Life lately, according to my iPhone...

First things first:  I made this Nothing Bundt Cakes Chocolate Chocolate Chip copycat recipe and it turned out AMAZING.  Like, SOOOO delicious and really close to the original, although I think that the frosting is a little more intense in the copycat recipe than in the original (not that I am complaining - it was fantastic frosting).  But if you make it you MUST let it cool COMPLETELY in the refrigerator.  Like, overnight.  Which seems impossible when it is baking and your house smells heavenly, but trust me (because we caved and each tried a slice when it was still slightly warm) that it is so much better served chilled.  This is definitely going in volume II of our House of Nash cookbook.

 

This is my new favorite dress and necklace combo.  I like the big bottles because I can tuck them under my chin and keep feeding Rose while freeing up a hand to do something else, like take a selfie in my favorite dress and necklace combo.

There was an article a few weeks ago about a mom and her 4 year old daughter who have been making dresses out of construction paper (and other materials) and posting them on Instagram (checkout their blog, Fashion By Mayhem - the dresses they make are amazing).  They are so creative and it sounded like the kind of thing that Clara would be into so we have made three attempts.  Clara has helped with cutting and taping and folding and we have talked about patterns, etc. so I feel like it is a pretty great idea because it is educational, creative, and fun.  And really it is about the process of making the dresses because she only wears them long enough for a photo usually and then she is done and we take them apart.  So far we have used construction paper, leftover tissue paper, and napkins leftover from Clara's birthday party last year that have just been sitting in the garage.

Clara and I both got haircuts in the past couple of weeks.  I was really in need of a change and a pick-me-up but I didn't want to go short and I didn't want to dye my hair, so that meant bangs.  I sort of have a love-hate relationship with them right now but just had them trimmed yesterday (after two weeks) and went a tad bit shorter than the original ones and am hopeful that the additional growing time might make them more comfortable a little bit longer and help me like them enough to stick with them because I do think that they are flattering.  I did a side-by-side comparison on the day I had them cut.  I sort of despise both pics (I never like how hairstylists style my hair after a cut - I always have to wash it and style it myself before truly making up my mind about the cut) but I do like to see the change.

Here are a couple more photos where I have been trying to figure out how to style and wear the bangs:

I have taken Clara to get her hair cut at the kiddie salon twice in the past but I felt like they don't do the best job so when I got my hair done I asked my stylist how much she would charge for a kids cut and it was only a few dollars more than the kiddie cuts place so I figured why not?  Basically she just cleaned up the back which was really straggly by taking off about an inch-and-a-half and then she did just a little bit of framing around the face so that when Clara's hair is down she doesn't look like such a little ragamuffin.  Everybody at the salon was going bonkers over how cute Clara was sitting in the chair getting her hair done.  Clara was pensive about the whole experience (and slightly annoyed that I would not let her get bangs like me and tired to start out with since I had to wake her up from her nap for the appointment) but was pretty proud of her new do afterwards.

Here is an okay shot of her haircut right when she was done.  So much better and now we hopefully won't have as many tangles to deal with. 

We went to Yogurtland afterwards for a treat since Rose was home with Paul and Clara and I could have a little mother-daughter one-on-one time. 

Speaking of hair, this jumbo legal paperclip was Paul's solution when Clara's hair was getting in her face while trying to eat. 

We saw the Weinermobile at a newly remodeled Lunardi's grocery store in San Jose.  I was more excited about it than Clara was.  Seriously, I would love to drive this thing on a roadtrip. 

Tulips from our yard.  I planted the bulbs last fall not thinking that we would be moving this spring.  At least I got to enjoy them for one season.  I need to remember to replant in the fall wherever we move to because seeing the tulips come up makes me so happy.

I weighed Clara on the scale at the gym.  She is almost at 30 pounds!

Rose is getting stronger every day but doesn't last very long with tummy time. 

I was cleaning the kitchen while Clara sat at the table coloring (one of the rare times that she has done it for more than a few seconds) when she announced, "look mommy! I made an "A"!"  It kind of looks more like an "H" with a line across the top but she has recreated this at least three times (with crayon, pen, and paintbrush actually) and tells me it is an A each time so I think she actually has some idea of what she is doing. 

Just some other preschool type activities that we have been doing.