WHAT WE’RE EATING

Um … I know this is random and I’m constantly just sharing super random Trader Joe’s things here but YOU NEED THESE PICKLES IN YOUR LIFE.

Also, this popcorn that I blogged about the other week has been a pantry staple in my house ever since I discovered it. It’s so good, guys …

WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT

Okay, I know that I already said last month that I was reminiscing about E’s baby years (because she turned 10 at the end of April) but I’m still reminiscing about how little she was. The other day, I was looking at old pictures on my phone and came across these pictures when E was 5 years old and gahhhhhhh, she was still so itty bitty!! HOW!!! One disadvantage of being the oldest kid is that their younger years are always going to be a blur to the parents … I was always pregnant/postpartum/breastfeeding one of her siblings for so much years of E’s early childhood that sometimes I look back at these old pictures of her and I’m like omg, you were still a baby yourself! She felt so big to me in that moment, though.

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WHAT I’M LOVING

Is J going to hate me for posting this picture of him?

LOL ok but I have just been LOVING my newly finished garden boxes SO MUCH!! J built the first two rectangular boxes with a lot of help from our friends but the L box he built completely by himself! (Well, my friend’s husband drew up the plans for him but as far as muscle work/actual building, he did it alone!!) I am looooving it and guess what – the KIDS love it so much too. That was honestly not something I was anticipating but their favorite thing to do after school is to run out to the garden to see how the fruits/veggies are growing.

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO

Lots of gardening, duh 😉 Gotta put those newly built boxes to use!

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Also, school is wrapping up this week for my kids so this whole month we’ve been doing a lot of end-of-year/Teacher Appreciation stuff.

WHAT I’M DREADING

HAHA so D is on swim team this summer for the first time ever and girl … I am NERVOUS. I am nervous for him because he’s not the strongest swimmer (but he has fun on the team!) and I am nervous for myself because this introvert mama is not excited about all the socializing that will be happening at the meets 😂 Isn’t that a stupid thing to be dreading? But I AM DREADING IT.

There is also a day next week that our power will be shut off for the entire day because the utility company will be replacing lines or fixing lines or SOMETHING I DON’T KNOW. That should be … not fun. So kind of dreading that too.

WHAT I’M WORKING ON

Well, I mean I always have the usual podcast, this blog, IG stuff that I’m working on … but something new that I just finished working on is my kids’ “summer hw” or “mommy summer school” chart. I can do a whole post about what we do for our summers if people want! Just drop a comment and let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in 🙂

WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT

SUMMMER!!!!!! We’ve got some fun trips planned and I’m excited about a looser schedule/lots of time in the sun & pool with our kids and friends in the coming few months.

WHAT I’M WATCHING/READING

What I’m watching shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who read last month’s What’s Up Wednesday – J & I have been obsessed with watching The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s such a good showwwww 😭 My only complaint is that they didn’t drop the entire season at once so we have to *gasp* WAIT every week for a new episode to come out.

As for what I’m reading … I JUST started reading The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman. I feel like I like it so far but it’s honestly too soon to give an accurate reaction. My mother-in-law also sent me The Last Exiles by Ann Shin to read LOL. She told me she really liked it so she sent me a copy via Amazon … I know nothing about this story but *shrug* why not? I’m always looking for good stories featuring AAPI characters so hopefully this one won’t disappoint.

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WHAT I’M LISTENING TO

Some oldies but goodies … I can’t help it, I love me some Jay Park.

WHAT I’M WEARING

Okay so … since I never have any fun clothes to share in this section (which is… appalling. I should have fun clothes to share, c’mon Sophia) I thought I’d show you what I’m wearing on my eyes. I just bought this Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadow palette and I LOVE IT so much. I don’t go for crazy complicated eyeshadow looks so I’m always looking for compact palettes that have a basic all over color and a darker color to help define my lash line and this one fits the bill!

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WHAT IM DOING THIS WEEKEND

Well … my kids end school tomorrow and we are picking them up from school in a rented minivan and then heading straight to Socal. The fun part is they have absolutely no idea 😮 We’re going to be spending this weekend at the Happiest Place on Earth!

WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH

I’m looking forward to having nothing big/crazy going on. (PLEASE don’t let these be famous last words.) April/May was absolute insanity for our family – April because of personal stuff/birthdays and May because the end of the school year is always nutso. I am looking forward to having NO plans other than the plans that I want to make. We have no birthdays to celebrate, no big events happening .. just lots of time doing life together which is honestly my most favorite thing ever.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

I took E on another mommy/daughter date last week and man .. she’s getting so big. I was talking to someone the other day and they were saying that a 41-year-old coworker just announced she’s pregnant with her third baby and it’s an “oops baby”. And I was trying to be encouraging, saying – aww, actually having 3 babies isn’t as hard as people might think! If you can handle 2 you can handle 3 for sure! Then I made the gaffe of asking if the coworker’s older two kids were teenagers and the person just stared at me and was like “no, she’s only 41, she doesn’t have teenagers” and I stared blankly back at her for a moment because I didn’t understand … and then I realized that just because I had my first kid at 25 years old doesn’t mean that most people do that. Like, I’ll have a teenager at 41 years old but most people will have kids who are turning 10 or younger at that age! Okay that long story just to say .. E is getting really big and sometimes I can’t believe that she’s mine and I’m her mom? Like, we’re almost the same height …

Lastly, look at whose preschool pictures came back 🤩 They’re her first ever school pictures because even though she was in preschool last year, obviously when the pandemic hit & schools closed, she never got to take her school pictures.

Staaahhhhp ittt, I can’t handle her!!

And since I feel like this post was very daughters-heavy, here’s a picture of my cutie son just because 😉