Fill-You-In #10

It seems like we had a busy week, but I'm already focusing on this week, and it's going to be nuts. I get wrapped up in a life that is too "busy", but forget that our "busy" life is by choice and not a matter of necessity. I read an article a while back that said that people who are working several jobs to support their families never say they are "busy", because they're just "tired". Tonight, I'm feeling particularly blessed that we have a full life and time to spend with friends and family.

The highlight of my week was taking Eleanor on a date to the library and to "Mexico" (aka el Rodeo) while grandma kept Eve. I don't get to spend as much time with my big girl as I used to, and I miss getting to focus on just her. She is a funny, funny little girl. Of course, Eve is worth the shared time.

 

Two snow storms in one week in MARCH after the official beginning of Spring is unexpected. I'd prefer spring showers and a few flowers AND a warm day or 2 to get out and play, but I'll wait patiently. Easter weekend is looking to be warm (and rainy). 

Currently Reading: Watership Down by Richard Adams - I'm not projecting this will be finished this week. We had a great book club at Springfield Brew Co. I enjoy catching up with my girlfriends and talking about books. I hope this tradition sticks for many years to come!

Fitness: Bah. The snow is KILLING me. We'll just keep moving.

Crafting: I'm stalled on crafting, because I'm prepping over 400 Easter eggs for the church Easter egg hunt. My window shades hang white. I have to get to Springfield to get some fabric for them, anyway.

Favorite blog post from the week: THIS post about parenting made me chuckle.

Movies: ARGO! It was good, but it was soooo suspenseful. I'm the type of person to read the last chapter of a book, so I don't spend the entire book dying in suspense. I KNEW how Argo ended. I have basic knowledge of the Iranian hostage crisis, and I'd looked up Argo before we started it to get the finer details. It didn't matter. I thought I might come unglued watching the final scenes. Ben Affleck with a beard is a nice addition to any movie, though, don't you think?

TV: Not much going on here. I need to catch up on my Vampire Diaries.

Planned posts: I have a book review all written up to post right after my book club on Wednesday. I don't want to hint at my thoughts before the discussion!

Things to remember
Eleanor: Mommy/daughter date this week, and how excited she is to play the computer at the library and pick out her own books. Her current favorite is Revolting Reptiles and Strega Nona. I would recommend the latter.

Eve:  We heard her first "da" sound. She's already picked up "ma", but "da" was new. There are just baby jabbers and not in context, but it's fun to watch language develop.

Happy Birthday, Mama!

March 24th is more special than most days in March, because it's my mom's birthday. I am always quick to say that my mom is my best friend and my favorite person in the world. I like to think our mother-daughter relationship is special, and that I am luuuuuuuuuuuucky. Not every daughter gets a good mom. Maybe it's because I am an only child, or maybe we just click, but we've always been close. On the chance that she remembers to check her computer and reads this, Yes, Mom, I know. You're my mother, not my friend. Got it. Disregard all of the nice stuff.

I did not drag out the camera to take pictures of her birthday lunch--the lunch she insisted we not fuss with. Since I didn't take pictures, I dug this out of my picture box. I think she was 16 or 17. This is my favorite picture of her. The older I get, the more "woman" my mom because, and the less "mom" she becomes--if that makes sense. Of course, I didn't know her when this picture was taken. I wasn't even thought of, yet, but I like to think of her as a teenager, a young wife, and a young mother. Wasn't she gorgeous? She still is. Happy Birthday, Mama!

Book Review: Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir

I'm waaaaaay behind on my book reviews, but I've been reading a lot. Maybe I'll catch up and one morning you'll wake up to 10 book reviews in your reader. Anyway, Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson was a book club pick for the "Springfield Book Club". I believe Lindsey chose this book, and choose well she did.

Let's Pretend is a memoir by the well-known blogger, Jenny Lawson. She chronicles her unconventional Texas upbringing, her Goth-inspired youth, how she met her husband, Victor, her stint in corporate America, raising a family--her life, as a memoir usually does. Her writing is laugh-out-loud hilarious. I'm not joking--laugh out REALLY loud. The entire time I was reading, I would think to myself that "this" part was mostly not true (or, I would read aloud to Jon and comment how it was a crock of s---), then Lawson would throw in a picture to prove her point. I ended up thinking that it really was mostly true, and no, she really couldn't make this stuff up.

Sometimes I was overwhelmed with her stream-of-consciousness style writing and her antics and wondered if I really liked the book. Sometimes she is too much, but then she would tell a story about how she completely kai-boshed the first meeting with her future MIL by sitting on the fancy sofa cushions, and I would be all-in again. She also used a device? or maybe it wasn't a device? of including editor's comments to express her editor's dissension with what she wrote. For instance she would write something like: My editor doesn't think this is a chapter because it has no central focus. OR My editor says I can't say this as it isn't true, but it's my memoir and I'm going to famous for this s---. She also uses profanity throughout, and I think she does it rather well. If that sort of thing offends you, I'd steer clear of this book. In fact, if you're easily offended at all, just skip this one.

I don't follow her blog, but I had run across the Beyonce the giant metal chicken story, and felt much more connected to the stories after that chapter. Lawson's book certainly isn't a literary masterpiece, but it's well written, and girlfriend has issues that she conveys with hilarity and a little too much honesty. I have no doubt she makes a great living with her story-telling abilities. I haven't read Chelsea Handler, but someone at book club compared Lawson to her, and I imagine that they are similar. If you want a good laugh or lots of good laughs, pick up Let's Pretend.  I gave it a solid 3.5 stars, and thank Lindsey for choosing it.

Chocolate cake and a story

I love to cook. I''m comfortable following a recipe, or improvising. The running joke between me and mother is "where'd you get your love for cooking?" A family member asked me this straight-faced while my mom was RIGHT there. Awkward. The same person mused that I must have gotten it from a dead relative. Slam. I know where I got it, and so did that unnamed family member. I got it from my mom. She is the best home cook I know. I'm supposed to say that, because she's my mom, but even church people think so, too. Anything I make well, she makes better. When I got married, she wrote out many of my favorite recipes in a little journal. The journal is one of my favorite things. (Cue Julie Andrews.) The recipe I'm going to share is not from said journal, but it was a nice story to intro some of my cooking/baking adventures.

I'm not a baker. I love to cook, but baking stresses me out. Everything from the weather to the size of the measuring spoon has to be exact. I once read an article that showed the variation from one teaspoon to the next. Bah!  I want the perfect recipe, too, but I don't bake often enough to have the perfect recipe. I rely on All Recipes a lot for the user reviews, but even that has failed me sometimes. Not this time! I'm bringing chocolate cake to EVERYthing.

I found this recipe on AllRecipes, but after reading a few reviews, I discovered that it's the same recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box. Let's give credit where credit is due. My mom said her grandma used to make it. I didn't know this, but how 'bout a connection to the family matriarchs for the win!  (Enjoy the recipe.)

Basically, dump everything into a bowl, mix, pour into a prepared Bundt pan, and bake. I made THIS glaze to finish it off.

P.S.: I will get better at taking process pictures.

Fill-You-In #9

The official start of spring isn't until next week, but it seems spring activities are in full-swing at our house. The GORGEOUS and somewhat unseasonably warm weather might have something to do with it.

Last week, we battled the stomach flu, and this week Jon and Eleanor have had a cold, but it hasn't kept them down too much. Jon had a soccer coaches meeting this Tuesday (soccer starts in April!), Eve had her check up on Wednesday, and we hosted a group of friends on Thursday. Friday I prepped for a friend's birthday, and we've spent today celebrating a happy little 3-year-old's birthday. I'm brewing up a post about a few cakes I made for the party, so stay tuned! Our week in pictures and words:

 Eve. This is my favorite picture to date of her.

 

Eleanor, the artist. She spent a little time outside drawing herself and picking dandelions for me, but she calls them sunflowers. Why not?

 

We took a quick trip to Sam's Club with grandma, and Eve enjoyed her first shopping trip in the shopping cart like a big girl. Girlfriend is nosy! Eleanor picked out her Easter dress, too (pictures coming).

 

Eleanor sported a handlebar mustache at Elon's birthday party. All of the kids got a mustache and it was HILARIOUS! Some of the dads pasted 'staches on their faces and succeeded in looking extra creepy.

 

Eve and her friend, Elliot. 

Currently Reading: Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James. I'm getting a slow start, but will probably wrap up this week. I'm looking forward to book club on Tuesday.

Fitness: Weights this week.

Crafting: I bought what I thought was everything I needed to make some DIY shades for my back door, but didn't notice that the shades didn't come with hardware. I'll post about this project eventually.

Favorite blog post from the week: Week 29 - I can't wait to meet this little gal!

Movies: Nada. We have Edgar on Netflix, but haven't watched it yet.

TV: We're getting ready to watch SNL from last week. I'm EXCITED to see JT host, even if I am late to the party.

Planned posts: A post about my recent baking adventures, and MAYBE a book review. I'm behind on those.

Things to remember
Eleanor:  Eleanor screaming from the back yard "MOM, watch me swing!" I might have mentioned in another post (or on Instagram or Facebook--I lose track) that she's recently learned to swing herself. She's quite proud. On the same morning, she beamed as she walked in the back door with her "sunflowers" for me. She said, "Look, Mom, I brought beautiful sunflowers." We put 4 dandelion heads in a Pyrex bowl. She's so sweet, and dramatic. I see the stage in her future.

Eve:  Eve is exerting a lot more control over her little baby body. She flips and turns and rolls everywhere, especially in her crib. If I put her down before she's ready to pass out, she flips on to her stomach and grabs a hold of the slats of her crib and yells at me as if to say "get me out of this jail, lady, or you'll be sorry."

6 months, but not really

Eve had her 6-month check-up yesterday despite her almost 7-month-old self. Well-baby visits are always hard for me, because it goes against my mama-grain to let someone stick needles in my child.  I'm still on the side of vaccinations, but not vehemently so. I understand the other side of the coin on this one, but haven't made the choice not to vaccinate for my family, and probably never will. If you're sitting on the other side of the computer screen saying "you don't have to take her to the doctor," I hear you. I really do. Just like a hear the home-birthers and home-steaders. I'm a step or two away from going Little House on the Prairie, but it really wouldn't take much. :)

I don't need a doctor's validation to tell me my daughter is doing fine. I know she is. SHE is perfect, and has hit all of the baby milestones that I don't really check. All 14 pounds and 9 ounces of her. Disclaimer: I definitely checked the milestones with Eleanor, and remember most of them. I love my doctor, and enjoy chatting with her about Eleanor and Eve, and am thankful for modern medicine and, if nothing else, to have another mother to chat with about my worries.

I should note that Eve, like her sister, is quite petite. She's a smidge longer and a smidge weightier than Eleanor was at this age, but I think her cloth-diapered bum makes her seem bigger and fill out her clothes better. And let's be honest here. Big sister has ALWAYS been on the move and has NEVER been content to just breathe. Eve seems a tiny bit more relaxed. I'm OK with that. So far, I think the best part of having two babies is seeing how different (and similar) they are, and watching their little relationship develop. Eve looks at Eleanor with stars in her eyes and love in her heart. Eleanor, as long as she's not bizzy, loves to make her sister laugh and fuh-reaks out on me if she starts fussing. MOM, MOM she won't stop making that noise. COME QUICK! They make me happy.

Anyway, all of that to say she's healthy and I'm happy. Today and every day, I am thankful for healthy children. I hope I never take that for granted, because I know and ache for the mamas who have real worries about their babies--children who are in the hospital, children who are terminally ill, children who are not loved. Pray for them. Note: It took me 3 sittings to write this short post. Miss Eve must have a 6th sense and be sensitive about me writing about her.

Fill-You-In #8

I'm kind of overwhelmed that we're a third of the way through March. I caught myself thinking about New Year resolutions the other day, and then thought "Mari, that ship has sailed," but 2013 still feels new to me. I love winter. I like how everything slows and we hunker down to weather the winter months, but friends, I'm over it. I'm ready for almost whatever spring has to offer, and I pray it's warm and sunny. I need some windows open, spring cleanin', yellow daffodils, and GREEN in my life. Bring it on, but hold the tornadoes, please.

We've been sick around here this weekend. Eleanor brought home THE STOMACH FLU. It was awful. My poor mother and Jon took it off Eleanor's hands for her and it looked bad. Really bad. I'm not sure how I survived it, but I'm glad I did. Someone had to maniacally wash laundry and sanitize all weekend long. I haven't had a lot of time to work on things around here, because of said stomach flu, but I've been pondering.

Maybe it's the change in the weather or maybe because it's I'm just plain motivated, but it's time to simplify. I go through this "phase" a few times a year. The local donation centers usually stand to benefit. Our closets, garage, attic, and cabinets are all packed full of stuff. Stuff is just noise. Noise that gets in the way of quality time, because I have to maintain it. Clean it, dust it, wash, store it. DONATE it. I'd love to make the phase a way of life, but somehow the stuff always wins. Not this time...maybe.

I haven't been as snappy as I usually am with Instagram, but quality over quantity, right? I LOVE these pictures of the girls. Be still, my heart. Check out our "snow girl" complete with princess dress.

Currently Reading: In the Time of Butterlfies by Julia Alvarez. I wrapped up Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson and Nancy Clancy (with Eleanor). Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James is up next.

Fitness: I'm working out regularly (yay!), but need to add in some more running. I'm hoping the warmer forecast and longer days get me out the door. I still have a 5K on April 27. We also reactivated our Y membership.

Crafting: Aside from wanting to make beautiful spring crafts, I want to buy some paint to paint these drab walls, and do a few easy furniture refinishing projects.

Favorite blog post from the week: Clean.-- Fleeting I've also been inspired to KNIT by a lot of blogs lately. Warm weather won't be good for that, but maybe I can get a jump on fall.

Movies: I finally watched Breaking Dawn Pt. 2. I've followed this series since the very beginning. I read the books in a week. Maybe I'm just over it? I liked the movie, but I found myself criticizing the acting and the ridiculousness of the Renesmee business. If I'm questioning the validity of vampire folklore (which I happen to love), you know it has to be bad. I'm not sure that the idea of a human/vampire offspring is so terrible, but who names a baby Renesmee? A baby that grows creepy-fast reminded me of an old Star-Trek episode where Deanna Troi has a baby that matures super fast. Maybe Meyer "borrowed" that one. I did like the twist at the end of the movie, though.

TV: Since we ditched Dish and got a Roku player, my TV time has dropped dramatically. I have, however, stayed with The Bachelor. I'm seeing a trend, but I'm 100% OVER him, too. I'm not even sure I'll watch the last episode (yes, I will). Sean really isn't very interesting, and I'm positive he won't pick the girl he SHOULD pick. I'll be shocked if they work out. They NEVER work out. They are probably already separated. :)

We just started Game of Thrones Season 2. I have much better things to say about it, and I'm inspired to start the 4th book in the series. It may be a beach read. Did you hear that--BEACH! We're going to the BEACH in May.


Things to remember
Eleanor:  I was listening to the '90s station on Spotify and Barbie Girl started playing. Eleanor LOVES the song, and watching her try to sing it cracks me up.

Eve:  Baby girl is just funny. Aside from jabbering ALL the time (which I love), I checked to make sure she was asleep last night, and found her trying to cram both of her feet into her mouth.  I'm also confident she's saying "mamamama". It doesn't matter if it's at me or not :)

Taking care of EVERYthing while Jon was sick. Props to all the single parents out there. I don't know how they do it, and I'm so thankful for a helpful partner. God bless Jonathan!