Tuesday: The Once-a-Summer Double Pool Day
Today was all about staying cool.
The forecast was another scorcher, so I started thinking first thing this morning about what absolutely needed to happen before the house heated up.
Breakfast
I quickly turned the oven on to make another batch of bacon before the day really got hot. If it’s going to be in the upper 90s, I’m trying hard not to use the oven during the afternoon if I can help it.
The kids happily took their breakfast downstairs to their basement fort. Apparently breakfast tastes better when you’re eating inside a cramped fort in the basement??
After everyone finished eating, we came back upstairs and got our schoolwork done. One of my kiddos also had a violin lesson this morning, so it was a fairly full morning before we headed out.
Morning Prep
Right after breakfast, while it was still relatively cool, I tried to get ahead on a couple things.
First, I marinated all of the chicken thighs I bought at Costco. My go-to seasoning is simple because I want it to work with lots of different meals throughout the week:
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Italian seasoning
- Smoked paprika
It’s flavorful but neutral enough that I can use the chicken in salads, pasta, bowls, wraps, or just on its own.
I also baked a new dessert I’m experimenting with for tomorrow night’s gathering at my house. It’s kind of a blueberry-lemon bar with a healthier twist. It’s still setting up, and I haven’t added the frosting yet, so I’m not quite ready to share the recipe until I know I’m completely happy with it.
Pool Day…Round One
We grabbed a quick lunch (my mom brought ChicFilA for the kids!) and then headed to our neighborhood pool with some friends.
When it’s this hot, you might as well lean into summer.
I packed a cooler with some sliced summer sausage, cucumbers, and chips
Between Pools
We came home around four o’clock for a little reset.
It wasn’t quite dinner time, but everyone was hungry, so I pulled out the very last of the taco meat from Saturday.
Some kids made nachos.
Some made taco bowls.
The 3 year old wanted a platter with chicken?? haha!
Then everyone relaxed, watched a TV show for about 45 minutes, cooled off inside, and regrouped before heading back out.
Pool Day…Round Two
Then we headed to our community pool to meet my sister-in-law and nephew.
So yes…
We officially had a double pool day.
Dinner (Sort Of)
On the way home, I decided to use the monthly Uber Eats credit that comes with one of our credit cards.
I’ve figured out that Wendy’s is actually one of the best values for stretching that credit.
Using the $15 monthly credit, I was able to pick up:
- Five burgers
- Two large fries
The kids absolutely inhaled them on the drive home.
Daphne was completely exhausted after two pools in one day, so she went straight to bath/bed as soon as we got home.
Thinking Ahead
Even though I didn’t actually need to cook dinner anymore, I looked at tomorrow’s forecast and thought, “I’d much rather grill tonight than tomorrow.”
I was already hot, sweaty, and smelled like sunscreen anyway.
So I fired up the grill and cooked all of the marinated chicken thighs.
Freshly grilled chicken is now sitting in my refrigerator ready for meals over the next several days, and Future Me is going to be very thankful tomorrow evening when I don’t have to stand outside in another 95-degree afternoon.
I ended up eating some of the fresh chicken myself because…well…it’s hard to resist freshly grilled chicken.
Tomorrow night’s dinner just got a whole lot easier.