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 October 2019!

Life with my tribe

I LOVE FALL. Ok, sorry for yelling but seriously it’s my all-time favorite season and I am so grateful it is here and that we have the chance to enjoy it!

Keilah 8 Months

Keilah has learned some pretty great new tricks this month! She is finally getting up on her knees and rocking a little bit. She can scoot backwards but she hasn’t done any forward motion yet. I bet it won’t be long though! We had to lower the crib (finally) because she is pulling herself up from laying to sitting on her own now!

I dropped the 5 AM feeding this month. It was very emotional for me, because I didn’t feel fully ready to give up our sleepy 5AM milk-drunk snuggles yet. However, I appreciate the freedom to sleep past 4:39 AM enough that we pushed through and made the change. She didn’t let it go willingly or easily, but it only took a few days before she was sleeping straight through until 8 AM (thankfully)!

Keilah also started sitting in a high chair (instead of the bumbo)! Her fine motor skills are on point, as she’s been practicing every meal eating puffs! She does really well in the high chair, and it’s nice to not have to keep everything out of her reach during mealtime! 

Something I have to document is how kissy that baby is! Ever since she was about 6 months old, she’d lean in and give me these huge, sloppy, open-mouthed kisses. I love it so much. Now she’ll even lean her cheek into Ritch’s face so he will give her kisses too. She is definitely a snuggly little one! 

Momma turns 34

I turned 34 this month. I’m not sure how it’s possible to still feel like I’m 18, while at the same time feeling like I’ve lived 5 lifetimes, but that’s exactly where I’m at in life right now. Ritch spoiled me and took the kids to homeschool co-op so I could stay home and snuggle my baby all morning. He got me this beautiful bouquet of flowers as well as other gifts (with help from the kids). It was a great day! 

I feel so blessed that this photo below is 34 (for me). I have the opportunity to stay home and love on my babies all day every day, because there’s absolutely nothing else in this life that I want more than that.  

I was so blessed by this sermon that a friend sent to me. There is nothing more important to me than fulfilling my God-given calling to be a mother and to let Him refine me through the process of raising my babies. If you’re a mom who feels like you can’t do it all, listen to this sermon for some peace and joy knowing you don’t have to. 

Hiking

We had a short hiking season this year. It SNOWED in the beginning of the month and by the end of October it was 7 degrees and snowing some more (SAD)! We still were able to see some fall foliage and hike at some of our favorite places! 

Millcreek Canyon

This is one of my favorite places to see fall colors. We love hiking here and I’m so glad we got to enjoy a beautiful day in the mountains!

Big Cottonwood Canyon

We actually drove up to Silver Lake and it was covered in snow. So we drove down and did this short little trail to a waterfall just to see some fall colors!

As always, my little snuggle buddy came along for the ride. I think my favorite part about hiking is the sweet warm baby snuggles! 

Alpine Loop

We drove up to the Horse Flat Trail in the Apline Loop and hiked to Primrose Overlook. It’s not an easy hike (elevation gain), but it is SO worth it! It might be my new favorite hike and view in Utah! 

Jazz Game!

Some friends gave us preseason tickets to an Utah Jazz game and we decided to accept their gift and take our kids to their first game! It was SO FUN! I grew up during the Michael Jordan era in Chicago, and my dad took me to Bulls games all the time. So it was so really getting to share this experience with my kids. 

We had 4 epic soda spills (read: next time we’ll skip the drinks LOL), but other than that it was a blast. Mara was slightly obsessed with the bear mascot and kept asking, “Where the bear?!” all night long. Keilah sat on my lap and learned how to play peek-a-boo! It was great 

More Fall Fun

We went to our favorite pumpkin patch and got pumpkins this year. There is a pumpkin shortage in Utah due to the weather this fall, so I’m glad we were able to get there early! Look at my cute little squad down there! 

Halloween

Halloween is NOT my favorite holiday (at all), but my kids love it. This year I had a little princess squad, a unicorn, and black panther. My kids were sick leading up to Halloween, and it was frigid and snowy. The middle two girls had croup and a nasty virus/chest cold. 

I can usually weather illness ok, but this time it has involved breathing issues and croup requiring steroids, which takes me back to last year when Mara had to be life-flighted to the PICU for the same issues. My momma heart was weary. I took Naomi and Mara back to the doctor on Halloween, because after two doses of steroids Mara still had stridor at rest, and I wanted to see my pediatrician one more time before the weekend.

He told me that Naomi was on the mend, and just had the lingering cough that could stick around for up to 3 weeks (joy). He also confirmed my concerns about Mara, but he said that she would likely do well with one more dose of steroids. I was so exhausted I asked him what to do about Halloween, and I know my eyes communicated my need for him to make the decision for me. 😉

He told me a walk in the cold air would actually be really good for their lungs (like putting an ice pack on a swollen knee), and that if it were him, he would take his kids out for a little while.

We had some friends over for dinner, who were fully informed of our kids’ sicknesses and decided to come anyway! 😉 And then we bundled up and went trick or treating. It was great to watch the kids have so much fun, especially after a taxing week! 

A few of my favorite things…

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

MADEWELL

I’ve been living in Madewell clothing this fall. I needed some new wardrobe pieces because I was pregnant last fall and basically wore the same sweater in a different color every day! LOL! They release online coupons ALL the time, so wait for a good sale! 😉 Here are a few of my favorites: 

This sweatshirt is EVERYTHING. Soft and stylish. Not too warm (i.e. I can wear my baby and not sweat like crazy, but still be warm). 

High rise jeans! I LOVE THESE. SO soft and stretchy and exactly what I want in a jean. And the high rise is a major plus after having 5 kids. I have them in Black Jeans and in a button fly jean color! Love them both so much!

Bubble Sleeve Sweaters: I have this one and this one and LOVE them both. Soft but not itchy. Perfect to french tuck into those high rise jeans!

Recipes I’m Making on Repeat

Here are a few recipes we enjoyed in October!

Homemade Croutons 

Puppy Chow

Chocolate Chip Cookies

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!