Three children standing in front of a dinosaur exhibit at a museum.

1. The kids have been on break this week, and itโ€™s been so nice for everyone to be home! It has basically monsooned all week here, but weโ€™ve had fun, including a trip to the museum earlier this week. The kids loved the dinosaurs and all of the animal exhibits.

2. Isabelle turns SIX tomorrow! I canโ€™t believe how fast time flies. She is so excited to celebrate! ๐ŸŽ‰ And she took her first gymnastics class this week; she has been wanting it to try it for awhile now, and she loved it.

3. What are you excited about cooking and baking in the coming month? I feel like the beginning of the year is a short recovery from the holiday season, then itโ€™s multiple birthdays in our family, the Super Bowl, Valentineโ€™s Day, St. Patrickโ€™s Day, Lent, Easterโ€ฆ so many occasions to think about.

4. This week, Dominic asked for chocolate chip cookies and I made my very favorite chewy chocolate chip cookies. I donโ€™t make them all the time because they require a bit of advanced planning (you have to soften the butter and then chill the dough), but this week, we had lots of time, and I remembered just how much I love these cookies! I stocked the freezer with these before each of the kids were born and packed a handful in my hospital bag. My freezer is now officially restocked :)

5. I loved scrolling this list of pantry awards for favorite snack foods. Have you tried any of these? I actually havenโ€™t had any! My kids just tried the almond version of the Nature Valley granola bars mentioned in this list and they LOVED them. I want to try the hot honey potato chips, as well as the dill pickle ones!

6. Love >> 51 Simple Pleasures to Seek Out and Appreciate More Often

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7. I finished The Last Mrs. Parrish this week and loooooved it. I would probably put it into the category of โ€œsuspenseโ€, and I couldnโ€™t wait to see how everything was going to shake out. Next up: The Maid (havenโ€™t started it yet).

8. Yessss >> The Joy (and Nerdery) of a Crossword Puzzle Routineโ€ฆ A few years ago, I would always do the WSJ crossword after dinner and my husband had gotten me the USA Today crossword a day calendar for Christmas, so I would that on, too. I need to get back into them, I love crosswords!

9. We finally finished Reign, which seemed to have a very rushed and abrupt ending. Weโ€™re now back to a new season of No Offence. What are you watching right now?

10. TGIF!ย The coziest, snuggliest dog Iโ€™ve ever knownโ€ฆ

Dog sleeping on a bed.