1- Our house actually looks close to move-in ready!
The floor is not 100% done which is unfortunate (including a space in the kitchen) but still holding out hope it will be finished before we move. Otherwise I guess . . . we will just deal as they get it complete!
There is a 0% chance of this turning into a home decor site because I have as little interest as one can possibly imagine in those things. Josh and I literally picked paint colors for the entire house in about 20 minutes by starting with West Elm’s 2021 collection for Sherwin Williams and going from there. And honestly, it worked out in my incredibly uninformed unprofessional opinion 🙂
HOWEVER I am excited about the organizing possibilities and may share some images on how we set up various things like the kids’ stuff, our ‘landing area’ (for backpacks/shoes), closets, etc.
2- Reading notes — I finally finished Matrix by Lauren Groff! I think it took 5 weeks, in fits and starts. The slowness was more circumstantial and not related to the book itself – I really enjoyed it and now want to read all of her work.
Currently enjoying The Power of Ritual by Capser Ter Kuile which I heard about on By the Book podcast (in last week’s 5 on a Friday)! Loved the chapter on sabbath and was highlighting furiously until I realized that the incredibly calm and rejuvenating screen free period that he enjoys each week I essentially have no access to. Because #parenting. I actually wrote in the margin: “what about the kids . . .”.
All that said, I still love the ideas and his voice in the book so far (about halfway through). It’s also a nice quick read!
3- Simple Families podcast with Denaye Barahona (whose work I really like) had a great recent 2-part series looking at the role in tech in our family lives — so I guess this is perhaps a slightly more relevant discussion for me! It’s in 2 parts: episode #302 + 303 found here! It also sounds like she is launching some sort of non-social media based community so I’m watching that closely.
4- The Physician Philosopher Podcast episode on Finding Work-Life Balance as a Physician was also excellent (and felt quite personally relevant). We can do a lot, but not everything. It was nice to hear the host dissect this and admit that it even applies to him 🙂 I enjoyed listening to this one and it definitely made me think.
5- My poor deprived children (LOL) spent yesterday at Flamingo Gardens, the pool (G’s 4th swim lesson – and all 3 participated this time), and Menchie’s frozen yogurt. You guys are right, they are fine. More than fine actually! Maybe it’s more just that I am annoyed I haven’t gotten away during my paid leave time. But plenty of that to come.
I let A and C each have my phone for 10 minutes to take pictures so there are about 3487384 on my phone including these two:
Happy Passover, Easter, or any other holiday you may be celebrating this weekend! I will leave you with an image of my favorite (and somewhat disgusting) Passover treat 🙂
13 Comments
Those fruit candies! LG loves them. I like other jelly type candy nut not those. 🙂 I’m planning on making some flourless choc cake…
Happy Passover!
I totally recognize that they are disgusting but like them anyway. Ha! Flourless chocolate cake also delicious. Honestly flourless cakes are more delicious than flour’d cakes anyway!
Love the nostalgia of childhood Passover treats! My mom keeps the house fully kosher for Passover during this time and as I moved into adulthood and looked back, I realized we shifted to basically eating 50% junkfood (but kosher for Passover junkfood!) during this time every year… chocolate covered matzo (my fav), chocolate bars, those “fruit” slices, various cakes from box mixes, etc. I don’t fully keep the rules now but absolutely do still eat a lot of Passover chocolate! 🙂
We follow zero rules 🙂 just the fun parts!
Happy Passover and Easter to everyone. Apparently both traditions involve chocolate. 😋
Your new floors look great!! Those fruit jelly slices bring back so many memories too! I am attempting my second batch of matzah crack this morning… already burnt the first! Wishing everyone a joyful Passover and Easter!
Wow these candies are completely American, we don’t have anything similar in Israel for Passover.Traditional store bought Passover treats are usually coconut and peanuts cookies. But these days you can find almost everything in kosher for Passover version.
Happy Passover!
And happy Easter – chocolate eggs sound like a better treat😊
The floors look great. Love the tone (and the width); hope they’re all finished by the time you move in.
I read a book years ago called 24/6 – it was actually written by a doctor (Matthew Sleeth). He talks about the need to take a day off each week (from a spiritual perspective, but in a wholistic view of what our bodies/minds need), but I DID appreciate specifically how he addressed parents with young children. I can’t remember how we worded things, but I just appreciated an acknowledgement that taking a day off just…isn’t really feasible when you have children!
I am partial to macaroons myself.
I’m not sure whether it’s rejuvenating, but religious Jewish families observe the Shabbath, kids and all. Including taking the batteries out of the toys /some toys get designated non-Shabbath.
I never tried it myself 🙂
We only go screen-free for everyone at the same time for Yom Kippur, while both the parents fast, and when the kids were younger, it was as not rejuvenating as it gets
Thank you for sharing your non love for home decor , haha, I feel exactly the same over here. I need things simple fresh, clean and simple, but organized. Thus, I am more than looking forward on your setup for ” closets, kid’s stuff and unpacking from work zone :D”. Happy passover and happy move :).
I will echo the no decor desire here either but love organization. I also have a love for NOT having knick knacks as decor. They just collect dust (IMO)! We had spring break here a couple of weeks ago. My semester break never lines up with the kids break so my kids are always “stuck” here. I did manage two afternoons off and went bowling. My daughter had two friends over for a sleepover and my son went to a sleepover. They were fine. I’m also the one wanting to travel!
In regards to the tech-related podcast as well as earlier comments you’ve made – I just finished reading Digital Minimalism and it hit me hard. I am REALLY reeling myself in! I’ll have to go listen to the Simple Families episode when the FOMO begins kicking in. It’s such a delicate balance between using the tools and letting them use us!