And, yes, I would be that mom who after reprimanding my daughter for getting into that diaper creme, said: "Wait, Aubrey, don't move. Let me go get the camara...Now, smile!"
4. And quite possibly the reason why I just don't have the energy to dish out more than 4 things today. A little library story for you: After a delightful story time hour at our wonderful little neighborhood library, we headed to pick out some books for the week, a very loved event for both of my girls. Savannah picked some out. Aubrey picked some out. I said: "Look, Aubrey, it's a Winnie the Pooh book!" She grabbed it as excitedly as I said the words. Savannah wanted it as much as I excitedly said the words. She grabbed it. Aubrey let out a scream. And, I do mean a scream. It wasn't a quick one either. And, after it was done, A grabbed it back from S. S did a similar scream with a bit more high-pitched-ness sound to it. Mom enters the scene: "Girls, if you do not calm down right now and gain self-control, we are leaving this library with no books." I'll spare you the ugliness of the scene. Just know: the screams did not stop from either girl. We left the library with no books in tow. And, I'm pretty sure the further screams were heard from the parking lot from inside the building...we may, just may, have even gotten some stares from onlookers staring out the library window. It was not pretty. Not at all.
And, I must add: I'm a bit thankful this Thursday is just about over.
Well, friends, our oven is broken = (. Hence, I could not make last night what I was planning to post about today. We're in the process of seeking repairs, but until then, it's a lot of crockpot, toaster oven, and bread machine cookin' in the Boeving home!
I do want you to try something, a few things, actually, this Tuesday...
Try not to get too excited that....
LOST is premiering tonight!!!!
The Colts are in the Super Bowl on Sunday! And, maybe just maybe, we'll get a glimpse of his wife win they win!
That I'm feeling spring approaching!
The sun is staying out longer! And pretty soon I'll be telling those babies of mine to shut their eyes real tight and just pretend that it's dark when it's 8:00 p.m. and the sun is still shining!
I have Coconut Lime Verbena smells all around my house!
And, it's suppose to be 45 and almost all the way sunny on Thursday...definitely declaring that a Perfect Day in February for the Park Day!
So, until next time and my oven is all better....try not to get too excited about such things as these.
What is purity? Really. And, how do we train our little girls to strive for it?
I heard a story the other night and it went something like this....
Two Christian families. One family is a very familiar one to any household, believer and non. (I won't reveal the names just because I did not hear the story from the actual people, so obviously details are are not perfect.) It's about their children. The daughter from the E. family went on several mission trips where the son from the T. family was a leader of the trip. The daughter was still in high school. After a few years, she reached college-age. The son of the T. family approached her and said something like...."I have loved you for three years but could not pursue you because of the age difference. I want to pursue you now with the intention of marrying you...."
Wow.
That was my response. You don't hear stories very often like that, do you?
One of the girls that I was talking to (Hah! Is it funny that I still refer to peers my age as girls? Well. Actually this particular girl is still in her mid-twenties, so I guess she is more of a girl than I am...I'm sidetracking.) posed this question: How do we get our daughters to wait for someone like that?
Now, I know. It's not going to happen just like the above story. But I will say that it is a pretty neat way (set aside the bit of creepiness it may cause at first) to approaching the persual of someone.
Now I'm not saying dating is wrong.
I am saying that purity is what I long for my girls to pursue and to wait for. I would also say that I want to teach them that there is not a reason to date a guy unless you know that you would marry that guy. Can 15/16 year-olds really know if they want to marry somone? Sure, given their spiritual and emotional maturity...I know many couples who were high school sweethearts who went on to marrying one another. I'm also not saying that lack of dating or dating equals or does not equal purity.
I know I can pray for my girls.
I know that I can speak Truth into their lives from the Word.
I know that I can teach and show them what is means to be modest, and not just in dress. Though Savannah is already noticing lack of clothing on people (a tube top, strapless dress, etc.)
Are there other ways we can teach our girls purity? I'd love to know your thoughts...your strivings to do so.
Last thought: The girls and I just watched a princess movie today. Not that I'm knocking them (because obviously I just watched one today with my 1 and 2 year old daughters), but here's something very real about princess movies~they teach our little girls that Prince Charming will one day sweep them off their feet and they'll ride into the sunset. Now. My Prince Charming did, in fact, sweep me off my feet (and is still sweeping me) and we did, in fact, ride off into the sunset and have enjoyed many a sunsets over the past almost 8 years of marriage, but let us not forget that the Lord uses marriage as one of the primary ways to sanctify us. May we teach our little girls that too.
Okay. So I feel like I have gone off on quite a tangent here. Just a reminder of the inital question...
How are you teaching your little girls what purity means?
'Tis true that my world most of the time is filled with diapers and tee-tee breaks (pretty soon, it will just be the latter...Aubrey is nearing that stage.), tickle time and Elmo (because if the truth be known, I am not afraid of a little T.V. time for those girlies), and let's not forget dinks (dink is the name Aubrey refers to as her blanket...how she got it? We know not.)) and crayon doodles.
Yet I do love my little adult world from time to time.
You know, things like....
Lipstick! And I like it Wet n Wild! My color? Cafe au Lait. The price? $1.99. I know. Crazy and it's my favorite. Here's the thing though: apparently the 4 Walgreens I have been to (because that is the only store that I know carries the brand), have not had my color. Annoying! I even went to the one in Memphis over Christmas to see...nope. I just happened to be passing a Walgreens the other night with no kiddos in the van, so I hopped right on in there to see if they had it~NADA! I asked the lady if they were perhaps discontinuing this (fabulous, cheapo) brand trying not to sound a bit paniced. No worries. They are indeed still carrying it but they were moving things around in the cosmetic department and it was in the back. It took all of the sanity in me to hold myself back not to ask if she (or I) could go to the back and get what I needed. She must have sensed the question coming on because she assured me with as much assurance as one can have that it was boxed up in the back. Oh well. I am currently digging the very last bit of it out that I have with my finger.
Who knew? We have one in Louisville! That shows how much I get out = ). Amanda announced they now have one in Memphis...I've heard great things about the one in Nashville. Well, what do you know? I know now. We have a Gigi's Cupcakes in Louisville. And, it's 11 minutes away from our house.
Feist! I love her. Yes, I fell in love with the song on Sesame Street. Every time it comes on the Sesame Street video that we have, I make the girls be very quiet and let me have a moment. I'm sure I look like a crazy mom singing with all my heart, but I just love her voice. And because I am in that diapers, tee-tee breaks, tickle time, Elmo, dinks and crayon doodles world that I am in and, by the way, truly loving that world, I take what I get when I can get it. But, I may just have to purchase some of her music for my iPod.
Speaking of which, we just won an iPod Nano from a blog giveaway! That worked out great for me as my iPod had just sung its last song and would not crank up again a few months back. Now, that just totally rocked my adult world currently!
1. We had a bit of snow this week. Just enough to cover the grass. More is expected tomorrow.
2. If you are wondering where Aubrey is in the above picture, she was scared. Not of the snow. Of the recycle truck that was across the street. It took a lot of coaxing for me to even get her to step out of the door. Just one thing among many she is scared of these days. The space heater, the stars that Savannah likes to turn on to light up her room at night, trucks...
3. To keep us from being exceedingly lazy on these cold winter days, I'm trying to have more of a regular "class time" with the girls. Really, it's for Savannah but Aubrey joins right in. They now want to do it every day and will just go down to the playroom and "teach" each other.
4. We're also trying to have a special art day each week. Trying to move myself beyond just crayons and stickers is, I confess, very challenging.
5. It's official. Our girls are best friends. Even surrounded by a ton of other kids, I find that they gravitate to one another. Though, of course, I am the analytical mother and expressed concern to Aaron about it the other day, feeling perhaps they were too into one another to develop socially with other children. He told me not to analyze so much.
6. Just so you know, they play well together but they sure can put up a good fight with each other too.
7. This is Savannah at the end of the day...
8. And that is Aubrey at the end of the same day.
9. How I am learning the need to pray for such wisdom and discernment as we raise these two, very different little girls! How we love them so! How parenting is bringing us more to our knees with each day!
10. I'm suppose to take a dessert to something tonight. I have the ingredients to make banana bread, which is so not a dessert to me. Hit me with a good icing that has powdered sugar in it if you have the time. I figure a good icing could justify my bringing banana bread for a dessert.
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
1/4 t. poultry seasoning
1 (10.2-oz.) can refrigerated jumbo buttermilk biscuits
2 carrots, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
1. Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; return to a low boil.
2. Place biscuits on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat each biscuit to 1/8-inch thickness; cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips.
3. Drop strips, 1 at a time, into boiling broth mixture. Add carrots and celery. cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking.
Laurin's suggestion: I did not use nearly all the biscuits it's calling for. Next time, I may even go a step further and instead of actually dropping those bisucits in there, I think I'll skip that part and put all the ingredients into a pie crust and make it more of a chicken pot pie. Which I realize would change the name of the recipe.
Aaron's suggestion: use more celery.
Laurin's question for all you non-processed foods cooks out there: So, do you not use canned soups, etc.? Obviously, I'm thinking you would never use canned biscuits...would you just make your own for that part? Seriously. I salute you. Big time.
Apparently, I would have loved it anyways whether or not it is the color of the year. I just love turquoise.
Here are some of my favorite Ten (plus 1) finds for the color, from fashion to home decor....
~I'm a big fan of accessorizing because, I can assure you, that while Turquoise is the color of 2010, I am sure not going to go out and buy all new turquoise dresses, skirts and shirts. But, I may be willing find a few turquoise accessories (perhaps that are presently in my jewelry box and closet...now that's a fun find!). Another accessory thought is that I think they can be very bold without looking very overwhelming. Okay, on to the good stuff...
~I sure have been loving scarves these days!
~On to the number 4. picture....Can't you just feel the warmth of 80 degrees and sunny?
~Sutile hints of the color of the year.
~And, for the home....
this lovely rug
a fabulous handcloth (one of my favorite kitchen accessories)
a dynamic duo of red and turquoise in this tablecloth
burn brightly and turquoise-y
~And, here's my number 10. plus 1
the one I could handle wearing....
and the one I could not, but it's still fun to post...
I like to give credit to whom credit is due: Ann Taylor, Anthropologie, and Piperlime are my picks for these turquoise finds. Now, I must add: most of these items are beyond what I would pay, for, you see, I never buy anything full price at stores such as these. Why pay full price when you can get them on sale if you just wait a bit???
Another credit due:
The books that helped me with today's blog title....great reads for little girls! Language and attitudes are a bit cranky at times, just so you know.
Have a Turquoislicious Day! Or Pinkalicious, Or Purplicious!
Well, I think another weekly post may be evolving...Try it Tuesday!
I love trying new recipes. The easier, the better. The yummier, the wonderfulness of it. With a bit of healthiness thrown in there...just keep it mind the word bit there. I did learn to cook from quite the Southern cook (Honey) and we Southerners do love our butter, sugar and sour cream!
So, here's my goal: try a new recipe each week and if it's good, I'll share it with you the following Tuesday. Go ahead. Try it out too. And, if you don't want to, that's okay...we love company and we especially love to eat with company.
Just so you know: I'm quite the fan of Southern Living. So, a lot of the recipes will probably be from there, as is this one. Bon appetit!
Turkey-Black Bean Chili
6-8 servings
3 (15 oz.) cans of black beans
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 lb. ground turkey
1 T. olive oil
4 t. chili powder
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 (14 oz.) can low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
2 (14.5 oz.) cans petite diced tomatoes with jalapeno peppers
1. Drain and rinse 2 cans of black beans. (Don't drain 3rd can.)
2. Saute chopped onion and ground turkey in hot oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring often, 8-10 minutes or until turkey crumbles and is no longer pink. Stir in chili powder and next 3 ingredients; saute 1 minute. Stir in drained and undrained beans, chicken broth, and diced tomatoes.
3. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes. Serve chili with desired toppings.
1. Let me start off with an apology today. To the 15 or so people that I could think of that have stayed in our guest bedroom/playroom/computer room/and now Wii room: I am sorry for the sheets that totally and embarrassingly felt like sandpaper on which you slept. Aaron and I slept on them the other night and it was quite overwhelming as I thought of all the precious family and friends who slept on them. I am sorry. They have been replaced. Please come again.
Aubrey's world...
2. We are learning that Aubrey takes things very literally. When told to bow her head for prayer, she literally gets her hands on her head and uses them to bow her head.
3. "Fass" is her new favorite thing to say as she climbs the stairs. You may assume she is saying "fast". No. No. We are also learning that Aubrey does not do anything fast so we are teaching her what it means to focus instead. We say focus to her as she climbs the stairs in hopes that she will not let things like a piece of lint on the floor, a scratch on the wall, and such as things like this distract her so that she may be focused, and in doing so, actually go a little bit faster. She is definitely our "stop and smell the flowers" child.
Savannah's world...
4. Baby. Fever. Someone has got it and it's not the mommy. It is big sister Savannah.
5. Perhaps I should not have let her go in the infant nursery room with me Sunday at church for that 4 minutes while we were waiting for her teacher to get to the classroom. On the way home, she told us she really wanted a baby. A baby brother. She even told Aubrey that next time around, we would be getting a brother.
6. She wants to name him Jonas.
7. She has also started calling me Mother. I have not a clue where she got that. She looked up at me in the grocery store the other day, sighed, and said: "Mother, I really want a baby brother. I mean, really. really. really." (sigh).
8. All that to say, I will say that when I do keep the infants in the nursery at church, my stomach no longer churns when I think about the baby stage. I'm much more of an "over 9 months of age" kind of mom in my most natural state of mind. Thankfully, my heart is not all the time in that state and will give in one of these days I am sure.
Feeling like a bad mom moments of the week...
9. Savannah was eating Cheerios out of a sandwich baggy the other night when she crunched down on something that did not sound like a Cheerio. My thought: "Now, why would they put a stale marshmallow in a box of Cheerios?????" What it really was: 2 extra strength Tylenol that I had put in a baggie and unknowingly put Cheerios for Savannah in that same baggie. Aaron immediately pulled up the number for Poison Control and they assured us that the possible 1 Tylenol she ate (I stumbled upon some sort of sense after my initial marshmallow thought and grabbed the pill from her mouth) would do no harm.
10. At the grocery store the other day, S and A were "looking" at something at the checkout (gum or something like that) while I was paying. I told them: "Girls, in one minute it will be time to go." I think A only heard the "time to go" part and starts running full force past me, past all the aisles, and right out the door. Not the outside door, thankfully. I had to sprint to catch her. Yeah, I know. She should have stopped and come the first time I called her. She didn't. I felt like a bad mom with a crazy child who doesn't listen to me. Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.
I am 28 years old and have been married to Aaron the only guy who could really ever make me laugh out loud for 6 years. We have 2 1/2 little girls, Savannah who is 1 year old, Aubrey who blessed our family in June, and Charley who is the 1/2 of a daughter and other 1/2 beagle. I am a stay at home wife and mom who loves the color red and adores lamps as well as Target.
