anniversary of September 11th 2001. The fact that 25 years has already gone by is wild to me. I'll never forget that morning. I worked for a Boston radio station and took a call from the pilot's wife of the first plane. People were speculating that the pilots were the ones who flew the planes into the buildings, and his wife called to reassure the public that her husband would never do such a thing. Sure enough, a short time later we found out she was right. It was a day that will never leave me. Hearing her voice, terrified and yet calm, determined to defend her husband's honor...it was beyond words. 

On a lighter note, this week was another busy school week and it wasn't even a full week. We celebrated Labor Day with some friends which included some pool time and smores and soaking up the last bit of summer. Alec had a training event for gymnastics, and that was fun to watch. His dad has surgery next week, so I've spent a lot of my week prepping and coordinating for that. 

This won't look appealing, but it's SO easy and delicious...a definite favorite for a busy week. I just put 4 chicken breasts in the crockpot on low for 8 hours with one bottle of BBQ sauce. That's it. Shred it and eat. I served it over the refrigerated mashed potatoes with some frozen corn. My son loves it and it's about as easy as it gets. A win win, even if it doesn't win any food photo contests! LOL 

A favorite this week has been enjoying the cooler, but still warm (if that makes sense!) weather! I love being in the screen porch while Mac is outside in the sun. Fixing up my old screen porch and getting a new dining set was a great investment. The photo is grainy because it's through the screen.

My book club is reading this book. I'm about halfway through and HAVE to finish this weekend because book club is Monday (eek!) but it was so hard to get into. Now that I'm in the middle it's getting better. It's a little too 'adult' for me, especially because I like to listen to my books as audiobooks and I absolutely cannot listen to this in the car with my 12 year old child! LOL So while this book isn't a favorite, my book club IS. A while back, some moms from my son's school started a book club and invited me. Maybe this is dorky of me but I've always wanted to be in a book club, and let me tell you, it's as good as it sounds! We make a point to get together monthly. We have food and talk about the book, life, etc and it's just really nice to unplug and chat with other moms. 10/10 recommend a book club! 

That's all I have for this week! Enjoy the weekend!

25 years since September 11th 2001

 

I can't believe it's been 25 years since September 11th 2001. I worked at a radio station in Boston, taking a call that morning from a wife of one of the pilots who lost their life. She called because the public was speculating that the pilots were somehow involved in the attacks - we didn't know at that time that there were hijackers, everything was happening so quickly. She spoke on the radio about her husband being a father himself and how she was confident that he would have protected the people on his plane as if they were his own family. I'll never forget her voice, so scared for herself and her children, but yet so incredibly strong and confident that her husband would never have let that happen if he was alive. She knew in an instant that he was not flying the plane when the plane hit the tower. We found out later that she was correct. 

I remember the moment the second plane hit. My mom called me in a panic, making sure I was somewhere safe. We knew at that moment we were under attack. I stayed at the radio station late, and when I got back to my apartment in the city there were armed guards at the doors along with fighter planes circling overhead. It was a terrifying day, one I will never forget.

So many working parents got up that morning, gave their families a hug or a kiss not knowing they'd never see them again.

I gave Alec an extra kiss at drop off today. September 11th forever changed us all. 

May the memories of those lost forever be eternal. 

Long weekend recap

 

This weekend went by way too fast! I can't believe labor day is over and it's already September 8th! I don't know about you, but September always goes so quickly. It's a little bit chaotic with back to school and routines, but we managed to fit in some fun this past weekend! 

On Saturday we drove about an hour for Alec to participate in a workout with some of the top male gymnasts in the region, which was a great opportunity for him. I don't want to post other people's kids, so here's a photo of Alec working with one of the top coaches in the region. They were watching a video of a skill to see where Alec can make some improvements. Seeing him learning from these talented individuals (his home-gym coaches included!) is really incredible! 

This is a terrible photo, but I made the BEST chicken meatballs this weekend in a large batch to freeze some for during the week. They couldn't be easier and I always double the recipe. They are from Pinch of Yum. Over the weekend we had them with Andrea's Swedish meatball sauce, but we have had them with red sauce, alfredo, BBQ sauce, anything...they truly go with anything!

Because I need another project (insert sarcasm here),  I ripped out the plants in my front garden because they were all dying. Did you know you can use Chat GPT and enter in the measurements, where you live and what style you like and it'll not only make a rendering but give you a shopping list? So fun and incredibly helpful because I have no idea what to do when it comes to planting. I'm going to follow this and I'll let you all know how it turns out. I'm in New England, so I'll try to plant it all by the end of September. Likely it'll look dead throughout the winter, but supposedly it'll come up in the spring...fingers crossed! 

Random fun thing - Alec used some of his allowance to buy an old school game boy and it has the original Super Mario brothers on it from the 80s/90s. SO nostalgic. I had to steal it from him to play a few games. lol!

Yesterday we had some friends over for a BBQ and the kids ran around and swam. I took one photo, that's how great of a time we were having! I always love when I don't think to pick up my phone and just be in the moment.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mom!

 

Today would be my mom's 74th birthday. She passed away at 53 from breast cancer when I was 24 years old. I still can't believe I've lived 21 years without her.  It's crazy to think that I've lived almost as long without her as I did with her. I know with certainty that if she was alive she would absolutely love being a grandmother. I have no doubt that she's shining down from Heaven. Happy Birthday, mom. Love you xoxo