The Catch Up, Vol 5
My monthly note, May flew by—here’s what we were loving, learning, and living. From books to rhythms to tech tips, it’s all here.
Welcome back to “The Catch Up”! I thought it would be fun once a month to do a post with all-the-things we would talk about over Marco Polo or coffee if we were IRL! Books I’d beg you to read, tech tips I’ve learned, show's I’ve watched, new obsessions, and something to love about the current season.
WE MADE IT THROUGH MAY!!!
(yes, I know I’m a little late to my “May recap”, but lets be honest- we all needed a minute to catch our breaths!)
I am literally sitting here on Friday night, 20/20 on in the background, going through my May rhythms and…….
I don’t know about you, but looking back through my photo roll is a little overwhelming. I find myself thinking over and over, “how was that in May? that feels like two years ago”. But when I look back at all the events, celebrations, travels, and faces I know without a doubt that I was present and in the moment for it all. That to me, feels like the biggest win!
Sure, it might take me a little bit longer to order my May Chatbook, but to know that we lived every one of those moments is a gift to me.
Month of recitals /concerts/awards ceremonies, storms, your ways better dance, 40th birthdays, class trip, college baseball, mothers day, field trip, and all the everyday things. goodness what a life! I am grateful.
Lets get started with my May “Catch-Up!” It’s going to be a good one. Remember, if you subscribe (it’s free!), you get these straight to your inbox each month. It means the world to me, so thank you so much for subscribing and sharing with a friend!!!
✿Books I Read and Loved this Month
After being in a little bit of a book slump, May was the month I got out of it! It wasn’t about quantity this month, but quality! Some of my favorite books of the year were consumed this month! I think you’ll enjoy them.
✿Obsessed with ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚 + 🎧 Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall Can I give it 6 stars??? one of my top 3 fiction of the year so far hands down. the writing & character development was so good. just easy and seamless. I fell into the story immediately and did not want to put it down. I finished in less than 36 hours. I was gripped the whole time. it's about love, loss, grief, family....trigger warning: infidelity. but not spicy. I really enjoyed it so so much.
🎧 Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams I loved it so much!! I love a book that makes me feel & emotionally connect. I laughed, cried, and underlined so much. such a slow burn but sweet story. Book 2 of a 3 book series.
✿Loved ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚 Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry I enjoyed it more than I thought, especially after hearing others reviews. it for sure didn't feel like a typical EH book for awhile. but it was a good story. I love really any story about writers 🤍 and navigating family life.
📚+ 🎧 Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy wow. this is not like most of the books I read, but I really loved it. It was dark at times, but also so full of the love of a parent and what we endure for the sake of our children.
✿Learned something / from someone 🤍
✿Didn’t finish 😜
There were a few I downloaded from Libby, but just didn’t start. Apparently May is not the month for me to listen to non fiction or start books I’m not excited about, lol.
✿Shows I Watched and Loved this Month
The Four Seasons- Netflix- This was an easy fast watch. I love the idea of quarterly getaways, and thought it was fun that this friend group did this tradition together. Obviously, it wouldn’t be a great show without drama and comedy. Netflix says, "The decades-long friendship between three married couples is tested when one divorces, complicating their tradition of quarterly weekend getaways." Watch if you like Tina Fey + Steve Carrell :)
Sirens- Netflix- Stephen and I watched this 5 part minseries together in one weekend. I went Into it pretty blind, and so the mystery and drama was a fun surprise. It kept us on our toes the whole time! Netflix says this, “Told over the course of one explosive weekend at The Kells’ lavish island estate, Sirens is an incisive, sexy, and darkly funny exploration of women, power, and class.”
Documentaries
We love a good doc in our house, and this month seemed to be the month of the dark docu series. Here are the ones we watched!
✿Seasonal family rhythm list
If you read my “Family Binder” post, you saw this idea to create a google doc for monthly to-do’s that are specific to each month. This helps with my mental load sooooo much! It’s a “decide once” (thank you, Lazy Genius) type of principal. So each month I’ll give you a peak into what’s on my monthly list. I hope it encourages you to think about and start building your own!
Fathers day gifts/ cards
Organize cleaning supplies
Host play dates while we are getting in the groove
Declutter kids rooms
Add to each kids “life tub”
Take photos of school artwork and add to chatbook
Delete, Sort, Organize monthly pics on google photos
Order monthly Chatbook
✿Tech Tip
This one is for all the pre teen/teen mamas! I actually forgot that this was an actual Apple setting until a friend asked me. But one of our iPad rules for our 13 year old daughter, Asher, is that she can only communicate with people that are contacts in her phone. Which means that we have a lot of conversations of who is actually a contact in her phone. This means that she’s not yet a part of all the “group texts” that happen in her grade, and that’s by design. It also means that she has to get approval to add someone as a contact. Screen shot below shares her being a teenage and trying to get around it (lol, I did the same thing in my day).
I went searching for an easy way to explain how to do this, and I found this article. Hope it helps!
✿Phone note to start
SUMMER 2025- kids!!!!
If you haven’t read my post about our summer of training, then you absolutely need to go read it. I’ll give you all the inside scoop for how to not go crazy with your kids home this summer.
Raised in the 90s, Raising Them Now: Our Summer of Training
If you came over to my house today, you’d definitely have to navigate the little “stations” my girls have set up all over the place. I’d resist the urge to apologize and instead say something like, “We’re having a '90s summer—can you tell?”
✿Newly obsessed with….
My new Starbucks drink! I actually love making this at home too. If I could just get the cold foam situation down… lol. But here’s my order. If you use 25 stars for the cold foam, this comes out to $4.33. Such a yummy (actually coffee tasting) treat. You can also play with the syrup and cold foam flavor combos. If you have one you love, I’d love to try it- tell us in the comments!
✿Things to love about the SUMMER season!!!
I am obsessed with the seasons, and I thought it would be encouraging to share some things to love about whichever season we are in. There ARE things to love about each and every season. Even in these "in between” seasons.
First off, what’s not to love about the summer?!?!
Slow mornings with no rushing around
Spending time with your family
Being outside/in the water
The freedom that summertime brings with not as much “scheduled” daily on the calendar.
Trips, adventures, visits to see family, and making memories
and obviously kid mocktails in the hot tub ;)
As a final note of encouragement
I know summer is not all sunshine and rainbows for everyone. Some of us have to work, some of us are still homeschooling, some of us have spouse at work all day while we are home with all.the.kids, etc. Typically in summer, I love to get a lot of decluttering done that piles up through the year. Summer gives me a little more space to create new solutions, move things around, tidy up my systems. Typically when summer hits, I can’t wait to get started! I can kind of get obsessed with it if I’m honest. I will think and rethink it to death. But when I was on a walk last week (my fave time of day alone!), I did some reflecting and this is what I wanted to share…
I think the biggest thing that I have learned that I keep telling myself, is “I’m in the middle of it”. Because honestly, I want to do all the things all at ONCE. My personality is I want to finish what I started right away. But the growth is now I tell myself, “I have time”. I don't actually need to get all of my summer things done right now. There will be time to put all my decorations back. There will be time to go through my bathroom. There will be time to go through all the stuff in the office and the storage. I know that, so I keep reminding myself that I don't want to push it. I don't want to rush it.
I want it to enjoy these days. I want to soak up my time with the kids. And maybe I'll do some of that while they're at camp this week (I did!!). Maybe I won't. But it's going to get done. The summer is for rest and for play and for just not being in a crazy routine, not getting up early, not rushing around. It’s about just BEING, and I want to be with those I love.