This month, I have taken dinner to two families who have recently welcomed new babies. I love bringing meals to people who need them. It’s a perfect outlet for my charism for hospitality. I didn’t discover my love for cooking for other people until after I had my first baby and got to experience how helpful it was when other people brought us food. It was like a light turned on. What an easy way to “love your neighbor,” for me, who loves baking, likes cooking, and loves babies (the most frequent reason I’m signing up on a Meal Train).
Author: Elizabeth
Wife, mom, dabbling blogger. Trying to balance the never ending laundry and the never ending requests for snacks and snuggles from my little people.
Luke is Potty Trained
or, There is hope for you, boy mom, and your little man. He will “get there”! If it takes a whole year, he will get there. And when someone asks you later, “When did you potty train little Johnny?” you will cite when he reached Potty Trained, not how long it took you to get there, and no one will ask more questions, and no one will notice you sweating from the stressful memories that just crossed your mind, or judge you for not doing it earlier. Some will say, “Wow!” Some will say, “Yep, no point in starting till he’s ready.” Some will ask for advice. Err on the side of giving moral support rather than methodological tips, unless specifically requested. Anyway. That was a long secondary title. Moving on…
Charity Reset by Vomit
I got an unexpected “blessing in disguise” this week: My two preschoolers had a stomach bug. And Justin went out of town for work before it was over. Stay with me. I know it sounds awful. And….it was….but….it was also a good Reset for me.
Lately, I have found myself being a “hurry up and do what I said” mom more often than I’d like to admit. I said to do X, so do it right now. Don’t finish your picture first. Don’t get a book to bring with you. Just do it. 1….2….3….4….
*sigh*
That’s not really the kind of mom I want to be….
A History of Birthday Cakes
I think the first birthday cake I ever made, not from a box, was for Justin, the first summer we were dating. Back then, I said “I like baking,” but most of my baking was really simple. Boxed brownies and cakes, 4-ingredient meringue cookies, and occasional ventures into creative-baking-pinterestland.
So, taking on a homemade angel food cake was a little bit scary. Justin had told me that he only likes it from scratch, and “plain”: no icing and no flavorings other than vanilla. He also warned me that angel food cake requires some skill. What he left unsaid, but I sensed, was…
How to Make a Baby Laugh
Baby giggles are among the most delicious sounds known to mankind.
Some of my other favorites include tires driving over wet pavement, toddlers singing Jesus Loves Me, and the sound of a child’s breathing just as he falls asleep.
But the baby giggles—I’m pretty sure—universally make humans smile. Once they start, you just want to keep them going. Am I wrong? …
Luke at Two
Our middle child is three now! To commemorate his past year, here are a few things he said as a two year old…
Goodbye, 2019!
Here is a quick compilation of new things I tried / did this year, broken into categories, with pictures and links where appropriate.
I didn’t get a picture.
I picked out a darling, bejeweled, dark red dress and a sparkly black sweater for her at the second hand store. I convinced her to wear the sash that came with it in her hair like a headband tied with a bow below her ponytail. Her baby sister was in an off-white ruffley dress with tiny blush pink roses sewn (and carefully safety-pinned, one of them) on, also with a matching headband. My dress was black; an off-white shiny scarf as a shawl brought the plain (nursing-friendly) dress up to level with my fanciest pearl earrings…
A Literal Walk in the Park
One morning, we decided to take a walk to the park near our house. It’s not quite one mile to the playground, so it’s decent low-intensity exercise for Justin and me, and then we get a break while the kids play before heading back home.
This morning I packed peanut-butter-and-nutella sandwiches for the kids and me, managed to get everyone’s teeth brushed, shoes and jackets on, and Cecily’s necessities packed—and off we went.
To enhance the exercise component of the walk, we often go all the way to the river to take a look, then…
Go to Bed Early
What usually happens is I say, “I should go to bed early,” but then I creep on Facebook for 30 more minutes, finish up six or seven odd jobs around the house, and/or think of a few new texts I need to send. Now this evening I switched the laundry and started the dishwasher before jumping in the shower and then cozying myself into the bed, but I did go straight to those designated tasks after laying baby girl in her bed, so that, much to my satisfaction, all the kids were asleep by 7:30, and I was in my bed, too, at 8:15. The last light wasn’t turned off yet, but my phone was. Postpartum insomnia could interfere, but if it doesn’t…