WHAT WE’RE EATING

Guys, I’ve been finding the BEST snackies at Trader Joe’s lately. I’m so happy! First up was this gem – the rice cracker medley reminds me so much of my childhood. We used to get these (not Trader Joe’s brand obvi) at the Korean grocery store when I was little and I’m so happy they carry them at Trader Joe’s again. They had them last year and J & I were obsessed and then they stopped stocking them over the holidays so I could’t find them for the longest time. But they have them again!

Another new Trader Joe’s find that I’ve been obsessed with ….

This isn’t from Trader Joe’s but another blogger I follow posted about this cereal and I HAD to try it. IT’S 👏🏻 SO 👏🏻 GOOD 👏🏻. High protein, low carb – J said it’s basically a protein bar in cereal form and he’s right buuuut! I usually don’t like protein bars because they have a weird after taste or chalky texture but this cereal has none of that! It literally just tastes like my favorite childhood cereals. I feel like it must be an indulgence to eat this for breakfast every morning but it never gives me an energy crash and is actually such a simple & easy way to get a quick breakfast in! I’ve tried the cinnamon and cocoa flavors and can definitely vouch for both. I also bought frosted but haven’t tried that one yet … will report back … 😏

WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT

Wahhh, I was looking through these newborn photos I have of A and she’s SO WITTLE. Her newborn phase was a hard season for my physically because I was so tired and overweight and recovering from a crazy postpartum pubic injury but the one thing I miss is just how small and squishy she was. She was also the best baby – one of those “only cries if she’s hungry or tired” newborns. She was so easy … happy to just be worn on my chest and took to sleeping alone in her crib within a day. Bahhh, I miss her tiny-ness! She’s still kind of tiny now but she’s also fierce so she’s a little scary 😂

WHAT I’M LOVING

My quiet morning hours! I’ve always been more of a morning person than a night owl but in the past few weeks, I’ve taken that up a notch and been getting up at 4:30 in the morning. And I HAVE BEEN LOVING IT! It’s enough time to give me a really solid chunk of quiet morning to do work, read my Bible, get a workout in … the only downside is if I have evening plans, I’m a total zombie by 7-8pm-ish so that’s been interesting to navigate. But with COVID-19 there aren’t too many plans/places that I need to be other than just at home.

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WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO

My big kids started their hybrid school schedule this week!! All the praise hands, guys! They haven’t been back on campus at their elementary school since last March – that’s almost a full year that they’ve been exclusively distance learning. I picked them up from school on Monday and got almost a little emotional seeing all the hustle/bustle on the school campus. It felt a little bit like normal .. a little bit. Parents aren’t allowed on campus at all (we have to stay in our cars and our kids are brought to us) but D’s 1st grade teacher snapped these really adorable pictures of each individual kid at their classroom. Almost like what a parent would take on the first day of school. I thought that was so sweet and thoughtful of her to do that.

WHAT I’M DREADING

I wouldn’t say I’m dreading this per se, but we have E’s annual IEP meeting with her school today and it’s not exactly something that I look forward to. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s not that I dread it, but it’s also not the most amazing, fun thing to do either. It’s a lot of assessing, evaluating, and making decisions that no parent want to make if that makes sense. I love the staff at her school and honestly haven’t had a bad experience with an IEP but it’s also a sucky situation that nobody really wants to be in either.

Buuut, as we do every year, I’m going into the meeting prayerfully and knowing that God goes before us in every step. If you happen to see this on Wed AM, I’d love for you to shoot up a prayer for us!

WHAT I’M WORKING ON

Well, with the end of the month quickly approaching, I’m working on outlining my March bullet journal! I don’t use my bullet journal as a planner but more as a scrapbook/thought tracker so every month I plan out of my layouts & spreads depending on what I think I’ll need. I’m NO artist but it’s super therapeutic to color and doodle in a notebook, no matter your skill level or age!

WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT

We’re in the middle of doing some backyard work (new fence, paving, etc). It’s all stuff that has been on our to-do list since we first moved in about four years ago but are finally getting to do now. I can’t wait for it to all be done and then next month, I am *fingers crossed* going to be installing some garden beds and getting my at-home vegetable garden planted! I’m so excited for that! One of my friends is a real garden enthusiast, she even has a greenhouse in her BACKYARD, so she’s been helping me plan where and what to plant for my own garden. I CAN’T WAIT!

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WHAT I’M WATCHING/READING

In terms of what I’m watching, I just started watching a Korean drama called True Beauty. I mean, I literally just started it – I haven’t even finished the first episode. I don’t watch much TV unless something is super trending but I do let myself watch Korean dramas when I’m on a cardio machine so that’s been my newest drama of choice.

But READING. Girl, you know I’m always reading. I just finished A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas. The original three books of this series (A Court of Thorns & Roses, A Court of Mist & Fury, and A Court of Wings & Ruin) are my FAVORITE books ever so I was excited to read her newest installment. It definitely didn’t disappoint but was way more graphic/explicit than her earlier books so I was a bit caught off guard. Heh heh …

ALSO! I finished the entire Cursebreakers series (book 1 is A Curse So Dark & Lonely) and I really enjoyed it! It’s not on the same level as Maas’ books but still a quick read and I loved that it was a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO

You know what, this Lo Fi ChillHop/Study Beats playlist on Apple Music has been a big favorite of the last month or so. I listen to it in the early AM hours when my tried and true throwback hiphop still feels a little jarring. It helps me focus and get work done without disrupting my train of thought. I don’t know about you but if I listen to music that has words, I just end up listening to the lyrics and/or singing along and it can be harder to get work done.

I also just listened to the People Pleaser episode of the Let’s Talk podcast (Gospel Coalition podcast) and it was SO GOOD. I’m in the process of UN-learning how to be a people pleaser and learning how to solely be a God-pleaser. It hasn’t been easy or always fun but I think I’ve grown so much from learning to set boundaries, break unhealthy relationship cycles & habits, and set my sights on Christ versus people. Honestly, I think everyone should listen to this episode, whether or not you think you struggle with people pleasing.

WHAT I’M WEARING

In the ever raging millennial versus Gen Z debate about skinny jeans, I’m going to be honest with you guys .. I’m usually wearing leggings. I mean, we’re in a pandemic – I honestly don’t even wear jeans most days, who cares about the silhouette or cut! That said, I did throw on this cute outfit last weekend for church 😀

WHAT IM DOING THIS WEEKEND

Celebrating this handsome guy’s birthday! He’s turning 36 which … if you think about it is pretty young considering we have three kids and our oldest is almost 10 LOL. He hates making a big fuss about his birthday so we’ll just do a lowkey family dinner at home. He loves his people (us) and that’s about it HAHA. He doesn’t even really like presents (who ARE YOU?).

WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH

Honestly? I can’t wait for spring. I know that spring isn’t until the end of March buuuut we’re already starting to get some beautiful weather in the Bay Area and I’m just SO READY for (a) the time change so we can get more daylight hours and (b) more time outside.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

I just received Olive & June‘s new box of spring nail polish shades and HOMYGOODNESS I can’t wait to paint my nails. I just painted them a few days ago but I can’t wait to paint them … again. If you haven’t tried their polishes, you REALLY need to! If you use my referral link then you’ll get $10 off your first purchase of $50+!

Thaaaaat’s it, guys! Happy Hump Day!