the best monster cookies!

i am sure that man cannot survive on monster cookies and monster cookies alone, however, this week i have totally put that to the test. with being sick and NOTHING sounding good, the monster cookies i made for easter have been my go-to. hey, at least they have oatmeal in them! and protein... err peanut butter! whatever! there's a million monster cookie recipes out there, but this my fav that i've found! just throw everything in the mixer and go!

here's what you'll need:

-3 eggs
-1 1/4 cup white sugar
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract (*see note below)
-1 12oz jar creamy peanut butter
-1 stick butter (softened)
-1 cup m&m's
-1 cup choc chips
-2 tsp baking soda
-4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)


Directions:

1. preheat your oven to 350 degrees. line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. in large mixing bowl, cream the eggs & sugars. add salt, vanilla, peanut butter & butter. mix well.
3. add in m&m's, choc chips, baking soda & oatmeal.
4. using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop the dough and drop on the cookie sheet. push down on the dough with the measuring cup to flatten it. note: i only put 8 cookies on each sheet to allow room for them to expand.
5. bake 8-10 min. check at 8 because they bake quickly!!
6. let stand on cookie sheet for 3-4 min before transferring to wire cooling racks.

note: i realized that i hadn't stocked my pantry with vanilla AS MY EGGS & SUGAR WERE MIXING!!! i quickly googled substitutions for vanilla and i found that you can use maple syrup in the same amount as the recipe calls for. so... i used 1/2 tsp of syrup and i couldn't tell the difference! life saver!!!!

easter fun!

i've been meaning to give a lil easter recap since sunday night, but i've had a lame fever off & on and dizzy spells. not sure what i caught, but i'm just now starting to feel better!

we had a great easter! we got up and went to the 2nd service at our church and then headed to my in-laws' house for a good home cooked lunch! we also had a lil easter egg hunt for holden and his only cousin, roslyn! too fun!

here's my dear friend, erica, and her precious emmy. this was after church and holden was due for a nap hence the no cooperation for a smile!

daddy & holden. still due for a nap and the smile factory was shut down. :(

the one pic we kinda got a smile out of him! and this was like 1 of 20 pics we snapped! isn't he the cutest, though??

i desperately tried to get a good shot of his outfit and the lil rascal wouldn't stay still! here he is being dora the explorer and checking out the dead plants! whatever... he was still!

getting the hang of the egg search! he didn't care that there was even anything in them... he just liked to hold onto them! maybe next year...

opening his many easter baskets. gma & gpa thompson got him one, gma & gpa abbott got him one AND we got him one! lots of goodies!!! can you hear him making his vrooom sound??? 

mama & holden. love the patterns & colors in this one. love his lil dino shoes!! 

the best of the best! love my sweet sister & brother!!!

we ended the day on a good note with some strawberry jello poke cake! it was my first time making it and i will def be saving the recipe for later use!!!

check back tomorrow for my fav monster cookie recipe, as promised! you will seriously want to run out and make these after you see them! oh yum!

h54f!!

it's friday! and what a GOOD friday, it is! i'm so excited for this weekend and to spend time with my dear family and remembering the ultimate price that jesus paid for ME! what a blessing! i'm linking up with lauren at from my grey desk to give you my top 5 favs of this past week! feel free to link up!!!

5. there have been all sorts of stuff floating around facebook and twitter regarding same sex marriage. so, when i see something like this that just brings light to all the arguing and opinionated posts, i find it SO funny!!! i mean... try and tell me this isn't funny!

4. holden is still having rough nights. it isn't necessarily EVERY night like it was a week ago, but it's about every other night. grant has been amazing and will get up with him if i need him to (like at 7am this morning when i think i had slept a total of maybe 3 hours. oy). parenthood is not for the faint of heart, my friends! i do, however, love that he is becoming SO interactive. his memory is out of this world and he is recognizing all sorts of things. seems like he has new syllables flying out of his mouth each day, too. being a mama is by far the best job i've ever had!

3. in case you've been living under a rock, justin timberlake released a new album a week or two ago. i didn't realize it was on spotify until just recently and have been jammin nonstop. he is so, so, so talented. lovin 'mirrors' at the moment!

2. i have a whole section of my heart devoted to fresh flowers. and i'm so not kidding!!! i was at the grocery store yesterday and picked up a couple bushels of fresh tulips! and they were only $2.99! woohoo! one of my fav places to keep fresh flowers is in a bathroom... especially if the bathroom doesn't have a window! seriously-try it! it brightens up what could seem to be a boring and dull room. 

1. holden's fav thing these days is giving hugs. to everything. it's ridiculously adorable. here he's hugging the blanket. so far, i think 17 mos is my fav age... and i feel anxious putting that out there!!! it really is just an awesome stage and he's my number 1 right now (well, and always... but especially this week!)!

if you don't already, you should link up with lauren & i to share the top moments of your week! it really has helped me find good even in a sleepless night-filled week! :)

the dreaded hair rut.

we've all been there. trying to grow our hair out, you get sick of growing your hair out, you contemplate cutting it, resist the urge, finally hair is grown out and then you're sick of it. that's where I'm at. I've been growing my hair out for well over 2 years. it's still not long long, but it's longish. only problem is I've got really thin hair and long hair isn't really the best style for me. totally lame since I love curling my hair or throwing it up in a pony or messy bun. yes... you can still do that with, say, shoulder length hair, but then you have to worry about the whole 'hair hits shoulders and flips out' ordeal. and lord knows ain't nobody got time for that! ha

so... i had a hair appt scheduled for this week and rescheduled it because the time no longer worked, BUT... I was secretly so unsure what I wanted to do and needed more time to think about it.

do I chop it off and rock a summer bob?
do I get a good, hefty trim and go crazy w the highlights?
do I bring back some sort of bangs (even though I've been growing those babies out, too)?

so many options. I've been perusing my trusty pinterest for some inspiration and ideas. there's one thing that's for certain... I'm over ombré like I'm over my baby not sleeping through the night. I have never understood the appeal of coloring your hair to make it look like you can't afford to color your hair. I digress...

here's some cuts/colors that have caught my eye:

I'm always a big fan of reese's hair. I feel like this could totally work w my grown out bangs. I would probably keep a little more length, but not a ton.

this is a fun way to spice up color without getting too crazy. obviously, my hair isn't near as dark as this girls, but it'd be fun to do a little brighter of a blonde just in the front!

i pinned this just a couple days ago because i love just having all one length and the whispy long bangs. i don't foresee ever getting straight across bangs again because my face is a little too... err... round. haha. i think she totally rocks them, though!

anybody out there have feedback??? i go in a couple weeks, so i've got some time to decide, but i know i'll put it off til the last minute. here's to hoping i surprise my procrastinating self!