I can fix that....

Leah will be 2 in July and I've decided that we're going to do an Elmo birthday party. Since I'm a bit of a planner, I found a custom Elmo shirt on Etsy and ordered it. Unfortunately, when it came, I was sorely disappointed in the size. I ordered a 3T because that's what size Leah is wearing right now. She even has a couple regular t-shirts that are 3T, so I was expecting the size to work. But it was like a night shirt:

I mean, it was practically down to her knees and past her elbows. Ridiculous! (Plus, when I paired it with the skirt I had made, it covered most of it and just looked dumb). So I emailed the woman who made it, told her it was HUGE, and asked if she had any sort of return or exchange policy on custom orders. She doesn't. (I then encouraged her to disclose in her listings that the sizes run big--as I perused her feedback, the common thread among neutral and negative comments was sizing).

So I decided I had a couple of options. First, I washed it on warm and dried it to see if it would shrink a little. It didn't. Then, after some encouragement from a couple of friends, I decided to try to take it in. I figured if it TOTALLY flopped, I could cut out the design and sew it on a shirt that fit. So I turned the shirt inside out and grabbed another t-shirt that fits her well and laid it on the Elmo shirt so that the tops lined up. I traced along the sides and under the arms and sewed a seam. Perfect! I could tell this was going to work. Then I turned the shirt back right side out, folded the bottom under, ironed the hem, and sewed it. Excellent. Did the same with each sleeve and VOILA!It fit! I was quite pleased with myself. And here is her whole birthday outfit:

Of course she'll wear some cute white sandals instead of socks. But it was like 48 degrees outside yesterday when I took this picture. We were definitely all wearing socks. :)

I'm a Believer!

So I've always been curious about the grocery store Aldi. We had two locations relatively close to us, but I just never got there. But I always meant to because I have friends who couldn't stop raving about the deals.

Well, a third relatively close location just recently opened up, and it happens to be the closest of the three relatively close locations. :) My neighbor and I decided to brave the unknown together (with our collective four children) and made our debut Aldi appearance on Thursday afternoon.

Since I had already done my "big" shopping trip for the week, I decided just to pick up a few things that we would normal buy and eat to compare prices and tastes. Aldi carries mostly their own brands of everything. Once in a while, they get a big shipment of some overstock of a name brand item. For instance, when we went on Thursday, they had big bags of M&Ms and jugs of Arizona iced tea. But otherwise, everything is an off brand. Now, I happen to buy mostly store brands anyway (unless a combination of sale and coupon gets me the name brands for a better deal). So the idea of off brands was just fine with me.

Just walking around the store, I was extremely impressed with the prices. A loaf of sandwich bread was $.99 (comparable quality to Cub's store brand loaf of sandwich bread, which is closer to $2). A pound of butter was $2.49, which is, unfortunately, a really great price right now. (Just yesterday, Target's store brand of Market Pantry had butter for over $4/lb). The trip was mostly to browse, but I did pick up a few things. Here's the rundown:

Cheese Sharks (like goldfish) $1.29
Honey Nut Cheerio-look-alikes $1.59
Fruit snacks $1.79
Graham crackers $1.19
Flour (5 lb) $1.63
Mandarin oranges (4-pk bowls) $1.49
English muffins (6) $.99
Tortilla chips $1.19
Hot dogs (10) $.75
Hot dog buns (8) $.79
Tortellini $1.99
Fruit strips $1.99
Brats (5) $2.99
Strawberries (8 oz) $1.59
Frozen corn $.65
Frozen green beans $1.49
GRAND TOTAL: $23.53

For comparison, I entered all comparable products on the Coborn's Delivers website. Now, Coborn's is generally a little more expensive than Target or Cub, but I did pick their store brands whenever I could. The total for the same 16 items was over $51. I'd say I did pretty well!

So far, the things we've tried have been great. The English muffins are gone (thanks to a 5-year-old who decided he loved them), the cheese sharks are awesome, the brats were very similar in taste to Johnsonville, and the hot dog buns were amazing for being $.79. Fruit strips, tortilla chips, mandarin oranges, and hot dogs were also all very comparable to other store brands.

Since I'm a person who already shops at Cub, Target, Sam's, and occasionally Trader Joe's, I don't really want to add another store to the list of places I need to go to get what I want. But after just one trip, I'm fairly certain I can cut my Cub trips (which is great, since it's not exactly my favorite place to shop. And don't let Amy Garvin tell you differently). :)

I'm excited to go back with my actual shopping list and try more things. If you have never tried Aldi and would like to, there are a few things you need to know:

1) You have to bring your own bags and bag your own groceries.
2) You need a quarter to get a cart. You get it back when you return your cart.
3) You need either cash or a debit card with a pin. Now, my receipt says that they are now accepting all debit/check cards, but I don't know if that includes check cards that are issued by Visa (like my check card from Wells Fargo, for instance). I'll have to ask next time.

Extreme Couponing

If I was important enough for such things, I'd first change the title of this new show on TLC to Insane Couponing. Because what I've seen in the first couple episodes was just that. Nothing short of completely insane.

For the record, I am ALL for clipping coupons. As someone trying to get out of debt and living on a strict budget, I am definitely dependent on finding sales and using coupons to get an even bigger deal. I am even fine with people stocking up on things that they use when they can get great deals. (I have a very humble stockpile on some shelving in our laundry room and recently bought an extra freezer to help with that storage space). However, I think there is a line between frugal and freaky, and in my opinion, that line was crossed on Extreme Couponing.

A friend on Facebook recently said "Extreme Couponing is just organized hoarding." I laughed and thought, "How TRUE!" Some of these people have very extensive organization systems in a room in their house, and everything (even though it looks like a small convenience store) is very contained. However, some people, like a woman I saw last night, have items stored in every available space in their house. Toilet paper under her kids' beds, 2-liter bottles of soda and rolls of paper towels completely filling closets, and shelves lining every hallway in the house. This woman even said she felt like her house was closing in on her. I can't imagine living like that. This particular family had enough paper towels and boxes of cereal to last her family for three years. But it's not as though she's going to stop buying those things for the next three years and live off her stockpile. She's going to keep accumulating and storing these items, making her house into a veritable warehouse store.

One woman knocked down a wall in her house to make a small closet to keep all of her newspaper coupon inserts. She had crates upon crates full of circulars. This same woman, in her stockpile, had loads of cat treats and cat food. And she didn't even have a cat. I think that illustrates what has been a huge rule for myself when couponing and finding deals. It doesn't matter if you get a product for ridiculously cheap. If the product isn't something you'll use, it's not a deal! The exception to that rule is if you can donate the item. So many times, these people are getting things for free (or being paid to take them), and they end up donating a LOT of it to a local food shelf, which is really great.

I truly think that some of these extreme couponers are actually addicted to what they do. I've seen these people spend anywhere from 35 to 60 hours a week on couponing--planning shopping trips, finding the right coupons, figuring out their transactions (since some stores have rules about how many coupons you can use on one transaction, etc). And sometimes their shopping trips are 4-5 hours long. That's a full-time job! And I guess that makes sense when these people are saving $40-60,000 for their families each year. That's their income for the work they do! But again, there is clearly a level of "thrill" that these couponers are attaining, and I really think it can become unhealthy. One woman last night was shopping for herself, as well as her daughter-in-law and a local food bank. At one point she said, "I am a person who needs to be needed." I sincerely hope this woman's self-worth isn't solely wrapped up in couponing, but after watching her episode, I can't be so sure.

All of this aside, it's hard to deny that the numbers are impressive. The people on the show are consistently saving 90-98% of their grocery bill. One family went through the store and had two different transactions totaling over $1101. Their out-of-pocket amount was $43.92. Another woman paid only $4.53 for groceries totaling $1161.22. She had two transactions--the first transaction actually ended with the store owing her money, which was carried over into her second transaction.

All in all, I think couponing is a fantastic way to save money when you shop. Even better if you can match up those coupons with store sales. And if you have the time and energy to devote to insane couponing, then by all means, have at it. I won't be joining you. But I will be impressed with your 95% savings. :)

You can catch Extreme Couponing on TLC on Wednesdays at 8:00 and 8:30. And I do recommend tuning in at least once. Even if you don't learn anything, it's really fascinating!

Sleep

A few days ago, I watched at TED talk by the composer Eric Whitacre. It was super fascinating, and if you have 15 minutes to spare, I'd highly recommend it. The video after the TED talk is the final version of the song he refers to in the TED talk. (And don't worry--the song is not actually over 9 minutes....it's about 5, and the rest is credits). It's beautiful! Enjoy. :)

five years

Dear Jack,

I am the mother of a five year old! That's a little crazy. Impossible, even. Except that it's true. Gosh, how did this happen? You were just a TINY (well....) baby and now you're a TALL boy. This morning, you woke up and came into our bedroom. "Mommy? Am I five now?" :)

Five years ago, we were blessed with a beautiful, 9lb 8oz, baby boy. And our lives changed, for the better, FOREVER! It was amazing. I remember thinking, "Wow. I can't remember what it was like before Jack was here." And I think that's exactly the way it should be. :)

Before I went to bed last night, I put all of your presents on the kitchen counter so we could have a little celebration this morning. Well, before you saw them, you asked if you could open ONE gift before your party. I said, "Jack! You can open ALL of your presents!" You were a little beside yourself. I'm not sure what you were most excited about--I think it was a tie between the Legos and the knight armor set. You make a pretty awesome knight!

The fact that your birthday fell on a Saturday was pretty fun. It might be the first time your birthday party was actually ON your birthday! Your party was, of course, Star Wars-themed. No-brainer. You are very interested in Star Wars right now. Scratch that, you're a little obsessed. :) You can turn anything in to a light saber! You got some fun Star Wars presents to add to your growing collection of Legos and figures. And I was honored to add to the theme with a very special Star Wars cake!

I think the biggest change this year is yet to come--you will go to kindergarten in the fall. And that's all I'm going to say about that because it makes me sad.

Your sister is still one of your favorite people in the world! Please don't let that change. You two just ADORE each other. I hate to say it, but I'm sure we'll get a few years down the road and think, "Remember when they loved each other?" :) It's so adorable to watch you together. Leah looks up to you so much, and she should. You're awesome! And you really do love playing with her. You know, when she's not stealing your Lego pieces or climbing on your stool when you're trying to eat lunch.

Well, you are just one of my favorite people in the world. I can't believe we've been blessed with you for five years already! I'm excited to see what the next year brings. Thank you for the JOY you bring to our family!

Hugs and kisses!
Love,
Mom :)

Poppa is SO funny

And so are dominoes.

My Jedi Master :)

The obligatory "after" picture

After the ordeal with our deck falling down, the association finally agreed to cover the cost and hired some builders to make a new one. It's all a HUGE blessing in disguise, and as of about 3:00 this afternoon, we have a brand new, beautiful deck! I'm a little bummed that it's still the middle of winter and we can't actually enjoy it right away, but I can't WAIT to spend some time on it this summer!

Meet Jack.

Jack had a friend over today and at one point, Jack came upstairs for something. I was pretty sure it was to use the bathroom, but I wasn't really paying attention until he was headed back downstairs. I stopped him and said, "Hey, what were you doing up here?" (mostly making sure he flushed and washed his hands if he was, indeed, using the bathroom).
"Oh, I was just looking for something."
"What were you looking for?"
"Oh, I don't remember."
"Jack, did you go potty?"
"No."
"What were you doing up here, then?"
"Well.....I just came up here to give you a really big hug!"
I lost it at that point, and he thought it was really funny and said, "Just kidding!"
Finally, I told him that if I went in the bathroom and saw pee in the toilet, he was going to be in big trouble.
"Okay, I'll go flush and wash my hands."
Stinker!
Then he got a time-out for lying. Even though he mostly cracked me up.

eighteen months

Dear Leah,

It has been one and a half years since you have graced our family with your fabulous presence. Sometimes I can't believe it's been that long! It feels like yesterday I was looking at your hours-old face and feeling so blessed. But other days I can't begin to imagine what our family was like without you and it feels like you've been here forever. :) I read your birth story last night, which was magical and surreal and made me remember what a miracle new life is!

Physically, you have grown from a 9-pound 13-ounce teeny tiny baby into a 27-pound toddler! You are very tall (surprise, surprise) and are running around everywhere. You have the most incredible personality and know just how to make us laugh. Sometimes you know exactly how to make me pull all my hair out, too. But that just come with the toddler territory!

Your favorite thing in the WORLD right now is reading books. If I sit down for more than a minute, you run and grab a book and bring it back for me to read. You seem to prefer books with real animals and people in them. I think it's helping you learn some new words (because, let's face it, your big brother does all the talking and there hasn't been a reason to start before now). You love to point out animals in books and make their corresponding sounds. I have to say, when you hear an actual sheep for the first time, you're going to wonder why it's not "baa"ing more quickly.

You are full of kisses. For me, Jack, Daddy, Lucy (aka the most tolerant cat in the world), and all of the puppies and kitties in your books. They started as lovely, open-mouth smooches, but now they're so sweet! Your little pursed lips are just to die for. As are your warm, rosy cheeks when you wake up from a nap. Those are something I can't stop kissing!

I'd rather not be around the day something happens to one or both of your blankets. Because at this point, I'm not sure you could survive without them. It's pretty adorable how you ask for your "deedee" and walk around with it and suck on the corners, but you are HOOKED on this thing! It's actually quite nice that you have a "lovey." Your silly brother had nothing. No blanket, no pacifier, no animal. He didn't know what he was missing. :)

It's hard to believe, in the middle of this freezing cold winter, that we'll be celebrating your SECOND birthday in six short months when it's nice and warm. You have been an immense blessing to our family in these eighteen months. It's very exciting to think about the future of our family of four. Thank you for your sweet spirit and incredible heart! You make me so happy that I'm a mom.

Love you to pieces,
Mama

Timber

On Tuesday, we decided to make a trek to Ikea to buy some new dining room chairs. On our way down our street, we noticed that there was a team of people getting ready to shovel the snow off of all of our roofs. Yay! What a smart thing for them to do (since they spent all summer a couple years ago putting new roofs on every home).

So we conquered Ikea, stopped for some lunch, and headed home to find that they were almost done with the snow removal. As we went on with our afternoon, they re-plowed our driveway and re-shoveled our steps. One area they LEFT, however, was our deck. It was PILED with snow that had been shoveled from the roof. I had noticed some decks as we drove down our street and into our driveway and thought, "Wow, that's a lot of snow for a deck to hold!" Of course, since they had re-plowed and re-shoveled, we assumed they would be back as some point to clear off the deck. Well, they didn't come back on Tuesday. They didn't come back on Wednesday.

On Wednesday night around midnight, Dan was downstairs and heard a huge crash. He looked out the window and, sure enough, our deck had finally fallen from the weight of the snow. Since there wasn't much he could do at that time of night, we called our association contact the next day. The guy came out about an hour later to check everything out, and by that night a team of people had gotten our grill, table, and chairs safely off the deck and into our yard.

The next day (Friday), the owner of the company that had done the roof shoveling came by to look at the deck. He was kind of a bully and said that the deck was in terrible shape anyway, etc. True (the deck is as old as the house--1979), but beside the point. The deck has held a normal amount of snow just fine for six winters and our grill, deck furniture, and all of US for six summers. He left kind of crabby and said he'd be back on Monday. So we'll see what tomorrow brings. But based on people we have talked to, it seems like a no-brainer. This is clearly his fault and we *should* get a new deck out of it. (Which is actually really exciting!)

Here are some pictures of the fallen deck. They'll hopefully come knock it the rest of the way down and haul it all away soon. :)

(Oh, and the same day the owner came to talk to us, his team was back--clearing off every last deck in our development!)

Looking straight out our deck door:

The other side, toward our front yard:

We thought of removing the railings and sledding down. ;)

Merry Christmas :)

Just a few shots of our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day festivities.

The Butterfly Circus

I have to share the most amazing short film with you. Dan went to a discipleship training school in Kansas City with its writer/director, Joshua Weigel. This movie has already won the Clint Eastwood Filmmaker Award (among other 2010 film fest awards), and it is becoming a feature film. I'm sure it will be up for the Academy Award for best short film. It's really incredible! You can learn more about it at www.butterflycircus.com.

Thank you, anonymous commenter, for the link to the official video on vimeo!

The Butterfly Circus - HD from The Butterfly Circus on Vimeo.

Santa, Baby

We visited the best Santa in the world on Saturday. (Mother Earth Gardens in South Minneapolis--take note for next year!) Jack was enthralled. Leah, not so much. Really quite beside herself, actually. But it made for some cute pictures!

And it snowed....

Here in Minnesota, we've just survived what has been beautifully referred to as a "snownami." By the time it stopped last night, the Twin Cities had between 10 and 17 inches of snow. Pretty crazy. It even cause the roof of the Metrodome to collapse!

As it came down yesterday, I watched the depth on our deck continue to increase and got a great idea for a picture. It was literally as deep as Leah is tall, so I wanted to bundle her all up and plop her down in the snow. Unfortunately (well, for me anyway), she didn't sink down more than a couple of inches. So my awesome picture idea was out the window (since I didn't think she'd appreciate being pushed down forcefully), but we set her on top of the snow and still got a few cute pictures. :)

This is amazing

Seriously amazing. A friend on Facebook shared a link to this video. Please watch it and enjoy. :)



After watching it, I noticed another video on the right called "The Making of....." and I had to watch it. Well, it turns out there were four parts of "The Making of...." but it just made the original video that much more amazing! So please, sit back and enjoy. If for nothing else than to enjoy David Crowder's hair. Honestly. Love.

WFD 11/21/10

Okay, this is actually going to be for dinner tomorrow night, but I'm excited about it. :) I made this like three years ago when I first found the recipe in an old Cooking Light magazine. It was good, so I don't know why I haven't made it since then. Enjoy! (I personally add a little more bacon and cheese than it calls for--it's a little less "cooking light," but tastes great). :)

Cheddar Chicken Chowder
2 bacon slices
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
4½ cups chicken broth
1¾ cups diced, peeled red potatoes
2¼ cups frozen whole-kernel corn
½ cup flour
2 cups 2% milk
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Cook bacon in a dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove and crumble; set aside. Add the chicken, onion, red bell pepper, and garlic to drippings. Saute 5 minutes. Add broth and potato and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add corn; stir well.

View full recipe

Whisk flour and milk until blended. Add to soup. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 15 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Stir in the cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper. Top with crumbled bacon.

WFD 10/12/10

Sorry, I've been quite absent. :)

Stir Fry

Stir Fry:
chicken
peppers
mushrooms
broccoli
water chestnuts
pea pods

Marinade:
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Sauce:
1 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1½ tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil

View full recipe

Mix marinade ingredients and add chicken.

Mix sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat oil in a large pan and saute chicken until cooked through. Remove chicken and saute vegetables until cooked. Add chicken and sauce mixture to vegetables. Cook until sauce thickens.

Pumpkin cookies

I got this recipe from my friend Amy and made them last night. They are delicious! They are also egg- and dairy-free, so they're great for people with those particular food allergies. :)

Pumpkin Cookies
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup oil
2 cups flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t ginger
1 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Combine all ingredients and drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Cool slightly before moving to cooling rack.
I frosted some with cream cheese frosting, which was really tasty. :)

WFD 9/24

Here you go, Lisa. ;)

Chicken Pot Pie! Easiest CPP recipe ever. Okay, it's the ONLY CPP I've ever made, but it IS really easy. And it's also not mine. It's from my friend Crissy. Thank you, Crissy. :) My favorite thing about this is that it's a classic one-dish meal. No need for any other side dish--everything is in there!

Chicken Pot Pie
1/3 cup melted butter
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
Blend above ingredients in a saucepan and start cooking over medium heat. When it starts to bubble, add:
1 1/2 cups water mixed with 2 t chicken boullion
2/3 cup milk
Bring to a boil and add:
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 bag mixed veggies

Roll out one refrigerated pie crust in pie pan. Add mixture and roll another pie crust on top. Crimp edges and make a few cuts in the top. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

WFD 9/16

Well, I broke out my crock pot for the first time this season! I love using my crock pot--it's so easy to throw stuff into it in the morning, and I get to smell it all day long. :)

Tonight I made this beef stroganoff recipe. Really delicious! And oh, so easy.

Crock pot beef stroganoff
1-2 pounds beef stew meat
1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms (this might seem like a lot when you throw it all in, but they cook down quite a bit--and they're just delicious)
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10.75oz) can cream of mushroom soup (the 98% fat free works great)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1-2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 cup sour cream

Place everything except for sour cream into your crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir in the sour cream and cook on high for another 15-30 minutes. Serve over egg noodles.

WFD 9/3

Yesterday was a freezing cold "summer" day, so I made soup. I bought a butternut squash at the farmers market last week, hoping there would be a nice blustery day to use it for soup, and I lucked out! So, here is the recipe for the first soup:

Butternut Squash and Apple Bisque
3 tablespoons butter
5 cups seeded, peeled, cubed butternut squash
1¼ cups chopped onion
½ cup chopped carrot
½ cup chopped celery
1 small granny smith apple, cored, peeled, and chopped
½ teaspoon ground allspice
3½ cups (or more) vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup apple cider
1 cup whipping creamView full recipe

Melt butter in a large pot. Add squash, onion, carrot, and celery. Saute for about 10 minutes. Mix in apple and allspice. Add broth and cider and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low and simmer about 30 minutes. Puree in batches and return to pot. Add more broth if too thick. Add ½ cup cream and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Ladel, drizzle with cream, and sprinkle with parsley.

Unfortunately, my husband doesn't share my love of butternut squash, so I made him chicken noodle soup. It's a Tyler Florence recipe that I found a few years ago, and it's really good. And it's not especially time consuming, particularly if you use a store-bought rotisserie chicken!

Chicken Noodle Soup
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock
8 ounces dried wide egg noodles
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Fold in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

WFD 8/22 and 8/23

At a friend's request, I am posting last night's dinner (even though it was pretty basic and didn't require actual recipes--I think he just wants to make it on my blog. Here you go, Matt!) and tonight's dinner.

Last night, we brought dinner to the Glatzels' new home in Edina. They just moved back from Milwaukee, and we're THRILLED to have them closer again. We brought barbecued chicken, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and watermelon. Kind of a quintessential summer meal (especially since the corn and watermelon were from the farmers market!).

The chicken was just the Gold 'n' Plump "best of fryer" (which I always thought was just a whole chicken cut into pieces, so I bought two packs; each pack, among the other chicken parts, had three breasts. Poor chickens...). I baked the chicken at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Then I slathered it with barbecue sauce and Dan grilled it over pretty low heat (otherwise the barbecue sauce burns and you have very black, crispy chicken) for about 20 minutes.

Tonight's dinner is penne a la vodka. Which reminds me, I need to buy some vodka. :)

1 pound penne
6 ounces prosciutto, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 can whole tomatoes (drain and reserve juice), chopped
1 cup half and half
½ cup vodka
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 tablespoon dry)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup parmesan cheese

Cook pasta.
In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, saute prosciutto and garlic in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, ½ cup (or more) reserved juice, half and half, vodka, parsley, basil, and salt. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the parmesan.
Drain pasta and toss with sauce.

WFD 8/17

Spicy Cajun Shrimp! This is one of Dan's favorite meals (and I really love it too), but I hardly ever make it! And of course, every time I do, I think, "Gosh, I should make this more often!" It's not difficult at all. It's just a matter of having all the right stuff around. :) I'm including a really easy recipe for a green bean side dish. It's just what we always have with this meal!

Spicy Cajun Shrimp
3 pounds shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon dry thyme
½ teaspoon dry basil
½ teaspoon dry oregano
⅓ cup butter
1½ teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce¼ cup beer, room temperature
1 cup tomatoes, dicedView full recipe

Combine seasonings in small bowl. Combine butter, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings in large skillet over high heat. When butter is melted, add tomatoes, then shrimp. Cook 2 minutes, stirring evenly. Add beer and cover; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat.

Serve with saffron rice.

Green Beans and Pine Nuts
2 quarts green beans
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup pine nuts, chopped

Boil beans in salted water for about 7 minutes. Rinse in cold water and drain. Mix with olive oil and pine nuts. Serve luke warm.

View full recipe

WFD 8/10

Last night was family dinner night, and we gathered here for pizza on the grill. It actually ended up being a disaster. But I want to try it again sometime. So I really have no great pointers when it comes to the grill, but here are some other tidbits:

• You must buy your pizza dough at Trader Joe's. It is $.99 for a ball of dough. You can't beat that! They have white and wheat, and I know in the past they've also had an herb dough. The only problem is that the directions say to bake the crust/pizza at 350 degrees, and that was not NEARLY hot enough. Crank it to 400. Also, bake the crust for 5-7 minutes before adding toppings. Then continue baking to finish the crust and melt the cheese.
  
• Our favorite combination was pesto instead of sauce, chicken, and mozzarella. (Mom also added eggplant, mushrooms, and caramelized onions to her end).
• My personal favorite was (and always is, really) sausage, green peppers, and mushrooms. Mmmm.

We'll try this again someday! I think we learned a lot. :)

p.s. Leah is 13 months old today. But just like I did with Jack, I'm taking a break until 18 months. Then I'll probably write a letter every year. It did feel funny to write 8/11 today. I said, "Leah, you're 13 months today!" and Jack said, "Holy cow!" 13 months must sound really old. :)

WFD 8/3

WFD=What's For Dinner ;)

Last night was National Night Out. Since my neighborhood doesn't do anything, and Dan is out of town for work, and my parents' neighborhood DOES do something, we headed over there for the festivities. To contribute to the potluck table, I brought one of my favorite things to make in the summer. It's a pasta salad with pesto, and it's the besto. (Hahaha).

This is the perfect time of year to make lots of pesto and throw it in your freezer because basil is SO STINKIN' CHEAP at the farmers market! A couple of weeks ago, I got three HUGE bunches (they pretty much filled a plastic Target bag) for $3.

So, here's a simple recipe for pesto:
1 garlic clove
1/4 toasted pine nuts (I've also used walnuts)
3 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Roughly chop garlic and add to food processor, along with pine nuts, basil, and about 1 T olive oil. Pulse until ingredients are finely chopped. With machine running, add remaining oil in a slow, steady stream. Add parmesan and pulse to combine. Season with salt and pepper. This makes about 1 1/2 cups of pesto.

Now, on to the rest of the salad:
1 lb bowtie pasta (Barilla is the only brand that I've found that sells bowtie pasta in a 1-pound box. Other brands sell 12 oz).
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
3/4 cup pesto
Cook pasta. Drain and run under cold water. Combine pasta and pesto and stir until pasta is well-coated. Add feta and tomatoes and mix. Enjoy!

What's for dinner?

So, blogging every day in March was fun, and it made me blog a little more regularly afterwards. For like a week, anyway. I decided I needed to come up with something else to blog more frequently. So at least once a week, I will post about something we had for dinner and include recipes. It will get me here at least once a week, and it will force me to make something "good" for dinner a little more often. :)

This week's entry was actually last Friday's dinner. Fajitas! And the recipe for the marinade is from Chili's--my mom had it in a cookbook full of restaurant secret recipes. We served them with corn salsa, which is a recipe that my aunt made up when she was visiting a few years ago. It's hard to stop eating it. :) Enjoy!

Fajitas
4 chicken breasts or one flank steak
3 bell peppers
1 onion
marinade:
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water
2 T oil
1 garlic clove, pressed
3 T white vinegar
2 t soy sauce
1/2 t liquid smoke
1 t salt
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t black pepper
dash onion powder

Mix all marinade ingredients and add chicken or steak. Let sit in fridge for at least a few hours. While meat grills, saute onion and peppers in a little oil. Serve with fajita fixings.

Corn Salsa
6 ears fresh sweet corn, cooked
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 red or orange bell pepper, finely chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
juice of 3 limes
salt and pepper
cumin, to taste
hot sauce or cayenne pepper, to taste

Toss all ingredients together and enjoy with tortilla chips!

one year

My sweet baby girl,

As of 5:53 this morning, you have officially been alive in this world for one year. Good Lord, that went fast. This whole week has been a lot of, "Last year at this time...." It's been fun remembering last summer and how exciting it was to FINALLY start feeling contractions a week after my due date. And then how frustrating it was to have them stop. Twice. And then how great it was to finally go to the hospital and know we were so close to meeting you. And then how amazing it was to finally have you OUT of me and to see your sweet face and kiss you and hold you and say, "Thank you for being born!"

This year has been a lot of things. It has been overwhelming, getting used to life with two kids and all of the challenges and joys that come with it. It has been exciting, watching you grow before our very eyes and learn new things. It has been tiring, with many sleepless nights, early mornings, and skipped naps. But it has been awesome. I never knew my heart could feel like this!
It is so crazy to look at pictures from those first few days and think, "Were you really ever that tiny?" And really, since you were 9 lb 13 oz at birth, the answer to that question is, "No. You were never 'tiny'." :) But you did fit into my arms a little differently than you do now! And it's really wild to think about how tiny you felt in the Moby wrap. I can't imagine trying to get you into that again! I should try just for the fun of it.

It's really fun to watch you eat new things, now that you are allowed to eat almost everything. You still have your favorites--yogurt, avocados, bananas, cheese. And as of your party yesterday, cupcakes are climbing the list of favorites! Wow, you sure enjoyed that thing. You had frosting everywhere! Hair, ears, toes. What a treat! Cupcakes and potato chips. I'm a pretty awesome mom when it comes to nutrition. :)
It's interesting how birthday parties become increasingly more exciting with every year. Jackson is already planning a Batman party for next March. But you? Today was just any other day! You didn't care what everyone was here for. And you certainly didn't want to waste your time opening presents. It's a good thing people are understanding. :) You did get some lovely things. New toys are always exciting. And new clothes! Gotta love it.

Jack was sure that you'd start saying "Mama" by the time you turned one, but it's not happening. Everything is still "dada." Except that you never actually call Daddy "dada." "Dada" means "bye bye" and "thank you" and when it's yelled across the house it means "Jackson." :) It's crazy how we can totally tell what you're saying even though you're just repeating the same two syllables. Or maybe we're all just delusional and you're not actually saying anything. Nah, you're a genius!

When Jack was a baby, we got to the point where we couldn't remember what life was like without him. "What did we do before we had this amazing baby in our lives?" After you were born, it didn't take long for us to say, "What was life like with just one?" You so quickly made such an imprint on our lives and were clearly a vital part of our family. And even more now, I cannot even imagine what our family would be like without you in it! It certainly wouldn't be as exciting. You have added so much in your one year here. God sure knows how to bless a family.

I'm so thankful for you, sweetheart! I look forward to the next year and many more after that. It makes my heart happy to watch you grow!

Love you so much,
Mom

My girlie girl!!!!

Leah got her first birthday present in the mail today! It was from her cyber-buddy Jagger (whose mom I am friends with through a small group on Babycenter). Check out my girl! She LOVES this thing--she walked around the house like she was made to wear tutus. :)


So pretty!!!And a matching headband? Too much!

Lucy was very interested in the tutu. :)

eleven months

Leah,

This is late. I'm sorry. If you could comprehend the craziness that has defined the last couple of weeks, you'd understand. But let's move on. :)

Being 11 (+) months means that my next letter will be your ONE YEAR letter. That's just impossible. Well, maybe it's not entirely impossible. I mean, sometimes it feels like FOREVER since you entered this world and turned our house upside down with sleepless nights and everything else that comes with a newborn. But on the other hand, it feels like just yesterday that we finally got to meet you and hold you and know that our family would never be the same.

So, you went from taking a few steps at a time to practically running around the house. Nothing is safe from you now! I can hardly turn around without noticing that you're halfway down the hallway, heading for the bathroom. Ah, yes. The bathroom. Pretty much your favorite room in the house. I mean, where else can you unroll the toilet paper (and eat it), dig through the garbage, empty the tub toys, and rifle through the cleaning products under the sink? Seriously, it's no wonder that door stays closed most of the day. And the toilet paper is usually on the counter instead of where it belongs. And the garbage is on the counter. Lovely. :)

The cutest thing you're doing right now (besides walking all over the darn house) is waving bye-bye. It's accompanied by "da da," which means, "bye bye." (Never mind what your daddy thinks it means). I'm officially calling "da da" (bye bye) your second word, after "Kkkk" for kitty. :) A recent third is "Hi," which has just made its debut in the last few days. And you have a word for Jack, but I haven't quite pinned it down yet. You're usually calling him from another room. It's pretty cute! You also sing--usually in the car. It cracks Jack up, which cracks ME up, and makes the car ride quite enjoyable.

I feel like I should leave this letter short and sweet to make sure I have lots of things to say in your 1-year letter, which will be here before we know it. I love you, babe. See you in the morning. :)

Mom

The countdown begins!

Today is May 22nd, which means that in exactly one month I will turn 30.

One more month left in my 20s! Woo hoo!!!

ten months

Baby Leah,

Just how long will it be okay to call you that? Because everyone still does, you know. Even though you're quickly exiting this "baby" phase! Oh well. I think it's cute. And you're still my baby! Maybe you always will be my baby! You could be 35 years old and still be "baby Leah." So get used to it, chica.

This month has been characterized by ILLNESS! And it's not over. It all started with a diaper rash. At your 9-month appointment, Dr. Benson took a look and said, "Hmmm....that looks yeasty." So we used some cream left over from my misdiagnosis of thrush to get rid of your "yeasty" rash. And it worked wonderfully! But we had to be in disposable diapers for a while, lest the cream ruin your cloth. We were just about done treating your rash when we all ended up with an awful stomach bug. Jack started it. And like the wonderful mother that I am, I taught him to share, and he did! Dad got it next, then me, and unfortunately, then you. Needless to say, we continued with the disposable diapers for about another week. Your poor little tummy. Once that was all done, you started getting a runny nose. Then you had a fever. Then you developed a cough, which you are still dealing with. Luckily, it's not affecting your sleep much (other than the occasional "shorter than it should be" nap). So when this little cold is gone, I'd really like you to be all better for a while. Okay? And I think you'd enjoy being healthy too, so it's a win-win.

You weighed in at 20lb 10oz at your 9-month appointment. That means you're off the charts for length and in the 80th percentile for weight. It's the first time you haven't been at the top of the curve for weight, so it feels a little weird. But the doctor assured me that you're still growing just fine. It's just weird because Jack was this size at FOUR months. Yeah, your brother was a porker. :) You certainly aren't slowing down in the "eating" department. You still love food SO much. Particularly dairy--cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese--so it's a good thing that little stint with the milk protein intolerance didn't last!

How big is Leah? SO BIG!!! Yes, this is your new trick. :) Along with clapping and going night-night (tilting your head over like you're sleeping). Yup, you've got a slew of party tricks! It's fun. And you're so expressive. You talk all the time. Not with words anyone can understand, but it's still darn cute. And I'm sure you are trying to tell us something very important. So keep trying--we'll hear it one of these days.

Sunday was Mother's Day--my fourth, but my first with you! It was a lovely, relaxing day. I'm sure to you it just felt like any other Sunday. But SOMEDAY this day will be marked with you making me breakfast in bed and showering me with affection. ;)

Frankly dear, I'd love to write more, but you are crying at my feet. It's rather pathetic, actually. You don't need anything. You just want me. And that's just fine with me! That's what I'm here for. Happy 10 months. And don't even remind me that that means one year is only two months away. It's going too fast. :)

Love you, babe.
Mom

We're pretty sure he's gifted

Last night after dinner, we all went outside to let off some steam. I walked Leah around and Jack and Dan played baseball.

As Jack was retrieving a ball he had hit, he found a stick in the shape of a lower-case "y." He said, "Mommy! This is the letter from in 'I love you'!" I said, "Yup, that's the letter 'y'!" And Dan looked at me like, "Who is this kid?"

They proceeded to play baseball and I went inside to feed Leah. Before I knew it, they were calling me back out because they had to show me how well Jack was hitting. He is insane! It's just a big wiffle ball and bat, but that thing SAILS! He was quite proud of himself. He's actually better at hitting what Dan pitches to him than he is at hitting the ball off the tee. Goofy kid. :)

Jack says funny stuff

But this is nothing new, right? Two gems today:

1) I got home from Target and the TV was STILL on. I told Jack that the cartoon would be ending in five minutes and he would have to turn it off. The end came and I could tell it was on a commercial, so I told him it was time to turn off the TV. "No, the man said, 'Don't go away!' It's not over, Mom!" Gotta love a little subliminal messaging. :)

2) While Dan was running errands this afternoon, I sat down to nurse Leah. When she opened her mouth, I could see something on her tongue. I said, "What did you put in your mouth?" and tried to fish it out with my finger. The commotion got Jack's attention, and we finally got a tiny piece of paper off her tongue. Then Jack said, "Well, it's a good thing your booby was right there!" It made no sense to me, but I guess he thought it helped with the paper in Leah's mouth. So I continued nursing and he continued talking about my breasts. I was mostly not paying attention, until he ended with, "You have the biggest boobies I ever saw!" It cracked me up, but I didn't want him to think it was inappropriate to say because he was so innocent about it. I mean, when you have a 10-month-old sister who has been breastfed since birth, breasts are kind of normal around here. :)

I was on such a roll....

.....and then life got in the way. Let's see....

We've all completely healed from the stomach bug. Although now Leah has a runny nose and little cough, and I seem to have a sore throat that I'm hoping ends there. But it probably won't.

Jack goes through at least a half ream of paper every day. Okay, that might be exaggerated, but not by much! This kid draws ALL DAY LONG. It cracks me up. He is SUCH a perfectionist (gee, where does he get that?) and kind of freaks out when he messes up. Which, in his opinion, he does quite frequently.

Leah is taking more and more steps these days. She is kind of hilarious when she does it. If she doesn't get her balance first, she looks completely drunk. Too funny. I love this early walker stage. :)

I'm sad that our lovely spring weather has turned chilly again. The high tomorrow is 48 degrees and it's supposed to rain all day. Yuck! Give me a NICE May day so I can take a nice walk with my kids!

It's time for bed. I can actually hear it calling my name. :) But I promise to write something more interesting this weekend!

No, Donald, YOU'RE fired.

I don't usually enjoy The Apprentice, but I tend to get into the celebrity version. This season is down to the final seven contestants, and it's actually getting quite fun. (I mean, if nothing else, it's just fun to listen to Sharon Osborne and Curtis Stone speak!) Plus, there's nothing else on TV on Sunday evenings, and it's just what I usually end up watching.

The weak link, in my opinion, is Donald Trump. But since he's kind of the reason the show exists, I just have to deal with him. Including when he makes a fool of himself and the English language.

Last night, in the boardroom, Cyndi Lauper said, "I feel bad," referring to her earlier criticism of the other team. Trump quickly corrected her and said, "You don't feel bad. You feel badly," at which point Cyndi apologized and said, "I feel badly."

Donald, I don't care if you're a gazillionaire--you just came across as quite uneducated in front of many, many viewers. For shame. You, sir, are fired.

Read about action verbs vs linking verbs here.

YUCK!

Warning: bodily fluid post ahead.


Last Tuesday night, just as I was finishing getting ready for bed, I heard Jack crying in his room. (Sometimes he wakes up and wanders around aimlessly because he's not totally awake). I went in and grabbed him and took him into the hallway so Leah wouldn't wake up. Well, he was covered in his own puke. Poor thing. Jack hates puking almost as much as I do. And I REALLY hate puking. I stripped him, washed him off, brushed his teeth, and got new jammies on. He was sure he was done throwing up, so I put him in our bed and Dan lay down with him while I went in and stripped his bed and started laundry.

Pretty soon I heard Dan call for me. He had puked again, all over himself and our bed. Lovely. I stripped him again, washed him off, stripped OUR bed, and returned to the laundry room while Dan got him in more clean jammies. I got laundry going and went back upstairs with clean sheets for our bed. We got them on, covered Jack's side with towels, and got him settled down again. We also found a bucket and begged him to try to make it to the bucket next time. :)

The rest of the night was uneventful, but he ended up throwing up twice the next morning. We laid pretty low all day Wednesday. He didn't eat much, but he also didn't puke anymore, so I figured we were out of the woods. He slept great in his own bed, but woke up Thursday morning and got sick AGAIN. Luckily, the rest of Thursday was pretty normal for him.

Friday afternoon, Dan called to say he was not feeling well and would be coming home early. He walked in the door at 4:30, made his way to the couch downstairs, and was there until the following morning, only leaving to use the bathroom (it seems the bug was giving him "other end" issues). By the time I got the kids in bed on Friday night, I didn't feel quite right. I decided that I better run to the grocery store for some necessities while I still felt human. When I got home, I also washed a pile of dishes so they wouldn't be sitting there all weekend.

By the time I climbed in bed, I was sure I would be up sick in a matter of hours. Well, I wasn't, but I slept terribly. When I woke up Saturday morning, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. I nursed Leah, handed her off to Dan (who was already feeling much better) and went back to bed. I napped, nursed, napped, nursed. I got out of bed a couple of times, but quickly felt like I was going to fall over because I was so weak. I ate a couple pieces of toast in the afternoon and some soup for dinner. I tried to go to bed early, but the day of naps kept me up a little later than I wanted.

Sunday morning, I felt a lot better, Dan felt a lot better, and Leah had diarrhea. Shoot! She could not escape unscathed. She was a little more cuddly than normal, but didn't seem to be too uncomfortable. We decided to brave the outside world (maybe just so we could get out of the house) for lunch. As we sat down to eat at Noodles, Jack said, "My tummy hurts." Oh, great. I told him that if he felt like he was going to throw up, he had to tell Daddy really quick so they could go to the bathroom. Thirty seconds later, "Daddy, I need to go to the bathroom!" Sure enough, he was sick again.

Seriously! We just need a break! I feel the need to bleach everything in my house. I feel like my washing machine has been working non-stop since Tuesday night. Let's hope that this is the end for all of us!

The truth comes out....

Yesterday, I was tidying up the living room because Stephanie (breastmilk recipient) was coming over with her boys. Jack came over to show me what he was coloring, noticed I was cleaning, and said, "Who's coming?"

Yup. I only clean when people are coming over.

Not really, but it made me laugh really hard!

Mmmm.....croupons

Jack LOVES croutons. And he calls them "croupons," which is just cute. Whenever we have Caesar salad, he jumps up on the dining room table and steals the croutons out of it. And since those bags of Caesar salads don't put enough croutons in it to begin with, we had to buy Jack his own back of croutons so he could have a few when we had our salad.

Last night, we had pasta and a Caesar salad. Jack started crawling onto the table to steal croutons, and I told him to get down. He asked for his own, but they are gone. He got mad and REALLY wanted some croupons! So I told him that he could have some croutons if he ate some salad. He seemed okay with this idea, so I put some in a bowl for him with some croutons, and he totally ate it!

The best part was this morning when he brought it up again. "Mommy, were you really surprised when I ate salad last night?" Yup, I was. :)

He thinks he's hilarious

Jack: Knock, knock

Me: Who's there?

Jack: Leah

Me: Leah who?

Jack: Leah wants you to open the door and give me grapes! (Followed by uncontrollable fake laughs)


Jack: Knock, knock

Me: Who's there?

Jack: Daddy

Me: Daddy who?

Jack: Daddy wants you to open the door and give me apples! (More fake laughing)


I'm not sure who taught him about jokes (not me!), but something tells me he doesn't quite get it yet. :)

He melts my heart!

My friend Rebecca was helping out in Jack's Sunday school room yesterday and passed along this gem of a story. :)

"I have to tell you something precious Jackson said. One of the little girls came in and her name sounded like Erin. Jack said, 'Erin is my mom's name!' Then he said, 'Well, I call her Mommy, but my Dad calls her Erin...(pause, smile)...or honey!'"

Honestly made my day. :)

nine months

Dear Leah,

I think nine months is kind of a special age because it means you have now been outside my belly as long as you were inside it! That's kind of weird, actually. I feel like I was pregnant for a year and a half, but I'm pretty sure you were just born like last week. Why does time go so quickly when you want it to go a little more slowly so you can enjoy it? Not that I'm not enjoying this, because I am LOVING every moment. But I look at pictures from just a few months ago and think, "Who is this baby?"

Right now you are sitting in the high chair as I type this. You're being quite a little piggy, actually. Lately you've been a little more difficult to feed. You just aren't as interested and you constantly turn your head away like you're done after just a couple bites. But today's lunch was a different story! You had a bowl of applesauce, a piece of toast, and finished off your peaches and yogurt from breakfast. Hungry girl!

Okay, now it's four hours later and you're with me again--crawling around on the floor and I try to finish this. Actually, I'm a little frustrated. The computer has lost the internet multiple times and even though Blogger SAID it was auto-saving, it wasn't. And darned if I can remember what I wrote about four hours ago! Oh well. You're being cute again--what's new? You found a piece of Jack's apple from his lunch and have been sucking away on it under the dining room table. That's your new thing--eating bigger pieces of food by taking bites of it yourself. Your favorite is toast, but we might have to add apple slices to the list! You also keep coming across your blanket (which is normally in your crib for naps and bedtime) and lying down with it. So adorable. Then you motor over to Lucy and scream at her. And you find a toy you forgot you had and spend a whole 20 seconds playing with it. You're a busy little girl!
I am very much looking forward to this summer with you! It's bound to be more exciting than last summer. :) Maybe we can leave the house for more than 15 minutes at a time! I already know you loving the stroller, so walks will be a blast. But it will be really fun to try swimming and stuff too. We have to take advantage of nice weather, because before you know it, we'll see snow on the ground again! :(

Oh, you're clapping! It's just the best. We're working on "so big," but you're MUCH more into clapping. And you totally know you're doing it right too. Maybe it's all the encouragement you get from us because you're so darn cute when you do it. :) And then you flash that toothy grin and it gets even cuter!

It blows me away how much you change in just a month, but it's so much fun. You're simply delightful! It also blows me away that we're only three months from your first birthday. Insane. But man, with one year under our belts, there's not much we can't do, so bring it on!
Love you, dear.
Mom :)

And now, for your viewing pleasure, Leah through the months!


One month

Two months

Three months

Four months

Five months

Six months

Seven months

Eight months

Nine months

This is what happens when I clean!

I come across really random stuff. Like the time I cleaned out the bathroom closet and found three full boxes of Q-tips and my positive pregnancy tests from both Jack and Leah (ick!).

In a junk drawer in our bedroom, I found a piece of note paper that had been used as a bookmark when I read Grace Eventually by Anne Lamott a couple years ago. I wrote a couple small quotes on it that made me want to pick up the book again. So I think I might. I'm between book club books right now and just finished another rather dull novel, so I could use something a little more inspiring. :)

"Jesus is saying that we could be aware of, filled with, and saved by the presence of holy beauty, rather than worship golden calves."

"You want to know how big God's love is? The answer is: It's very big. It's bigger than you're comfortable with."

I love Anne.

The Hills are Alive.....

Every Easter, you can find The Sound of Music somewhere on television. And even though we own the DVD and could pop it in anytime we want, it's somehow more exciting to catch it on TV and watch the whole thing. :) Last night, we finished dinner and were getting cleaned up when I remembered that it was going to be on. So I found it and started watching about an hour into it.

The Sound of Music is, hands down, my favorite movie. Ever. I can sing every line from every song. I'm sure I can recite much of it too. To this day, I simply ADORE Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. I watched it SO many times as a child that I lost count. But it was funny as I watched it last night. I remembered that the wedding was pretty much the end of the movie for me. Until I could appreciate the backdrop of the war and Nazi influence in Austria, the rest of the movie was just kind of boring for me. I thought, "Why wouldn't they just end with the wedding? It so pretty and happy!" :)

Also, I used to fast forward through the scene where Maria is in the Reverend Mother's chambers after she has run away from the Von Trapp's. I distinctly remember thinking the scene was really dark and depressing. The Reverend Mother sings "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," which was just the most horrible song in the movie. But now, of course, it's one of my favorites! That nun could sing! I also wasn't crazy about the scene where Captain Von Trapp finds Maria in the garden and professes his love for her. Really? Maybe it was just lost on my 8-year-old self who was simply waiting for the wedding. But now, I can't imagine not watching that part. I mean, sure, it's kind of corny when Maria starts singing "Perhaps I had a wicked childhood...." right after they kiss, but that's what makes musicals so amazing.

My favorite part was watching Jack watch it. He didn't last long, but he LOVED the puppet show scene. :)

Good Friday

I have had this song in my head today, and when I searched for it, I couldn't find the same version I'd first heard. It's Nichole Nordeman, and the version I know is of a live, hidden track on one of her albums. But I did find a video of the song put to clips from The Passion of the Christ, so I'm sharing it with you. Never mind the stuff at the end--this was obviously a project for service recruiting. :)

I am thankful for the events of Good Friday, but I'm even more thankful that we know this isn't the end. We have Easter Sunday to celebrate in two days. Praise the Lord!

C'est fini!

Why, hello, last day of March! Looks like I was successful at blogging every day. I have to say, I'm a little surprised with myself. I kind of assumed I would forget at least once or just get sick of it and quit halfway through.

But I didn't!

I'm rather relieved that this everyday business is over. But I am fairly certain that getting in the habit of being here every day and writing at least SOMETHING will help in posting a little more frequently.

So, Happy March 31st. Now I need to devote the rest of today to thinking of a fun April Fool's joke for tomorrow. ;)

Heavy heart

Becky Foreman went to be with Jesus at 3:30 this morning.

I can't imagine the numbness, shock, grief, and pain the family is feeling. So please be in prayer for her husband Doug, her daughters Alissa, Tanya, and Klava, and her sons Tyler and Ted.

Bless you, dear friends. As Peggy Lang said, may God's peace-that-doesn't-make-sense be with you.

I think I can.... I think I can....

March is almost over. So far, so good! I think it's time for another "Random Thoughts Monday."

1) This week, spring will once again grace Minnesota with its presence. Hopefully this time it's for good! It will also mean that this is the first snowless March in, well, ever. At least since they started keeping track of such things, according to Belinda Jensen. That makes me happy. It also makes me a little nervous for April. Let's not have two record-breaking months in a row. First snowless March! Coldest April ever! Unless it's followed by "Summer begins in May and will last through October!"

2) Apparently, snowless isn't a word. spell check wants to make it "slowness" or "snow-less," neither of which I want.

3) Dan went to an open house at the new Target Stadium on Saturday. He got some AWESOME pictures (which will hopefully be up on his blog soon). We're very excited to go to a game sometime this year. But I think part of me will miss the dome!

4) I took a three-hour nap yesterday, and it was glorious. Dan really wanted to bless me with something and suggested that I go shopping or get a massage. After I asked where he found money for me to do those things, I told him all I really wanted was a nap. So we got home from church and I fed Leah and put her to bed. I laid down at about 11:30 and woke up at 2:30. I could hardly believe it. I felt like a new person!

5) For Jack's birthday party this weekend, we grilled out. It made me very excited for summer food. Summer has the best food. (Although, when I am making the season's first pot of wild rice soup in September, I might think differently).

6) 24 is on tonight. Dan and I thoroughly enjoy having "our shows" to watch during the week, and 24 is one of them. Unfortunately, 24 has been canceled and will not be returning after this year unless another network picks it up. :(

7) Jack's 4-year well-check visit is on Wednesday. I reminded him of it this morning and he said, "Do I have to get shots?" I answered honestly and said, "I don't know," but I'm pretty sure he does. :(

8) :) Just because the last two ended with a sad face.

9) I think that's all I've got for now. And I'm feeding Leah peas and carrots, so typing is getting difficult.