laborofwonder

Where Whine Meets Wine

Nov 10

The 7 Year Itch

by motherofwonder

Sunday is the anniversary of the day I became a wife! 7 years ago! My sister-in-law make a comment about 7 being “the year of the promise,” and it got me thinking. Not about all the promises that you make on your wedding day, though those are good too. But about the promise of a future together. While I know that we will look back and say, 7 years?! That was nothin’! At least in comparison to the 50 or more years I hope we spend together. But 7 years, is still 7 years. And at this point, 7 years is a quarter of my life. That’s a fairly big chunk.

The first five years are kind of “newlywed” years. Learning how to live together, to love together, to grow together…and most importantly, how to stay together. Does that mean that we’ve passed some boundary where we’re no longer susceptible to disagreement or strife within our marriage? Absolutely not. But what it does mean is that we have almost a decade of foundation underneath us now to help carry us through.

I think the first couple years can be hard for the “getting used to” and accommodating to each other reasons, but the last couple years and the next decade, will probably be hard years. Not because of our marriage itself, rather where we are in our lives. He had a demanding job and often works long hours. And I’m at home. All. Day. with our 3 young children. It’s a trying time in our lives. But I’m certain these times will also contain some of our most cherished, beloved, and thought of memories of all, as well. The day we became parents. The day we became parents to a daughter. The day we lost a baby. The day we witnessed a miracle (Littlest E). The family trips. The birthday parties. The surprise birthday parties. The family movie nights. The weekend breakfasts. The staying up way too late after the kids have gone to bed, just to have an hour or two together. The laughter. The tears. The hard work. The lack of sleep… it’s all a part of the promise of the future we have together. As parents, as a family, and as partners.

Do we meet all of each other’s needs? Not always. Do things go the way we’d envisioned them? Rarely. Will life move along at a pace close to that of the speed of sound? Indefinitely. The moral of the story is this- I chose him 7 years ago and have chosen him every day since. Just as I believe he will continue to choose me as well. As long as I keep cooking. ♥

Family Life According To Me Marriage

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Nov 9

How We Survive

by motherofwonder

So as I was doing the dishes, I thought I was overhearing a rather sweet moment passing between Littlest E and MissE. I poked my head into the living room to catch them in a hug, smiled at their sweetness, and went back to the dishes. Only to catch the last few words of what MissE was actually saying.

That’s right you little boy, I’m never going to let you go. You’re not going to get passed me and get my dolly.

That’s right that sweet moment I’d just witnessed was really a hostage situation. She was afraid he was going to get her doll (probably with good reason, they do tend to want whatever toy is prized.) and she was going to do anything she could to make sure that didn’t happen. Apparently including keeping him clamped in her grip.  Finally Littlest started to fuss and complain about the hostage situation and so I poked my head back in. saying, “Miss E, you know if you’d let go of your brother you’d have a free hand to actually play with your dolly.” To which she scrunched up her pretty little face, heaved a huge sigh, and spouted off with, Ahh! This is never going to work! I tried to stifle my laughter and asked her, What isn’t going to work? I want to play with Littlest. Well, it looks like he wants to play with you too. But he keeps touching my toys. You want him to play with you without touching the toys? Yeah. I just want him to watch me play with my toys. That’s how he can play with me. 

With his ever-perfecting comedic timing, Littlest walks back in with his sister’s trash can, takes one look at her, shakes his head, and sticks the basket on his head (it goes to his belly) and walks out.  *Sigh* I know how he feels. So if you happen to see me walking around with a trash can or basket on my head, don’t worry about it, it’s a means of survival around here.

Family Life According To Me Things Kids Say

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Nov 7

Wheelin’ And Dealin’

by motherofwonder

So I’m trying to make a deal with Littlest E about wearing his diapers, and if he’s not wearing them, where he should be going potty. Right now it seems like we’re at floor 12 – potty 4. He really is young for potty training, but he hates diapers. He takes them off as soon as a droplet of anything hits the diaper, if he leaves it on long enough for any droplets to hit. He frequently can be found stripping off his diaper and then taking aim at the floor. Thankfully it’s just the pee version that hits the floor. The other form of potty is saved for the actual potty. Which is awesome! I should mention, he is 15 months old, so the fact that he uses and wants to use, and requests to use, the potty at all is pretty freakin’ amazing/exciting. So how exactly do you make a deal with a 15 month old? I’m not sure. If you have any ideas, feel free to send them my way!  I’m thinking I’ll test out duct tape and super tight pants. Skinny jeans would be hard to peel off (especially over cloth diapers!), right?? Maybe I could make pants with the duct tape? Lets see him shimmy outta that!

As soon as I’d typed these words in, I turned around to see Littlest Man sans diaper and hunched over….

Me: Ah!! *Littlest E*!!

MissE: Mom, he doesn’t like diapers. But don’t let him go potty on the floor. That’s gross.

Me: I know.

MissE: Then don’t let him do that.

Me: I didn’t let him do that. 

MissE: Then why didn’t you put him on the potty?

Me: I thought he was wearing a diaper, and he’s still kinda little to understand when to use the potty. And Ididn’t think he could get his diaper off while it was under his pants.

MissE: You were wrong.

Me: Obviously. Let’s get his diaper with the snaps, and go find some duct tape.

In other news, we may be getting some snow tonight and tomorrow… any chance anyone knows a good deal I can make to have two summers in a row, instead?

Happy Monday folks! May your day be filled with clean clothes, fresh food, and dry floors.

Family Life According To Me Things Kids Say

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Nov 4

TGFG

by motherofwonder

And here we are again. Amazing how this happens week after week, Friday comes around and we heave out a sigh of relief- Finally, it’s Friday! Almost as if we were half afraid that it would decide not to come this week, or somehow get skipped over. Alas, the worry was needless, because it IS Friday! And even though I was woken by a little person pulling my laptop off the window ledge, and onto my head, I have been in a relatively good mood. I attribute this to the fact that we are leaving for vacation this afternoon. Ok, so not really a vacation, but we are traveling the 2 1/2 hrs to my in-laws. My mother-in-law is much like me, in the sense that she enjoys cooking and planning all the fun meals we could try while visiting. I also enjoy that there is always an abundance of coffee. That is if you’re quick. They make my coffee addiction look mediocre. I love that about them.  TGFG!(Thank God For Grandparents!)

Anyhow, hubbyman found out there was a political thing going on near his parents and he gets priority seating, tickets, something due to his being a veteran. So our 2nd “date” in the last year will be to a political rally. I must really love my husband. I told Big E this morning that we’d be going out on Saturday morning and he’d stay at Grandma’s. He was thrilled. Seriously, when we go there, he gets MAD when he finds out that his parents are staying too. He would like to enjoy all the benefits of grandma’s without having to worry about the rules of his parents. I can respect that. Or at least understand and be amused by that. At any rate, I am glad that they are always excited about going to grandma’s and I never have to convince them to stay with their grandparents while we go out. I also happen to love that whenever they’re asked, they’re EXCITED about the prospect of babysitting! It’s heartwarming. And appreciated!

So today I am thankful for my in-laws, and their enthusiasm for their grandchildren! I am thankful that Littlest E thinks the potty is so exciting- and he likes to use it! (Did I mention he’s not quite 16 months!) While I know this doesn’t mean he’ll be potty trained any day soon, it is a start, and a good one at that! I’ve been struggling with my biggest boy this week, but I really am thankful that he feels safe and comfortable enough to talk to me about his feelings and share his emotions so easily with me. I know this will not always be the case. I am also thankful that when he gets into one of those moods, he just needs some time alone and then he’ll come back to me as my sweet boy. (Today’s meltdown was because he was so proud of himself when he told me he’d packed himself for the trip to Grandma’s….and so brokenhearted when I suggested maybe he’d need something to wear other than the 8 shirts and 10 pairs of socks. He did remember jammie pants at least.) My MissE has been sweet and cuddly this morning, and I don’t think I’ve heard any whining out of her this morning- and for that I am extremely thankful! I am also thankful for some time with my honey… even if it will be politic-filled.

Life According To Me Thankful Fridays

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Nov 3

Seasonally Impressive

by motherofwonder

These are some of my seasonally favorite foods: acorn squash, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins. Last week I made sweet potato mash (1/2 sweet potatoes, 1/2 regular potatoes) as well as maple acorn squash (just cut it in half, pour in some maple syrup and bake for 1 hr @ 350). Sooo yummy. Up next? Pumpkin butter and roasted pumpkin seeds!!! Never tried pumpkin butter? It is seriously delicious! I love all things apple and that includes apple butter. But every time I’ve canned pumpkin butter, I am out in no time…and I always have some apple butter left. So that’s sayin’ something! Plus it makes such a fun gift too! I may make it tomorrow… in my crock pot. Which works famously if you have a busy household (and really, who doesn’t?! If you don’t, I’m sorry, but I’m just not sure we can be friends.). I’m actually sad that I didn’t get more sugar pumpkins (or pie pumpkins) before the farmer’s market ended. Sadly, we missed the last week because Littlest was not feeling good. Boo! Hiss! On seasonal allergies and the genetics he gets it from (mine!). Anyways, just in case you felt like making something extra special, I am going to share my recipe with you! It’s really easy (and you can even used canned pumpkin puree which makes it basically a dump-everything-in kind of recipe!)!

For 6 pints you will need:

3 pie pumpkins (or 2 29 oz can pumpkin puree)

1 tbs ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp allspice

2 cups sugar

*Clean pumpkins, cut in half, and deseed (but save them for roasted seeds!). Cook pumpkins (microwave, steam, or oven) until  soft and gut. Throw in the crockpot with the rest of the ingredients over low for about 6-8 hours.  If you like a creamier texture, throw it in the blender. And if the consistency is too thick (especially if you used canned as fresh is a little runnier), add in some apple juice/cider. And if it needs more of a certain spice, you can add it in! Want to make more? For 6 qts. use 5-6 pumpkins and double everything else! Can, bottle, freeze, whatever…. it is incredibly delicious!

Dessert Gluten Free Impressively Simple Recipes Vegetable

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Nov 2

Funny Bunny, Silly Goose (Or Dragon)

by motherofwonder

Did everyone have a terrific Halloween? I enjoyed our weekend soooo much!! Friday we spent it with good friends!!  (I’m pretty sure the kids thoroughly worse them out as the big 2 had him being their personal horsey all evening and Littlest E has declared her his favorite person!) We are so blessed to have friends that are so much like family to us and our children. Saturday I don’t know why, but I just woke up kind of cranky. (Probably the limited number of hours I actually slept!) It didn’t help that Littlest E refused to nap until a most inconvenient time. But it worked out fine in the end, hubbyman sent me out without baby, and i got to enjoy some errand running and margaritas with some very lovely ladies. I was in a good mood again by the time I returned home! (Sometimes I just need a brief reprieve!) Followed by an evening of a bonfire, roasting marshmallows and hotdogs with one of my favorite cousins! Ok, so actually, I watched from the window and he and Erik did this with the “big kids.” I did so, because Littlest E is not afraid of fire. In fact, he looooves it. And it is impossible to keep him up on the bench or in your arms because he’s kind of a strongwilled boy. I quickly became tired of fighting him and just went inside. I was a little cranky about this fact, but he and I really had a nice, quiet time. And I played Mario while he yelled “It’s a go!” Sunday Funday was a lot of fun. Miss E, Littlest E, and I went out to run some errands and pick up some last minute candy while Hubbyman and Big E designed and carved pumpkins.

hubbyman's pumpkin (Big E gave detail suggestions- like the scar)

What he looked like all lit up!

Monday was an action packed day! I had high hopes of accomplishing more than was humanly possible. It didn’t go so well. But by noon I did have dinner made (well, cooking in the crockpot) and the kids and I made Black Velvet Cupcakes (the same as red velvet, just without the food coloring). We had one brief moment of panic as I found the sweatshirt part of Big E’s costume was missing…. after tearing apart lots of rooms, closets, and tearing through our vehicle in a frantic search, I remembered I’d put it in my room so he wouldn’t play with it/misplace it before Halloween. Thankfully, crisis averted and the rest of the evening went off without a hitch! They even had family and friends come to see them all dressed up.  Here are some highlights that made walking in the chill of the evening worthwhile:

Littlest E waving at everyone who’d come to the door and shouting bumble, bumble, bumble! Bee!

It had little wings in the back. He was not thrilled with it. He did however appreciate when he found out the arms had gloves attached.

Miss E is probably our shiest child. (Until you get to know her, at that point we have no quiet children.) The first few houses were our neighbors, that she knows, and when it would come time to say “Thank you!” for the candy she’s just been given, she’d look at them and say (to them), I’m too shy to say thank you! and then run away… thankfully they know her and just laughed and by the time we got to houses where she didn’t actually know them she’d loosened up… by the 4th house (that was answered by a woman in an 80s outit, complete with hair) she chimed in with her brother to shout Trick or treat! And then when the lady answered the door she (very loudly) exclaimed, You have weird hair! So much for being shy…

Share Bear the CareBear

And when asked what she was, Big E  exclaimed, She’s a carebear! Don’t you see her belly badge?!  The lady at the door commented on Big E’s cool tail. At which point My sweet little girl turned around, bent over, stuck her butt in the air, wiggled it around and said, Yeah and I have a little tail! (this was all at the same house, the lady laughed a lot during our brief interaction.) We’ve watched Gnomeo and Juliet a few times this last month and so when Big E saw his Papa had put on a hat that stood up of his head, he was so excited! He told his Papa, I didn’t know you were going to be a Gnome for Halloween!

Dragon Boy (With his black velvet cupcake!)

And then these are just two more of my favorite photos of the night, and they seemed too good not to share!

Hubbyman and the boys

my little trick or treators!

What was your favorite part of Halloween? Mine was listening to all the funny things they said! Do you do store-bought or homemade costumes? Littlest E’s is storebought (MissE worse it 2 years ago!), but Big E and Miss E’s were made with love! And lots of man hours (literally- hubbyman made them! I knew what I wanted them to look like, and he has the patience and perfectionism to get them there!)

Family Life According To Me Marriage Things Kids Say

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