without the vultures

the vultures are out to get my money.
at least that's what it felt like as i perusing bathroom soaps this afternoon.
sean was at home with the kids while they napped.
i envied my last year's self that was too poor to spend money.
the self that just got to enjoy the holiday season without the stresses of gift giving.
we had/got to opt out of all it.
and put a limit on brennan of less than $20.
$10 for eachother.
we could have gotten him nothing,
and us nothing,
but we wanted to have a little fun.
so we budgeted it into to our tiny little nest egg.
and today, i felt anxious.
the need to add the stress of gift giving back into my holiday season.
no sir,
i will not.
but how to find the happy medium???
b/c i really do enjoy giving gifts.
watching someone open a gift i've given.
or receiving a thank you note from the happy opener.
although, sometimes i feel like i'm the only one sending thank you notes.
which may be b/c i haven't been giving much lately.
just receiving.
how grateful we are for everything we've received.
thank you just hasn't felt like enough.
how much i LOVE to receive.
to give thanks.
open presents.
oh, how i love to open presents.
which i cannot if no one gives.
which everyone else cannot if i don't give.
but somewhere there's a place where in the middle,
where the gift is not the thing that matters.
which is what i really love about christmas anyway.
the spirit of christmas.
the feeling it brings.
the feeling of home.
and comfort.
and joy.
for the gift of my deepest spiritual beliefs.
adding to the list of "new": giving.
but without the vultures.

inundating.

christmas marketing ads.
inundating our tv.
frightening.

bless those scouts.

i can finally appreciate the scouts that woke up at 6am to have this flag on my lawn.
happy veteran's day.
bless those scouts.
blueberry pancakes for brekie.
per beiber fever's request.

the beauty box

i escaped to the beauty box while the kids took naps.
babysitting courtesy of mama nacho.
and it was there that i discovered how i'd forgotten the simple pleasure of hair pampering.
the feeling of sitting under a dryer with nothing to do, trashy gossip magazines a plenty.
i spent the entire time busy on my phone.
no one to attend to.
solitaire,
sending my self portraits to my regulars.
it still didn't cure the bewitching hours when i came home.
5:30-8 really takes it out of me.
good thing my hair is pretty.
b/c the good lord knows that greasy, undone hair makes everything feel worse.
i guess this means we've made it another day.

3 for beiber fever

7 minutes in heaven.
not the dark closet.
or the kissing.
just playing cars on the play mat.
max stole herself a beach cruiser.
brennan stole it back.
she whined and found an electric blue dump truck with motorcycles in the trunk.
i had the ambulance.
beiber fever had 3 to himself.
and after four trips around the mat i was totally bored.
but man,
they really loved it.

silly rabbit, tricks are for kids.

" i don't need no stinkin' dolls."

pump you up.

i mean, really.
have you ever seen a creature arch their back more beautifully???
she's slightly anemic too.
and in the 10th percentile for weight.
brennan was over 20lbs by her age.
and in the 90 something percentile.
and anemic as well.
but he didn't get the drops.
she gets the drops.
the awesome iron drops.
and brown stains on clothes b/c i'll be too lazy to use a bib.
and orange juice.
all of the orange juice she wants.

or anything for that matter.

genetic parenting.

he wanted blake's race car first.

then he wanted the garbage truck first.

then...you get it.

being a parent is utterly horrifying.
the good days are when they say please and thank you without being told.
that has to be my AWESOME parenting skills.
the bad days are when you're trying to get a 2 1/2 yr old to not cry every time he doesn't get his way.
that has to be genetics.
thank goodness for my friends who love us just the way we are.

sean finally covered his mouth so the birthday boy could blow out his own candles.

it's a good thing they're best buds.

forgiving.

FLASH

corn mazes friday.
snow wednesday.
fall will be gone in a flash.
maybe that's why we get to have thanksgiving and christmas right as the weather gets cold.
they just warm everything up.
not that i mind the cold.
or the snow.
i love them both.
those big flakes.
turn my frown upside down.

bum buzzed

he doesn't care about the potty.
but he loves to wear the pants.

mashed potatoes or bipolar

last night while my potatoes were boiling,
i sat on the floor with the kids.
i felt like the luckiest person on earth.
enjoying their laughter.
watching them play.
bliss.
ten minutes later i was huffing around,
putting one in time out for kicking the other in the head,
cursing the beeping timer for the boiling potatoes that were ready to be mashed,
and wanting to scream for the relief of dad coming home.
feeling like bedtime won't come fast enough.
then they were in bed,
and i was itching to go in and check on them.
to see them sleeping.
feeling like the day was a total success.
bipolar mama.
maybe that should be my new name.
call me anything,
just give me more of those mashed potatoes and stuffed pork chops.
b/c they were even better as leftovers for lunch today.

cracked

when the toddler helps with breakfast.

mortgage: the gift that keeps on giving...for 30 years.

i just wrote the first check for our mortgage.
and
it
was
worth
EVERY
penny.
(and yes, despite popular opinion, i'm still smiling like i was the day we signed the deed. it's that great of a house. glory be.)

reposting their glory.

i made these awhile ago.
see here.
grandma joi always says there should be color on your plate.

and they are gracing my table tonight.
there's nothing i love more about this season than how it pulls me into my kitchen.

i dream of their beautiful color.
and marvel at how easy they are to make.
mashed potatoes.
asparagas.
spinach salad on the side.
with a few adjustments,
i repost them in their glory.
...
now for my pretty pork chops.
please go pick some pork chops up from the store,
along with spinach, and feta cheese.
you will need the following:
1 pkg. of feta cheese crumbled (like 8oz or so)
4 pork chops (double recipe if you need more for your family)
3 cups spinach
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
accent salt
balsamic vinegar (pour over the chops the last 5 min. of baking)
step 1:
put the feta, spinach, and oil in your food processor, pulse/blend until it's chopped up (see pic above)
step 2:
sprinkle accent salt on both sides of all chops
step 3:
cut chops on one side so there's an opening in the middle
step 4:
stuff chops with spinach, feta, and oil mixture
step 5:
put the rest of the spices together in a bowl and rub both sides of chops with it
step 6:
put in baking dish, bake 375* 35-40 min. and WOW.
prepare to be amazed!!!!
here it is folks.

it's creamy, it's juicy, it's stuffed pork chops, and you can make 'em!
so pretty.

SUN.

sunday nights.

we got home from church at 5:18pm.
i made moldy ravioli.
with marinara sauce.
i boiled them for 10 min.
that had to have cleaned all of the mold off?
i hope.
they tasted great.
garlic bread caught fire.
gas oven=flame inside the oven.
top and bottom.
i'm still learning.
the centers were saved.
which is really the only part i like anyway.
learned the fire alarms work in the house.
really well.
max gnawed on asparagus.
brennan called the ravioli hot dogs.
we went with it.
...
sean quoted this morning the best,
"someone forgot to tell brennan about daylight savings."
...
the real snow is coming.
i bought a shovel.
the brownies and pumpkin ice cream are ready.
wish you were here.