Friday, February 4, 2011

Catching up...

It has been a while.. it is a new season, and with that comes many new things for us.

We're expecting our 4th baby (2nd boy) in June. VERY VERY excited for that! It's crazy to me that despite how heavy the tiredness of pregnancy can be, this time around I seem to have kicked into a new season of wife & motherhood. I have all this motivation & almost an addiction to keeping my home how I desire it on a fairly regular basis, along with a craving to learn more & more about cooking and actually preparing new meals (despite my absolute fear of messing it up). So far, so good.

I have started taking an account of what I've been making, old or new recipes, to show myself that I actually CAN do it! :) The past 2-3 weeks these are the meals I have made for dinner (some are pretty simple, but I've just been writing them down so I can stop getting down on myself and see it on paper, plus.. it's more motivating):

*Stroganoff (spelling?)
*Chicken (seasoned differently than I have before), rice & veggies
*Stew w/corn bread (I tried a NEW way of thickening the broth, not my fave, but I learned from the experience)
*Spaghetti & french bread
*Grilled quasadillas
*Grilled Tacos (THOSE were sooo yummy!)
*Corned Beef & cabbage (NEW, and turned out DELICIOUS!!)
*Coleman's Mexican Street Tacos
*Ham w/corn & peaches (FIRST time cooking a ham.. turned out great)
And tonight, Kevin & I started on our first Chunky Potato & Ham Soup.. I'll have to post how that turns out once we finish it tomorrow.

This morning I tried out a new waffle recipe from my friend Amanda. It was pretty great. She has an awesome recipe where she'll even throw in a can of baby food (like bananas, applesauce, squash, sweet potatoes, etc) to add some flavor. It sounds kinda gross but it's actually really good 'cause it doesn't just taste like bread w/syrup. I didn't have baby food, so I just threw in a large spoonful of the last bit of applesauce that we had and it was great :)

Anyways, lots of changes in our lives. Kevin got a new job with a wonderful schedule. It's the first time in soo long that we've had a STEADY schedule. PLUS, he only works four 10 hr shifts a week so we have Fri, Sat & Sun together every weekend. SOOOOO NICE!!! I'm so thankful. I feel like the Lord truly blessed us with the job because we weren't even looking into it, Kevin just bumped in to an old friend from high school who mentioned it.. Kevin applied, went in for an interview & had the job w/in 2 weeks. AWESOME!!!

This past year has been one of SERIOUS growth in our marriage, in our parenting, and just in life overall. The first half was quite a roller-coaster, and the second half seemed to be a slow uphill climb for the better. So grateful to have had a husband who has stuck it out with me & growth through & past the battles & baggage we had/have. The praise is ALL to God, seriously!

I've been learning so much about how to have a healthy balance in my home-keeping and parenting. I've assigned myself two days a week (Tuesdays & Saturdays) that I finish all of my laundry. And when I say "Finish" I mean that I don't just run all the loads, I actually fold them AND put them away. Before, I kept running into a procrastinating spirit of getting all the way to the folding.. but then leaving the piles there on the couch for far too long. By the time I got to putting them away, I was already bringing out the loads from the next several days of build up. This is such a simple thing, it frustrates me that I am JUST NOW learning a better routine. But, just happy I'm learning! lol

My new challenge (as stated above) is to have 3 nights a week (not set nights) that I am cooking full meals.. whether something simple or trying something new. The point, for me, is to become more comfortable in the kitchen. I'm really seeing how much I need this now that our kids are getting older & eating so much more at a time. I've come up with great "filler" snacks as well, that are pretty healthy, too. (i.e. raisins, carrots, cheese sticks or slices, celery w/PB, apples, yogurt w/raisins & cut up apples, etc)

The kids are growing & learning so many new things.. I can hardly keep up. It's fun to watch, and then of course there are those new "stages" that they enter (like my wonderful 3 year old right now) that I just want to strangle! haha. I'm doing okay learning how to parent with more self-control & patience.. but the past 2 weeks have definitely given me a run for my money. Kyran has been in this stage of asking WHY WHY WHY to EVERYTHING! For the most part, I can keep up with the answering.. but now Alahna has started into her stage of blatant disobedience or just plain ignoring me when I ask her a question. THAT is SOOO WEARING on my patience. For the most part, I'm keeping up with it, but I am definitely hitting those end-of-the-week NEED-a-break-desperately!! Luckily, with Kevin have the 3-day-weekends, I'm usually able to get at least some down time or time out alone by myself or only taking one child. That is so nice.

Anyways, just wanted to catch up, for memories sake ;)

'Til next time....................

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