The end of last month and the end of this one feel feel light year’s different, in many ways. At the end of March, I was still thrown off by all that didn’t go as planned – our Florida vacation canceled, my potluck party canceled, lots of things on hold.

My April goals, though, were set with a much more realistic picture of what was ahead. Just knowing that gave me a huge burst of energy – one I rode most of the month. Interestingly, it actually looks like I didn’t get much accomplished, but almost everything was moved forward in at least a small way. And in between, not shown on this list, we had SO many sweet, sun-filled, slow moments together. I’m looking forward to the same in May.

On my calendar this month:
— Mother’s Day! I think we’re going to make bookmarks for the grandmothers and great-grandmother this year. If you’re looking for ideas, we’ve made this artwork in the past (celery!).
— Picking strawberries! Our local field has done a fantastic job of keeping everything super-safe and we are loving having a bucket of fresh berries in the refrigerator at all times.

What I’m loving right now:
— This shirt from Target is very, very cute and in my opinion looks WAY more expensive than it is. The woven fabric is so nice, too! Most definitely order a size down from your usual – it is billowy and beautiful, but looks cute tucked in :) See a peek here!
— I mentioned these gingham placemats in passing in another post, but they’re so sturdy and so cute (great colors), and they wipe off really easily. The perfect foundation for meals and coloring sessions! We have the green but I also love the blue.
— Have you tried out Peloton Family yet? June really enjoys the 5-minute classes, and now she walks around the house curling her biceps and saying, “I am strong! I am confident! I’m going to make it a really great day!” ha! Also it is embarrassing how sore I can be after doing this with her – clearly I need to incorporate more strength training with my cardio. The app is free for 90 days right now!
— I have poached so many recipes from my sister-in-law, including most recently these sheet pan pancakes. As the one usually standing and flipping while everyone else is eating, this is a revelation!

What I read in April:
As a library and physical book devotee, I am really struggling right now! I did breeze through my fiction pick for April, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, after borrowing it from my neighbor, and it was really good. Hard to read at times, of course, but definitely a page-turner. Otherwise, I have mostly been catching up on my magazine subscriptions!

Revisiting my April goals:
Finish printing out Pinterest recipes and rearrange boards (Done! Feels so good!)
Clean out our garage (This is the one item we made no progress on! Just couldn’t find a time without another priority where John and I could both devote some energy to it.)
Make spring recipe cheat sheet (With finishing my recipe binder, I actually decided this cheat sheet wasn’t needed, so I scratched it off.)
Design and print our first family photo album! (While I didn’t finish this, I did take the next steps forward! It was held up when I realized I still had about 75 loose photos that need to be digitized before I can finish the layout.)
Finish reading Matthew with John and begin Mark (Still ticking away)
Connect with each of my 8 focal friends in a meaningful way (Got 4/8!)
Roast s’mores in our backyard
Make an Easter egg tree with June for our dining room table

May goals:
— Clean out the garage
— Digitize loose photos from 2005-2009
— Design and print our first family photo album
— Finish reading Matthew with John and begin Mark
— Complete gifts for Mother’s Day (for grandmothers and great-grandmothers) with June + Shep
— Send watercolor hugs (My friend Kristy is making these and they are SO BEAUTIFUL! Such a win-win to support a small business and send love to dear ones. I bought the big bundle!)
— Go camping in our backyard
— Complete friend dossiers
— Experiment with a custom Publix shopping list
— Make a list of all our non-recipe meals for binder

Friends, I would love to hear: what are you doing for Mother’s Day this year? My sisters and I are going in on Lake Pajamas for my Mom as well as the aforementioned bookmarks. Wish I could hug her, though!

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