I thought a fun, light-hearted post might be in order this week, so I’ve compiled a list of things that are making Springtime a little bit sweeter for me this year and divided them into categories. Some of them are products and others are weekly habits or activities.

Side note: I am not in partnership with any of these organizations.

For Reading/Listening:

• Mamabear Apologetics - I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. My kids are still very young, but this book is applicable to anyone who is pouring into the younger generation. It’s an easy read with a gold mine of information and resources to help you answer hard questions.

• The Magic of Motherhood - I bought this book last year during my social media fast and it was the perfect read for short pockets of time throughout the day. It’s a collection of short essays written by moms that makes you feel a little less alone on your motherhood journey. I also enjoy listening the corresponding podcast, Coffee and Crumbs.

• 3,000 Questions About Me book - Funny story: I actually won this book at a Christmas party gift exchange. Every week, as part of our home date night routine, Matt and I would always come up with three questions to ask each other. Well, this book has eliminated the need for our tired brains to come up with questions at the end of a long day. Questions range from funny to serious to insightful. (It would also make a great activity for a long car ride.)

• Becoming Something podcast - While this podcast is geared specifically toward young adults in their 20s and 30s, I have found it to be an amazing resource for all ages. They span so many different hot topics and they do not hold back truth. Plus, they are funny and I literally laughed out loud while I was listening to them on a run one day and probably freaked out the person who passed by me. Not sure if that is a selling point or not…

For Enjoying:

• Trader Joes turkey burgers - If you’ve read any number of my blog posts, you probably know by now that I have a borderline unhealthy obsession with Trader Joes. Springtime is great for grilling out and turkey burgers are a great healthier alternative to regular burgers (although I’m sure I’ll get some pushback on this one.)

• Friday Night Movie nights & walks to Hey Sugar - We live just a few blocks off our town square and have made it a tradition to let the boys go pick out candy at Hey Sugar on Friday afternoons before our family movie night. I feel like Blockbuster was such a quintessential piece of my childhood, so we wanted to create a ritual for our boys that was more memorable than just hopping onto Netflix. I recognize that not everyone lives walking distance to a candy shop, but anyone can get creative in turning simple moments into something meaningful to their family.

• Dinners on the porch - Despite having the worst seasonal allergies known to man, I try to spend as much time as possible outside when the weather is nice. Texas doesn’t mess around in the summers and winters, so this is really the perfect time of year to grill out or just have a picnic on the back porch. Bonus — it feels like a treat to the kids, even if they are just eating sandwiches on an old quilt.

• Family bike rides - These moments are more rare because our oldest hasn’t shown much interest in learning how to ride his, but it’s still one of my favorite things to do together.

• Potted plants - If you like flowers but don’t want the commitment or massive undertaking of a garden bed, potted plants are the perfect way to add pops of color to your backyard. Considering my track record for keeping plants alive is not the greatest, I’m fully content to not spend hundreds of dollars on landscaping only to have to uproot everything a few months later. Also, Trader Joes has a pretty decent variety of herb plants + succulents worth checking out.

For wellness:

• Breakfast Smoothies - I swear by this recipe I totally made up one day. It literally takes less than 5 minutes to make. Handful of kale, handful of spinach, 1/2 frozen banana, scoop of greek plain or vanilla yogurt, scoop of nut butter, spoonful of oats, fill to line with dark chocolate almond milk. Sometimes I’ll add frozen strawberries. It tastes like a straight up milkshake.

• Elderberry, Zinc, and Vitamin C gummies - Our entire family has been taking these for the past few months. They help ward off the ever impending colds my children pick up at school. Not going to say we haven’t gotten sick this year, but I do think they have kept some of us healthy when we’ve been exposed to germs.

• Evening face masks - Making it to the boys’ bedtime in our house is a major feat. At this point, a hot shower and a 10 minute face mask literally feels like a trip to the spa. Bonus if you can get your husband to mask it up with you during an episode of Gilmore Girls.

• Set aside prayer time with spouse - Every evening after we put the boys to bed, before the tv comes on (if it does), Matt and I take turns praying together. We pray for Matt’s students, our church, each other, our children, world events, or whatever God has laid on our hearts. It sets the tone for the rest of our night and it is arguably one of the most important things we do each day.

I hope you found something on this list to be helpful or were able to add a little bit of joy to your daily routine! Happy Spring! ✿