Are You Sure I Am Qualified?

...Some days I am not sure. It is no secret that parenting two small children is a lot of work. Fortunately for me I have a husband who is very kind and helpful. There are some days (like today for instance) when I want to break down in tears because I think that I am not doing a good job. Why can't I have more patience? Why is my 2 year old in time-out for the 8th time today? Am I teaching them to be kind and respectful? I am trying...and tomorrow is another day. There is a picture on my computer desk that I am looking at while I type this. It is T-man last year in his halloween costume with the biggest smile in the world. And even after a day like today when I want to pull my hair out, I can look at that picture and think that I am the luckiest wife and mother in the world. I have been blessed with a family and a life that I am so very grateful for. Every year during our family Thanksgiving everyone goes around the table and says something they are thankful for...it is never difficult to think of something. There is so very much that I have to be thankful for.

Am I qualified for this...probably not...fortunately for me the Lord isn't done with me yet!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Winter is here! I forgot just how long it takes to get 2 small children dressed and ready to play outside in the snow. Poor Baby G she walks around like the kid on A Christmas Story. "I can't put my arms down!" A great movie...can't wait to watch it at Christmastime. After 3 weeks of colds and runny noses I decided to take the babes to the doctor today. Both have ear infections, T-man has a sinus infection as do I. Antibiotics all around! Hopefully we will all be in tiptop shape by the time we leave for Europe. Just praying now that my dear husband does not catch it. Looking forward to a lazy weekend...we don't have many of them between now and Christmas.

Not Me Monday...

Ok let's give this a try...

I cetainly did not leave my wonderful husband home on Saturday night with 2 sick kids while I went out to dinner with three other couples...that would be selfish and inconsiderate right?

I also did not sit at our kitchen counter while my children napped for 1 1/2 hours and blog stalked (is that a real phrase) instead of cleaning up our house, since we had 15 people coming over that evening for dinner. That would be completely irresponsible and unproductive.

Last night when my darling 2 year old "accidentally" did a small #2 in the our bathtub I certainly did not just let the water out, scoop it out with some t.p. and then decide, "oh the hot water from my shower will clean it out tomorrow morning" instead of actually using some cleanser to clean the tub...that would be totally lazy and gross and I am never lazy or gross!

And finally, I certainly did not analyze my entire week this morning while getting ready for work thinking, "Would that be good for Not Me Monday...or...would that be funny for Not Me Monday"...because who really has time to dwell on that kind of thing when there are plenty of more important things think about...cetainly NOT ME!!!

Too check out more Not Me confessions, head on over to McMama's blog, I know I certainly do not check in on her Charming Kids multiple times a day!

Seven Prayers

I am committing to the "Seven Prayers a Day" challenge that Angie at Bring the Rain has written about. As the mother of these two precious gifts, this is what I am called to do. I want my children to grow up remembering that their mom spoke the Word of God over them everyday. I want them to remember that they grew up in a home where prayer was a daily part of our lives. This is part of the legacy that I want to leave for them.

The Day After...

Election day is over now and although the results are not what I had hoped for, I have a peace in knowing that God is still God and HE is still very much in control. What a relief to know that the results were not a surprise to Him. Am I still worried about the economy...absolutely. Do I still wonder about the next 4 years for our country as a whole...you betcha. The results are in and the votes are tallied, now it is our turn to do our job. We are called to pray. Pray for our leaders, pray for our nation, pray for each other. Boy, in my crazy life with two little ones do I fail at this sometimes. Fortunately for me, the Lord knows my heart and He is full of grace. As a believer in Jesus, I know that this is what I am called to do.

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." I Timothy 2:1-2 NIV

The Only GOOD Way to Eat Pudding

Baby G has clearly taken a liking to chocolate pudding...actually she hasn't met more than one or two foods that she doesn't enjoy! Yesterday Mr. T decided that he would like a pudding too. His favorite is pudding with whipped cream on the top. He proceeded to eat the whipped cream and then didn't want the pudding anymore. Since there are starving children all over the world and his Dad and I work hard to buy that pudding I could not let it go to waste. He refused to eat it and sat at the table for at least 20 minutes pouting because I wouldn't let him down. Wouldn't you know...he finished it for his dessert after dinner!

The End of Summer

Although the last couple of days here have been fairly nice it is definitely obvious that summer is ending and fall is coming quickly. I have found myself wishing, wishing, wishing, in the last couple of days that I could slow the hands of time and that my kids wouldn't grow up quite so fast. When you first have a baby everyone says, "Enjoy it now, they grow up too fast" and in your sleep deprived state you think, yeah right. No one told me that it is ACTUALLY true! All of a sudden I looked and T is almost 3 and Baby G will be 1 in a couple of months. How does that happen?

A few months ago when Jeff and I were out on a date (a really romantic one that included going to the bookstore to peruse the shelves!) I found a book by my absolute favorite author, Karen Kingsbury. It is a childrens book titled Let Me Hold You Longer and it talks about holding onto each and every precious moment because soon enough kids will be growing up and on their own.

Like the title of this blog, it makes me grateful for today and grateful for each and every precious moment. Here are a few picture from our wonderful summer.

Menu Plan Monday September 8th

Ok so I skipped posting my menu plan last week even though I did have one written out, but I am determined to get back to it today...here it goes.

Monday - Rostisserie chicken, rice (free sample that came in the mail from Uncle Bens) corn and watermelon

Tuesday - Meatloaf muffins (recipe from recent Kraft Food magazine), mashed potatoes and green beans

Wednesday - White chili (using leftover chicken from Monday), salad and bread

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Ham and cheese calzones (also from recent Kraft Food mag)

Saturday - Night Out (hopefully a date night!)

Sunday - Clean out the refrigerator night

Breakfasts this week
Cereal
Waffles
Oatmeal
Pumpkin Spice Muffins - 3 ingredients
1 spice cake mix
1 egg a
1 can pumpkin (i think this is a 15 oz can)
mix ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Although you can mix this by hand I feel like it mixes the best if I use a stand mixer or hand mixer.
My two year old LOVES these and I love that he is getting pumpkin in his diet which is so good for him

A Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine & The Zoo

This weekend was our "Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine" and our trip to the Detroit Zoo. Tommy was so excited for both days but he was equally as excited to spend the weekend with his good buddy Caleb. The boys are roughly 6 weeks apart in age and they love each other dearly AND can't share a toy with each other to save their life! Our day out with Thomas the Tank Engine started with a 40 minute train ride. The Huckleberry Railroad had tons of activities for the kids including animals to see, rides, characters to visit (including Sir Topham Hat and Bob the Builder!) and all kinds of other fun adventures. The day was unbelievably hot but fun was had by all. We are hoping to take a trip back to the Huckleberry Railroad at Christmastime when they decorate with over 1 million lights!

On Sunday we headed off to the Detroit Zoo. Tommy LOVES animals, so Mommy was really excited about this. Again the day was very hot but the boys had a lot of fun seeing all of the big animals (they weren't really interested in the smaller stuff and I can't blame them!) They particularly liked the polar bears and the giraffes.

Overall we had a wonderful time being together with some dear friends and as a family. One of the "precious" moments for me happened on the ride home The kids slept the majority of our drive but they were awake toward the end of the trip. T-man was of course being loud and squawking for the fun of it and Baby G thought it was absolutely hilarious and started to yell back. To listen to the two of them crack each other up (even though the noise was deafening) was pure joy for Jeff and I. It is these small moments that I hold dear.

Menu Plan Monday August 25th

So here is my 2nd MPM. Last week was a short week for us since we were out of town for the weekend. We stuck to the schedule with the exception of one night. Here is the plan for this week...

Monday - Ham, Cheesy Potatoes (recipe below), green beans

Tuesday - Townhouse Chicken (a new recipe for me; see below), green salad and rolls

Wednesday - Baked ziti with garlic bread

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Homemade Pizza

Saturday - Grilled burgers and homemade fries (from last week that we missed) watermelon

Sunday - Club sandwiches, fruit

Recipes

Cheesy Potatoes

1-2 lb pkg Oreida Hash Browns 3/4 C milk

1 can cream of chicken soup 1/2 C margarine

1 1/2 C mild cheddar cheese 1 sm onion- chopped

1 C sour cream

Combine all the above ingredients. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Add crushed potato chips to top before serving.

Townhouse Chicken

1 sleeve townhouse crackers, crumbled

2 T butter, melted & mixed with crackers

Spread 1/2 of crackers on bottom of of baking dish

Next, spread 1 can water chestnuts

Place cooked chicken pieces

Combine 1 can cream of mushroom and 1 can cream of chicken and mix until smooth

Stir in 1 C sour cream with the soup mixture

Gob mixture on chicken. Spread rest of crackers on top

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes

Menu Plan Week of August 18th

Monday - Leftovers from the weekend

Tuesday - Parmesan Chicken, buttered noodles, green beans

Wednesday - Grilled Burgers, homemade fries, and grilled veggies

Thursday - Breakfast Night, Daddy Cooks! Woot woot! - French toast and sausage

Friday - Away for the weekend to ride Thomas the Tank Engine and visit the zoo!

Here We Go....

Well for some time now I have been reading a number of blogs from different moms all over the country and I finally decided that I wanted one of my own. So here it is! I think that this will be a nice place for me to blab about...well anything really. I love to cook, scrapbook, read and brag about my family and I am thrilled that now I can do that all in one place.