Best Bites

I love Our Best Bites. Carissa introduced them to me just before their cookbook came out and I was it was love at first sight. Or bite. Whatever. Everything I make from their cookbook comes our perfectly.

I've fallen in love with a few of their recipes.

Like their bread dough = pizza dough = lots of bread-like things like these:

They posted this amazing breakfast casserole, too (I know it's amazing because Jeremiah made it for me for Mother's Day and it looked just as good. Tasted even better) :

I'm also in love with their black bean soup, chicken taquitoes, taco chicken, and just about any of their desserts.

I promise I don't creepy stalk them. I just happened to find out they were visiting a little bookstore in Puyallup and Carissa and I planned our whole day around that visit. So what if I called in sick to work? I got my cookbook signed! And I got to meet these lovely ladies who are killing my waistline!


I think Aubrey is in shock, too. She's not just bored. These will one day be her idols too :)

Proof Carissa went with me. That I didn't go stalking - I mean visiting - all on my own!

Is it crazy to feel kind of star struck by these stay-at-home cooks? They are exactly what I want to be. Creative, inventive stay-at-home moms who love food and can support their families in a way to stay at home with their kids and have fun doing it. I can't wait to one day get more creative with my recipes and be able to share those with others.

My Day!

There are two days of the year that I can expect to be waited on hand and foot. My birthday is one and Mother's Day is the other. Especially Mother's Day, I work hard dang it!

I slept in which was amazing. Jeremiah usually lets me sleep in a bit on Sundays, but there was something about sleeping in on Mother's Day that made me feel extra special. When I woke up, Jeremiah had made this for me and then gave me my Mother's Day gift. Besides sleeping in and a scrumptious breakfast, he also bought me a new shirt at JC Penney and gave me a gift card to get something else there. Jeremiah's always pretty good at buy clothes for me. Ladies, you're welcome to take him shopping with you anytime :)

I love the little handmade things the kids give me. The boys brought home little notepads they'd made in church for me, and Aubrey gave me a hot pad with her handprint on it. Too cute! They even sang to me in church and I loved watching their faces as they sang. They were looking right at me the whole time, I was so proud of them, even if Roman was more interested in chewing his gum than singing the songs.

The night wrapped up with fajitas made by the guys and cheesecake purchased at Costco (is that cheating if they don't necessarily make the dessert???I demand a do over). This is another thing I love about Mother's Day. We're required to stay away from the kitchen. Fine by me!

Me and my rascals. I love them!

Mom surprised us each with a pedicure gift certificate which we used this past weekend. I'm not sure what I enjoyed more - the pedicure or the super mega massage chair that I sat in. I could have laid there all day. It was awesome. I went with the girls, Mom, and Olivia. Olivia even got a rainbow manicure (aka an array of neon colors on her nails). I think every mom needs a pedicure. Monthly, at least.

I love being a mom. My kids drive me crazy and there are nights I get very little rest because my little ones are having nightmares and need their mom. There are days that I am in tears by lunchtime and I'm ready to hand them off the a perfect stranger just to have a moment of peace. But any bad day is outweighed by how amazing each of my children are. They never judge me and love me even when I haven't showered and my socks don't match. After a hard day at work they instinctively know that I need a hug, or a smile, or a silly song to cheer me up. They can't go to bed without a Mommy hug, and I can't imagine my life without them. I'm truly blessed to have such crazy, ornery, lovable, sweet, and unique kiddos.