Quite a year

To say that I have neglected this site would be a severe understatement. It's been a year full of change for us. A new city, a new way of life. So much change for so many important reasons, but the most important of which being the four of us.

We miss the familiar and the people we love so much like crazy. But I think we are finally settling in to this new chapter and it is getting really good here.

Countdown

My husband was kind enough to remind me tonight that I am merely a week away from turning the big 3-0. This has been a crazy hectic May, to say the least. I guess I've just lost track of time.
I'm excited to be getting to this milestone. I'm expecting a good year, and I'm planning to do it up right. Hmmm....

Interesting? You betcha!

I am in need of a dream interpretation. I had one of the craziest dreams and I just can't seem to shake it, so I thought it would be interesting to just put it out there and see what happens.

So in my dream I had just stolen this computer chip from someone and I was on the run. Well, actually this person had stolen the chip first so it really wasn't his and I was taking it back, I guess. The weird part was that I had a monkey with me and it was helping me steal the chip and get it back to it's rightful owner. We were ducking into rooms and different buildings trying to hide from several people. The best part I noticed about having the monkey with me was that it was really quite when we were needing to hide, and that I was oddly okay with the fact that it didn't talk although it followed direction well.

At the end of the dream we were looking for a getaway car because I thought my own car would be bugged and what not, so we ended up looking for another vehicle. Then I got the great idea that we should steal a motor home. We found one, we got in and started driving away...then I woke up.

Yeah. I know. Have fun!!!

Not even close

For whatever reason, I have been watching a lot of Lydia's Italy on PBS on the weekends. I love her! She always has yummy recipes and many of them are surprisingly simple and easy. Makes me long for an Italian grandmother to call my very own.

A couple of weeks ago, she was making an Italian white bean and kale soup. It sounded so good! I'm the only one in my household that likes soup at all, and I could, and have in the past, eat it everyday. Well a few days later, I was watching the tail end of the Rachel Ray show and watched her make a variation of the same soup. At that point I decided I had to make this soup for myself. I didn't have any of the correct ingredients and I couldn't go to the store, so I began poking around my kitchen. I didn't have pancetta, but I did have smoked turkey sausage links. I didn't have white beans, but I did have dark red kidney beans. I didn't have kale, but I did have spinach. I had a lot of red potatoes, so I decided to add them as well. After it came up to simmer, I tasted the low sodium chicken broth I had put into the soup and realized it didn't have much flavor, so I added a cup or so of V8 juice and some red pepper flakes.

Long story short, the soup turned out great and I was able to portion it into individual containers and freeze it for when soup just sounds good. Soup freezes so well, fyi. I don't think I will ever be able to go back to canned soups ever again.

It's always nice when a plan comes together!...?

Apparently, it can also be wonderful when nothing comes out the way you intended at all.

Silly life lessons...they always turn up in the darnedest places.

Weekend wonderland

We took our children to see the snow for the very first time in their lives this weekend. It had been a long time since I had been in the snow myself! A big storm had been in the forecast for Friday night, and since it was raining so hard here all week, my oldest had her soccer game cancelled. We decided it would be a great opportunity to let the kids get their first taste of snow.

We arrived in Prescott just as the first snowflakes began to fall. The kids were so excited! It snowed all night and the next morning we were able to play in a few inches of powder from the front yard. My cousin-in-law was gracious enough to let us stay with them and to help us find a great place to have some sledding fun Saturday afternoon.

We found a great little spot with a foot or two of fresh powder and a gentle incline. The guys created this luge-type run for the sled. The girls were so adorable, laughing and screaming through each ride.

Then....the boys got bored....

They found a steeper hill from which to slide. I can't resist posting my husband's amazing journey. Granted it was far funnier to watch in person, but this video still makes me smile every time. Enjoy, kids!

A Love Story

I have been a stay-at-home mom for over 5 years.

After a while I began to realize how much I sucked at it. I didn't know a thing about a new baby, and housework may as well be the death of me. As a person with perfectionist tendencies, doing the same job, day in and day out, without recognition, without vacation time, without a finish line, this job has had it's share of days of making me crazy.

So every once in a while, the kids will spend the night with family and my husband and I will have the night and the house to ourselves. I'm supposed to love it, I guess, but the truth is I hate not seeing their little sleeping faces in those little beds. They may not be babies anymore, but they still look like those same tiny people I would rock to sleep and watch over in their cribs.

As their mother, I have been given the duty of protecting them and helping them through life. But the truth is they are helping me far more than I help them. They have not just made my life better, they have truly saved it.

Every decision I make is based on thoughts of them, thoughts of their father, of us as a unit. I hate to think of my life without them. So I suppose I am writing this to remind me now and always that they are my life. Not because they have to be, not because I am obligated, but because I need to attempt to repay my debt to them for all they have done for me.

So one day, if this blog still exists, and they are reading it, they will know that being my kids has a far deeper meaning than might appear at the surface of our relationship.

I need to thank them more for that. Being grateful isn't about saying thank you, it's about living the thank you.

Thank you to my beautiful children for being yourselves. Thank you to my husband for sharing this gift with me. I love you. All.

Lyrics by Mariah Carey, James Horner, Will Jennings

Where are you Christmas
Why can't I find you
Why have you gone away
Where is the laughter
You used to bring me
Why can't I hear music play

My world is changing
I'm rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too

Where are you Christmas
Do you remember
The one you used to know
I'm not the same one
See what the time's done
Is that why you have let me go

Christmas is here
Everywhere, oh
Christmas is here
If you care, oh

If there is love in your heart and your mind
You will feel like Christmas all the time

I feel you Christmas
I know I've found you
You never fade away
The joy of Christmas
Stays here inside us
Fills each and every heart with love

Where are you Christmas
Fills your heart with love