On Being Quiet and When It’s Time To Push Through

I’ve let a whole year go by, full to the brim with memories and meals and friends and kids who just keep growing and growing. We are two weeks away from a whole new season around here: kindergarten. New school shoes have been purchased and just today a ‘big-kid’ lunchbox and water bottle.

I have resisted documenting the day to day because I’m hyper-sensitive to the criticism that blogs aren’t an authentic representation of a person’s life. Also, there’s a lot of navel-gazing and it’s as obnoxious to write about as it is to read sometimes.

But I just read about how when you tell a story, you have to narrow the big picture down to one tiny corner. Just describe that little spot in the upper-left hand corner and then go from there.

So here is a tiny corner, a little tidbit, that hopefully someday will jog my children’s memory and cause them to smile:

We are deeply entrenched in summer living. The house is almost always in some form of disarray. It’s cold cereal for breakfast and peanut butter for lunch. It’s too hot to play outside in the afternoon and Legos can literally be found on every surface in this house. I found some in my bed yesterday and stepped on one in the shower. How this happens is beyond me.

The boys are deeply tanned from a summer at the lake, riding bikes and swimming in friend’s pools. Scarlet’s baby-fine hair is bleached out and her cheeks are perpetually sun-kissed.

The wrestling is constant. So is the eating. But when I can step back from the chaos (which I’m not always very good at) I really relish at what good friend’s the kids are. They are happy and robust and so so loud. I beg them to sit down, to chew with their mouths closed, to pick up their shoes. But then they spend hours building legos or making forts or having some sort of complicated war/adventure in the backyard and I just love them so stinking much.

Isn’t that the crux of family life? It can be so constant, so totally taxing yet its the very best thing and when even one of your people is missing, it’s almost like you’ve lost a limb.

We took a day trip to Mount Rainier last weekend. We needed trees and fresh air and a break from the heat. So we loaded the car with water bottles and sandwiches and headed west. In the 9 years we’ve lived in our little Valley, we’ve never ventured there and now we regret every day we DIDN’T go because it was so stunning.

We chose a 1 mile each direction hike and set out. Luke and Scarlet climbed in and out of the stroller. We got in people’s way. There was a fair amount of whining. Aaron and I looked at each other silently wondering if this was worth the 2 hour drive. And then, all of a sudden, the kids spotted a snow field off in the distance and they pumped to see snow in August. And suddenly our little hike turned into a way bigger one but everyone was happy and energized. We made it to that snow, tossing soggy snowballs at each other, cooling down from our hike. We dipped fingers in glacier run-off and scooted back to the lodge for much-deserved ice cream cones.

It was a good good day. One of so many. I just need to write them down more often.

 

 

This and That

I wake up on Mondays and think ‘this is the week I’m going to get organized…slow down…set time aside to read, cook, finally build that marble run for Jack…’

HA.

Even though none of that is happening, other really good things ARE.

Game after game of Spot it. Bike riding in the driveway (because we’ve had exactly one skif of snow this year). Chocolate chip cookies. Trying out hot yoga. Attempting to pitch crap from the garage, my closet, the ridiculous amount of toys in the basement.

Just regular life stuff.

I have a regular column in our local magazine and before the archives get so old I can’t reference the recipes anymore, I thought I would link to a few of them:

Balsamic Roast Beef

Cinnamon Rolls

Cheese Tortellini Soup (which I think is posted somewhere on the blog already…)

 

I’m also reading a really good book. Actually, I guess technically I’m re-reading it. It’s called Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist. I loaned it to a friend and she ended up ordering me a new copy because she splattered so much stuff in her kitchen cooking recipes out of it. The pages are dog eared and starting to stick together. A small group of my girlfriends started a book club/dinner club based on the book and it has been SO fun. We cook the recipes from the book, drink wine, talk late into the evening and even though we are as different from each other on paper as can be, we are finding so many lovely connections.

 

We had our first lazy weekend in months and I actually woke up this morning refreshed. We went to Lowes and Costco as a family, watched football (go Seahawks!), the boys skied a half day on Sunday and Scarlet and I vacuumed out the car and went to the library. Seriously, it was awesome. We need more of that margin in our life. I know we do and I know I am responsible for creating that space in our family, but it just doesn’t come easily.

If I had any new year’s resolutions this year, it would be to create margin. To learn to say no. To be ok with home and the occasional bout of boredom. To turn off the TV, Instagram, Facebook more often and open a book, the window, my own brain on a regular basis.

So that’s what I’m thinking about these days…more food (duh), more books, more time as a family. Less other (even the good other).

How about you?

 

 

Making Memories (even if it kills us)

“I think we just accept we’re going to be miserable for a long time until one day it pays off and we realize all this was worth it .

I mean, come on, we’re making memories.”

Wise words said by my husband as he stood in ankle deep water in the pitch black, packing up our tent trailer, as rain poured on us and a certain 9-month-old wailed from the truck.

We’ve decided to be a camping family…or maybe it’s a family who camps?

We bought a tent trailer right before Memorial Day and then proceeded to get completely rained out several weekends in a row. Two weekends ago we finally made our inaugural trip up into the ‘mountains.’

The boys rode their bikes, we had campfires, went for walks, threw rocks into the lake, explored a few (easy) trails, ate hot dogs. And let’s keep it real: we had very little sleep, we yelled at our kids. We drank a lot of coffee. We did a fair amount of gritting our teeth, but really and truly, it was fun.

Encouraged by our mostly successful first trip, we set out again. All started well. We met our friends, the kids were happy, the beer was cold and the weather was hot hot hot.

Cue Scarlet crying inconsolably all night long. And then the thunderstorms started, quickly followed by hail and rain. So much rain. The boys were troopers, watching movies on the iPad and riding their bikes through giant puddles in between storms. After each storm, the sky would clear and we would think, ok, this is it, it’s stopping, we’ll be fine. And then it would start again.

Finally in the pitch dark, in the pouring rain, as Scarlet cried and cried; I raised the white flag. No more. Time to go home.

And I’m so glad we did. But I’m also excited to head out again. In fact, I’m itching to try again. I want this for our family. I want these memories. I want the kids to remember the hustle and bustle of packing up, the anticipation of getting to our camp site. A couple of days, just us as a family, squashed together in a little trailer (that leaks a little and maybe smells a little musty).

I want the dirty feet and sunburned shoulders. I want sticky marshmallow fingers and sore legs from hiking and swimming and playing hard. I want memories imprinted into my children’s minds; our family together.

For Aaron and I, it’s a few more years of hard work. I need to remind myself of that. But already, we see the fruits of our labor. And if we get rained out and the baby cries, then ok, we’ll head home, regroup and try again next weekend.

 

Homemade Donut…sort of?

Perusing through the latest Sunset Magazine, I zoned in on this recipe (almond and jam pastry).

For two weeks I kept thinking about that recipe, dog-earing the page and reminding myself to buy almonds in the bulk section at the grocery store.

On Saturday, Aaron and Jack went skiing, leaving me with two mildly sick little ones who both blessedly took monster naps. This left me twiddling my thumbs and thinking once again about that recipe.

I broke out the bread machine and decided to attempt a loaf of brioche. The stars must have aligned, because the bread baked up beautifully.

On Sunday morning, I got up with the kids and after making an extra big pot of coffee, whipped up the rest of the dish.

They were so stinking good. The almond flavor and raspberry jam are perfect together. The bread was soft in the middle and toasted on the outside. Sweet and creamy and satisfying without being overly-sweet.

The great thing is there’s plenty of almond paste (cream?) left over. So you can make it again the next day (like me), and the next day after that.

You certainly don’t need to make the brioche yourself and frankly I think a loaf of french bread would work just as well. I’m thinking about slathering that stuff on my boring old wheat toast tomorrow morning.

Turns Out I really Like Brussel Sprouts

I’ve seen several delicious looking brussel sprout recipes this fall but passed them up because I didn’t think I liked them.

Silly me! I do like them! Come to find out…I love brussel sprouts.

At my sister-in-law’s rehearsal dinner a couple of weeks ago, they served a wonderful roasted mixed vegetable dish. After about three helpings, I realized I was main lining brussel sprouts. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Which leads me to this post. Below is a super simple recipe that you can incorporate brussel sprouts into. Or not. Whatever side of the fence you fall on, the brussel sprouts are not a deal breaker.

Pulled and adapted from Pinterest: Chicken Sausage and Roasted Veggies

4 or 5 sausages (I use chicken sausage, but really, use whatever you like or have on hand)
1 pound potatoes
1/2 pound carrots
1/2 bell pepper
1 large onion
1 fennel bulb
handful of brussel sprouts (yes!)
small zucchini
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp oil
freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Dice up all the veggies into similar size pieces. Brown the sausages over medium heat. They don’t need to be cooked all the way through, but seared is ideal. Place diced veggies and sausages into 9×13 casserole dish. Salt and pepper liberally. Combine italian herbs, chicken broth and oil then pour over veggie mixture. Bake covered for about 15 minutes. After the allotted 15(ish) minutes, add the balsamic vinegar and give everything a stir. Cover back up and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes. I typically uncover the dish for the last ten minutes to brown everything up. Also, I leave out the fennel because I don’t like it.

This dish is great because you can use any combination of veggies you have on hand. I was thinking a sweet potato or butternut squash would be good too. They would add a little sweet to the savory.

My little boys actually eat this for the most part, of course being picky over which vegetables they eat, but usually the carrots and potatoes are safe along with the sausage.

No Words Necessary

My husband is notoriously difficult to shop for. So when it came time to discuss how he wanted to celebrate the big 3-0, he had zero ideas. He hemmed and hawed for several weeks until finally mentioning he might like to have a little barbecue with family and friends. (Oh…and he would like a drill…of course!)

Anyone who knows Aaron immediately picks up on his love for all things ‘country’ or ‘redneck. So…we threw him a redneck barbecue and encouraged our guests to dress the part. I think the best part of the evening was watching everyone walk through the back gate in their various outfits. There was everything from matching overalls to mullet wigs to a baby in a basket…really, words just don’t do it justice.

Our friends and family totally got into it and we had so.much.fun!!!!!

There was much laughing and silliness but even better it was so PERFECTLY Aaron and a wonderful testament to our friends who generously donned mullet wigs and american flag t-shirts all in an effort to make my husband happy.

Like I said…no words necessary…

except that I really really love this guy!

Magic Carpet

We are having so much fun taking our boys to White Pass to go ‘skiing.’

And by skiing, I really mean: drive an hour listening to never-ending toddler gibberish, wrestle 12 pounds of gear onto everybody, take it all off for an emergency potty break, wrestle it all back on, huff and puff up to the magic carpet, yell and cheer like an idiot for Jack, chase the baby who is determined to get on the high-speed quad (or get run over by a snowboarder) and after what seems like a ridiculously long time but is really only an hour or two, schlep everyone back to the car and peel off 12 pounds of gear that is now damp with snow.

Sounds like fun right?

Seriously though, its honestly a blast.

If Jack wasn’t completely and wholeheartedly enthusiastic about it, we wouldn’t be going. But he is. And that makes Aaron and I happily willing to do the grueling tasks of schlepping and wrestling and peeling and potty-breaking and answering the all important questions of ‘are we there yet?’ and ‘can I have a snack?’ 2700 times in the hour-long ride.

Luke, on the other hand is mostly enthusiastic about sled rides and meandering away from his distracted mother. In every video of Jack skiing, Luke is screaming in the background, usually due to me pinning him to one spot with my leg so that I don’t lose him in the 30 seconds it takes to watch Jack come down the hill.

We sit in the lodge and eat a snack and I watch the middle-school boys in their neon jackets and sweaty messy hair and think to myself…that will be my kid someday. It seems impossible and like it’s about to happen all at the same time.

The days seem to be speeding up, weeks and months slipping by so quickly. First it’s Jack on the magic carpet and in what feels like moments, will be both of them off together, most-likely hurtling themselves down black diamonds laughing at my pleas to slow down and be careful.

Christmas Part One

We hosted an early Christmas for my husband’s family last weekend. Five siblings, various significant others, the in-laws and two wild boys.

I was a little nervous about having 7 overnight guests and potentially being cooped up in the house for an entire weekend, but it ended up being perfect.

We ran around with the little ones, watched Christmas movies, made homemade sugar cookie houses, opened gifts, ate a lot of food, played games and just sat around visiting. We did make one quick outing to a little Christmas festival in our neighborhood to see the lit up Coke trucks and of course, Santa.

We are really lucky to all enjoy each other as much as we do. I think it’s kind of rare you can put that much family into one house and it doesn’t end in screaming or bleeding.

Although there was an excessive amount of spilling. I’m choosing to believe that was a sign of good times. When you need the steam cleaner mid-party, I would say that’s a good sign all around.

Christmas Party

I love a good party. I love the opportunity to get a little dressed up, spend an evening with my husband and good friends, nibbling on delicious food and having a glass of wine. Combine that with the magic of Christmas and it’s the perfect opportunity for a get together!

Libby and I combined our efforts to put a party together and we had so much fun! It was fun to see all our friends out of their regular ‘mom’ gear and the fact that we had no kiddos to chase around meant we could actually visit and catch up! So refreshing!

We kept everything super simple. Cheeses, crackers, veggies, a few dips and mini cupcakes. We had beer, wine and champagne cocktails. The cocktails ended up being a total hit! They were very festive and actually tasted good too!

In case you want to make your own:

• Soak sugar cubes in Bitters (its a mixer and can be bought at the grovery store)
• Place sugar cube at bottom of champagne glass
• Fill 3/4 full with champagne
• 1/3 ounce orange liquor (we used triple sec)
• Garnish with fresh craberries
• Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

We had a picturesque fall weekend complete with leaf jumping, pumpkin carving, good meals with friends and family and a solid dose of sunshine.

Now to see if our little cowboy and clown will actually wear their costumes and say ‘trick or treat’ tonight! Jack would have nothing to do with his costume (which was simply a cowboy snap shirt that he’s worn dozens of times before and a cowboy hat) the day of his school party, so I’m not sure what will happen tonight. We haven’t quite grasped the holiday just yet.