What's Up Wednesday {April 2026}

Happy WHAT’S UP WEDNESDAY, friends!

If you’re here for our weekly WELLNESS WEDNESDAY, no worries, I’ve sprinkled in a little WORKOUTS IN A WEEK in today’s post too 🙂 .

Speaking of which, I was thinking about you guys on Saturday morning. I typically don’t go to my neighborhood Starbucks on Saturday mornings, but this last weekend, I was up early driving to Arlington to see my grandmother and stopped by on my way. It was about 7:30 AM and as I was getting my coffee, a big group of runners were sitting on the patio. The group had at least 30 people in it. You could tell they had all finished running and were enjoying coffee and goodies with each other after. I watched them a bit through the window, and it just made me SMILE. There were men and women and people of all ages and it was such a clear and perfect example of COMMUNITY.

I have these little convos in my head when I want to tell you guys something and at that moment, I was having such a conversation. I just loved that on Saturday morning, this eclectic bunch of people were together having community. It made my heart full. Community is such a special thing.

Okay, as always, on the last Wednesday of every month, Sheaffer and I host this little linky party where we share what’s going on with us right now. It’s a little food, a little family, a little what we’re wearing, a little what we’re doing, a little what we’re watching and a little bit of everything else all in one post.

Happy last Wednesday in April!

I shared this recipe in my DAY IN THE LIFE earlier this week…

…but if you need a quick and easy meal, try my EASY BAKED MEATBALLS. I often make them earlier in the day and then keep them warm in the slow cooker until we’re ready to eat. This also makes it handy on those nights when we eat in shifts. It’s a go-to recipe around here!

I shared this on Instagram on Monday, but we are officially transitioning from all the “firsts” in our family to all the “lasts”.

On Monday, Mades had her last field trip of the school year which made it my last elementary school field trip EVER.

It feels like just yesterday that we were on Kensington’s very first elementary school field trip to the pumpkin patch.

After 12 years of going to the zoo, the museum, art gallery, theater, aquarium, and so many other destinations with with my kids and their classes, we are done.

It went by so so fast, friends.

Mades had an elective this year where you studied history through the American Girl stories, so for their field trip, we visited the American Girl store in Dallas. It was such a sweet day with my last little elementary student.

You guys, I’m telling you…

…THESE LEGGINGS ARE THE BEST!

I told you that when I bought them last summer and then reminded you of that several times since, but after putting them on again last week on Nantucket, I ordered me another pair for McKinney…

…on Nantucket, I have navy, so I bought black for McKinney. THESE LEGGINGS come in many other colors too. I am going to make a bold statement right here…but in my opinion, they are BETTER than Lulu or Athleta. Yup. I said it. And they’re a fraction of the price. They’re buttery soft, have pockets, have a great stretch (but not too stretchy where they get baggy).

All sorts of sweet spring things…

…spring football has started! We had our first of three spring scrimmages last Thursday before the spring game in May.

After several months of not having football, it’s always nice to get a taste of it this time of year. We sure love that #75.

A coffee date with my favorite middle schooler is always a fun way to start the day 🙂 .

Mades and I met my parents in their town on Friday for lunch. I have LOVED having this girl at home with me on Fridays over the last two school years. Next year, she’ll be in the 6th grade and this sweet season will be over with, but goodness, I have enjoyed it so so much.

Kensington and I have been counting down since about November…

…and we were SO EXCITED to go see the new Michael movie with Ebby Lee on Friday night. We were downright GIDDY!

Now you know that I grew up OBSESSED with Michael Jackson. He was my Taylor Swift a la 1994. And I’ve shared before that one time I accidentally saw him in person in an alley in Downtown Disney when I was twelve. It was just my dad and me and Michael Jackson with a small entourage (about five or six people) in an alley behind a store (he was leaving the store, I was using a pay phone to call my friend Lynsey to tell her that I just saw Michael Jackson in said store…and then he came out the backdoor where I was standing). He had on those famous cropped black pants with bright pink socks and black shoes. I remember is so clearly because HE WAS MY TAYLOR SWIFT.

If you grew up loving the music and the dancing too, this movie is such a fun two hours.

On Saturday night, Andrew and Smith had plans, Kensington had plans, Mades had plans and that left Ashby and me. She asked me if we could go to The Yard with two of her sweet friends. I said YES, YES and proceeded to have the sweetest night with these girls…

…we ate outside (it was gorgeous), we played a million rounds of different trivia games, Heads Up, and cards. These three girls had me laughing all night long. After dinner, we got cookies and then they all came back to our house. It was the best night with the best middle schoolers…

…they gave me a silly face on our way out. Sweet night with sweet girls.

Speaking of which…

…Andrew took Ashby and her bestie Addie to see the Yankees play the Texas Rangers on Monday night…

…they all went with this guy here. This is Art, and he’s one of our beloved neighbors. He’s from New York and a huge Yankees fan…AND he is also a former baseball player himself. He played in the minor league for the Dodgers back in the day. His house is between ours and Addie’s, so the four neighbors all went together to see the game.

They all stayed up way too late and had way too much fun watching a team I really don’t like. Make that two teams I really don’t like.

It’s almost MAY! I have nothing but happy vibes right now.

I always get excited to share WELLNESS WEDNESDAY with you, so today, I’m adding a bit of that into this post with…my latest edition of WORKOUTS IN A WEEK!

Here’s the deal about me (this is me…I’m not saying this needs to be you)…I have learned that I operate so much better when I just workout every day. For DECADES (two of which documented here, so you know this to be true), I had workout days and “off” days, and if I’m being honest, that messed with my head. I am such a routine person. I am someone who loves to find daily routines to savor and enjoy (rituals!) that having workout days and non-workout days just kind of messed up every day. The inconsistency made my workout days less fun and then also made my non-workout days feel like I was missing out on something.

A few years ago, I just decided to workout every day. Period.

If I workout every day then I don’t have to dread “workout days” or change things for “workout days” or over-think “workout days” or beat myself up when I skip “workout days”. That was a lot of silly nonsense in my head. Now, working out (or as I like to refer to it…being active) is just a natural part of every single day.

The re-frame absolutely made a big difference for me.

There are some days that I’m not active (for instance, if I’m getting up at 3:00 AM for a flight, I am not working out), but most of the days of the year, I do.

What I do each week varies but at the same time, it’s pretty consistent. I *aim* for four days of lifting weights, one day of yoga, a day of something that gets my heartrate up, and then a day of walking and recharging. That’s my *typical* goal each week. I only allow myself 40 to 60 minutes depending on the day.

Here’s what I’ve done over the last week…

WEDNESDAY:

I went to an early morning hot yoga class. The temp gets up to around 110, and I love it. I started doing yoga 25 years ago, and it was an immediate love affair. I walked the Charlie and Yankee that day too…

THURSDAY:

I went for a three mile run followed by…

…a one mile really brisk walk with Charlie.

FRIDAY:

It was bicep and back day in my gym…

…and then I walked with my weighted vest.

SATURDAY:

This is me post-three mile run.

SUNDAY:

Early morning leg day at the gym! After that…

…a before church walk with the dog.

MONDAY:

Here I am headed to a heated strength training class. I wear my eye patches every morning on my way to workout. Ha! It kills two birds with one stone. This class is 60 minutes of torture, but I love it! It’s gets up to about 100 degrees, and we do a mix of weights and cardio. It’s a killer!

TUESDAY:

Early morning walk with my neighbor and friend Lauren! We walked 3 miles and even stopped to get her Starbucks along the way. This day is all about recharging and enjoying the time outside and the company.

And those were my workouts in a week 😉 .