Friday Things
1. Isabelle was 1 month old on Sunday! How has it already been one month? I feel like I was still pregnant just yesterday; time totally flies. We’ve gotten into a little bit of a groove here as a family of five, but she’s still in the throes of eating and sleeping every few hours. I remember after having Joseph and Dominic that it was around the two month mark that things started to settle into a little bit of a routine. Until then, I’m still enjoying all of the sleepy baby snuggles that I can!
2. Joseph’s preschool had a tea party for Mother’s Day this week; all of the moms got to go and have snack time with the kids, which was so much fun. It’s been so wonderful watching Joseph’s transition since he started school back in September; he was so shy and barely talked to other people, and now he’s singing all of the songs, playing with his friends, talking nonstop. And apparently he told all of the kids repeatedly about his baby sister Isabelle (he’s so proud of her!) – so many moms told me their kids came home and told them Joseph said he got a new baby sister named Isabelle :)
3. We’ve been blessed having my mom and in-laws here a few days a week since Isabelle was born, which is wonderful because it gives me some time to rest and gets the boys a lot of one-on-one attention. Joseph has always flocked to whoever wanted to play with him, but my goodness, Dominic is so attached to my father-in-law. It’s adorable; when he comes in, Dominic runs over to him (past whoever else has walked in), and throws his hands in the air so he can be picked up. I love that he has a special bond with him. Also, have I mentioned he is my total goofball of a child? :)
4. My recovery has been going really well; I had a checkup on Monday and was cleared to do stairs and start light walking/exercising. I still can’t lift anything (including the boys) for the full 8 weeks to avoid a potential hernia. Aside from one little issue with my incision (one of my stitches didn’t dissolve), I couldn’t have asked for a better recovery so far.
5. I’ve had these flip flops on my wish list for years and I’m thinking of finally pulling trigger on them since I’m in need of some new shoes; since I was pregnant with Dominic I’ve gone up a 1/2 size and have virtually no summer shoes that fit me!
6. Totally craving the no bake banana split dessert – one of my favorites for summer!
7. We have a front room in our house that is technically a “formal living room” which I think is about the most useless room a house can have, so we’ve converted ours into a playroom for the kids. Except we don’t have storage yet and there are toys everywhere and I’m losing my mind. Then we decided on a storage solution (Kallax shelves with door inserts from IKEA), I went to order it and…. backordered. Of course.
8. Bummed that the Penguins playoff season ended early this year, but I wasn’t realistically expecting three in a row… so difficult to do! I’ll take our back to back wins and cheer wildly for Vegas so I can see Fleury lift the cup again. (And if not Vegas, then Tampa because… Kunitz.)
9. I’ve been craving chocolate chip cookies; I have tons of recipes on the site, but tell me what YOUR favorite recipes is (feel free to leave it in the comments below)!
10. TGIF! I hope you have a fun weekend!
Oh my gosh I laughed so hard seeing that picture of Dominic!!! He looks like a pirate with a fork eyepatch! This will be a great picture to show future girlfriends when he is older! Your family is amazing! Glad you are recovering well!
https://www.marthastewart.com/1520237/caramel-stuffed-chocolate-chip-cookies
The directions are kind of wonky and as you can see in the comments, the math is off, but if you follow the proportions, 1.5 caramels per cookie, these are some wonderful cookies. I normally make a whole batch and just leave them frozen and bake as needed (needed!!!!)
It is hard to believe Isabelle is az month old! She seems to be doing really well. Joseph is such a sweetheart – good picture of the two of you. Dominic makes me laugh and it’s great to hear he’s bonding so well with his grandpa:). The sandals are really cute!
That picture of Dominic totally made my morning!! Yes us middle kids are a fun bunch.
Love Isabelle’s hair bow. Not sure if you follow Lizzy of the Your Cup of Cake blog but she is selling handmade hair bow sets that are super cute – her IG story has details.
Totally agree about the Pens. At least the stress level in our lives has reduced significantly! Not sad that the Preds are too. Go Golden Knights!
Have a very Happy Mother’s Day with your lovely family.
*Oops – meant Preds are out too
$198 flip flops ?????
Hi April,
I was also surprised at the price of the flip flops. Hopefully they are comfortable.
Happy Mother’s Day Michelle💐
Go Jets Go!!!!!!🇨🇦
You have to try Big jumbo chewy chocolate chip cookies from craftycookingmama.com! So easy to make and my absolute favorite. I mix them in my KitchenAid with no issues but she does caution the dough is thick. They’re just perfect.
Whatever chocolate chip cookie recipe I use, I always add 1 T instant espresso powder and a teaspoon of cinnamon.
Love reading about your little family…
About the flip-flops: they are cute but the sole are apparently in patent leather…it’s weird! Won’t it make you perspire?
I had to say it before you bought 198$ shoes!!!
I’ve been cyber stalking those Miller shoes for a few months now! Time to pull the trigger…..I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews. Happy Mother’s Day!
The only chocolate chip cookie recipe I use is the one on the back of the Nestle TollHouse Chocolate Chips package. I usually back them a little less time so they’re soft and chewy and add a bit of sea salt to give them an extra kick of sweet and salty! They’re always a hit.
Plus, I can’t help but laugh at the Friends reference (Nest-lay Tollooze) every time I make them : )
You have beautiful family, Michelle! I so enjoy the photos of your children and dog…..as well as your recipes! God bless you all.
My favorite Chocolate Chip cookie recipe is the Toll House one on the back of the Nestle Chips bag. Those flip flops are WOW. I just broke down and got a pair of Tieks by Gavrieli. They are so comfortable. Your children are precious.
Hands down, my current favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe is this one from Joy the Baker:
http://joythebaker.com/2014/05/the-best-brown-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies/
The browned butter makes them so rich and nutty it’s a wonder any of the dough actually makes it into the oven! Seriously delicious and garners rave reviews.
Beautiful children! Chocolate chip cookies…love any soft ones. And those sandals….well, I’ve got them in several colors…love them. Be aware they run a full size smaller.
Happy 1 Month Bday to Isabelle!
I wanted to give you a heads up on those ikea Kallax shelves in case you haven’t seen them in person. The plain shelves without the door inserts are fabulous but once the doors go in, the hinges take up so much room, it reduces usable shelf size by almost 1/3. We ended up skipping the doors and using an assortment of baskets and lidded boxes made to fix the shelves instead. Hope this helps!
Such a beautiful photo of little Isabelle…those eyes!
When I was teaching kindergarten, we celebrated the sibling births in our classroom by asking for a photo of the baby with the student. We then sat with the student and he/she wrote a few thoughts about the new baby. We then posted the picture and the thought just outside the door of our classroom with a celebratory heading. Celebrating the birth with classmates and familes was so special for our classroom and families.
I just made the chocolate chip cookie recipe from Joanna Gaines new cookbook, Magnolia Table. I really loved it because there was no chilling required and the cookies came out perfectly with crispy sides and soft, chewy centers. Also, they have a TON of chocolate chips…almost too many, if that is possible.
Have a wonderful Mother’s Day, Michelle…with lots of snuggles.
So be sure to tell us next week how the dogs are doing with another family member, especially Judith. So many changes for her.
So those sandals are super cute! I have a thing for Rainbow leather flip flops. Honestly the most comfortable functional flops ever. Not the cutest, but I live in them.
My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe is hands down Joy the Baker. It gets absolute rave reviews from everyone.
http://joythebaker.com/2014/05/the-best-brown-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies/
I also love the Levain copycat chocolate chip cookie: but it isn’t well received by the typical chocolate cookie lovers (at least mine).
Love your Friday posts. Have a great weekend!
Second vote for the brown butter CCC. Brown butter takes them to another level. The pecans are optional but add a nice depth of flavor. Add a little sea salt on top and you have the perfect cookie, imho. I have baked them for two groups and people raved about them!
such a beautiful baby girl—such a beautiful family –kind of hard for me to tell which doggie is Duke and which doggie is Judith now—-who is in this pic on Friday things today? Is that Duke or Judith?
Aww thank you Sophie! That’s actually Judith!
Happy Friday! Love the little updates on your family. Time does go so quickly. They sure don’t stay little for long, so enjoy every moment! I say buy the shoes! They are classics, and I’m sure you’ll love them. Also, try your local Craigslist for the Kallax. In my area, they are often listed there. That’s where I got mine! I also bought the Trofast system off of Craigslist. We put ours in my son’s room as it definitely looks like kid furniture. At least with the Kallax, you can buy the doors or pretty baskets and hide kid stuff so the area looks a bit more put together.
Have a great weekend!