Dog days of summer, school starting soon, and mom life

Sometimes, I hesitate to post a recap blog, wondering if I need to have a bunch of exciting things to share—like amazing meals I’ve cooked or adventures I’ve had. This one sat in my drafts for a few weeks, but I decided to post it anyway. Not every recap must be exciting or eventful, and that’s perfectly fine! We’re in the dog days of summer now—the gardens are wilting, the heat feels relentless, and I’m just waiting for that cool weather to arrive finally. Yesterday was so hot that even breathing outside was difficult. The air feels thick and dry! I want to walk out and feel a crisp breeze. 

This recap is a mix of the past few weeks, scattered between a few trips. This afternoon, I have some market prep to do, including whipping up a bunch of fun fall desserts. I plan to document more of those this year and share the recipes I use for the markets. Last fall, I neglected the blog, but this time I’m stepping it up. I might even post some content from last fall, like our visits to farms around Charlotte and the fall recipes I made. Let me know if you’d be interested in seeing those!
If the weather isn’t hot, it usually rains during this time of year, hurricane season! We were so fed up with being inside for days that I grabbed the pool noodles, and we headed outside to go play in the puddles. We had a blast! Sometimes, you just have to play in the rain!

To top off a fun rainy day, we headed to my son’s favorite spot—Ilios! We eat there about once a week since it’s the only food my toddler is interested in right now. He loves the chicken, rice, and pita, all dipped in their delicious tzatziki sauce.
 
I got influenced by TikTok and ended up buying one of those fruit and veggie cutters. I tried it out to make sweet potato fries with our turkey meatloaf. Honestly, it’s not a necessity, and I haven’t used it since, but the fries did turn out cute—though my child still didn’t want to eat them. I will try slicing apples and baking them with cinnamon this afternoon to see if that one wins him over. He has gotten picky lately. Luckily, he did eat some of the meatloaf. Any bite is a win for me. 

For dinner, I made our FAVORITE turkey meatloaf recipe.
My mom comes over once or twice a week to help watch him for a few hours so I can get some work done. He starts school next week, which will be a nice change—it’ll give me a few hours a few times a week to focus on work without having to wake up early or stay up late to write, bake, or clean.

Lately, I’ve been working outside the house when I need to focus, and it’s made a big difference. It’s really helped me create new content, write recipes, and get everything else done.

A few recipes and travel blogs I’ve posted recently:

Best Tuna Salad Recipe
Cottage Cheese Chocolate Pudding Protein Cups
Mexcian Street Corn Enchiladas
Creamy Chicken Tuscan Soup
Apple Crisp
Honey Cinnamon Granola 
Pumpkin Pie Pudding Parfait 

After days of rain, we finally had a break with some decent temperatures! We spent our mornings out on walks with the soccer ball, running around at the parks, and playing at the pool. I’m definitely tired of the heat, but I know I’ll miss the warmer weather when it comes to pool days.

I bought a super fun wooden train set on Amazon! I was proud of myself for putting it together (I usually leave that kind of thing for my husband because I hate reading directions). When my son woke up from his nap, he was so excited! I’ve been trying to find more interactive things for him to play with around the house since he tends to bounce from one thing to the next and loses interest quickly. He loves arts and crafts, but after the first paint stroke, he’s like, “I’m done.” I can’t keep up!
A few Saturdays ago, we had friends over to watch pre-season football, and I made some delicious mexican street corn enchiladas! I have made them again a few times since, and we love them!

I know I shared this on Instagram, but for those of you who don’t use it, I have been LOVING this creamer for my coffee the past few years. I can only find it at one local grocery store and Walmart in my town, but it’s so creamy and doesn’t have that weird plant-based taste. It’s the closest thing to half-and-half without any added flavors. I’m not a fan of flavored coffee creamers—except for peppermint mocha, which is the only one I like.

I’m still on my egg and tomato kick! The Arctic seasoning I talked about in my last recap blog is still hitting the spot for me!

Lunch date at Hobos! I had a build your own salad with eggs, avocado, cucumber, chicken, tomatoes, and ranch.

We have made the chocolate protein pudding so many times already! It’s sooooo good, and my son loves it.

Haircut time! We are finally out of the meltdown haircut stage. We watched a lot of kids haircut videos on youtube before going into the hair salon.
We’re still going strong with our morning walks! He used to stay in the stroller for the entire three to four miles, but now he walks most of the way with me. It definitely helps tire him out for naptime! The last time we went on vacation to Hilton Head, I put together a hotel activity knickknack box, and it was a huge hit. My son loves little objects and “treasures,” so I decided to make him a fall-themed one with cute items from Hobby Lobby’s fall section. It’s been such a success—he’ll sit down and dig through it for a long time!
Mini Costco pizzas have been a win for us on the toddler front! One day, he hates pizza, and the next, he loves it—most likely because he saw his favorite characters on Trash Truck eating it.
My garden is reaching the end of its days, and it didn’t do so well this year with all the nasty bugs and storms! I’m planning to redo the garden this winter—staining the boards, adding new soil and rocks, and creating a cut flower garden instead of focusing on produce. My tomatoes have been attracting the nastiest bugs, so I’ll stick to purchasing tomatoes at the farmer’s market and grow flowers instead. I will still grow my own herbs and lettuce, though!
My mother-in-law flew in the night before I left for my trip, and she brought the funnest little games for my son. Lite-Brite was a huge hit! I never thought to introduce him to this game, but it was so nostalgic watching him play—it brought back great memories from my childhood. Oh, and he was completely obsessed!

I made my mother-in-law’s favorite cheesy chicken rice bake for her to enjoy while she was here, and I also baked an apple crisp for my husband’s birthday! He loves apple desserts, and this one was made without any added sugar.

This combo is so good (would be better with chicken instead of the turkey!) cucumbers, tomatoes, cottage cheese, bowtie pasta, turkey, olive oil, and arctic seasoning! YUM!

My mom and I headed out for the week to spend time in Iowa with family. It was an amazing trip! You can read all about it here.

Hi, Tux!

Back with the park dates and long walks! It always feels good to get back into a routine after traveling. 
A few days after we got back from the trip, the entire house was sick. We spent most of the days in bed watching movies, sleeping, and resting as much as we could. 

I was so happy when we all started feeling better! And you know the first thing my son wanted on his big day out, Ilios!

And because PSL season is back, I got him an iced oatmilk with one pump of pumpkin spice syrup! That is now our go-to for the toddler fall drinks.
He was so excited for the racoon at starbucks. His favorite character on Trash Truck is a racoon. 
These are the days I’ll miss when it’s cold out. I love a pool day, and my little man is becoming such a good little swimmer!

We stopped out at Bush-N-Vine for fresh peaches before heading back home.
 Of course, he has to play in their sandbox before leaving. Even the weather was too hot for him, and he had enough! 
Vanilla ice cream helped cool off a bit!

I’ve been gobbling up all the salads lately, and it’s because I made a big jar of homemade ranch. Let me know if you want this recipe! It tastes EXACTLY like a restaurant-style ranch.

I made a new and easier version of my sourdough bread for sandwich cutting! You don’t need a dutch oven, and it takes half the time. I’ll be sharing that very soon! It was so good. 

Preseason football and turkey sandwiches! If it’s nice out MAYBE I’ll get myself to make chili soon.

90-degrees and leaves on the ground just doesn’t feel right!
 
A fun pool day before we headed to pick up school supplies.

Yesterday was so special. We had our meet-the-teacher morning, and I was so excited for him. He did so well, and I’m really looking forward to his first year at toddler school! He’s going to have a blast playing with friends. I just wish time would slow down a bit.

Thank you for stopping by to read! It’s almost noon here so I better get up and start baking some yummy fall treats for the market tomorrow! I’m going to be trying out sourcream pumpkin donuts, so if those are good, I’ll share that recipe soon! 🙂 Have an amazing weekend. 

Questions for you!

1. Has school started for your kids?
2. Do you have any fun Labor Day Plans?
3. Whats the weather like where you live?