Here's a roundup of some of the things I've bought online this month. Some of the things I have shared in stories and many of you have asked, and others are thing I think might be useful!

1. With all the extra screen time lately, I got these blue light glasses to help Caleb and his tired eyes.

2. I have been packing lunch for Caleb and this morning I started packing Chloe's, too. I love using these Bentgo Boxes because it lets me give them a good variety of things - I have one great eater and one picky one. The great eater gets foods from most of the food groups. The picky ones gets a variety of things I think she may eat. 

3. Cables everywhere drive me bananas, and this sticks to the underside of a desk or table to hang headphones. 

4. How gross and grimy do bottle brushes get? This Teal Trunk Bottle Brush is silicone and bends just right to get into all those crevices of water bottles and baby bottles.  

5. This Amazon Basics device holder is perfect for adjusting and holding phones and tablets. Plus, it's super portable! 

6. Okay, so targeted ads get me, too. In this case it was this Summersalt Swimsuit. It kept popping up on my Facebook and Instagram, and when I saw this black and white one, I couldn't resist. I hadn't bought really nice, high quality (read: expensive lol) swimsuit in a while. I think the price on this is reasonable and the compression on the suit is great. Get $10 off your purchase with them by shopping with this link. 

7. Chloe got a new swimsuit too. She's had several from Rufflebutts before, but this rainbow striped one is just too cute! 

8. I also got the kids these Yeti Ramblers. They're pricey, but all their other water bottles don't really keep their water cold and have a pretty short lifespan. These can also be washed in the dishwasher, which isn't the case for many kids water bottles! It's a little hard for Chloe to open the top, but we practiced with her and she's a pro now. I also love how easy it is to carry with the handle.

That's all for today, I'll have more for you soon!

xoxo, 

​Jenise

​This is uncharted territory for a lot of us, but we are all making it work however we can. Caleb is on day 4 of virtual learning, and already I have found a few things that have worked and others that haven't. This is by no means smooth sailing, but every day has been a little better, and Caleb's school was so well-prepared for this. His teacher has been a rockstar, too.

​I know that I am extremely fortunate in that I have the flexibility to work at whatever time I need to, but I also have Chloe to worry about and keep entertained, and I do want Caleb to learn to be more independent when it comes to virtual learning. After all, I would not be sitting next to him in the classroom, would I?

His teacher sent home a few tips that were really useful, and there were a few other things I implemented that just made sense for us here at home.

1. Have a dedicated space for them to work every day. Set up everything they need - books, writing utensils, power cords, etc. We had this little stand that has been really great for keeping the iPad in the right position for him. Use a well-lit space. Try and sit them near a window, but if possible, don't put the window behind them - it makes the image look really hazy on the screen. One thing I would change from our setup, I would have a solid wall behind him so there is no distraction if people are walking by or coming into the room. 
2. Have a routine! Just like a regular school day - a time to wake up, have breakfast, brush teeth, brush hair, get dressed, etc. Caleb is required to wear his uniform, which I personally think is wonderful because it helps him get in that frame of mind. 
3. Try to have them removed from the rest of the "action" in our house. The table that Caleb is using as his desk was in our living room area. After thinking about it, I realized he might be really distracted if he was trying to work there and Chloe and I were around. So we moved the desk into their bedroom, where we can always close the door if there is too much else going on in the house (Tuesday, for example, the landscapers were here and the dog started barking.) Which brings me to...
4. Headphones! He has them in there, but because I kind of want to know what is going on, I am only having him use them if there is a lot of noise going on outside of his schooling. 
5. Help them be independent. One of the first things Caleb's teacher wanted us to help them with was to learn how to mute and unmute themselves. This way whenever he is going to speak, he can do it himself and not have to wait for us to go and unmute him. I showed him where all his supplies are, and I leave the room so he knows he needs to do it on his own. 
6. Pack a lunch. Caleb's lunch is so early - at 10:15 am! So I have been packing him a lighter lunch - almost like a heavy snack. Then he has an afternoon snack, and we will do an early dinner. But we have done mini sandwiches, fruit, popcorn, chips, cheese crackers, cheese, things like that. He has a Bentgo box that is perfect for being here at home especially. But packing it means that I don't have to rush when his teacher says it's lunchtime, because it's ready to go. I also plan on doing this for Chloe in the next few days, so I don't have to stop what I am doing to feed her. This is probably especially helpful if you have multiple children in virtual school who have different schedules!
7. Give them time to play and be active. Once school is done, I'm not planning anything for them to "do," but I will encourage active play and try to get him up and out of a seated position. It's super hot outside, but I will try to do some time outdoors, in the late afternoon or in the pool. His teacher has also been good about getting brain breaks in, but if she wasn't doing that, I would probably encourage some kind of movement during his breaks.
8. Be flexible. The first morning we were getting ready to start, the light in the kids' room stopped working. Thankfully there is plenty of natural light, but when he logs on it's still not very bright out. We moved a lamp into the room until the electrician can come out and take a look. Thing like this will happen. Landscapers will show up, younger siblings will come into view, and the dog will bark. The kids will get knocked off their session somehow, and your kid might say some really funny things (On the first day, Caleb mentioned that he was going to go help his dad get the pool chemicals no less that 5 times. I had moms sending me messages all day lol). Just go with the flow and remember that your child would probably say really funny stuff in the classroom, too. You just might not ever find out!
9. Be patient. Our kids' teachers are wading through uncharted territory just like we are. They are doing their best. Administrators are stressed, too. Kids are missing their friends. Caleb's teacher told all the parents on the first day, "Tantrums are normal behavior. What we are asking of these kids is not normal. We cannot expect them to behave perfectly." And I don't think she could have spoken more reassuring words. Caleb's counselor told us in a virtual parent meeting to focus on the positive. Ask your child each day what worked and how you can make the next day better. But praise them for what they DID do well!
10. Remember that this is not permanent. It may seem never-ending, and it may be making us age prematurely, but it is not permanent. The world has survived pandemics before, and we will survive it again. Soon enough, our kids will be able to attend school in-person and have the interaction they crave and need. And we will get to do our work in peace again. 

I'm trying to keep those last few in mind myself. It's not easy, but I keep reminding myself that we are all going through something similar. Deep breaths and lots of prayers! You've got this!

xoxo, 

Jenise

Want to get more tips and real-life advice from a mom in the trenches? Make sure you're following me on Instagram and Facebook! You can also subscribe to my newsletter, and browse some of my freebies and some of my favorites. 

P.S. Wash your hands, wear your mask, increase your vitamin intake, and get active yourself. Because once we do get back to semi-normal living, you're going to want to be doing all those things. 

A couple weeks ago, Eddie sent me a link to this recipe from the New York Times Cooking site, and it immediately called our attention for the combination of flavors. I made it that night, and since then, we've had it another 3 times - totaling four times in three weeks! Honestly, it's THAT good.

The first time we had it we made it exactly like in the recipe, served over orzo for a complete meal. Twice we have had it as a side with some steaks, and once I doubled the broccolini and we just had it as a light dinner. It's got all these delicious summer flavors, and since it's a sheet pan meal, it makes for easy cleanup. It also makes for good leftovers - just heat it up in the oven (we use a toaster oven because it's easier).

It's a great dish for when you have company or when you have to take a side dish somewhere - you can prep it beforehand and just toss it in the oven 25 minutes before it's time to eat (it's best to eat the feta right out of the oven or it does get a little chewy as it cools). Plus, it's so colorful - it looks beautiful!

Ingredients

• 1 bunch broccolini (or broccoli), ends trimmed, thick stalk split lengthwise
  
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 small red onion, peeled, quartered, and cut into 2-inch wedges
• 1 lemon, 1/2 cut into thin rounds and the remaining 1/2 for serving
• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
• 2 (6- to 8- oz) blocks feta, cut into 1-inch slices
• Cooked orzo, for serving
• 1/2 cup fresh basil or cilantro leaves, roughly chopped (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack set in the lower third. On a sheet pan, combine the broccolini, tomatoes, onion and lemon slices with the olive oil and toss. Add cumin and red-pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper, and toss again until evenly coated. Nestle the feta slices into the vegetables. (It’s OK if they break apart a little.)
2. Roast for approximately 20 minutes, stirring halfway through but leaving the feta in place, until the broccolini is charred at the tips, the stems are easily pierced with a fork and the tomato skins start to blister and break down.
3. Serve over orzo or farro. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with the remaining lemon half for squeezing. Top with fresh herbs, if using.

Let me know if you try it and how you like it!

xoxo, 

​Jenise

​The Giver of Stars is set in Depression-era America, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond.

Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.

The leader, and soon Alice’s greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who’s never asked a man’s permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky. 

What happens to them–and to the men they love–becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they’re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.


I really enjoyed this book. I loved how the women, a group of unlikely companions, all deemed misfits in different ways, banded together a formed a sisterhood. It's a beautiful story of what happens when we support the women around us, and it really shows the power of kindness and friendship. 

The beginning of the book was a tiny bit slow for me - there was a lot of backstory and there are a lot of characters. But I have enjoyed a few of Moyes's books already and I like her style of writing. Once the story picked up, I had a hard time putting it down, and found myself reading well into the night. Towards the end, I found myself weepy at a few points, and the ending is an ending that brings hope. 

I also had no idea about the Packhorse Librarians and Eleanor Roosevelt's initiative to bring books to some of the more remote areas of the country. So historical fiction wins for me yet again! 

xoxo, 

Jenise

Buy it on Amazon. 
​Buy it from your local bookshop. 

​Can you believe that the last time I went to a nail salon was in February? I wasn't a regular at the nail salon, and I have spent most of my life doing my nails myself. I did enjoy visiting the salon from time to time as a little treat, but the truth is that I have been doing my own nails since I was in middle School, and over the years, I've gotten pretty good at it if I do say so myself.

I started out doing my own nails in middle school because attending a Catholic school, part of our uniform rules were that we weren't allowed to wear nail polish. But as a pre-teen, I of course wanted my nails done on the weekends. My parents wouldn't pay for me to get my nails done, especially since I would do them Friday afternoon and had to take the nail polish off again on Sunday night. The compromise was that I figured out how to do them myself.

Since then, I just continued doing them myself because it seemed easier than having a standing appointment each week or having to figure out when it was convenient to get to the salon. As a recovering nail biter (I was chronically bad about this when I was in elementary school, to the point where my dad would pay me for every day I didn't bite my nails!), I have also found that if my nails are done, I am much less likely to pick at them and bite them. I still succumb when under a lot of stress or anxiety, but it's a huge help to have them looking nice. 

​Over the years, I have learned a lot about doing my own nails, and even how to make them last longer. My nails typically make it to day 6 or 7 before starting to chip. Recently, Olive & June sent me a kit and I am kind of obsessed with their polishes, which are 7-free, and the whole kit. If your problem is keeping your hands steady while you paint, their Poppy tool is really helpful! They have a really great series on Instagram, called the Mani Bootcamp, and they share how you can get the perfect manicure at home. 

Here are 5 things I do to make my manicure last: 

1. Buff my nails. Buffing helps get rid of the ridges, and helps the nail polish "stick" better. I also buff the pieces of cuticles that stay stuck to my nails, and the rough edges that remain around the nail bed. 
2. Cut for length and general shape first, then file to get rid of sharp edges. When you file too much, you weaken the nail. By doing as little filing as possible, you help to avoid extra damage to the nails. 
3. Paint polish in thin layers. This really allows the polish to dry and not to bubble up. 2-3 thin layers of polish is always better than one thick coat. And a good topcoat really makes a huge difference. 
4. Clean nail polish off cuticles and edges. I used to paint my nails really messy and then just clean off the extra paint haphazardly, but I discovered that it caused my nails to chip more quickly when I did that. So now I paint cleanly, and make sure to remove any additional paint from my cuticles and around the nails.
5. Make sure your nails are SUPER clean before you start painting them. No lotion, no oil, no soap. I usually clean my nails off with one quick swipe of nail polish remover right before I paint. I have found that this makes an enormous difference in how long my manicure lasts! 

And there you have it! 

Also - nail polish can go bad. You can use a polish thinner to help the consistency, but if a bottle is too old, the paint is less likely to last on your manicure. ​

xoxo, 

​Jenise