happy unbirthday party tonight!

Yes, tonight is the night. Finally! We are having a little pre-birthday party, or unbirthday party (whatever you want to call it), and opening the mystery box which will reveal the gender of baby #5. I'm so excited. And for some reason so nervous.

Ben says he's going to kill himself if it's another girl. I had the most vivid dream the other night that I opened the box and inside was the boy outfit...but I'm secretly just telling myself, "It's a girl, it's a girl, it's a girl..." because I want another baby boy so much! Of course, I will be excited either way.

I needed a quick way to decorate the cupcakes for tonight, and since I don't know how to do fancy shmancy fondant and stuff like that, I decided to stick little ultrasound pictures on top. Is that weird? Kinda. Oh well.

So the big news is coming soon! Stay tuned...

it's spring!

Here's another sweet little spring book. Olivia loves this one. The illustrations are simple and cute (by Melissa Sweet), and the rhymes are too. "The rabbit hopped and thumped his feet to tell the deer the air smelled sweet." Added bonus...it's a board book, so it's almost indestructible.

children's museum

Last week I was able to take Nina and Olivia to the Discovery Gateway children's museum for FREE! Lucky us! It was a preschool field trip. Olivia liked it more than I thought she would, especially the water feature...I was worn out by the time we left just from trying to keep track of that little monkey. There were 3 preschool groups there, so it was pretty crazy. Nina had so much fun "buying" groceries, and being the checker. And Olivia was a pretty good checker herself!

nursery here we come!

Olivia has unofficially started going to nursery class on Sundays...she'll be official in May. Most the time she loves it, and she loves the other little kids almost a little too much! She hugs them and pats them and kisses them until they cry. Olivia is just so loving she can't help it!

my sister's granola

Cami's Granola

4 c. old fashioned rolled oats

2 c. sweetened shredded coconut

2 c. sliced almonds

1/3 c. canola oil

1/2 c. honey

about 3 c. dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix oats, coconut and almonds together. Add oil and honey and stir to combine. Spread on parchment lined baking sheet and bake 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Let cool, then add dried fruit.

strawberry bread

I found this recipe when I was expecting Hannah, so every time I make it I have memories of that time in my life, when Ben was like Olivia is now. It's kind of like banana bread, but with strawberries instead. It just smells so good, there's nothing like it. This is probably one of my favorite things to make with all those strawberries on sale!

Strawberry Bread

3 c. flour

2 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

4 eggs

1 1/4 c. canola oil

2 c. sliced fresh strawberries

Mix dry ingredients together, then add wet ingredients and stir until moist and well combined. Pour into 2 greased & floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

where's your nose?

I can't believe I didn't post these already! Makes me laugh every single time. Ben about falls off his chair when he sees these.