Cooking/Pictures of kiddos

If you know me, you know I've struggled with cooking.  I can do it, when I plan ahead and have every ingredient in a very specific, instructional recipe. 

Well, I've made a little progress.  I'm stepping out and making things out of what we happen to have on hand and *gasp* I even made a meal last night with no recipe to guide me at all.  I realize that isn't a big deal for most people, but for me it was close to a first.  The icing on the cake, it even tasted good!


Now this first recipe was different for me because I didn't have all of the ingredients listed, which normally would have stopped me then and there, but I made my own substitutions and this was probably the best pork chop I've ever had.  It was a Rachel Ray recipe, Balsamic Honey Glazed Pork Chops.

This meal I used what we had on hand.  Tomatoes, zucchini, chicken, etc.  Sauteed, layered and then baked......and what doesn't taste better with a bunch of cheese on top!

These chicken enchiladas were what I made with what we had available and no recipe at all.  Not complicated, nothing most people would be impressed with and definitely something most people could make very easily and not feel blog post-worthy.  I'm not most people.  It feels good to finally be doing this.

Something else I made, though not food, used old frames with glass and backs removed dressed in clothes.  One has buttons, one a zipper, another snaps so Elyse can practice those aspects of dressing an object in front of her instead of on her.

 She likes the zipper and the snaps the best but gets frustrated very easily with the buttons.  I don't blame her.

To add another photo, here we are for the Super Bowl.  My mom was here for the weekend (huge help and we enjoyed a date night as well) and our neighbors and their kids came over for the first bit of the game.  It was busy with 5 kids and 5 adults but we turned on the pool spa and the 3 older kids had a lot of fun playing with cups and tea sets in the water. 

 My mom and the girls.

 A twirling ballerina being watched by her daddy......

 Our girls......

That sums up the past week or so in this house.  Time to tackle another day!

Don't you wish

Tuesday night while I was sleeping, I woke up in the middle of the night and had that feeling.  That feeling where you know you are coming down with something.  For me it usually starts with a sore throat.  I felt worse as the day went on and by late Wednesday afternoon I was really struggling.  Everything ached.  A pounding, throbbing, feel it inside my bones ache.  My energy was drained and as my 2 small children looked up at me, wondering what was wrong, I called Matt at work.  I explained the situation and told him he didn't need to drop everything he was doing, but that if he could come home a little early it would be much appreciated.  I seldom do that.  I can't remember the last time I did, especially during the busiest time of year at his firm. 

He came home several hours early, ordered me to the couch and dove right in.  Adley was napping so he took Elyse outside to play.  I took a quick shower trying to wash away the ick, got in comfy clothes and plopped my sickly self on the sofa.  He truly is my second set of hands when he comes home, not just when I'm sick, and I'm so thankful for that.  By evening a fever had spiked and I was feeling worse by the hour.  The pain was intense and the fever gave me the chills, my skin was hot while I was chattering under a blanket.  I wanted to take Tylenol or Motrin, I knew it would help me feel a little better and perhaps rest a little more soundly.  I didn't.  Instead I prayed.  I told God I trusted His design of my body's response to this infection.  I told Him I knew this fever and it's pains had purpose and I would see it through.  I prayed I would be restored as fully as possible as quickly as possible because everyone knows how hard it is when a mom is out of commission.

It was a rough night.  I sweat so much while the fever broke that I washed the sheets the next day.  My head was pounding along with every joint in my body but I surrendered to rest.

The next morning Matt quietly got up with the girls while I slept.  He didn't say a word and just let me sleep, and sleep I did, until 11 a.m.  I awoke feeling quite a bit better and within an hour he was off to work.  I still wasn't 100%, but we managed and we managed well.

A friend later commented to me, "Don't you wish he could have come home sooner to have helped more?" and "Don't you wish he could have taken the whole day off while you got better?"

Really?  Was she really asking this?  No.  I don't wish that.  Sure it would have been nice now that you mention it but I'm just thankful.  I'm thankful he wasn't traveling for work.  I'm thankful he was in a position to take even just a few hours off to lighten my load.  I'm thankful we've been given bodies that restore themselves.  I wasn't just content about it, I was thankful and I made sure to let Matt and God know, oh, and my friend too. 

I guess it all goes back to the glass half empty/full of water analogy.  I try, though not always successfully, to embrace my portion of water and size of my glass I've been given.  This doesn't just pertain to good days or bad days, it has to pertain to all my days. 

"Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure." (Psalm 16:5)

The humanness of Jesus, all that time ago, once again resounds with relevance today.  In the Garden of Gethsemane when He realized the suffering He was about to endure, He cried out, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42).  It wasn't taken from Him.  He accepted it, drank it, and saved me.

In bible study last year they made this more concrete and hands on.  We had a  cup of water poured for us where we prayerfully accepted the portion we had been given.  A year later, this encounter with a friend, reminded me that those lessons stuck, though not perfectly, but that there has been ground gained in the battlefield of my mind. 

When I say "not perfectly", it's conversations like last night.  Matt and I have discussed on and off what our first big project on our house will be.  It's approaching it's twentieth birthday which is very evident in much of the house.  Our master bath?  New flooring?  Pavers for the patio?  Exterior paint (our house is pink!)? 

While we talked about it I began to think about how truly blessed we are.  We sit and pick our house apart and add items to lists that are wants more than needs.  Small patch work and replacing of seals versus gutting an entire bathroom, things like that.  Oh, and of course there are those with no homes at all or running water or safety or...or...or....

I'm spoiled.  I can be a brat when I don't ground myself. 

I told Matt we should pick something, our next big project, price it out and give the money away. 

That I do wish.  I wish I lived with such wreck-less abandon and whole-hearted, self-less love to follow through with thoughts like that.  I wish I could see what a world of people living like that looked like.  I wish.

Corn meal

I found a 5 year expired  bag of corn meal in the back of our pantry on Friday.  I'm still wondering how it made the pantry sorting with our move in July.  Either way, to go along with some Montessori type ideas I've been doing lately for Elyse, this is what we did with it.

Friday evening was couples night out with the MOMS Club which was fun.  Saturday, Matt went golfing with some of the husbands while the wives got together and played with the kiddos.  That evening we went on a family walk to the bridge at the front of our subdivision where Elyse like to throw pine cones into the pond.  While we were there, for the first time, I noticed a nice sized hill off to the side and immediately thought of the fun little toddler list.  I climbed up the hill with her and we held hands as we ran down.  Of all the things we've done the past few days that I've taken pictures of, this was the one I wish I had a freeze frame of.  No camera with us but I'll store it in my mental photo album.  A hill.  Seems so simple in hindsight.  How had the kid not ever run up or down a hill? 

The best part was, with all of Elyse's enthusiasm over the hill, Matt decided to roll down it on his side like we did as kids.  He rolled fast!  It took him awhile to shake the dizziness and he nearly tossed his cookies, but it sure did impress Elyse.

I've completed, start to finish, 4 loads of laundry today.  I need to finish up my bible study homework for the week, put together a photo book before my gift card expires tomorrow, print off some forms and make some deposits for moms club, and work on 2 projects I want to do for Elyse. 

Time to get to it!

"Pour center"

That's what we named the water area Elyse and I set up today.  I'm determined to be more fun and a little more care-free.......outside works great for that!

I filled different shapes and sizes of containers with water.  Some with handles, some without, some breakable, some plastic.  We took her little table and tea set out onto the patio and let her go to town.  Eventually her baby doll, bath tub and washcloths, all got added to the mix.  She had such a good time!  It didn't take long for the clothes to start coming off as well.  Good thing we were out back today, otherwise two days in a row of a naked toddler might make the neighbors question my sanity more than they already do. 

 I love her dainty right hand while she's pouring.

 The face she made when the lid got stuck on the "sugar".

We also went to the zoo today before naps.  I love Lowry Park Zoo, so does Elyse.  It was gorgeous weather and we went with a good friend and former co-worker and her son. 

 Matt claimes I spend 35 hours researching double strollers before purchasing this one.  He probably isn't exagerating.  Both girls are loving it so far and it's great to run with (when I make the time).

 These are two Okapi's.  An animal that looks like a cross between a horse, zebra and giraffe was recently rediscovered in 2006.  They are beautiful.  Elyse didn't understand why they weren't a zebra though.

 She did end up in her buddy's stroller though.  She loves to ride in other cars, strollers, go in other houses.....she has ZERO stranger danger which we are working on.  I'm trying to teach her that not everyone has Jesus in their heart so those people may not know what's best for her like her parents do.  Not sure if that's a good way to start the conversation or not but it's what we're going with for now.

 Adley being Adley, good and going with the flow.

 The Flying Bananas ride.  Love.

 Slides.  Love.

My day today:
Adley's early morning feeding that she falls asleep again right after but I stayed up with my bible only for Elyse to wander out a few moments later.
Prepare for our day
Zoo
Lunch/Naps
P90X legs and back, P90X abs
Dusted
Cleaned all 3 bathrooms
Pour center with Elyse
Shook all rugs
Vacummed and steam cleaned floors
Played Play-doh
Dinner
Baths

Intertwined in there is breastfeeding, diapers, cleaning up a potty mess when she didn't quite make it, 2 neighborhood girls came over, load of dishes, wiped boogers.....you get the idea.

I'm exhausted.  The first time I sat down all day was at dinner.  I'm taking it easy tomorrow!

Mud pies

I read this on a blog this week.

"Last week Cow & Gate, a U.K. formula and baby food company, released their "potty list"-- the top activities all children should experience by the age of three. To compile the list the site asked more than 1000 (European) parents what they considered to be the most important milestones toddlers accomplish by age three. Here are the top ten must do activities:


1. Make a mud pie
2. Bake a cake
3. Finger paint
4. Sing loudly in public
5. Climb a big hill
6. Pick fruit
7. Dance without any inhibitions
8. Make sandcastles on the beach
9. Be chased by a monster
10. Jump in a puddle so hard the water went in mummy's shoe too

Notice that learning how to plie, count to ten in Espanol, and categorize reptiles are nowhere on this list. If Gerber had conducted the same survey, I'm willing to bet memorizing the ABC's and completing a 12-piece puzzle would have topped their responses."

 I'm guilty.  Not that we don't have fun and not that we drill our daughter or have her perform hours on end of flash cards, nothing of the sort.  However, I'm the "clean mom".  I don't like getting out the play-doh or letting her run rampant in sand boxes right before nap.  We have done all but 2, maybe 3 (not sure about the big hill), of the things on this list but mud pies we had never done.  Today we made them.

 Throw in some sifting and it was quite the afternoon.  She ended up in nothing but her bright pink Crocs by the end of it.  She went right into the bathtub afterward but we will definitley be doing it again.

I've also added dried lima beans and uncooked bow-tie pasta to her faux kitchen food and she has had the best time with them.  Sorting, counting, cooking, scooping, moving them.  The pasta and lima beans are teaching her more than any other toy we have.  It's impressive.

Next on the list.....pick fruit.  Not sure where we will do that.  Hmmmm, a neighbors yard has a plantain tree..........

"I can do it allllllll by myself!"

That sentence rings through our house over and over these days.  It's a joy watching her express her independence and embark on new challenges alone.  I love celebrating with her as she exclaims "I did it!" when she's finally pulled her leggings on without assistance.  Like many mommy moments, it's bitter sweet.  I'm finding myself being surprisingly emotional about the simple act of her using the restroom. 

She was potty trained young and petite, but we had to help with every aspect of her going to the restroom.  She need to be lifted onto and off of the potty, wiped, helped onto our tall stool, and assist her with hand washing.  Some of our best conversations happened during the process in the small, private quarters of our bathroom.  She developed a sense of humor about the whole thing asking all about #1 and #2 and the cultural norms pertaining to those two vital functions.  Often we talked about anything but that and I really think she enjoyed the focused, undivided attention during that time.

Today, for the first time, she went and I didn't even know it.  She didn't announce it on her way like usual or come to celebrate with me after she was done.  She just did it.  All alone.  The whole thing.  Pants off, potty, wipe, pants on, wash hands......entirely without me, my hands or my encouragement.

Once I realized what had taken place I just watched her in her room, diligently trying to dress her doll, and I felt that twinkle in my eye.  The twinkle that is full of pain as much as it is pride, joy as much as it is sorrow, surprise as much as it is expectation.  I think they call it a "twinkle in your eye" because it's a rare phenomena of beaming light and emotional tears.

I read this in an article this past week about the joys and challenges of parenting any number of children and when you're feeling weak and crowded  in the process to remember,
“.......you’re turning into a new woman, a woman who is never allowed to be alone. For what? Only so that you can become strong enough to be a woman who will be left.”

My ultimate goal is a healthy independence for her and I used to think she was the only one that would need preparing for it.  I'm realizing both of us have to be strong enough for her to leave (and cleave). 

She's growing up.  Independence.  I didn't expect it to shake me so much with such young kids.  Endless days meeting constant needs, you'd think I'd welcome the word.  Geesh, with a 2 year old and 4 month old, I amazed I still know how to spell it.  Today, in this captured moment, nothing awakens me more.  She is relying on me to do this the very best that I can so she has the opportunity to be everything God designed her to be......even when it hurts. 






Just phone pictures but she's still just so darn sweet!

Busy week

I can hardly believe it's been over a week since I last posted. We had a very busy week, a little too busy. I'm thinking the girls and I may need to slow down our weekly activities a bit and enjoy some more together at home.

Elyse had a couple of outbursts and meltdowns during activities this week and I truthfully think it was her way of saying we need to slow down a bit. I've recently been convicted of how well I run my household (laundry, floors, bathrooms, dishes, etc) but I'm not giving Elyse enough one on one time in the process. I need to organize my time better where both are accomplished.

I started the home workout DVD system called P90X this week and my oh my! I'm loving the way I dislike it. I told Matt it's like a stick vac or steam mop for the body. I don't look forward to using it but I like the way I feel after it's done, and like mopping, it's much less work if I stay on top of it.

I also resumed Women in the Words weekly bible study this semester and we are going to dissect the book of Joshua. I'm so excited to see what God will do with my small group for the study. With introductions alone it was so evident God's orchestrated this multi-generational, wide range of walks and needs group. It feels so good to be back and have such great accounatability to be in the word.

Matt and I are also starting a New Testament class at church tomorrow in lieu of joining a new small group as part of the restructuring the church is doing.

Today my dad and his wife took Elyse and my sisters older 2 girls to Bush Gardens for the day. Around 8pm they brought back an excited, running in circles, non-napped 2 year old. It's so evident she had a blast with all of them! After quite the over-tired meltdown she passed right out. Matt and I enjoyed the quiet, low-key day with just Adley and had a great lunch on the beach and I enjoyed the first nap I've had in a long time. I forgot how great naps were. The quiet house was a nice change but we sure did miss our little pumpkin pants. I'm excited to see the stories she will tell us tomorrow.