Coffee Chat & Summer Fun

I don’t know about your house, but the first few days of summer in our home resemble an emotional roller coaster. The kids go from threatening me with statements like “I’m going to die of boredom” and “This is the worst summer ever” to entertaining themselves for hours with books, toys, and make-believe games.

Why can’t we skip the “woe is me” hour and get right to the creative summer fun? #momlife

One of our summer fun moments this week was tye-dying! Gracie tye-dyed the shirt she is wearing, and the kids each tye-dyed a pair of white socks.

We also invited the neighbor kids over and they all did shirts and towels too.

Here is Lily’s cutie sock “before.”

Her socks while drying.

And then on her cute little feet!

She still has chubby baby feet and I love it.

She “folded” all the neighbor kids’ shirts and then we drove around dropping them off via the Fulmer family van delivery service.

My piggy-tailed kindergartner.

This fun idea came after one “woe is me” power hour. Gracie got a whole bunch of food out of the fridge and had us all come to her outdoor cafe where she took our orders.

Here we are being seated. This back porch is my favorite thing about this house. It is truly delightful back here.

Lily and I “took a tan” as she calls it while I read and she worked on a puzzle.

My tanning babe.

We celebrated my grandfather’s 87th birthday this week! I did a series of blog posts several years back all about the renovation of their 100-year-old farmhouse and their beautiful farm.

I am hoping to record a podcast interview with both sets of my grandparents this summer. Both sets of my grandparents have left an incredible legacy, and I can’t wait to share their stories!

Are your kids’ readers? Mine LOVE to read which makes my heart so happy. They are only allowed screen time on the weekends (1 hr a day Friday – Sunday) which has definitely fostered a love for reading. The exhausting battle against screens is worth it when I see all of my kids curled up on a sofa reading.

Gracie is rocking and rolling with her end-of-the-year showcases. She had her piano recital last week, her acting showcase this week, and then her dance recital next week.

I’m going to combine them into one fun, Gracie’s performing arts post. It is such a joy to see her thrive in something she not only excels at but also truly loves.

This week on the imPERFECTly emPOWERed Podcast was a special interview because not only is Andrew DiDonato a former record-breaking college quarterback and a current record-setting head college football coach, but he is also one of our best friends.

Here are Zach and Andrew during their college football years! Andrew shares the formula for success he used to turn a winless college football program into the most successful program the DIII school has seen in 125 years.

Don’t miss Andrew’s incredible insight and learn how to start winning in ANY area of YOUR life!

I am no fashion blogger but there are two questions I have gotten with some regularity since being in this virtual space. One, what skincare products do I use, and two, are my eyelashes real, and if so what mascara do I use?

I answered both of these questions in this episode where I shared the SECRET to healthy glowing skin with these tried and true skin care tips.

Don’t miss this 5 step skincare routine EVERYONE should be doing and tips on which products may be worth splurging on and where you can save some $$!

Do you remember this pic when I had to wear 37 layers of clothing to work on our basement stairs because it was the dead of winter and I had to keep running outside to cut down plywood for the stair risers?

You should see what this staircase looks like now! Think pretty natural wood treads with stenciled risers. Check out the before and after of this staircase and get ideas to makeover your stairs!

Let’s check out some more summer inspiration from last week’s Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!