Peanut Butter Fingers - Living a Life Fueled by Healthy Food and Fitness

Our First Yes Day: How We Planned It, Our Rules, What We Did, etc.

Tue, 26 May 2026 12:38:30 +0200

Have you guys heard of a “Yes Day” for kids? It’s a day where parents/grownups agree to say “yes” to any kid requests (within reason, of course). Our kids naturally thought this concept was the coolest — our oldest requested a Yes Day a while back after a friend came to school raving about his — and we did our very first Yes Day this past Saturday.

We don’t do graduation gifts or anything like that for our kids but when our youngest graduated from preschool it felt like a big milestone not only for Rhett but for our whole family. The preschool days are behind us (cue a million different emotions!) and we wanted to celebrate with something unique and extra special. A big family Yes Day fit the bill!

How to Plan a Yes Day

When we pitched a Yes Day to the boys they were all about it! The whole concept of a Yes Day when Mom and Dad would say “yes” to their favorite treats, extra special kid activities, fast food, video games, etc. blew their minds!

When we first had the idea to do a Yes Day, I asked you guys to weigh in and share your experiences with planning a Yes Day for your kids. I took your advice and morphed bits and pieces into planning a day that would work well for our family. We spent the evening before our Yes Day talking the day through with our boys and brainstorming ideas in a number of categories. Our Yes Day categories looked like this:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Dessert
Home Activities
Paid Activities
Free Activities
Mom and Dad Surprises (Ryan and I didn’t tell them about this category but had a few ideas we talked about ahead of time that we included in our Yes Day plan as pop-up surprises for the boys.)

Brainstorming ideas ahead of time worked really well for our family because we were able to come up with a Yes Day itinerary everyone agreed on that made sense logistically. It also served to get everyone super psyched before the day! Additionally, the boys’ requests in two of the categories (breakfast and dessert) required a grocery store run and since we didn’t want to spend any time on our Yes Day at the grocery store, we made a trip to Publix the night before so the boys could pick out a few of their Yes Day treats. They LOVED this and thought filling our grocery cart with food we usually say “no” to was really fun!

Yes Day Rules

We had a few rules and parameters for our Yes Day that Ryan and I explained to the boys before we started brainstorming our plans. A few more rules also popped up during Yes Day planning as they began thinking of ideas and making requests. (You may be able to guess which Yes Day rules were added because of our kids’ requests. Ha!)

Our Yes Day rules:

No double dipping: Once you’ve requested one thing and we’ve done it, you cannot ask for it again.
No requesting pets, money or additional Yes Days (Yep, this one was added because of the boys.)
Two paid activities: We were willing to say “yes” to two fun kid activities that required us to buy tickets or pay for our family to participate. We also clarified that if the boys picked one really big paid activity (like going to Carowinds, our local amusement park), that would negate another paid activity.
Unlimited free activities: Think flashlight frog hunts, blanket fort building, fishing, board games, bon-fires, cookie baking, etc.
Activities must be within a 60-minute drive of our home
Mom and Dad get ultimate veto power
Kids must work together to agree on Yes Day choices

Of course rules like “no requesting anything dangerous or destructive” are also a good idea but our kids didn’t push the boundaries on this so we didn’t feel the need to discuss it ahead of time.

Our Yes Day from Start to Finish

And now for our Yes Day!!! Our Yes Day began just after 6 a.m. when our two oldest boys were awake and acting like it was Christmas morning!

If you want to quickly flip through our Yes Day on Instagram, I saved everything I shared to a highlight you may find here: Yes Day!

Yes Day Breakfast

Chase and Ryder were buzzing with excitement and channeled their energy into helping me make the special cinnamon rolls we made on Christmas morning for breakfast (one of their requests!) while we waited for Rhett to wake up.

Just like we did on Christmas, we poured heavy cream over a can of cinnamon rolls before baking. This time we also sprinkled a little brown sugar and a few pats of butter on top of the rolls before baking as well and the end result was next-level delicious. We baked them for about 7 minutes longer than the canned directions and then added the icing on top. SO GOOD!!! We’ll 1,000% make them this way again!

The boys also dug into a “fun cereal” aka Lucky Charms for breakfast once Rhett was up while we waited for the cinnamon rolls to bake.

The kids’ first “Yes Day” request came in the middle of breakfast when they asked if they could play Ninja Turtles, aka the ’90s Super Nintendo video game Ryan’s mom was smart enough to save from his childhood.

Video games at 7:15 a.m.!? YES!!!

Yes Day Activity One

Our first out-of-the-house Yes Day activity took us about 45 minutes from home to a place called Activate. The boys were dying to try out this place after Ryan showed them videos of it a while back. It’s essent...

Things I’m Loving Friday #593

Fri, 22 May 2026 14:59:38 +0200

Aaand just like that, our family’s chapter on the preschool days has come to a close. I need to take a minute to type out the swirling mess of emotions I’m experiencing relating to Rhett’s preschool graduation and our family’s conclusion of the preschool days but it’s a LOT and it’s one of those moments of finality that popped up in motherhood way faster than I imagined. It had me feeling like a bit of a mess yesterday if I’m being honest but we are so proud of Rhett and so grateful to have had the very, very best preschool experience at a preschool we absolutely adored for 9 years. How are we here already!?!?

While Rhett is officially done with school, our big kids have school through next Friday. We’re planning to celebrate Rhett’s big milestone (and the end of the school year with our boys this weekend in the form of a family “Yes Day.” Thankfully a bunch of you weighed in with you advice on how to format this kind of a fun day for the boys on Instagram and they are beyond psyched! I’m sure I’ll share more on the blog next week but for now let’s dive into this week’s roundup of favorites.

I hope my American readers out there enjoy the long weekend and join me in taking time to remember why we have this extended time off. We are acutely aware in our house that we have the life and freedoms we do because of the heroic men and women who gave their lives for our country. We are so grateful.

Things I’m Loving Friday

Fishwife Tinned Fish

Alert for my fellow seafood lovers: Fishwife tinned fish is on another level. The company sent me a couple of their tins to sample and earlier this week, I popped a can of the smoked salmon to use on top of my lunchtime salad. Well, I didn’t end up using it on top of a salad because it was so dang good, I ate it right out of the tin. I mean do you see that salmon filet!?! It was flaky and buttery and not at all try. To say I was blown away by the quality of their fish is an understatement. I flew to their website to order more and saw that their Memorial Day weekend sale is going on right now — and apparently it’s one of only two sales they run every year (Black Friday is the other) — get 20% off with code SUMMER20. I stocked up and am thrilled to have an easy high-protein option on hand that isn’t just another protein bar.

Swim Skirt

(Swim Top: Albion Fit / Swim Skirt: Albion Fit — code MDWJULIE saves 15%)

I know swimsuit bottoms are getting cheekier by the day but can I interest you in a swim skirt? Ha!! I got my first swim skirt in preparation for our first Disney cruise because I wanted something I could wear from the pool or beach to the buffets without feeling the need for a cover up. I loved it so much that I ordered another one (my code MDWJULIE saves 15% site wide!) and it’s been such a great find for me. As someone with a booty, I am often self conscious of my butt in bathing suits, mainly because my butt cheeks tend to eat swimsuit bottoms and I hate feeling like I have to pull and tug on them to get decent coverage. I also am quite active in a swimsuit (the life of a mom with 3 boys), so a swim skirt has been such a great option for me when I’m running around with the boys. I wore it to Rhett’s preschool graduation pool party and swear half the moms in his class asked me to text them a link to it. Anything that makes me feel more comfortable and confident in a swim suit is something I’m going to fully embrace!

40-Ounce Era Flip BruMate

I got this 40-ounce Era Flip BruMate for my birthday because Ryan saw how much I loved and used my 35-ounce Resa BruMate. This version was an instant hit for me because it fits in the cupholder of my car, has a handle, keeps my electrolyte water cold, and — and this is new! — it was a cover you can slide in place to protect the straw. I also adore the happy little pattern and think it feels so joyful and summery!

Multi-Level Resistance Bands

Bless Ryan for adding these resistance bands to our home gym! He had one set up on his squat rack the other day and when I went over to investigate, I noticed the band was labeled with a weight. I then realized it was part of a set where you can swap out the handles on bands that offer various resistances which I thought was a genius concept. Since I do a lot of my workouts at home these days and rely on resistance bands for a handful of exercises in the Move Together workout challenge I’m doing, these bands ended up being one of those great little discoveries I never knew I needed. They’ve been especially helpful for back exercises, core work and triceps press-downs. Thanks, Ryan!!

Memorial Day Weekend Sales

Sharing a roundup of the weekend sales that popped out at me below!

A Fishing Derby, An Art Market and the Levine JCC Kids Triathlon

Mon, 18 May 2026 16:46:03 +0200

This weekend felt like a sneak peek into summer! We had sunshine and 80+ degree temperatures and a relatively open schedule which made it a good one.

Friday

All of the boys were off school on Friday and Rhett and I had something a little special on the calendar: Kindergarten screening!

(Sunglasses: Amazon)

(Pants: Albion — code PBFINGERS10 saves 10% — I’m 5’7” and wearing a size small tall / Top: Amazon / Shoes: Steve Madden / Bag: Madewell)

The big kids’ school meets with every incoming kindergartener for an hour of play-based assessments and playground time before summer break. We majorly lucked out when Ryder’s teacher was assigned to complete Rhett’s evaluation so he had a familiar face greeting him!

Our Friday evening was a fun one as well because we borrowed our neighbor’s golf cart and took it out to dinner.

Any activity involving a golf cart ride feels a little bit like a vacation!

Saturday

Saturday morning began with a his and hers workouts for me and Ryan. I caught up on a Move Together Challenge workout I missed earlier in the week and it felt good to move my body to start the day.

(Workout mat is my favorite Stakt Pro mat! Code PBFINGERS15 saves 15%! Why I love it: It’s thicker and more gentle on my body and knees, it can fold up and be an elevated surface and it stays in place.)

Our main plans for the day took us to a local pond for a fishing derby with friends!

The fishing derby is one of our favorite local events put on by the town’s parks and recreation department. It’s always well-attended and a lot of fun! No one in our crew took home a prize this year but Ryder came within an inch of capturing the prize for the biggest fish caught! The kid who won the prize for most fish caught within 90 minutes caught 51 fish. Unreal, right!?

(Ryder’s tee is is last year’s “Mae’s summer t-shirt” annual tradition creation. I love it so much.)

Before heading home, we drove to the big kids’ school for their spring art market.

(Set is the same Z Supply one I raved about last year! Top (size small) + Bottoms (size medium) / Sunglasses: Sardine (gifted) / Sneakers: Adidas / Bag: Clare V.)

Chase and Ryder absolutely adore their school art teacher and supporting her is important to our family. (We gave each kid a small budget to shop to support the artists at the market.) Their art teacher is one of those people with a calming presence you just love to be around and even has a wall of photos in her classroom of her students posing with fish they’ve caught who happen to share her love for fishing. (Can you see why they love her?) She also makes her own pottery and I couldn’t resist adding another one of her bowls I love so much to my collection.

During our time at the art market, we took a brief break to listen to...

Things I’m Loving Friday #592

Fri, 15 May 2026 12:44:11 +0200

Hey friends! How are you? How’s life looking for you right now? Earlier this week, a friend and I were chatting and she shared a little bit about a something she read regarding reframing the craziness of May when you have school-age kids (aka Maycember, Maynia, Mayhem). She said after reading something shared by someone she follows on Instagram, she felt encouraged to reframe the insanity of May to look at it more like the “Magic of May.” I’m sure I’m going to butcher the sentiment, but a lot of the overwhelm of May stems from so many celebrations and “end of x, y, z” commitments that are really just ways for us to show up and love on our kids. Yes, the sheet number of events we’re expected to attend can add up fast, especially when you have multiple children and schedules to consider, but trying to look at these events as opportunities to celebrate our boys and lean into really showing them how proud we are of their hard work was a helpful switch in my brain to flip on. So yes, May is crazy but it’s also magic!! And we’re nearly halfway through the month already!

Our week was a full but good one which is how I think our weekend will be as well. We have another fishing event on the agenda as well as a local children’s triathlon which should be a lot of fun. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend ahead and always appreciate you making my blog a part of your Fridays! Now let’s chat about some things we’re loving this week, shall we?

Things I’m Loving Friday

Feels Like Nothing Crazy-Soft Amazon Pajamas

(Pajama Pants/ Pajama Tee / Brunch Slippers)

Last year, right around the holidays, I was sent a a pair of unbelievably soft and comfortable pajama pants from a brand called Negative. The material of the pajamas was unlike anything I’d felt before — whisper soft, breathably lightweight and, like the brand name implies, felt almost like nothing when I slipped on the pajama pants. I admittedly struggled with including them in a TILF post for one main reason: They were nearly $200. I feel like some things are worth a splurge (a beautiful bag, high-quality shoes, jeans, jewelry I’ll wear every day), but I had a hard time reconciling the price of these pants with the fact that they are… pajamas. Now, to be clear, I LOVE them. I was grateful to receive them in a surprise PR gifting and wear them regularly. They’re also the pajama pants I pack when we travel because they pack up so tiny! But, still, almost $200 for pajama pants felt a bit much.

Now fast forward several months and this pair of pajamas pants I saw on Amazon caught my eye because someone said they were so similar to the Negative pajama pants I love so much… and they were $32. Worth a shot, right!?

When they arrived, I was immediately impressed with the similarity of the cloud-like fabric. They felt like the whispery soft crazy-lightweight (perfect for summer!) material I love so much in my pair of Negative pajama pants. And then I pulled them on and was immediately impressed with just how similarly they fit! I couldn’t resist ordering some of the matching tops (tank + tee + long-sleeve top) in the same ultra-thin fabric and have been so impressed with everything. One note: I sized up in the pants but the tops seem to fit true to size.

Tower 28 Post-Workout SOS Spray

We’re entering the time of year when I find myself walking around a little, um, sweatier than usual. In the winter, I cannot stand the feeling of cold sweat on my body and will shower right after a workout, but during the summer, if my workout wasn’t too sweaty, I’ll go about my day after a workout because I know I’ll just be getting sweaty outside again during the day with the boys. Evening showers are where it’s at for ne in the summer months but this admittedly isn’t the best for my skin. Enter this Tower 20 SOS clean beauty spray!! I first tried this SOS (“save our skin”) spray last summer when I added it to an order of my favorite Tower 28 SPF skin tint and liked it enough to add it to my recent Sephora spring sale order.

During the warmer months of the year, my chest and chin will often break out and I am convinced it’s because I’m sweating more than usual and my sweat just sits on my body for extended periods of time. That’s why this spray initially intrigued me so much — it uses hypochlorous acid to kill the bacteria that causes acne and keeps post-gym breakouts at bay, calm skin redness, and soothe stressed skin. You just spray it on and let it do it’s thing!

Also, for those interested in a deeper dive into skincare stuff like I am, research shows skin pH, bacterial load, and inflammatory signaling all shift significantly within 15-30 minutes of sweating stopping… meaning the longer sweat sits, the more bacteria grows. And that’s why this SOS spray is magical! If I can’t shower or wash my face within 30 minutes of sweating, I use this spray (I keep this travel size one in my car) and really do feel like it makes a difference in my face and chest skin clarity.

Cookie & Kate Granola

This granola recipe never fails me. I’ve made it so many times with different oils (avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil), sweeteners (maple syrup, honey), nuts and seeds, coconut, dried fruit and chocolate chips and it always, always turns out so well. I take the blogger’s tips to heart and always toss the granola halfway through baking and then press it down to get bigger cl...

Mother’s Day Weekend 2026

Mon, 11 May 2026 13:16:18 +0200

Mother’s Day weekend has come and gone and I’m left with one resounding thought: I’m in a really, really good phase of motherhood right now. We were able to call our mothers and send them gifts to wish them a Happy Mother’s Day, something I am increasingly grateful for every single year. Ryan and I know we were raised by two of the best. And I was able to spend all of Mother’s Day weekend with Ryan and our three boys who are in such a beautiful, heart-squeezing little/big kid phase of life. Life with a 10, 7 and 5-year-old is just plain fun. As Ryan said, we just want to “take a T” and make life “time out” right now because something about these ages feels poignant and extra special. (Am I going to say this about every age? Maybe. I hope so!)

Some of the hands-on challenges of the baby and toddler days are behind us but we don’t yet have any of the oh-wow-how-in-the-world-do-we-navigate-that challenges I’m sure will come as they become older and increasingly independent. To put it simply: Motherhood is really sweet right now and that makes life really, really sweet.

Saturday

Our weekend kicked off on Saturday with some time outside as we loaded up the boys’ bikes and Rhett’s dirt bike and visited some local trails with Comet. Spring in Charlotte may wreak havoc on my allergies but man it sure is beautiful with sunshine and temperatures in the low 70s.

We made it back home around lunchtime and Ryan and the boys worked together to make an early Mother’s Day meal of grilled chicken thighs, corn on the cob, salad and watermelon. Summertime cookout food is a favorite of mine and it totally hit the spot! After lunch, we visited with our neighbor (the house whose roof you below!) who recently got a golf cart and encouraged us to take it for a joy ride around the neighborhood.

What is it about riding in a golf cart that instantly makes you slip into care-free vacation mode!? It was a blast and the boys were all about it!

Once we made it home, we didn’t have too much time to spare until we had to head off to Chase’s final flag football game of the season.

(Game Day top: Target but last year / Pants: Ruti / Rope Tie Sandals: Amazon / Bag: Clare V.)

We arrived an hour before the game so Chase’s team could hold a mini practice of sorts since their weekday practice was cancelled due to rain. As the kids were practicing, we were witness to another game going on that got incredibly heated. We’re talking lots of cursing and coaches and parents yelling at each other and the refs… all in a youth rec flag football game. We haven’t run into something quite this crazy during our youth sports experience thus far but it was so disheartening to see. We had a talk with our children about how even adults don’t always speak to each other respectfully and this is not okay and I just felt horrible for the kids who were on the teams in the middle of such intense adult conflict. Everyone eventually calmed down and ended the game with handshakes but it had all of us feeling a little on-edge as the next round of games began.

Despite a rough start to the overall ambiance of our final flag football game, the game itself ended up being the very best one we had all season! At halftime we were down two touchdowns but our team came back to win in the end by one point and the boys were absolutely thrilled!

(Shout out to our favorite kickback rocking chairs! This is the chair I got for Ryan for Father’s Day a while back that I ended up ordering for myself because it’s so comfy. I swear we’ve had 3 other football families end up ordering them after they tried ours.)

Flag football was a new sport for Chase and the majority of his teammates this season and watching them learn and improve week over week was a really cool experience. Chase ended up scoring two touchdowns in their final game which was a huge deal for him! When I asked Chase what it felt like to score a touchdown he said, “Kind of like the best moment of my life but also like ‘Oh my gosh I just scored a touchdown!!!!'” It was so cute to see him absolutely buzzing on the way home.

Hey friends! Friday is here! How are you holding up? Did you have a good week? A crazy one? The mayhem that is May is certainly in full swing over here with various school events and activities popping up left and right. One particularly cute event? Muffins for Mom at Rhett’s preschool!

I think he nailed it with those answers. I certainly do love ice cream, sleepovers, hugs and “I love yous.”

Today I’m off to the big kids’ school for an end-of-year picnic with Chase and then the weekend begins! For all the mothers, grandmothers and mother figures out there, I hope your weekend is especially wonderful! Now let’s dive into this weeks roundup of favorites, shall we?

Things I’m Loving Friday

Boxes of Birthday Cards + Thank You Cards

My mom was the queen of always having cards for various occasions on hand. If we ever needed a birthday card at the last minute for a birthday party or a “thinking of you” card to give to someone going through something challenging, my mom would whip out her stash and we would go “shopping” through her arsenal of cards. I’ve taken to doing the same thing because so often we forget we need a card until the last second. I recently ordered this box of birthday cards and have been so impressed. They’re all simple yet beautiful and higher quality than a lot of other bulk birthday cards I’ve seen out there. I also ordered this giant box of thank you cards from Amazon last year that I’m still loving and working my way through. Hooray for little shortcuts like these that seem to make life a little easier!

ALOHA Chocolate Cherry Bar

I know I’ve raved about ALOHA bars for years but I love so much about these bars from their clean ingredient list to their protein and high fiber (10g!) content. They’re also a big hit in out house as every single member of our family eats one nearly every single day. Needless to say, we go through a LOT of these bars!!! Over the holiday season, I ordered a ridiculous number of boxes of white chocolate peppermint ALOHA bars (my absolute favorite flavor) and I’m happy to report we still have a few boxes remaining. I am aware, however, that my stash won’t last forever and there are a few other go-to flavors in my ALOHA arsenal as well. And now there’s a new (to me) one!! Chocolate cherry!!! Hot dang, this flavor blew me away! If you are someone who likes dark chocolate and a strong cherry flavor, add this one to your must-try list. It has major dessert vibes and quickly claimed a spot in my ALOHA top three: 1. White Chocolate Peppermint 2. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip 3. Chocolate Cherry. YUM. Also, for anyone hoping to try ALOHA bars, my link should get you 20% off, but I think the discount may only apply to first-time customers. Worth shot though!!

Recent ALDI Finds

Fellow ALDI lovers, how good is the ALDI Finds section lately!? I swear every time I browsed that eclectic aisle, I walk away with something I never knew I needed. And these past few weeks I feel like the ALDI Finds have been especially good! I found a cute little drawstring/crossbody woven bag, a few Disney finds (ya know, just in case we do another Disney cruise or a trip to the Disney parks), Fourth of July/Memorial Day decor and some gardening supplies.

Also, can I just give my mom a shout out for this adorable little stocking stuffer? She gave me this embroidered quarter keeper for my ALDI quarter and it’s been one of those oddly helpful finds I keep in my purse so I’m never left digging around for a quarter. (For those who aren’t ALDI regulars, you use a quarter to unlock your shopping cart and you get your quarter back once you return your cart.)

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Genre: Romance / My Rating: B

There was a lot I liked about this book — a peek into the job of a rescue swimmer in the United States Coast Guard (probably my favorite part of the book), “The Gals” (a group of retirees who live in a cottage compound of sorts in Key West), and the easy-to-read, breezy nature of the book (exactly what I was looking for after reading Yesteryear — yeesh). The Love Haters wasn’t the best romance book I’ve read but it was a fun, lighthearted escape novel I enjoyed. It follows Katie, a woman on a very reluctant journey to self love, who finds herself on assignment for work to film a promo video for the Coast Guard. The tricky part? She doesn’t know how to swim and assured her boss she does because she needs this assignment to keep her job. Oh and the rescue swimmer she’ll be filming? Hutch is her coworker’s incredibly good looking older brother who has no idea she can’t swim.

April 2026 Top 10

Sharing your top 10 blog posts + favorite finds from April!

Peanut Butter Fingers - Living a Life Fueled by Healthy Food and Fitness

Our First Yes Day: How We Planned It, Our Rules, What We Did, etc.

How to Plan a Yes Day

Yes Day Rules

Our Yes Day rules:

Our Yes Day from Start to Finish

Yes Day Breakfast

Yes Day Activity One

Things I’m Loving Friday #593

Things I’m Loving Friday

Fishwife Tinned Fish

Swim Skirt

40-Ounce Era Flip BruMate

Multi-Level Resistance Bands

Memorial Day Weekend Sales

A Fishing Derby, An Art Market and the Levine JCC Kids Triathlon

Friday

Saturday

Things I’m Loving Friday #592

Things I’m Loving Friday

Feels Like Nothing Crazy-Soft Amazon Pajamas

Tower 28 Post-Workout SOS Spray

Cookie & Kate Granola

Mother’s Day Weekend 2026

Saturday

Things I’m Loving Friday

Boxes of Birthday Cards + Thank You Cards

ALOHA Chocolate Cherry Bar

Recent ALDI Finds

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

April 2026 Top 10

Top 10 Blog Posts

No-Bake Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

No Bake Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

What Are No–Bake Oatmeal Cookies