I've wanted to try this post from Averie Cooks for quite a while, and finally made it a few weekends ago.

The recipe is simple—the only ingredients I had to buy were pumpkin filling and molasses, I think. 

Some muffins were plain, and others I covered with chocolate chips.

They're a pretty happy little recipe.

Now for the verdict:

Taste: 7/10 They were a little too dense. I'd probably try a different pumpkin recipe next time.

Visual: 8/10 Adorably tiny, and I love the idea of rolling them in sugar! 

Easy-to-Make: 8/10 The recipe itself was simple, and the sugar coating didn't require any dipping! Just roll the hot muffins in the cinnamon sugar. 

Here's the link!

Dear Moms,

Hi. I'm Madeline. And I just wanted to tell you a few things that you need to know. 

1) You do not need your house, kids, or life to be clean in order to be a "good mom." 

You probably know this in at least one area of your life, but remember it in parenting too: what's outside isn't nearly as important as what's inside. So if you haven't washed your towels, picked up the living room, or folded laundry for days on end, that's okay. And if it's never done all the way, know that you're living in reality. Don't sponsor a standard that you can't live up to. Your life can be beautiful even if your kitchen isn't. 

2) Pray over your children. I don't have good prayer habits, so I say this from a weak position. Praying over people is powerful because it gives you perspective on their situation. It helps you surrender them to God. It also reminds you to ask your kids for things to pray for them, which is a question that's easy to forget. 

3) Love the stains. Ben Rector wrote the truth when he said, "Life is mostly what we choose to see." When your kid puts a four-inch scratch in the kitchen table, make it into something you love. Did he do it when he was trying to reach something too far away? Remind yourself to pursue things with abandon, and that it's okay if they don't turn out perfectly. Did he do it when he was angry? Remind yourself that anger has consequences, and not to get angry with him so he has a good example. It works similarly with carpet stains, car dents, paint scuffs, everything. 

Lastly, remember that you're doing something hard. One of the more encouraging things I've read as a writer is On Writing Well, a book by William Zinsser. He wrote that if writing feels hard, that's because it is. We only read final drafts of things, so we forget how many drafts it took to get there, but it's hard for everyone. Grammar, creativity, structure, it all takes time and practice and lots of mistakes. It's okay if being a mom feels hard—that's because it is. 
You guys are doing something important. I love you. 

I love to cook, but most of the cooking I do is in my dorm room. This means that my resources are a fridge, one-fourth of the cabinets, a scrap of counter space, and a stove that's through two doorways and down the stairs. I generally make food by tossing together any ingredients in my fridge and pantry. So for today's post, I'm sharing some pics of easy, quick, make-in-a-dorm-room meals! Many of which were taken in bad lighting, which is sad. Gotta work with whatcha got, ya know?

This is black bean soup from Panera heated with chicken, tomatoes, an egg, 

This is what health foodies call nicecream—frozen bananas blended with whatever flavors you want! The bottom layer in this one is cocoa, the middle is berry (from my frozen mixed berries from Target), and the top is cinnamon oat. 

Here's yogurt and apple with almonds, chia, and coconut on top!

This night I dipped an apple in oats, trail mix, coconut, peanut butter, chocolate chips, or goat cheese!

I'll finish off with a true tossed meal—rice crackers from Target with everything in the pantry on top! 

Hope you enjoyed seeing what I throw together on a regular basis. I've found that for me, it's all about keeping the right ingredients in the fridge. Simple, heathy, and delicious!