clarice bean

Being the huge Lauren Child fan that I am, I was so excited a couple years back to find that she had finally come out with some chapter books. Now that my bigger kids have outgrown the Charlie and Lola books (they have got to stop growing up so fast), they can read these! I read Clarice Bean Spells Trouble in about a day myself because I couldn't put it down...hilarious stuff! If your elementary schooler has a book report coming up, give these books a try. They are super fun, with little Lauren Child doodles throughout as well. I catch my kids laughing alone in their rooms while reading these!

baby casch

Well hello there! And who might this be? I don't believe we've all met.

Let me introduce you to baby Casch, my sister Erika's 8 week old cutie. She and her family just moved back from Hawaii, and we are all so happy they are home so we can kiss this baby's cheeks!

Here are a few favorites from a photo shoot we did of the wee lad this week. Don't you just love him?

cleaning lady

Okay, so I don't have a cleaning lady. I wish I did. But these cleaners are the next best thing. I am going to a "favorite things" bridal shower for my cousin, so my sisters and I thought these would fit the bill perfectly. If you have never tried method cleaning products before, I highly recommend that you do. I actually look forward to using them because they smell so gosh darn great. Wouldn't you rather have your house smell like lavender, cucumber, grapefruit, almond (or any of their other great scents) than ammonia?

Find method cleaners at Target and you'll never go back to the harsh chemicals. Oh, and try their hand soaps while you're at it too. I love 'em!

this mom is amazing

Many of you probably already know about Stephanie Nielson, the survivor of a near-fatal plane crash which happened in 2008, but I find her to be so inspiring I wanted to share these links. Her story is the new "Mormon Message" this week on the LDS church website, titled "My New Life."

I love reading her enormously popular blog too. Sometimes I think I am having a rough day as a mom, but if I think of her then I am reminded, "What am I complaining about?" If anyone deserves to be recognized this Mother's Day, I think it should be this amazing woman.

rainy day abstract art

It's been so rainy here, and my kids were off track from school...which always leads to one thing: "I'm bored!"

So I happened to find this super easy project, which only requires scissors and cardstock. Perfect! It kept all three big kids entertained until dinner was ready.

triple chocolate brownies

Here's one I LOVE from Nigella Lawson's cookbooks. It has 3 sticks, plus 2 tablespoons of butter. Need I say more? I make these for almost every birthday, family gathering, etc. If I don't have white chocolate chips on hand, I just use extra chocolate chips, like I did here.

The only way these could possibly get any better would be to top them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some caramel sauce.

Click here to view the recipe.

I don't have a 9x11 pan like she uses, so I use either a 9x13 (bake for about 30 minutes), or an odd 8x10 (bake for 50 minutes).

it's a...

BOY!!

Last night was so. much. fun. Our families all got together at my in-laws gorgeous new home for the big moment...the moment we'd been waiting for these last 3 weeks!

I can't even tell you how nervous I was, everyone watching me, as I tore into the wrapping paper. I was so sure it was going to be the little dress we had picked out. It just had to be. How could we possibly have another boy? They are too rare in our families!

Riiiiip went the paper...pop pop pop went the tape...crinkle crinkle went the tissue paper in the box...."AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" I screamed!! I felt like I couldn't breathe. There was the little blue plaid shirt, the green hat, the khaki shorts, the monkey sandals. All of it.

"It's a BOY!" I shouted, kissed Clayton, and burst into tears I was so happy. It was so chaotic in the room with everyone cheering, my sister Cami who was on speaker phone just figured it was a boy because of all the noise. I couldn't stop crying, it was such an amazing moment. I can't wait to meet this little guy.