Birthday x 2

Happy 2nd Birthday to my favorite little girl!

Birthday parfaits

Presents and more presents!

Smoothie Queen

Of course, I would never say that about myself, but all my friends say...

Just kidding. I don't think my friends and I have ever even discussed the topic of smoothies. But we've been making a lot of them around here lately. The warm weather makes an icy cold treat the perfect pick-me-up. Plus, a friend from church gave me some kefir grains and I've been making my own kefir. It's a little tart on its own but mixed with other things the kids never even know what hit them. Here are a few ideas I ran across this week.

Favorites:

• banana, peanut butter, kefir, and a little chocolate syrup (not entirely healthy, but not exactly a milkshake, either)
• mango, orange juice, banana, plain yogurt, vanilla

Other ideas (courtesy of BH&G) I haven't tried yet...add to plain yogurt:

• Green smoothie: honeydew, kiwi, green grapes (?)
• Dreamsicle: orange sherbet or sorbet, tangerine segments, vanilla wafers (this IS a milkshake)
• Spice Island: rice milk, caramel sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg
• Cherries and dark chocolate
• Orange power: Carrot juice, fresh grated ginger, sliced celery (wouldn't that be stringy?)

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I finished the birthday gift last night and fixed the lampshade. The guest bedroom is still a mess, but it's raining outside so I'm thinking of putting a movie on for the little people so I can tackle that disaster area. (Hey, maybe if I can get the man of the house to declare it an official disaster area I can apply for disaster relief funds.) But back to the lampshade; here it is:

The unassuming plain white lampshade= $5
All gussied up= +$0.50 for trim, and stamps and ink I had on handI decided the mini pom poms were too much at the top, so I cut them off but left the green trim (with a flash for a better view of the colors):
I was trying to replace a polka dotted lampshade that got crushed in the move but couldn't find anything remotely similar in a store. It's always great to get exactly what you want for cheaper!

Party week

Despite my best efforts, I really can not get into any kind of groove with this schedule change. I am enjoying certain aspects of having my husband around during the day: today I ran errands for several hours with just Coop. We had a great little date and picked up everything for Sweet A's birthday celebration. But by the time I got home and put everything away and cleaned up, he was off to work. He has Bible study tomorrow at lunchtime, and I usually have a ladies' study on Thursdays. This is not so much a complaint as a confession that I just can't seem to order my time very well when the days are less traditional. Maybe Moriah can help. :)

So with the confession out of the way I can tell you about all the exciting creative ventures I have planned. Oh, but first, my ever-important-but-not-very-exciting-creative-venture: Organize and arrange the guest bedroom. We are having a joint birthday party for my two sisters-in-law and Sweet A here on Saturday. They all share the 30th as their birthday and I'm excited to be able to have a party for them that neither of them have to prepare for. My mother-in-law is helping me with dinner, and then she and my father-in-law are spending the night here afterwards so they don't have to make the long trek home on a Saturday night (hence the guest-bedroom priority).

Back to the creative stuff...Oh, I just realized I can't tell you about one of the items because it is a birthday present. But it involves sewing and that will be fun. I finally found a little lampshade for the kids' room bu it's plain white so I'm going to stamp some polka dots on it. (Not birthday related, but "having a bunch of people over" related.) I made the ladies' cake today because it freezes well, and have everything in hand to make these for Sweet A. For me, a lot of the joy of celebrations is in the planning and anticipation of the event (e.g., WH told me where we were going for our anniversary this year and I think about how excited I am almost every day. Smart move, honey). I bought some geraniums and plain pots (to paint) instead of flowers because I thought it would be nice to have something to keep afterwards, that and my porch is dreadfully bare). I think I'll make some place cards, and I'm going to make some candy bags as favors for the kids. Did I mention that we will have 8 adults and 12 kids? And this isn't a "friend" party, only family.

I'd better get to work on some of these projects instead of just writing about them.

Morning in the kitchen

Coop and WH have been away all morning working in my sister-in-law's garden and left me at home with the younger two. It's amazing how easy and quiet our morning was with just one child out of the mix. With no one to tell her what to do, Sweet A was happy to play with bowls and dried beans in the kitchen while I prepared food for tomorrow and for a birthday dinner tonight. Then again, without a firstborn following her every move, she also took the liberty to draw on things and get the Cheerios out without asking.

Tonight is my father-in-law's birthday dinner and I'm bringing an appetizer to go with the Key Lime Margaritas someone else is making. In looking for an appetizer with substance and protein to suit my FIL's diabetic needs, I came across these Black-Eyed Pea Fritters with Hot Pepper
Relish. I went ahead and made up the mix and fried a few this morning just in case they were awful, but they were fabulous! I'm not a huge fan of anything fried (except homemade french fries...I could eat tons of those), but these fry up fast and weren't very greasy. They were light and fluffy and the spicy relish is a perfect compliment. You don't even cook the beans- just soak them overnight and then puree in a food processor with some onion, pepper, and egg.

Tomorrow we are having somewhat of an nontraditional Sunday lunch because I had a piece of beef to use, but it required more attention than I can give on a Sunday. So I cooked it today and Thai Beef Salad it is, with egg rolls (not homemade this time), and Mango salad on the side. Hope our guests are adventurous eaters!

When it's worth paying more

WH offered to pick up a few missed grocery items recently, and checked out the local grocery store while he was at it. They didn't have the usual brand of balsamic vinegar (not that I would have known what that was...I guess I've always purchased an off-brand) so he purchased this:
When I looked at the receipt (I was curious to know how this store compared to others in price) I was shocked to find that this was 2-3x what I had paid in the past, although it was nothing compared to the fancy schmancy high-end gourmet vinegars. I needed it anyway and was grateful to have someone else run my errands, so I didn't worry about it. Then I made my usual balsamic vinaigrette dressing and was floored by the difference in taste! It was amazing...my salad was transformed.

I was visiting some friends in Chattanooga last weekend and noticed she had the same brand of vinegar on her counter so I commented on how much I was enjoying it. That's when she told me that when their family lived in Modena, Italy this is what they used, and they've been using it ever since. Now you can easily get it at your run-of-the-mill grocery store here. True story.

So this makes me wonder about other products. Finish the statement:
It's totally worth spending extra for____________________.

A new day has come

Coop has older cousins around now. When we were living with them he was able to see the natural flow of their day, including the fact that "big kids" do school. When we were out of town last week we stayed with some friends who also homeschool, and since we were there on a Monday he saw them in action. So he's been been very aware of this thing called "school" and it keeps popping up in books and movies. The other day he asked me if the school bus was taking everyone to their homes to do school. Think about it! Try to be logical, I thought. Of course I just laughed and tried to explain that some people went away to school, and others stayed home. I told him that Oma taught daddy at home, and Grandmama taught me at home, and that he was also going to do school at home. "Today?" he asked.

So I pulled out my Five In A Row manuals and decided we would start with Lentil since that is already a favorite story of his. Even though the manuals are not intended for preschoolers, there is a lot he can still comprehend and I think this is the perfect thing for us to be doing during these pre-school years. (That said, my Mom has some book recommendations for us and we really need to get on the stick so that when it does come time for school we have a plan.) Today we made lemonade, sucked lemons and watched our mouths pucker up, talked about sweet and sour foods, discussed life in a small town (he never got around to building a town...maybe tomorrow),talked about state names and looked at where we live on the map compared to Ohio (where the story takes place) and pointed out the different states where our friends and family live. (Lauren- Muncie is on our little placemat map of the US!). He was so excited about his 45 minutes of "school" and went to bed saying, "That was so fun doing school today with you, Mom" It made my Mommy heart melt. But mostly just because I feel like I just gave birth to this little man who now knows that the river by our house is freshwater and not saltwater. These kids are changing before my very eyes and I don't want to miss any of it!

House Tour is winding down

We had such a great time on Lookout Mountain, although there were still about 10 people we wished we could have visited. We were able to see many good family friends who graciously carved out time to spend with us. WH picked up a boatload of coffee from Greyfriar's to hold us over until we visit my parents in July and get down that way again. (It really was a lot easier not being a coffee snob.) The only eventful thing that happened while we were away is that Coop locked our keys in the car after church on Sunday, while it was running. Our fault for leaving him unbuckled in the car, and this time the parents learned a very important lesson (although you can be sure he heard about how foolish it was and what consequences we all had to endure because of it). Thankfully, we'd just added roadside assistance to our insurance policy so they were there 45 minutes later to save the day.

It's so nice to be home, and since I am my mother's daughter everything is always righted and put back in it's place within 24 hours (more or less) so it really does feel good to be here. We even dumped out all the toys today and resorted. After the ironing (which I'm about to do while watching the "scary" parts of the Babar movie with the kids), my next goal is to get the guest bedroom in order. Unfortunately, the Spare 'oom, as we like to call it, has become a drop-off place for everything else so I can feel like the rest of the house is in order. The only way to get the Spare 'oom organized is to haul everything out except the bed and dresser, and then find a new place for all the rest. It's one of those jobs that isn't really fun (at all) but will be so worth having finished that I'm actually motivated to tackle.

Here's a shot of my dining room curtains (unassuming, but they make me happy). The table is askew because we're trying our hand at starting a few things from seed this year, and their need for sun takes priority over the table being centered under the light fixture. I finally made my husband happy and sewed some button holes in our old duvet cover and turned it into a shower curtain for the master bath. Once I get all these major "new house" projects finished I can start on my pet projects...to be announced later.
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An hour later...scary parts are over, kids are in bed, and the sink is still full of dishes and the ironing is not quite done. Don't think I'll get to the spare 'oom tonight but it's not going anywhere.

Overflow P.S.

Just a quick note of clarification: Serving from the overflow is not an excuse to sit back and make sure we are all cozy and taken care of while ignoring the needs of others. As one person said, It's making sure your family is fed SO THAT you alll have the energy TO serve. Hope I didn't come across as making excuses for not considering others...there's too much of that already! :)

We are home from a whirlwind trip to Chattanooga. I think we visited with 14 groups of people in 3 days! More to come...

Overflow

This will be quick- packing seems like such an easy thing but there are always 147 little things to do right at the end.

My husband coined a new phrase from our family last weekend, and I thought it was helpful enough to share. We were starting to get overwhelmed with our desire to meet everyone in the church, have everyone to our house for a meal, be involved in various church ministries, serve all our neighbors, etc. All while raising three kids three and under, and throw in a lot of sickness for good measure. We are full of great ideas but don't always have the energy or time to actually DO all the things we'd like to get accomplished. So in addition to that E. Prentiss quote I posted last week, this is my new guiding principle: Serve from the overflow.

If my children are not loved and cared for (read to, fed well, given a safe place to learn and grow) and my husband is neglected, as is my health (which also affects a nursing baby for now), then my serving/ministry is not from the overflow of my joy and love, it is draining the drinking water. This is not to say serving isn't costly, or that our family is more important than the greater work of the Kingdom. But it is really easy to rush around and be "busy" when the most important tasks are left undone. Example: In our Bible study this week's assignment was to send a care package to a college girl. I thought of someone right away, and decided to have it ready to take with us so I could deliver it in person. Only we were sick all week and I never went shopping. So today I had decided to load up the kids and go to Target after naptime and just do what needed to be done. Which in this case, meant neglecting a lot more than just forgoing a decent dinner for the kids (hey- sometimes it's fun to have a hot dog & icee for dinner at Target). And sometimes it is important for the children to see that serving others does cost us something and it's good for them to learn (early) the value of thinking of others as more important than themselves. But I'm talking more about the day-in day-out decisions we make that affect our family...not the exceptions.

So, we stayed home and packed, washed diapers and made birthday cards for my sister, had a decent dinner and a bath, and read some new books before bed. There are still 10 things on my to-do list that I had to lay aside with full knowledge they won't get done before we leave...some important (make thank you gift for host family...not happening, but we can buy something nice) and some less important (paint toenails...not happening, but I'll throw the polish in my purse for later). The goal is that we will all be more of a light and testimony of grace- and in a better position to minister- because there is harmony between me and my husband, and the children are secure and well-loved. Of course I relearn these things every week it seems, but there's always new mercy for the new day.

Easter Recap

This picture was from last year's festivities. I didn't think that much about Easter preparations this year, because I wasn't going to be in charge of anything, being out of town and such. When plans changed and we ended up at home sweet home I sort of wished I'd paid more attention to all the great blog posts on Easter (looking back it seems as if Nancy Wilson had some delightful suggestions on her blog, many of them in the form of comments when she asked the readers what was on their menu). What I should do is print out some of the best ideas and file them under "Easter" in my home notebook. And then remember I put them there (which is where the system has broken down in the past...I forget I even have a home notebook).

We spent a lot of time over the weekend discussing Easter: to celebrate or not to celebrate, what should be our emphasis, traditions, etc. I had a whole post written out in my head about all that but decided to refrain because 1) I am really not that knowledgeable about these issues and we haven't figured it all out yet (check back when I'm dead), 2) it's not my goal to offend here (I'll do that in person, when you can see my loving face) :), and 3) I forgot most of what I'd written in my head and so the post would have been short and not very cohesive.

We did make cookies to take to eight of our neighbors, and decided it was the best possible thing we could have done to make friends here. Most of our neighbors are strong women pushing eighty, and all of them seem to love cookies and little children, of which we have both (had...we ate the last of them today). Here are my very favorite ever iced butter cookies:
I love them so much that I even made them for my own wedding (not in the shape of an egg, although that would have been pretty funny considering our fertility rate...). Didn't eat a single one at our wedding, but that's another story, for a time when you want to hear about my naivety...to think I would eat FOOD at my wedding!! But I'm not bitter. I heard they were delicious.

We had my brother-in-law and his wife and three boys over for roast beef, carrots, mashed potatoes, salad, and homemade french bread. My sister-in-law brought one of her fabulous cherry pies and WH made cappuccinos for all the adults (mine with rice milk...don't waste your rice milk). It was a festive little afternoon, with the only drama being the stone casserole dish someone had JUST given me (a hand-me-down, but it was nice) decided to play it's own role and mimic the veil of the temple being torn in two. I was baking a nice eye of round in the pan, and when I added the wine (which was not cold) the pan immediately cracked. It was a nice clean cut and didn't get into the meat and the wine evaporated so fast that very little spilled into the oven. But it was sad...anyone want to give me a stonewear tutorial?

We did haul our children to church, coughs and colds and all, and this picture reflects how they were feeling...it was the best we could get of them:
Obviously not at the top of their game (or looks) but that's how it is sometimes. We still felt like the day was a joyful celebration, one to be remembered each and every Sunday as we delight in the resurrection.

Big Trip Down South, Take 2

We're really into the "being sick" thing here. We love it so much we try to be sick at least every other week, if not more often. And in the name of solidarity, even our computer got several viruses during our most recent illness (which is why I haven't posted in a while). However, I think the end is in sight and we are planning and packing once again. It didn't take very long before we were repeating , "I'm so glad we are not in Chattanooga this weekend" as we wiped a nose for the millionth time or encouraged our kids to cover their mouths when they coughed and sneezed. So anyway, the cold weather is supposedly behind us so I have high hopes for good health in the coming months (and if we are planning to visit you this weekend then of course we will be the picture of health, so fear not).

Exciting happenings:

• Baby T is 5 months today
• We are getting a mattress for our guest bed tomorrow
  
• My inlaws live close enough that they can pop over for lunch
• I discovered (thanks, Sarah M.!) an amazing local fabric shop in my new town- it's actually driving me to distraction and I've never been more inspired to sew
• My sister is moving in two weeks and will be about 3 hours away, which means a lot more cousin time with baby Eli

Tomorrow: a few pictures from the weekend

Down and in

So far this has been our year to get sick. Maybe this means we've had our fill at the beginning and then from here on out we'll be home free. I'm pretty sure I have an ear infection, possibly in both ears, my husband has spent most of his non-work time this week in bed or on the couch, and my kids are like little fountains. Niagara Nose is the clinical term (correct me if I'm wrong, Sarah B.).

All that to say, my husband wisely cancelled our trip this morning. Since we left town so quickly he promised we could go back and say a proper goodbye, and this Easter weekend was our big chance. I knew he was right in thinking we should stay here, and he was willing to be convinced otherwise (and I wanted to convince, but my ears were hurting so bad...), but in the end we decided to go back when A) we won't infect the people we love, and B) when we can actually enjoy the people we love vs. endure the visit. I was voting for the "Let's just heavily medicate ourselves" plan. The other thing is that because the kids aren't feeling great, they are waking up several times a night (each= about 10 times for Mom and Dad). We both knew how un-fun that would be in someone else's house...that and being sleep deprived during a very busy weekend.

So we will stay put and have a little Sunday Easter dinner here and glory in all the good things God has given us in this life and what He has for us in the life to come. And hope that our friends who had graciously made plans to provide hospitaility will forgive us for cancelling at the last minute and still be happy to see us next weekend.

A new (old) lesson

I think we may make it through round 2 of these colds and be well enough for our trip this weekend. I seem to have turned the corner last night- we'll see if everyone else follows my lead.

Since I've been napping and going to bed right after the kids every night this week there's a lot to catch up on, and not much blogging time around here. I'm re-reading Stepping Heavenward and here's a great quote that changed my perspective on what I choose to add or take away from my days:

Katy: There are no words in any language that mean enough to express the anguish I feel when I speak quick, impatient words to you, the one human being in the universe whom I love with all my heart and soul, and to my darling little children who are almost as dear! I pray and mourn over it day and night. God only knows how I hate myself on account of this one horrible sin!

Earnest: It is a sin only as you deliberately and willfully fulfill the conditions that lead to such results. Now I am sure if you could once make up your mind in the fear of God never to undertake more work of any sort than you can carry on calmly, quietly, without hurry or flurry, and the instant you find yourself growing nervous and like one out of breath, would stop and take breath, you would find this simple, common-sense rule doing for you what no prayers or tears could ever accomplish. Will you try it for a month, my darling?

I've read this book about 5 times and I still have to re-learn this lesson weekly. So I'm off to do the really important things in a calm and quiet manner, so I won't have to confess so much at the end of the day.

Question answered

Well, it's definitely NOT summer here. We had an Easter Egg Hunt planned for tomorrow but it was moved up to today because there's a 70% chance of snow in the morning. Snow! Sunday night we were desperately trying to cool the house down to 70 degrees.

My sister-in-law put on a fun little party and did a great job of hiding enough candy-filled eggs for all nine of the hunting cousins (three of the kids were too young to participate) to feel contented with their loot. They had pb&j in the shape of bunnies and we just imagined what Spring would be like as we raced inside after the hunt to get out of the 50-degree wind and drizzle.

After dinner I asked Coop what candy he would like to choose out of the bowl and he said he'd like the "suck up" candy. Apparently not the kind you chew up, but the kind you suck up, like life-savers.

I'm heading to bed... seems as if the Cold of the Spring is returning with a vengeance and I intend to conquer it with sleep.

Is it summer yet?

Lands' End overstocks has their swim skirts for girl's on sale for $7.99. Check it out! They have a free shipping offer going on right now, too, so it's a risk-free purchase!

Biggest Loser

That would be me. My first day on the elliptical machine I could BARELY stay on for 10 minutes. And that was only because I pushed myself. I knew I was out of shape, but that was ridiculous. Everything lower than my waist was burning and I thought I was going to throw up for about 30 minutes afterward. My only comfort during the 10 minute struggle was that at least I was in the comfort of my own home so I didn't have any super-fit people rolling their eyes or quietly making jokes about me.

In other news, we are slowly getting used to our new schedule of having WH home all morning. It's been a little weird to adjust to never having any kid-free time...but it's a temporary change and we're making the best of it. Tomorrow my mother-in-law is coming over so we can go out on a lunch date. We're eager to explore our new town and find some good local spots to take our friends to when they visit. (I don't want to take you to Sonic every time you visit, Shep.)

The most exciting part of this week was introducing our children to the library. Our last town did not have a decent library within 20 minutes of our house so I didn't make the effort to go. (Okay, that's not true. There was a very nice library about 10 minutes away in Trenton, but we were only allowed to check out ONE book at a time. When we brought that back we could get TWO the next time, and so on until we hit TEN. I kid you not. It really wasn't worth my time to pack up all my children for ten books.) With a 3 year old, almost 2 year old, and 4 month old, we're really just now getting to the stage where the library is even "do-able." Well, judging from Cooper's description over the phone when talking to my Mom, you'd think our library is really a theme park. All day he kept saying, "That was SO fun, Mommy. The library is so much fun." So maybe we were a little overdue. (No pun intended.) I am already reading several books right now so I didn't get anything new, but I did allow myself two Cook's Illustrated and Time magazine so I could read up on "The New Calivinism." I suppose I could read both magazines online but then I wouldn't be able to read while my rear-end and legs burned. And who doesn't love a good cooking magazine while they're working out?

What I learned this week

I spend over 5 ½ hours a day preparing to feed my children and then actually feeding them. I’m awake 17 hours a day so that’s about 30% of my day! If you add in meal planning and grocery shopping every two weeks (not to mention the little trips in between for things I’ve inadvertently forgot), and reading cooking magazines and blogs the number goes up. I think I’ll just consider “feeding” my new favorite pastime, and then it will seem like I’m enjoying myself all day long.