15 minutes of calm (+ yummy cookies)

Do you ever feel like you're just a circus master watching the chaos erupt around you in your own home? No, it's just me and my crazy kids? Okay then. Never mind.

We're all alive and well - it's just been a chaotic week with lots of crazy things popping up. Last night I ended up at urgent care with my daughter who had a jelly bean stuck up her nose. I just had to laugh. Kids, man. They don't stick to the master plan.

So here are some pictures from fifteen minutes that were very calm and happy this week. These days, my toddler is happy whenever she gets to help me cook, and the twins are happy whenever they get to sit in their little seats and look around. We've been making lots of simple yummy recipes lately (we're talking this level of simple), and it's fun to get my daughter involved.

Shown here are some sugar cookies and the yummiest salted caramel cookies I've had in a long while. In case you also have fifteen minutes and love everything salted caramel:

COOKIE MIX SALTED CARAMEL COOKIES

Ingredients:
1 pouch Betty Crocker Salted Caramel Cookie Mix
1 egg
1 stick butter, softened but not melted
1 package caramels, unwrapped
decorative sugar crystals

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Mix the cookie mix, egg, and softened butter in a bowl.
3. Fold 2Tbsp cookie dough around a caramel to form a ball. Place on greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
4. Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until edges are barely starting to brown. Remove from cookie sheet immediately.
5. Add sprinkle of decorative sugar crystals on top. Enjoy!

We got the cookie mixes at Walmart, and at only two bucks each, we consider it well worth our pennies. One day I'll make time for recipes that require sifting flour and clarifying liquids, but for now, these are a great easy treat our family loves.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who's had a crazy week. Good thing we have a nice long holiday weekend coming up! I am SO excited for a few days with no work or school (we'll probably make more cookies).

Behind the Scenes (all the outtakes)

Because it's Friday, and because I definitely put the milk in the cupboard and the cereal in the fridge this morning, I wanted to offer you a glimpse of the behind the scenes on some of my recent photoshoots. Social media is often a highlight reel, and while I love seeing everyone's bright and happy moments, it can sometimes feel like the bright and happy moments are all that happens to a person. It's easy to feel inferior and think you don't measure up to what someone else portrays online. (Hooray for snapchat and IG stories that help us see the everyday life!)

A few times people have asked, "How do you always look so put together and calm?" My answer, besides bless your soul for thinking I'm not constantly on the brink of insanity, is - I don't have it all together! Like, at all! 

Here are a few pictures I've snapped recently that show behind the scenes vs the finished product around here.

PHOTOSHOOT WITH THE TWINS

 "Whyyyyyyy mom???" 

vs: "Look how cute we are!"

MATERNITY PICTURES

My brother trying to impale me with a frisbee mid photoshoot (and no, I didn't even catch it)

vs. "Look at me casually strolling in the evening light without the imminent threat of death by frisbee"

CLAIRE MEETING THE TWINS

"Uh I'm nervous and three seconds away from crying and I definitely don't want to touch these weird things you set on either side of me"

vs. "Look how great of a big sister I am!"

PHOTOSHOOT WITH CLAIRE

Experimental hairstyle gone terribly wrong (WHY do I keep thinking I can do cute hair styles??)

vs. Cover up the crazy, girl! Put on a hat and pretend it never happened.

Ha! Sometimes when I edit pictures, I'm working so quickly that I don't even think to keep the ones that didn't turn out, but these posts are kind of fun, so I'm going to try and keep more blooper pictures in the future. Hope this made you smile and that you have an awesome weekend!