Hippos in the Mud

I just always love seeing my big girl reading books, especially in the car, like she just can’t get enough on her current book.

They both ended up in blue-tones today, and I love those colors on them, with their golden hair and blue eyes, and the summer-tan skin! So I also chose to wear a blue dress too, actually.

Flash forward to dinner tonight, and I made the “viral sweet potato bowls” for the first time in foreverrrr now that I finally have my stove back. Well, I could have always made the baked potatoes since they just roast in the oven, but I couldn’t have sauteed the onions/meat on the stove. But all of these little sweet potato halves reminded me of hippos half-submerged in the river water, all hip-to-hip in the mud.

And this turned out soooo good! I sauteed a diced onion, and a few cloves of garlic, and then added ground chicken. I seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, curry powder, and an Israeli schwarma spice that Bo gave me from their trip to Israel a while back (that I use sparingly to make it last). Then you add avocado and cottage cheese, and you’re supposed to top with hot honey, but I forgot that bottle at my office. This whole thing and all the flavors is basically my perfect meal. I just love it so much and it’s right up my alley.

The girls cuddled up on the couch together after dinner to watch PB&J Otter, while I got all the leftovers put away and cleaned up the kitchen a little bit. Then it was already time to start getting ready for bed, so Jeff went with Addie and I went with Emmie, as per our usual routine. And as I was hugging Emmie goodnight, I said, “This is your last hug as an 8-year-old,” and I hadn’t even realized it until I said it, but as I said it I was instantly starting to tear up at that! She turns 9 tomorrow, and it’s honestly hard to believe. So obviously I had to take one more picture of her on her last sleep as an 8-year-old!

Since it took so long for the sweet potatoes to roast for dinner, that gave me plenty of time to catch up on washing dishes and tidying up some. So now, I’m giving myself the rest of the night off from chores to just rest and relax, and mentally prepare for Emerson to turn 9 tomorrow!