Full Tummies and Happy Hearts

John has been off these past couple days. Oh how wonderful they have been! Sometimes I feel like we are just passing by each other with a wave and a peck on the cheek (if there's time). We both get so busy with kids, work, projects, staying in shape, and just...life. And with John's crazy swing shift work plus all the overtime he's been putting in, well, let's just say we feel the need to get to know eachother all over again. And by get to know eachother I don't mean what you think I mean....geesh...get your heads out of the clouds people! ;-) I mean, he looked at me the other day, sighed and said, "What are your goals right now? Has your favorite color changed? What's been on your mind lately?..." Stuff like that. I was so pleasantly surprised by this. I realized that those types of questions were legitimate as we haven't had much time to sit and just be together, catch up on our day to day goings on, or touch base with much more than emergency/immediate needs. Life happens and it certainly gets crazy. Needless to say, yesterday and today have been wonderful with no plans, no guests, no pressing needs/projects to get done. Just time at home....together....with all the kids. It has been sweet heaven.
Enough about that. I wasn't actually planning on rambling about that. Sorry. What I wanted to brag about share with you was an absolutely satisfying and scrumptious meal I made this evening. I've blogged about Ree Drummond (a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman) before. I think. I know I must have mentioned a couple of her recipes. Anyway, I'm a big fan. Huge actually. I found her blog years ago when Hayden was a baby and fell in love with her blunt comedic approach to daily ranch life and of course, her recipes. She eventually got famous because of her blog. I'd like to say I knew her before she was famous. ;-) Like when she only got less than 1000 comments on her daily posts. Yeah. Her and I go way back. ;-) Anyway, she got famous and wrote a cookbook. And, of course, I bought it. In it are some awesome recipes, one of which my husband sings her praises. The Man Sandwich. And it is exactly that. A MEAT sandwich fried in butter and onions and topped with spice and grilled buns. MMMMMMM. Well tonight I added portabello mushrooms sauteed in butter and worschteshire sauce. Oh.My.Goodness. HEAVEN drenched in butter and sitting on our plates. Wow. Tonight was my first with portabello mushrooms. And let me just say how happy I am that I waited. It was so worth it! Sauteing them just right, sprinkled with worsch and slapped on a grilled bun and topped with steak and onions. Utter Satisfaction. And might I add that my husband is currently snoring on the couch. Yup. You got it. He's spent. Really people, this cookbook is awesome and this recipe is a must if your man loves meat. BUY IT!


I'd include a picture of our oh so yummy meal except.......it's gone. The whole thing is gone. Nothing left. So you'll just have to take my word for it.
;-)

Storytime

There is just something about children's books that is refreshing, goofy, and invites the reader to retreat from reality if only for a short time. I've always loved children's books. It is usually the first section I head towards when entering Barnes and Noble or the local library. Story books are actually the very first thing I purchased when I found out I was pregnant with Hayden. Books are one of the first gifts we give to new members of the family. I value them and I pray that this is transmitted to my children.
There are a handful of stories I loved when I was a child. In fact, I can still hear them being read to our class during library time. I had the most wonderful librarian as a child, Ms. Weide. I think this love of books came from her. Oh how she could read a story and make it come alive!
I don't have much more to say one the subject. I suppose it is a blog topic because my daughter has the same stack of books by the chair for the past 2 weeks and asks me multiple times a day to read them to her.
Just a very few of my favorites....

Give a Mouse A Cookie
I'll Love You Forever
Polar Express
The Napping House
King Bidgoods In The Bathtub
Heckedy Peg
The Relatives Came
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, And The Big Hungry Bear
The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs
Curious George books
Bernstein Bears books
Amelia Bedlia books
Llama Llama books
Olivia The Pig
Silly Sally
.....and so many many more

What are some of your favorite stories from your childhood? and/or what are some of your children's favorites now?

The Gift Of Time

These past couple days have been amazingly wonderful for me....US. I suppose a near death experience will do that to a person. And during these precious days, I've reflected very deeply on TIME and the gift that it is. I'm not going to sit here and write about time and it's relation to eternity or anything like that. What I've realized though (for me in particular) is how much I...WE as people in general, take time for granted. We waste it. We piddle it away on stupid things. Gone are the hours used for gaming instead of playing outside and enjoying LIFE. Gone are the hours spent lounging on the couch for hours on end because "I've worked my ass off and deserve to relax." Gone are those precious hours that could have been spent getting to know your family better, or basking in the beauty of nature, or some other worth while activity that encourages growth, newness, or brain activity. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge advocate of romantic comedies or Spiderman movies or war documentaries (my husbands choice) or whatever. I LOVE movies. But as much as I love movies and the occasional video game, I do realize how easy it is to grow roots and watch one right after the other right after the other. And soon enough, the day is gone or my regular nights sleep has gone from 7 hours to 4 or 5 because I just HAD to watch another show. I get that. Or maybe it's hours on the phone when I could have spent the time in conversation with my husband or my neighbor down the street. Or maybe it's hours on the internet browsing and surfing and messaging "cyber friends" whom I've never met but somehow they've taken the place of the friends who I have a long history and who are right in front of my face. My dad said to me once that what defines a man/person is not his job or what he does as a profession, but rather how he spends his free time. It's something to think about. And as I've been thinking about these things, I also have been reflecting on my dear sweet loved ones who no longer have that time here on earth...time to experience and learn and give to others. But I do! Time is a precious thing. And it will inevitably come to an end for each and every one of us at some point. It could be tomorrow or years from now or maybe even minutes from now. We don't know. What matters is how we spend it. There is something to be said for "living in the moment". I used to think "carpe diem" sounded so careless and selfish. But it isn't. Enjoying this moment right now is what life IS. Loving your family and friends right now is what life is about.

"Enjoy this moment, for this moment is YOUR LIFE" (the heading from a friend's blog)

Priceless

I just HAD TO POST THIS....

enjoy

Death and All His Faces....

I should be dead. Hayden and Megan should be dead. And this moment as I sit in a silent house filled with slumbering loved ones, I reflect on all that has happened this ordinary Wednesday.
Our van is in the shop. It wouldn't start and we had the tow truck haul it to our trusty mechanic. That left John's little truck for our only means of transportation until the van is finished. This morning was a school day. Great. Not only am I without my van, but I have to take 2 kids to school this morning in John's truck. *sigh* It felt like a Monday and I didn't like it....you know the kind of Monday when everything seems just a little bit off and nothing is going quite right?.....the kind of Monday that makes you want to just stay in bed all day and forget about everything that needs to be done this week...this day? Yeah, that's what this morning felt like. Only it wasn't Monday, it was Wednesday.
We slept just a tad bit later than we should have. Hayden didn't want to get out of bed or go to school for that matter. He always wants to go to school. But today he didn't. Megan is a pill in the morning, especially when she is woken up and not left to wake on her own. She's just like her dad in the morning. Grumpy, cries at everything, and just plain wants to be left alone. SO....there I was trying to get Hayden motivated for school and Megan to stop whining long enough to at least get dressed.....and I was wishing right then that the kids road the bus because then all I'd have to do is get them to the end of the driveway and they'd be gone for the morning. Anyway, we managed to get the kids dressed, fed, and ready for school by a decent time. I strapped them securely into the truck and ventured out. It is about 3 miles from the end of our driveway to the stop sign that takes us into town. It really isn't that far. But today, it was too far. The roads were exceptionally icy. Glare ice. And I was only going about 40mph and keeping my distance from the semi ahead of me. The semi was slowing to turn and I began to slow. Just as my foot began to slowly press on the brake, a blast of wind hit the truck and pushed the back end into the other lane. I knew right then that control was almost lost and the only way I was going to stop was if I hit something or went into the ditch. I was still going pretty fast at that point and now I was sliding.....there was a semi in front of me that was stopped and there was a semi (a fuel carrying semi) that was heading in my direction at full speed. When he realize I was not in control of my vehicle he began to slow but there was no way he was going to be able to stop before hitting me. He slowed and veered as far to the side of the road as possible without tipping his truck. At that point we were completely in the oncoming traffic lane and still spinning. This was a "life flashing before my eyes" moment. All I could think about was...."WHY?!!!! Not another thing to happen to my family....to my parents....to my husband. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" And then I realized that there wasn't anything I could do. It was out of my hands...."okay, he's going to hit us. (at highway speed a semi hitting a tiny truck would have been fatal) Please Dear God, if this is going to kill us please make it quick. I couldn't stand the kids suffering." I grabbed Megan's hand and made eye contact with Hayden and waited as I watched the semi get closer and closer. Somehow in a matter of fractions of a second, the truck slid slightly back toward the middle line and the semi zoomed by honking his horn as he passed.
We should have been hit. And we would have died. Which leaves me with this burning cry "WHY?!" Why, once again, are we spared? Twice in the past 3 years I've come fractions of a second from being hit head on by an oncoming vehicle. And last year Hayden was given a death sentence and lived. WHY?! Why are we spared? Why am I spared from a vehicular fatality and my brother isn't?! Why is my son spared from death when the child down the hall at the hospital will die from leukemia? WHY?!
My cries are loud and grateful and humbled and painful. Why.

*hug your loved ones today. We really really really have no idea when it could be our last.*

Pregnant Musings (in all seriousness)

A friend of mine wrote this post for her blog today. This subject is so dear to my heart that I had to ask her permission to copy/paste her writings because she wrote it so well. So many women, especially new moms pregnant with their first, blindly follow whatever it is that medicine/medical community says. I know highly highly educated women who research every diet under the sun to make sure it does exactly what they want it to do for them. They research vacation places til they know everything there is to do once they get to their destination. They weigh pros and cons for which new flat screen TV to purchase before spending a small fortune on just the right one. But when it comes to researching and doing what is best for their bodies and their babies, they simply talk to the doctor. And whatever THEIR doctor says must be the best and safest route to take. And I am by NO MEANS saying don't follow medical advice. Not at all. Quite the contrary, actually. I am simply agreeing with Mallory (blog author) in saying that it is our obligation as mothers and stewards of our bodies and the bodies of our growing babies to be as informed as possible, look at the big picture, and do everything we possibly can to ensure the wellbeing of our babies (both in-utero and out). I am simply saying that doing the research and doing the work could bring about an outcome far better than just sitting back and waiting and following whatever the medical norm is for the time.

I should probably stop there as I am sure I've aggravated a few of my readers. But this is just something that I am truly passionate about. If it provokes discussion or thought beyond what one would normally engage in, then great!
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The Midwife Model.
For this pregnancy we've elected to use a midwife. Being in a new location, and not feeling like I needed an Ob/Gyn for my care, both Mark and I agreed that a midwife would be a nice alternative.

The midwife model of care is strikingly different than anything I've ever experienced, and I have to fully admit that I really like it. Mine does just what a doctor would do, i.e. check my weight, BP, urine, measurements, as well as monitor the baby using a Doppler. What's different is that midwives aren't doctors, they don't try to be doctors, and because of that a large amount of responsibility is put on the patient to take care of themselves, because if they don't, then the women will need a doctor.

At my first appointment my midwife, she handed me two large books and multiple handouts--all nutrition related. In them stated how much of certain foods and vitamins I needed, and then why they were important for me, baby, and the success of my labor and delivery. Wow! In addition to nutrition was another handout showing the many different exercises imperative to the growing strain of pregnancy on the body. The exercises are meant to relieve pain and pressure, but also to engage baby's head and strengthen the muscles and tissues pertinent to delivery.

It's all quite simple, really, and perhaps I've read this twice before with the other two pregnancies and brushed it aside, but this time it's required of me, and a large part of the success of a healthy pregnancy relies not on medicine, but on my ability to take care of myself. What a concept!

A few examples of how I'm trying to achieve a healthier pregnancy:

1). Calcium. My midwife wants me to drink a pint of milk everyday. Women, especially in COLD MN, are calcium (vitamin D) deficient. When growing a baby, the body will take calcium from a women's bones to makes the baby's bones. Also, calcium deficiency is a big culprit for those awful pregnancy leg cramps and restless legs.

2.) Iron. With 40% more blood than the non-pregnant state, iron is necessary for pregnancy health. Even more importantly, the stronger the blood, the less likely post partum hemmorage will be. For me, I'll start taking Alfalfa, in pill form, sometime in the next month. It has iron in it, but is known for it's blood-clotting abilities. I've actually done this with my first two after hearing the advice from a trusted family member. After two very clean and healthy deliveries, I'm a believer in the simple supplement.

There are many, many other nutritional needs for pregnant, women, as well as exercises for body and relaxation for labor. There is a lot on my plate to prepare my body for birth! I'm excited though, and glad that I have the opportunity to have someone challenge me to make myself, my baby, and my family healthier.

Back To The Projects

It has been almost a week since I've picked up my needles. And boy am I crabby. ;-) Just kidding. I do feel a bit withdrawn though. Such are the symptoms of a fiber addict without something to work on. Truth be told, I have several projects on the needles that need to be finished before starting anything new. We've just had some incredibly busy busy busy days this past week.
Anyway, my goal today is to get my housework done:

*dishes...there seems to be an endless pile of cruddy dishes in the sink
*laundry...I've got 3 loads to do
*baking....it is currently -22 degrees here and I have decided to bake bread this morning and cookies this afternoon to help keep the kitchen warmed up
*vacuum (in between dumping out the toys)

IF I can accomplish just half of this today I will be a success! THEN I can sit and knit til my heart's content this evening and finish up my projects so this weekend I can start something new. OH how I have a few projects I'm dreaming of.

I'll keep you posted.

Anyone working on anything during these cold days? baking? sewing? house projects?