Patience

I went to the grocery store today to pick up a few things. I was prepared to be patient, knowing that the store would be packed this close to Thanksgiving. I did really good if I may say so myself. I was friendly and smiling at people, letting them take their time... and then it was time to pay. I looked at the lines and picked the shortest one. But as 4 people in the line next to me unpacked their groceries, payed and left, my patience left too. The lady in front of me had a lot of coupons. I don't mind coupons. I use them sometimes. But she had to tell the cashier the story about each and every item she had coupons for. She actually swore as she explained that she had to buy cookies from the bakery since she had a coupon. "No", I thought, "you didn't have to buy them. You chose to". And then some of her coupons didn't work so we had to wait for some other lady to come and explain to her that she needed to buy the brand that was mentioned on the coupon. Which made her confused she said... I don't think it was patience she saw in my face as she looked up at me as I was secretly wishing that my very patient child would scream bloody murder for once so that they would hurry up.
Well, I've learned from previous years to expect a crowded store before Thanksgiving and not to be upset because of it. Maybe next year I will smile at the lady in front of me taking her sweet time...

Family Fun food, I'm not laughing

I've never made chicken and dumplings. I've never eaten chicken and dumplings. But I've heard of it so I decided to give it a shot. I found a recipe online at the Family Fun site, a site I've found a lot of recipes on before. Lately, I've had a problem though. The ingredient list and the instructions don't line up. It has happen to me twice in 2 days now! I start cooking and all of a sudden it asks me to add an ingredient that isn't on the list. And it doesn't say how much of it. So I've had to improvise. The food turned out ok though and chicken and dumplings will probably go on the menu again sometime. From a different recipe though.

I guess now's the time for it

Is it really supposed to be this easy? We didn't really have a plan for how and when we would take the pacifier away from E. We just knew we wanted to do it while she was still in her crib so it would have to happen this month. I was planning on doing it in October, but then she started potty training and we didn't want to have more than one big transition going on at a time. So we decided to hold off on the paci thing. She only wears a diaper when she sleeps now so I knew it was time for it, but I was dreading taking it away. But then yesterday it sort of just happened. We had a paci that needed to be thrown out b/c it had some cracks in it from her biting it so much. So I had her throw it out. And when bedtime came I hid the other one. She asked for her paci and I told her we threw it out. She asked for the other one and I showed her the empty basket where we used to store them and I told her it wasn't there. She didn't cry for it at all. And again at naptime today she asked for it. I reminded her that we threw out the broken one and I had to show her the basket a couple of times but she didn't cry for it. Sure, it takes her a little longer to fall asleep, but she'll get used to not having it soon enough. I just keep holding my breath, waiting for that "crying for an hour until she falls asleep exhausted" thing I've heard about. I am nervously waiting for it to come and praying and hoping that it won't. So far it is going great and I keep thanking God for it and also praying that she won't miss her "napp" too much. (B/c I must admit too that it is breaking my heart in a small way that I have to take away something she is so attached to. But I know it's what's best for her.)

food and family

Isn't it great when dinner is cheap, healthy and yummy all at the same time? Today's dinner was. We had butternut squash soup and pesto grilled cheese.
Soup: Sauté onions and garlic (I used half of a big onion and 2 small cloves of garlic) in EVOO. Add a chopped up butternut squash (3 cups according to the recipe), 3 cups of water and 2 cups of apple cider, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about 30 min. Use an immersion blender to make the soup smooth. Serve with some croutons (be careful of how many if you want to keep it healthy).
Sandwich: Well, it's like a regular grilled cheese, but you put pesto on the inside of the slices and tomato slices in between the cheese. I made my own pesto with parsley and almonds (b/c of tree nut allergies), parmesan cheese and EVOO. I skipped the garlic. And I used Arnold's whole wheat bread (no enriched flour). Again, the amount of cheese and butter can make or break the health factor.

E is playing in the background with her Little People. It's fun to listen to her make conversation between the dolls.
C is down in the basement prepping cabinet doors to paint.
H is sleeping I think, b/c she's not moving right now. That's right, H. I am pretty sure I'm letting C name the baby. Now we just need a middle name.

Well, I got to go. E didn't take a nap today so we're starting the night time routine a bit early tonight. But first I'm going to let her share something too. She is climbing all over me saying "letters, letters".

je7aabcdefghijklmnopqrstuuuuvwxyzabqrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
b++++++++++++++++++++++++1111111111111111111111111111§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§bbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyybbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

hey, did you see that she squeezed in the alphabet there all by herself!

Urgh!

I want to blog about something, but it's something I can't share in a blog. I am so thankful that I have God to lean on in a situation like this and that I have a wonderful husband who listens and comforts me.
Someone has treated me very badly these past couple of days. It started with an argument and I know that when two people argue it is rarely just ones fault. So I apologized. But this person told me that the apology wasn't accepted and refuses to take any responsibility in this thing at all. This is a person who is suppose to love me! Who claims to love me. I tried to explain my behavior. It might not have been the best. I know that. But it was a reaction to being hurt. And I said I was sorry. I don't even know where to go from here.
I guess the "love" that this person has for me is based upon the condition that I have to be who I'm expected to be by this person, not who I am. At least I know the truth. Real LOVE is unconditional.
Well, this is all that I can write here. I don't want to share to much about it here. And I know that this is my side of the story. There is another side too. But this is my blog and my place to vent.
Sorry to be such a downer today.

TMI

I don't know if this falls under the category for too much information, but at least you've been warned... =)
I am going to blame this one on pregnancy brain. When I got out of the shower I realized that I had shaved one leg, but not the other. C laughed pretty hard at that one! I did however scrub the shelves in the shower while I was in there since it's easier to reach them while I'm actually in the tub now that this belly is getting so big.