April has been a crazy busy month for us! Two of our kids had birthdays, we sold & closed on our house and are preparing to move! 

I can’t remember all the times I tried to tell myself to hold on to these moments as they pass.”

Welcome to “Moments” here on JoyFoodSunshine. At the end of every month I share a recap of all the shenanigans that went down in crazy town (i.e. our life in a nutshell).  So here it is for April 2019!

Get ready for a LONG post….April was a very busy month for our family!  

Recipe love:

Here are a few must-share recipes from the month of April from my favorite spots around the web!

5 Ways to Make Protein Oatmeal from Eating Bird Food {YUM}!

Loaded Guacamole from House of Yumm {Pass the chips}!

Iced Coconut Chia Latte from The Kitchen McCabe {Summer sips}!

Bacon & Spinach Frittata from Cooking Classy {love it}!

Homemade Corn Tortilla Chips from Modern Proper {for Cinco De Mayo}!

New Recipe Videos

Here are the videos we produced for you in April (do you sense a breakfast theme here?! LOL)! More to come in May!

The BEST Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Best Banana Bread Recipe

Mocha Chocolate Scones

Paleo Blueberry Muffins

 

A few of my favorite things…

Here are a few products I have used over and over again in April! Also, remember Mother’s Day is right around the corner! I wrote this post about the best kitchen gifts that would be prefect gifts to show mom you care! 😉

Amazon Shop!

Did you know I am part of the Amazon Influencer program and have my own little Amazon Shop? I just got it all set up this month and so far I have three categories: Kitchen Essentials, Baking Tools, and Pantry Staples! You can check these links out whenever you want for all of my favorite kitchen items! 

Nonstick cookware!

I received this Le Creuset nonstick cookware a few months ago and it’s officially my favorite cookware! I use these pans every single day! 

Round Cooling Rack

This cooling rack from William Sonoma is my favorite! I have it in two different sizes and two different colors and I use them all the time! I like that the squares are small so foods can cool easily without falling apart!

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer and NARS Sheer Glow Foundation 

One morning this month Naomi (my spunky three-year-old) casually asked, “Mommy, why are your eyes purple?” LOL! I’m a few years older and a few kids richer than I was the last time I bought makeup (I don’t wear it very often), so I needed something with a little more coverage…and I really just needed some new makeup to replace what I had been using. 

So I went to my local Sephora (I LOVE it there) and had one of their beauty experts match me with a new concealer and foundation. When I came home I asked Ritch if he could tell and he said, “WOAH, they took years off of your face!” LOL I love that my family is so honest with me! 😉 But Really the difference wearing these quality products was amazing.  She also taught me how to apply them the correct way (something no one ever taught me!) so I actually feel confident applying them myself. 

Life with my tribe

April has been a whirlwind for us! Two of our kids had birthdays, we sold & closed on our house and prepared to move! 

We sold our house! 

In FOUR days! It was crazy! And we received an offer OVER asking price with the clause that gave us up to 45 days after we closed to move out. It all was just too perfect I am beyond grateful! We closed on our house on Monday and will close on the new house Friday, then take a week to move in! It’s literally the dream scenario and we’re so excited! 

Showing the house with five kids (one a newborn) was exhausting. We had one quick evacuation showing (in the middle of homeschool) and I literally just put the kids in the car, parked across the street and nursed Keilah in the van while we watched the people look at our home! (creepy, I know). It ended up being worth it because that person bought our house! We had five more showings that day after we received an offer, but ended up accepting it before the day was over because it was so perfect!

Keilah is 2 months old!

Shortly after that Keilah turned two months old! I can’t even believe how fast time is flying! I wrote a full post about her first two months of life here: Keilah 2 Months Old. 

She is such a sweet little love bug and I’m so grateful for her! She’s still an amazing sleeper and is starting to laugh and smile and coo so much more! Something unique about her is that her bottom lip quivers when she’s excited! It’s so cute and she has been doing it since she was first born! 

I finally decided to pump and give her a bottle this month. Even though I exclusively breastfeed, I pump every morning on one side while she nurses on the other and then freeze the milk in case I need it. It’s very important to me that my nursed babies will take a bottle, so I can have a little freedom to be able to do things if necessary without pausing to nurse. 

For example, I had a haircut appointment at 8 am which is exactly when I nurse Keilah. I had to leave by 7:40 so I just pumped before I left and Ritch gave her a bottle. Then I was able to get my hair done without having to worry about nursing! 

Anyway, Bethany was dying to feed her a bottle, so we let her be the one to do it. She was BEAMING (I mean look at that face) the entire time. She did such a great job and I love how much she loves being a big sister. 

During this month I started feeling a little more like myself. My body is starting to feel more like it did before I got pregnant, and I have a lot more energy. I’m getting stronger, running for 40 minutes, lifting weights, etc. and feel like there’s nothing I can’t do! Ritch and I even started getting a little bit of time at the end of the night to spend time together, which is so so great. 

Really this has been a super fun month with Keilah. I am lamenting that she is really no longer a newborn though. Hardcore. I absolutely love those first few sleepless weeks of life, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat if I could!

Mara turns TWO!

My sweet Mara Hope is TWO years old. {Wasn’t she just born yesterday?!} We had such a fun time celebrating her! I know a lot of people think two is a difficult age…but we love it. Right around age 2 is when our kids really bloom. Their personalities become more defined and we get a glimpse into who they *really* are and what they might be like when they’re older. And none of our kids are lacking in the personality department…especially not Mara. She is a stubborn, spunky, sweet girl who is excited about life, and I’m so blessed to be her mommy! 

When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted her response was, “yellow-blue (the only “color” she knows lol) and “sprinkles.” When I asked her what toys she wanted she responded, “Five, five toys” while holding up her hand to try to show the number 5. 

On the day of her birthday she was most excited about her balloons! As the fourth chid there aren’t many toys around here that are just hers, so she was very excited to get some things all her very own! She LOVES shoes, and got three new pairs for her birthday (one from each grandma lol)! She wears her “kitty boots” all the time and it’s just the cutest thing ever to watch her stomp around in them! 

Gabe turns SIX!

My only begotten son turned SIX the very last day of April! Since his birthday fell on a weekday we celebrated a little bit on Friday (Ritch’s day off) and then again on Tuesday! We always let our kids pick a morning/afternoon full of fun, where we go on an outing of their choice and then to their favorite restaurant for lunch! Gabe chose to go to the aquarium and then to Village Baker for lunch! We had a fun family day letting Gabe call the shots. 

On his actual birthday we had a pretty normal day, until we did cake and presents in the evening! Ritch did some work from home and let Gabe help him, which he LOVED. 

However when Gabe woke up he said, “It’s my birthday, I get to tell everyone what to do all day long!” LOL I explained that’s not how it works, but that we did want to make him feel special on his special day! Then he ran to the table and counted his presents. HAHA!

The kids were so sweet and said happy birthday to him right away in the morning. Bethany and Naomi (and mommy) did all his chores for the day so he could relax and enjoy turning six! 

He chose these Greek Yogurt Pancakes (with chocolate chips) for breakfast, and this Homemade Mac and Cheese for dinner (with hot dogs)! 

After dinner we did cake and presents and then he wanted to watch a movie! It was a fun day celebrating our sweet boy! 

Building our HOUSE!

Our house is DONE! This month we had our final walkthrough and new home orientation and we move in on FRIDAY. It feel surreal that something we have been planning for over a year is finally here. And we’re beyond excited! I will share more next month once we move in! 

Recipes I’m Making on Repeat

Here are a few recipes we enjoyed in April!

Fudgy Paleo Brownies 

The BEST Banana Bread!

Healthy Peanut Butter Skillet Cookie

IF YOU MAKE SOMETHING FROM JOYFOODSUNSHINE I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR CREATIONS! DON’T FORGET TO RATE THIS RECIPE AND LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW! ALSO, FOLLOW ALONG WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, FACEBOOK ,YOUTUBE AND TWITTER FOR MORE RECIPE INSPIRATION AND A GLIMPSE INTO OUR EVERYDAY LIFE!