This

We do not need the grace of God to stand crises; human nature and pride are sufficient, we can face the strain magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours in every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a disciple, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people, and this is not learned in five minutes.

— Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Hightest

Will I follow Christ when I am angry?

Will I have faith when I feel sorry for myself?

Will I choose kindness and compassion when no one is looking?

Do I treat my husband and child and friends and family with the respect, dignity and love on a day-to-day basis that I say I do?

My life is ordinary. And most days, I have no regrets about that. I spend my days wiping noses and doling out cheerios. I clean bathrooms and make beds, cycling laundry through my washing machine. I make dinner and go to the dry cleaner. I fit in freelance work during naptime. We take walks and talk about dogs and trucks and trees.

Sometimes I am bored. Sometimes I look at my friends on facebook who are physicians and world travelers and near-Olympians and freaking fashion designers and I wonder if my life adds up. If I matter. If what I do everyday is important and valuable.

This quote reminds me my everyday, mundane choices matter and what I do in quiet moments  is valuable. So, with renewed spirit I vow to align my heart with my mind. To take joy in the ordinary, and trust that for every moment that feels wasted, there are 100 others that impact my own life, the life of my child and family and those around me. Even if I never see the harvest of those actions. They still happened. They still matter.

The Crazy Outdoors

This morning would have been perfect for curling up with a good book and a cup of coffee. It was one of those grey misty mornings where it almost seems like the day hasn’t actually started. But, because I have a 1-year-old who is obcessed with being outside, and getting increasinly stir-crazy stuck in the house all day, we bundled up and headed out.

Jack had a very busy morning mowing the lawn and trampling my emerging daffodil buds:

He’s in a phase right now where he won’t look at the camera. He’s even figured out my phone is a camera and takes off running when he sees me pull it out.

This was the best ’smiling’ shot I could get:

nice and blurry

Contrary to the sour faces in the pictures above, he was actually having a blast playing and running and pointing and yelling with all the joy that a one-year-old can have. He did not, however, appreciate me removing him from my flower beds. Which, of course, were his favorite place to play. And to be fair, he really didn’t like the hat I forced him to wear. But, it’s my mother’s right to make him wear ridiculous things, especially hats. So wear it he did.

Here’s hoping for sunny skies and warmer temps ahead.

A Sneak Peak

I’m not sure if I’m in nesting mode or just trying to combat the winter blahs…but we (meaning mostly Aaron) have been hard at work.

Here’s a sneak peek:

The cabinet is now jet black and the walls are a soft grey. I went a little crazy at IKEA last week picking out fun hooks and bathroom fixtures. I can’t wait to put them up. I found giant white textured towels at Costco and an almost matching white curtain at TJ Maxx. I figure white is a safe color for little ones because you can always bleach them.

We found this brushed nickel faucet at Home Depot for 75 percent off! Man, I love a good deal, especially since we are doing this project on a STRICT budget.

And finally, a Costco light fixture. Again, a super good deal and easily $60 less than anything we could find at Home Depot or Lowes. It helps that it’s a near replica of the fixture I’ve been drooling over from Restoration Hardware. The only hang up we’ve run into is not being able to agree over a tile for the floor. Actually, it’s more that we can’t find a tile we even like enough to argue about. Hopefully, we’ll find something this weekend…we need to as it’s the only bathroom with a tub. Jack is going to get pretty stinky if we don’t wrap it up.

Sick

(more naked pictures, I can’t resist)

I can’t tell you how much I hate it when Jack gets sick.

Wednesday night Jack came down with his first case of croup. It was mild at first but ramped up over the next 24 hours. After some scary coughing bouts and wheezing, we headed to the doctor for our first ’sick’ visit. (There have been several ‘firsts’ over the last few days.) After two doses of medicine, the croup seemed to be on the decline and we all breathed a sigh of relief that our boy had dodged a bullet.

Except, yesterday Jack just wasn’t himself. He was feverish, fussy, and wouldn’t let Aaron or I put him down. He wouldn’t eat or play. He went to bed at 5:30pm. After a long night, we woke up today hopeful our boy would be back to his happy self, but we were sadly disappointed.

This afternoon I was at my breaking point. Jack had never been sick like this for this many days. I was so worried he had come down with influenza or something worse, that I was making myself crazy. We called our wonderful doc and he promptly told us to swing by his house. (I love that!) After a quick look in his ears, we thankfully had a diagnosis. Ear infection and a bad one. Another first.

So, we’ve got ear drops and antibiotics and a mom and dad who are crossing their fingers and hoping for a decent nights sleep. Thankfully, my mom is here visiting and she has been so helpful. I keep teasing her that every time she comes, one of us gets sick. She was here last spring when I got a horrible stomach flu. There is something about having your mom around when you (or your little one) is sick that is so comforting. Her presence and that she’s a nurse with 30 years of experience helps too.

To help pass the hours we’ve been locked in the house with a sick kid, we got to cooking:

First up was homemade pizza. Tomato basil for the adults and Hawaiian for Jack (and me, let’s be honest, it’s my favorite)

Next there was another batch of my yummy spaghetti sauce:

And we finished up the weekend with my first ever homemade carrot cake:

And it was so good.

Tomorrow I have another doctor’s appointment. I don’t think the scale will be forgiving. But, it was worth it.

The Boy

Oh this boy…

His sweet face has been a little absent on the blog lately and that needed to be rectified immediately.

This is our Monday and Wednesday morning routine. After breakfast, Jack spends about 20 minutes ‘playing’ in his crib while Aaron and I run around doing the various last-minute getting-ready type things that we both have to do to walk out the door at 8am (not my strong point).

He is such a trooper. He reads his books, then throws them all on the floor and after he finishes with that, he usually starts chewing on his crib and that’s my cue to abandon the mascara and go rescue the crib the boy. It’s a good routine…now I just have to figure out how to add another little one to the morning routine. I am predicting an even earlier wake up call. And that kind of makes me want to cry just thinking about it.

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Also, speaking of the boy, please send me your best tips in transitioning from two naps to one. Currently, it seems like he needs one and a half naps and we are struggling. Help.

Bathrooms

This is the half bathroom just off our kitchen. I always call it a quarter bath because it is SO small, but then Aaron reminds me that a quarter bathroom would just be a toilet or a sink and that doesn’t make any sense…

So…here are some pictures of our half bath:

(notice the paint brush still in the sink…touch ups, I swear they go on for eternity)

The tile is the same as our kitchen and the new wainscoting covers some pale yellow tile. Yuck. The blue paint is all Aaron and while it wasn’t originally my favorite color, it looks great with the white. My husband gets all the credit.

Now let’s take a tour of the other bathrooms shall we?

Main floor bathroom a.k.a. ‘kids’ bathroom:

Until Saturday, this bathroom had white floral eighties wallpaper on the walls. Thankfully, the paper came down in big sheets with minimal effort. How much for you love those oak vanities and plastic trim? My thought is to paint the vanity black, the walls a very pale grey and have Aaron install some greyish tile on the floor. Get some fun hooks and a new faucet in brushed nickel and I think it will be ‘updated’ enough for the next couple years. I forgot to take a picture but the tub has a white tile surround that although looks dated is in good shape and very clean, so I think we are going to save ourselves the headache and leave it for now.

And on to the master bathroom:

Doesn’t Aaron look like he’s having fun? The second picture I had to post because I wanted a visual for our ‘working conditions.’ We turned the shower on as hot as it would go as well as the heater. Then, we soaked the wallpaper and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then we started scraping. Needless to say, the duck wallpaper has given us hell. But, slowly, with a lot of determination, we are winning this war. It’s about 80 percent peeled and one more afternoon with the scraper and we should be done. I have to insert how thankful I am for my husband. After doing one of our bedrooms and the other bathroom, I was DREADING having to deal with our bathroom. Wallpaper is straight from the devil. But, Aaron was a trooper and kept me laughing even when I thought for sure I was melting from the moisture and heat. We got a ton accomplished working together and it kind of reminded me of the ‘old days,’ when we did our old house.

Anyway, that was our weekend…how was yours?

Things I Love…

A tidy bedroom and a neatly made bed

Clutter hidden safely out of sight

The blinds open to let natural light in

Jack’s new Pumas

Americanos

Origins checks and balances face wash

Burts Bees lip balm

Mrs. Meyer’s cleaning products

When my husband unloads the dishwasher

Toasted bagels with generous cream cheese

Pandora in the mornings

The Message

The smell of my rosemary plant

A fresh stack of new-to-me magazines

The tiniest green shoots promising day lilies and crocuses’

A cleaned-off desk

My new sweater…only $7

When Jack signs ‘please’

Farm Chicks in The Kitchen Cookbook

Facebook messages

Sunshine peeking through tired clouds

A walk outside

Sore legs from said walk

The smell of my son’s hair

Fleecy footy pajamas

Jack’s warm little body heavy against my shoulder as he sleeps

The quite of evening

When my husband takes my car to get washed

20 minute power naps (my saving grace these days)

Laughter floating through the house as made up games are played in the bathtub

Red painted toenails

The ultrasound pictures of my growing babe reminding me all is well.

Tell me…what do you love today?

Special Request: Crock Pot

I have a dear friend who made a special request. Her equally lovely husband bestowed her with a slow cooker for her birthday (her request!) and she needs a few more recipes to add to her que. I was happy to oblige although I’m not sure I’m the ‘expert’ on crockpot cooking.

I do however have a couple of delicious foolproof recipes that I am happy to share.

Really Yummy Shredded Pork (or Chicken) Tacos:

• One 3 pound pork loin or four chicken breasts
• Jar of your favorite green salsa (I like Hernandez)
• 1/2 a yellow onion chopped
•  One can of fire roasted green chilis (could substitute with jalepenos)

Dump all the above ingredients into your crockpot and cook on low for 6+ hours. The pork or chicken will literally shred itself over time. You know the drill from here; warm up your tortillas, get out the black beans, shred some jack cheese and dice up an avocado. You can add a squeeze of lime, some chopped cilantro or a dollop of sour cream if you are so inclined. So easy. So delicious.

Spicy but Incredibly Good Shredded Pork

I adapted this recipe from my friend Glory who picked it up from one of her husband’s family members in Louisiana. She delivered this delicious pork to us during our kitchen remodel along with mashed sweet potatoes, caesar salad and an amazing peach crisp. It was the perfect meal!! In the times I’ve made this recipe we’ve eaten it with everything from a box of rice pilaf and green beans to a tortilla and sliced avocado. Not the most kid friendly recipe, but so good its worth making something else for the kiddos. Anyway…here is the recipe:

• One pork loin (3-5 pounds)
• 1 can of chicken stock
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 1 small can of marinated jalepenos
• 1/3 cup apricot preserves
• 1 chicken bullion cube
• salt and pepper to taste

Place the pork loin in your crockpot and surround it with the onion and jalapenos. Pour the chicken stock and apricot preserves over the pork. Add the chicken bullion cube (it will dissolve on its own). Salt and pepper to taste. (Don’t go overboard on the salt because the chicken stock and bullion cube are salty). Cook on low all day, at least 6+ hours. As I mentioned before, this is recipe is spicy but has an amazing sweet flavor as well. It is delicious with sweet potatoes, rice or black beans. Eat it by itself or eat it with a tortilla. You can’t go wrong.

Pot Roast

• One roast (3-5 pounds)
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 4-6 potatoes, washed and chopped
• One packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
• One can of low-sodium beef stock

Throw everything in your crockpot (arranging the vegetables around the meat) and let cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. I almost always chop to many veggies and have to make this roast in my big soup pot in my oven. An alternative is to cook your roast in your oven at 300 degrees for 4 to 6 hours. I have to be honest, I don’t use a meat thermometer very often and because of it, I’ve overcooked many many roasts.

Minestrone Soup

• Package of mild turkey sausage, cooked
• 36 ounces of low-sodium chicken broth (you can use half water and half chicken broth, but it tastes better with all broth)
• 1 tablespoon italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt (to taste, but this soup needs some it to develop good flavor)
• 1/2 tablespoon pepper
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 can of chick peas
• 1 cup of frozen green beans
• 1 cup of frozen corn
• 1.5 cups of dry packaged cheese or pesto tortellini

Can you guess how to make this? Yep, dump it all in your crockpot and turn on low. Cook for 6+ hours, stirring occasionally. The only catch is to NOT put the pasta in until an hour before you plan on serving. The tortellini take a little longer to cook in the crockpot versus on the stove but if you add them to soon, they get soggy and fall apart. When I was first pregnant we ate this soup for about a month straight. It’s hearty, especially with a piece of crusty bread and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, yet is healthy and yummy.

Two Posts in One Day: BiPolar

I’m still in a funk…all of one hour later. But I spied in my drafts folder a post I’ve been working on for several weeks and then I just read amalah’s post and I decided, what the heck, finish it and maybe you’ll feel better. Besides, this is way more fun than folding laundry.

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You used to sit for a timeout, silently watching me from your corner, all big eyes and open mouth. ‘You are in a timeout for hitting mommy,’ I would say. Or maybe it was, ‘you are in a timeout for climbing on the fireplace and I told you no 10,000 times already.’

After about a week or so, you realised you can just stand up and walk away from the corner I put you in. Now you think it’s funny to go in timeout because as soon as I walk away from you, you take off running down the hallway, laughing and shrieking.

You are so full of personality. I’m not quite sure what to do about the timeout. So far, I just keep putting you back. You have yet to sit for one full minute since you discovered you can run.

You sign please but only on your terms. Sometimes you happily sign it for a cup of juice or a cracker, but other times you can’t be bothered. You are too busy. You sign more, but sometimes that means all done. ‘Ahh doon,’ you cry and manically sign more. We might need to work on that.

In the last few weeks, you’ve finally developed a bit of separation anxiety. You follow me from room to room, always wanting to do what I’m doing. If I’m combing my hair, you want to comb your hair. If I’m using the potty, you want to investigate and woe is the person who tries to stop you.

You love legos. You love books. You love to hit anything and everything and we are working daily on being more gentle with the dog. You love to smother him in loves as well as hit him with a t-ball bat, preferably simultaneously. I think what you love the most is to play outside. Yesterday we went to Starbucks and for a few minutes, the sun was out and I let you run around in the grassy yard while I drank my coffee. I haven’t seen you that happy in a long time. You ran and jumped and pointed and babbled. You waved bye-bye to everyone that walked by and picked up clumps of dirty snow and threw them as far as you could. You cried big alligator tears when it was finally time to go.

You say mama and dada, and dog but with no g on the end. You say up, but only if you want to. You seem to understand so much. You go and get your shoes when I ask and try to put them on. You climb up on the couch and then stand up. ‘Wow,’ you say proudly.

You look me straight in the eyes and push your lunch on the floor. ‘Uh-oh,’ you say sadly.

You almost never slow down, always looking for something to run after, climb on or jump off of. You still like to be carried though and when you need a little snuggle, you push me away from whatever I’m doing and command ‘UP!’

If I sneak over to the computer to check emails or blogs, you track me down within seconds, hoisting a well-loved copy of 10 Little Ladybugs or Barnyard Dance at me. I think I could read those books with my eyes closed, but they bring you such happiness that I always flip them open one more time. Ten little ladybugs sitting on a vine, along came a butterfly — then there were…

You love being chased, and your sweet meaty little thighs are the most ticklish part of your body. You have not one, but two faint dimples and your eyes are officially no longer blue. They are somewhere between gray and hazel.

Oh I love you sweet boy. You bring me such joy. I love watching you grow and change and discover. I’ve made a concentrated effort these last few weeks to slow down and just enjoy you. To play more, to read more, to chase more. Less about me and more about you. I think we are both benefitting. I’m learning to pick my battles and decide what’s really important. If you want to clean out my kitchen drawers, go for it. Soon enough, you’ll be too busy and off on another adventure. Go and explore little one, but know I am right here waiting for you.

Funktastic

I’m in a funk.

My heart is heavy with emotions and thoughts that just aren’t meant for a public blog. 

Something about the gray January weather and the fact that my dog just tracked muddy footprints across the carpet kind of makes me want to curl up and take a nap instead of ticking items off my to-do list.

Oh well. Back to the grind I guess.

I hope spring shows up quickly. Slushy snow and brown soggy grass is depressing. As is the fact that Aaron hung the jogging stroller on the wall in the garage over a month ago and it hasn’t been taken down for one single walk since then. I guess I’ll just get some excercise by scrubbing my carpets. Gahhhh.

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I’m back on a roll with house projects. Aaron finished up the half bath in our kitchen last weekend. It still of course needs a little touch up painting, but that’s ongoing around here. I’ve started peeling the wallpaper in our master bathroom and a came up with a plan for our main floor bathroom. As Aaron likes to say,’we are going to put lipstick on a pig,’ meaning we are going to do some minor cosmetic changes until we can demo the whole thing and start over. It will be fun to get both bathrooms spruced up and out of the eighties. I mean as much as I love pastel blue duck wallpaper and matching border, I’m thinking I can come up with something a touch more creative. At the very least, it will be a good distraction while we wait for spring.

I’ve also been pouring over the IKEA catalog dreaming up the perfect ‘big boy’ room for Jack. I would like to keep our nursery as is and turn our ‘office’ (really its just a holding ground for everything we don’t know what to do with) into Jack’s new bedroom. I’m hoping by 21 months he’s ready for a toddler bed.

After several months of not being able to stomach the idea of even painting a room, its fun to be back in the dreaming and scheming mode. Now, we just need a winning lottery ticket or a long-lost uncle to will us some money.