The Perfect Juice?!!

I bought a used juicer today.  On a whim.  We'll see how long this lasts.

Then I searched recipes on pinterest, and went to the grocery store.

$25 later I can probably make a dozen varieties of juice, easy.  I may have over done it.

My first juice was PERFECT.  I wanted a second batch right away!  It wasn't quite sweet enough to "fool" my kids, but I bet two strawberries dropped in there is all it would take, because, to ME, it was super balanced, not tart, didn't taste too "vegetable-y", and seriously, it was SO GOOD.

DIY Baby Lovey or Taggie Blanket

Instant Pot Ramen

Oh boy.  I'm obsessed with tonkotsu Ramen, but after a little google searching it was clear that I was not in the position to embark on any sort of authentic tonkotsu.  Today I decided to grab the instant pot and wing it, hoping I could secure the right flavors to fake a tonkotsu-ish ramen dish.

It wasn't the same milky broth I love, but the broth was TO DIE FOR!  I'm SO thrilled.  This is definitely how I will make ramen broth any time I have pork bones on hand.

The Best Mongolian Beef

I've been making a couple varieties of this recipe for several years now, and it's always a crowd pleasure.  Cheap, quick, easy, and flavorful.  I ultimately merged two recipes and have settled on what I think is the BEST way to make this dinner.  Yum!  Enjoy!

Asian-Style Green Beans

We typically like our green beans with butter, salt, and garlic, but occasionally dinner calls for a more Asian-inspired bean, and this recipe does the trick!  We love to serve these with The Best Mongolian Beef.

Jesse Tree Ornaments and The Jesus Storybook Bible

https://www.etsy.com/listing/204641077/tutorial-for-24-jesse-tree-ornaments?ref=market

Instant Pot Chicken Wings

There are many reasons to love the Instant Pot, but one of the best reasons is that I RARELY remember to thaw meat in time for dinner.  Anyone else?  I'm always amazed when I can throw a frozen chunk of meat into the IP, and, in a matter of moments, it's thawed and cooked.  These wings took a little extra work to crisp them at the end, but it was definitely worth it.

I Still Sleep with a Stuffed Animal

I'm pretty much the poster girl for ENFJs.  I'm a life-planning, over-sharing, soul-searching, feeler.  I read this about the NF child in Please Understand Me II by David Keirsey:  

Idealist children can easily attach human personalities to their treasured toys.  A teddy bear or ceramic figurine can be unbelievably dear.  A lost toy, or, worse, one accidentally thrown away by a parent, is a real tragedy to them.  

Yep, that's totally me.

Stovetop Popcorn

I've done this TWICE ever in my life, so that makes me qualified to blog about it, right?  This is SUCH a fun afternoon snack/activity to do with kids, and we love to pop it up and then grab a book to read aloud.

4 Ingredient Breakfast Burritos

Anyone else get frustrated when you have to scroll and scroll (and scroll) through a blogger's story to get to the bottom of the page for the recipe?  Yes?  Great, you're in luck.

Here's the recipe:

Mixed Emotions and Mother's Day

LOOK at this very precious, very beautiful necklace my mom got me for Mother's Day.  Representing two babies that live in this house and three babies I will meet one day in Heaven.  

Mother's Day is complicated and full of all of the emotions for so many women, but life is meaningful and rich when you're able to grab on to one another and simultaneously grieve and rejoice.  I love that this necklace represents the richness, the joy, and the sorrow of my beautiful journey into motherhood.  

This particular necklace came from www.etsy.com/shop/foxandfigs

We didn't know it at the time, but even when this necklace was being hand made for me, another baby was beginning to grow.  We are planning to welcome our next little one at the end of January, 2017.

So far the name suggestions from my kids are as follows: 

Lu, 5: Noon

Bubba, 3.5: Whitey

I suppose that's a start!

Black + White Weekend

I've seen several people lately do these lovely black and white images to capture the ordinary moments of their weekend, and I thought it was too fun not to try.  I'm far from a professional, and these were just taken with my phone, but I'm so tickled with how the whole project came together.

I would like to make a habit of recording one weekend a month this way.  Have you tried this before?  Give it a shot and let me know what you think!  Life sure does look a lot less chaotic in black and white!!