Our Place

We just got the best news. We're moving. To a much bigger place. Can't hardly wait.

Danger...

...thy name is Thin Mints.

My Current Location

Somewhere deep inside this basket is someone's mommy, in fact, 3 someones' mommy. She cannot seem to dig herself out. A few items folded, she thinks she sees a clearing ahead only to be covered by the next load....Maybe by spring....

Lucky

Couldn't let this Valentine's Day go by without a snapshot of my beautiful bouquet and an appreciation for the heart that chose them just for me. I love you Tim...

All my love. All my life.

QT's

happy valentine's day!

Making Friends with Crazy

The past few days have been well...crazy. Besides ice storms and the like our only working vehicle died right before we headed out to grocery shop. Our street being almost completely vacant for reconstruction means there was virtually no one to help. Enter trusty car battery charger (thank you in laws), except I failed to read the instructions to charge it upon receiving. So while I waited for the charge I poked around and thankfully found an electrician working on one of the houses and he and his co worker kindly gave me a jump, thereby getting themselves mired in the mud that is our side yard...

Upon waking yesterday morning a ho hum load of laundry became a vicious flood, invading kitchen and dining room, covering bathroom floors and spewing up food from the shower drain. I was surprised at my own response, standing calmly by while watching a recreation of Old Faithful from my toilet...

I came back out to the kitchen to find Adam gleefully gliding on the pools of soapy water. I just had to smile and then we laughed. Now there is a HUGE ditch in our backyard where they had to uncover our pipes and expunge (sp?) all the gunk from them and more work left to be done bright and early Monday morning.

One of the hardest lessons I have learned from this year as a solo trapeze artist is that crazy is never too far away and I can't let it get me off course. In fact its an almost constant companion with three little ones under 5 and a husband thousands of miles away. I used to rage at the havoc it caused, cry and stew and whine and complain and life stood still while I tried to win. But in the end you can't really fight crazy, you just have to make peace with it and keep on keeping on...

EAT

Warm Vegetable Salad
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
2 whole red peppers
1 1/2 pound assorted red and white new potatoes
3/4 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped oregano leaves
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat the broiler. Place the red peppers on a foil lined baking sheet.
Place the red peppers under the boiler. Turning every 2 to 3 minutes cook the peppers until the skin is blistered, about 8 to 9 minutes total. Place the blistered peppers in a plastic bag. Seal the bag and allow the peppers to sit for 10 minutes to allow the skin to separate and to let cool.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the potatoes to a cutting board. Add the green beans to the pot. Cook the green beans until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove the green beans to a large bowl. Slice the potatoes in half while still warm and combine them with the green beans in the large bowl. Remove the peppers from the plastic bag. Peel off the skin from the peppers. Slice the pepper flesh into wide strips and remove the seeds and veins. Place them in the bowl with the potatoes. Add the scallions, parsley, and garlic
and toss to combine.
In a small bowl combine the oregano, lemon juice and zest, and white wine vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil. Stir in the salt and pepper. Toss the warm vegetables with the herb vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

Must Read

I laughed. I cried. It moved me. I still can't stop thinking about it.

In short

The perfect parenting mantra.

Saturdays feel so nice...

Ahh, it's Saturday once more. It has taken awhile but I have learned to take a Saturday "off" or sort of, from the rest of the week. A little difficult because with Tim gone each day can feel like a weekday without the right perspective.

Saturdays still contain the voluminous laundry, toilet scrubbings, dishes and dirty diapers, but for at least a little while I do something for me. Read a magazine. Sit and drink a cup of chai and do nothing else but stare out the window and dream. Luxurious I know. If only these moments could last a little longer than a moment sometimes.

Which brings me to goals. I have been learning the value of creating S.M.A.R.T. goals. Small, Measureable, Reasonable, Time specific goals. It sure makes for much less frustration when I don't set the bar so high for myself and my little ones. For example I have learned to plan that I will only get one leg shaven in the shower before there is an outburst of tears or tussling over a toy. I may not get the entire dishwasher unloaded but I can manage the top rack and possibly the silverware before I need to change a diaper or clean up spilled milk. Sounds a little unusual and it is at first but in the end it has been a saving grace. "I will get mascara on one eye before I need to soothe a hurt or kiss a boo boo." "I can frost the bottom layer of the cake before I must stop to tie a shoe." Simple but incredibly invaluable stuff..

And we are on the countdown now. We are close to going under 100 days at which point I just know the rest of this deployment will fly by. I am thankful that we have all learned to really live and celebrate each moment of this time of separation instead of whining and whimpering for it to be over. I wouldn't trade this year apart because of the growth we have experienced in our marriage and family. We have had to work extra hard to stay close, to communicate, to dream together of what life will look like when he returns.

We have a jolly little band of characters here. Is there anything better than rosy cheeked little people marching around the house singing songs and tumbling down the halls? I think not. How I love to listen to them play and giggle. I have been stretched beyond myself many times trying to understand where they're coming from and also draw boundary lines. Always the heart triumphs over the oft stubborn will and our love of togetherness is more important than getting our own way. How I enjoy a good snuggle with a chubby little newborn boy, the way he laughs hysterically when Natalie and Adam jump on the couch. How sweet to be asked to join in the play and to see the excitement on faces as though nothing could be better than Mama as part of the game..

Each evening I can hardly wait till all is dark and quiet, Will has nursed off to dreamland and I can get down to business and workout. Yes, I have found nothing is quite so refreshing and strengthening and even peace giving at the end of the day than an hour long workout. Listening to some music, pushing the toys and puzzles out of the way and hitting the mat or doing cardio has been amazing for me, not only results wise but in the way I feel. Clear headed and on top of the world.

Coming to realize over these past months that Jesus just loves me for me. Never really grasped that in any real way before. That I can't do anything to make him more or less in love with me. He just is because I am. Freeing. Incredibly so.

So that's my ramble. All these things have been knocking about in my head for quite some time, just rarely do I have the spare minute to jot it all down. Now I must go eat a "giant jelly sandwich" made out of couch cushions and a fleece blanket in between, nurse a hungry boy and snuggle with a little boy who is right now a "kitty cat". The stuff of life...