The past week or so has felt a little like an exhale. We’ve had some days with warmer air, muddy shoes from venturing outside, and sunlight stretching just a little longer into the evening. I know, it’s not quite spring yet, but we’ve been getting a small taste of it in such beautiful ways (even if there’s snow on the ground again as I type this post!).
Here’s a little peek at the moments that have been filling our home and hearts lately. ❤️
In the Kitchen 🥤
Guess what time of year it is? Shamrock shake season! ☘️
I can’t wait to make homemade shamrock shakes with the kids again on St. Patrick’s Day.
I recently mentioned that I wanted to make a copycat recipe for the Starbucks chocolate pistachio loaf and I did just that! I need to share the recipe here once I perfect my dough swirl. 😉
I also made some soft chocolate chip cookies this week. I am forever intrigued by how adjusting the amount of brown vs. white sugar and butter changes the texture of a cookie. Baking science is probably the only science I’m interested in. 😆
Mordecai has been very into trying new fruit lately! This week, he tried kiwi, pineapple, starfruit, and dragonfruit.
He was a big fan of the pineapple and starfruit. I love how adventurous he is with trying new things. I need to be more like Mordecai in life sometimes!
He was afraid the pineapple “spikes” would hurt his hands so he held it with his sleeves over his hands. 😂
Speaking of trying new things, we ordered Hello Fresh. I’ve made the lamb recipe so far and it was divine. Mordecai helped me cook it and loved snacking on the green olives. 🫒
Mordecai and I also made homemade flour tortillas together for taco night. I have tried to make homemade tortillas twice now and I just can’t nail down the thickness. Someone tell me the secret to perfect flour tortillas!
Toddler hands are my favorite.
Dakota didn’t judge our tortillas. She just ate!
Have you tried any new recipes lately?
Out and About ☀️
Mordecai had his first dentist appointment! He did so well and didn’t have any cavities. He even got to pick out a prize from a treasure chest. The next morning he asked “So, can we go to the dentist today?” haha.
He picked chocolate flavored polish for his cleaning. 🥴
We had some lovely 50 and 60 degree days and spent as much time outside as possible!
We went to a park in our neighborhood and it was the first time Dakota had really played on a playground and it was a whole new world for her! The sweetest part was seeing Sadie and Mordecai’s delight over her exploring the park. My mama heart was bursting with joy over their care and happiness for their little sister!
She was completely fearless. She zoomed up the stairs, crawled into a tunnel, and tried to walk up the slide. We are going to be kept on our toes this spring and summer for sure!
She had us in stitches as she peeked her head out of a hole in the tunnel!
And I’m going to be very busy at parks this summer with her climbing everything. 😉
We spent another morning at another park in our neighborhood and the kids had a blast getting muddy! I’m convinced there’s nothing kids love more than getting dirty. 😂
It felt like such a gift to be outside on a Thursday morning with the kids. The sunshine and warmth had me feeling so thankful for where God has me in life with my little people!
We were given tickets for Disney on Ice as a Christmas gift from a friend so Jimmy and his sister brought the big kids. They had a blast!
While they were belting out Disney songs, Dakota and I went thrifting! We were on the hunt for dress shirts for Mordecai and outfits for Dakota. Sadie’s 9-12 month hand-me-downs are all summer clothes and her cute flamingo print sleeveless onesies just aren’t cutting it in 30 degree February weather. 😉
We scored a blue long sleeve Oshkosh shirt for $5.50 and a plaid shortsleeved shirt (with an adorable bow tie!) with the original tags still attached for $4.50!
We found Dakota a brand new outfit set from Carters for $7.50. Man do I love thrifting!
Do you enjoy thrift shopping?
Life at Home 🏠
Sadie and I have been loving cuddling up in bed together every night with our books. We read side-by-side and it’s wild that I don’t have to read to her as much any more.
Our nightly routine is to heat up our heating pads, crawl under the covers, turn on our book lights, and read away all cuddled up! Sadie is currently reading Anne Marie’s Reading Adventures and I’m enjoying Bridgerton more than I thought I would! I’m not usually into historical fiction, but this has been engaging. I find myself looking forward to our reading time each night to find out what will happen in The Duke and I.
Jimmy’s mom and step dad watched the kids for two hours on Saturday night and Jimmy and I practically sprinted into the hot tub! It’s rare that we get to go in the hot tub without the kids, so we were soaking up all the uninterrupted conversation.
And our little Dakota turned one! I can’t believe it. It’s truly so bittersweet to watch your baby turn a year old. She is a special girl and I can’t wait to blog about her 12 month update and how we spent her birthday!
Other Notes and Thoughts 📝
- Scripture I’m loving: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 🙏🏻
- Daylight Savings time is coming soon and I’m equal parts excited for more daylight and terrified of the adjustment for the kids’ sleep. 😴
- I have been working on a recipe for chocolate cookies that look like a cookie but taste like a brownie for the past few months. I could not get them right and batch after batch, Jimmy started to call them “poop cookies” because, well, you know! Guess what? I didn’t give up and I finally got them just how I wanted them. This is your sign to not give up in life. You could end up with delicious poop cookies. 💩
- Mordecai is at the perfect age for Water Wow, which is a mess free coloring book that uses water. Sadie used to use them all the time and I totally forgot about them until recently. It has been really fun to introduce him to this! 🎨
- Recipes I’ve been making lately: mini meatloaves and spicy chicken thighs. 🌶️
- Dakota is getting the hang of using snack cups. They’re so convenient for holding snacks like puffs and veggie straws while we go on walks. 👌🏻
- Sadie finished all 118 lessons in The Good and Beautiful Math Level 1… and I re-ordered the same book so we can go through it again. She’s at the age where I want to make sure her foundation in math is rock solid before we move forward. I love that homeschooling allows us to repeat subjects like math while forging ahead with subjects like reading and handwriting. 🖊️
- I was asked to present a devotional at an event our church is holding in April and I can’t wait! I’ve been thinking and praying and pouring over scripture as I prepare. 📖
And that’s a wrap on this post! It’s Tuesday as I type this up. We celebrated our big one-year-old last night and are looking forward to the rest of our week. We’re hanging out with my sister and her kids one day, Dakota has an ophthalmology checkup, and our family is getting together to celebrate my dad’s birthday. All sorts of fun things ahead as we finish up February!
Living My Full Life 