I’m not quite sure what to call a week that includes deep cleaning the couches, baking Dubai cupcakes, and making homemade cheese… but here we are! Throw in a mix of school days, outdoor time, and sticky s’mores fingers, and that pretty much sums it up.
Here’s a look at life around here lately!
In the Kitchen: Cheese, S’mores, and Cupcakes 🧀
As per usual, we’ve been having all sorts of fun in the kitchen! The kids have still been loving making indoor s’mores with a tealight candle and Peeps on a chopstick. 😂
I also made homemade mozzarella cheese! It took about 45 minutes from start to finish and shredded up nicely. I might try my hand at cream cheese next. We’ll see… it’s quite a project! I recently picked up The Farmette Cookbook, which was written by a woman who lives on a dairy farm in Ireland. It has all sorts of cheese-making recipes I want to try!
Mordecai helped me bake Dubai cupcakes for my mom’s birthday! We made a pistachio cake and topped it with a chocolate buttercream.
We celebrated with my mom! And alllll the streamers. As you can see, Dakota was a big fan of the cupcakes. 😛
It’s safe to say we’ve kept ourselves busy and well-fed lately! 😉
Around the House: Couch Cleaning and Sweet Moments 😊
Jimmy and I were recently lamenting at how dirty our couch cushions seemed. I would use my favorite pet hair remover and an upholstery deep cleaning vacuum (which can be quite a project!), but I never seemed to get the cushions looking pristine.
Then I was like wait…. they have zippers on them. Do you think we can just take the covers off? So I did. And I threw them in the washer and it now looks like we have brand new couches! Not sure if the manufacturer meant for them to be removed but it was 100% worth the risk. 😂
I’m embarrassed it has taken us nine years (we got these couches in 2017!) to realize we could wash the covers. 🥴
Along with our couch cleaning discovery, we’ve been having plenty of sweet moments at home. I love that time in the morning when all the kids wake up and we do a big group hug and make hot cocoa.
The kids learned all about Zacchaeus during our Bible time this week! I think I enjoy the crafts as much as they do. 😉
Dakota has been busy being cute. She has been learning how to get on the couches by herself and thinks she is so cool!
Like her big siblings, Dakota is also super into stuffed animals. She was hugging a bunny in the photo below.
Sadie colored a beautiful bookmark for my mom!
Sadie and Mordecai had fun using candy to graph and sort colors this week, too!
Last but not least, we’ve been reading all of our favorite Easter books as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection!
Sadie was reading My Easter Basket: The True Story of Easter to me. It’s still so cool that she can read to me now!
Those have been our days around the house lately. Nothing crazy, but full of moments I love. 😊
Out and About 🌳
We started out the week by visiting the dermatologist for Dakota! He gave me tons of info on eczema. He also sent us home with samples of a new-to-us brand of moisturizer and body wash to use. Hoping these can help our Koko’s skin!
Kota girl also sees an allergist this week. Hopefully she doesn’t have any allergies on top of her eczema. That would not be fun. It will be good to just know, though.
Mordecai and I went to the park—just us two and it was so sweet. He rode his bike down and found a very cool bottle cap that he promptly tucked in his hoodie pocket and brought home to show dad.
He is big enough to go on the “big kid” swings now, too!
Jimmy brought Sadie on a little date with him! They visited the creek and did some biking and hiking together.
We had a few days where it was warm and sunny enough to simply sit outside in the grass. Swoon!
Our big kids have been riding their bikes endlessly.
Dakota took a few steps on her own at the park!!
Sadie borrowed my hat and totally rocked it.
And Mordecai played peek-a-boo!
It has felt so wonderful to get some sunshine and fresh air here and there!
Other Notes and Thoughts 📝
- Scripture I’m loving: My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Psalm 62:7 🙏🏻
- I’m working on a Q&A post! If you have any questions for me to include, send them my way. 🙋🏼♀️
- Only a few more weeks until I present a devotional at a ladies event at our church and I can’t wait. I absolutely love studying God’s Word. 📖
- Looking forward to Easter, I plan on making Resurrection Rolls with the kids soon. They always enjoy this tradition and the hands-on reminder of the Resurrection story. ✝️
- I made four ingredient energy bites but subbed mini m&m’s for the chocolate chips and nobody was a bigger fan than Dakota. 🍫
- I’m going to be teaching the kids all about Passover next week! Can’t wait to share more. I picked up this book, some matzah, and we’re going to be doing a scavenger hunt that includes gummy frogs to represent the ten plagues. 🐸
That’s it for today’s post! It’s Friday as I’m typing this and we don’t have any big plans for the weekend, which is my favorite kind of weekend. 😉
Living My Full Life 