July Recap 2020

The beginning of July was cool and cloudy. I call that perfect summer weather. However, it began to warm up by mid-July but it was still comfortable, in the mid 70's. Still, not bad at all. But, by the end of July it had definitely warmed up, in the mid 80's. You'd be surprised, not many people realize that WA can get pretty hot in the summer, sometimes 90+ degrees. The good part is that the hot weather doesn't last too long.

This was my book haul for the month of July. I definitely spot a theme, American history. It's important we know about our country's past, both good and bad. 

It's always a good idea to bring a book along with me when we go on outings. Although I can't read in the car because I get carsick there's still a chance that there will be some quiet time where I can get some reading done.

And now that I've finished reading this book, I can say that I did enjoy it. It was a cozy read for me. I gave it four stars on Goodreads.

I think it's cute when cats spread their toe beans to groom them, it makes me giggle. And how they bite their back claws to remove the old sheath is interesting to see. 

While Jacob worked from home and Riley being on summer break, I have to find ways to keep him entertained so on this day I decided to take Riley on a short hike. The trail was partially shaded. Thankfully, it was a fresh day so it made for a pleasant hike.

After pulling weeds in the backyard during the morning and after my second shower Riley and I got cozy and watched The Goonies together. I love this movie. I've been watching it since I was a kid. 

Every once in a while, I'll make onion dip. We both enjoy this treat. We ate it out in our front porch while enjoying a nice breeze.

Other times, when I need time alone I either go book shopping or I get a few things for the house. How cute is that dish towel?  I love it!

I bought Riley a book on the Attributes of God. After each exercise it gave a verse to look up and study. I also read him the Case for Grace for Kids by Lee Strobel. 

He also had karate twice a week in the evening which was good. It gave us all something to look forward to, especially during those days when we stayed home all day. 

Weekday park visits were a regular rotation during summer break as well.

I sometimes came along, sought the shade and read. 

In this home I had modular bookshelves. So, naturally I needed bookends to prevent books from falling over to the ground. I got so excited when they arrived.

What I also do to decompress is journal. I either read my Bible or a devotional or a book and journal things that stand out to me. This activity is very calming to me plus it has its health benefits as well. Writing on paper as opposed to typing is better for eye coordination and exercises your brain by improving memory. I truly do love doing this plus I get so engrossed in writing/journaling that I don't notice how fast time passes by.

And summer is the perfect time to make ceviche. Jacob often craves it, so I make it several times a year. 

I am as contented being a homebody as I am exploring the great outdoors.

May ...

... was another difficult month for us. There's a couple of things that happened which I'm not ready to share ... hopefully I will in the near future.

Allergies have hit Riley hard this year, first time ever. We noticed that he would get a stuffy nose and would constantly rub it. Other times it was a runny nose and a cough. When the allergies first started we thought he was just coming down with the common cold but I would still make a doctor's appt just to rule out strep or croup.
Poor thing, he would get coughing fits. The nurse thought he was contagious so she gave him a mask but once the doctor said he was dealing with allergies Riley was able to take it off. He also wasn't getting good rest because he couldn't breathe good even though he used nose spray and we had the humidifier going for him. It made me feel bad that he would toss and turn trying to find a position that would allow him to breathe better. The beginning of the year was tedious and he missed quite a bit of school from restless nights or from suffering from croup. He didn't like staying home from school.
He still sounds stuffy on most days but is not coughing and no runny nose. He continues to use saline nose spray at night and some nights he gets better rest than others.

I've said it before. I'm thankful for the mundane because it's the every day things that I do that keep my mind busy which helps me to concentrate on other than my problems/life issues and makes me see how much good is going on in my life making me feel grateful.

I'm thankful that I have a pet that brings happy moments to my life. Sophie makes me smile ... a lot, and is constantly by my side. I think it's so funny to see her get completely comfortable and sleep all human like.

And her long toes are something we constantly make fun of. Libby was so feminine. I loved her furry paws but since Sophie is short hair we get to see all of her imperfections. We love her still.

We went to see the Mariner's play in early May. It was a fun game because the Mariner's were making home runs like crazy. We enjoyed some yummy food. I got my usual, nachos with lots of jalapenos -so good!
I told Riley we should take a selfie and this is the face he decided to make. What the heck, he's silly.

We had a great time.

Whenever we have a sunny day Riley points it out and asks to go to the park. It does feel good to get some sun every now and then.

Riley is still a picky eater but he now eats chicken tacos ... just as long as I also put beans inside and there's ranch for dipping. So weird right? Who puts ranch on their chicken taco? Oh well, the point is -is that he eats it all.

A new Ikea was built right next to the old one. It has been a couple of months since the new Ikea opened and I still hadn't been to it so several weeks ago Sydna and I finally went. The new one is two levels just like the others. I needed to get votive candles and a set of string of lights. It had began to rain and it was chilly but before heading home we first stopped to get pizza. I do love coming home after a day of shopping and getting some take-out. Home feels so cozy.

Funny how Riley notices little things. I like to order things online so I'm constantly getting packages delivered. Some time ago he asked if he'll ever get anything in the mail. I kinda felt bad and so I decided to order him some summer clothes. His package arrived and I had him open it. None of the shorts from last year fit him so I've been buying him shorts whenever I see some I like. He's gone through a major growth spurt lately. When he noticed I ordered him some shorts he got so happy.

I looooovvveee to wear cute socks. I'm a Birkenstock type of girl. I wear my Mayari's and Boston's all the time. Naturally, when I wear my Boston's I wear socks especially right now since it's still chilly on most days so I want to make sure I have cozy socks on hand. Aren't these so cute! and of course, Sophie had to lay right next to the box. Believe me, if I would have put her there she wouldn't have stayed.

I like variety even when it comes to books. I like variety because I don't want to get burnt out reading about one subject for long periods of time however, I don't ever want to stop reading faith based books. They help keep me centered and remind me to stay humble. This is why I like to change things up, I like to make things fun for myself. I read two faith based books then I'll read a fiction book then two faith based books again then a psychological thriller book ... I loop this routine and I'm enjoying this a lot!
Anyway, I had seen previews of the movie The Girl on the Train and it looked interesting but I knew there was a book out about it so I promised myself that I wouldn't watch the movie until I read the book first. This type of read is not for everybody, it contains profanity, sexual scenes and substance abuse. I found the story line interesting but the main character was annoying ... only because she's an alcoholic.

Jacob and I continue to have our lunch dates although sometimes he's gotta take a raincheck because he's swamped at work. But this time he was able to get away. We hadn't had Five Guys in a while because lately we've been going to The Habit or Red Robin whenever we crave a burger. We realized that we no longer like Five Guys. Hard to believe but it's true. Jacob just loves malts. He gets one whenever we get a burger. I don't like the malt flavor and I don't like vanilla bean ice cream but if they have old fashioned vanilla then I get a vanilla shake, yum!

Isn't this cat cookie dough roller the cutest thing?! I saw it advertised on facebook and next thing I know my sister had ordered me one. Thanks Claudia.
We have yet to use it because I'm not a baker but Jacob is so next time we stay home on a weekend I'll have him make me cookie dough. If the cookies come out cute I'll post them. lol.

Back in mid May the sun was already setting late. It was 8:50 pm and look how light it was still. I like it because we get to enjoy being outdoors longer. And when summer's here it gets dark around 10:00 pm. This is one of the few reasons I like summer.

He he!!!! Her head looks big and surprisingly her body doesn't look that fat. Definitely the angle.

On one of our trips to the hardware store I walked past the garden section and saw this stepping stone. I just had to buy it in memory of my Libby girl.

Cats. Just. Don't. Care!!!

On one of our visits to the bookstore we got Riley the book Dinosaur Pet. It comes with a cd and so you read the book melody style. Well, Jacob is the perfect person to read such a silly book and it sure made Riley crack up.

Just before Riley's bedtime I peeked outside his window to find a cool looking popcorn cloud sky. I don't see this type of cloud formations often here so I thought it was quite unique and picture worthy.

He's looking thicker. He's gotten so big. I recently got rid of all of his jeans cause the button wouldn't close, lol. So now he's in need of at least two pair of jeans. Hanging out by the water in the late evenings gets pretty chilly here in the PNW so layers and pants are still very much necessary even during the hot summer months. {happy face}

I cannot believe there's only seven days left of school. Time is going by like lightning.

If we could learn to find happiness from moment to

moment in the small things of life, we'd

always have a pretty good time.

A Bed For Riley

With nothing much to do we set out to go hang out at Barnes & Noble one mid morning. I went in there with no expectations. I wasn't really looking for any books in particular ... I was just in a browsing mood. Riley spent some time looking at and trying out their Star Wars masks and playing with everything. I let him, as long as he's not being rough.

I wasn't aware they have story time every Saturday but we happened to be there just in time for story time. Since Riley is not in daycare or pre-K, I sometimes wonder how he behaves when we're not around. I sat far behind him and I was surprised that he sat still and listened to the entire story. That makes me happy since he's always so active and gets bored quite easily. Definitely calms my nerves a bit to know that he behaves well.

Right after the story the kids had coloring time and snacks. He enjoyed that as well. What a nice twenty minute engaging time for him and break for me.

We left the store with a card game and two hot wheel Star Wars cars. After that, since Jacob's work is fairly close I had to make a quick stop to say hi. We miss him lots and it's so nice to be able to see him in the middle of the day.

For lunch we had pizza. We love pizza! If only it wasn't so fattening though.

Riley no longer has a runny nose but he has a nasty seal-y sounding cough with occasional phlegm. Sounds kinda bad but it's probably still just part of his cold. I hope it goes away within the coming week.


Well, I finally decided on a bed for Riley. We ordered it by phone and had it delivered to the store to avoid shipping & handling charges. Thank goodness for that. Once it arrived we drove to University Village near Montlake to pick it up. This is the area where we canoed at last summer. So much fun!

This was also our first time at this shopping center. It's pretty cool. I liked that the stores are out in the open and not like your typical mall. Again, variety is good.

Riley almost slid off this metal calf because it was so cold. Jacob had to help him get off.

We had to drive around to a different entrance to pick up the bed from the store's warehouse. Here we are waiting for it to be brought out. I had glanced back to see what Riley was doing and he made me laugh to see him sitting like this ...

We had told Sydna that there might not be room for her once the bed was in the car but she didn't care. We had to put all the seats down except Riley's and had Sydna sit cross legged. We warned her, lol.

This is the bed that I ended up choosing for Riley. I still need to get him a nightstand and lamp. I didn't want to get him the nightstand that matches the bed. I like wood and iron furniture pieces a lot so I'm leaning towards that style. I'm looking around.

Once we got home Jacob and Nathan put the bed together. We bought a mattress a few days later. Riley has been sleeping in his crib all this time and I know that he will not stay in his new bed the entire night. We don't want to rush him. He has a night light in his room but I think that it'll take time for him to get comfortable sleeping alone in his big boy bed.
I'm also thinking about painting his bedroom. I don't like the cream color all that much. I'm gonna also take my time in deciding how I want his room to look. I sometimes do things backwards but hey, that seems to work out the best for me, lol. It is what it is.