Hi everyone!
It’s my favorite Wednesday of the month because I get to share with you my What’s Up Wednesday post.
In case you’re somewhat new to the blog, one Wednesday every month I link up with a few other ladies’ awesome blogs (like Mix and Match Mama) and share some random and fun things that are going on in my life.
Each time I answer the following questions:
So, if you’re wanting a little insight into my sometimes crazy, sometimes boring, and sometimes hysterically ridiculous life, keep reading. It might bore you to tears or it might be like a train wreck you can’t help but stopping to gawk. You just never know with me. 😉
1. What We’re Eating This Week …
If you follow me on Facebook, you might have seen me post about my new Instant Pot.
I jumped on a Black Friday special on Amazon and bought one and it has quickly become one of my new best friends in the kitchen. I’ve cooked a few recipes and most of them have turned out really well. My favorite, though, has been this Umami Pot Roast recipe. I will warn you that it definitely was not an instant recipe. It took over 2 hours from start to finish. However, that’s really a quick recipe for a pot roast. The flavor was incredible and the entire family (yes, you read that right – my husband and kids too) loved it.
I bought the smallest size, the 3 quart mini, and I do wish I bought a the 6 or 8 quart size. I had to trim off quite a bit of the pot roast for it to fit in the pot. That being said, most recipes fit in just fine and the price of the mini makes it worthwhile to try it out before investing $100 or more in a larger one.
In addition to the pot roast, I’ve made hard-boiled eggs (which were perfect after 5 minutes in the instant pot), steel cut oats, sweet potatoes, crack chicken (which we didn’t love), and mongolian beef. You can also join this Instant Pot Facebook group which has over a million excited followers who share their amazing recipes and tricks.
I do want to point out that if you’re considering an instant pot please know that it can take between 10 and 20 minutes to pressurize and the natural release of pressure after cooking can take that long too. I just don’t want you to jump out and get one thinking you’ll have a meal on the table in 15 minutes. When a recipe calls for pressure cooking for 15 minutes you should add at least 15 minutes to be safe and even more if it calls for natural pressure release. But, what’s nice is that you aren’t stuck at the stove during that time. You can go ahead and clean up the kitchen, get the table set, etc. Comment below if you have any other questions for me!
2. What I’m Reminiscing About …
Not to be Debby Downer, but Wiscy.
Gosh, he was pretty. I’m now assuming he met his death via the pack of coyotes living in our neighborhood. Yes, I know that many experts out there say that indoor cats rarely are eaten by coyotes and he could likely just be lost. However, we have SO MANY coyotes in our neighborhood. Our house is literally surrounded on three sides by woods that coyotes live in. And Wiscy was very adventurous. He’s encountered coyotes once before when he escaped and he still would try to head out for adventures in the woods every chance he got (I.e., when the kids would leave the door open for 30 seconds).
I’m now trying to reminisce about how great of a cat he was to our family. 🙂
3. What I’m Loving …
The sunshine!
Do you notice how there are shadows on Foster’s face? That’s because the sun was out! WHAT?!? After the weather we’ve had the past couple of weeks I was afraid we wouldn’t see the sun again until April. Thankfully I was wrong.
4. What We’ve Been Up To …
We’ve had a bit of a schedule change at preschool and now I have both kiddos home with me on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I’m doing my best to get out and do something fun with them (even if it’s just a quick trip to a playground) each of those days. On Thursday we went to the Austin Nature & Science Center near Zilker Park.
This is a great FREE activity for your kids. We’ve been there three times now and Parker is already asking to go back. It’s certainly a no-frills park, but the kids absolutely love digging for dinosaur bones.
Plus, they have several wildlife exhibits and more. It’s worth checking out next time you’re heading near Zilker Park.
Yesterday we stopped in for a delicious lunch at the Lake Travis Chick-Fil-A.
You might notice that I ordered them grilled nuggets. I thought this would be great – they eat grilled chicken all the time at home and love it. Let’s see if I can get them to switch from normal nuggets to grilled nuggets. Ha. That was a cute idea. The grilled nuggets are a bit slimy and have (what I think is good) seasoning on them. Nope. The kids didn’t fall for that. Sigh … I tried.
I’m going to write a separate post about the Lake Travis Chick-Fil-A location soon because it was wonderful. The facilities were clean, the staff were friendly, and at 12 o’clock in the afternoon there wasn’t a crazy crowd. I’ll definitely head to this location next time I’m craving waffle fries and a grilled chicken cool wrap.
After lunch we finally visited Bee Cave Central Park.
We’ve driven by this cool playground several times and I’ve promised the kids each time to go back soon. Well, we finally did it. I’ll also be writing a post all about this playground and park soon. In the meantime, I’ll just say it is one we’ll visit again. The playground itself presented tons of physical challenges that Foster had a blast conquering.
Plus, there is a smaller playscape for Parker’s age group.
Next time I’ll bring their bikes and scooters because the trails circling the playground seemed to go on for miles. Stay tuned for a detailed post!
5. What I’m Dreading …
I sat here for a couple minutes and can’t think of anything that I’m dreading. Yay! What an amazing feeling. 🙂
6. What I’m Working On …
Several things! First, I’m on a health kick trying to meet a goal before we head to Hawaii later this year. It’s a very ambitious goal, but I have plenty of time. Slow and steady wins the race, right?
LOL. I love throwing in The Office humor.
I’m also working on watching my language. Foster and Parker are always listening and will catch you from across the house for saying the s-word. “Mommy, you said stupid.” Sigh.
7. What I’m Excited About …
My mom’s birthday is next month and we’re thinking of throwing together a short girls weekend. I honestly cannot remember the last time I hung out with my mom without my children. She’s a saint who begs to take my kids any night over pretty much every single weekend. I can’t wait to just hang out with her and my aunt. If you have girls weekend ideas, send them my way!
8. What I’m Watching/ Reading …
Right now I have Jane The Virgin playing in the background any chance I get.
This show is so funny. I’m currently on season 3 and I still love it. The show is pretty much a telenovela that makes fun of itself being a telenovela. If you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to check it. You’ll laugh so hard plus you’ll relate to her new life as a mom and trying to figure it all out.
9. What I’m Listening To …
I’m officially old. When I try to listen to pop music I usually wind up gasping and quickly changing the song. It’s funny because there are plenty of songs that I listened to in high school and college that were vulgar (and if I heard them today I’d jump up and sing every disgusting word). But maybe it’s because I’m now a mom that the vulgar songs make my skin crawl? If you have insight on this strange phenomenon please let me know.
All of this to say that I usually end up listening to my audiobooks. I finished this one this weekend:
If you’re going throw a rough patch with parenting, read this book. You’ll feel really good about your parenting abilities and will be belly laughing throughout the entire book.
11. What I’m Wearing …
Lots of vests.
I just love my puffy vests for this weird kinda cold, kinda warm weather we’ve been experiencing lately in Austin.
Another thing I’m “wearing” is my new Living Proof hair care.
Okay, I know this is a stretch (wearing hair products?) but I love what these products are doing to my fine, greasy-after-a-day hair. If you are in the same boat as me, I encourage you to check out the travel-sized pack.
12. What I’m Doing This Weekend …
I’m thinking I’m going to paint my kitchen island. YIKES! Our kitchen cabinets are all white, but I’ve wanted to paint our island the same color as our front door for months.
I think I’m finally going to do it. Give me tips!
13. What I’m Looking Forward To Next Month …
It’s a big birthday month with my husband, my mom, and my grandmother all turning one year older in February. I love getting the chance to celebrate each of them.
14. What Else Is New …
I’m excited to say that I’m now saving about $40 a month. How? Well, this little girl is no longer in diapers or pull-ups!
When I realized this actually was happening this time, I told her how proud I was for her. Her reply was “I’m proud of me too.” 🙂
That’s it for me today! Don’t forget to sign up for the Four Points Mom Weekly Wrap-up Email that shows up in your inbox once a week. This way you’ll be able to quickly review snippets from last week’s posts to see if you missed one.
Have a fantastic day!
