Mommy and Daddy are incredible proud of you Jack Timothy, you are truly a blessing in our life and you have learned so many new things in 4-K this year. MUAH.

Now picture thirty 5 year olds belting out this cute little tune…

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I have made a TON of brownies, from the box and from scratch and NOTHING beats these. They are so moist and the sour cream gives them a creamy-ness that regular brownies lack. I am telling you, if you try one new recipe make it this one. As soon as I discovered this recipe about two months ago, I have been making them just about every week and they don’t last long around here! They are a dream brownie…not too rich, the perfect about of chocolatley-ness, crumbly as a brownie should be but moist enough to make real good, big, chunky crumbs. You guys feel me?

I am in love with Tastefully Simple’s Classy Chocolate Pound Cake mix, I use it quite a bit with I need a fast dessert. (peanut butter swirl chocolate pound cake was another one of my favorite uses for this mix)

Are you all enjoying this weather? It is beautiful by us but it looks like rain the rest of the week, which I feel like that is God being like “hey, now you don’t have any more excuses not to start your laundry missy! The weather is rainy so just get it done!” Oh laundry. One time I was like if I do a load of laundry every single day from start to finish maybe I can keep up with the laundry! Yeah! Well right now I have two baskets full of folded laundry waiting for me to put them away and piles and piles of dirty laundry waiting to be washed, so ask me how that worked out for me. How does one keep up with laundry for 5 people, especially in the summer time when clothes are getting sandy and wet and the kids are needing a few outfits a day? I would like to know how! I think laundry is like one of those things that when you run into parents who have grown kids they say,  you will miss all the laundry piles when the kids are grown and gone. And to that I say, don’t even get me started about my kids leaving me or the tears will start a-flowin’!

Did you enjoy all that boring laundry talk? Hey, you know what you should do instead of your laundry? MAKE THESE BROWNIES.

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One morning I woke up craving stuffed peppers. You know the cheesy rice & meat filled ooey gooey kind, that you ate growing up that you can never make as good as your mother made them? But it was a cold and rainy day so I was thinking I would try this stuffed pepper sensation in a good soup. Still having quinoa on the brain, I decided to skip the rice all together for this recipe and opt for a healthier option (quinoa) without sacrificing the flavor.

I went into the recipe kind of expecting it to be a total failure because I had no guide what-so-ever. But remember how I said my best recipes come from just using what I have on hand, to try and make a new recipe? Winging it when it comes to cooking is kind of my thing, and this recipe is the best proof. I was so surprised at the flavor of this soup and I think Ralph was equally as surprised about how delicious it was. I kept saying things all day like, ” don’t get your hopes up for supper, this may be a total disaster!” Luckily that was not the case.

This soup isn’t a whole lot of work either. Once you get everything in the pot you just let it heat all day and make your house smell amazing. You could make this in your crock pot instead of on the stove if that’s your thing. The recipe says “chopped” for all the veggies but we like things chunky around here so I left my veggies a little bigger. You can adjust that if you would like.

AHH the weekend is here again and we are excited for it! Last weekend (Mother’s day weekend) was great minus the fact that I was battling migraines all weekend. I made the mistake of drinking REAL caffeinated coffee on Friday after months of drinking decaf, and it welcomed my migraines back almost immediately. NEVER AGAIN. At least I know that caffeine is my migrane trigger I suppose! We still managed to do our family Color Burst 5k, and go to a couples comedy night at church featuring Kerri Pomarolli and her husband Ron McGehee. They were absolutely hilarious…we loved their act! Ralph let me take a good long nap on Mother’s day which might possibly be the best gift ever, because if you know me, I NEVER nap. And then we spent time with the best mom’s in the world–all in all, a dream weekend, migraines aside. My boys treated me well, but then again, they always do.

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 Suit. Shoes. Skirt. Glasses. Hat. Blouse.

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Did you ever just crave a really good, hearty meatball with an ooey gooey sauce? I know I am not the only one. This recipe will be sure to take care of those cravings, no problem. I usually only make meatballs for holidays but one rainy day I just had a hankering for some comfort food and my husband is crazy for meatballs, especially mine –So I whipped these up with some roasted red potatoes, steamed broccoli and they went over really well, even with one picky little 2 year old.

There is something so comforting and homey about a juicy meatball with the right sauce, I’m not quite sure why.  These meatballs are made using Tastefully Simple’s Merlot Sauce, which has always been a favorite of mine and I think they really make the flavor of this sauce stand out. I love using Merlot Sauce as a steak sauce alone but it is great in my meatloaf recipe and delicious in these savory meatballs. If you need some Merlot Sauce you can find it here.

We have been out all week enjoying the sunshine-y, summery weather, doin’ summer things! I even have a slight tan! Thanking God for this beautiful week! Although it is supposed to cool down for this Mother’s Day weekend, we have some fun things planned! I hope all you mothers out there have a lovely weekend and I tip my hat off to you all. Being a mother is the hardest job ever with the most rewarding results. We all deserve a day totally devoted to us mommys!

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THIS TRUFFLE. All my dreams came true when I took my first spoonful of this creamy, decadent pudding. I am a huge banana cream pie fan so this recipe is right up my ally. I really can’t put into words how silky and creamy and delicious this really is. You MUST try this recipe and I promise you will love it. Also- there is something really amazing about whipping your own cream…like that feeling you get when your dough rises? I dunno maybe its just me but it gives me a huge sense of accomplishment in the kitchen. This pudding puts Schreiners(the best place to get a homemade pie in our town) banana creme pie to shame which believe me, I never thought could be possible. This is a really simple recipe with really rewarding results! I suggest making this when you have somewhere to bring a dish to pass, it makes a lot and if it stays in your fridge you will devour the entire bowl, late at night, when one gets hungry, with your husband.

Happy weekend! In case you missed this exciting news: my gluten-free Mexican pizza recipe got its own little blurp in the May 2013 issue of FAMILY FUN MAGAZINE. It is only  my absolute favorite parenting magazine so naturally when an editor contacted me a few months back I was really really excited. They always have the best craft and food ideas for your kids, you should look into getting the magazine if you don’t already!

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This weekend was one of those good ones –when you have nothing on your calendar for once and the weather is beautiful and sunny and you go for picnics and spend the entire weekend outside just playing. We got our yard work done early saturday morning while the kids played in the sandbox and then we just enjoyed every last drop of sunshine God gave to us this weekend. We went kite flying, bike riding, ate 90% of our meals outdoors and Ralph and I even snuck in a run together, and you know what? It sure felt a lot like summer. We even had brats and nothing says summer better than a good juicy brat. (TWSS.) Had to. This weekend was a happy happy one and happy weekends deserve a lot of pictures to document such things.

^ This is Liam: he is my independent, plump,daring little pumpkin. He is a huge mama’s boy and I am not sad about it at all. I feel like Liam is the one who will break bones and get stitches and that sort of thing, he has no fear and he gets that from his dad. He certainly doesn’t get that from his anxious, worry-wort of a mother who often is referred to as a “fuddy duddy”. We call Liam our pumpkin for obvious yummy reasons, his rolls and his chunker thighs are delicious. The highlight of every single day of mine is rocking this snuggly baby to sleep. Liam adores his nap time and bedtime, he gets that from me! Ralph and I often joke about Liam and how he thinks all our jokes and attempts to make him laugh are super lame. He gets this look on his face like “really guys, thats all you got”, he doesn’t impress easy but he has the coolest personality. He will be 2 this summer and of course it is so surreal to me that it has already been that long since we were blessed with our third son.

^This is Jack:  Jack is my cool dude. He is a trendsetter and loves to dress himself sometimes to his mother’s dismay (pick your battles I say!) Jack is ultra sensitive and gets his feelings hurt easily. SPOILER ALERT: thats from me. He is my only child that looks remotely like me so naturally he is my favorite. JUST KIDDING. He complains every morning that he has to get his hair styled because it is so thick and every morning I say you will appreciate this hair when you are older! Jack loves to make new friends wherever we go and thinks school is the best place in the world. Jack got a little chilly at our picnic so he wore my jacket, even though he insisted he DID NOT need a sweater when we left the house .I really love those “I told ya so” moments with kids…..& husbands alike. Jack is very independant and has really embraced being the older brother. He enjoys helping out with anything you ask him to do and seriously enjoys doing chores. Jack just turned 5 and had quite the pirate adventure party at our house, which I will post about soon!

^This is Remy:  he has the exact same personality of his mom but looks identical to his dad. He takes a while to adjust to change and needs some convincing when it comes to trusting someone new. Remy is the most caring, polite little love bug I have ever known. He never forgets to use his maners and deeply cares for everyone. Remy is the most serious out of all the boys and is the most attached to his mom. Score one for me! No but really, it is especially awesome the bond that Remy and I have, except for times when I need to leave the house without him, that gets tricky. Remy is super afraid of animals which I’m not quite sure where that comes from? I hope that goes away! When I take Remy in public without Ralph I wonder if people think he isn’t my child. His blond hair and blue eyes are going to be lady-killers in the future. Remy also loves to dress himself in mostly character clothes that before I was a parent, I vowed I would never let my kids wear. Like I said, pick your battles.

This weekend just made me so thankful for the wonderful life on earth God is allowing me to live. Hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

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This salad completes me. It is everything I love about mexican food with an added boost of protein and that guilt about eating a flour tortilla, GONE. This will surly take care of those mexican cravings of yours without all that extra calorie and gluten nonsense. Oh and the dressing. Don’t get me started on the dressing. Tangy and fresh with a little kick.

Along with my quinoa veggie salad with lemon basil dressing, this salad will definitely be on repeat throughout the warmer months. It keeps in the fridge for a good week, you may just have to add a little squeeze of fresh lime to moisten it up a bit. I added a little extra cumin myself because I like it spicy. I also added a bit of extra cilantro to my individual serving because I am the only heavy cilantro lover in my family.

And the sun is still hanging on over in our neck of the woods! Yesterday we played outside all day with some friends–boy do I appreciate the days we get to play outside, bedtime is such a breeze! Tonight we are heading to a cook out and this weekend is supposed to be sunny and in the high 60′s….we’ll take it! I like to really get excited about little victories, being a stay at home mom of 3, and right now the weather is one of them! Happy weekend to you all!

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I think it is just eaiser to grab a bar from a pan and continue what I am doing during the day while I nibble, rather than cut a slice of cake, get a plate, get a fork and sit down and eat it. Wow talk about laziness right?! But really I don’t have time to sit down and eat a piece of cake during the day, I kid you not. These are perfect and refreshing and go great with my afternoon cup of decaf.
I am also really digging these because they are light but still creamy and chocolatley. I think that is hard to find in a lemon bar.

And this recipe only makes an 8×8 pan so you won’t have these scrumptious bars lingering around your kitchen for 2 weeks waiting for you to eat them.

Also this recipe is easy peasy lemon squeesy. See what I did there? And who are we kidding I don’t really make any recipes that are super challenging. So just whip these up in a few minutes and your desserts for the week are taken care of!

So what are you waiting for?! Snatch up the Lemonberry cake mix while you can!

Attention*today it was 60 degrees and we played outside, ate outside, did some yard work. my energy is slowly returning and we are beginning to see the light at the end of the long long tunnel that is winter. and yesterday it was snowing so today is happy happy day.

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You know I feel like I never got pork right until I tried this recipe. Do you know what I mean? I always stray away from pork because it just never turns out moist and tender enough for my liking. The only other way I have cooked pork and really liked it was in the crock pot for shredded pork sandwiches or crock pot pork chops. But me cooking pork in the oven is always a catastrophe, until this recipe. I really think the marinating makes all the difference and heating them at such a high temp, for a short amount of time. These are so tender and flavorful, a great recipe to impress dinner guests. My advice: turn on your broiler and broil these for a few extra minutes because let me tell you, a little burnt honey on top is super tasty. The pork serves beautifully over cooked red quinoa with a dash of fresh squeezed orange juice.

In totally unrelated news: My sister-in-law had her baby and we have ourselves a new nephew! Oliver Hebron is so perfect and makes 5 BOY grandchildren in our family! Boys are just the best aren’t they? As much as it pains me to take back all the cute outfits I bought for my new niece (I really thought it was a girl!) we are looking forward to all the memories that will be made with all of the boy cousins! My boys are really excited to have a new cousin named “Oliber” and they say they never want any girls in our family! In fact Jack has told me that he would like 2 more brothers, and wants to know when he can get them. And to that I say, how about we get you a new 3DS game and call it a day? Well Jack, I think you will get your wish because I don’t think anyone in this family is capable of making any girls and you know, we are ok with that! Bring on the bug hunting, never ending energy, mud tracking, lego building, and most importantly, MOMMY LOVING boys for life!

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