What I am loving

Best Ever Chocolate Oatmeal No-bake Bars

My husband found a recipe for Chocolate Oatmeal No-bake Bars that, to be honest, I thought I wouldn’t like (chocolate is not usually my thing). I made them for him and after a few days of everyone in the house raving about the bars, I tried them and loved them! If you are into clean eating, definitely try this recipe — so good!

I also thought I wouldn’t like coconut. I was wrong. After making these bars, I realized that coconut is really good when it’s in the right recipe. Chewy, fudgy goodness!

A blog feed reader

I have had several people mention lately that they have a hard time keeping up with blogs they like to read. If you have several blogs you like to read regularly, I can’t tell you how awesome a blog feed reader is if you don’t already use one. I am sure there are tons of options out there, but a feed reader basically keeps track of all the latest posts from your favorite blogs.

Instead of having to individually check all the blogs for a new post, you go to your feed reader to see new posts from all your favorite blogs in one place. So much easier! I just looked at the list of blogs on my reader and I have over 50; there’s no way I could check all those regularly without a reader! Now I can just scroll through their newest posts quickly.

Like I said, there are a lot of options for feed readers. But if you need a place to start, I use Bloglovin’, and I know a lot of people who love Feedly.

Costco printer ink refills

Did you know you can have your printer ink cartridges refilled at Costco? It is awesome and so much cheaper than buying new cartridges. If you are a Costco member, it is definitely worth checking out the list of cartridges they refill.

What I am reading

“Triggers” by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake

If you deal with anger at all in your parenting, “Triggers” is an amazing book.

A few months ago, I briefly wrote about how important it is to figure out what triggers our anger as we parent, but this book is the mother’s lode of insight on the topic. It has 31 short chapters, each devoted to one type of trigger. So if you are dealing with a whining child or exhaustion, you can jump right to those chapters to find practical encouragement.

“For the Love” by Jen Hatmaker

“For the Love” is a book of essays, both hugely thought-provoking and insanely absurd. I have been on the waiting list for it from the library for months and finally got to read it. I like Jen Hatmaker — she always makes me laugh — but I didn’t feel the need to run out and buy this book (hence waiting for months at the library). I have enjoyed this book far more than I was expecting and flew through it.

“Queen Bees and Wannabees” by Rosalind Wiseman

I am slowly working my way through “Queen Bees and Wannabees.” Carlos read the boy version, “Masterminds and Wingmen,” and insists that I need to read both of them. I am starting with the girl version since Eden is our oldest. Honestly, I am still not sure how I feel about this book. I think the information is really good but I am not in love with its organization. It jumps around a little much for me. The information covered is good enough that it is worth reading, despite the fact that I don’t love how it is laid out.

“Falling like Snowflakes” by Denise Hunter

You all know I love a light and happy book! “Falling Like Snowflakes” is just that.