- Braelynn & I were talking this week and she said: “I just don’t understand! Why is it warm one day? And then cold the next? Warm-cold-warm-cold – why can’t it either be winter or summer? Spring is weird.” Amen
- So, big news of the week: we got an air fryer. I know, I know, we’re like 3 years behind the trend, but that’s just how we roll.
Here’s the deal: I’ve always been fascinated by them and wanted to try one! It just sounds like a really handy “tool” to have and it isn’t like they’re super expensive.
The reason I hadn’t gotten one yet though was because of SPACE. I don’t have a ton of space in my kitchen – either counter space or cupboard space (and the cupboard space I do have is all wonky & weird thanks to whoever mish-mashed our kitchen together before we bought the house). I did not want to buy another large appliance that would take up space I simply did not have.
Derrick & I were (super randomly) talking about it earlier in the week though, and he mentioned being interested in getting one.
So, I decided to just look at them when we ran into Target this week.
Surprise: they all happened to be on sale! (Which, you know caught my attention!)
As I looked down the aisle: yes, there are air fryers that simply do one thing: air fry. But they make “multi-function” air fryers too (I didn’t even know that was possible). I stumbled across the Ninja Foodi model: it is an Instant Pot, an Air Fryer, and a steamer. In other words: it would take the place of two appliances that I have (an Instant Pot & steamer/rice cooker) and add a 3rd use, while technically “downgrading” the number of items I had in my cupboard.
Plus, did I mention it was on sale?
So, I got it. And we’ve used it all week long. We cooked rice in it, steamed broccoli, did air fried squash, radishes (Elyse Myers style), french fries, and mini apple crisps! It’s been such a fun new “toy” to experiment with and try out! It definitely has a learning curve (I should have let the rice do a “natural” release, I cooked the apples just a smidge too long, and put too much seasoning on my radishes) – but overall, I’d say it’s been a hit! - I started an Amazon list specifically for accessories I have and use when taking videos on our trips. I’ve been talking a lot about “tips for taking videos on your vacation” on my (new) Instagram, so I figured creating a list of the things I’ve talked about would be helpful. You don’t need any of these items, but I’ve found them useful to have!
- The kids watched The Lion King for the first time last night and then (magically) turned into little roaring lions for the rest of the evening. It’s a new favorite.
- We visited Round Hill Park earlier this week with my sister & nieces! We packed a picnic, the kids ran around the playground, we saw the animals – it was a wonderful day. Leander just kept asking when we were going to see the monkeys (they were one of his favorites at the Zoo from a few weeks ago!) Sorry bud, monkeys don’t live on the farm.
- I want to make this recipe pronto
- On Tuesday night, I was just not feeling “it”. It was weird, because I am a highly motivated person (even when I’m not feeling highly motivated, I’m still a highly motivated person). I have a long list of “things to do” and I tackle that list every single day. I’m a busy person: I’m a stay at home mom, I’m a homeschool teacher, I do all the housework, I run Derrick’s social media, and I run two businesses of my own. People ask me all the time how I do it all and the answer is: I never stop. I’m always thinking about the next step, adding things to my to-do list, and working as efficiently as possible.
But Tuesday night hit and for the first time in years, I had no motivation to keep going. My neck was out of place and hurting, I felt drained and tired. So, I took the night “off”. No sitting down at my computer after the kids went to bed, no working on social media stuff while watching TV, I just plopped down on the couch and figured I would fall asleep. Derrick (who must have also been feeling unmovtivated as well – because typically he works in the evenings too) came down and put on a movie. We watched The Adam Project on Netflix – it was actually super good! We both really enjoyed it! And surprise, I didn’t fall asleep at all. It was just a fun movie and it felt SO good. (It has some language, but otherwise is a clean “safe” movie.) - On Wednesday, we had a super windy day, so the kids made their own kites and “flew” them out in the yard. Braelynn never ceases to amaze me with her ingenuity and creativity. As a little kid, I always wanted to make and create things, but if I didn’t have the perfect supplies on hand, it crippled me – I did not know how to get around that. Braelynn does not have that hang-up: she creates whether she has the supplies or not. She has this arts and crafts book – I look through it and just see a list of super cool projects, but 90% of them I do not have the supplies for, so I move on. Braelynn looks at the book, sees a list of super cool projects, and then figures out how she can make it work – regardless of what “correct” supplies she has on hand. It’s quite amazing to me and makes me so proud of her! So, she created kites out of paper bags, taped string to them, and used unsharpened pencils as the sticks. It was genius and she & Leander had SO much fun!
- (And yes, I put Abby and Braelynn in the bathtub before: #189)
