So, we have a million (18) chickens, and we get a billion (3-4 dozen) eggs each week, so we love getting creative with egg dishes. Like quiche! It's one of my favorites, we eat it at least once a week. Everyone in my family chows on it, and I've had several requests lately for the recipe. Here's my basic recipe, and I'll explain at the end how I modify it. This recipe feeds my family of five until we're stuffed, with just enough leftover for me to have it for breakfast the next morning.
Basic Hearty Quiche
by Brea!
9 eggs
3/4 c dairy (I usually go with 1/2 c milk, 1/4 c cream or half and half)
1 pk frozen spinach, defrosted, liquid squeezed out, and chopped
1/2 yellow onion, diced
olive oil, pepper, salt, other herbs and spices
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
pie crust (optional)
Heat oven to 350. If using a pie crust, fit it to the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan and pre-bake for 20 minutes.
Beat eggs, dairy, herbs, and a pinch of salt and pepper in bowl and set aside. In a small skillet, sweat the onion in olive oil until they just start to turn brown. Turn heat off and let the onion start to cool.
By small pinches, spread the spinach evenly over the bottom of the pan (or on the crust). Spoon the onion and oil evenly over the spinach, and sprinkle the cheese over that. Slowly pour the egg and dairy mix over everything, and use your finger or the back of a spoon to poke as much of the spinach and cheese back under the liquid.
Put it in the oven and back for 20-30 minutes, or until the center of the quiche is no longer liquid. Enjoy!!
***
I am extremely lazy, and I usually don't make a crust. So just spray your pan with non-stick spray before you add the spinach.
I almost always add bacon: Dice up three uncooked slices and start them in the small skillet just before onions. Cook 2-3 minutes over medium heat, then add onion and oil and follow directions from there.
I also love to add pepper, red, green (when John isn't going to eat it), yellow, orange, whatever. Add and cook with the onions.
Becky and Alex added leftover roasted veggies, layering them with the spinach, and said it turned out very well. My mom likes to add broccoli.
Use more or less cheese and veggies by taste. If you like a thicker, heartier quiche, add a few more eggs or use a little less milk. If you like a lighter quiche, use more milk or less eggs. Play with this recipe and make it your own, and most of all, have fun and enjoy it!!
Friday, March 27
Monday, March 23
Oh. My. Goodness!
We're finally a two-vehicle household again! After a year and a half with only one vehicle, we bought a truck on Saturday!!! YAY!!!!!!
But there is a slight problem. Here it is: I love my new truck. Love it. LOVE IT. If I had to choose between my new truck, and John, I would probably choose John. But I'd really have to think about it for a while.
What's that? Yes, of course I'll tell you more about my truck. I'm so glad you asked! It's a '94 F150, v6 (something surprisingly difficult to find), it holds all of us comfortably, and it's loud. And big. And mostly white. And has a killer toolbox. With relatively low mileage, considering it's 15 years old. And have I mentioned yet that I LOVE it? Because I do. I really, really do. All I need it a gun rack and a big dog in the back, and possibly a pair of upside down work boots behind the toolbox, and transformation as abackwoods redneck country mama will be complete.
So if I don't post much for a while (something I'm trying to be better about, sorry Sarah!), it's because the kids and I (and maybe John, if he can be nice) are out driving in my awesome truck.
I really love my truck. (But not as much as I love Sarah!!)
But there is a slight problem. Here it is: I love my new truck. Love it. LOVE IT. If I had to choose between my new truck, and John, I would probably choose John. But I'd really have to think about it for a while.
What's that? Yes, of course I'll tell you more about my truck. I'm so glad you asked! It's a '94 F150, v6 (something surprisingly difficult to find), it holds all of us comfortably, and it's loud. And big. And mostly white. And has a killer toolbox. With relatively low mileage, considering it's 15 years old. And have I mentioned yet that I LOVE it? Because I do. I really, really do. All I need it a gun rack and a big dog in the back, and possibly a pair of upside down work boots behind the toolbox, and transformation as a
So if I don't post much for a while (something I'm trying to be better about, sorry Sarah!), it's because the kids and I (and maybe John, if he can be nice) are out driving in my awesome truck.
I really love my truck. (But not as much as I love Sarah!!)
Friday, March 20
Things I Do When My Kids Aren't Here
Sorry for the lack of posts. I'm still here, still kicking. It's Spring, and we try to avoid being in the house as much as possible. I have no laptop (Brea pouts), so that kind of equates to no blogging.
Anyway. My kids are in Katy this weekend with my mom. I'm totally doing my happy dance. John is working tonight and tomorrow night, so we get to hang out together during the day (we'll be in Austin tomorrow, looking at trucks and going on a lunch date) and I get to watch Girl Movies while he's not home to make fun of me. YYAAAYYYYY!!
Things I do when my kids are with my mother and John is at work:
Watch Girl Movies whenever I want to. If I feel the need to start my movie at 6:30, I can. Just because.
Eat cookie dough. And not have to justify or share it.
Take a bath. Or three.
Read on my front porch for an hour.
Walk down the trail through the back of our property. For no apparent reason.
Read in the tree house (really just a glorified yet wonderfully placed platform) for an hour.
Have a beer without worrying that the beer-stealing baby is going to get it if I leave it on the coffee table.
Change clothes, realize the shirt I want is in the laundry room, and walk across the house in jeans and a bra to get it.
Clean out my daughter's room and throw lots of things away without worrying that she'll see something and shriek, 'But that one is my favorite!!!!!!!!!!' even though it's something that's been hidden in the back of her closet since the day we moved into this house.
Obsessively check my email.
Go back and read the archives on my all-time favorite guilty pleasure website, Go Fug Yourself, for an hour.
Make bread without any interruptions.
Make XanGo calls without having to say, 'Would you mind holding on for a sec while I get my kids some juice?' a single time.
Did I mention the part about unlimited Girl Movies? This evening, it's P. S., I Love You (for the 28th time) and The Holiday (for the first time). Tomorrow, Garden State (for the 98th time), and Before Sunset (for the 2nd time). I know what I like, ok? And I trust my dear Sarah's movie recommendations.
Go to bed early, should the mood strike me.
Stay up late, should the mood strike me.
Have a third rum & coke, should the mood strike me, because I can sleep late in the morning. Wait, who said that? I wouldn't do something like that.
Ok, yes I would. Third rum & coke, here I come!
Have my quiet time, and know that, since my phone is on vibrate, it will actually be quiet time for one!
Blog.
Nap.
Mop with no footprints other than my own on the floor afterwards.
Seriously, is this how the other half lives? This is a nice break. But I know by Sunday morning, I'll be very excited to have the kids back. We've been planning this for over a month, so I've been looking forward to it, but I'll be glad to have them back.
Probably.
:)
Anyway. My kids are in Katy this weekend with my mom. I'm totally doing my happy dance. John is working tonight and tomorrow night, so we get to hang out together during the day (we'll be in Austin tomorrow, looking at trucks and going on a lunch date) and I get to watch Girl Movies while he's not home to make fun of me. YYAAAYYYYY!!
Things I do when my kids are with my mother and John is at work:
Watch Girl Movies whenever I want to. If I feel the need to start my movie at 6:30, I can. Just because.
Eat cookie dough. And not have to justify or share it.
Take a bath. Or three.
Read on my front porch for an hour.
Walk down the trail through the back of our property. For no apparent reason.
Read in the tree house (really just a glorified yet wonderfully placed platform) for an hour.
Have a beer without worrying that the beer-stealing baby is going to get it if I leave it on the coffee table.
Change clothes, realize the shirt I want is in the laundry room, and walk across the house in jeans and a bra to get it.
Clean out my daughter's room and throw lots of things away without worrying that she'll see something and shriek, 'But that one is my favorite!!!!!!!!!!' even though it's something that's been hidden in the back of her closet since the day we moved into this house.
Obsessively check my email.
Go back and read the archives on my all-time favorite guilty pleasure website, Go Fug Yourself, for an hour.
Make bread without any interruptions.
Make XanGo calls without having to say, 'Would you mind holding on for a sec while I get my kids some juice?' a single time.
Did I mention the part about unlimited Girl Movies? This evening, it's P. S., I Love You (for the 28th time) and The Holiday (for the first time). Tomorrow, Garden State (for the 98th time), and Before Sunset (for the 2nd time). I know what I like, ok? And I trust my dear Sarah's movie recommendations.
Go to bed early, should the mood strike me.
Stay up late, should the mood strike me.
Ok, yes I would. Third rum & coke, here I come!
Have my quiet time, and know that, since my phone is on vibrate, it will actually be quiet time for one!
Blog.
Nap.
Mop with no footprints other than my own on the floor afterwards.
Seriously, is this how the other half lives? This is a nice break. But I know by Sunday morning, I'll be very excited to have the kids back. We've been planning this for over a month, so I've been looking forward to it, but I'll be glad to have them back.
Probably.
:)
Monday, March 9
rain, and something to think about
I don't think I ever wrote about our wildfire a week and a half ago, but it was really bad. Over 1300 acres, that kind of bad. My family was very very blessed, because while the fire was extremely close to us, distance-wise, the 25- to 30-mph winds were blowing away from us. Had the winds shifted, we would have been evacuated, and our house (more than likely) wouldn't be here right now. We've had fires closer than this (my next door neighbor burned down 10 acres a few summers ago, but it was on the other side of her property from us) several times, but I don't know that any have been this scary.
My part of Texas is the driest area in the country right now. I can totally prove it:
See that big, dark brown bubble? I live right smack-dab in the middle of it. Texas is the only state out of 50 that had the dark brown right now. If we don't get rain soon ... well, things sure aren't going to get any better. And they're not so good right now, know what I mean? (The US Drought Map can be found here.)
The kids and I are about to sit down at the table and get our indoor seeds started. I'd love to direct sow everything right now, but I just know we've got one more freeze lurking somewhere around the corner. It won't kill me to wait a week or two. I never did get my onions and potatoes in ... I didn't want to water them. And everyone at the Farmers' Market will have them, so I don't feel too bad. :)
So. Back to the fire. It really got me thinking. God forbid something were to happen and you were evacuated from your house, do you know what you would take? If you had five minutes to get out, what would make it with you in the car? If you had an hour, what would you take?
We have a three-tiered list.
the Stewart Bug-Out List
Stage One (aka, stage 'holy crap, the backyard is on fire!!')
*kids
*BOBs (bug-out bags, we have two, and each has a change of clothes and jammies for each of us, some cash that is NEVER allowed to be touched, munchies like granola bars and raisins, a few new goodies for the kids, and copies of insurance papers and vital numbers. These bags live where they can always be easliy reached, and are ready to go at all times.)
*cell phones
*computer hard drive and cameras, if time allows (we monthly back up all pics, music, etc to CDs, and the CDs live at Chili's, so if we lose the computer, we don't lose everything)
*dog
Stage Two (aka, stage 'the backyard isn't on fire yet, but we see the firemen knocking on doors up the street headed our way')
*all of theStage One stuff
*pillows
*my jewelrey box (I'm a vain person, ok? I like my stuff)
*photo albums
*comfort stuff for the kids (stuffed animals or blankets)
*heirloom stuff (I've got some very sentimentally valuable old quilts, etc)
*our guns and any ammo on hand (no because I think we'd need it on the road, I just like my guns and would rather not replace them if I have a chance to grab them)
Stage Three (aka, stage 'we're gettting word that we need to leave if the winds don't die down soon, but the fire or whatever disaster is still a ways off)
*all Stage One and Two stuff
*a few more bags of clothes
*anything the kids have time to grab, if reasonable
*my seed collection
*special books
*whatever else we feel we safely have time for
Now, that being said ... there is nothing in this house worth risking my life. If we need to get out, we're out. Period. We have insurance, and frankly, it's all just stuff. Yes, some of it is stuff I really like, but still. Stuff.
I know some of my list might seem silly to you, like the seeds and books in stage three. But I love my seeds, especially now that I've started collecting my own. And we have some books that almost can't be replaced. And I know that I don't need a change of clothes, because I can always buy another set of jammies, but if I'm being evacuated from my house, and I'm going to have to sleep in a strange bed (even if it's at a friend or relative's house), I want my own jammies. So there. :)
Anyway. I just wanted to give you something to think about. What would you do if you had to leave at a moment's notice, not just because of fire danger? Do you have at least two evacuation routes? What if it's something far less complex than that; do your kids and husband know where to meet if there's a fire in your house? Do they know not to go back in any burning building? I pray that I will never need to use any of this information, but seriously, people. Does it hurt so much to plan ahead?
And please pray that we get some of the rain they're forecasting this weekend, and that this will be a totally moot post. :)
My part of Texas is the driest area in the country right now. I can totally prove it:
See that big, dark brown bubble? I live right smack-dab in the middle of it. Texas is the only state out of 50 that had the dark brown right now. If we don't get rain soon ... well, things sure aren't going to get any better. And they're not so good right now, know what I mean? (The US Drought Map can be found here.)
The kids and I are about to sit down at the table and get our indoor seeds started. I'd love to direct sow everything right now, but I just know we've got one more freeze lurking somewhere around the corner. It won't kill me to wait a week or two. I never did get my onions and potatoes in ... I didn't want to water them. And everyone at the Farmers' Market will have them, so I don't feel too bad. :)
So. Back to the fire. It really got me thinking. God forbid something were to happen and you were evacuated from your house, do you know what you would take? If you had five minutes to get out, what would make it with you in the car? If you had an hour, what would you take?
We have a three-tiered list.
the Stewart Bug-Out List
Stage One (aka, stage 'holy crap, the backyard is on fire!!')
*kids
*BOBs (bug-out bags, we have two, and each has a change of clothes and jammies for each of us, some cash that is NEVER allowed to be touched, munchies like granola bars and raisins, a few new goodies for the kids, and copies of insurance papers and vital numbers. These bags live where they can always be easliy reached, and are ready to go at all times.)
*cell phones
*computer hard drive and cameras, if time allows (we monthly back up all pics, music, etc to CDs, and the CDs live at Chili's, so if we lose the computer, we don't lose everything)
*dog
Stage Two (aka, stage 'the backyard isn't on fire yet, but we see the firemen knocking on doors up the street headed our way')
*all of theStage One stuff
*pillows
*my jewelrey box (I'm a vain person, ok? I like my stuff)
*photo albums
*comfort stuff for the kids (stuffed animals or blankets)
*heirloom stuff (I've got some very sentimentally valuable old quilts, etc)
*our guns and any ammo on hand (no because I think we'd need it on the road, I just like my guns and would rather not replace them if I have a chance to grab them)
Stage Three (aka, stage 'we're gettting word that we need to leave if the winds don't die down soon, but the fire or whatever disaster is still a ways off)
*all Stage One and Two stuff
*a few more bags of clothes
*anything the kids have time to grab, if reasonable
*my seed collection
*special books
*whatever else we feel we safely have time for
Now, that being said ... there is nothing in this house worth risking my life. If we need to get out, we're out. Period. We have insurance, and frankly, it's all just stuff. Yes, some of it is stuff I really like, but still. Stuff.
I know some of my list might seem silly to you, like the seeds and books in stage three. But I love my seeds, especially now that I've started collecting my own. And we have some books that almost can't be replaced. And I know that I don't need a change of clothes, because I can always buy another set of jammies, but if I'm being evacuated from my house, and I'm going to have to sleep in a strange bed (even if it's at a friend or relative's house), I want my own jammies. So there. :)
Anyway. I just wanted to give you something to think about. What would you do if you had to leave at a moment's notice, not just because of fire danger? Do you have at least two evacuation routes? What if it's something far less complex than that; do your kids and husband know where to meet if there's a fire in your house? Do they know not to go back in any burning building? I pray that I will never need to use any of this information, but seriously, people. Does it hurt so much to plan ahead?
And please pray that we get some of the rain they're forecasting this weekend, and that this will be a totally moot post. :)
Monday, March 2
brutes
Oh.
OH!!
OH MY GOOD HEAVENS!!!! I just love the interweb!
Just think. You can wake up on a lovely Monday, make your coffee, drink 16 cups while you're reading the Bible and waiting for the rest of your family to wake up, feed everyone breakfast, start some laundry, feel mildly accomplished, because, ya know, you just love Mondays. You are that freak of nature who doesn't really like the weekends, but absolutely thinks Monday is the greatest day of the week.
You've come to grips with your strangeness. It's ok with you now. It's who you are, and you embrace it.
You have lunch. Make some more coffee. Get your husband's clothes ready for work. Do other stuff, accomplish other things. Put the kids down for a nap. Kiss above-mentioned husband goodbye for the evening as he leaves for work.
It's been a good day.
So you decide to reward yourself with a 86th cup of coffee, and a little bit of web surfing.
Next thing you know, you're a super hero.
Yeah, you read that correctly. Confused? Let me show you what I mean:
Oh, yeah. I made me into a super hero. Now, my hair would be much longer (it's almost down to my waist, despite the 4 inches we took off last month), my boots would have some major heels on them, and (sorry, Mom, I have to say it) well, I've had three kids. My rack just isn't that great. And I don't consider myself lumbering, even if I am fairly incredible.
However, I'm all for hitting people with a club. Honestly. Anyone can shoot anyone else. Me included. I have and love guns. But it takes real finesse to beat someone down with a club. I'm just saying.
But that wasn't enough for me. No. I was not finished.
'What more could there be?' you ask. 'This chick is already such a freak. What more could she find?'
Everyone knows you can't fight crime, with a club, alone.
You had to have seen that one coming. It looks JUST LIKE JOHN. He's even ancient!! Doesn't that picture look just like Leonidas from 300? It totally does, doesn't it? I know!! People at work call him Leonidas. This looks JUST LIKE HIM. I'm not kidding.
Well, his head's not that small compared to his body. And he told me one time when we were talking about super heroes (because we don't have three kids and land and chickens and things to do. We have all the time in the world to debate DC v Marvel, and who would win in a fight between hero A and hero B, and then he tells me I can't make up super heroes, and I think I can. He's wrong. But I digress.) that even if he was a super hero, he would never wear tights. But he sometimes looks like he wants to hit people with a big, wooden club.
Don't tell him I told you that. Wouldn't want him to take out the clubby anger on me. Because did you SEE me? I could totally kick his ass.
But seriously! We have matching capes!!! How freaking awesome is that? We're like the hottest crime fighting husband-and-wife duo ever. I wonder what cool powers our kids will inherit from us? (No, David, falling down is not a super power. You do recover surprisingly quickly, though. I'll have to think about that one. "Look, in the sky! It's ... Healing Boy!" Nah. Just doesn't have that ring to it. Sorry.)
So I love the internet. Because you can go to the website The Hero Factory. And suddenly, your average nice day becomes utterly amazing and fantastic, because know you know that when someone messes with you on the phone, or cuts you off in traffic, or is really rude to you in the line at the HEB, you're just being benevolent by not responding. Because you're a super hero.
They'd best learn to respect, if they know what's good for them. I'm just saying.
Because you could totally kick their ass.
OH!!
OH MY GOOD HEAVENS!!!! I just love the interweb!
Just think. You can wake up on a lovely Monday, make your coffee, drink 16 cups while you're reading the Bible and waiting for the rest of your family to wake up, feed everyone breakfast, start some laundry, feel mildly accomplished, because, ya know, you just love Mondays. You are that freak of nature who doesn't really like the weekends, but absolutely thinks Monday is the greatest day of the week.
You've come to grips with your strangeness. It's ok with you now. It's who you are, and you embrace it.
You have lunch. Make some more coffee. Get your husband's clothes ready for work. Do other stuff, accomplish other things. Put the kids down for a nap. Kiss above-mentioned husband goodbye for the evening as he leaves for work.
It's been a good day.
So you decide to reward yourself with a 86th cup of coffee, and a little bit of web surfing.
Next thing you know, you're a super hero.
Yeah, you read that correctly. Confused? Let me show you what I mean:
Oh, yeah. I made me into a super hero. Now, my hair would be much longer (it's almost down to my waist, despite the 4 inches we took off last month), my boots would have some major heels on them, and (sorry, Mom, I have to say it) well, I've had three kids. My rack just isn't that great. And I don't consider myself lumbering, even if I am fairly incredible.
However, I'm all for hitting people with a club. Honestly. Anyone can shoot anyone else. Me included. I have and love guns. But it takes real finesse to beat someone down with a club. I'm just saying.
But that wasn't enough for me. No. I was not finished.
'What more could there be?' you ask. 'This chick is already such a freak. What more could she find?'
Everyone knows you can't fight crime, with a club, alone.
You had to have seen that one coming. It looks JUST LIKE JOHN. He's even ancient!! Doesn't that picture look just like Leonidas from 300? It totally does, doesn't it? I know!! People at work call him Leonidas. This looks JUST LIKE HIM. I'm not kidding.
Well, his head's not that small compared to his body. And he told me one time when we were talking about super heroes (because we don't have three kids and land and chickens and things to do. We have all the time in the world to debate DC v Marvel, and who would win in a fight between hero A and hero B, and then he tells me I can't make up super heroes, and I think I can. He's wrong. But I digress.) that even if he was a super hero, he would never wear tights. But he sometimes looks like he wants to hit people with a big, wooden club.
Don't tell him I told you that. Wouldn't want him to take out the clubby anger on me. Because did you SEE me? I could totally kick his ass.
But seriously! We have matching capes!!! How freaking awesome is that? We're like the hottest crime fighting husband-and-wife duo ever. I wonder what cool powers our kids will inherit from us? (No, David, falling down is not a super power. You do recover surprisingly quickly, though. I'll have to think about that one. "Look, in the sky! It's ... Healing Boy!" Nah. Just doesn't have that ring to it. Sorry.)
So I love the internet. Because you can go to the website The Hero Factory. And suddenly, your average nice day becomes utterly amazing and fantastic, because know you know that when someone messes with you on the phone, or cuts you off in traffic, or is really rude to you in the line at the HEB, you're just being benevolent by not responding. Because you're a super hero.
They'd best learn to respect, if they know what's good for them. I'm just saying.
Because you could totally kick their ass.
The Simple Woman's Daybook
My Daybook ~ March 2, 2009
***
Outside my window ... the sun is shining, the sky is clear, the trees are putting on their leaves, and wildflower are popping up, despite the frightening lack of rain this winter.
***
I am thinking ... how thankful I am that the fire in our county, which burned almost 1300 acres, didn't head our direction. We weren't too far from it, but the wind was in our favor. And that I wish Sarah didn't live so stinkin' far away from me.
***
I am thankful for ... my church, the retreat from which I just came home, the God who forgives me no matter how many times I royally mess up everything, and good friends and family who always love me.
***
From the learning rooms ... who knows. Lots of life lessons today, probably not a lot of hard-core formal school.
***
From the kitchen ... bread (if I can get John to get me honey from the store), beignets, and Mexican Rice Casserole for lunch.
***
I am wearing ... one of John's old sweaters, old comfy holey jeans, and flip-flops.
***
I am creating ... a pleasant atmosphere in my home, theoretically. Well, I'm working on it, at least.
***
I am reading ... Oliver Twist, The Shaping of a Christian Family, and Jane Eyre. And headed to the bookstore later this morning.
***
I am hoping ... to learn 'What Wondrous Love Is This' by this afternoon. I'm getting there, slowly but surely ... I think.
***
I am hearing ... Over The Rhine's Snow Angel on my computer, Sam chasing the dog outside, lots of birds in the trees, and an angry rooster who is getting his ass kicked by an even more angry hen.
***
Around the house ... I really need to mop my floors, but beignets sound more fun. We've got the upstairs under control, things are fairly well organized downstairs, and the kitchen doesn't frighten me at the moment. My yard, however ... Yeah. Gotta get that done today.
***
One of my favorite things ... holding Baby Lewis at church yesterday, and learning that Kristie told my husband that I'm a baby hog. Well, yeah. Helloooooo! Have you not met me?? :)
***
A few plans for the rest of the week ... lots of XanGo call backs and follow-ups, need to get more chicken scratch, library and bookstore, hanging out with the family, and George Washington Day at Camp Winchester on Saturday.
Happy Monday!!
Happy Monday!!
Sunday, March 1
"this one's my favorite!"
We had our annual Ladies' Retreat this weekend at Camp Tejas. My dear friend Kristie's sister, Kim, came up to do the music. Kim is a hard person to be around. Not because she's not awesome. She's too awesome! She has beautiful dark eyes, and lovely thick long dark hair, and she's got curves in all the right places, and she has this voice. Oh, does she have a voice. I positively despise her.
Well, except for the fact that I totally wish she was my little sister. And ... she's younger than I. So I wasn't the youngest person at the retreat, and that was a first.
Ok. I love Kim. I admit it. But all that is a digression. What I'm getting at is this. Kim did a wonderful job with the music. She and Kristie and our speaker coordinated on lovely songs with beautiful lyrics that dovetailed with the message. And Melissa, who was sitting beside me the whole time, could not stop laughing at me. Because every time Kristie or Kim announced the next song, I would just about start bouncing out of my chair, loudly whispering to Melissa, 'This one's my favorite!!'
But it's true. I cannot pick a favorite hymn, anymore than I can pick a favorite child. I love them all so much. I love the different styles of music. I love the lyrics. I love finding out who wrote each, and why and when it was written. I love old hymns (Martin Luther wrote 'A Mighty Fortress is Our God') and I love the new Maranatha hymns like 'Father, I Adore You.' (And, that last one is a round. And I loves me a good round.)
Today, our Communion hymn was 'What Wondrous Love Is This,' (that link is totally kid safe, btw) one that I've heard before, but I always forget how much I love it. I was sad for a second that Melissa didn't sit by me in church, because at this point John is immune to, 'Hey baby, guess what! This one's my favorite!!'
I'm not a great piano player, but with lots of practice, I can master a song. I take it measure by measure, over and over again, and I eventually get it. I can play the theme to Forrest Gump, and the opening lines of Moonlight Sonata. My hands are small (I can stretch to have an ovtice plus on reach), so Claire de Lune has been frustrating me for a while, but I'm slowly but surely getting there. Stupid crazy-ass Debussey chords. What was that man thinking? Mere mortals have a tough time when they have small hands. I need a mini-piano, that's what I need.
Sorry. I digress, yet again.
At the retreat, we sang 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,' one of my favorites. I can play that one from beginning to end and have all the words memorized. 'Be Thou My Vision,' another favorite. I'm learning this one. 'Open Our Eyes, Lord,' can't play is but I do love it.
My favorite Christmas hymns are ... all of them, except 'It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.' I just don't like that one.
We sang 'O Love That Will Not Let Me Go' a few weeks ago, and by Tuesday evening I could play it without completely butchering it, quite a feat for me. I can play 'There's Something About the Name of Jesus,' and 'In My Life, Lord.' I do seem to be drawn to the slightly slower and more melancholy songs, but maybe that's just because I know there's no hope that I have the talent to play the Hallelujah Chorus. After John's grandfather's funeral, I learned to play 'How Great Thou Art,' which I used to this was just ok, but it's also a favorite now.
But really, the music is secondary to the lyrics in my mind. I really didn't like 'O Love That Will Not Let Me Go' the first few times we sang it. But then one Sunday, the third verse really sank in.
I think anyone who has gone through times of suffering or sorrow, and has turned to the Lord for comfort, can understand that stanza. The promise of a tearless morning ... the thought that joy actually seeks us, though we often try to hide from it in our pain and suffering ... it's a powerful thing, the love of God.
There are so many hymns I hear that take me back to my childhood. I grew up in a music lovin' alcohol shunnin' can I get an AMEN? goog ole' Southern Baptist church. And boy, did we love to sing. I'm still known to wander around our house singing 'This Is the Day (That the Lord has Made' in a rather loud voice, far too early n the morning.
What? Stop looking at me like that. I have to wake up my family somehow, don't I? Better than an alarm clock ...
Music just makes me happy. And not just hymns, though they seem to be ... well, my favorite. I love Led Zeppelin. I listen to the old classics of the Big Band Era. Hey, Benny Goodman! Glen Miller, how ya' doing? I love Metallica. I love love love bluegrass music. I'm a huge fan of punk, old school and new school alike. When I start feeling too much like a mom, and worry that I'm losing that crazy, wild side of me that I used to love and sometimes forget about, I always put on The Offspring or some Less Than Jake. Yay, ska!! Loves me some bubblegum pop, too. And let's not forget my extreme and embarrassing love for bad music. Oh, man. Me and bad music? We're, like, thisclose. Brea + bad music = BFF. One might even say, BF4E. Seriously!
So there you have it. The ramblings that have been running around in my head for the last few days. What about you? Do you have a favorite song? What about a favorite hymn, should you be so inclined? What kind of music makes you happy? What do you listen to when you're blue?
Which one is your favorite?
Well, except for the fact that I totally wish she was my little sister. And ... she's younger than I. So I wasn't the youngest person at the retreat, and that was a first.
Ok. I love Kim. I admit it. But all that is a digression. What I'm getting at is this. Kim did a wonderful job with the music. She and Kristie and our speaker coordinated on lovely songs with beautiful lyrics that dovetailed with the message. And Melissa, who was sitting beside me the whole time, could not stop laughing at me. Because every time Kristie or Kim announced the next song, I would just about start bouncing out of my chair, loudly whispering to Melissa, 'This one's my favorite!!'
But it's true. I cannot pick a favorite hymn, anymore than I can pick a favorite child. I love them all so much. I love the different styles of music. I love the lyrics. I love finding out who wrote each, and why and when it was written. I love old hymns (Martin Luther wrote 'A Mighty Fortress is Our God') and I love the new Maranatha hymns like 'Father, I Adore You.' (And, that last one is a round. And I loves me a good round.)
Today, our Communion hymn was 'What Wondrous Love Is This,' (that link is totally kid safe, btw) one that I've heard before, but I always forget how much I love it. I was sad for a second that Melissa didn't sit by me in church, because at this point John is immune to, 'Hey baby, guess what! This one's my favorite!!'
I'm not a great piano player, but with lots of practice, I can master a song. I take it measure by measure, over and over again, and I eventually get it. I can play the theme to Forrest Gump, and the opening lines of Moonlight Sonata. My hands are small (I can stretch to have an ovtice plus on reach), so Claire de Lune has been frustrating me for a while, but I'm slowly but surely getting there. Stupid crazy-ass Debussey chords. What was that man thinking? Mere mortals have a tough time when they have small hands. I need a mini-piano, that's what I need.
Sorry. I digress, yet again.
At the retreat, we sang 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,' one of my favorites. I can play that one from beginning to end and have all the words memorized. 'Be Thou My Vision,' another favorite. I'm learning this one. 'Open Our Eyes, Lord,' can't play is but I do love it.
My favorite Christmas hymns are ... all of them, except 'It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.' I just don't like that one.
We sang 'O Love That Will Not Let Me Go' a few weeks ago, and by Tuesday evening I could play it without completely butchering it, quite a feat for me. I can play 'There's Something About the Name of Jesus,' and 'In My Life, Lord.' I do seem to be drawn to the slightly slower and more melancholy songs, but maybe that's just because I know there's no hope that I have the talent to play the Hallelujah Chorus. After John's grandfather's funeral, I learned to play 'How Great Thou Art,' which I used to this was just ok, but it's also a favorite now.
But really, the music is secondary to the lyrics in my mind. I really didn't like 'O Love That Will Not Let Me Go' the first few times we sang it. But then one Sunday, the third verse really sank in.
'O joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my eyes to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.'
I cannot close my eyes to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.'
I think anyone who has gone through times of suffering or sorrow, and has turned to the Lord for comfort, can understand that stanza. The promise of a tearless morning ... the thought that joy actually seeks us, though we often try to hide from it in our pain and suffering ... it's a powerful thing, the love of God.
There are so many hymns I hear that take me back to my childhood. I grew up in a music lovin' alcohol shunnin' can I get an AMEN? goog ole' Southern Baptist church. And boy, did we love to sing. I'm still known to wander around our house singing 'This Is the Day (That the Lord has Made' in a rather loud voice, far too early n the morning.
What? Stop looking at me like that. I have to wake up my family somehow, don't I? Better than an alarm clock ...
Music just makes me happy. And not just hymns, though they seem to be ... well, my favorite. I love Led Zeppelin. I listen to the old classics of the Big Band Era. Hey, Benny Goodman! Glen Miller, how ya' doing? I love Metallica. I love love love bluegrass music. I'm a huge fan of punk, old school and new school alike. When I start feeling too much like a mom, and worry that I'm losing that crazy, wild side of me that I used to love and sometimes forget about, I always put on The Offspring or some Less Than Jake. Yay, ska!! Loves me some bubblegum pop, too. And let's not forget my extreme and embarrassing love for bad music. Oh, man. Me and bad music? We're, like, thisclose. Brea + bad music = BFF. One might even say, BF4E. Seriously!
So there you have it. The ramblings that have been running around in my head for the last few days. What about you? Do you have a favorite song? What about a favorite hymn, should you be so inclined? What kind of music makes you happy? What do you listen to when you're blue?
Which one is your favorite?
Thursday, February 26
what every new mother should know
I'm not posting pics on this subject, because then there would be solid evidence that I'm telling the truth. :)
David turned two in October. He is my most outwardly-loving child, and will run at you and wrap his arms around your legs for no reason whatsoever. He has a great sense of humor, laughs almost nonstop, and would live on Campbell's Creamy Tomato Soup if given the chance.
He also has no fear. Of anything. At all. We ever-so-fondly refer to him as Danger Baby. If you say, 'Hey David, are you a Danger Baby?' he says, 'YES!!' If you say, 'David, where's Danger Baby?' he just grins a blindingly happy smile and points to his belly. His head might be more apt, but I'll explain that in a minute ...
He gains a new scar each week. He falls off things. He's the only one we've had to take to the ER with an injury-related emergency. I highly doubt it was our last trip with him. He jumps off things. He climbs. He thinks he knows how to ride a bike without training wheels. (For the record, he doesn't.)
I'm looking at him right now, and here's what I'm seeing: A scar from the seven stitches on his forehead. A scab on top of the scar where he fell when I was in Ohio. Three bruises in various stages of healing on different places on his forehead. A swollen top lip. His nose is still slightly swollen, although only his parents would notice, from the ever-so-fun bloody nose he got the other night. A bite mark that's healing, on his cheek, from where the dog bit him. (He decided to bite the puppy when she was asleep. THAT worked out well, let me tell you.) Scratches under his left eye from running into a tree in the wooded part of our property. Scratches near his right ear from another argument with some scrub brush on a different day.
And people, that's just his head. You don't even want to know what his knees and elbows look like.
I am amazed that he still has all his teeth.
The crazy thing is, he's really not clumsy. I might even say that he's the most graceful of all my children at this age, but it's just that he has no fear of anything. AT ALL!! A fence? Great, let's climb it. Something hidden at the top of the pantry? No problem, I can scale it. The big kids are climbing trees? Bring it on. Sam can ride a bike? Well, I'm not getting left behind!
'Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you ...'
I had been in Ohio for all of about two or three hours when John sent a picture to my phone. I took one look at it and started laughing. Laughing really, really, really hard. Why? Because I'm a very bad and totally unsympathetic mom, that's why. Sarah took one look at the picture and started to hyperventilate. David looked like he had been in a bar brawl with a bunch of Hell's Angels. And was grinning from ear to ear.
She stared at me and said, 'Why aren't you freaking out? You're his mom! I'm not even related to the kid and I'm totally freaking out! Is he ok?'
Once I stopped laughing (and it took a minute or two), I explained to her. 'Sarah, first off, that's just David. I'm happy to see all his teeth in place and both ears still attached. Secondly, if John had to take any of the kids to the ER, he would totally call me before he figured out how to use the camera on his phone. Trust me.'
That's just the way John and I are as parents. Kids will get hurt. They will have scars. We try to teach them how to properly jump, and fall, so as to minimize damage. We keep a far closer eye on Danger Baby than we did the others at this age. We don't coddle them when they get hurt. A common response to 'I'm bleeding!!' is 'How's that working out for you?'
My kids know how to clean out a scratch, a cut, and a scrape. They know what's appropriate to come crying to me about, and when they need to suck it up. Band-aids are rarely seen, despite the number of flesh wounds that occur in the abounding chaos of our lives. We don't let them whine, and as a result, we don't have whiny kids. Whiny kids bother me, and I decided when I was pregnant with Sam that I didn't want any. So there! :)
I got to thinking about all this earlier this morning, when OHmommy, the stiletto ho over at Classy Chaos, did a post called "What Every New Mother Should Know." I'm sure every mom has her own advice to give, but mine would be (and is) this: when you have kids, life changes for ever. Having a plan is nice, but you have GOT to learn to be flexible, because kids are not predictable. They drop the quiche you were making for bible study on the floor, and the dish shatters and you can't even throw the food to the chickens because of the shards of glass. They find the Sharpie you hid and color on your walls. Or worse, your couch. The fall down and get blood on your favorite shirt of all time that you've had for 7 years, and you have to throw it away. They have a bad dream at 3 in the morning on the one night you really need to get some extra sleep.
So learn to roll with the punches, and teach your kids to do the same. They'll be much more well-adjusted for it, and they just might thank you for it one day. (Hey, Mom. Thanks for being such an awesome mom to me and Kevin and Wes. And it's ok. I promise I won't ever tell them that you totally love me the most!!)
Also, it doesn't hurt to have a working knowledge of basic first aid.
So ... what's your number one tip that every new mom should know?
David turned two in October. He is my most outwardly-loving child, and will run at you and wrap his arms around your legs for no reason whatsoever. He has a great sense of humor, laughs almost nonstop, and would live on Campbell's Creamy Tomato Soup if given the chance.
He also has no fear. Of anything. At all. We ever-so-fondly refer to him as Danger Baby. If you say, 'Hey David, are you a Danger Baby?' he says, 'YES!!' If you say, 'David, where's Danger Baby?' he just grins a blindingly happy smile and points to his belly. His head might be more apt, but I'll explain that in a minute ...
He gains a new scar each week. He falls off things. He's the only one we've had to take to the ER with an injury-related emergency. I highly doubt it was our last trip with him. He jumps off things. He climbs. He thinks he knows how to ride a bike without training wheels. (For the record, he doesn't.)
I'm looking at him right now, and here's what I'm seeing: A scar from the seven stitches on his forehead. A scab on top of the scar where he fell when I was in Ohio. Three bruises in various stages of healing on different places on his forehead. A swollen top lip. His nose is still slightly swollen, although only his parents would notice, from the ever-so-fun bloody nose he got the other night. A bite mark that's healing, on his cheek, from where the dog bit him. (He decided to bite the puppy when she was asleep. THAT worked out well, let me tell you.) Scratches under his left eye from running into a tree in the wooded part of our property. Scratches near his right ear from another argument with some scrub brush on a different day.
And people, that's just his head. You don't even want to know what his knees and elbows look like.
I am amazed that he still has all his teeth.
The crazy thing is, he's really not clumsy. I might even say that he's the most graceful of all my children at this age, but it's just that he has no fear of anything. AT ALL!! A fence? Great, let's climb it. Something hidden at the top of the pantry? No problem, I can scale it. The big kids are climbing trees? Bring it on. Sam can ride a bike? Well, I'm not getting left behind!
'Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you ...'
I had been in Ohio for all of about two or three hours when John sent a picture to my phone. I took one look at it and started laughing. Laughing really, really, really hard. Why? Because I'm a very bad and totally unsympathetic mom, that's why. Sarah took one look at the picture and started to hyperventilate. David looked like he had been in a bar brawl with a bunch of Hell's Angels. And was grinning from ear to ear.
She stared at me and said, 'Why aren't you freaking out? You're his mom! I'm not even related to the kid and I'm totally freaking out! Is he ok?'
Once I stopped laughing (and it took a minute or two), I explained to her. 'Sarah, first off, that's just David. I'm happy to see all his teeth in place and both ears still attached. Secondly, if John had to take any of the kids to the ER, he would totally call me before he figured out how to use the camera on his phone. Trust me.'
That's just the way John and I are as parents. Kids will get hurt. They will have scars. We try to teach them how to properly jump, and fall, so as to minimize damage. We keep a far closer eye on Danger Baby than we did the others at this age. We don't coddle them when they get hurt. A common response to 'I'm bleeding!!' is 'How's that working out for you?'
My kids know how to clean out a scratch, a cut, and a scrape. They know what's appropriate to come crying to me about, and when they need to suck it up. Band-aids are rarely seen, despite the number of flesh wounds that occur in the abounding chaos of our lives. We don't let them whine, and as a result, we don't have whiny kids. Whiny kids bother me, and I decided when I was pregnant with Sam that I didn't want any. So there! :)
I got to thinking about all this earlier this morning, when OHmommy, the stiletto ho over at Classy Chaos, did a post called "What Every New Mother Should Know." I'm sure every mom has her own advice to give, but mine would be (and is) this: when you have kids, life changes for ever. Having a plan is nice, but you have GOT to learn to be flexible, because kids are not predictable. They drop the quiche you were making for bible study on the floor, and the dish shatters and you can't even throw the food to the chickens because of the shards of glass. They find the Sharpie you hid and color on your walls. Or worse, your couch. The fall down and get blood on your favorite shirt of all time that you've had for 7 years, and you have to throw it away. They have a bad dream at 3 in the morning on the one night you really need to get some extra sleep.
So learn to roll with the punches, and teach your kids to do the same. They'll be much more well-adjusted for it, and they just might thank you for it one day. (Hey, Mom. Thanks for being such an awesome mom to me and Kevin and Wes. And it's ok. I promise I won't ever tell them that you totally love me the most!!)
Also, it doesn't hurt to have a working knowledge of basic first aid.
So ... what's your number one tip that every new mom should know?
Wednesday, February 25
so ... I'm an idiot
Ok, peeps. You are going to love this.
So I'm notorious with our book club for being rather last minute. I very rarely arrive on time (although, in my defense, I usually have to wait until John gets home then drive over an hour to whomever's house where we're meeting), and I almost never get my book until a few days before we meet. Then I have to speed through it, most often finishing it the day of book club. The first time I came, I was invited by Melanie on a Tuesday afternoon, I went to the library that evening, found a copy of Rebecca by Daphne DeMaurier, and joined the ladies I'd soon come to know and love the following evening after reading the whole book. I read fast, ok?
This month, I decided to break out of my pattern, and do things totally differently. I went to the library two days after January's meeting and got my book. I took my time to read through it. It was depressing, and sucked my will to live right out of my soul (it seems a lot of our books have beenreally happy and uplifting depressing as hell lately), but I finished it anyway. Even John noticed, and told me he was impressed. :) I was so proud of myself! I was going to be prepared! With witty and insightful things to say!! Even though the book sucked my will to live!!!
Book club is tonight. I was on the phone with Melanie (the precious gal who not only started our book club, but also helped me buy the lovely house where I live) yesterday afternoon, and we were talking about our book, The Girls. I asked her if any of the books on our list for the year were happy ones, and she said, 'I know! What's with all the sad lit lately?' We kept talking for a while. She said, '...and then I saw that thing on conjoined twins the other morning on the Today Show. What a coincidence!'
I thought, 'Huh. That's nice. I think one of the characters in the book had cousins that were twins, but they were only mentioned in passing. Were they even conjoined? Maybe that part really stuck with her.'
Then she said, 'Yeah, I have a hard time reading anything where someone dies horribly in a car crash, because of my mom and everything.'
Again I thought, 'Huh. Did I skip over a whole part about a car crash? I mean, I remember when she killed her husband, and it turned out that all her friends had slept with him at one point or another, and that one friend had cancer, but I really don't remember a wreck.'
We talked and wondered if our book club was going to be able to keep up much conversation about the book, and whether we'd all have to drink the Kool-Aid afterward to escape the depression we'd all be going through, because of how non-uplifting this book was.
Then she brought up conjoined twins again. I had to stop her. 'Melanie, I'm sorry, but I don't remember any twins. Who were the twins?'
There was a long pause.
'BREA! For the love of Xenu, what book did you read?'
'Well, I read The Girls. The one where those five girls grow up together, and then one of them kills her husband after they'd all lost touch, and everyone came back to their hometown for his funeral, and no one else realized what a total asshat the guy was, and how awful he had been ...'
'BREA! Stop! That's not the book we're reading. Did you get the title right?'
'Well ... I think so. It said "the girls" in big blue letters on the front cover, so I assumed that was the title ...'
'Brea, our book is a novel about the oldest living conjoined twins; they're attached at the head, and they decide to write their memoirs.'
'Really? I didn't read that book.'
... I READ THE WRONG BOOK!!!! Apparently, there are TWO horribly depressing books called The Girls, and I didn't check the author when I got the book from my library; I just checked out the only book they had called The Girls.
And I have no car until John gets home, when I leave for book club. He didn't get home until after 8:30 last night, or I totally would have made a really late trip to one of the book stores in Austin to buy the book. I already have a complex about book club; all the gals there are smart and pretty and professional, and I feel so much younger than all of them (ok, I am so much younger than some of them, but that's besides the point), and they drink wine (I can't stand wine, and it makes me feel like such a little kid), and I worry that I'm constantly on the edge of doing something totally embarrassing, like making my drink come out my nose, or having to tell them I'm knocked up again, or spitting food, or falling down as I am fairly prone to do from time to time.
So ... the moral of the story is this: ALWAYS CHECK THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE READING, OR OTHERWISE YOU'RE GOING TO LOOK LIKE A BLOOMIN' IDIOT IN FRONT OF ALL YOUR SMART, SOPHISTICATED, WELL-READ FRIENDS.
The end.
So I'm notorious with our book club for being rather last minute. I very rarely arrive on time (although, in my defense, I usually have to wait until John gets home then drive over an hour to whomever's house where we're meeting), and I almost never get my book until a few days before we meet. Then I have to speed through it, most often finishing it the day of book club. The first time I came, I was invited by Melanie on a Tuesday afternoon, I went to the library that evening, found a copy of Rebecca by Daphne DeMaurier, and joined the ladies I'd soon come to know and love the following evening after reading the whole book. I read fast, ok?
This month, I decided to break out of my pattern, and do things totally differently. I went to the library two days after January's meeting and got my book. I took my time to read through it. It was depressing, and sucked my will to live right out of my soul (it seems a lot of our books have been
Book club is tonight. I was on the phone with Melanie (the precious gal who not only started our book club, but also helped me buy the lovely house where I live) yesterday afternoon, and we were talking about our book, The Girls. I asked her if any of the books on our list for the year were happy ones, and she said, 'I know! What's with all the sad lit lately?' We kept talking for a while. She said, '...and then I saw that thing on conjoined twins the other morning on the Today Show. What a coincidence!'
I thought, 'Huh. That's nice. I think one of the characters in the book had cousins that were twins, but they were only mentioned in passing. Were they even conjoined? Maybe that part really stuck with her.'
Then she said, 'Yeah, I have a hard time reading anything where someone dies horribly in a car crash, because of my mom and everything.'
Again I thought, 'Huh. Did I skip over a whole part about a car crash? I mean, I remember when she killed her husband, and it turned out that all her friends had slept with him at one point or another, and that one friend had cancer, but I really don't remember a wreck.'
We talked and wondered if our book club was going to be able to keep up much conversation about the book, and whether we'd all have to drink the Kool-Aid afterward to escape the depression we'd all be going through, because of how non-uplifting this book was.
Then she brought up conjoined twins again. I had to stop her. 'Melanie, I'm sorry, but I don't remember any twins. Who were the twins?'
There was a long pause.
'BREA! For the love of Xenu, what book did you read?'
'Well, I read The Girls. The one where those five girls grow up together, and then one of them kills her husband after they'd all lost touch, and everyone came back to their hometown for his funeral, and no one else realized what a total asshat the guy was, and how awful he had been ...'
'BREA! Stop! That's not the book we're reading. Did you get the title right?'
'Well ... I think so. It said "the girls" in big blue letters on the front cover, so I assumed that was the title ...'
'Brea, our book is a novel about the oldest living conjoined twins; they're attached at the head, and they decide to write their memoirs.'
'Really? I didn't read that book.'
... I READ THE WRONG BOOK!!!! Apparently, there are TWO horribly depressing books called The Girls, and I didn't check the author when I got the book from my library; I just checked out the only book they had called The Girls.
And I have no car until John gets home, when I leave for book club. He didn't get home until after 8:30 last night, or I totally would have made a really late trip to one of the book stores in Austin to buy the book. I already have a complex about book club; all the gals there are smart and pretty and professional, and I feel so much younger than all of them (ok, I am so much younger than some of them, but that's besides the point), and they drink wine (I can't stand wine, and it makes me feel like such a little kid), and I worry that I'm constantly on the edge of doing something totally embarrassing, like making my drink come out my nose, or having to tell them I'm knocked up again, or spitting food, or falling down as I am fairly prone to do from time to time.
So ... the moral of the story is this: ALWAYS CHECK THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE READING, OR OTHERWISE YOU'RE GOING TO LOOK LIKE A BLOOMIN' IDIOT IN FRONT OF ALL YOUR SMART, SOPHISTICATED, WELL-READ FRIENDS.
The end.
Wednesday, February 18
A Few of My Favorite Things
I'm going to do my favorite sounds today. I have so many of then, I'm such a sensory-aware person, that's it's hard to only pick 7. But here I go.
7. The dull (and sometimes not-so-dull) roar of children at my house. We end up with a crowd over here more often than not, seeing how with three children, we're the smallest family we know. Sweet Becky has 4, ages 2-14, dear Kristie has 5, ages 2-10, and Debbie has 10, ages 2-24. But only 7 are still at home. :) I thrive on chaos, I love noise and insanity, I would care less if people track dirt on my floors or accidentally breaking something (what's the use of having it, whatever it is, if you aren't going to use it? Accidents happen!), and I know how to patch up any wound just short of someone needing stitches, so I'm emotionally well-equipped to have large crowds at my place. I love hearing the yells and laughter of several families with all their kids, dads consulting each other around the grill, moms chatting and laughing in the kitchen, older kids drifting between becoming adults and still wanting to be silly with the younger kids. It's a precious thing to hear.
6. The sound of my husband's deep, even breaths as he sleeps beside me. I have a very hard time falling to sleep at night. I'm incredibly afraid of the dark, which a fun thing to admit when you're 26. I pray and I sing to myself, and that helps, but the thing that calms me the most is listening to John, who is maddeningly able to fall asleep in 43.7 seconds flat each night. It's also the reason he finds me passed out on the couch on nights that he closes, because he's not there, and I hate going to bed alone more than anything else in life, even if it is just for a few hours.
5. The sound of my feet crunching through the leaves and pine needles in the back half of my property. We have a great trail that winds all the way to our back fence, and I love to walk down there by myself sometimes just to see what nature has been up to, and see what birds I'm able to spot. And my footsteps, while not very loud like my kids' or my husband's (a few drops of the Cherokee must have made it through the generations, I guess), are music to my ears.
4. The sound of my kids playing sweetly with each other. They really can be incredibly kind when they set their minds to it, and it's great to hear everyone being polite. Sometimes I get to hear sentences like, 'Evie, make sure you hold David's hand so he doesn't fall while I put this rope around his waist.' No, really, I got to hear that one through one of my back windows a few afternoons ago.
3. The sound of my coffee maker making those weird hissing noises. Because that means that my coffee is ready, and I can pour my first of 35 cups of the day.
2. The sound of quiet and stillness in the late night and early morning from my rocking chair on the front porch. We don't have traffic by our house then, and we're too far from the main road to hear any of that noise. You can find me outside every morning, vice-like grip on my cup of coffee, come hell or high water. Even if it's only for two or three minutes, or sometimes I read for an hour before my kids get up if weather permits, I would live on my porch if it was feasible.
And my most favorite of all my favorite sounds in my life ..
1. The sound of my husband's laugh. I don't hear it often enough, and I can't get enough of it. John isn't one prone to emotional outbursts (Ha! I think I do enough of that for both of us!!), so while he's quick to smile, his laugh is like an addictive substance for me. It makes my day brighter and my heart beat quicker, and it is the one reason above all others that I thank God for my (incredibly good) hearing.
What's your favorite sound?
7. The dull (and sometimes not-so-dull) roar of children at my house. We end up with a crowd over here more often than not, seeing how with three children, we're the smallest family we know. Sweet Becky has 4, ages 2-14, dear Kristie has 5, ages 2-10, and Debbie has 10, ages 2-24. But only 7 are still at home. :) I thrive on chaos, I love noise and insanity, I would care less if people track dirt on my floors or accidentally breaking something (what's the use of having it, whatever it is, if you aren't going to use it? Accidents happen!), and I know how to patch up any wound just short of someone needing stitches, so I'm emotionally well-equipped to have large crowds at my place. I love hearing the yells and laughter of several families with all their kids, dads consulting each other around the grill, moms chatting and laughing in the kitchen, older kids drifting between becoming adults and still wanting to be silly with the younger kids. It's a precious thing to hear.
6. The sound of my husband's deep, even breaths as he sleeps beside me. I have a very hard time falling to sleep at night. I'm incredibly afraid of the dark, which a fun thing to admit when you're 26. I pray and I sing to myself, and that helps, but the thing that calms me the most is listening to John, who is maddeningly able to fall asleep in 43.7 seconds flat each night. It's also the reason he finds me passed out on the couch on nights that he closes, because he's not there, and I hate going to bed alone more than anything else in life, even if it is just for a few hours.
5. The sound of my feet crunching through the leaves and pine needles in the back half of my property. We have a great trail that winds all the way to our back fence, and I love to walk down there by myself sometimes just to see what nature has been up to, and see what birds I'm able to spot. And my footsteps, while not very loud like my kids' or my husband's (a few drops of the Cherokee must have made it through the generations, I guess), are music to my ears.
4. The sound of my kids playing sweetly with each other. They really can be incredibly kind when they set their minds to it, and it's great to hear everyone being polite. Sometimes I get to hear sentences like, 'Evie, make sure you hold David's hand so he doesn't fall while I put this rope around his waist.' No, really, I got to hear that one through one of my back windows a few afternoons ago.
3. The sound of my coffee maker making those weird hissing noises. Because that means that my coffee is ready, and I can pour my first of 35 cups of the day.
2. The sound of quiet and stillness in the late night and early morning from my rocking chair on the front porch. We don't have traffic by our house then, and we're too far from the main road to hear any of that noise. You can find me outside every morning, vice-like grip on my cup of coffee, come hell or high water. Even if it's only for two or three minutes, or sometimes I read for an hour before my kids get up if weather permits, I would live on my porch if it was feasible.
And my most favorite of all my favorite sounds in my life ..
1. The sound of my husband's laugh. I don't hear it often enough, and I can't get enough of it. John isn't one prone to emotional outbursts (Ha! I think I do enough of that for both of us!!), so while he's quick to smile, his laugh is like an addictive substance for me. It makes my day brighter and my heart beat quicker, and it is the one reason above all others that I thank God for my (incredibly good) hearing.
What's your favorite sound?
Monday, February 16
The Simple Woman's Daybook
My Daybook ~ 16 February
***
Outside My Window ... low clouds are starting to burn off, and it'll probably be in the 70's again today. I'm ready for the GREEN to come back.
***
I am thinking ... how much I enjoy coffee, and how much I miss Sarah and Scott, because my trip to Ohio was freakin' awesome. Also, I hate sentences that end with a preposition. Yeah, I've got issues. TELL me about it!
***
I am thankful for ... the organizational kick on which John and I have both been, because it's really feeling nice around here these days!
***
From the learning rooms ... reading lesson, money lesson, and we start learning about levers and such today.
***
From the kitchen ... John's making fajitas later, and the kids and I are going to make bread and maybe some cookies, if I can drag myself inside long enough. Huh. Probably not cookies, cause the sun just broke through.
***
I am wearing ... my favorite blue jeans, a gray t-shirt, my most wonderful and soft green hoodie, and a sparkley pink hair thing. I stole it from Evelyn, because I couldn't find any of my own.
***
I am creating ... a fresh garden today, and hopefully a fence to go around it so the bleeping chickens won't eat my deeds at they being to sprout again. And creating some fun memories with the kids, hopefully.
***
I am going ... to will myself out of whatever mood I've been in the last few days. And I'm going to take a nap later this afternoon, because I haven't been sleeping well.
***
I am reading ... something too embarrassing to put into words. I think I feel a Friday Confession coming soon. And I'm also reading Daphne DeMaurier, and Kipling's Captains Courageous, and The Summer of 1787, and I think I got something my Melville that I'll start tomorrow. I cannot function if I'm only reading one thing at a time, an I read too fast anyway.
***
I am hoping ... my tiller is still working, although I don't know why it wouldn't be working, and that summer will come early, because I just don't do well for these few short months of 'winter.' It's probably good that I don't live any farther north.
***
I am hearing... John bringing me laundry to fold (he's so sweet like that!), and the kids playing sweetly upstairs, and the dog snoring under my chair, and the woodpecker on my kitchen tree, and the cardinals up front on the feeder.
***
Around the house ... chaos abounds (at least it's starting to feel like orderly chaos, I guess), and it's really the only way I function. I'm not Type B, I'm more along the lines of Type J or something. Seriously. I love it.
***
One of my favorite things ...the smell of tomato vines, and the taste of a green bean I snagged while weeding the ground beneath it, the feel of dirt on my hands, and the greenness of the beginning of summer.
***
A few plans for the rest of the week ... John is off today, Tuesday, and Thursday, so we have a ton of projects to finish, and school, and Bastrop Gardens, my favorite nursery, opens today, so I imagine we'll be there at least once, since the owner tracked me down to let me know it was expected that I show my face. :) And talking to Sarah, because did I mention tha I HATE that she lives in Ohio, and I miss her far more than I thought I would, especially after having her to myself for five days straight.
***
So apparently, this weather has been getting to me more than I realize, and I'm really needing some time outside to get dirty and revel in God's wonderful, beautiful, and mysteriously fantastic creation.
For more Daybooks, click here. Thanks again to Jessica for inspiring me to do this!
***
Outside My Window ... low clouds are starting to burn off, and it'll probably be in the 70's again today. I'm ready for the GREEN to come back.
***
I am thinking ... how much I enjoy coffee, and how much I miss Sarah and Scott, because my trip to Ohio was freakin' awesome. Also, I hate sentences that end with a preposition. Yeah, I've got issues. TELL me about it!
***
I am thankful for ... the organizational kick on which John and I have both been, because it's really feeling nice around here these days!
***
From the learning rooms ... reading lesson, money lesson, and we start learning about levers and such today.
***
From the kitchen ... John's making fajitas later, and the kids and I are going to make bread and maybe some cookies, if I can drag myself inside long enough. Huh. Probably not cookies, cause the sun just broke through.
***
I am wearing ... my favorite blue jeans, a gray t-shirt, my most wonderful and soft green hoodie, and a sparkley pink hair thing. I stole it from Evelyn, because I couldn't find any of my own.
***
I am creating ... a fresh garden today, and hopefully a fence to go around it so the bleeping chickens won't eat my deeds at they being to sprout again. And creating some fun memories with the kids, hopefully.
***
I am going ... to will myself out of whatever mood I've been in the last few days. And I'm going to take a nap later this afternoon, because I haven't been sleeping well.
***
I am reading ... something too embarrassing to put into words. I think I feel a Friday Confession coming soon. And I'm also reading Daphne DeMaurier, and Kipling's Captains Courageous, and The Summer of 1787, and I think I got something my Melville that I'll start tomorrow. I cannot function if I'm only reading one thing at a time, an I read too fast anyway.
***
I am hoping ... my tiller is still working, although I don't know why it wouldn't be working, and that summer will come early, because I just don't do well for these few short months of 'winter.' It's probably good that I don't live any farther north.
***
I am hearing... John bringing me laundry to fold (he's so sweet like that!), and the kids playing sweetly upstairs, and the dog snoring under my chair, and the woodpecker on my kitchen tree, and the cardinals up front on the feeder.
***
Around the house ... chaos abounds (at least it's starting to feel like orderly chaos, I guess), and it's really the only way I function. I'm not Type B, I'm more along the lines of Type J or something. Seriously. I love it.
***
One of my favorite things ...the smell of tomato vines, and the taste of a green bean I snagged while weeding the ground beneath it, the feel of dirt on my hands, and the greenness of the beginning of summer.
***
A few plans for the rest of the week ... John is off today, Tuesday, and Thursday, so we have a ton of projects to finish, and school, and Bastrop Gardens, my favorite nursery, opens today, so I imagine we'll be there at least once, since the owner tracked me down to let me know it was expected that I show my face. :) And talking to Sarah, because did I mention tha I HATE that she lives in Ohio, and I miss her far more than I thought I would, especially after having her to myself for five days straight.
***
So apparently, this weather has been getting to me more than I realize, and I'm really needing some time outside to get dirty and revel in God's wonderful, beautiful, and mysteriously fantastic creation.
For more Daybooks, click here. Thanks again to Jessica for inspiring me to do this!
Monday, February 2
Conversations with John
"Hey, baby, do you want to be an organ donor?"
(glances suspiciously at me) "Why?"
"Oh, I dunno. I read an article about it the other day."
"I don't like it when you read. You start getting ideas. Next thing I know, you're going to be wanting to vote! And drive!"
"Yeah, I know. A woman's place is barefoot in the kitchen, not reading the newspaper. Sorry about that. Anyway, I want to be an organ donor. And I was wondering if you want to be one, too."
"Well, I guess. As long as I'm dead first."
(glances suspiciously at me) "Why?"
"Oh, I dunno. I read an article about it the other day."
"I don't like it when you read. You start getting ideas. Next thing I know, you're going to be wanting to vote! And drive!"
"Yeah, I know. A woman's place is barefoot in the kitchen, not reading the newspaper. Sorry about that. Anyway, I want to be an organ donor. And I was wondering if you want to be one, too."
"Well, I guess. As long as I'm dead first."
leaving on a jet plane ...
Don't know when I'll be back again ...
Just kidding! I totally know when I'm coming back. I leave my house at 5 on Thursday morning, and I'll be hugging Sarah by just after noon, and I'll be getting back to the Austin airport around 11 Monday night. That's right, FIVE day away from my family. I'm very excited, and somewhat nervous (I absolutely hate to fly!), and I just can't wait to see Sarah. Because she's awesome. And I love her. And miss her. And ... I won't have to hear the (bleeping) roosters crow for 5 days! Yay!!
And this trip does have another great aspect to it. If I hadn't had the miscarriage, I probably would have been having a baby this weekend. My due date was February 10, and my kids have all come a little early. I'm ok with what happened, I really am. God has been so good, and has blessed me in ways I couldn't possibly imagine over the last 6 months. But it'll be good for me to not be at home, and to not be around my kids, because I'm telling you, David is so stinking cute that if I hold him for too long, I can feel my ovaries start twitching. I'm not trying to forget what happened, and I'm not dwelling or wallowing. But I'm glad for the distraction.
So please pray for me, for safe travels, and for my family, that no one would have any head wounds while I'm gone, and that we all would just have fun. And that I wouldn't be too stressed before I leave! I've got so much to do, but I've made a list and broken it all down by day, so it's not too bad.
I mean, it is. I have SO MUCH TO DO.
But luckily, I'm not stressing.
No, really! I'm not at all stressed.
(Yes, I am. I lied.)
Just kidding! I totally know when I'm coming back. I leave my house at 5 on Thursday morning, and I'll be hugging Sarah by just after noon, and I'll be getting back to the Austin airport around 11 Monday night. That's right, FIVE day away from my family. I'm very excited, and somewhat nervous (I absolutely hate to fly!), and I just can't wait to see Sarah. Because she's awesome. And I love her. And miss her. And ... I won't have to hear the (bleeping) roosters crow for 5 days! Yay!!
And this trip does have another great aspect to it. If I hadn't had the miscarriage, I probably would have been having a baby this weekend. My due date was February 10, and my kids have all come a little early. I'm ok with what happened, I really am. God has been so good, and has blessed me in ways I couldn't possibly imagine over the last 6 months. But it'll be good for me to not be at home, and to not be around my kids, because I'm telling you, David is so stinking cute that if I hold him for too long, I can feel my ovaries start twitching. I'm not trying to forget what happened, and I'm not dwelling or wallowing. But I'm glad for the distraction.
So please pray for me, for safe travels, and for my family, that no one would have any head wounds while I'm gone, and that we all would just have fun. And that I wouldn't be too stressed before I leave! I've got so much to do, but I've made a list and broken it all down by day, so it's not too bad.
I mean, it is. I have SO MUCH TO DO.
But luckily, I'm not stressing.
No, really! I'm not at all stressed.
(Yes, I am. I lied.)
Thursday, January 29
bad influences abound
It's not good when your 2-year-old drops a toy and says, 'Oh, shit.' In a very calm voice, just like a certain parent.
Also not great when your 5-year-old is having trouble working through the tangles in her hair, quietly puts the brush down, studies herself in the mirror for a moment, and says, 'Hell.' In an eerily similar tone to the above-mentioned parent.
They probably learned that from their father.
Not from their mother, who curses like a sailor.
Yeah, they definitely got that from John.
Also not great when your 5-year-old is having trouble working through the tangles in her hair, quietly puts the brush down, studies herself in the mirror for a moment, and says, 'Hell.' In an eerily similar tone to the above-mentioned parent.
They probably learned that from their father.
Not from their mother, who curses like a sailor.
Yeah, they definitely got that from John.
Saturday, January 17
Baby Food ... how we did it
I've always made my own baby food for the kids. It started out because my husband has been know to be a Scrooge-esque skinflint with money a thrifty person, and saw the prices on jar baby food, and said, 'No way!' He forced me encouraged me to learn how to make our own baby food, and once I started, I fell in love with it for the price and the ease, and haven't looked back ever since.
It's evolved from child to child. With Sam, I made special baby food for him. With David ... not so much. Here's how I did it. This may work for you, it may not, or you might be Sarah, reading this and thinking, 'This is boring.' That's ok.
The first food for Sam (after oatmeal cereal) was bananas. If you have a banana and a fork, you can make banana baby food. Bananas are currently $.49/pound. Last time I checked (like 6 years ago), a jar of banana baby food was around $.75. For the love of all things holy, if you make no other baby food but this, please make your own smooshy bananas!! Here's how you do it:
Peel the banana. Put it in a bowl. Smash it up with a fork. If you don't own any forks, a spoon works just as well, but might take 47 extra seconds. Add some oatmeal cereal to make it a little less slippery. Feed it to your baby. Look! You just fed your kid homemade baby food!! Yay, you!!
Let me throw in a note about baby cereal. I think rice cereal is stupid. It has no nutritional value except for what is added to it. I've always started out with oatmeal cereal, and even that I only did for about a week before just feeding the baby oatmeal.
If you don't have a small food processor, that's ok, but having one is really helpful. For example, after I figured out that the oatmeal cereal didn't make my kids break out into hives or go into shock (no allergies), I just fed them oatmeal. Here's how. Make oatmeal, but make a serving more than your family currently eats. Take out the baby's serving. Put it in the food processor with some breast milk or formula or whatever you are using. Or water, that works fine, too. Pulse the oat/liquid mix until it's as smooth and runny as you can get it. You don't want it to be too thick at first. I made mine thin enough to drip from the spoon, but not completely watery. Cool it down and feed it to the baby. Viola! More baby food!! Refrigerate the unused portion (which will be most of it at first), and warm up small batches over the next few days to use whenever you need it.
For the first few months, we added oatmeal to everything the kids ate. Fruit, veggies, everything. Our rule was this: at breakfast, we did fruit and grain. At lunch, veggie and grain. At supper, fruit, veggie, and grain. So for breakfast, just add a few spoons of banana or applesauce or pureed strawberries.
With Sam, I made baby food in big batches. I would take a whole bag of baby carrots, steam them until they were super soft, and puree the whole thing (using the water they were cooked with to get the consistency I wanted). I would cool the batch completely, then freeze small portions (1 cup) in flattened Ziplock bags. Anytime I wanted to feed Sam carrots, I would pull the bag out, thaw it in hot water, and let 'er rip.
Always make sure you introduce each new food individually. It's really important to watch for allergies and things like that. And just because they don't want to eat it first doesn't mean that they don't (or won't) like it! It's just new, and they're a baby, and not sure what to do. So they automatically spit everything out.
It's easy to puree and freeze combinations, too. Some ideas: carrots and broccoli. Squash and green beans (the only food I ever strained, because of the strings). Carrots, broccoli, and squash. Sweet potatoes and whatever. Spinach and whatever.
Regular potatoes don't freeze well. Just trust me on this one before you add potatoes to three different batches of food and find all of it unusable later.
I found it much easier to not freeze fruit. Just whip up a small batch and use it within two or three days. Fruit is fun. Bananas, strawberries, blueberries, apples, pears, kiwi, star fruit, peaches, plumbs, apricots, pluots, the list is endless! Step outside the box and use your imagination. You can use frozen fruit, too. Put it in a covered bowl or plastic bag in the fridge overnight, and smoosh it up in the morning.
Also, with the exception of sugar and salt, don't hide flavors from your kids! My kids had cinnamon (from the applesauce) at 6 months. I added very small amounts of herbs and spices at 8 months, and they were eating everything we ate by 12 or 13 months.
With Evie, we transitioned her to table food by about 10 months, and I didn't freeze as much for her. I did more of it on the spot.
David is obviously a Third Child in many ways, one of which is this: I never made him baby food past 7 months. And I never froze anything for him. I gave him what we ate, except that sometimes I would give it a quick spin in the food processor, or I would cook his a little bit longer. His first food was avocado. High in fat, not normally one that causes allergies. And if you get one that's pretty ripe, you don't even have to squish it (I never smooshed David's bananas, either). Just scoop out a tiny bit on a fork, and put it in the baby's mouth.
I didn't start my kids on baby food until close to 6 months. They don't need it before then. Sometimes I'd give them a few (plain) Cheerios to keep them busy ... and because it's really funny. The first time you see your little one try to eat a Cheerio, you'll understand. No milk until 12 months, and we tried not to do too much cheese before 10 months. And we never did meat until 14 or 15 months, but that was a personal preferance. I think the 'experts' say 9 months for meat. I say that's stupid. Babies don't need meat, and have a hard time digesting it. (And it makes for some really, really, really nasty diapers. Trust me!!)
The only time I used baby food in a jar was when the kids were under 8 months, and we were traveling more than 2 hours away for more than one meal. Unless you're willing to take a cooler with ice (I did this occasionally), it's not safe.
Have I ever mentioned that I married a restaurant manager who is, by profession, a total food safety Nazi? Yeah, you won't be seeing any mold, botulism, or food poisoning over at our house.
I say that, and we'll probably all get sick because I was so prideful. Oy.
So that's how we did baby food. John helped a lot and made a bunch of it, too. I loved it, and if we have anymore kids, I'll be not buying jar baby food for them, too. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments (I've changed it back so anyone can comment) or email me at brea.mangosteen(at)gmail(dot)com.
Coming next: How I Taught My 10-Month-Olds To Have Excellent Table Manners.
It's evolved from child to child. With Sam, I made special baby food for him. With David ... not so much. Here's how I did it. This may work for you, it may not, or you might be Sarah, reading this and thinking, 'This is boring.' That's ok.
The first food for Sam (after oatmeal cereal) was bananas. If you have a banana and a fork, you can make banana baby food. Bananas are currently $.49/pound. Last time I checked (like 6 years ago), a jar of banana baby food was around $.75. For the love of all things holy, if you make no other baby food but this, please make your own smooshy bananas!! Here's how you do it:
Peel the banana. Put it in a bowl. Smash it up with a fork. If you don't own any forks, a spoon works just as well, but might take 47 extra seconds. Add some oatmeal cereal to make it a little less slippery. Feed it to your baby. Look! You just fed your kid homemade baby food!! Yay, you!!
Let me throw in a note about baby cereal. I think rice cereal is stupid. It has no nutritional value except for what is added to it. I've always started out with oatmeal cereal, and even that I only did for about a week before just feeding the baby oatmeal.
If you don't have a small food processor, that's ok, but having one is really helpful. For example, after I figured out that the oatmeal cereal didn't make my kids break out into hives or go into shock (no allergies), I just fed them oatmeal. Here's how. Make oatmeal, but make a serving more than your family currently eats. Take out the baby's serving. Put it in the food processor with some breast milk or formula or whatever you are using. Or water, that works fine, too. Pulse the oat/liquid mix until it's as smooth and runny as you can get it. You don't want it to be too thick at first. I made mine thin enough to drip from the spoon, but not completely watery. Cool it down and feed it to the baby. Viola! More baby food!! Refrigerate the unused portion (which will be most of it at first), and warm up small batches over the next few days to use whenever you need it.
For the first few months, we added oatmeal to everything the kids ate. Fruit, veggies, everything. Our rule was this: at breakfast, we did fruit and grain. At lunch, veggie and grain. At supper, fruit, veggie, and grain. So for breakfast, just add a few spoons of banana or applesauce or pureed strawberries.
With Sam, I made baby food in big batches. I would take a whole bag of baby carrots, steam them until they were super soft, and puree the whole thing (using the water they were cooked with to get the consistency I wanted). I would cool the batch completely, then freeze small portions (1 cup) in flattened Ziplock bags. Anytime I wanted to feed Sam carrots, I would pull the bag out, thaw it in hot water, and let 'er rip.
Always make sure you introduce each new food individually. It's really important to watch for allergies and things like that. And just because they don't want to eat it first doesn't mean that they don't (or won't) like it! It's just new, and they're a baby, and not sure what to do. So they automatically spit everything out.
It's easy to puree and freeze combinations, too. Some ideas: carrots and broccoli. Squash and green beans (the only food I ever strained, because of the strings). Carrots, broccoli, and squash. Sweet potatoes and whatever. Spinach and whatever.
Regular potatoes don't freeze well. Just trust me on this one before you add potatoes to three different batches of food and find all of it unusable later.
I found it much easier to not freeze fruit. Just whip up a small batch and use it within two or three days. Fruit is fun. Bananas, strawberries, blueberries, apples, pears, kiwi, star fruit, peaches, plumbs, apricots, pluots, the list is endless! Step outside the box and use your imagination. You can use frozen fruit, too. Put it in a covered bowl or plastic bag in the fridge overnight, and smoosh it up in the morning.
Also, with the exception of sugar and salt, don't hide flavors from your kids! My kids had cinnamon (from the applesauce) at 6 months. I added very small amounts of herbs and spices at 8 months, and they were eating everything we ate by 12 or 13 months.
With Evie, we transitioned her to table food by about 10 months, and I didn't freeze as much for her. I did more of it on the spot.
David is obviously a Third Child in many ways, one of which is this: I never made him baby food past 7 months. And I never froze anything for him. I gave him what we ate, except that sometimes I would give it a quick spin in the food processor, or I would cook his a little bit longer. His first food was avocado. High in fat, not normally one that causes allergies. And if you get one that's pretty ripe, you don't even have to squish it (I never smooshed David's bananas, either). Just scoop out a tiny bit on a fork, and put it in the baby's mouth.
I didn't start my kids on baby food until close to 6 months. They don't need it before then. Sometimes I'd give them a few (plain) Cheerios to keep them busy ... and because it's really funny. The first time you see your little one try to eat a Cheerio, you'll understand. No milk until 12 months, and we tried not to do too much cheese before 10 months. And we never did meat until 14 or 15 months, but that was a personal preferance. I think the 'experts' say 9 months for meat. I say that's stupid. Babies don't need meat, and have a hard time digesting it. (And it makes for some really, really, really nasty diapers. Trust me!!)
The only time I used baby food in a jar was when the kids were under 8 months, and we were traveling more than 2 hours away for more than one meal. Unless you're willing to take a cooler with ice (I did this occasionally), it's not safe.
Have I ever mentioned that I married a restaurant manager who is, by profession, a total food safety Nazi? Yeah, you won't be seeing any mold, botulism, or food poisoning over at our house.
I say that, and we'll probably all get sick because I was so prideful. Oy.
So that's how we did baby food. John helped a lot and made a bunch of it, too. I loved it, and if we have anymore kids, I'll be not buying jar baby food for them, too. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments (I've changed it back so anyone can comment) or email me at brea.mangosteen(at)gmail(dot)com.
Coming next: How I Taught My 10-Month-Olds To Have Excellent Table Manners.
Tuesday, January 13
I hate coughs, but I love our NP
We haven't been to the doctor in over a year. The last time we went, it was because David, just having had his first birthday, had a bad cough he couldn't shake.
Today, we're headed into the doctor. For both the boys. For a nasty cough they can't shake.
Ugg.
We've been very fortunate with our medical care out here. We have a wonderful family practitioner just in town, and we see his nurse practitioner (NP), Sarah, for all the kids. Sarah is very sweet, and very respectful of the choices we make for our children. Our last pediatrician in Austin washorrible um not very nice uh not at all respectful I mean, someone with whom I frequently butted heads. She didn't like that we were planning on homeschooling the kids, or that I was interested in homebirth, and she got downright mean about vaccines.
The first time we saw Sarah was when David was 5 days old. As she was taking his (albeit very brief) history, she asked where he was born. After a few seconds hesitation, I told her he was born at our house. She set her clipboard down, looked at me, and said, 'Ooh, homebirth! How cool! Did you like the experience?'
I hugged her.
She thinks that all kids should get the full run of vaccines, but is very supportive of a delayed schedule, and is willing to talk with me about the ones she feels are the most important, since we only do a few of them (DTaP, specifically). She supports trying herbal treatments first, and if they work, she's happy to hear it. If herbal stuff doesn't work, there's no condemnation, and she discusses the prescriptions she recommends and why before she prescribes them.
In my opinion, she does medicine the way medicine should really be done. :)
Did I mention that she has 9 kids? So you know that makes me give her some extra love!
Anyway. All that rambling to say, please be praying for us. I need some sleep. Between getting up with both boys at least once (if not several) each night, and getting up with the puppy once each night, I am really, really tired. Really tired. I mean, really tired!
Post on homemade baby food coming tomorrow, for Che and the other few who have asked. :) Hope everyone has a great day, and if you're in the area, make sure you get outside and enjoy this amazing weather! (And if you're in Iowa or Ohio, and you know who you are, sorry about that. You two try and stay warm, k? Love you!)
Today, we're headed into the doctor. For both the boys. For a nasty cough they can't shake.
Ugg.
We've been very fortunate with our medical care out here. We have a wonderful family practitioner just in town, and we see his nurse practitioner (NP), Sarah, for all the kids. Sarah is very sweet, and very respectful of the choices we make for our children. Our last pediatrician in Austin was
The first time we saw Sarah was when David was 5 days old. As she was taking his (albeit very brief) history, she asked where he was born. After a few seconds hesitation, I told her he was born at our house. She set her clipboard down, looked at me, and said, 'Ooh, homebirth! How cool! Did you like the experience?'
I hugged her.
She thinks that all kids should get the full run of vaccines, but is very supportive of a delayed schedule, and is willing to talk with me about the ones she feels are the most important, since we only do a few of them (DTaP, specifically). She supports trying herbal treatments first, and if they work, she's happy to hear it. If herbal stuff doesn't work, there's no condemnation, and she discusses the prescriptions she recommends and why before she prescribes them.
In my opinion, she does medicine the way medicine should really be done. :)
Did I mention that she has 9 kids? So you know that makes me give her some extra love!
Anyway. All that rambling to say, please be praying for us. I need some sleep. Between getting up with both boys at least once (if not several) each night, and getting up with the puppy once each night, I am really, really tired. Really tired. I mean, really tired!
Post on homemade baby food coming tomorrow, for Che and the other few who have asked. :) Hope everyone has a great day, and if you're in the area, make sure you get outside and enjoy this amazing weather! (And if you're in Iowa or Ohio, and you know who you are, sorry about that. You two try and stay warm, k? Love you!)
Monday, January 12
Questions That No One Asked
I'm stealing stuff from Ryan again, because I am totally unable to have an original thought this morning. David and Sam have both developed horrible coughs with this cold dry air that came in over the weekend, I have a puppy that thinks it's fun to cry 37 times each night and wake me up, and I'm too stupid to go to bed at a reasonable hour, even though I know I wake up at 5:30 every morning.
So. Here are some questions that no one has recently asked me. And maybe a few that they have.
What bugs you, Brea?
I'm glad you asked. Lots of things bug me. But I hate it when toothpaste is in the sink after the kids brush their teeth. (Brea shudders.) It makes me twitchy.
What else?
I use a brush, not a sponge, to wash my dishes. It bugs me when John puts it back in the sink, instead of where it goes, and grease gets on the brush. If grease is on a pan, I can wash it off. How can I clean off the grease on the handle of the brush????? Ewwwww!!!!
Are you pregnant, Brea?
No. No. And once again, in case you were wondering, no. Not that I would mind being pregnant. But I've been asked 5 times in the last two weeks. And I haven't gained any weight. It's all very confusing.
Hey, Brea, if you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
First, I would go to Ohio. And see what's-her-name up there. Then Spain. And John and I were just talking about what we would do if he ever changes jobs. He would set it up where he had 6 weeks in between the old job and the new, and we would spend a month (in the summer, of course) taking a road trip and camping in the Northwest. Oregon, Washington, maybe Idaho and Montana, too. And I might visit Jessica in the right season, and take home some of her pears.
Do you make your own bread and live in the country and homeschool because you're some kind of religious kook?
Ok I've had this question asked before. In those exact words. And here's how I answered at the time: Uh, define 'kook.' :) I make my own bread because I like it. I think it's the best bread I've ever tasted. The first time I made it after I got the new oven, we ate three loaves in 6 hours, and I'm not exaggerating. I live in the country for many reasons. The taxes are lower. More bang for my buck. I like to go outside and hear silence in the morning, and see the stars at night. There are no deed restrictions out here, which has ups and downs. I can do whatever I want to my land ... but so can the people who live up the street, breed hateful dogs, and have 9 cars in their front yard. And I don't homeschool so my kids will do better on the SAT, or so they won't be influenced by those evil public school people, or to protect them from all the big bads that are in the world. I teach my children to read so they can read God's Word. I teach them math because Jesus made numbers, so Jesus' two plus Jesus' two equals Jesus' four. I teach my kids about nature because In The Beginning, the Trinity dictated the creation of the world. We raise chickens because the Word tells us to exercise dominion, but it also tells us to be good stewards. (You know, the Jews were the first ones to have animal rights laws. take that, PETA!)
I homeschool my kids so that they may better know God.
You are a religious kook, aren't you?
Yeah probably, and I'm ok with that. I'm supposed to be in this world, not of it.
How many kids do you eventually want?
At least 6. I'd really love 10 or 12. But please don't tell my mother. She'll pass out and hit her head.
Which of your children is your favorite?
Well, Sam, of course. Also, Evelyn. And obviously, David.
What's with your obsession with mornings?
I dunno. They're just awesome. And clean, and new. Joy comes in the morning, ya know.
What's the deal with Texas?
If you have to ask, you'll never get it.
If you had to pick one best friend, who would it be?
Sarah. And Kristie. Margaret. And Becky. Totally my mom. Jessica is my best interweb peep.
If you could have any job besides the one you have, Brea, what would it be?
I think I would want to be a missionary. Or a midwife or a nurse. Oh! I know! I'd be a nurse-midwife missionary in some third world country.
What's your favorite color?
Purple.
What is your favorite thing that you own?
My boots. I wear them every. single. day. and freak out when I see the puppy anywhere near them.
What's your least favorite thing?
Grape flavoring. Grape gum, grape candy, grape medicine ... Uuuugggggg!! What's up with that?
Brea, what are your true thoughts on President-Elect Obama?
I pray that he is an excellent president. Our family prays for him daily. And I don't envy the position that he's in, or his job. At all. Stop assuming that just because I didn't vote for him, that I won't support him or that I hope he falls on his face. I hope he's a great president.
Do you have a favorite book?
No. Well, yes. My Bible. But after that, I can't pick just one. If I absolutely had to, it would probably be The Count of Monte Cristo. But I can't pick.
What was the best Christmas gift you received, Brea?
My new Swiss Army knife. I need to make sure I take it out of my purse before I go to Ohio, because I'm totally the kind of person who would forget and end up on some terror watch list because I'd pitch a fit when they tried to take it from me.
What was the best Christmas gift you gave?
I don't know. I had a lot of fun shopping this year. I found a great pair of handmade knitting needles for my midwife, but I haven't seen her yet. And I got my brother a cool book, The Complete Manual of Things That Might Kill You. I wanted to keep it for myself. But didn't.
Are you still talking?
Yeah, but I'm just about done. My coffee is cold and running low. And you know how much I love my coffee!! Just one more ...
What's a question that no one asks you, but you want to answer?
So. Here are some questions that no one has recently asked me. And maybe a few that they have.
What bugs you, Brea?
I'm glad you asked. Lots of things bug me. But I hate it when toothpaste is in the sink after the kids brush their teeth. (Brea shudders.) It makes me twitchy.
What else?
I use a brush, not a sponge, to wash my dishes. It bugs me when John puts it back in the sink, instead of where it goes, and grease gets on the brush. If grease is on a pan, I can wash it off. How can I clean off the grease on the handle of the brush????? Ewwwww!!!!
Are you pregnant, Brea?
No. No. And once again, in case you were wondering, no. Not that I would mind being pregnant. But I've been asked 5 times in the last two weeks. And I haven't gained any weight. It's all very confusing.
Hey, Brea, if you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
First, I would go to Ohio. And see what's-her-name up there. Then Spain. And John and I were just talking about what we would do if he ever changes jobs. He would set it up where he had 6 weeks in between the old job and the new, and we would spend a month (in the summer, of course) taking a road trip and camping in the Northwest. Oregon, Washington, maybe Idaho and Montana, too. And I might visit Jessica in the right season, and take home some of her pears.
Do you make your own bread and live in the country and homeschool because you're some kind of religious kook?
Ok I've had this question asked before. In those exact words. And here's how I answered at the time: Uh, define 'kook.' :) I make my own bread because I like it. I think it's the best bread I've ever tasted. The first time I made it after I got the new oven, we ate three loaves in 6 hours, and I'm not exaggerating. I live in the country for many reasons. The taxes are lower. More bang for my buck. I like to go outside and hear silence in the morning, and see the stars at night. There are no deed restrictions out here, which has ups and downs. I can do whatever I want to my land ... but so can the people who live up the street, breed hateful dogs, and have 9 cars in their front yard. And I don't homeschool so my kids will do better on the SAT, or so they won't be influenced by those evil public school people, or to protect them from all the big bads that are in the world. I teach my children to read so they can read God's Word. I teach them math because Jesus made numbers, so Jesus' two plus Jesus' two equals Jesus' four. I teach my kids about nature because In The Beginning, the Trinity dictated the creation of the world. We raise chickens because the Word tells us to exercise dominion, but it also tells us to be good stewards. (You know, the Jews were the first ones to have animal rights laws. take that, PETA!)
I homeschool my kids so that they may better know God.
You are a religious kook, aren't you?
Yeah probably, and I'm ok with that. I'm supposed to be in this world, not of it.
How many kids do you eventually want?
At least 6. I'd really love 10 or 12. But please don't tell my mother. She'll pass out and hit her head.
Which of your children is your favorite?
Well, Sam, of course. Also, Evelyn. And obviously, David.
What's with your obsession with mornings?
I dunno. They're just awesome. And clean, and new. Joy comes in the morning, ya know.
What's the deal with Texas?
If you have to ask, you'll never get it.
If you had to pick one best friend, who would it be?
Sarah. And Kristie. Margaret. And Becky. Totally my mom. Jessica is my best interweb peep.
If you could have any job besides the one you have, Brea, what would it be?
I think I would want to be a missionary. Or a midwife or a nurse. Oh! I know! I'd be a nurse-midwife missionary in some third world country.
What's your favorite color?
Purple.
What is your favorite thing that you own?
My boots. I wear them every. single. day. and freak out when I see the puppy anywhere near them.
What's your least favorite thing?
Grape flavoring. Grape gum, grape candy, grape medicine ... Uuuugggggg!! What's up with that?
Brea, what are your true thoughts on President-Elect Obama?
I pray that he is an excellent president. Our family prays for him daily. And I don't envy the position that he's in, or his job. At all. Stop assuming that just because I didn't vote for him, that I won't support him or that I hope he falls on his face. I hope he's a great president.
Do you have a favorite book?
No. Well, yes. My Bible. But after that, I can't pick just one. If I absolutely had to, it would probably be The Count of Monte Cristo. But I can't pick.
What was the best Christmas gift you received, Brea?
My new Swiss Army knife. I need to make sure I take it out of my purse before I go to Ohio, because I'm totally the kind of person who would forget and end up on some terror watch list because I'd pitch a fit when they tried to take it from me.
What was the best Christmas gift you gave?
I don't know. I had a lot of fun shopping this year. I found a great pair of handmade knitting needles for my midwife, but I haven't seen her yet. And I got my brother a cool book, The Complete Manual of Things That Might Kill You. I wanted to keep it for myself. But didn't.
Are you still talking?
Yeah, but I'm just about done. My coffee is cold and running low. And you know how much I love my coffee!! Just one more ...
What's a question that no one asks you, but you want to answer?
Saturday, January 10
Wow.
So I haven't posted since Christmas. Sorry about that. Things that have been keeping me busy:
*I finally got a new oven. After going what seemed like 28 years without, I am able to bake once again. And boy, have I ever been baking!! Bread, cookies, cakes, lasagna, casseroles, pies, you name it, I've probably been baking it. And gaining 42 pounds in the process.
*I have three kids under 7. They are crazy little people. And they keep me busy.
*Christmas, New Year's, family, friends, and organizing everything in my life. Each year, I take the week between Christmas and the New Year and do some major cleaning, organizing, and throwing out of lots of stuff. It's such a wonder feeling!
*We got a puppy! Her name is Brownie. She's black and white. She's about 6 weeks old, and we got her just over a week ago. I love her. A lot. We've been crate training her (which I've never done before; that's a fun new experience, let me tell you!), and that takes a lot of time, and in some ways, my friends were right. It kind of is like having a newborn!
*One of my best friends is Becky. She and her family came with us to the river this summer. She's my awesome Barnabas friend that isn't afraid to call me a dumb ass when the need arises. Her husband works for APD. He's also in the Navy reserves, and he's being deployed. Tomorrow. For a year. To the Persian Gulf. So we've been trying to help them out in any way we can before he leaves. All of their kids were over here Tuesday and Wednesday, to give the wonderful couple some alone time before he leaves, and let me tell you this: that in one incredibly delightful family. I really do love them all, very dearly.
(Please keep Ralph and Becky and their kids in your prayers.)
*I FINALLY BOUGHT MY TICKET FOR OHIO!!! (Sarah, you didn't think I'd leave you out of another post, did you?) I leave in less than four weeks, and I'll be gone from my family for five full days. I've never been gone for that long. I wish I could say that I'm really worried about leaving them for that long ... but I'm not. I'm a bad mom, what can I say? :) While I'm there, I get to hang out with my amazing best friend, who is not only lovely and pretty on the outside, but has the most precious spirit of anyone I know. I get to stalk Ryan from This Is Reverb. His church has a Saturday night service, and Sarah and I are going to visit for that. Who knows, we might let her husband come with us, too, if he behaves himself. And I get to see another old friend from high school, and I' m looking forward to that.
*We started school on Monday, with a new schedule, and it's been going wonderfully well.
*My closet is still clean. Not 'I've been trying to be less messy' clean, but 'really, honest-to-goodness, totally spotless and still organized' clean. It's been amazing. And the person who is ever more surprised than I? My dearest husband.
*Lots of other things. I just can't think of them right now because I need to refill my coffee, let the chickens out, take the dog out for a walk, feed my hungry children, fold some laundry, sweep my floors, bake some bread, work on our memory verse for the month, and start school.
It's only 8:15, and I think I need a nap.
:)
*I finally got a new oven. After going what seemed like 28 years without, I am able to bake once again. And boy, have I ever been baking!! Bread, cookies, cakes, lasagna, casseroles, pies, you name it, I've probably been baking it. And gaining 42 pounds in the process.
*I have three kids under 7. They are crazy little people. And they keep me busy.
*Christmas, New Year's, family, friends, and organizing everything in my life. Each year, I take the week between Christmas and the New Year and do some major cleaning, organizing, and throwing out of lots of stuff. It's such a wonder feeling!
*We got a puppy! Her name is Brownie. She's black and white. She's about 6 weeks old, and we got her just over a week ago. I love her. A lot. We've been crate training her (which I've never done before; that's a fun new experience, let me tell you!), and that takes a lot of time, and in some ways, my friends were right. It kind of is like having a newborn!
*One of my best friends is Becky. She and her family came with us to the river this summer. She's my awesome Barnabas friend that isn't afraid to call me a dumb ass when the need arises. Her husband works for APD. He's also in the Navy reserves, and he's being deployed. Tomorrow. For a year. To the Persian Gulf. So we've been trying to help them out in any way we can before he leaves. All of their kids were over here Tuesday and Wednesday, to give the wonderful couple some alone time before he leaves, and let me tell you this: that in one incredibly delightful family. I really do love them all, very dearly.
(Please keep Ralph and Becky and their kids in your prayers.)
*I FINALLY BOUGHT MY TICKET FOR OHIO!!! (Sarah, you didn't think I'd leave you out of another post, did you?) I leave in less than four weeks, and I'll be gone from my family for five full days. I've never been gone for that long. I wish I could say that I'm really worried about leaving them for that long ... but I'm not. I'm a bad mom, what can I say? :) While I'm there, I get to hang out with my amazing best friend, who is not only lovely and pretty on the outside, but has the most precious spirit of anyone I know. I get to stalk Ryan from This Is Reverb. His church has a Saturday night service, and Sarah and I are going to visit for that. Who knows, we might let her husband come with us, too, if he behaves himself. And I get to see another old friend from high school, and I' m looking forward to that.
*We started school on Monday, with a new schedule, and it's been going wonderfully well.
*My closet is still clean. Not 'I've been trying to be less messy' clean, but 'really, honest-to-goodness, totally spotless and still organized' clean. It's been amazing. And the person who is ever more surprised than I? My dearest husband.
*Lots of other things. I just can't think of them right now because I need to refill my coffee, let the chickens out, take the dog out for a walk, feed my hungry children, fold some laundry, sweep my floors, bake some bread, work on our memory verse for the month, and start school.
It's only 8:15, and I think I need a nap.
:)
Thursday, December 25
Merry Christmas!!
Good morning, interweb peeps! We're getting ready to attack the stockings, and start cooking after that. Hope everyone has a lovely Christmas, filled with good friends, holiday cheer, and lots of love.
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6
Wednesday, December 17
Catching Up
Oh, my, I'm tired. Been busy, busy, busy! Finally got the tree up and decorated. Sang in church on Sunday, even ended up soloing one verse, and didn't throw up everywhere. Had lots of people here for lunch afterwards. Sent the kids home with my mom for two days, which was awesome!
Had brunch with a friend from XanGo, learned lots of great new stuff, can't wait to start using my new-found knowledge. Then went over to Kristie's after.
Got the go-ahead to buy a ticket to Ohio for the first full weekend in February (I'd love to discuss this trip with a certain friend who lives there that I'll be visiting, but apparently she's forgotten how to use her phone and hasn't called me back). (You know who you are.) (When you read this, please call me.) (Yes, SARAH, I'm taking about you.)
Drove into Houston yesterday to have lunch with my awesome grandfather, dropped off a mix of herbs for my under-the-weather little brother, went by the Fudge Shop on my way home, and fell asleep on the couch at 7:45. Which, like many other things in the last few days, was awesome.
Received the Greatest Christmas Letter Ever from a very funny and sweet gal that lives far away from me and is becoming a very dear friend. I also got to talk to her last week on the phone, and it was one of the best and easiest conversations I've had in a long time. And her Greatest Christmas Letter Ever was, well, awesome.
Staying at home today, doing housework and school and some limited cooking. And I think I see a nice cozy nap on the couch in my future, because I really haven't been sleeping well the last week or so.
Going to the Nutcracker tomorrow evening, after possibly FINALLY GETTING A NEW STOVE!!!!!!!! But we'll see about that.
I'll have something far more interesting to post tomorrow, I promise. In the meantime, let me introduce you to a few people:
This is John and Che's blog. They have a daughter that I kind of want to meet. I went to high school with them.
This is Mari's blog. I also went to high school with Mari. She's a military wife, and lives in Japan right now. How cool is that?? However, she's tired of being startled by tentacles every time she turns around. She said so.
Most of you know P-Dub. And she truly rules. But did you know she's got a new homeschool section on her website? Ree doesn't write much of it, but Heather at OMSH does a wonderful job, and I keep wondering it if would be inappropriate of my to ask to be adopted into her family.
So. There you go. Please tell me (because I'm momentarily tired of talking about myself) what you're doing for the rest of the week! Are you done with your Christmas shopping yet?
Had brunch with a friend from XanGo, learned lots of great new stuff, can't wait to start using my new-found knowledge. Then went over to Kristie's after.
Got the go-ahead to buy a ticket to Ohio for the first full weekend in February (I'd love to discuss this trip with a certain friend who lives there that I'll be visiting, but apparently she's forgotten how to use her phone and hasn't called me back). (You know who you are.) (When you read this, please call me.) (Yes, SARAH, I'm taking about you.)
Drove into Houston yesterday to have lunch with my awesome grandfather, dropped off a mix of herbs for my under-the-weather little brother, went by the Fudge Shop on my way home, and fell asleep on the couch at 7:45. Which, like many other things in the last few days, was awesome.
Received the Greatest Christmas Letter Ever from a very funny and sweet gal that lives far away from me and is becoming a very dear friend. I also got to talk to her last week on the phone, and it was one of the best and easiest conversations I've had in a long time. And her Greatest Christmas Letter Ever was, well, awesome.
Staying at home today, doing housework and school and some limited cooking. And I think I see a nice cozy nap on the couch in my future, because I really haven't been sleeping well the last week or so.
Going to the Nutcracker tomorrow evening, after possibly FINALLY GETTING A NEW STOVE!!!!!!!! But we'll see about that.
I'll have something far more interesting to post tomorrow, I promise. In the meantime, let me introduce you to a few people:
This is John and Che's blog. They have a daughter that I kind of want to meet. I went to high school with them.
This is Mari's blog. I also went to high school with Mari. She's a military wife, and lives in Japan right now. How cool is that?? However, she's tired of being startled by tentacles every time she turns around. She said so.
Most of you know P-Dub. And she truly rules. But did you know she's got a new homeschool section on her website? Ree doesn't write much of it, but Heather at OMSH does a wonderful job, and I keep wondering it if would be inappropriate of my to ask to be adopted into her family.
So. There you go. Please tell me (because I'm momentarily tired of talking about myself) what you're doing for the rest of the week! Are you done with your Christmas shopping yet?
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