Now that it’s July, I’m quietly panicking inside. Each year, as my kids get one summer older, I feel that the season simultaneously lasts forever, with their afternoon WWE matches (with even more crying than in the WWE), half-hourly bursts into my office to lodge formal complaints against one another, and sweaty evening sports that interrupt my dreams of gently coasting across the pool after dinner, frozen jalapeño rosé in hand…
and I feel that each summer passes in the blink of an eye, the bat of a bee’s wing, the bioluminescent blip of a firefly’s flash. By July, I fear the summer has slipped through my grasp, like I can prevent this and immortalize this moment if I just squeeze hard enough.
I throw mini themed dinners to punctuate the summers, celebrate each hour, and try desperately to keep them little. We travel often, then regret it, as these trips seem to kick up the playback rate of my memories. We return to our home, tanned and exhausted, and they’re even closer to that next grade level, that next extraction from home life back to a daily school routine. I have a tremendous bone to pick with the inescapable passage of time.
But one of us is stronger than the other, and I sense defeat against Time, no matter how many matches I show up for, primed and ready to fight. All that’s left to do is relish the moments… when I’m feeling sentimental anyway, not screaming at one to stop snitching on the other and at the other to stop doing whatever caused the snitching. Parenting is still a mystery to me.
Here’s what I’m really loving right now:
I’ve been trying to steer away from synthetic fabrics, but I live in built-in bra yoga tanks. Living in the South, wicking material is necessary to function in the warmer months, but I don’t love the idea of wearing microplasticky material 24/7. Everything I’ve tried to replace those tanks with, though, has been thick, annoyingly short, or too compressive on my chest. Then I found OGL tanks. I now have a closet full of brami tops that feel like a second skin, gently wick away sweat, and are frankly flattering as hell. They’re not entirely microplastics-free, but they’re all made from eco-minded materials with just enough stretch to be comfy. Big, big fan.
Oh, on that note, I’m feeling deeply amorous towards this Hill House nightgown. My assistant/recipe tester (AKA Saint Simone but who doesn’t steal my husband) had been recommending it for years but had referred to it as a mumu. Once I finally saw it, I had to genuinely consider my existing nightwear repertoire if she considered this a mumu, but I bought one regardless. We became inseparable immediately. It’s impossibly light and airy, making it perfect for sticky summer evenings that the AC will never truly catch up to. I also think it’s low-key sexy as hell, with its short hem and flattering neckline that’s all like, “Who, me?”
Deeply unsexy, but this fly zapper thing is my entire personality. With three kids and two dogs, there are constantly flies invading our inner sanctum in the summer, and I simply cannot stand them. This little zapper thing rewards you with a (frankly startling) little bzzzt every time a fly meets their very timely death, and it’s by far the most effective method we’ve tried for keeping the house clear of them. We also find that we have far fewer fruit flies when this device is on. Highly recommend.
Remember my passion fruit obsession? Still raging. I’ve been working to find the right passion fruit scent, and I’m really loving Le Monde Gourmand’s. It’s super affordable and just the right size to make it a lovely seasonal choice. I’m packing it in a tiny atomizer to take with me to our trip to Canada in a couple weeks.
What we’re eating right now:
I’m obsessed with cottage cheese cilbir and eat it as often as I can. I usually make a double batch and space it throughout the week, spreading the herbed whipped cottage cheese in a bowl, heating up the Aleppo chili browned butter and drizzling it over, poaching a couple eggs, and spooning more jalapeño-parsley oil on top. Toast a piece of bread, and I have a super satisfying, high-protein lunch that feels bright and summery, but also deep and rich with the browned butter.
We’re still working on the cookbook but almost finished! I saved the very worst recipes/concepts to shoot for last, so we had a full Thanksgiving dinner this week. Leftovers for days, very literally. I feel like my site calendar ends up with me eating turkey and all the fixin’s every 4th of July, but I’m honestly not too mad about it.
All I want to drink lately is rosé and porn star martinis, although I desperately wish they had a different name. I’ll never bring myself to order one in public, so I’ve been resigned to making them at home. I deserved an extra-large one with a real passion fruit for garnish after a photoshoot for the book.
Life Lately
Everything has been camps and sports, sports camps, and camp sports. My oldest started tennis and has fallen in love with it. And I’ll be honest with you: I can totally see myself as a tennis mom. Do tennis moms get to wear tennis clothes, too? Either way, I’m doing it.
The thing about summer tennis in a great local program with a kid who loves it? It’s a lot. Typically after our mini flag football season ends in the summer, evenings are free, and we walk around after dinner with popsicles in hand, talking about which house has the best Halloween decorations and candy. Now? I watch the sun set from the bleachers, stroller fan wrapped tightly around my knee to brush some of the humidity off my neck. We get home after my husband’s gone to bed and creep in on tip-toes like robbers, communicating in whispers, eyes quickly adjusting to the dark.
My fight with the squash vine borers is at a strange standstill. My pumpkin plants are still growing but not producing any female flowers. I just about snapped this morning and ripped them out of the beds, but we have such a long growing season here that I figured I’d might as well just wait and see what in the world happens. We’re in full cherry tomato season, though, and I’m harvesting them by the handful each morning.
I had grape tomatoes fall last season and produce plants this spring, but the bottom tips of the tomatoes are all brown. Maybe a calcium deficiency? Then again, we’ve had 50” of rain so far this year, where we normally get 30”, so my garden is a complete mess.
Get your life together.
It’s definitely time to start thinking about back-to-school, which is, I agree, very annoying.
Make absolutely sure the kids are registered for the upcoming year, and make sure you get them signed up for any start-of-year orientations or camps.
Get those annual checkups in and—want to be extra on top of things?—print off the shot records now so you’re ready when the school asks.
There may still be time to order a school supply box, and now’s a great time to just go ahead and get your school supplies anyway. If you’re waiting for a tax-free weekend, check out when your dates are now.
If you’re really looking to make things easier on yourself as an elementary-school parent, get a Spirit Box, so you’re never worrying about that last-minute dress-up day again.
Sign your kids up for whatever fall sports, dance classes, or activities they do.
Make sure you have first-day-of-school outfits and chalkboard signs/letter boards for your back-to-school photos, if that’s your thing (It’s mine.).
Do those kids need new clothes for the school year? Inventory what you have, what fits, what does, and what they need. Put together a list and work through it slowly or all at once, preferably after pay day (*Cries in Kids Are Expensive®*).
Considering putting together little back-to-school gifts for your new teachers? Go ahead and plan those now so you can quickly slap a name on there when you get your assignment. Is it a little extra? Of course. Are we a little extra? Just a smidge. This is my go-to:
What I’m reading/listening to/watching/playing:
reading: I just finished The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, and I’m very upset about it. It was just the coziest, loveliest little book, and I’d really like to live at Nowhere House. Unfortunately, I have not yet been invited, so I have to live here at Everywhere House with my own progeny and make dinner for them and stuff. Boo.
still reading: Almost done with Heir of Fire, and I’m debating pausing the Throne of Glass series so I can hop back into Crescent City, which my mom is reading now. I fear I would just be too damn confused if I picked ToG back up later, though. Thoughts?
listening to: I started The Summer I Turned Pretty on Spotify because it was recommended as a next listen, and it was free. The narrator sounds like she’s always smiling, and I feel hella in touch with my teenage self. Jury’s still out on how I like the actual book, though.
playing: I started guitar lessons as a way to practice reclaiming my joy, but so far it’s been all theory and me nodding off while I count down the minutes, like I’m 16 and back in a post-lunch AP bio. I need to pick a song and demand to master it, but I’m unsure what’s the right choice. Musical theater? Taylor? 70s singer-songwriter? Weird acoustic versions of like, 2000s pop punk? I need ideas.
watching: WHO HEARD MY VERY LOUD DEMANDS FOR NEW REALITY TV TO ROT MY BRAIN WITH DURING LUNCH?! Whoever it was, blessed be, for we are now with a new series of America’s Sweethearts. I’m delighted, and the ex-dancer in me is also always partially scared and on notice. My posture certainly improves when I watch it. We’re still chipping away at Shrinking at night, but I mostly don’t pay attention to it, scroll mindlessly on my phone, then get confused about what’s happening. At least I’m self-aware.
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