Lessons in Soup
I’ve been a little restless lately. I’m too old to try to be figuring out what my purpose is (I have flashbacks to a younger me, with huge hair and too bright lipstick, sitting in my college advisor’s office, insisting a little too emphatically that I did not want to go to law school. Hmmmm.). I’m too young (and too awake in Spirit) to just hang it up and say, “Well, that was a good life. Well done.” Even with all of our hurdles lately—for... Read More
For the Win
For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. 2 Corinthians 12:10 Apparently, when we were dealing with the stomach flu last week, God was just lobbing softballs over the plate. And I was getting cocky. “I got this!” I yelled, as I loaded up my swing and got in my batter’s stance. Feeling a little too “in the zone” in this great game of finding gratitude... Read More
The First Thanksgiving
This year, I feel blessed to have discovered the Lord’s secret weapon to finding the joy in our lives. Simply said, giving praise and thanks is life-changing. I hope that today is great practice for making giving thanks a part of your daily routine—the best habit you can have. Let’s live Thanksgiving out loud. Today and everyday. Happy Thanksgiving, friends. Originally ran November 23, 2011 Translation: “The First... Read More
The Balloons
It was recently my grandma’s 80th birthday. The girls helped my mom put together a very fun, very laidback party. There were streamers, takeout Chinese food, cake and of course, balloons. The girls asked if they could bring the balloons home afterward. All of them. I couldn’t think of a good reason to say no. And so we hauled fifteen balloons home in the backseat of our car, obstructing Daddy’s rearview mirror as we drove... Read More
Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai
You guys are so smart. Me? Not so much. After I nearly lost a thumb the last time I made spaghetti squash, hackin’ away at it like a crazy machete wielding banshee, you all said, “Lady, just bake it whole.” Uh, yeah. So that was a lot easier. And then just last week, my friend Dorian nudged me via Twitter, saying, “I feel like Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai would be amazing.” I just so happened to have a spaghetti squash on my counter. So... Read More
Snapshot Sunday: Moments of Influence
If ever a day of rest was needed, it’s today. Like our weekend, I’m full of moments. Joyful moments spent reuniting with dear friends (like Jenna and Polly), filled with priceless and effortless conversations that could only be better if they happened more frequently. Joyful moments with inspiring women (like Jessie, Rachael, Kacia, Cassie, Ashley and so many more) who figuratively and literally hug you like they’ve known you your whole life. ... Read More
Snapshot Sunday: Make Room for Joy
That was one busy weekend. I thought I had my favorite moment of the weekend pegged. We had a wedding to attend yesterday as a family. One daughter was watching intently to make sure she knew exactly when to turn away to avoid witnessing lip-to-lip contact. One daughter was wiggly, thirsty, bored and did I mention wiggly? She tuned in to the pastor, however, when he said, “In marriage, one plus one equals one.” To which Wiggly Pete piped... Read More
Big Fat Greek Veggie Burgers
Things are about to get messy. Kind of like the four year-old boy seated to my left at Sunday School yesterday, with his index finger firmly planted in his right nostril. And then to complicate things, my having to lead him and nine other four year-olds in and out of the “human knot” in an exercise all about listening to the voice of authority. Guess whose hand I got to hold? Every. Single. Step. Of the. Way. You may think it’s funny. But... Read More
Snapshot Sunday: From Night to Day
Happy Sunday, friends. Usually I post a recipe on Sunday nights, but unfortunately that means that my Sunday days are spent in the kitchen and on the computer, and aren’t spent riding bikes, drawing on sidewalks with chalk or painting the pears on our trees blue. Don’t ask. So in attempt to recapture my Sundays as a day of rest (and preventing more drive-by fruit graffiti), I’m going to start posting Snapshot Sundays! And if you... Read More
Making a Name for Yourself
The curtain went down today on a week of inspirational theater camp for Miss Gigi. A week of razzle dazzle. Step ball change. Step ball change. Spirit fingers…..yeah! And me frantically running in from swim camp, a soggy Lulu under my arm (four days damp from Swim Camp and one day from Spilled Smoothie), rushing to check Gigi’s name off a long list of campers and head home. On the last day of camp, my finger ran down the roll sheet and stopped. At... Read More
Neapolitan Ice Cream Crackle Bars
It’s National Ice Cream Sandwich Day! Woop woop! It’s also National Watch Both Your Kiddos Move Up a Level in Swimming Day! Rock on! And wouldn’t you know, it’s National Let’s Celebrate Our Accomplishments By Going Out to Lunch But First Let Us Warm Up in the Hot Tub Day! Oh yeah! But wait. It turns out, it was also National Even Though You Just Did Ten Bobs To Move Up a Swimming Level, Fall Into the Deepest Part... Read More
How Not to Make Pickles
Turns out Lulu doesn’t like cucumbers. I mean, really, really doesn’t like cucumbers. This, the very same girl that writes love songs about pickles. We were at a friend’s for dinner last week and I put a few sliced cucumbers on her plate. She put one in her mouth and yet it quickly reappeared with the loud announcement, “I hate cucumbers!” After a quick hushed talk about being gracious guests, I gladly ate the remaining cucumbers on... Read More
Triple Berry Pie for the Fourth of July
I’ve always had pretty good instincts. I like to observe my surroundings. Take stock of what’s happening. Then think three steps ahead to the most logical conclusion to these circumstances. Only later do I realize that what usually ends up happening is a million times less logical. For example: What could possibly happen if go out with the guy with the autographed picture of George W. Bush hanging in his dorm room and who referred to me only... Read More
How to Dislocate an Elbow Playing the Recorder
1. On the first day of summer, sneak a big pile of books into your bed, stay up late reading and then wake up on the wrong side of the bed the next morning. 2. Come downstairs for breakfast and walk right through the World Map puzzle your sister is trying to put together. 3. Snag a piece of toast from your plate and hover over your sister’s puzzle while eating it, dropping crumbs on the entire Northern Hemisphere. 4. Ask for a pickle. 5. ... Read More
Stuff From This Week (So Far)
1. I went to dinner with a friend a few nights ago and left Pea Daddy in charge of the girls. I came home to find him very frazzled looking and sprawled out on the couch. The detailed instructions Gigi had left on the whiteboard said all I needed to know. How to shout at your sister: 1. Get mad at her for what she did. 2. Scream at the top of your lungs. And that’s how. 2. Thanks to the suggestion of some Facebook followers,... Read More
Chocolate Chip Blondies and Chocolate Chip Brownies (With Beans!)
I have a novel thought: let’s stop with the black and white thinking. It’s a theory I have to tackle with the girls each day. They’re forming their own little beliefs about this crazy world we live in and it’s just easier for them to make sense of it by talking in absolutes. This is boy stuff and that is girl stuff. The princess is always good and the witch is always bad. You have to wear underwear, every day, everywhere. But life’s... Read More
One Man’s Treasure
I love my husband. He’s a good, good man. I have a month until Father’s Day. A mere thirty days to find a way to thank him for being both a devoted father and the glue that holds our family together. For being the person I can call to calm me down when my head is going to explode, I am speaking in tongues and my pulse is beating in my ears like a marching band because I have decided to drive straight into the middle of a parade for an hour... Read More
A Day in The Pod
A few of my favorite bloggers have done “A Day in the Life” posts lately, and since I have enjoyed those behind-the-scenes glimpses so much, I thought I’d put a similar post together for you. Indulge me. Or forgive me. Or both. This was Thursday, and, for better or worse, pretty typical. 5:45 a.m. My alarm goes off and since I am 86 and went to bed at 10 p.m. last night, I have no problem getting up. I have a big cup of... Read More
The Green Room
There’s a sign that hangs in our breakfast nook that says, “God grant me the patience to endure my blessings.” Amen. There’s no question I’ve been blessed. There’s also no question I have my patience tested. Daily. I can endure batting helmets worn to the grocery store in case there’s an errant pitch in the produce department. I have no idea why two pairs of sunglasses are needed, though. I can endure digging the purple... Read More
Name That Book and Other Weekend Highlights
1. I hate to say “I told you so.” Lie. I love it. When I left for the gym yesterday, Pea Daddy was cleaning up the playroom, and when I came home, I saw this: I told you so. 2. I then drove to Starbucks with the vow not to leave until the second book was finished. Two hours, a venti Americano and three bathroom breaks later, I was done. Shaky, slightly nauseous, embarrassingly greasy and done. 3. ... Read More
Love Notes
Can it really be February? Otherwise known as The Month I Have to Hand Over the Manuscript I Only Started Three Months Ago. I have 23 days. I promise not to count it down every day on here until the due date. You know I don’t blog on the weekends, so there’s that respite for you. It’s also the month of love. And the love notes are flying around here. Lulu brought home this picture she made in preschool. That’s her in the yellow with... Read More
Wannabe Recipea: Goldfish Crackers
Lulu might be taking her self-imposed lessons in empathy a little too far. Yesterday she sat in her baby doll stroller and rolled herself around the house, claiming to be in a wheelchair. I was going to put a kibosh on her game as being insensitive, but it came to a crashing end all on its own. Let’s just say our stairway is not up to ADA standards. Today she’s pretending that a pair of blue Minnie Mouse sunglasses are actual eyeglasses and... Read More
