Can you even believe it?! (also, OAMC part 3)

Yes, well, I finally have a working laptop again (it hasn't worked properly since September and actually died in October - so much for that Mac theory!)… BUT praise the Lord and pass the ammunition folks because I am just on overload now. I don't know what I would have done without a smartphone! Can you imagine life before constant access? (Sad, isn't it, how dependent we are? hmm…)

Before I lose my mind since January is almost over and my freezer is starting to clear out already, I wanted to update with another foodie post (I'll get to the grand holiday stuff later - it's tardy already anyway). Mostly, I just want to share with you a couple of new recipes that rocked my socks off. Yep, rocked 'em right off. Shall I start with my absolute favorite? I suppose then you have no reason to work to the end? ;) I'll do it anyway, and you can just trust that they are all good. Okay, so here was my list for January - followed by links/photos of the new additions that were important enough to earn a highlight on homework night.

1. Breakfast cookies (duh)
2. Frozen fruit cups (I know its winter, but my kids think its dessert, and its just fruit!)
3. marinated dump chicken (2 bags!)
4. Meatloaf/meatballs (2 pans of meatloaf, 4 bags of meatballs)
5. Meaty Manicotti (2 - 8x8) (NEW!)
6. Lasagna (2- 8x8) (NEW!)
7. Three cheese baked mac (downgrading from the spicy mac due to a complaining 5 year old!)
8. Yogurt (NEW!)
9. Granola Bars (NEW!)
10. Idaho Sunrise (NEW!)
11. Breakfast Bagels
12. Garlic bread
13. Cheese Scones (NEW!)
14. Chinese pot roast
15. Italian pot roast
16. Waffles - have yet to get a batch to the freezer.. Need to make them at night instead (duh)

Idaho Sunrise

Okay - first, the Idaho Sunrise. My new favorite I think. I love quick, easy, good-for-you breakfast, and I think this is fairly good for you? You make a nest of hashbrowns (with a little cheese mixed in), bake it a bit, then crack and egg in, top with parsley, a little bacon and cheese. I don't like whole eggs, so I scrambled them and then poured them into the 'nests', but same idea. I flash froze them, then put them in a gallon sized bag. I was nervous about reheating these in the microwave. I waited SOIMPATIENTLY for the toaster oven on the first morning. NOT a quick route at all. But WHOA was it worth it! The girls started asking for bites too. Even my picky bird, E! So then I put one in the microwave and did a nervous dance not wanting to ruin one of these precious treats. And it tasted just fine! YAY! So in 1:30, you have an amazingly fresh tasting breakfast, and its easy and filling and YUM. One seems to be enough, but I tend to want more. Uh oh… These are going to be a staple for sure. Plus they require so little bacon it works well with the bagel sandwiches. TRY these. It would also be a great breakfast/brunch item served fresh if you are having company over. Use a dark pan - you want these to get brown on the bottom or they fall apart when you try to get them out.

Manicotti (We put sauce on top too)

 Manicotti - and lasagna.. we LOVE pasta. We actually tested out the Wal-Mart brand "oven-ready" lasagna noodles and the recipe right off the box, which we had never tried before - and put it to the freezer test right off the bat. It works, if you thaw it overnight. It actually wasn't bad, even with Steve making it - I tend to flavor things a bit more than he does :) Nice job! I like the Target box recipe better - they add more cheeses, but I think we could toss in more variety and it wouldn't matter.
The Manicotti was, again, a recipe we had never tried. It needed a little more spice, but it froze well.

This inspired my yogurt..

This pinterest find was actually for smoothie packets, but it got me thinking about gogurt… We buy gogurt all the time for Josiah's cold lunch - to freeze and then you stick it in the lunch box and it thaws in time for lunch… And just in general I guess, I always hate that he begs for the cartoon kind and I always am having to explain why I don't want to buy that kind for him - we get the "natural" kind - but even so, its not very natural I suppose (just a bit more?).. So why not make our own! Now, on www.onceamonthmom.com, they have a post showing how they make their yogurt into gogurt tubes. I am not about to attempt that (yet). And I haven't yet tried making my own yogurt, though after this we did talk about doing just that. But we bought some good-for-you yogurt and some flash-frozen fruit and we dumped it all in the processor. Then I stuck it in portion-sized gladware cups and froze them. So he has gogurt cups now, but he LOVES the taste, and I love that its REAL. So we'll work on the packaging (I'll put a sticker on it or something). 

I made my Cheese Scones heart shaped, but these are okay :)

Ah yes, cheese scones. These turned out yummy. Its more like a biscuit because its savory and cheese-ish, but it makes a nice snack or side item for my kiddos (or I will steal one too). And I wasn't being an over achiever in making hearts, it was the smallest cut-out I had!

Well, hot dog...

(a working title…)

This blog post has been stirring in my heart for months, rolling in the back of my mind as I debated whether or not I wanted to cross THAT line. I'm a line crosser, as you know, but I try to step carefully whenever possible. Boldly only when I have to. When I started my latest grad school endeavor and thesis writing was being discussed the idea hit me like a smack in the face. And as I sat across the table from a dear friend sharing our passion for good food and our hearts for this discussion, I had to wonder why I had waited so long to share my heart about this with those around me but I was jumping in wholeheartedly for a team of professors and conference attendees (fingers crossed!). I have several theories about that, but we'll save that for later.. For now, I just feel like I need to share my heart on the issue.

Motherhood has become a competition. And I hate it. Lets just throw that out on the table. Hang with me here. Today more than ever, we are blasted with society's expectations of what it means to be a "good" mother. News media, advertising, blogs, commercials, magazines, tweets, and Facebook. All day long, we as mothers are bombarded with other people tellings us how to perform our role. Whether or not we should breastfeed our child (and if so, how long we should continue to breastfeed). Should we use cloth diaper or disposables. Whether or not you should homeschool. Whether or not you should practice babywearing. Only feed your child organic, scratch-cooked foods. Which language you should teach your child. Whether or not you should make your own cleaning products. Whether or not to spank your children. The list goes on and on. Every single aspect of your role (my role) as a mom is thrown at you by all of these sources of media (and our friends!) - and what is the result?

The result is that -like it or not- this is hurting moms all around us. A mom shouldn't be made to feel like they are any better or worse of a mother if they choose to put their baby in disposable diapers or if they choose cloth. A mom shouldn't be looked down on because they send their child to public school, or they send their child to private school or if they choose homeschool. If I serve organic foods only half of the time, I shouldn't be made to feel like I am poisoning my kids, or that I am any less of a mother than someone that serves only organic, local produce. If I choose not to spank my children and I have solid Biblical reasoning for that, I should not be told I am wrong because you have found verses to support your choice.

NO mother should be frowned upon for their choice about feeding their child. I feel like I should say that ten million times. Some mothers have no choice - some mothers cannot make any/enough milk and cannot breastfeed. Some mothers make the choice for formula for other reasons. But it is their choice. Research that I am looking at right now has shown that this one single issue has led new moms to serious depression, loss of joy, feelings of guilt, etc. - all because they feel shamed by the fact that they either were not able to do what they were told by society was expected of them in terms of infant feeding, or shamed by the fact that they chose formula. It makes me so sad that as women we are making other women feel that way - when as new moms they should be at the height of their joy! Just because something is the right choice for you and your child, does not mean it is the only choice or the right choice for the lady next to you. (phew..)

I think what is so tricky about these issues for us as women is that we are so incredibly passionate about them because, well, we are passionate about everything, but because we are so passionate about our kids. When we get on to these topics we dive in so eagerly. But what we don't realize is that we tend to come off as though we are pushing our agenda instead of simply sharing our ideas. I recently read a great post by my friend Vanessa who wrote about her decision to homeschool, and I was just so proud of how she framed that discussion. She came right out and said she was so hesitant for these very reasons - and this is really what got my wheels spinning! 

Let me tread very carefully here, but please hear me out: I feel like as Christian women, we can tend to be that much more passionate about our beliefs and child rearing or homemaking practices - and without even realizing we are doing so, we tend to be trying to one-up those around us (posting amazing facebook statuses!), or at the very least rather than "humble ourselves", we try to make it known that our practices are clearly the superior ones. I have never felt more judged than I have in the small, fishbowl town I recently moved back to. For wanting to work outside the home, for not homeschooling, for not breastfeeding, etc. I feel like at times we can hold our religious beliefs as an air of superiority, when in truth we are all heiresses in the same right. 

And rather than trying to convert one another to a different team, what we should be doing is supporting one another no matter what. Unless something wild and whacky is going on, it really is going to be okay if you and I and Jane down the street all make different choices about what kind of kindergarten we send our kids to. Instead of competing with one another, lets be honest with each other. The fact is, this is a tough job! If we could get down and real with each other and truly come alongside one another in prayer and do life together - wow. Doesn't that sound so much better? It kind of sounds like a beach...

Thing One and Thing Two - and Three :) Happy August!

I need happy thoughts today, and this post is one in a line of a few that are overdue, so I figured I would take a break and get a couple posted! There haven't been too many moments to spare around here lately, so when you are ordered to take one, you probably should? ;) Well, just for a few minutes at least…
August will forever be a crazy month at our house! Steve and I were married on the 10th. Our twin daughters, Hannah and Eden, were born on the 13th. Delia was born on the 28th. If we left it at that, we could be busy I suppose. We also wanted to do some sort special thing just for Hannah. This year, we had decided we could do a joint birthday party since the girls are so young (I had such a hard time doing that!), but that was all the more reason for us to do a separate thing for a memorial of sorts. Then, being racked with guilt over their birthdays being event-less, I made Eden and Hannah a cake anyway and we spent the day at the lake swimming and letting Eden call the shots. Delia's day came two weeks later, though she wasn't feeling well, so there was more napping involved and less cake since she had residual cupcakes leading up to her big day and I was still feeling like a bad parent over how much frosting she consumed from her smash cake! At any rate, the crazed month of August has come and gone and it was a pretty big success. I haven't yet gotten a free minute to take down the remaining banners, but the house still feels festive. I'm just not inviting anyone over yet so I don't need to feel embarrassed ;)   (and excuse the jumbled pics, my foggy head isn't ready to create collages or organize them better right now. Maybe later!)

 

Three Stooges.

Our first event was the actual twins' actual birthday. (I say that because people always think Eden and Delia are twins and we are constantly having to explain that they aren't). So, on the 13th, we woke Eden with the traditional candle-lit breakfast (technically, she was already awake, but she was still in her bed - we know not to wake babies!) and we all sang happy birthday to her. We started this tradition when Josiah turned one and it is so fun. Especially with Josiah - whom we actually do wake up for daycare or school, and he is so caught off guard by it, the videos are hilarious! Eden LOVED this and Delia giggled from her crib too. After breakfast we let her open a little present and then spent the day at the lake swimming and letting Eden be the boss, dictating what we should do (who am I kidding - this girl thinks she runs the show all the time!). It was a really fun day! We capped it off with her fish cake - per her request, she wanted a "geen and pink" cake, and Steve decided it should be like the shape of a goldfish cracker. I made an executive decision not to actually carve it in the shape of a fish and just piped them on instead. She loved it though.
And at dusk, we went out on a pontoon with my parents and my sister's family and in the middle of the lake where Hannah's ashes were sprinkled, we sent these up. It was so beautiful. Eden kept shouting at the "full moons!" You could see them for miles. We only dropped two onto the water, but they looked pretty burning their too - so it wasn't a loss at all. Definitely doing this again next year.

I LOVED these lanterns. This was just plain amazing.

THEN came the joint party for the girls. It took some arm twisting, but I was able to be convinced to do a combined party this year. I don't know, for me, birthdays are a big deal. I love to make a huge deal out of my kids, and go crazy over birthdays - and I think especially for the girls its going to be important to keep them separate because it would be so easy to just "lump them together" because the dates are so close together. (If you have a similar situation throw some thoughts at me, I'm curious!) At any rate, this was fun and it turned out well, chaos and all!

 I LOVED the Dr. Seuss theme! I could have gone [even more] crazy with this theme! It was just plain fun. And it just seemed to fit. Our girls were turning 2 and 1 and people always thought they were twins, so we made Thing One and Thing Two shirts, and there you go! While my intention was to go hog wild with the food and label everything with Seuss-related names, life got in the way. Our red fish/blue fish were obvious. Our oodles of noodles, just plain noodles.

 I did, however, make red and white layered cupcakes resembling cat and the hat (they happen to be on the backside of this stand, blast!), and then green eggs and ham. I intended to cover my chocolate cupcakes with blue cotton candy thing hair, but I am a cotton candy machine nin-com-poop, and I could not figure it out, even with a good tutor. SO, they were just yummy chocolate. Which I like better, because I don't like cotton candy, but it doesn't look seuss-ish. The kids didn't know either way :) The adults had some delectable chocolate cake. For some reason they shy away from green food.

Hannah's Balloons

 And last, but certainly not least! Delia's actual birthday! Delia flipped out about her good morning greeting! It was just hilarious! I am so glad we capture these on video each year. After she scarfed down three pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (she is serious about good food!), we opened her little gifts. (We decided a joint party called for a joint gift and found a great deal on a play kitchen. It has since taken over our lives. But they love it so we are coming to terms. Sort of.) You can see that Eden was a diva during present time, not enjoying that these were not her presents! Too funny. I loved that Delia made a funny face while holding a lemon. Ironic, since she has no idea what it was. And she was WAY excited about the book. Even though she has yet to sit still for an entire story. Ever. Thought that was hilarious too. This girl cracks me up at least once every couple of minutes.