Life Lately, 3 Months Postpartum, & all the Celebrations
We’ve officially made it into month three as a family of four, and I will say, it has gotten easier with each day that goes by. Our routine is becoming more stable, the baby is sleeping so much more, and I’m finally getting a handle on the juggling act of it all.
Now, as for keeping up with the laundry or the clutter around the house… I have absolutely zero tips for that. Today, I’ll be sharing the weekly (now monthly) recap blog, filled with fun outings, meals, motherhood, family visiting, and all the celebrations in between!
Farm season is our favorite. If I could go every day, I would. One of the best times of the year is when strawberry season starts. We headed out to The Ivy Place Berry Farm to pick strawberries! We went after school, so we didn’t have any crowds to compete with, and there were so many amazing ripe strawberries. This is truly one of the prettiest places outside of Charlotte. And if you go, make sure to grab a jar of honey! It’s some of the best.
One of my son’s school friends met us out there, and they had a blast running around the strawberry fields, sneaking bites of strawberries, and filling their buckets high with the juiciest fruit.
Some of our favorite farms and markets around the Charlotte area are:
- The Ivy Place
- Bush-N-Vine Farm
- Blacks Peaches
- Springs Farm
- Wise Acres Organic Farm
- The Union Exchange
- Cherry Place Farm
- Hunter Farm
- Five Blossoms Flower Farm
& we have Hall Family Farm on our spring bucket list.
It was a really hot day, but they managed to find one big shade tree to rest under in between picking. When we got home, we made a really yummy strawberry banana sheet cake! We used my favorite banana bar recipe, added fresh strawberries into the batter, and mixed a little strawberry extract into the icing. We enjoyed it after our delicious pasta salad dinner!
On that Friday, I did a Trader Joe’s trip with both boys. It was my first longer drive and grocery trip with the two of them. Of course, it did not go smoothly with a very fussy, crying baby, but we got through it! After the anxiety of it all, we stopped at Green Brothers Juice & Smoothie Co. for a refreshing smoothie and cookie treat.
My son LOVES our Trader Joe’s trips because he knows they’re always followed by a smoothie and cookie, which has become our little tradition together whenever we go.
That night, we headed to The Improper Pig, one of our favorite spots to eat in downtown Fort Mill. My son is guaranteed to actually eat his food there, which is why we love going. My husband and I ALWAYS get their fried rice and spicy Asian green beans. THEY ARE AMAZING!!
Saturday mornings are for Soccer!
After soccer practice, we headed to one of my favorite coffee spots, Flora Coffee! We split their quiche and pumpkin maple bread, and I had an iced Americano with milk.
It was a gorgeous Saturday, so we decided to head out to my parents’ house for a backyard BBQ and pool day. I brought marinated chicken for the grill, and my mom made roasted vegetables, broccoli salad, and my favorite glazed lemon olive oil cake.
She did such a good job with the lemon olive oil cake. We made a mascarpone glaze for the top using my recipe from the orange ginger olive oil cake!
The roses have been POPPING this month! I love the flowers in May, especially before those pesky Japanese beetles come out and destroy everything.
Sunday, after church, we headed out for a walk, and then my husband took my son to Carowinds for the entire day. He got home around 6 pm and requested pizza on the porch, so we ended his “best day ever” with Domino’s Pizza at sunset.
Monday morning, I finished up the jalapeño pepper jack sourdough bagels before school, and then after school, we met some friends at the park and played there for over three hours! I LOVE when my son gets as much outside time as possible, especially before the summer heat starts.
On Tuesday, a friend and I had a coffee date at Flora Coffee before finding our way to Wilson’s Nursery & Garden Center! I had their vegetable and sausage quiche with some delicious drip coffee.
On Wednesday, I enjoyed some garden time, a family walk, and Greek orzo pasta salad for dinner!
The garden has been growing more each day! The Peggy Martin roses have been unbelievable. I have tomatoes, zinnias, dahlias, fresh lavender, rosemary, basil, and some other fun plants and flowers growing in between!
Ninja turtles were our chalk project for the week! I was pretty proud of this one. We went outside after dinner and got straight to work!
We spent a little over an hour sketching, drawing, and finishing it once the sun started to set. If anything can capture my son’s attention span, it’s chalk. He loves sitting there watching and helping me sketch in the colors. I’m always impressed with how good he is at staying in the lines while coloring and using chalk. He’s very particular about it!
I think they turned out pretty awesome! Let me know in the comments what we should chalk next.
On Friday, we had a few school friends over for the afternoon to jump around in the bounce house! We had such a blast!
On Saturday, we headed to a Touch-a-Truck event and then stopped by The Improper Pig for lunch before making our weekly Costco Wholesale trip.
My family sprinted through the bagels during the week, so on Saturday night, after everyone was in bed, I went downstairs and finished the bagel dough with the water bath and baking!
We had a chill day around the house on Sunday after church and swim lessons. There was lots of outdoor play, a long walk, and tacos for dinner!
His favorite Arizona rose bush, which he has loved since he was super little, had huge roses blooming on it Monday morning, and he asked if he could bring some to his teachers. My heart melted!
I spent Monday getting the house cleaned up and organized for my mother in law’s visit. She was coming to spend time with us for my son’s 4th birthday!
For dinner, I made some olive oil fried garlic and herb chicken cutlets (SO good!). Let me know if you want me to share that recipe! We had them with salad, fresh fruit, and roasted carrots.
For dessert, we enjoyed the most delicious orange ginger olive oil cake with a citrus mascarpone topping! I made it for my mother in law’s visit, and you can find that recipe here!
One of my favorite salad dressings at the moment is Arctic Seasoning mixed with olive oil. It’s DELICIOUS! I’ve been talking about Arctic Seasoning for a long time now, and we are still hooked. My son will eat an entire cucumber with that seasoning sprinkled on top. I first tried it at his farmer’s market booth, but now I buy it at every local shop that carries it.
On Friday morning, I made some fresh sourdough bread after mopping the floors (I always wait until the last minute to mop before guests come), and then I sat down on the porch with a cup of coffee and baby snuggles while my husband picked up my mother in law from the airport.
Here is how foolproof my sourdough recipe is. I totally forgot about my bread the night before and only did one stretch and fold before leaving it overnight! I woke up, punched it down, did another stretch and fold, cold proofed it, baked it later, and it still came out perfectly!
For dinner, we made my FAVORITE grilled jalapeño cheddar turkey burgers. This time, I added half beef and half turkey, and they were sooooo good!!! Sometimes I’ll cook them in the dutch oven, but nothing beats a charred grilled burger.
I served the burgers with fresh strawberries from the farm, Dave’s Killer Bread buns, lettuce, tomatoes, and French fries. This is one of those recipes that stays on our weekly rotation!
He has graduated from stroller walks, though he still hops in now and then, to full on scooter walks! We usually go about three miles on our longer ones, and he cruises up and down the big hills. We’re so proud!
Saturday dinner! Dutch oven cooked steak, roasted potatoes, balsamic glazed burrata tomatoes, and a Caesar salad with sourdough croutons.
Have you noticed the plate of tacos in every meal photo? Yes, that’s all my child will eat at the moment.
After church on Sunday, I had some eggs on sourdough toast before heading to swim lessons, and then I spent the afternoon on the porch finishing my book with a slice of orange ginger olive oil cake and a cappuccino.
Of course, my toddler ate most of my cake. He has a way of sniffing out when dessert is around.
We headed out for tacos, my son’s favorite, on Monday night to celebrate his 4th birthday. His real birthday was on Cinco de Mayo and Taco Tuesday, so we didn’t want to face the crowds that day. We decided to celebrate on Monday instead, especially since he was having his birthday party that weekend.
We went to Paco’s Tacos & Tequila, and their food was AMAZING!! I had their fajita chicken style taco salad.
His spring program was on Tuesday, and it was the CUTEST THING EVER! I love watching him do his performances at school, and seeing how big he has gotten since his performance this time last year just makes me so emotional.
They also did an art show, and it was so cute going through all the kids’ work. I love his preschool and how much fun and creativity they put into everything they do at school.
My son loves Playmobil sets, and my mom got him the cutest gift. She put kinetic sand in a bin, and we set up the beach Playmobil set so he could play with everything right in the sand bin. Such a fun little setup that we can take outside or even bring on trips!
I’ve been doing my best to get on the Peloton a few times a week, which is honestly all I truly have time for right now with having a baby that doesn’t nap much. But when my mom is around or my husband is home on the weekends, I’ll hop on for a 30 minute ride. Hopefully I can get more consistent soon.
For dinner, we did salads and Milton’s cauliflower crust pepperoni pizza. It’s one of my favorites right now. Oh and we also had Amylu chicken apple sausages…yum!
On Wednesday, we sent donuts into my son’s classroom for his birthday celebration. It’s his favorite dessert, and he was so excited to bring them in for his class! We love having The Donut House right down the street. Their donuts are delicious!
After picking up August from school, we headed to the airport to drop off Kyle’s mom and then hurried home to get the house ready for my brother and his girlfriend’s arrival!
For dinner, I made our favorite quiche! I made one with spinach, peas, sausage, cheddar, and ham, and then made a vegetarian one to store in the refrigerator for my brother. It had cheese, spinach, peas, and more cheese!
It was SO SO SO GOOD! I think this needs to be made in our house way more.
When T.C. and Abby arrived, we headed to, of course, one of my favorites, Flora Coffee! I knew it would be a coffee shop they’d love. I had their raspberry pistachio latte and it was unbelievable.
After playing around the house all afternoon, I headed out to an 18 hole course to play frisbee golf with my brother. I seriously LOVE frisbee golfing and wish he lived closer so we could go out more often. Especially since he doesn’t mind climbing into the creeks to fetch a frisbee that I refuse to go get!
We had a blast and managed to fit in all 18 holes before a huge storm hit.
We hung around the house Friday morning and then packed everything up and headed to Carowinds for the entire day. Kyle stayed home to watch the baby so we could go have a crazy good time.
I had one of the BEST days I’ve had in a really long time. Abby and I acted like teenagers and ditched the boys for all the rides. Even though I’m at Carowinds all the time, it’s usually all for my toddler. Well, this time, I went on almost every roller coaster and big ride with Abby.
I cannot believe it, but I went on Fury 325! The fastest roller coaster in North America, and it was CRAZY. That huge drop was worse than when I went skydiving, haha! We seriously had the best day.
Of course, my son was getting spoiled by his uncle with Dippin’ Dots, chicken fingers, and all the rides. We left the park at closing, headed to Ilios Crafted Greek for dinner, and didn’t get home until 9. My son was delirious, but sometimes you just have to have fun and skip bedtime!
My son’s Lego themed birthday party was SO MUCH FUN! I’ll post a separate blog with all the details, but he had all his friends over to play in the pool, hit the piñata, eat donut cake and pizza, and I’m pretty sure it was the best day ever for him.
He was in the freezing cold pool from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., so it’s safe to say he slept like a rock that night!
I had the best Mother’s Day with my boys. After church, we went on a walk and then headed to The Improper Pig for lunch before hanging around the house for the rest of the day trying to decompress from a long week of family, birthdays, and adventures!
