Things I’m Loving Friday #333

Hello from Jacksonville Beach!

Oh my gosh does it ever feel good to be at the beach with my family! A couple of weeks ago, Ryan and I chatted about spending a few weeks at my parents’ place in Florida since he’s still working from home and I can blog from anywhere. We were itching for family time and I knew the boys would thrive on days filled pool time, beach fun and family interaction. We knew we could do these things from my parents’ place in a socially distant way and made the trip after deciding on car potty breaks for Chase with his portable potty, masks for me and Ryan at the gas station for the one stop we knew we’d make (though wearing masks was not a change for us since we’ve been mask-wearers for months) and limiting our Florida activities to mostly beach days and pool time at the pool at my parents’ place which is almost always nearly deserted.

This trip is breathing life back into our summer and I’m so, so grateful we have a place to go where we can be with family in a way that feels socially distant. We’ve been filling our days with outside time with my parents and my sister’s family and plan to be here for at least another week or so. It’s not lost on me for one second how fortunate we are to be able to have this time with family.

Without a doubt this time with my parents and sister’s family is what I’m loving most this week and this week’s Things I’m Loving Friday serves as a trip recap of sorts since I’ve missed chatting with you guys!

Things I’m Loving Friday 

• Chase’s Swim Progress

To quote Chase, every day in Florida needs to have “two pool times” — meaning he wants to go to the pool in the morning and the afternoon every single day. He’s become quite the fish this summer and it makes me so, so happy. ISR was the biggest game-changer for Chase last summer and seeing his confidence grow and his abilities in the water progress has been so awesome. He’s now jumping off the sides of the pool and can swim across the pool all by himself. Seeing as how Chase was the kid who didn’t even want to put his face in the water at the beginning of last summer, I am so proud of his progress.

I’ve been a swimmer and a water girl ever since I was a kid (I was a diver and on the water polo team in high school) and sharing a love for swimming and water time with my kids is just the best! This pool time has been especially great for Chase, too, since we don’t have access to a community pool in North Carolina and nearly all of Chase’s swim time in the lake near our house takes place in a life jacket. His confidence in the pool grows every day and I love to see it!

• Ryder’s “Ah-Balls”

Ryder is cracking all of us up with his love for cannonballs — aka “ah-balls.” He wants to be just like his big brother and does cannonball after cannonball off the side of the pool and wants to go under water non-stop. He’s fearless in the pool which terrifies me a bit (hence the life jacket) and I’m hoping we can somehow get this little guy into ISR again this summer because he is just bananas. I am so used to Chase who was timid around water for years so Ryder’s completely fearless demeanor around the pool still shocks me! I’m hoping it will somehow translate into Ryder being a super-strong swimmer one day. For those with multiple kiddos, did/do your children have different attitudes toward the water?

• Beach Time

If I thought we were flying through sunscreen in North Carolina, we’re going through it at warp speed in Florida. Heaven on earth for our boys is a beach with lots of tide pools and something about the tides in Jacksonville Beach have led to some of the most epic tide pools I’ve ever seen. They’re incredibly long and filled with little fish and the boys go crazy for them! Plus, as a mom, I love the fact that there’s a great place for the boys to splash around away from the surf and in cool water.

• 30 Weeks with Baby #3

(Sunglasses — I know these are all kinds of ridiculous but they make me smile and the boys LOVE them whenever I wear them! / Bikini Top — Unfortunately sold out / Bikini Bottoms — Love the thick waistband and the fact that it doesn’t dig into my sides at all) 

I’m officially 30 weeks pregnant and finally feeling multiple movements a day from our little one. Hooray! (I still cannot believe just how much an anterior placenta affects my ability to feel our baby move.) Chase got to see the baby move externally for the first time at the end of last week and loves asking me if I’m feeling the baby move whenever I rub my belly. Any other expectant mamas feel like they rub their bellies non-stop!? I’ve done this with every pregnancy and cannot seem to help rubbing my belly all the time! It’s oddly comforting and something I find myself doing when our baby moves and randomly throughout the day. I’m hoping to have another pregnancy update coming your way within the next week or two so stay tuned if this if of interest!

• Around the Internet

Food: Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese / Summer Peach Galette / Thai Drunken Noodles

Fitness: 25 Minute No Equipment HIIT Workout / 35 Minute At Home Full Body Workout

Weekend Sales: Extra 10% off at L.L. Bean with code SUMMER10 (includes the XL camo tote I LOVE that fits everything and is perfect for pool + lake days) $10 off purchases $75+ or $20 off orders $100+ at bareMinerals (I love their Complexion Rescue Foundation Stick with SPF and Complexion Rescue Tinted Moisturizer with SPF — you may see my review of both in my Beauty Favorites post from earlier this year)  Extra 30% off sale at Madewell with code GIANT / Extra 60% off at Express / 25% off everything at adidas with code SUMMER

• Fourth of July Recipe Ideas

Need some recipe inspiration for the holiday weekend? Here are some of our favorite crowd-pleasers:

Appetizers + Side Dishes: 

• Simple Summer Pasta Salad
• Easy Cilantro Shrimp Appetizer
• Chopped Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts Salad
• Easy Black Bean Dip
• Avocado Deviled Eggs
• Simple Shrimp Dip

Main Dishes: 

• Grilled Scallops with Sweet Corn and Tomato Salad
• Ryan’s Go-To Burger Recipe
• Paleo Chicken Thighs (Our favorite marinade!)
• Vegan Bean Burgers
• Greek Yogurt Rotisserie Chicken Salad
• Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken (A great one for tacos!)

Desserts:

• Lemon Sugar Cookie Icebox Cake
• Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Bars
• Berry Frozen Yogurt Pie
• Paleo Lemon Cupcakes

Question of the Day

What is one thing making you smile this week?