1// What we’re eating this week:
Chicken Parmesan Zucchini Boats! These are so easy to make and are a healthy option when you want to enjoy the flavors of chicken parmesan without the guilt! Click on the link above to get the recipe!
I’m also starting to get out my pumpkin recipes…be sure to follow me on instagram to see when I’m posting yummy recipes. You can follow me on Instagram @momwithaplan_
2// What I’m reminiscing about:
How quickly 5 years can go by….I was going through some pictures and came across ones where Luke was only 4 years old, the same age Tyler is now! You really do blink and they grow so much.
Also, reminiscing back to a girls trip in LA so many years ago now…definitely have missed being with my besties on a trip this year.
3// What I’m loving:
That it’s FALL!! I’m going to be decorating our house soon for Halloween and I’m excited!
Also, Fall time means new yummy seasonal food items from Trader Joe’s….we love trying their seasonal treats. Here are a few that we are enjoying right now.
4// What we’ve been up to:
Tyler starting Preschool! He is having a blast and looks forward to going and connecting with his little friends, it makes my mama heart SO happy!
Other than that we are settling into our new school routines. Luke starts back at in-person school tomorrow and we are beyond excited! Sure, it’s going to look different and I will miss my big dude being at home but I’m ready to watch him find his new groove and to be with friends again.
5// What I’m dreading:
If I’m being completely honest, I’m dreading the upcoming election! I’m not here to get political and tackle a HOT TOPIC but I just want it over and done with and I’m praying the fallout of whatever happens doesn’t lead to unrest and violence.
We have also had a lot of fires in California so I’m dreading the rest of fire season. I prey for all the hard working fire fighters as they battle these terrible horrific fires and for the people that have to evvacuate and go though the stress of possibly loosing their homes or places of business.
Augh….I don’t like thinking about the negative and their are a lot of hard things in life right now, so let’s move on shall we?!?!
6// What I’m working on:
I’m working on completing our family room!
This past weekend we hung up the NEW Shelves, Horray!! Now I need to finish styling them. I ordered family pictures from our last photoshoot and new frames and I can’t wait for them to arrive. Almost DONE š
This past weekend we also worked on finishing up Luke’s new and improved bedroom to make room for his own desk! To say he was excited about this is an understatement.
I’ve never been happier to have a capable husband that can build furniture from scratch…definitely not my forte!
Here’s the new desk area completed! A post will be coming out soon with all the product details and links.
The last thing that I’m currently working on and I’m really excited about is a collaboration with a company that supports women. This company creates clean beauty products and they are on a mission to get bills passed that will help ban toxins from appearing in our beauty products…very exciting stuff!! I will be announcing this exciting new venture soon!
7// What I’m excited about:
Having more time each week to work on my blog due to the boys both being back in school!
I’m excited about Halloween approaching…not sure what that will look like yet but no matter what we will do something to make it special and dress up! Time to start thinking about costume ideas?!?!
I always add to our holiday book collection each year and I’m excited to read my boys this new book called, Gustavo The Shy Ghost:
I’m also excited about Fall Hallmark movies! I love action and fantasy movies but I also love watching cheesy romantic feel good movies during the holiday season on the Hallmark Network. I tape the newly released movies that come out on the weekends and watch them with the boys on a slow afternoon or a night. We all need some feel good movies in our life right now.
8// What I’m watching/reading:
I’ve been watching a family movie with our boys every Friday night during our recurring Family Fun Night. We just watched both of the Maleficent movies and we loved them! Who else is enjoying having Disney+ and all the fun shows & movies that stream on it?!?!
I’m reading my usual blogs that I love. And I’m also reading lots of articles on current events happening with politics. I definitely pay extra attention during election time because it is super important to be informed and VOTE!!
9// What I’m listening to:
I’m finally jumping on the audio book train and downloaded Audible this week! I love listening to podcasts while I do tasks such as laundry, cleaning the kitchen, getting ready for the day, etc. I struggle with the patience of sitting and reading. Listening to books will be an awesome solution for me.
I’m starting with a book that came highly recommended to me by my mother-in-law, Kathy called: Where the Crawdads Sing. I’m also excited to find out that a movie based on this novel is going to be produced by Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine!
10// What I’m wearing:
I just purchased this sweater to wear with my new faux leather black leggings. It’s such a cute sweater and only $33.99! I also recommend sizing down, it does run large. It comes in tons of colors, you can find it HERE.
I ordered this cute sweater in Tea Rose, doesn’t it look so comfy? It’s another great deal for a sweater, it comes in tons of colors and costs only $38.99!! You can find it HERE.
The last sweater jacket I got for the season was this cute J. Crew Leopard Bomber Sweater Jacket from the Nordstroms sale. It’s a more expensive piece and is $60 more right now then when I got it on sale but it’s super cute. You can find it HERE.
11// What I’m doing this weekend:
We are having some friends come down from LA to spend the weekend with us! On the agenda is going to be lots of fun in the sun! We plan on hanging by our pool and BBQing. On Sunday we are going to the beach and are going to attempt to teach Luke how to surf…he’s very nervous but that’s his personality so I’m hoping it goes well. I would love for him to take a surfing camp at some point. Ohh, and watching lots of FOOTBALL!!
12// What I’m looking forward to next month:
Starting the holiday season! I consider Halloween a holiday and I love decorating, going to the pumpkin patch, reading seasonal books to my boys, getting Christmas card pictures taken, making pumpkin recipes and taking the kiddos Trick or Treating (praying we can still do it this year)!
We are also planning on going to the Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano! It has a Farm stand and teaches the importance of supporting our local farmers and about eating Fresh Food! We are going to go with another family and I mean for my chef lover, Tyler this is definitely something he will enjoy š
13// What else is new?
What else is new?!?! I’ve got a lot of To-Do lists happening right now, lol. I feel the beginning of a new school year is like when it’s the start of a New Year and you have all these plans to clean out and start new healthy routines. What I like to do is start a new To-Do list for cleaning out & organizing projects and then I have a To-Do list for things I want to do that month and accomplish. Then of course I have my blogging To-Do list…I’m a crazy person, LOL. It’s like a brain dump for me though and then each week I choose a couple tasks to tackle and by the end of the month you will be surprised how a little planning and being intentional translates into productivity.
Come follow me over on instagram @momwithaplan_ so you don’t miss out on any current happenings.
Natasha says
Enjoy having both your boys in school. I love that Tea Rose sweater and we are LOVING having Disney+. We said we were only going to keep it for quarantine but we haven’t cancelled it yet. And it appears we may need it more than ever this coming winter. Yikes.
Julie Gimeno says
Thank you, so far it is going well with both my boys back in school. When we signed up for Disney+ we got a great 3 year rate…keep your eye out for a deal, that always helps!