Blech

Sometimes, I feel like I've been sick forever. We have a constant nose drip and hacking cough going through our house. Last week was my week off. The babies and I laid low for most of it.
Today, I dropped the kids off with their sweet baby-sitter (they're quick at recovering compared to me) and now, I'm spending my morning on the couch. Coughing all over my students yesterday made me feel bad.
I'm tired of being sick.
How long until spring?

Princess

Today, me and my Mom took Claire to a Princess Tea at Mom's church. Elizabeth and Auntie Karri came too. It was really sweet. The room we were in was decorated in soft pinks and purples, there were flowers and butterflies and a fountain. It was so very pretty. Claire dressed up in a gorgeous dress I found at a used clothing sale. She also wore her favorite sparkly shoes. We dined on pink and white sandwiches, (butterfly shaped) cheese and crackers, butterfly cupcakes, sugar cookies and vanilla tarts.

It was delightful to see all these teeny-tiny girls dressed up and treated so well by adults who value them. It was an honour to sit with some very valuable women in my life.

I was reminded about how precious it is to be a woman. I was also reminded that the world doesn't value the sweet innocence that my daughter possesses. She's going to be bombarded by messages telling her she needs to be sexy, super skinny, pouty, beautiful as defined by fashion magazines and that she needs to do everything in her power to attract boys. This is going to happen much, much to soon. (I teach 11 and 12 year olds, so I see this every day.)

I need to, as her mother, affirm her beauty (inner and outer) and her worth. I want to protect her from the hurts the world is going to hurl her way, but I can't. Instead, I can build a foundation of love and trust with her. Then, I can pray for her and trust God to keep her for me.

Psalm 139:13-16
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day.

Hospitality (and a lot of parentheses for some reason)

When we were first married, Trevor and I opened up our house to guests regularly. Need a place to stay? A meal? A cup of tea? We were happy hosts.
When Simon was born, our house turned into a whirlwind of baby stuff, dirty dishes, quick to cook foods and one tired Momma. Obviously, Claire didn't really improve the situation (although, she totally makes our life awesome... as does Simon).
Needless to say, I lost my hospitable touch.
Claire is now 15 months. She eats really well (albeit messily). Simon does well too. My kids give me time in the afternoon (mostly) to clean and prepare. Even though I'm tired, I am sleeping through the night (bliss).
I am excited to host people again. We're trying to have more people over to our little home. It's a lot more work but, it's so much fun to prepare an array of good foods and teach our kids about being hosts.

On the Eve of Love

Tonight is the eve before Valentine's Day. I'm happily baking heart shaped sugar cookies. Simon and I coloured his valentines yesterday. I have a sweet surprise for my sweetie and we're going to attempt our fancy crab legs tradition with the kiddos. Should be fun!

Tonight (as I ice sugar cookies), I plan on watching the Bachelor. It's true, this trashy TV show is quite an addicting vice for me. I've already written a post a few years back about why I find endless amusement in the fact that those very, very beautiful people wearing gorgeous clothes, going on incredible dates and traveling to exotic locales are so unhappy. They are unhappy because they don't have what I have: a soul mate... someone to "do" life with. Therefore, as entertaining as it is for me, I am a little smug. My eye-rolling husband will be sitting nearby tolerating my addiction just as I tolerate every pro-sports season that plays across our TV screen. This, folks, is true love. :)

Tomorrow, we won't be wining and dining, dressed to the nines at a fancy restaurant. Instead, I will watch the man of my dreams play, snuggle and bathe our kids. Then, we'll probably snuggle up and watch nothing much on TV and daydream about our "Someday House". This, Ben and Bachelorettes of 2012, is how love looks in real life. It's pretty sweet!

Happy Valentine's Day, folks!

Smooth

When I started back to work, I was a little unsure about how to do lunch. I knew I had a 15 minute window when my classes would end, I would prep and clean up and be out the door to pick up the kids. I did not want to waste any of my precious time walking to the other side of the school (staff room) to toast a bagel or warm up soup (my usual go-to lunches). Also, I wanted something healthy and easy to take with me in the car.
No, I don't want to eat sandwiches... too many carbs and I ate too many when I was in school.
I decided to try flavoured canned tuna. There's plenty of good flavours and I would also bring some Triscuits along (as well as a yop-like yogurt drink). The tuna always tasted good and always filled me up. Unfortunately, every single time I opened up a tin, I felt like I was opening up cat food. Most days I managed to swallow my gag reflex but, it was hard to shake.
My brother, Tim, is in a similar boat. He travels between his two pt. time jobs (teaching and pastoring) at lunch. His solution to lunch is a smoothie. Yum!
Now, I drink a delightful blend of fruit, yogurt and milk every day. I add honey as a natural sweetener and a dash of cinnamon. The cinnamon is the best part. I actually crave it all morning until smoothy time.
Best work lunch ever!
Add a granola bar (nuts = protein) and an apple (honeycrisp, please) and I'm a happy girl!