Meal Plan Monday.... aka: Welcome Back

Well, well, well!
Long time, no bloggie.... like over a year! For any of you who still hop on over to my little corner of the interweebs, I'm sorry about that. I got TOTALLY burned out. I lost my joy of writing and of blogging.
....... And, I might have also forgot my security passwords and locked myself out of the blog!
...............Oops!

Anyway, I'm back! And, I'm back with Meal Plan Monday! I love meal planning! It takes the stress out of my week. Just knowing that the meals for the week are planned out and (sometimes!) prepped and ready to go makes that 4-7pm stretch of time go so much smoothly!

Here's what we are having for dinner this week!

Monday- left over bbq chicken, corn and zucchini from last night. (We had a great group of friends over for dinner & have lots of yummy left overs!)

Tuesday- Grilled cheese sandwiches with homemade french fries and fruit.

Wednesday- Smokey/Sweet Salmon, rice and mini bell peppers w/dips.

Thursday- This is Cub Scout night for the big kid around here! We will have tortilla pizzas & fruit!

Friday- Movie Night! We keep it simple. Fruits, veggies, popcorn & raiding the fridge and pantry for anything that seems yummy!

Saturday- Stir-Fry Night!

Sunday- Fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and rolls.


What are you having for dinner this week?

Working for a Picture

Sometimes with two boys, it takes a few tries to get the perfect shot.

We Love our Buddies

We just might have a deep and abiding love for our "buddies" around here.

Mr. 6 year old still carried Mickey and Podo (aka: Pluto) around the house... They are still his best buddies.

But, man, this kid loves all the rest of them too.

Totally Yummy Broccoli Salad

First off..... I'm no food stylist or food blogger. I love to cook and sharing my food with others..... all that to say, the picture I took at the bottom of the post..... well, it's not awesome. 

However, this salad is.

Back story- I recently joined a co-op for fruits and veggies & I love it. My sister-in-law has been on my case (lovingly!) about joining for months. I kept putting it off.... but, seriously.... now? I'm kicking myself for not joining sooner. I love it! It's making me cook and serve fresh fruits and veggies every single day.

I'm super lucky that the Husband and the 6 year old are not picky eaters. In fact, Jacob loves broccoli. So, when I saw the big bundles of fresh broccoli in my co-op basket, I knew I had to make something super yummy with it. As a bonus, there has been some super awesome weather here in north Texas & we've been rolling with the windows down & doing a lot of playing outside.

It's been the perfect weather for Broccoli Salad!
Now, I have to admit, I didn't measure much in the recipe. I knew I wanted the broccoli to be lightly "sauced" with the dressing. Here's an outline of a recipe- add more or less of the dressing ingredients to suit your taste!

Chilled Broccoli Salad

a couple of heads of fresh broccoli
4/5 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled (save some of the bacon grease)
1/4 cup of red onion- finely sliced or chopped
1/2 cup craisins (I wish I had added more- but we were out)
 shredded mild cheddar cheese

Dressing
(these amounts are approximate. remember, you can add or use less to your taste)
1 cup (ish) of mayo
3-4 Tablespoons of white wine vinegar
2-3 Tablespoons of sugar
a little drizzle of the reserved bacon grease


To assemble the salad:
cut off the broccoli florets from the stem and through the florets into a bowl. Cook your bacon in a skillet, being careful not to burn it. Just get it nice and crispy. I chopped my bacon up before I cooked it, but you can totally crumble it up after. However you roll, that's cool. When your bacon is cooked, then drain it off & remember to save just a bit of the grease. Through the bacon into the bowl with your broccoli.

Add the craisins.
(I should add- the husband thought that some added chopped almonds or pecans or such would be great in this salad. If that's your thing, then add them now.)

It's time to make the dressing now.

In another bowl, add all the ingredients for the dressing & whisk away.
Now...... this part is totally an option. But. It's a tasty one. I added just a wee little bit of the bacon grease to the dressing.

I know. I know.
Not the healthiest salad in the world.
But, man, it was so good!

Add your cheese at this point and then cover and chill the salad for about 2 hours!
The longer you can let it set and chill, the better.
Serve to a grateful family!

He Can Do it Himself, He Thinks

A whole new world was opened up to the tiny one today!

He had his first actual, real life, for real, baby food moment at lunch today.


He's been showing quite a bit of interest in what the rest of the humans in the house are eating at different meal times. And, he's been known to try and steal sips out of whatever he sees other people drinking. (His father may have also slipped him a bite or 10 of avocado or guacamole here in the last month as well.) 

I had been going back and forth on when to start him on "real food" lately. He's been showing all the signs, but.... I didn't start his big brother on food until he was a WHOLE lot closer to 1 year old. But, if there's one thing that Luke has been showing me (over and over again) is that he's a very different kid than his big bro.

And, I'm hoping that adding some food to his tummy might help with his reflux issues. Ugh. I'm so over that. I haven't really written about that on the blog. Honestly, it's been a whuppin. He's been projectile with his vomit pretty much since he was born. We've tried everything. Sometimes, it's better... sometimes (mostly), he and I go through 12 changes of clothing a day. "Burp" cloths are like gold around this house.

Anyway.
Today, was the day. I sat him up in his highchair, slipped a wipe-able bib around his neck & introduced him to the wonders of squash.



He figured out the process pretty quickly. All at once, when I dipped the spoon into the squash and brought it up to his mouth, he started grabbing the spoon out of my hand and taking it the rest of the way.

He was into it.



And, when he was done, the spoon made an excellent teether! I'm going to go ahead and say that some squash with his lunch was right up his alley.

2014 Reflections

Well. Well. Well.

It's been quite a few days since I logged into this poor corner of the internet. My apologies. It's been a wild and crazy fall and December. A brief recap... every single member of my sweet little family has been battling some kind of illness since August. It's been insane. And, then, just when I thought I had finally gotten everyone well..... we were all struck down by the Flu. Yup. Mr. Husband. Me. The 6 year old & the baby. The four of us have been to the doctors' office more in the last 5 or 6 months than should be legal. We've also been to the pharmacy more than I would like.

1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?
I bought a house with Mr. Husband!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I really don't make resolutions. I try to make goals. My goals for last year were to read more books and lose baby weight after Luke was born. Sigh. I did neither. 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Me!!! Little Luke was born in June!

and

My cousin gave birth to a long awaited little boy!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes.
My beloved Grandmother Winnie passed away November 1st.
If I'm being honest, I'll admit that I'm still struggling with that.

5. What countries did you visit?
None.

6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?

More money at the end of the year. I'd really like to make some good strides in saving. 

Also, I'd like to be back in my pre-pregnancy clothing.... 

7. What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The night we found out we were going to be able to buy our home.
and....
The day in June when Luke was born. Without a doubt.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I felt like this was the year our family really started to gel. We worked through a lot of kinks and came together. The relationships between all the people in this house have grown and stretched & become stronger. There's been a whole lotta love. That's been fantastic.

 9. What was your biggest failure?

I feel a bit that not being able to continue with homeschooling Jacob was a failure on my part. I'm not sure it's a realistic perception, but it's one that I have. 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Heh.
Well, I gave birth almost 4 weeks early & ended up almost bleeding out on the operating table. (Just a side note: keeping your iron levels up when you are pregnant is a VERY good idea! Otherwise, you end up very, very anemic & require a couple of bags of blood!)
I also hurt my knee in July. Ugh.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Our house. Without question. It's been one of the greatest blessings for our family.

12. Where did most of your money go?
Our house & our new addition.
  

13. What did you get really excited about?

Because I'm a nerd, buying a house. 

This is the first house the husband and I have ever owned. It's been so amazing to have this space that belongs to us.

14. What song will always remind you of 2014?
This is going to sound super silly. But, the song that will remind me of 2014 isn't a song that even played on most radio stations in 2014. I sang/played this song A LOT while I was preggo. And, when Luke was born, I played and sang it even more.

'Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by IZ


15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? I'd say... happier.

– thinner or fatter? Uh, fatter. Way fatter.
– richer or poorer? poorer.

 

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Live in the moment.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worry.

18. How did you spend Christmas?
We got together with my side of the family Christmas Eve night, just like every year. This year, however, there was a bit of a melancholy note. Christmas Eve was my grandmother's birthday & this 1st of 1sts was a little hard.
On Christmas Day, we woke up to see what Santa had left us and then we piled into the car and went out to the husband's side of the family. There were about 25 people crammed into that house! Afterwards, we headed back to my parent's house for my birthday cake and presents!

19. What was your favorite TV program?
I haven't watched a lot of tv this year. I've been too busy.
I did, however, catch (most of) the final season of Sons of Anarchy.

I will stop & watch (aka: keep on in the background....)-
Property Brothers
Restaurant Impossible
Cutthroat Kitchen
Pioneer Woman
$10 Meals
Big Bang Theory
Once Upon a Time

20. What were your favorite books of the year?
Sigh.
I've pretty much sucked at reading actual books this year.
The one book that stands out that I read was,
"The Antelope in the Living Room" by Melanie Shankle
(I have, however, challenged myself to read 52 books in this 2015 year. More on that later!)

21. What was your favorite music from this year?
I don't know that I had a favorite music this year. I'm pretty much all over the dial when it comes to music.

22. What was your favorite film of the year?
Probably XMen. We saw it through Redbox (love you, Redbox!)
We've been pretty fond of Redbox and Netflix this past year.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I celebrated Christmas! My birthday is Christmas Day. And I'm now 34 years old!!

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I can't think of anything off the top of my hand. 2014 was a stress-filled year, to be sure. However, it was full of love and family. Laughter, along with tears. It was a year of great joy.
  

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?

Uh, seasonally appropriate Mom.

In the summer, it's shorts/tank tops/flip flops with a swim suit cover sundress thrown in for good measure.

In the winter, it's skinny jeans/Uggs knockoffs & cute blouses/shirts & my trusty black or cream sweater wrap. 

And jewelry. Love the bling.

And I must, at all times, have a bag that would rival Mary Poppins.

26. What kept you sane?

Music. Blogging. Snuggling with the short one. Family dinners. Mama's Nights Out. 

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014.
There can be times when amazing joy balances out great fear and pain. 
This year saw the start of a new life... and the end of another. 
Every moment counts in life. Whatever you are doing- something deeply serious or fantastically silly... it's all meaningful. So, give it everything you have. Live deeply. 


 

Easiest. Lunch. Ever.

I'm not kidding. Really. This is the easiest lunch ever. A child could do it (mostly)! And a child did make most of this!

What You'll Need
2 English muffins, halved
pizza sauce or marinara sauce you like
grated cheese

a baking sheet
oven pre-heated to 375


Place your English muffins on the baking sheet. Then. spoon your sauce on the top of the muffins. Next, add your grated cheese.

Now, I would say, this is the point when you could add any other toppings to your little pizzas. You could add pepperoni, mushrooms, roasted red bell pepper... really, whatever you want.
We stayed with the plain cheese, because it was all we had & I was going for quick and simple!


If you have a little mini-Chef in the kitchen with you, now would be the perfect time for a photo-op!


Cook the pizzas in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Then, crank the oven over to Broil. Broil them for a minute or two- watch them & make sure they don't burn!

Pull them out & let them rest for a minute or two.


Serve!

See? Easiest lunch!
With the added bonus of a happy/proud little boy who made his own lunch!

Ruminating Today

I'm honestly not sure where this blog post is going. I've been struggling with the worst case of writer's block in the world. Every time I've sat down to write, it's just been a blank. Or, about 5 minutes before I fall asleep at night, I compose this awesome post in my brain... but I'm too darn tired to get up and actually write it down. And I never really remember it in the morning.

And so, discouragement has been my companion.

I've run myself in circles. Why do I write? Who reads what I write? Does anyone read what I write? Should I even think that my little blog is good enough for ANYONE to read it?

Sigh.

And, then there's real life... and that's been a bit of a ride as of late. I hurt my knee back in July & I'm still dealing with the aftermath of that. My grandmother has begun the last stretch of her time on this earth... and that's taking up quite a large part of my emotional bandwidth. (not to mention the physical health of other members of my family....)
Jacob started Kindergarten. It's been great. He really loves it, but it's been a change.
Mr. Luke is a baby & they, by definition, take up so much time and energy.
And Mr. Husband works 6 days a week.

Then there's my part time RL job that I've been neglecting like crazy since Luke was born.
Our house, that's a constant full time job by itself.
I'm tired.

And, I kinda feel like I'm complaining and coming off ungrateful. And I'm so not trying to be like that. Well, actually, I'm probably complaining. But I'm not ungrateful. I have realized that I've started to view this space as a happy happy space where I can come on write something shallow & review an item and hope off. And that's not what I want it to be. I want this space to be honest and reflective of my life. The good, the bad & the exhausting.

I want to share the mind-numbing struggle that has been getting Jacob to stop constipating himself & go poop in the freaking potty! I want to share the lows and the highs that the husband and I have gone through as we bind our family together. I want to process and talk about my grandmother & life without her. I want to talk more about my faith & what God has been teaching and walking me through these last few months.

Some days, I just want to write about the boys & document their day.
Other days, I want to share something I love with those who read this blog.

But, most of all, I want to find the passion I used to have for this blog & for writing in general.

Greeting! Yup, it's that time of the week again! Time to whip out those meal plans and figure out what to feed to the starving masses that live in our homes! I asked my husband what he wanted to eat most this week, so it's a bit more "beef" heavy than normal, but that's fine by me! (I'll make it up next week with lots of fish and veggies!)

Monday: Saucy Beef Stir-Fry. I haven't tried this one before, but I'm going with This Recipe. Although, I can already tell you that I'll be changing things up a little.

Tuesday: Stuffed Baked Potatoes. (always a winner)

Wednesday: A Frontier Soup. I'm super excited to try and review one of these soups! Jacob is looking forward to helping me cook this dinner!

Thursday: Beef Stroganoff (possibly, my husband's favorite meal)

Friday: Baked tilapia, rice & broccoli

Saturday: Left-overs!



That's what we'll be dining on this week! How about you?

The First Day... in the books

(catch up post! the first day of school was a month ago! yikes!)

Well, we did it!

The first day of Kindergarten is officially in the books.

And, all I can say is... 6am is a beast. Especially, if you're the neurotic mom that has been up most of the night praying for her sweet little cherub who is about to go off into the big bad world of Kindergarten.... not that I would know anything about that.

::Ahem::

We got up and had breakfast and I made Jacob's lunch and put it in his brand new Ninja Turtle lunch box... that went into his brand new Ninja Turtle backpack. Listen, I have no idea where this new obsession had come from. The child has never even seen an episode of the Ninja Turtles.

I picked out his clothing. And, hooray for uniforms! Makes the whole morning/getting ready thing so much easier!

And, before I knew it, it was time to be off!


Here's Mr Scholar, sitting at his desk. Well, his space. They don't have traditional desks in his Kinder class, just big circle tables. If the smile looks a little forced.... it is. He was nervous.

(pardon the rest of the pictures! It was muggy and icky outside. My iPHONE camera was not having it's best picture day.)

Yup, the traditional First Day of School picture in front of our front door.

Me and Him, about to walk to school. I love that his school is in walking distance! Carpool lines are from the depths of Hell.

I wasn't quite sure what in the world I was going to do all day without Jacob! Fortunately, E stayed home and we went grocery shopping and hung out with the Tiny Human until it was time to retrieve Big Brother from school. It was quite warm and muggy as we all walked back home, but Jacob was full of stories about his teacher (She's pretty) and his new friends.

And, after a snack, he wanted to know all about earthquakes.
So, E pulled out Jacob's soccer ball & they had a short science lesson before going outside to play!





We had hot dogs for dinner, as per the request of the new school boy.
And, he was tired that night! He barely made it all the way to bedtime. I'm pretty sure he was asleep before his head it the pillow!
As first days go, this was one was pretty cool.

Kari Jobe- The Majestic Tour

I just want to go ahead and say for the record......I Love Music !!!!!

When I was growing up, music was what moved my soul. I believed then and I believe now there is a song for every situation, every mood, and every moment in my day. A very large part of my life is my love for Christ so finding music that reflects and pours out that love is one of the more satisfying "music moments" for me.

One of my favorite Christian artists is Kari Jobe. Have you heard Kari and her songs? You should. She's a gal from a town within driving distance of my hometown and began leading worship at her church at age 13. She's toured with Chris Tomlin, Winter Jam Tour Spectacular, Hillsong  and Passion tours. She also has a GRAMMY nomination and a DOVE award under her belt.

But what I love most about her music is that, at it's core, it's worship driven. That's the kind of music I gravitate to.......music that reminds me just who the God of the Universe is. Songs that make much of Him, such as "Healer,"  focus me and help me lock in on my thoughts and feelings toward God. The song, "The Cross is My Confession," sings of the marvelous and amazing truth of what the Cross of Christ does and means for me. It's a powerful anthem for my life.

I am so excited that Kari Jobe is kicking off her new tour with the release of her latest album, MAJESTIC. This album was recorded live at the Majestic Theater, here in Dallas, Texas. It's an amazing live worship album with new material that, I believe, listeners will fall in love with as they worship and praise God.

I'm thrilled to say I get to be in the audience when her tour swings through my area in October! I'll be Tweeting and sharing photos and thoughts about the concert!

Trust me when I say you do not want to miss this! Check out the link below and see if the Majestic Tour is coming to a city near you!


Kari Jobe

The Majestic Tour

Do You Remember?

I was 20 years old and attending community college.

I remember getting up and starting to get ready for school that morning. I was living with my parents and grandmother in my parents' home. I had over slept my alarm (again) and was hurrying to get ready for my Psychology class. I walked out of my bedroom and into the living room, on my way to the kitchen for some coffee. My grandmother was watching the tv with an odd look on her face.

I asked her what was wrong and she pointed to the television.

I glanced over at the screen just in time to see the second plane hit the second tower of the World Trade Center.

I will never, ever forget that moment.

The rest of that day is a blur of horror as everything unfolded and the truth that our country and our people had been attacked became clear. Evil had walked right up to us and sucker punched us.

That day. That moment. It changed every single facet of life. It changed the way we think. It changed the way we viewed the world around us. I think it humbled us. We realized that the bad things we saw around the world could, and would, happen here. So many lessons were taught that day. I hope we learned them.

I've gone back and forth in my feelings and response to that day. 
Sometimes, I feel like this...



and then, other times... it's more like this..




I'm a bit amazed that 13 years have passed since that morning. SO much has happened in that span of time. Marriages, divorces... babies have been born, including my two babies. Job changes. Life changes. Life goes on.

But some things should never be forgotten. Some things, I never want to forget.... no matter how much I wish they never happened. This day is one of those things.

Salmon on Sunday

I've been trying to shake things up a bit with our dinner time menu... and, honestly, find meals that don't take 900 years to make. Since Jacob HAS to be in bed at a certain time every night because of school, dinner HAS to be on the table by 6:30pm.

Heh.

Yeah, I've been KINDA punctual about that. (please read: not really & it's a nightly panic for me)

I made this salmon this past week and it was tasty, easy & fast. The perfect weeknight trifecta. Give it whorl and see what you think!

Smokey-Sweet Salmon

salmon fillets (defrosted, if they happened to have entered your house frozen)

For the Rub:
brown sugar
salt
pepper
chili powder
cumin





I'm not going to tell you how much to use of  rub ingredients. I know.... Use the brown sugar as the base for the other ingredients and taste test as you go. What we found as the perfect balance might not fly in your house. Trust your taste buds!

Set your oven to 425.



Mix the rub ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. 

Spray an oven approved dish with oil and place the salmon in the dish. Sprinkle the rub all over the salmon- rub it into both sides.



Let it sit for about 5 minutes.

Cook for 10-15 minutes.
Watch it carefully! 
Take it out of the oven and let it rest of 5-10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Interrupted- Thoughts and Giveaway

A couple of years ago, there was this girl… and she was starting on a bit of a spiritual… tiff shall we say. She loved Jesus. She loved God. She’d committed to follow Jesus at a very young age, more or less to success, depending on whom you were speaking to. 

But there was something happening. Something inside her that was changing. Something that was disquiet and unsettled. Something was growing more and more unsure that the comfortable American Dream filled Christian life was really what her life should be about.

If you were wondering, that girl was me.

And I wrestled with those thoughts and feelings for a while. A long while. 

About that time, I was introduced to a book, called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess . And I fell in love with the message of that book. The challenge of it. Reading through it, the author spoke of another book & I knew I had to get my hands on it. 

I want to talk about Jen Hatmaker's prequel to 7....

Interrupted: When Jesus Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity.

I devoured the book in one sitting. So much of what I was thinking and feeling was right there in black and white. And it was a relief that someone else had been wrestling with those that too. 

The point that church is more than a building. That church isn't something we do on Sunday morning to feel good about ourselves. Church isn't a line on our to-do list that we check off every week. 

Church is the people of God... the followers of Jesus, totally committed to BEING the Church. Church is who we are in the days between Sunday night and Sunday morning. It's loving people. Showing them the love of Christ through us. Caring for their physical, immediate needs as well as their spiritual ones. And, as Jen writes, it's not my job to judge how wisely another person will use that care. It is my job to provide it. Period. 

After all, how can someone hear about this amazing Christ who loves them and cares for them if the people who claim to follow him aren't showing that care?

 

Christianity isn't about us... it's about Christ. And that sounds like a very silly and obvious thing to say. But, I believe it's so easy to forget that. To put ourselves first above all. If I'm honest, it's a daily struggle for me. 

I want my comfortable American Dream Life. 

But, I just can't ignore the struggle inside me that, maybe... just maybe, my life isn't about my "wants." Perhaps I'm on this planet for something else. Something more.

For SomeONE more. 

I'm still sifting through my thoughts and feelings on this. I don't know how this looks for me and my family. I don't think it involves moving to another city and starting a brand new church like the Hatmakers did. But I do know that Christ has wrecked my Comfortable Christianity. And I do know that I cannot go back to thinking and doing the business of life the way I did before. 

If you're struggling through any of these thoughts, I highly encourage you to pick up Jen Hatmaker's book-  Interrupted: When Jesus Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity. And, you know what? If you are not struggling with any of this, I highly encourage you to pick up this book and read. 

I am so happy to be a part of Jen's launch team for the relaunch of Interrupted! The new edition has been revised and expanded. I'm also super thrilled to be able to offer one of my readers their own copy. It's my very first giveaway and I cannot think of a better one! If you'd like to be entered to win a copy of Interrupted: When Jesus Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity, then please leave a comment! I'll draw a name on Wednesday, August 20th.

For  more information about Jen Hatmaker, head on over to her website- www.jenhatmaker.com

6 Years, Flown By

Dear Jacob,

You are 6. Happy Birthday, my sweet love.

You've been shaking with excitement over this day for a good six months. I hope being 6 years old is as fantastically awesome as you think it should be.

At this very moment, you've been playing the Wii w/your E. And you've just finished lecturing your little brother on the difference between his toys and yours. And I'm far too amused to mention the fact that Luke is just a month old & has no idea what you're talking about. 

I am so proud of you. And so proud to be your mommy. You are so smart and so funny. Every single day you surprise me with what you've learned or what you're learning. You are so much smarter and capable than you think you are! You're slightly bad about hiding behind the "It's too hard!" or "It's too scary for me!".... and a common phrase around our house is, "You can do hard things."

Sweet Boy, yes.

You can do hard things.
You are about to head off into a new adventure... without your mommy.
Kindergarten.
Good Grief.
It's hard for me to believe that you are anywhere near old enough for Kindergarten. And... I'm very sure that I'll be saying the same thing when you graduate high school... go to college... get married.... 

I'm seeing, more and more, how fleeting my years with you are. Specifically, my years as your "mommy." I know that, soon, you'll stop calling me that... at least out loud. Soon, it will be "Mom" or "Mama." I hope it's "Mama"... I like that far better. But, more than that... I hope that, deep in your heart, you will still think of me as your "mommy."


Sweetheart,

You are my first born. You've been my buddy and my wingman through all our adventures & I can't imagine a moment without you. I have a hard time remembering life without you. I love you, Kiddo. Always remember that you are loved... loved far more fiercely and fully than you'll ever really grasp... at least until you have a child of your own. Know that you are God's idea and that He loves you more than anyone.
(and that's saying something.)

If I could drill anything into your sweet head and heart right now, it would be this...
You can do hard things.
and...
Follow hard after Jesus.

I promise you it's the best advise I can give you.

love,
Mommy


(as I was writing this post, you came into my room and wanted a chip... and this was the show I was treated to. You're welcome for catching for all time.)

Happy Tuesday, with Food!

Welcome back, Gentle Readers!

It's been a while, hasn't it? Too long, I would say. But that punky little Tiny Human (who takes up so much time and energy) has made the weeks fly by. He's just over a month old & yes, I'll soon be regaling you all with the grand story of his birth... namely so you can laugh at me. trust me. You're gonna laugh at me.

There's so much going on here on the blog too. I have quite a few stories to tell, rants to rant, recipes to share & a give away or two! I'm super excited to share it all with you.

But, allow me to get back into the blogging swing of things with a recipe.

Show of hands.... how many people have a short person in their house? And how many people have a Disney loving short person? Does the name Remy ring a bell? If your kids are anything like the resident short person in my house, then the answer is "Yes!"....

Since the movie came out, Jacob has been hounding me to fix Ratatouille. I have not been convinced that a) I could pull this off or b) that anyone in my house would eat it.... specifically the one calling for its presence. But, last week I decided to give it a whirl. Ish.

The following recipe is not so much "ratatouille" as it is my spin on it. And by "spin", I mean, please don't consider this an authentic recipe. But... you might wanna consider it as a tasty meal-time option!

My Ratatouille

you'll need:
1 eggplant. chopped into bite sized pieces
2 zucchini- ditto from above
1 red bell pepper- chopped
1 yellow bell pepper- chopped
1 onion- roughly chopped
1 can of diced tomatoes- you could totally use fresh. I just happened to have canned
5 slices of bacon- chopped
dried basil (to taste)
garlic powder (to taste)
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

1 box of couscous- I used "Roasted Garlic and Olive oil" flavor to save myself some time


Chop or cut your bacon into bite size pieces. Cook it. Smell the delicious aroma of bacon and remember that everything is better with bacon (almost). Remove the bacon from the pan. Drain off most of the bacon fat, leaving enough to cook your veggies in.

Start the couscous.

Add your onion to the pan and cook until translucent. Then, add the rest of the veggies. Salt and pepper. Then add your basil and your garlic powder. Throw in a bay leaf.

And let it go until the veggies start getting soft. I pulled it before they got mushy. We like some bite to our veg around here. However, you could totally let it go a bit longer.

Dish up some couscous on a plate and then spoon the 'ratatouille' over the couscous.
Serve to a thankful family.

Friday Fun

There's a super awesome reason I've been horribly terrible about keeping up with this wee little blog....






Things are getting back to the new normal, slowly but surely around here. I'm hoping to be back to a regular posting schedule next week. But, until then, I'm going to be snuggling our new Tiny Human and  hanging out with my people.

Have a great weekend!

What I Love Wednesday

So, what do yall think of my graphic? I'm playing around with Pic Monkey. I love trying new programs and learning new things! I don't know if this will stay the official pic for 'What I Love Wednesday', but I do know I'm having fun playing around with it!

It's been a while since I made a list of what I'm loving & I thought I'd better fix that! Here's my Top Ten list for this week!

1) Getting all the boxes unpacked in the playroom! Whoo-hoo! Love. Love. Love. Everything is organized and put away & easy to find and get to. I *may* have walked into the playroom last night after everyone had gone to bed and just sat and stared and the wonderfulness of it.

2) Oil of Olay Fresh Effects Shine Minimizing Cleanser- oh, my word. This stuff is great. I have sensitive skin anyway, but pregnancy has just made it worse. But this stuff really gets my face clean without stripping the life out of it!

3) Neutrogena Light Night Cream- This is my all time favorite face cream. It's light (duh) and fresh smelling and keeps my skin nice and hydrated. I've been known to use it during the day when I've known I wasn't going to leave the house. I've used it for years and still love it.

4) Garnier BB Cream- Y'all, listen. This could be my all-time favorite beauty product. Ever. It's like magic. I wear it every single day. Most of the time, it's all I need... plus some mascara and lipstick. It just smooths everything out and my skin looks flawless in about 5 seconds. And, right now.... you just can't beat that!

5) 40 more days until the Tiny Human makes his debut!

6) Air conditioning- I'm hot natured already. Add the incubation of a small person in spring/summer and you have a recipe for an extremely hot mama. My poor husband and son are frozen out of the house more often than not, but I just can't help it!

7) Cable with Disney Junior the channel, Sprout tv & Channel 13- Can I get an Amen? I love being able to have 5 year old appropriate television at my fingertips whenever I want it! The 5 year old is pretty thankful too.

8) Sleep.

9) Did I mention that we're 40 days away from baby? Cause, I'm seriously loving that!

10) Sonic Ice- I've turned into the biggest ice eater during this pregnancy!


And there you have it!
What are you loving this Wednesday?

An Eventful Mother's Day

So, I spent Mother's Day in the hospital.

Yeah, awesome-sauce.

Let me back up my tale to Saturday night. As you faithful blog readers know, our little family moved at the end of March (praise and hallelujah to be out of the "repartment"). We're also counting down the minutes hours days until the Tiny Human makes his long-awaited debut. E works about 6 days a week... Jacob's home with me & my blogging and Thirty-One business.

It's a full rich life right now.

I'm still unpacking boxes like a mad-woman. It's been driving me crazy, actually. There's the dual problem of 1) I've just not been feeling well this last part of pregnancy. It's nothing like when I was preggo with Jacob, but it's still been slowing me down A LOT. and 2) I'm a complete and total control freak when it comes to unpacking and putting things away.

... in other words, not enough has gotten done. 

So, this past week, I put my nose to the grindstone and worked my butt off. I unpacked a ton of boxes and kept E hopping with requests for help on things I just couldn't do.

Then came Saturday (the night before Mother's Day). I put in a long days work and by the end of the day, my legs and my feet were killing me. And, they were swelling. A Bunch. As in, E looked down at my legs and said, "WOW, Babe. You're legs are huge!!!" (slight note here: Dear Husband, I love you. But that wasn't exactly the greatest thing to say to a 8 month preggo woman. Especially when it sounds like you're describing something from a horror movie. Just saying.)

Anyway.

He was right. And, my right leg was more swollen that my left. I sat down and put my legs up pretty much right away. The legs, they were hurting, but I was hoping that some rest and elevation would solve that pesky problem... it always has before.

Cue: Sunday Morning.

Ugh.

We made it to church and I sat down right away. I knew I wasn't feeling all that great, but I thought it was just the usual morning blahs. About halfway through our pastor's message, I started feeling strange. I couldn't breath. I felt like someone had dropped an elephant on my chest when I wasn't looking. I looked down at my legs- yup, swollen and swelling even more. Then, I looked down at my hands... back story: my wedding rings are usually very loose. They just are. Even when my hands get a little swollen, I can always move my rings around my finger. Not then. My hands were huge.

I excused myself to the ladies room and promptly called my mother,

"Hey, Mom. Can you google a couple of symptoms for me?"

It took about .0001 seconds to say, "No, I won't. Get to the ER, NOW." after I told her what was going on.

Well, then.

Off to the ER, we went.
By the time we got there, my legs and ankles were horribly painful. They were throbbing all on their own & they hurt like the dickens to the touch. I couldn't breath for anything. It was awful- I really kept thinking that I was going to pass out.

They admitted me Sunday night & I was there until Wednesday mid-morning. After running an absolute gauntlet of medical tests:
CT scan
EKG
another chest x-ray
2 or 3 rounds of blood draws for testing
echo-cardiagram
breathing test
PT test
... and more, I'm sure I just don't remember.

They diagnosed me with a-symptomatic asthma for the breathing issues. I got to experience my first breathing treatment (spoiler: those are weird. it looks like you're taking a hit off a bong.... and afterwards, it kinda feels like you have.)

and, they decided that maybe, kinda, sorta, probably the Tiny Human is positioned in a way that he's cutting off the blood/oxygen thru the large blood vessel that runs the length of your body. And that's accounting for the crazy swelling and the pain in my legs and ankles.

So, an inhaler was prescribed for the asthma and light activity/modified bed rest was doled out for the legs...

So, basically, I'm screwed until the Tiny Human is born.
And you better believe I'm counting down the minutes!

Next time, I'll tell you about my Mother's Day make-up day, but until then enjoy a couple of pics from my hospital stay!

Someone came up to see me on Monday. Poor pumpkin was really disturbed with his mommy in the hospital.

Behold! Hospital Food!

It actually wasn't that bad!

Taking a hit.

There Were Wild Animals

A few days weeks... months ago, we packed up and went to the Dallas Zoo with E's sister and her family. We always enjoy getting together with them! Jacob fits right in between their 2 kids, age wise.

It was an absolutely beautiful day in Dallas and we snagged the chance to get outside and enjoy it. And, as it turned out, so did every other family in the DFW metroplex! We only covered about half the zoo on this day, but we did see the lions, giraffes, elephants and other giants of the Savanna. Next time, I'm going to steer us towards the gorillas and monkeys- they are always my favorite!

We love, love, love the zoo & we love going with friends and family. I'm actually thinking about buying a pass! And, the Dallas Zoo was just named one of the 10 best. I recommend bringing your picnic lunch to the zoo, cause there is always plenty of seating. Though, if you would rather, there's some great places to grab a bite to eat as well. Don't forget to ride the carousel- that's always a big hit with my crew!