Posts tagged with "Cooking"
Hey there! How are you all?
We're hanging in there. Burke has been sick since last Thursday, and he's been extra bad since Saturday. Today, he seemed to be getting better, as his temperature had dropped to the 99-100 range. However, he's having real trouble going to sleep tonight. A couple of friends have suggested that he might have an(other) ear infection. He literally just finished two, back-to-back 10-day rounds of antibiotics two days ago. So, if he does have an ear infection, then I'm not sure what to do next. :(
I talked with the Intake Coordinator of the Tippecanoe County First Steps program today. She will be coming on Monday afternoon to perform the initial interview. It's a really quick info-gathering meeting. Basically, we'll get the ball rolling and start getting Burke evaluated to see if he actually qualifies for any therapies or services. Oddly, I'm a little more nervous, now that we've started the official process.
As always, prayers appreciated! We'll keep you updated.
Our big girl has been quite the terrible two, lately. Ruby has been just slightly sick with a little bit of a cough. Today, however, she started running a low-grade fever (99-100). She's a bit cranky, but she doesn't seem much more terrible than usual. I think the cabin fever is bothering her more than the physical fever.
Today, while Burke was napping, Roo and I pulled out a large piece of cardboard...two feet by three feet. We started by drawing the usual suspects: Rover (the dog made out of an arm-less man who jumps into a lake to save himself from a six-pack of bees...ask me about it sometime), R-U-B-Y, B-U-R-K-E, M-O-M-M-Y, D-A-D-D-Y, etc... And then we did something really fun!
Ruby was rolling around on the cardboard, and I told her to lay still. I (sloppily) traced her body, and then she stood up to see herself. She was so tickled that we did it a few more times. I'm going to buy a big roll of paper, so we can do this more often. I remember doing it in elementary school. I always thought it was so neat! It was really fun to watch Ruby's excitement. She was really proud to show our masterpiece to KyKy and Daddy. :)
On a different note, she's really testing her boundaries and trying to throw her weight around. *Every* time she gets told "No" or "Not Now" or "Please wait a moment", it turns into a tantrum. Obedience is very much *second* nature. Disobedience is first.
It's a trying time, but she's got some incredibly tender moments, too. Gaining strength as parents day by day!
Did y'all know that we close on Friday? I think I may have mentioned that a time or two. :) We're really excited! We're meeting with the contractor right after closing. So...if anyone is available to babysit from about 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, we'd be incredibly grateful. I'm praying that the fevers are gone tomorrow morning, so the kids should be germ-less by Friday.
Finally, tomorrow is Operation: Fill the Focosi Freezer! :) I've got three (possibly four) yummy meals planned for them, and I can't wait to make them tomorrow. I'm making double batches of all of them to put in the freezer for our family, too. As soon as I get them cooked, I'll put the recipes in the Recipe section. I'll let you know how it works out. I've got three pounds of chicken, seven pounds of ground beef, four pounds of pasta, six pounds of cheese, and tons of other ingredients to assemble tomorrow. Pray that the kids wake up in GREAT moods! :) If nothing else, I'll get some good prep-work done. :)
I hope you're all having a great week. How are your families? Are you healthy? Is there anything I can pray for you about? Let me know if I can help. Love to you all!
Friday is my weigh-in day. Even when I'm not trying to lose weight...even when I'm in full-blown rebellion (towards my weight)...Friday is my weigh-in day. I can tell you how much I weigh, with an accuracy of +/- 1 lb. at any given moment. That's why I don't understand why I struggle with weight. It's not that I'm not paying attention. It's not even that I'm making super-bad choices. It mostly boils down to apathy (and a severe submission to my sweet tooth.)
ANYWAY, my point is that...I'm at my pre-Burke-pregnancy weight. Seriously. I have been for nearly four months now. It's just that pre-Burke-pregnancy isn't good enough. Pre-B-pregnancy is ten pounds heavier than pre-Ruby-pregnancy. And pre-Ruby-pregnancy is ten pounds heavier than healthy. Ugh.
I need to find the motivation to clear this hurdle. I'm hoping my (re)new(ed) interest in my kitchen will help! Since I'm on a break from Facebook right now, I find myself migrating toward the kitchen during my down time...and it's not to snack. It's to experiment, cook, bake... Hopefully, our departure from eating out will have a positive impact on my waistline. :)
My kitchen-time is certainly yielding great results. I think I've perfected my recipe for brownies! :)
Yesterday, Ruby helped me make beef stew. She washed the potatoes and helped me put the chopped veggies into the pot. She poured the stock in the pot and was generally a great helper. I love watching her learn new things. Since I made up the recipe myself, I taught her how to read a measuring cup. She helped me count how many cups of each veggie we used. She was so excited to tell Daddy that we had made beef stew. And she even ate it for dinner with *no* complaint! :)
In addition to learning new realistic life-skills, Ruby has become quite the pretender. I believe she has learned much of it from her friend, Ella. Ella was here yesterday to play for a bit, and they had a great time! They took their babies and visited "Grandma" (an invisible woman who resides near the base of our t.v. stand), as well as several friends...whose names only got more incredible with each visit! :)
This morning, Ruby picked up my cell phone and called her "son." I asked her to explain that, and she said she had a son "just like Mommy has Burke." Okay, then. :) She had a great conversation with her son, then she handed the phone to me saying, "Will you talk to my son, Mommy?" Very interesting...
Meanwhile, my son is making me a very happy mommy. He's babbling a little more each day, and he's responding really well to our voices and the sounds around him. I've got high hopes for his audiology evaluation on the 27th. He's also starting to get really stable on his feet. He still won't take any steps, but he's starting to stand up while only holding onto something with one hand.
I've gotten some cute pictures of them recently. I think I'll stop babbling and go upload those pictures now. :)
Today was a good day. :) I started out by waking up after a nice, full, restful night of sleep. I've been waking up and tossing and turning a lot this past week, and I couldn't figure it out. I decided to wear warmer clothes to bed last night, and BINGO! I slept wonderfully ALL night! When the kids woke up early, it didn't even bother me, because I felt so ready to go.
I got some laundry done and the dishes caught up. I got my e-mails organized and sent out for Hearts in Motion. I spent some great time with a friend and her daughter. And that was all before noon! :)
I also got "back on the saddle." Or back into the kitchen, rather. I made a big pot of chili, a big pot of beef stew (so yummy!), and a couple of mini-meatloaves. Some for this weekend, some for the freezer. The promise of a new kitchen (with tons of counter space!) has really re-ignited my passion for the kitchen. I've been reading a couple of blogs that help inspire my culinary efforts. Christy Jordan's Southern Plate is a great blog that makes me wish that my momma had grown up in the South. I love my four seasons, so I wouldn't have wanted to grow up there. However, I sure don't mind learning all these Southern Favorites. :) Plus, I'm still following the Mitchell family as they attempt to make all of their food from single ingredient to final feast. Our Slow Food Start Date is about six weeks away!
Why six weeks? Well, we've received our offical time for closing on the new house!! We'll be meeting with the realtors and seller's representatives at 1:00 p.m., Friday, October 23rd. At approximately 3:00 p.m., the house will be ours!!! Ah!!! :) The contractor is set to begin work on Monday, October 26th. I'm not sure how long the work will take, but I'm assuming it'll be nearly a month.
We should be moved into our new home by December 1st...and that's when I'm going to challenge myself to slow down and serve my family slow food. :)
So, I spent a good portion of my afternoon cooking delicious food in my way-too-small kitchen...dreaming of a day when I will have more than four square feet of counter.
After Mike got home, I got the chance to go to the hospital and hang out with Amy and beautiful, beautiful Paige! :) They are doing very well! Just continue to pray that the transition goes as smoothly as possible. The newborn stage is certainly challenging, so they could use all the prayers and support we can give 'em. :) Paige is such a cutie-pie! She was gorgeous yesterday when I held her, but she's even prettier today! She's got really long dark hair. (Truly, her front hairs are down to the ends of her ears!) She's got the most petite little features, and her eyes are alert and bright. She's feeding and sleeping well, so pray that it continues. Also, Mike and Amy didn't get much sleep last night, so pray that they get some good rest tonight.
Anyway...it was just a super-good day. Now, I'm cuddled up next to my husband, and I can't picture a better way to end the evening.
Be blessed, friends! I love you!
Do you ever feel like the moments are slipping by faster than you can take hold? I feel like that right now. Thankfully, it doesn't happen too often. When it does, however, I feel a little panicked.
Like yesterday...when Ruby chewed a piece of gum for a solid two hours without swallowing it. The first piece she's ever tried, by the way. When did she get old enough to chew gum?
Or this morning...when I dropped Burke off in his classroom for MOPS, and he went to Seth without a single peep. Not a single peep! I think he's starting to move past the separation anxiety that has made my life a wee bit difficult the past two months. When did he get old enough to realize he doesn't need me every moment?
How about even earlier this morning, when I got an e-mail from our mortgage loan processor? She let me know that our house has passed appraisal. She's just waiting on one more bit of paperwork to get back from the IRS, and then we're off to Closing, which is scheduled for October 23rd. That's less than two weeks away!
And my friend, Amy? Today is her due date! :) She will be having her precious baby girl any day now, and I simply can't believe that it's been an entire 32 weeks since she told me she was pregnant. I can't believe it was nearly 8 months ago that she pulled me into her bedroom and said, "I need you to look at something for me." I knew she would be coming out of the bathroom with a pregnancy test, I just knew it. And now? Now she's going to be calling me any day to say, "I need you to come look at something..." And I'm going to go to a hospital and see a beautiful baby girl that I get to hold and love on in the years to come. And I'm overwhelmed... Is it really already October 13th?
Why yes...yes, it is already October 13th. Thanksgiving is six weeks away. Christmas is ten weeks away. The crisp fall air is here, and my deep freeze is begging to be stocked!
Time just keeps ticking, and I'm trying enjoy each moment. Right now, I'm praying a lot over my commitments, praying and making sure that my time is well shared between my family, my ministry, and myself. Praying that God is pleased with my time and how it is being spent.
This morning, at MOPS, we had a game day, and it was great. I got to meet new moms and play one of my favorite games, Catchphrase, for an entire hour! I love the little bit of "me-time." It was just enough to encourage me for the rest of the day.
I also saw a video made me want to speed up time a little bit. We watched a quick clip about Operation Christmas Child...a program that delivers Christmas gifts to children, hoping to show them the love of God in a tangible way. Looking at the faces of those children made me so anxious to meet Zach and Sarah's children! It made me so anxious to get into our new house and get settled, so we can begin the process of growing our family more! I know it is all happening according to God's timeline, and I'm (mostly) okay with that. :) I just don't want to be sluggish about showing people God's love. And I know that I, personally, am called and required to show God's love to children who do not have families.
So, today, I'm really aware of the moments of my days. I'm enjoying them and doing my best to make good use of them.
How about you? How are the moments treating you these days?
Remember when I told you that we accidentally bought a house? Well, we are so excited! Because that house? It's almost ours!! :) We're set to close on October 23rd, pending the appraisal. The appraisal is due sometime later this week. We don't expect any surprises.
I also wanted to clarify: We didn't really buy the house on accident. It's hyperbole, people. :) When we walked through this house for the first time, we really liked it. A lot. We simply couldn't see how it would end up working out. We very much wanted this house from the beginning, and we're thrilled that, to this point, it has been a dream-like experience. We have sailed through every step, even the ones that we thought would be major obstacles. We are so thankful. :)
And it seems that the impending move has had quite an effect on my psyche. I have re-discovered my love and joy in cooking and baking. My very small counter and my old appliances are annoying me, as always, but I'm trudging through and enjoy these house-wifely duties. I've been really on-top of my house-keeping duties, as well. I'm taking pride in my home and finding myself able to weather the small irritations much better. I kind of forgot what it was like to feel like this. I forgot why I was so gung-ho about being a stay-at-home mom in the first place.
Now, I'm remembering, and I'm pumped!
In fact, when we move into the new house, and I've got more room to maneuver, I'm considering an experiment...a major experiment. I think the Goodwin family might try to exist on a diet of only "slow food." A fellow mommy in the blogosphere, Veronica, is currently carrying out this experiment with her family. She just started, and she's documenting the entire experience on her blog, The Slow Food Experiment. I'm incredibly intrigued to watch her take this journey, and hers is one of the few blogs I'll continue to read and follow during my "unplugged" internet vacation. :)
(If you'd like to read a condensed version of what's involved, you can read her version of the rules. I'm excited to attempt the experiment, just to take the cooking adventure!)
Obviously, there is great potential for major health benefits with this method of cooking and eating. I highly aware that my family is not eating well, and I want to change that fact. Immediately. I'm thinking that extreme measures are in order. :)
Because my kids? They are totally worth it!
They are growing so fast. I took them shopping for their new fall shoes yesterday, and I couldn't believe it when the shoe salesperson measured their feet. Ruby is in a size 8, and Burke is in a size 4. He will be out of infant shoes in no time! And an eight?? An eight? Those shoes looked like such big girl shoes. I just can't believe how quickly the time is passing.
I am really starting to enjoy being a mommy again...a whole lot. The sappy, sickeningly sweet kind of enjoyment. I love it. :)
What's going on in your lives? What are you attempting? Any experiments you're considering? Any major life changes happening?
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