Five on Friday

Happy Friday! It’s been another week of unpredictable school schedules. Yesterday Caroline was set to return to the school building…and then we woke up to surprise messages informing us in-person school was canceled due to the weather forecast (tornado warning). I’m used to working with Caroline home these days, but on the days I know she’s not with me I plan to tackle entirely different tasks that I prefer to do without interruptions…so that was tough. However, today she’s in school for the first (and only) day this week so I’ll take it!

1. Caroline Bakes…A Cake

So with Caroline unexpectedly home there were lots of “what can I doooooo all day?!?!” and “I’m bored.” So I dug through the pantry and found a box of cake mix, moved my work station to the kitchen and told Caroline she could bake a cake all by herself. And she did!!! Y’all…she baked a DOUBLE LAYERED white cake with homemade whipped buttercream frosting and a sprinkle heart design on top. As a pre-kids avid cake baker, it was truly incredible to watch and I couldn’t have been more proud. I only had to assist her a few times — getting the cakes in and out of the oven, adding the second cake layer to the base layer (which I was a little rusty at) and I offered to cut the heart out of wax paper for her stencil while she frosted the cake. She cut and served the cake to each of us after dinner last night and also brought a slice to her teacher this morning. And I’m not kidding, the cake was insanely good and totally worth the powder sugar and sprinkles mess.

2. Ziplining Day Date

Last weekend Matt and I had the most fun day date ever at the White Water Center. It’s a rare treat for us to get a date during daylight hours and they are always our favorite. A few weekends ago we spent the day at the WWC with the kids (highly recommend by the way) and enviously watched the zipliners glide overhead for hours. The experience looked SO fun that we decided we would return together to do the zipline course ASAP.

We arrived to the WWC in time to grab beers, nachos and fries before embarking on the Figure 8 adventure. And my goodness — what an amazing and exhilarating experience it was. We actually went ziplining for the first time on our honeymoon in Punta Cana almost 10 years ago, so this was our second time! The Figure 8 course features two of the longest ziplines at the WWC, as well as a series of cable bridges through the forest. We had an absolute blast and agreed this day date went down as one of our very favorites ever.

3. St. Patrick’s Day

We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with Lucky Charms for breakfast, a green dinner (an excellent opportunity for me to serve veggie pasta made with spinach) and Lucky Charms bars for dessert! And since Thomas got to have a class party, Caroline and I baked some Lucky Charms cookies together for an afternoon snack. It was such a cute and fun little holiday to celebrate with the kids this year.

Placemat by Fernandina Paper Co.

Lucky Charms Bars

4. COVID-19 Vaccine

Matt and I received our first COVID shot!! Matt was able to make an appointment at Walgreens to receive his first shot! I was so thankful when he became eligible because he is the one in our family who has had the closest calls and has had to quarantine at home multiple times after being in open court with clients who unknowingly had the virus but tested positive in the following days. Anyway, I hadn’t anticipated getting my vaccine during our visit (I was busy chasing the kids around the toy aisle), but when the pharmacist offered me a “no-waste” vaccine that was going to go unused for the day, I said YES! To be clear, the shot I received was a “waste dose,” meaning it was a dose that had already been drawn up and had to be used by end of day or it would have to be thrown out. I was honestly shocked…and so, so, so grateful.

Since posting our photo I have received TONS of questions or stories from readers who have been vaccinated early by getting on a “no-waste” or “close by” wait list, or by volunteering to administer the shot for a day (volunteers are offered leftover shots, if available). So, I wanted to share some information I’ve received from y’all to help spread the word in hopes more people can get vaccinated.

Important note — I have heard that NOT ALL Walgreens locations are offering no-waste vaccines. The recommendation I’ve been told is to call a few pharmacies or vaccine clinics about an hour before they close and if you are close by, you can possibly get your shot early if that location allows it and has leftover vaccines that will need to be tossed by end of day. The pharmacist who administered our shot said that Sundays are the slowest days for shots and missed appointments so there are usually the most extras available those days. I have also heard that the more rural pharmacies are more likely to have extras (and this is how most of my friends have received their vaccine early). You need to call the pharmacy directly because online appointments will appear “sold out.”

One more big tip for North Carolina and South Carolina readers — My friend recently got a vaccine appointment after joining the Facebook group NC/SC Vaccine Hunters which (as of today) has more than 8,000 members all sharing/seeking COVID vaccine information. Members share everything from information on mass vaccination events, to rural counties with open appointments, to strategies for the best time of day to look for a leftover dose.

5. New Foyer Decor

A few new updates in our foyer this week — I got a new rug from Amazon that looks even cuter in person and Matt hung the basketball hoop…

We are watching Yes Day for Family Movie Night tonight and can’t wait to devour some more of Caroline’s cake for dessert!

In Case You Missed It

• Lucky Charms Bars (Thank you to everyone who tagged me in their treat posts on Instagram!!!)
• Amazon Kitchen Favorites
• Family Movie Night: Pizzas + Treats + 44 Movies to Watch
• This month’s Top 3 Amazon Reader Favorite Items: 1. Women’s Floral Mini Dress 2. Girls Short Sleeve Rainbow Dress 3. Girls Long Sleeve Swan Dress