We soaked in every last moment of summer this month, and made some awesome memories! Moments 08.2019

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 August 2019!

Recipe love:

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

Queso from House of Yumm {Give me all the cheese}!

19 Refrigerator Salads for Busy Days from Budget Bytes {For back to school}!

Breakfast Burritos from Cooking Classy {Need to make these}!

Peach Mozzarella Flat Bread from Modern Honey {Very into peaches right now}!

New Recipe Videos

Here are the videos we produced for you in August! More to come in September!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Healthy Greek Yogurt Brownies

Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas

Homemade Croutons

Pesto Pasta

Zucchini Pizza Crust 

Apple Pie

A few of my favorite things...

Here are a few products and other things I have loved in August!

This set of white baking dishes!

I LOVE these baking dishes! they are simple, cute and functional! Plus they are super high quality AND totally affordable (on sale right now, $40 for all 3)!! I highly recommend them!

White Pie Dish

I love this pie dish too! If you're like me then it's time to start testing pies for Thanksgiving (LOL, but seriously). I've already used this pie dish to bake a few pies in and I love it! It's cute and only $19!

Parchment Paper

This is a baking staple in my house! I use it every time I make cookies, pizza dough, etc. I like to buy it in bulk on amazon so I never run out! And again, holiday baking season is coming, so be prepared!

This article

This article about raising strong daughters who scare away "unsuitable suitors" really spoke to me this month. I love the quote below: 

 I often think about the quote from Pride and Prejudice, "

Elizabeth Bennet:
[On Marriage] Is that really all you think about?

Mrs. Bennet:
When you have five daughters, Lizzie, tell me what else will occupy your thoughts, and then perhaps you will understand.

I don't want to be the parents who don't trust our (4) daughters. I want them to be strong, independent women whose love for God and their family scares away anyone who is unworthy to be their partner in life! 

This moment:  when a momma told me I was a "great mom" and I cried. Read about it here. 

Life with my tribe

Keilah is 6 months old!

WHAT?! How did this happen?! I'm not crying, you're crying. Anyway, our chunky little love bug is weighing in at 19 lbs already (yep, you read that right)! She is still equal amounts of sweet and sassy, and 100% our hardest baby at this age. 

This month we tried to stop swaddling her. I tried many times and kept going back to it because she sleeps so well swaddled, and basically didn't sleep when she wasn't. But then she started rolling (FINALLY) and busting out of the swaddle every night. I avoid loose blankets at all costs, so it was time to ditch the swaddle once and for all. 

All four of my other kids had no trouble transitioning to a sleep sack, but per her usual, Keilah is different than the rest. She has decided that having hands is awesome and likes to party instead of sleep. Thankfully she doesn't cry and just puts herself to sleep, but it takes a while. 

Sitting up

She is also sitting up, which is a total game changer. She has never liked to lay down on her back. Instantly when we put her down she starts doing a crunch to try to sit up...and she's been doing that since she was brand new. I think there's so much going on in our house that she just wants to be part of the action. So now that she can sit up and observe it all she is much happier! 

Solid Foods

So far Keilah has eaten apples, pears, sweet potatoes, rice cereal and oatmeal cereal with no problems. I fed her avocado and she had an allergic reaction to it. She got a rash and hives all over her body and to say I freaked out would be an understatement! 😉 The doctor told us to try again, but I've been hesitating because he said her reaction could potentially worsen. I'm really hoping it starts getting better, as I've never had a kid with a food allergy and it makes me nervous! 

Summer Fun

How is summer OVER? I can't even handle it. We had a very good one but I am sad that it has come to an end. 

Lantern Festival

Our neighborhood put on a lantern festival and it was amazing. I love where we live so much and I'm so grateful to get to do life in such a beautiful and fun location. This was the first time I ventured out past Keilah's bedtime, and it was so worth it. 

First day of school!

This pic is hilarious, but we started homeschool in the middle of August. I'm working on a full post about our curriculum for the year, but I'm glad to have gotten back into our normal routine. 

This is the first year I'm all-in homeschooling Naomi. I taught her letters, sounds, numbers, etc. last year but it was very casual. This summer I started teaching her how to read, and she began a math curriculum and will be in her own class at co-op! Handling 3 at once has been challenging but not as tough as I thought!

12 years of marriage

I've been married to this guy for 12 years! It feels like we have already spent a lifetime together (4 moves and 5 kids later), and I'm grateful to have him as my partner in crime! I re-read this article I wrote 10 years in, and it's all still very true! 😉 

Our friends watched our oldest 4 kids while we went on a little date with our cute third wheel. It was nice to get away and just be together during this crazy busy season of life!

I don't even want to talk about how sad I am that the pool is closed. I finally ventured out and took all FIVE kids by myself one day, and we all survived! 🙂 

Just a few pics...

Recipes I'm Making on Repeat

Here are a few recipes we enjoyed in August!

The BEST French Toast Recipe

Homemade Croutons

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER

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!