Catch Up With Christina 1.14
mom’s dip + kids everywhere + toothbrush for every friend
CURRENTLY INTO
Watching: Caroline’s chorus concert last night. You already know I cried.
Shopping: The #1 reader-recommended non-slip workout headband: pre-wrap for the win. It’s cheap, available in a rainbow of colors, and actually stays put.
Eating: Mom’s Mexican dip: A layer of refried beans, softened cream cheese, a can of Rotel, shredded Mexican cheese on top, baked until bubbly.
Reading: Science Comics after Thomas’s teacher recommended them. Both kids are obsessed and somehow reading before breakfast and in the car. A parenting win I did not see coming.
Listening to: Just binged the Birth Keepers podcast and couldn’t stop once I started.
Loving: A home office worksheet tip my amazing bookkeeper shared on our recent call. If you’re a work-from-home business owner dealing with this dreaded form, export your 2025 credit card and bank statements into Excel and filter by category to quickly pull utilities and recurring expenses. I was making this way harder than it needed to be by logging into every account and downloading individual statements.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
I’ve been eating Sub Bowls for lunch all week because they hit every time and don’t feel boring by day three.
A Sprinkles update. Because I know you’re invested.
You know the pens we all love? Just scooped them up in the colorful set!!!
An honest 3.5 star review of the first audiobook I’ve listened to this year. Worth the time, but I have thoughts.
Once you stencil a cocktail powder lip, there’s no going back. This reel blew up my DMs.
I also made a cold brew espresso martini with a cocoa heart over the weekend and now I want to decorate every drink.
The Top 5 Reader Favorites of 2025 are in and the list did not disappoint. Magic slushy cup, at-home flu test kit, parchment sheets, viral bug spray, and the diamond necklace everyone loves.
I just completed the prettiest spring puzzle. Keeping my hands busy at night helps keep me from scrolling, and this colorful one is SO fun to piece together.
I swapped my tennis strings for rainbow ones and it’s such a small change that somehow makes every hit feel happier.
Still loving my One Line A Day journal. I didn’t think I’d be into it, but it’s truly the lowest effort habit ever, and I already know I’ll treasure looking back on this in a few years.
The best Valentine Cookies recipe I’ve been making since 2014!
THOUGHT DROP
Lately I’ve been in my feels about being the house the kids want to come to. Last Saturday, 15+ kids showed up out of nowhere, which is pretty normal around here. The girls took over the hot tub, played volleyball, choreographed dances, and eventually half of them crashed here for a sleepover (I keep a drawer filled with toothbrushes for every friend). The boys rotated between basketball, football, the Panthers game, and stayed up late for the Bears game too. Our backyard was loud, chaotic, and full in the very best way, and my heart could not have been happier.
It reminds me so much of the house I grew up in. Everyone always came to our place, sometimes even when I was not home, because they knew my mom would feed them no matter what time it was. Mexican dip was basically a food group. So of course I made her Mexican dip for the kids on Saturday, and it was devoured just as fast as it was when we were growing up.
Neighbors with grown kids stop me all the time to say how happy it makes them to see bikes and scooters filling our driveway and hear the yelling and laughing from the backyard. They always say it goes by so fast. I hated hearing that when my kids were little, but now I get it. This stage is loud and messy and exhausting, and I love it so much. I am soaking it up while I can.
XO
Hi! I’m new here. But would love to know if you have posted the Mexican dip recipe somewhere? I saw it on your instastory and it looked delicious!