"To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle." Walt Whitman
I've been around but haven't left many comments due to time constraints (trying to be that Proverbs 31 woman.) My goal for tomorrow is to drink my morning tea visiting my many favorite blogs and maybe even updating some things on my sidebar including my blogroll....Have a wonderful day!
Last night while we were eating dinner I realized that everything (less a few spices) was either homemade or homegrown. It felt pretty neat. We try to make a lot of meals from scratch and for most of the summer many side dishes were grown but this was way cool!
We ate the spinach pasta that the kiddos made, topped with tomato sauce made with home grown tomatoes and garlic. There were some other spices in the sauce that are all store purchased (salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and whateverelsegotthrowninthatday.)
Side dishes included homemade applesauce, homemade French bread, and homegrown beets. I'm now wishing that I took a picture!!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -I have some blog related questions for ya...
**First and foremost does anyone else have issues using Mr. Linky? EVERY time I have used it (on someone else's site) it enters my name in for not one number but two. I promise I don't double click or hit enter twice and I have tried both using the enter key on the keyboard (once) or clicking on the enter button with my mouse (once). I like participating in the fun stuff that goes on around here but I feel like a goof that I ALWAYS take up 2 numbers. Can anyone help? Just curious.
Secondly, did you pay someone to do your blog design or do it yourself? I don't plan to pay for one but I'm just curious. I know what I'd like this blog to look like but I'm limited to my own knowledge, speed of learning and lack of time at the moment.
Thirdly um, never mind. I realized that I had no "email me" button on here like I thought so now I updated it in my profile!
Lastly, when do you find that you spend your time blogging? Now that my son doesn't nap I do a larger block of time after he's in bed and then since our computer is in close proximity to the living area I check in through out the day when I can "steal" a quiet moment and I go down my blogroll a couple at a sitting if I can.
Thanks for answering if ya feel like it!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -For the spinach linguine, we followed the recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I found a similar recipe online here.
To dry the pasta hang from a clothes hanger or my MIL said that she would just let it sit in loose clumps on a cooling rack overnight or till completely dry. Place in an air tight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 8 months.
My apologies to the meme but wordless this is not going to be!
I think in my self focus last week I forgot to mention that my friend Anna and her kids are coming over each Tuesday and we are doing preschool!
Yeah the kids are only two and we may be a little overzealous but since we like hanging out it's a good excuse!!!
Last week we cut different shapes out of cookies and now my son can tell the difference between a circle and a square with some gentle reminding. I also have a really cool finger painting hanging on the fridge and the kids of course have fun no matter what.
This week we made spinach pasta dough and used her pasta maker to roll it thin. The idea was to make lasagna but we've been eating lasagna for almost every meal since I made one on Saturday so I rolled ours and sliced it into linguine-ish size for dinner tonight. I hung them on the hangers to dry as my son tried desperately to practice self control while looking - and pulling an occasional sacrifice.
I'm having just as much fun in preschool as the kids - maybe more!
Updated because I forgot to link to The Other Side of Dubs whose the host of all this fun. So visit her if you'd like to join or see the blogroll for Wordless Wednesday.Yesterday my son was running and slipped on some water. He recovered pretty gracefully then looked at me very concered and stated "Mommy slippers!"
I've wanted family pictures for a very long time so we decided to see if we could do it ourselves. My husband likes to take pictures as a hobby so he took his tripod and remote and off to our little park we went...
...to make sure and put shrimp in the pasta sauce.
Do not feed any of said shrimp to toddler since he might have a sensitivity to them, so pick them out of his sauce.
Toddler is up few hours during the night puking up EVERY thing eaten since lunch time. (He did fall asleep in my arms which made it all worth it!)
Same toddler sleeps in slightly and wakes up very chipper and VERY hungry. So I decide no change of plans are in order and take him somewhere to play for a few hours.
Then the non napping silly guy will conk out on the drive home while singing the wheels on the bus. If only I knew it would be so easy!
This morning I happened to read Matthew chapter 6 verse 34: So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. -- I found it very fitting and am striving to focus on today.
Speaking of today I pretty much assumed my son wouldn't nap so we still read books together as usual. Then I let him take a stack full of books into his crib and for about 45 minutes he was talking to himself and "reading". I think it's better than him jumping on the bed the whole time trying to keep himself alert and awake while still giving me some quiet time too.
Added bonus, instead of spending all that time fighting the inevitable, we made homemade blueberry frozen yogurt in our ice cream maker. He had fun helping me mix and stir and especially adding the ice to the bucket.
I realized that it's not really like me to go a week without posting a picture of my little man so I picked out this one from two years ago almost to the day. In memory of naps!
A yoga instructor of mine used to say yoga was "finding stability in a highly unstable situation."
Yoga sure is about finding stability when you are standing on one leg holding your foot behind you leaning forward, wobbly, praying you don't tip over and grab the person next to you for balance with the arm reaching in front of you. Leaning further into Dancer while fighting off a cramp in your shin, you feel your ankle tensing up while fervently yet futilely wishing the instructor would start to loose her balance so she'd let us all release the pose! Yeah, Yoga is about finding stability
In so many other areas of my life right now I desire stability. Getting a two year old to nap short of tying him down and gluing his eyelids shut is ALL about finding stability and peace in a HIGHLY unstable situation. (Yup, today was day 3 with no nap.)
Throwing together a dinner in 30 minutes because the chicken you were going to cook was bad for seemingly the trillionth time this year, and there is nothing else in the house...yet still managing not to snap at your hard working husband when he walks in the door from his first day of work SO qualifies here.
Realizing that I miss my "old" self. The self that didn't have these fragile emotions - the pre-miscarriage Heidi. The happy-go-lucky, somewhat ditsy, spontaneous, old me. Now, I'm teetering in the in-between, the tremendous fun, laughter and games of toddler hood on the one hand and the sadness, grief, guilt and utter loss on the other. I'm teetering and only able to go about my day by gripping desperately onto Jesus with the clenched fists of a newborn at the breast.
These last few weeks my emotions have been on a screaming roller coaster ride whipping my body, my husband and son along with them. I can't say how grateful I am for my friends and family that God put each one of them in my life so that I would be supported. I am even more grateful that we have Jesus. I'm so glad we can forgive each other (so glad my husband is willing to frequently forgive me) and I'm so glad we have Him to be our stability because life is absolutely unstable.
Everything is right in the world because of Him and I'm so grateful that God sent Him for little old me!
Have you ever been in Yoga class, getting settled into Warrior II for a couple breaths, turn your head to the mirror and swear that is NOT your body looking back? Yeah, that was me tonight.
I usually stand where I can't see myself in the mirror but tonight I guess I was just in the right spot - darn. I liked ignorance, it really was bliss. Hopefully this is all the motivation I need to work more exercise into my daily life!
On my way home, I picked up a few grocery's to get us through the week and of course I couldn't wait to try Barkeeper's Friend (remember from last week)so I picked up some of that too. Came home and cleaned my sink which looks fabulous now, thanks Mary. Then I noticed that with the sink clean it really draws attention to the windows above the sink that have water spots and splatters all over them.
If I weren't already starting to become sore and fatigued from Yoga and pining for my internet addiction I might have cleaned them too but nope, another chore for tomorrow.
It's official...there are two empty jars in my entire house and they can stay empty! I'm done canning!
My husband said to me last night "I wonder how many jars you've done?" and me being, well ME went and counted 101 jars and that's not even counting the 3 I gave away, 1 jar of jam that we've finished, and 2 jars of tomatoes I've used already. Grand total 107! (I guess those two empty's have already been full.) I know this is not all that much considering how much some of you with larger families do but for me it's the most I've ever done.
I guess I can give back my borrowed canner now. It seems ridiculous that I have done all of this with the most wonderful friend on the planet's canner - thanks Anna! I was planning on buying one this year but I never really saw them in the stores. I have found one online that I'd like which will be on the top of my Christmas list!
I am SO grateful that we will now be able to enjoy the fruits (too corny?) of my labor. I'm guessing that this is about twice what I canned last year so I'm interested to see how long everything lasts...
***************************On to another topic: This weekend we’re going to savor the last two days of Adam's "forced" vacation. Remember this post back in August about me having a jobless husband. And then this post about him getting a new job starting the beginning of September. Well, it didn't end up working out for him to start that job until this coming Monday!!!
To make a long story short, we are SO grateful that he is starting on Monday. They took him out to lunch today and showed him his office cubicle which he says is in a corner with windows. Sounds great to me as we are truly penny pinching this month!
I have really become used to his all day long presence in our home. I love that he takes our little guy to the park so I can can! (LOL Can Can- yup I really am corny tonight!) I haven't brought a toddler to the grocery store for months since I just go during nap time, I like us eating lunches together and all in all it's just been a fun experience - other than the whole not having much money thing.
It has made us rethink our goals and God's plan for us and our family which has brought us closer together. It has also focused us (as have many events of the summer) on just how many blessings we have. I think it really did wonders for Adam and our son's relationship, since for the last year Daddy was hardly ever home for dinner time and sometimes not even before bed time. This seems like a better fit since he'll be able to have more evening and weekend time with us! Yippy! Happy Weekend!
I've been frustrated with cloth diapering for about the last 6-8 weeks. Every time I'd use them they'd leak...sometimes I'd change my son after a couple hours and it'd be completely dry but when he goes now it's apparently more than any of my diapers can handle.
SO, having used cloth 90% of the time since he's been 1 week old I've been feeling terrible about going to disposables. Plus when we do use disposables we use Generation brand which unless they are on sale are quite a bit more expensive than the usual brands that are already pricey enough.
But I'm rambling, back to my point. I realized awhile ago that my kiddo is just not quite ready to be potty trained so the dilemma began. Pay for diapers every week or find something (cheap) that works.
We mostly had used prefolds and covers with much success but he had outgrown those in the spring time. My bestest friend taught me how to sew pocket diapers which I made some more of and used those since they're the easiest and my favorite. I guess the just can't handle the volume! My Mom also knit some terrific and beautiful wool covers that I've used which don't leak even overnight but alas he's shown a small sensitivity to them so I don't use them as often as I'd like.
Anyway, I didn't want to pay and arm and a leg for super nice covers so I ordered a few of these and a package of these on Monday late afternoon. On Tuesday being the anxious person I am I sent them an email since I couldn't find anything on my confirmation email about approx. shipping time. I realized today that I hadn't received a reply email yet but to my surprise they showed up in today's mail!!! Way to go Baby Best Buy!
I guess I still get a bit nervous when ordering from a new website! I really wasn't even expecting them until next week. I used one of the covers and the quality is not the greatest but it didn't leak and I'm pretty sure that it will last for quite a few months if not longer. And for just under $18 for six covers plus shipping I'm sure it's better than disposables!!!
This may be more details about cloth diapering than anyone ever wanted to know but I was excited to get them - maybe I'm just still in a silly mood!
***********************UPDATED to add...I posted this late last night and I guess my links didn't work...they should be working now! I need to have an early bed time tonight I think!
Isn't it funny how a smell can take you back - to the second- of another time in your life.
Last night (taking a break from the commentfest going on at Owlhaven) I walked outside and there was a smell in the air -it happens almost every fall- a crisp smell with a tinge of moisture and a dab of car exhaust and it seriously took me back to NYC. I could have been standing there with my dance bag over my shoulder on my way to rehearsal waiting for a break in cars across Houston St. Funny but even the smell of roasted peanuts was in that breath, the guy standing on the corner with cut off gloves serving them.
As the tears welled up I suddenly thought about how lucky I am to have lived in such a wonderful place but also how grateful I am that I don't have to drag my baby on the subway or carry grocery bags and a baby up a 6 story walk up. Boy do the times change if someone told me then that I'd be living in the northwest, married to a wonderful man with a terrific son I would have told them they were nuts.
This is the second time this sensation has happened to me this week, the first time was this weekend when my Mom brought a gardening book to me that used to be my Grandma's. There were a bunch of markers in it so I opened it to see what one of them was and whosh I was in my Grandma and Bobo's house. Sitting at their kitchen bar eating cookies and chatting. Watching my Bobo place the cards down on the counter in the rows of solitaire and my Grandma watching out the window while my brother played football in our yard just down the hill. The Yankee game muted on the TV and the piles of "junk" on the counter. Even the little red sparkly christmas ornament that hung on the corner of the upper cabinet over the bar (put there after one too many people hit their head). It was a fun place to go back to, they are truly missed.
Just thought I'd share. Now I'm on computer probation until I get enough canning done to take myself off my self imposed restriction!
If you haven't seen the fun that's going on over at Mary, Mom to many's place Owlhaven come and join in!
Mary posted a couple of days ago about an auction on ebay for 1000 comments on your blog and it ended up going for $90. Some of her friends started in to give her them (or as close as they can get) this morning for free. There were over 100 comments this morning and now she's got 265 at my last visit.
It's been sort of fun to "chat" with some of her other readers and now Mary's put a twist on the whole thing by asking us to comment on the person's blog who left the comment before us to spread the wealth! Anyway, total fun has been had and no housework is getting done and I've met a few new blogs to add to my favorites! If you are in a commenting mood as I apparently am today come join the fun!
"A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature."-Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Said Christopher Robin to Pooh” A.A. Milne
“Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” Albert Camus
It's been quiet for too long, thinks my Mommy brain. I go looking and find him reading in his bed room...
Oh, can a Mom fit so much pride in her heart! I am so grateful that he loves to read, at bed time he'll keep asking for "one more book" until I (reluctantly) cut him off.
What do you do when your parents are visiting, your son is in bed, and your baseball team is just not looking remotely alive during the Friday evening game...put an apple pie in the oven and lure your husband outside to roast you some marshmallows and make smores. That's what! Ah, comfort food and family!
(For the future: no son, we don't always wait until you are in bed to have fun, you were tired out from all the fun we already had!)
After a pretty busy and fun week it felt nice to spend some time putting dinner in the crock pot this morning with some help. He likes to say "big helper Mommy" in fact today when my hubby took out the trash he said to me "Mommy, Daddy big helper yes!"
We picked
We washed
We peeled
We tasted
We're done!
Today I'm joining in with Overwhelmed With Joy who's hosting Holiday Cooking, Blogger Style, oh how fun to share holiday recipes! It was hard to pick one holiday recipe since my family has lots of handed down Holiday traditions and recipes. So I've picked two, one family one and one that's become tradition in the last 10 years.
Double-Ginger Molasses Crisps(taken from The Family Circle Cookbook)
I started baking these cookies Christmas 1995 and it's become tradition each year since. If I don't get them mailed out to my brother and sister I start getting phone calls *grin*. My Gram and her sister both like them so much I made them this June on our visit, they say they taste like ones their Mom used to make *double grin*.
Makes about 5 dozen 2-inch cookies according to the recipe but I'd say more like 3 1/2 dozen
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup dark molasses (I've used light too) 1 egg white 1 tablespoon grated pared gresh ginger 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Directions
1)Preheat oven to 375°F 2)Beat butter in mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in brown sugar and molasses until fluffy. Add egg white, fresh ginger, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt; beat to blend. 3)Combine flour and baking soda in small bowl. Slowly add to butter mixture, beating on low speed just until combined. 4)Place sugar in a small dish. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into sugar; toss to coat. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. 5)Bake in preheated moderate oven (375°F) for 7 minutes for chewy cookies or 8 minutes for crispy cookies. Remove cookies from sheets to racks to cool.
Cookie dough can be made ahead and refrigerated, covered for up to 5 days before baking. Storage tip: To keep soft cookies soft, place a slice of apple in the container to prevent them from drying out.
Category: Cookies
Extra Rich Christmas Rolls
This is a recipe that has been handed down in our famiy for generations, I think my Great-Grandmother started it. It has provided a very large part in my holiday memories we'd always make them the day before the holiday, sitting down as a family and rolling the dough into small rolls and then passing them with greasy fingers from the butter into the cinnamon sugar to the bundt pan in little assemly lines. Really fun memories and the most yummy holiday rolls everywhere...I'm suddenly drooling for Thanksgiving!
Ingredients
3 packets of dry yeast (the old fashioned slow rise NOT quick rise!) 1/2 cup warm water 2 cups milk 3/4 cup butter 3/4 cup sugar 3 eggs 2 tsp salt 7-8 cups of flour For drudging you'll also need butter (melted) and cinnamon sugar- I'm not too sure of exact amounts since we always start with about 1 stick melted and approx 2 cups cinnamon sugar but we always need to refill. I just add a couple teaspoons of cinnamon to some sugar until it looks tan and smells like cinnamon.(Mom any other tips, feel free to add them in the comments!)
Directions
1) Mix 3 packet of dry yeast with 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl
2) Scald 2 cups milk and allow to cool to lukewarm temp.
3) Melt 3/4 cup butter and add 3/4 cup sugar, 3 eggs and 2 tsp salt to the pan.
4) Add milk mixture to yeast and stir. Next add in the butter mixture and stir.
5) Stir in 7-8 cups of flour 1 cup at a time kneading until elastic and smooth.
6) Grease bowl and let rise until about double, punch down and let rise again.
7) Carefully "dump" dough out of the bowl onto a large cutting board or other clean surface and cut off dough in pieces to make about 1 - 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll all the dough like this FYI - Kids love this part! Then dip each roll into melted butter and then cinnamon sugar and place in a greased bundt pan. Fill bundt pan slightly more than half way (this recipe usually makes more than enough so we make at least one bread pan too)and then allow them to rise to the top of the pan.
Bake at 350°F for about 15-20 minutes. As I said we usually made these a day or two ahead and stored in foil at room temp until ready to use and then after the turkey's come out place in a warm oven to re-heat and serve!
Tip:While this sounds like a delicate recipe, it's actually very forgiving...if I can do it anyone can. I do recommend making the dough in the morning and letting it rise throughout the day I think we've even punched it down one more time and let it rise again because we weren't ready to roll them yet.
Category:Sweet Rolls
I feel like I've had a productive weekend, getting to church always makes it feel like we did "something" especially since we haven't been in a couple of weeks.
Yesterday our son was up early so after a very early breakfast he and I played for a long time just the two of us which was so special. As we were sitting rolling the big green ball back and forth to each other a thought crossed my mind of the sibling we would not be giving him so soon. That when the doctor told me we'd have to wait 3 months before we even start to try for another it just broke my heart and how much longer does that mean I have to be so empty and longing to give my son the gift of siblings. With each giggle and push of the ball, I felt like we waited too long to have children, like we should have started earlier. My husband and I will have been together for 10 years next month and it took us almost six years to get married. Back and forth as we sat sometimes switching to the smaller purple ball or the even smaller orange ball giggling, laughing and letting it fill up the room, the entire house even. Why? What did that time teach us, we were happy and in love why did we wait? After awhile my kiddo tired of the balls and switch gears to playing with some other toys while I watched...then scared of sitting and dwelling I cleaned. Vacuumed our whole house (except our bedroom), cleaned one and a half bathrooms and mopped the floor during his nap time.
During this cleaning fit the song "Bless the broken road" came into my head and I just kept singing it : I set out on a narrow way many years ago Hoping I would find true love along the broken road But I got lost a time or two Wiped my brow and kept pushing through I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you..... It brought me back to the comfort I was feeling during the rest of this past week... ...This much I know is true That God blessed the broken road That led me straight to you.
This morning in our Sunday school lesson our Pastor spoke of Moses and the 40 years he spent in the wilderness. Even he said something to the effect of why not just get on with it, why does God "waste" those 40 years. Only God knows when our hearts will be ready for His plan for us. It is so hard to let go of the control we want to take of our lives, the desires we have in our hearts so strongly, but God only knows just what those desires will bring and He is the only one truly in control. He is the one with the master plan of all plans. I look at Moses and think wow if he had the patience and faith to wait all those years. I think that I have the patience and faith to trust that God has more children planned for us one way or another. And all I can do for now is happily be me...a loving wife and mother and faithful servant of God.
