Funny What You Miss

It's funny what you miss when you move away from a place you've lived for a while.

I probably think of something or someone in Boston that I miss every other day or so. Not the heart-wrenching kind of miss, but the sweet memory kind of miss.

Like our veterinarian. I only took our cats to see him three times, but he was such a sweet man that Nathan and I talk about him from time to time. He was Egyptian (Coptic, actually), and his name was so long and complicated that he just had everyone call him T.A. I never even learned his last name. He was just Dr. T.A. at Belmont Animal Clinic.

And let me tell you something. The man loves animals. Whenever he'd coax one of our cats out of her carrier, he'd say, in his charming accent, "Oh hello, baby. Sweeeet baby." And then he'd take the cat's head in his hands and kiss her forehead. Yes he would. It so surprised me when I took them in for their first visit, and, honestly, it maybe had a one-second weird-out effect on me, but after that second passed, it completely charmed me.

So Nathan and I will sometimes take a cat's head in our hands and say, with affection and our best attempt at an Egyptian accent, "Hello, baby. Sweeeet baby," and kiss Livvy or Vi on the head.

A Fine Little Face

There have been way too few pictures of my Noah on the blog lately. Since he's too cute to go too long without seeing his fine little face, I'm posting some random but adorable pictures I've taken that haven't really had a home in another post.

Besides that, he is two and a half today! Hooray! So to celebrate that, here are some pictures of my cutie.

Moving is way more fun when you're two. You really can't beat the thrill of hiding in packing materials and popping out to surprise Mommy.

A few weekends ago, we went to the Mayborn Museum during a trip to Waco to visit Nathan's parents. They were having a Lego exhibit with a huge Lego castle, and they had little costumes for the kids to wear. Noah was a dragon.
I mean, come on. Is that not the cutest dragon you've ever seen?

Here he is after I told him I'd take a picture of him if he'd please just let go of the camera.

The other day, my yoga workout got a little difficult when Noah started trying to do the poses underneath me. So I pulled out another mat for him to use. The rest of the day, he went into downward facing dog at completely random times.

I love that Noah Thomas.

A Hard Day

*Update: Noah and I ended the day by sitting on the couch in the dark watching the rain and waiting for Daddy to get home while stuffing our faces with marshmallows. I think it made us both feel better. And to prove that he'll fall asleep if he can just be still: Noah fell asleep in his high chair during dinner, so we just transferred him to his bed. It was good for everyone last night. ;)

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Let me just preface what I'm about to write by saying two things:
1. The only reason I'm putting this up on the blog is for the sake of transparency and because maybe someone else is feeling like I am feeling today. And, okay, to get it off my chest.
2. Please don't judge my whole life by this post. I am usually a much more content person.

Today has been a hard day at our house. Noah and I both ended up in tears, which has never happened before. Really, the main issue is that for the past week, Noah has not taken a nap. The no nap thing really has the potential to break me, y'all. I really need that respite. And, just like any other mother of two small children, it's not like I sit around and put my feet up or spend two hours surfing the web or something; I'm running around doing the things that I cannot do with Noah around. Case in point: Bible study. Forget it when Noah is awake. He cannot stand that I am sitting at the table not engaged with whatever he's doing for 20 minutes. Another example: Today I got my yoga mat out and laid down to do a recorded 10-minute ab workout. I did not even get three minutes in before Jane was crying and Noah was crawling all over me. I can't sit down and make a grocery list, clean a room, cook a meal, vacuum the house, make a phone call, unpack a box, or do anything without interruption. Basically, anything I want to do uninterrupted has to happen either during naptime or while Noah is occupied by the TV (which I have allowed all too often over the last couple of months because I've been so busy with a new baby, the move, etc.). So to lose that precious two or three hours when he is sleeping really drives me to some serious frustration and exhaustion.

Also, I really am tired. Most of the time, I am too busy to let myself feel how tired I am, but really, it's always there. Part of that is because Jane still wakes up two or three times during the night, but a lot of it just has to do with daily life with two kids. Yesterday, when I was lying down with Noah on the couch and trying to help him get sleepy, I was the one dozing off.

If I were to tell you all the things that went wrong today, I would not only make myself frustrated again, but I'd also lose your sympathy because it'd look like I'm throwing myself a major pity party. So I'll spare both you and me and leave you with just a couple of other things that I need to get off my chest: 1.) Really, roofers? Did you have to come today and beat on my roof? I mean, it's pouring outside--aren't you afraid you're going to slide off? 2.) If I see another episode of Curious George or Berenstain Bears, I might lose it.

This is exactly the reason I must pray every day. Because I cannot get through this parenting thing successfully without some serious help from the Holy Spirit and some major grace. Thankfully, I have both.

But sometimes you just have to acknowledge that you need some help with skin on, too. My mom called today and I told her that Noah and I both ended up in tears, and she said I should have called her to come over, that raising two kids is hard, and that I have to schedule in some relief for myself now and then. It was good for me to hear that, because I am realizing that I have the tendency to be too independent. (Looking back, I also really needed help the month after Jane was born but didn't ask for it.) Part of the reason for my independence is that I feel like if I just dig deep, I am capable of doing the thing in question; that other people do much harder things, and who am I to complain about what's going on in my life for which I need help? And part of my independence is also that I don't want to bother people for help when, really, I can suck it up and make it work, even if everyone is in tears at the end of the day. I'm not trying to imply that independence is a bad thing, because overall, it's not. But having the sense to know when you need help and the humility to ask for it is important, too.

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There. I got it out. I do have to say I feel a little calmer and more composed about everything. I hope that it was not too much of a downer for you all to read this today, because life really is happy at our house most days, and usually I am very content to be at home with my two little ones, doing this motherhood job. Today was just a doozy.

No Room for Percolation

Hey peeps,

So last night I browsed through the last several posts and realized something: there has been a remarkable lack of posts with a brain behind them lately.

I'm sorry if I've been less interesting over the last month or so. Partly, it's because I've been really busy, and there just isn't time to sit down and write a well-thought-out post. But the busyness has taken another toll, which is that my brain is so focused on the 741 things I have to do to set up my home, etc., that there is no room for a blog post to percolate in the background while I do other things.

Honestly, some days I dream about that "summer feeling"--just to have no cares and nothing to do for a little while. I guess maybe we should make it a point to take a vacation or something, but I'd settle for a lunch out with friends. :) Actually, we will probably take a weekend and go on a road trip somewhere; we just haven't planned it yet. Any suggestions on a destination? Probably no more than four hours away would be good, since after about an hour and a half, we start hearing "Down!" "Run!" and "Out!" from the back seat.

Independence Day

For the Fourth of July, we had Nathan's brother, Andrew, over, and we grilled on our new grill. It was yummy and pretty fun, but I will say that the day was dominated by children--there was a lot of cartoon watching and no nap from Noah. Overall, though, it was fun, and today Noah kept saying he missed Andrew, which is sweet.

This is a fuzzy picture, but it shows Jane in her Independence Day duds.

And speaking of independence, Mr. Noah used the potty by himself on Independence Day, which I thought very appropriate. I noticed that I hadn't heard him in a few minutes and followed a trail of clothes to the bathroom, where he had taken it upon himself to get onto the potty. Hooray for Noah! He did it later that day, too. We reminded him to ask us for help next time, but I was actually pretty happy about the whole thing.

What did you do for the 4th?

Four Months Old! / Jane's New Stats

Janey is four months old today!

I love this face.

Sweet Jane is starting to laugh (her favorite subject is her brother), trying to grab her feet, and putting her hands in her mouth. She loves the baby in the mirror and grins so big when she sees her; it's so cute! Also, she's started sticking her tongue out and using it to suck on her upper lip, a maneuver I can't quite figure out.

Yesterday she had her four month checkup. Here are her new stats:
Weight: 15 lbs. (approx. 80th percentile)
Length: 26.5 inches
She is literally off the charts long. The doctor pulled out the chart and showed me that Jane is as long as an average seven month old!

Sweetheart.

Baked Chicken Dijon

One of my friends in Boston, Jill, brought us what I thought was an awesome dinner after Jane was born. The main dish was a baked dijon chicken that was super tasty, and I asked her for the recipe afterward. Happily, she obliged, and when she did so, I discovered one of the reasons this chicken dish tastes so good: BUTTER. Lots and lots of butter. Like, I literally laughed out loud when I read the recipe, thinking, "Of course I liked it! It has two sticks of butter in it!"

Since it's so delicious, I thought I'd share my slightly altered version with you. I reduce the amount of butter to a slim one stick (can a recipe with one stick of butter count as the low-fat version?), which makes the butter mixture a bit thicker, but that doesn't seem to negatively affect the breading process or the flavor of the dish. Jill said that she sometimes cuts back on the butter and replaces it with milk, if you want an alternative.

Anyway, I've made this dish at least twice, and it has come out fantastic both times. I mean, you really can't go wrong with dijon mustard, Parmesan cheese, and garlic--add those to a dish, and it's going to come out with lots of flavor. The one thing I will say is that it is definitely worth your while to make your own bread crumbs by pulverizing a couple pieces of bread in the food processor rather than using the store bought kind. They are so much more moist, and it really affects the texture of the finished product. You can even throw the parsley in the food processor for a round before you toss in the bread crumbs to save yourself some chopping. Also, you can play with the kind of mustard you use; all I had on hand this last time was Stonewall Kitchen's Bourbon Molasses Mustard, which made the dish kind of sweet. It was delicious.

For a complete meal, I like to serve this with a spinach salad, some fresh bread, and a starchy veggie like a baked potato or a baked sweet potato. Yum.

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Baked Chicken Dijon

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half; or 8 boneless, skinless thighs
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 stick butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat (don't let it brown). Add the garlic and mustard. Remove from heat and let it sit until it's cool enough to touch.

Mix parsley, Parmesan, and bread crumbs in a separate bowl. Dip the chicken pieces in the butter mixture, coating all sides, then in the bread mixture. Be sure to press the bread crumbs into the chicken a bit. Place the chicken pieces in a 9x13" baking dish and pour any of the remaining butter mixture over the top of the chicken. Bake for about 45 minutes.

Enjoy!