DO. NOT. PANIC.

In this magical world of ebooks, you can get the special ladies in your life the perfect gift for Mother’s Day and it will be there in plenty of time for tomorrow!

Here are few of my favorite ebooks for moms…

For moms of boys…

Warrior Prayers - $3.99 on sale right now!

Praying my way through this right now! Such a blessing!

For fashion inspiration…

The No Brainer Wardrobe - $7.99

Check out my review here. I seriously think every woman needs to read this book and apply it to her closet. SO good.

For any mom trying to simplify or get organized {aren’t we all?!}…

One Bite at a Time - $5.00

Read my review here. Still working on simplifying, especially as we pack up to move! Simple Mom is steering me in the right direction with this book and Organized Simplicity!

And for every kind of mother out there…

Mother Letters - $6.99

This book is pure beauty – encouragement and inspiration for all mothers. I’m savoring it slowly. Right now, there is a BOGO sale for Mother’s Day! Use the code Buy1Give1 at checkout to get two for the price of one! And a portion of each sale goes to the Mercy House Kenya!

And if you’ve already got the moms in your life covered, maybe you should buy one or more of these just for YOU!

I’m just sayin’…

Do you have any great last minute Mother’s Day gift ideas? Please share!

*****

*This post contains affiliate links.

YES!!! There IS a doctor in this house!

I’ve always been proud to be The Hubby’s wife, but that went to the next level last weekend as he officially became Dr. Hubby!

And to think, this little old blog started at the same time his journey to becoming a doctor began…

That’s Big J at two years old and Little J at two months old. Those four years just flew by.

The weekend festivities began with the Hooding Ceremony. This ceremony including the doctoral hooding…

…signing of a book they also signed when they entered medical school…

…and reciting of the Physicians’ Oath. It is at this hooding ceremony that the fourth year medical students officially become doctors! It is extra special because it is only the medical school graduates and their loved ones at this ceremony.

I will freely admit: the tears started that Friday morning and continued at the ceremony. And throughout the weekend. Lots and lots of happy tears.

Saturday was graduation day – the final step, along with the other health professions graduates {pharmacy, nursing, etc.}. The day looked a little like this…

Thanks to my father-in-law for getting up close to get the previous shots while we sat with the kiddos!

Proud boys lovin’ on Daddy!

The whole fam there to celebrate!

Leaving the building as a doctor and a graduate!

Celebratory steakhouse dinner!

Somehow, between wife & mommy & photographer duties over the weekend, this camera phone picture from my dad is the only one of us from the weekend…

And I will treasure it always because you can see the joy in both of our faces!

I’m not sure words can really express how much I love this man, but I feel blessed beyond belief to be married to him. He inspires me with his hard work and perseverance and loves me with everything he has. I thank God continually for what He has done in our life together, and that includes everything along the medical school path over the past four years, because now I can say…

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a doctor in the house!

Congrats honey! I love you!

When Big J told me he wanted his sixth birthday party to be a LEGO party, I did a little happy dance.

I knew the internet was swarming with LEGO birthday party ideas and, sure enough, Pinterest had more than enough inspiration to make planning this party a snap!

I have a whole Pinterest board devoted to LEGO birthday party ideas, but I actually kept the party pretty simple – no cake shaped like a LEGO or full-sized LEGO man at this house!

Here are a few ideas I DID use…

The LEGO Guessing Jar {idea from this post} – Put some LEGOs in a jar. Have kids make their guess as they come in. While kids are eating cake, count the LEGOs with them. Declare a winner. Easy peasy.

LEGO Toss {idea from this post} – I made three rings out of poster board, gave each ring a value, and let the kids toss LEGOs into the rings! The kids tossed three times per turn and earned M&Ms based on their tosses. I didn’t use any fancy LEGO-font labels, but the kids still had fun with it!

LEGO Building Station {idea also from this post} – I loved the idea of having the kids build during the party, but I didn’t want to limit them to just building race cars. I put a plate out for each of them and wrote their name on it. Throughout the party, they could return to their plate to keep building and no one was allowed to take LEGOs off another person’s plate. At the end, I took a picture of each kiddo with their masterpiece!

It was great – and SIMPLE – party, even if I do say so myself! Big J said it was his “best birthday ever” {he says that every year} and one mom called me afterwards to say her daughter was going on and on about fun it was! Success!

Here are a few more highlights from the day…

Primary colors are the way to go for LEGO party decor!

I found these candy blocks on Amazon – they are hard enough to build with and taste sort of like SweetTarts, but not as good. The kids loved them – I put them in baggies as party favors! Two pounds was more than enough for 12 treat bags!

Chocolate covered strawberries as a surprise treat for the birthday boy!

That is one happy SIX-year-old!

Dear Pinterest,

Thank you for all of the great party ideas!

My affection for you continues to grow.

Love always, Erin

What a crazy week!

And somehow, I still managed to get dressed every day! I think that is helping me keep my sanity.

Seriously.

Here is what this past week of getting dressed looked like…

Wednesday: I love the neckline detail on this new top from Old Navy! Clearance is the way to go, baby!

These shoes made a couple of appearances this week…

Bright-colored shoes are so fun! These red flip-flops from White House Black Market are showing some wear-and-tear now, but I still adore the bright red pop on my feet!

Friday night: The older kids were with the grandparents, so Double J and I took The Hubby to the movies to celebrate graduation weekend. I totally dressed for the occasion…

Oh yes. The Avengers. It was AWESOME. And all of my guys thought I was super cool because I wore this shirt – WIN! Notice the bright colored shoes again!

Saturday: Here I am with two fellow new doctors’ wives – don’t they look cute?! This was on graduation day – I went with a bright blue tee, black jersey skirt, and bright orange sandals. Very comfy for the long day, but still dressy and put together!

Sunday night: And then it was party time! I hosted a graduation open house for The Hubby and he insisted I wear my “party hat”…

Yep. I bought and WORE a fedora. And it was fun. I felt sassy. I might even wear it again! That funky necklace was a gift from my mother-in-law a few years ago!

Tuesday: I thought I had a dentist appointment. I like to wear my Mercy House Kenya shirt when I’m out and about because I hope someone will ask about it! So I wore it Tuesday. My appointment is next week. Good one, Erin. Oh well – at least I found out before I showed up! And I still love the shirt!

One other thing I tried this week…

Red lips. Ooh la la!

Not sure it’s an every day look for me, but, like the fedora, it was something new that made me feel a little more bold and adventurous!

Have you worn anything that made you feel sassy or bold lately?

I love to cook and bake, so I went with recipes last week for Mindee’s Pinterest Post Party. I also love to crochet and that is what you’re getting today!

Confession: I went MAJORLY crochet happy while pregnant with Double J. It kept my hands and mind busy. I made lots of baby items for him and for friends’ babies. Baby hats are just so cute and quick to make!

I came across this pattern for a crochet owl newborn hat just a few weeks before Double J was born and I just had to give it a try!

My favorite yarn to use for baby items is Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Cotton – it is soft, washable, inexpensive, and comes in many colors! I found all of the colors I wanted for the owl hat and got to work!

Believe it or not, the hat only took me a few nights to finish while watching TV after the kids were in bed! I really thought something this detailed would take much longer, but the directions were easy to follow and, like I said before, baby items whip up fast because they are so teeny tiny!

I didn’t take any pictures in process, but I think the completed project turned out pretty darn cute…

Yep – I made that! The baby AND the hat! And I only had help with one of them

{Thanks to my friend Megan for this adorable newborn photo of Double J!}

Oh, and did I mention the pattern was FREE?! Pinterest is a great resource for finding free crochet patterns all of kinds! You can check out my other Pinterest crochet finds here!

By the way, I’ve done absolutely ZERO crocheting since Double J was born. Go figure…

Check out more Pinterest-inspired posts and link up your own every Tuesday and Thursday in May over at Mindee’s blog!

Almost all of it has been wonderful, awesome stuff, but crazy schedules and many changes also come with a lot of stress.

Several times a day I need to step back {or go into the peace of the bathroom}, take a deep breath, and remind myself of one important thing…

God is SO good to me.

And now, thanks to the lovely and spunky Yancy, the kids and I have an amazing song running through our heads to remind us of that very truth!

Check out this special Yancy Blog Tour video just for all of you…

{Did you catch the sparkly piano in there?! So awesome!}

The kids have been dancing around to this and having so much fun! We loved Yancy’s first preschool CD & DVD, Little Praise Party: My Best Friend, so we are pumped about this latest album!

There is nothing better than music based on the Word of God that is fun for ALL of us to listen to {and by that I mean not annoying to adults}!

There is much fun to be had at Yancy’s website, including music and DVDs for kids of every age. I loved her album for older kids/teens called Stars, Guitars, and Megaphone Dreams - great energizing music!

Now, YOU have a chance to win a CD/DVD combo pack of Little Praise Party: Happy Day Everyday!

Leave a comment before midnight tonight telling me one way God has been to good to you lately! One winner will be chosen at random and notified by email!

And don’t miss out on the wonderful videos at the other stops on the Yancy Blog Tour:

Monday April 30
Impress Your Kids

Tuesday May 1
Mama Hall

Wednesday May 2
God Centered Mom

Thursday May 3
Homeschool Creations

Friday May 4
ModSquad

Saturday May 5
When You Rise

Sunday May 6
4tunate

Monday May 7
Inspired To Action

Tuesday May 8
Home With the Boys

Wednesday May 9
1+1+1=1

Thursday May 10
Muthering Heights

Friday May 11
MOB Society

Saturday May 12
I Can Teach My Child

Well, I guess I’m just continuing the breakfast food theme here this week as part of Mindee’s Pinterest Post Party {every Tuesday and Thursday in May if you want to join in}!

When I see the words “easy” and “bread” in the same recipe title on Pinterest, I get very excited.

Carbs sure are wonderful, aren’t they?

Not only did this banana bread recipe claim to be easy, but it also involved a cake mix! Cake mix recipes are some of my favorites because they require so much less measuring!

{Sometimes I just want to be a lazy baker, ok?!}

This Easy Banana Bread recipe from Artsy Fartsy Mama lived up to its “easy” claim one hundred percent! And I would add YUMMY to the title, as well!

Just a few notes for you and for myself next time I make this bread {because there WILL be a next time}:

1. In the recipe, she says you can use two small loaf pans or one large one. I used one loaf pan and needed to bake it much longer than the suggested time.

2. I used three ripe bananas and 3/4 chocolate chips.

3. I think these would make excellent muffins {with a shorter cooking time}!

4. This banana bread is more dense than most recipes I have tried. It was nice to not have it fall apart everywhere when I picked it up!

I highly recommend you give this a try!

And please share any other treats you like to make using a cake mix {because I really need more sweets to tempt me, right?}!

P.S. After two years without, we entered the smartphone world once again this week.

Hello lovely…

Maybe I’ll do an iPhone-related Pinterest post next week! Now, excuse me while I go back to obsessively taking pictures on Instagram…

What I Wore is a fun way to hold myself accountable for getting dressed every day and to find some style inspiration! If you haven’t tried it yet, make this week YOUR week!

Here is a glimpse at MY week…

As part of my birthday present back in March, my sister {HER birthday is TODAY! Happy birthday sis!} gave me this awesome set of jewelry…

I love this tassel style and the bronze color can be worn with so many outfits! I really like it with this red tank! I even wore the earrings for our family pictures {I’ll share more soon!}…

Well, you can’t see the earrings very well here, but you get the idea!

Another new favorite piece of jewelry is from DaySpring’s Redeemed collection…

{The R on the necklace is not backwards – it’s just because I took the picture with Instagram on my new iPhone!}

Isn’t this necklace lovely?! Very vintage looking and with great meaning! On the back of the main pendant is printed 2 Thessalonians 2:13, which says…

Brothers and sisters, whom the Lord loves, God chose you from the beginning to be saved. So we must always thank God for you. You are saved by the Spirit that makes you holy and by your faith in the truth. 

The Redeemed collection is full of lovely bags and jewelry and home decor – you must take a look! What a great truth to be reminded of through these accessories!

And, speaking of DaySpring, their website for women,(in)courage, put on an amazing gathering of over 1,700 women around the world and I was blessed to attend a local meetup right here in Nebraska! Look at this gorgeous group of ladies!

We had these sweet t-shirts for the inRL event and I paired mine with the comfy blue maxi skirt from Old Navy!

Aren’t those shirts cute, especially on Michelle and Deidra {our fab hostesses}?! I wish I had taken a picture of the back of the shirt, which is equally as cute! The whole thing was tons of fun!

So, back to the jewelry topic – I’m loving the bronze and antique gold look right now. What jewelry trends are currently your favorite?

This is a chance to actually DO those things we keep pinning on Pinterest and share our results!

Mindee asked a few of us to join her to kick things off, but you can join in on the fun as well and link up every Tuesday and Thursday over at her awesome and hilarious blog, Our Front Door!

I’m starting off with recipes today because I have actually made several that I found on Pinterest lately! Yay for follow-through!

Most of the recipes have been breakfast-related {trying to add a little more variety and little more homemade to our breakfast routine} and, amazingly, all of them have been a success! And by success I mean that I really liked them – I can’t speak for anyone else in the house – they still like their old breakfast routines!

Without further ado, three yummy Pinterest-inspired breakfast recipes…

Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies

The words “breakfast” and “cookie” go so well together, don’t you think?! These breakfast cookies were easy to make and full of only good things – no added sugar, oil, etc. Head on over to Watching What I Eat for the recipe!

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Squares

I loved the idea of having these squares ready to grab and eat in the morning, so I’m really glad I liked them! I like to have one of these with a smoothie for a filling breakfast! You can find the recipe over at Gingerbread Bagels!

And then there is my favorite Pinterest find so far this year…

Brownie Baked Oatmeal!

Oh my deliciousness. Oatmeal that tastes like dessert and is actually kind of healthy for you! I put some in a bowl, added a splash of milk, and savored every last bite. Even Big J liked it! Thank you, Thriving Home, for this life-changing breakfast recipe! YUM!

Have you discovered any yummy new breakfast foods on Pinterest? Please share!

And don’t forget to link up your own posts over at Mindee’s Pinterest Post Party!

You can follow happy pinning by clicking here! And get my posts sent directly to your email for FREE by clicking here!

I’ve recently done a massive cleaning out of my closet to purge most maternity clothes and clothes I haven’t worn in ages. I got rid of a large black lawn & leaf bag full of clothes plus four paper grocery sacks full! When I clean out like this, most of the clothes go to our local mission, and some get passed on to friends. I can actually open my drawers and look in my closet without being totally overwhelmed!

I’ve also been shopping at Old Navy {great sales these past few weeks!} and Target for some base pieces that needed to be replaced – tees, tanks, and skirts! And being a new mommy again, I’ve discovered the wonderful world of nursing tanks – how did I not have these with my other two kiddos?! I have three from Target {black, white, & gray} and they are most worn wardrobe pieces right now since I want to layer them under everything!

Both of these changes in my wardrobe lately have been necessary because of the baby, but they were also spurred on by Hayley’s fabulous ebook, The No Brainer Wardrobe! I’m still not quite as simplified as she suggests, but I have taken major steps in that direction! And The Hubby has been AWESOME at helping me figure out what I look really good in {one of her suggestions before your clean and buy anything new} – I think I’ll keep him

The No Brainer Wardrobe is only $7.99 and would be perfect reading right now as the seasons are changing and you’re doing spring cleaning! {You can read my full review of the ebook here!}

So, on to my outfits for the week…

This olive green henley tee was only $6 at Old Navy this week so I picked up a few other colors as well!

I also had to show off my shoes for that day…

Target leopard print flats for the win! {I think they were only $14!}

I pulled out a new maxi skirt from Old Navy for Double J’s dedication. This skirt fits so nicely and is so comfortable – so I bought a gray one too!

I’m giving the hubby full credit for this shirt because I’m not sure I would have ever picked it out on my own! Another Old Navy purchase, I was surprised by how much I love the color and the button down is perfect for this nursing mommy!

In the spirit of The No Brainer Wardrobe, what items in your closet do you need to get rid of today? Items that don’t fit? Styles you don’t like anymore? Go do it! And don’t forget to pick up your copy of the ebook before you reevaluate your wardrobe!