Back again. . .

Ok, so it's possible I have been slightly remiss in updating the blog. . . Well, life has gone on and the wheel has turned, and suddenly I find myself to be the mom of a kindergartener and a 3-going-on-13 year old! Lots of things have changed in the past several months, but one thing remains the same; these kids are the light of my life. Here are just a few random pictures to get us back into the swing of the whole blogging thing. . .

This is Sam on his first day of school. By the way, he made the "A" honor roll on his first report card!




Here is Ellen after a trip to the Attalla Heritage Festival. As you can see, she has her own sense of style and a smile that could light up a room!





This Halloween, they dressed as Luke Skywalker and Snow White.





And this is a picture I found from a few months ago. Admit it, they're adorable!!

Chicken Soup for the Sick Mom's Tummy

Whew, what a slacker I have been about my blog the past few months! I guess that summer activities got in the way and left little time for the crackbrained musings I usually post here.

However, in honor or my inauspicious return to the blogosphere, I will now post my very own recipe for homemade chicken noodle soup!

*crickets*

Please, hold your applause.

Why chicken noodle soup? Because I don't feel good, and I want some comfort food, and comfort food isn't very comforting if you have to cook it yourself and it takes a lot of effort. Mac and cheese, meatloaf, and the like just take too dadgum long. Chicken noodle soup is very easy and super comforting! Also, I have some leftover spaghetti that needs to be used somehow.

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 whole fryer chicken, disjointed
Carrots
Celery
Onion
Water
Salt, pepper, and whatever spices rock your world
Noodles

Rinse the chicken and put it into a big soup pot. Cover with cold water. Add spices (I used kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, bay, and rosemary, because that's what I had available) to taste. Bring to a boil and cook until the chicken is done and falling off the bone, then remove from heat. When the chicken is cool, remove the skin and bones, chop it up, and return it to the pot with the broth. Cut the vegetables into small pieces ( I used one small onion, 4 carrots, and 3 stalks of celery, but you go on and use whatever and howevermuch you like) and add them to the pot, then simmer it all until it is done and you are hungry. You may need to add more water if a lot has boiled away during cooking. Add more salt and pepper if needed, and if the broth is not chickeny enough for you, add a little chicken bouillon too. About 20 minutes before serving add your noodles, and let the whole thing simmer until either the noodles are cooked (if they weren't) or warmed through (if they were already cooked).
Serve with crackers and a glass of cold milk!

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

This morning, in honor of the birth of our great nation, I went online and read the Declaration of Independence. I'd read it before, of course, in History class back in high school, but it was a real pleasure to read it again today and reflect on the ideas that went into the Declaration, the men behind them, and the risks and sacrifices those men faced.

It's a brief document, and can be found online at http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm . It's definitely worth a read for both the ideas it contains and the beautiful language used to portray them.

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He would give His only son
To make a wretch a treasure
--Stuart Townend



Being a parent has given me an entirely new perspective on God. My dad has told me before that when you have children, for a while, you are God to that child. You are the ultimate authority, the giver and taker away of all things, and really, that's true. You also can come to a deeper and more amazed understanding of God's love for us, His children.



I've always heard that God loves us, but until I became a parent I never understood what a complex and sometimes painful that love is. I love my children unconditionally, and I want only the best things for them, and I want to give them only love and affection and happiness. But sometimes that love means that I have to discipline and punish them, and cause them momentary unhappiness in order to keep them on the straight and narrow path. I HATE having to punish my children, but sometimes they misbehave and I have to do it. I discipline them because I love them, and I want them to do the right things and behave in the right way, and because I want them to respect me and the authority I represent. They disobey and so I punish them, because I love them, but in truth the punishment is as painful for me as it is for them.



How much more painful it must be for our Heavenly Father to see us go astray! How heartbreaking it must be for Him to punish us, His beloved children. But He does, because He loves us wholly and without reserve. Even when we stand before Him, covered in evidence of our disobedience, He loves us and cherishes us as His precious sons and daughters. I count this understanding of Him as one of the unexpected blessings of motherhood.

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Babysitting

I got to spend some quality time with Taylor Wednesday night. . . Brad and Gayle asked if I could watch her for a few hours while they took in dinner and a movie. Since they have kept my kids so often that I owe them about a year's worth of uninterrupted childcare, and since Taylor is the sweetest little peanut on the planet, I happily said "Duh. See you at 7." So they dropped her off and headed out, and the kids and I got to hang with our TaterBug for a while.

It was soooooooo much fun.

She grinned, she laughed, she cooed, she chewed on her own feet. She scooted around my living room at the speed of light and tried to eat one of Sam's shoes. Sam and Ellen couldn't leave her alone; I think Ellen sighed "Aww, Baby Taylor!" and hugged her about ten times the first five minutes she was there. Sam baby talked her and tickled her belly. It was awesome. When she finally fell asleep she snuggled up on my shoulder and went out in about 3.2 seconds, and then she slept on a Boppy pillow til her parents arrived to reclaim her. I hope we get to keep her again soon!

Flowers

My son brought me flowers today. A red silk carnation and a yellow daisy made from strips of craft foam, both stuck into a styrofoam cup that had been colored brown and covered in glitter. He carried it like it was the Crown Jewels and carefully handed it to me when I picked him up from daycare. There was a card too, with his handprint inside and his childish signature. And a handprint card from Ellen, but she won't give it to me because she says that it is her paper.

I'm here to tell you, the Garden of Eden never grew flowers more lovely than the ones I got today. No artwork hanging in a gallery anywhere in the world is more precious than the handprint-on-construction-paper masterpieces I was given.

There are times when being a mother can wear you down physically, mentally, and emotionally. It is indeed the toughest job you'll ever love, and it is indeed a JOB. 24/7/365. But there also are flowers.

Adventures in the land of luxury cosmetics

I'm a cheap makeup kind of girl. Chances are, if they don't have it at Walgreens, it's probably not in my makeup bag. I'm lucky to have skin that isn't sensitive, so I don't have to go to the mall and spend $70 on a half ounce of foundation, y'know?

But. . .

I redeemed some credit card rewards and got a couple of gift cards to Sephora. So I decided that today I'd mosey on down to the fancy schmancy makeup store and see what all the fuss is about. It's been a lousy, crazy-busy week, and sometimes a girl just wants to treat herself to a little luxury.

It was AWESOME. Makeup, skin products, nail polish and perfume as far as the eye could see. Black clad sales associates falling all over themselves to help me. I usually prefer to browse uninterrupted, but I'd checked out their products online and wanted to see some samples of Bare Escentual Mineral Makeup. So I let them do a "foundation consultation" where a nice young woman named Sarah Beth showed me how to apply the powder foundation and extolled the virtues of the product. I ended up buying the starter kit (no need to tell Sarah Beth I'd planned on buying it before I ever walked in the door. . . I love my internet research). I also fell in love with Urban Decay eyeliner, which actually does glide on smoothly and stays put forever. I tested a couple of shades on the back of my hand 8 hours ago and still haven't managed to rub them off! At $16 a pop I won't be buying many of them, but I couldn't resist splurging on one, in a metallic rocker-chic silver. And I'll probably buy more later.

Just don't tell the nice folks at Sephora that I'll probably be buying them on ebay.