cookies

Nolan has really enjoyed having his daddy home more this week, due to spring break. When Steve suggested baking cookies on Tuesday, Nolan’s eyes lit up so brightly with excitement! He’s helped measure and stir batter for pancakes, but never cookies. Carefully, they gathered all their ingredients and got to work on our favorite recipe (simply Toll House). :)

 
At this point, Nolan didn’t want to give up the chocolate chips he was snacking on to put them in the batter, so we had some tears.

 
Little brother supervised the action in the kitchen.
 
It’s so special to watch the relationship grow between these two guys. Steve is just the best dad (even through all the disciplining we’ve been having to do!). And this is still only the beginning :)

st patty’s day & favorite things

Ephraim says, “Happy St, Patty’s Day!”


We’ve been in the green spirit this weekend.

We made some shamrock shakes by stirring up a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream with milk, green food coloring, and a drop or two of mint extract. So delicious!


When I woke up yesterday, Steve surprised me with green pancakes. :)


And he made Nolan a shamrock! I was so impressed!
 

Also today, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika to share a couple of my favorite things under $10 :)

I saw a 25% off deal on BathandBodyWorks.com and snatched up a few of these sweet-smelling spring scented soaps. I love their cute new packaging in short & stout bottles. Individually, they’re $6.50, but you can get 4 for $18 or 6 for $24. I love that scent brings back memories so vividly. When I smell “Sweet Pea”, I think of my late sister Hannah. When I smell, “Vanilla Berry Sorbet”, I remember the summer that Nolan was born.

 
My other new favorite thing is this water bottle that I found at Walmart the other night for around $8. I wanted a glass water bottle (I find plastic starts to smell after a while). I like the pink rubber grip on the outside, and the rubber cork.

Hope today brings you lots of luck and gold and such ;)

 

this week

This week: The littlest one has been sleeping a longer chunk at night (a 4-5 hour stretch), so we are getting some more rest. What a wonderful feeling to check the time when he cries in the middle of the night and see 5 am as opposed to 2 or 3! We’ve also enjoyed a couple of late afternoon naps, which were awesome. I had my six week check-up and everything was fine, though I still have some recovering left to do, for sure. The baby did really well on that outing and on his first visit to a restaurant (Wendy’s). He has also started flashing us quick smiles—so adorable :) When Steve is home and I have someone to hold the baby for me, I race around to do dishes or clean up. I want to do some major spring cleaning but that will have to wait until the baby is a little less needy. The dog went to the vet because she had more accidents (some with blood in the stool). She checked out fine, but she’s on a rice and banana diet until she’s 100%. At night, I so look forward to crashing on the couch (still holding the baby) and watching an episode of “Psych” with my equally tired best friend.
True love, I tell you :)

Ephraim’s birth announcement

I’ve been so excited to share Ephraim’s birth announcement, but I wanted to make sure our family & friends got it in the mail first :) We took these photos at home when he was eleven days old, and I finished the design a few days later.

The back.

When Nolan was born, I bought his announcements from Shutterfly. They were nearly $100.  This time, I had my design printed from an online company for under $30! They turned out beautifully—the photos are clear, and the cardstock is a smooth matte finish.
  And for comparison’s sake, this is Nolan’s announcement (on the left)) from 2011. Our babies look a lot alike! 

  Don’t you think? ;)

what i wore wednesday

 
I’m jumping on the bandwagon to wear Pantone’s Color of the Year 2014, “Radiant Orchid”. I’ve always been drawn to shades of purple, and orchid is so gorgeous and bright! It is also exciting to see Converses in trend this spring. I haven’t had a pair since high school, and they are so classic! They still look good in size 11, right? ;)


Shoes: Converse One Star in “Orchid”
Scarf: Nordstrom
Shirt: Old Navy
Jeans: American Eagle
Earrings: One Little Belt 


 

Do you like “Radiant Orchid”? Have you worn it yet this year?

Linking up with Lindsey for WIWW, Alison, and Shanna.

oven s’mores

I am crazy about s’mores, so when saw this idea floating around Pinterest, I whipped out my tiny cast iron skillet to give it a whirl. I believe it’s the perfect way to replicate the campfire treat in your kitchen, all year round.


Put a layer of chocolate chips on the bottom of a cast iron skillet.


Break big marshmallows in half, and place them on top of the chocolate chips.
 
Heat in a 450 degree oven for 5-7 minutes, or until the marshmallows are a nice shade of brown.
 
Then dip graham crackers into the deliciousness!
  I think from now on, I will always have these three ingredients in my kitchen, for whenever the s’mores urge strikes. :)

two and a half

Yesterday, we sang “Happy Half-Birthday” to our little buddy over half of a  chocolate bundt cake topped with green, vanilla frosting. I’m a firm believer in celebrating half birthdays, even though technically I don’t have a half birthday myself (February 31st does not exist). It’s just a fun thing to do. :)

Happy Two-and-a-Half to our:

Alphabet-singing,
Max & Ruby-watching,
Juice box-drinking,
Puppy-loving,
Dr. Seuss-reading,
Pretend dish-washing,
Matchbox car-driving,
Chocolate chip pancake-eating,

Brown-eyed big brother,
Nolan Bruce!!