40 days and 40 nights

After reading, Backtrack and Back on Track on another friend's blog, The Mother Load, it makes me contemplate a journey I have decided to embark on myself.  A 40 day cleanse of mind and body which will be happening during Lent (which is the 46 days from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday -  The six Sundays in Lent are not counted among the forty days of lent because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter", a celebration of Jesus' victory over sin and death. Source  Jesus spent 40 days in the desert fasting before he began his public ministry.  Source ). 

I grew up Catholic,went (forcefully) to church every week and every holiday, went to a Catholic elementary school, went to CCD (or catechism, religion classes as some call it - I actually didn't know what CCD stood for till just now.), got confirmed.  You know all the good stuff.  When I was younger I would give up things for Lent because, well that's what I was told to do. 

When I was older, even as young as high school (maybe even younger???), I think is when I stopped giving stuff up for Lent, probably mostly because I don't like being told what to do for no good reason.  I never felt a good enough reason for WHY I was doing it.  So sassy little me didn't give up a single thing till last year. (The year before last I was pregnant, and figured I was giving up enough! :0)  But last year I felt very convicted to want to give something up for Lent.  I gave up wine.  For me, it was the one thing I really didn't want to give up.  So it seemed the logical choice to give up.  (It was the one thing I really missed each time I was pregnant.)  When asked by some of my friends who didn't fully, or at all, understand my decision, I explained it like this.  Jesus gave up His life, in a terrible awful way, for ME, to give ME, eternal life.  When you look at it that way, 40 (or 46 days) doesn't seem like that much in return.  And (this part I didn't say, because their eyes were already glazing over), the best part of about God, I didn't need to do this to get my Golden ticket, but it's a darn good reminder of what was sacrificed for little ol' me.  What an amazing gift Grace is. :)

These glasses make me chuckle.

So on to this year.  I have decided to give up alcohol in general. (Some of you may be gasping).  I fully admit, I'm full up on antioxidants from drinking red wine, and the Captain and I are on very good speaking terms.  I have only told one person about this yet - my little sister - only because it seemed a natural part of the conversation (did I mention we were enjoying wine at the time ;).  I don't feel it's necessary to tell every person I know I'm giving up the goods, as I don't want to appear like a Pharisee (yes I realize this blog could reach 10's of people, but isn't that what blogs are for? to get the swirl of thoughts in your brain OUT of your brain?).  I have a family gathering in March and I know people will automatically assume I am pregnant when I don't drink.  And I suppose I should tell Andy so he doesn't bring home a yummy bottle expecting me to enjoy it with him.  But whatever.  I have to admit when I was first contemplating this, I wondered if I was doing it for the right reasons.  On top of the giving up part, I am really looking forward to the health benefits of not consuming all those empty calories...and maybe I'll actually start realizing the fitness goals I have.  Sometimes it makes me wonder am I being selfish in my giving up alcohol?  Am I giving it up for the right reasons?   But as Wednesday draws near, I'm starting to think about not enjoying a glass of wine with dinner,  and it doesn't make me jump for joy.  So I think I'm in the clear???  So this is the cleansing of the body.

I also plan to participate in a "Lenten Journey" at my church.  It's a 40 day study.  I have started, then stopped, studying the Bible more times than I'd care to admit.  Will I continue to study EVERY day after Lent is over?  I don't know.  Let's see how committing to study every day for 40 days works out first.  I really do enjoy learning and growing when I stick to it.  Then life always seems to get in the way.  Or I let life get in the way.  We all have the same 24 hours in a day to work with.  I admit, some days, I could be more productive with mine.  So 40 (46) days of study.  The cleansing of the mind.

This should be an interesting 40 days and 40 nights.

PS.  As I just got done disciplining Thing One, for the same issue we have talked about over, and over, and over..... this could be a very long 40 days and 40 nights............Cheers!

The way to a man's heart...

The way to a man's heart....

So very talented friend of mine made this for her "huspin" this year for Valentine's day. 

*A Dozen Bacon Roses, nestled in pistachios (I'm guessing this is his favorite, any favorite nut or candy could be substituted - I'd probably use peanut M&M's) with hard boiled egg "flowers" with an ice cold Guinness.

I'm just so impressed by her creativity, I had to share. (As my Google search shows, the roses were not an original idea, but the presentation is first class!)

For anyone who'd like to try this on their own, I found a link to a site for directions.  You do need to sacrifice a cheap mini muffin pan, but this could make some guys day!

I am the mom...

I will NOT lose my temper. I will NOT throw things. 

I will NOT have a temper tantrum.

   I will always be good.  Because I am the mom. 

I am the mom.  I am the mom…..

Cumin, my new best friend!

So recently I've become a member of Pinterest and have found so many yummy recipes lately.  And I have found a new love of cilantro and black beans (which I never used to like - I credit Thing Two for changing my taste for these), and along with cumin, avacado (sometimes), lime and anything Mexican flavored.  Last night I made Crockpot Salsa Chicken with Cilantro Lime Rice - yum!  Not quite as good as Chipotle, but a great first start for sure!

So this isn't mine (didn't get a picture taken, and I made wraps).  Two quick recipes to make.
Crockpot Salsa Chicken Tacos
Throw in a crockpot for 2-4 hours (mine cooks hot and fast)
*2 Large chicken breasts
*1 Jar Salsa
*1 Package Taco Seasoning
*1/2 can black beans
Shred after cooking, before serving.

Cilantro Lime Rice
*2 Cups Rice (I had some brown long grain pre-cooked and frozen that I used)
*1 Tbls Oil of your choice (I used safflower)
*3 Tbls of chopped Cilantro
*2 Tbls Lime Juice
*~ 3/4 Cup Corn

I threw the chicken and rice on a wrap with a little low-fat sour cream, tomato, lettuce, and a bit of chedder cheese.  YUM!

Sleep Schedules, and why silly Mommies don't follow them sometimes...

So last week I had two lovely afternoon's out in a row with two good friends of mine (separately).  Wednesday I went out for lunch (and ran two quick errands after) with friend one while friend two watched Thing One and Thing Two.  Her youngest is friends with Thing One and Thing Two just follows the two around. 

I had a lovely time out at lunch and running my two quick errands was a dream!  The first was getting some blush that I desperately needed at Ulta.  I have been thinking I needed a new container since before Christmas and since it is obviously almost Valentine's Day...yeah it was way time to actually make that happen.  I also ran to Aldi quickly to get a few last minute things for dinner that night.  Oh to be able to watch out for only me was so lovely!  As any mother with wee-uns can attest, it is always easier alone.

So after I scooted to my second friend's house and meant to stay for just a bit, then dash home so Thing Two could get a nap in.  That didn't happen.  I just have such a great time with this friend.  We have so much in common, yet she has older kids so she's full of great advice, and I just really enjoy spending time with her.  There are times our boys have more of a hate/love than a love/hate relationship - but we tell them to be nice and be friends (they really do enjoy each other's company most of the time).  So anyway, I didn't leave her house till 3:30 (BAD mommy!).  Thing Two fell asleep on the way home and didn't nap after (of course).  I did get her to bed early that night, but that is NOT the same as having a decent nap.

Flash forward (back?) to Thursday.  I attend a Mother's Of PreschoolerS meeting two Thursdays of month at a local church.  I actually started going to MOPS because of already mentioned friend.  We had already talked about going to McDonald's after for the kids to play and for us to rehash the events of the morning (like hearing from one that Catholics are not Christians and other such nonsense).   And as I said before, I really enjoy her company.  So we met, we talked, the kids played (and found some choice swear words in the tubes), and I finally dragged us out the door at 3:00 (TERRIBLE mommy :( ). 

I tried in vein to keep Thing Two awake on the way home.  Not a chance that was happening.  I did actually get her back to sleep after we got home and she slept for about her normal nap time.  But OH, was she cranky.   Like I finished making dinner with her on my hip cranky.  And she went to bed early.

The next day,  I watched a friends kids for about 2 hours which pushed poor Thing Two's nap back a bit later than I would have liked, but I'd already agreed to watch her kids earlier in the week.  Whatcha' going to do?  She slept her normal time.

Saturday, she did have a nice long nap.

Today, she had a nice long nap.

But oh my did she go down hill quickly tonight.  And she went to bed early again.

Sigh.... I know better, and I paid the price for my time with good friends.  It seemed worth it at the time, but this week, I'll stick to our normal nap times.

Poor Ma Ingalls

So today is a full moon (I think, or so I've been told.  It looked rather large yesterday morning).  And I think my kids got the memo.  Thing 2 was very whiiiiinnnnnnny all day and Thing 1 was just a pill.  All day. For instance, one of his daily tasks is to feed our two cats.  This has never been a problem before today.  If the cat food container is nearly out of food - he tells me.  He's fairly responsible with this task - until today.  I asked him to go feed the cats after breakfast (like normal) and to let me up after (we keep them contained downstairs at night).  The cats were so annoying all morning.  I asked Thing 1 several times if he had fed the cats (three times, I'm pretty sure) and even asked him to show the cats that they had food (For years, I fed them.  They're still getting used to Thing 1 feeding them).  He did.  So at this point it should be clear - the cats have food, they're just being a special brand of annoying today). Finally I went downstairs to do some laundry and noticed....the bowls were EMPTY.  I was already irritated at Thing 1 for asking me for the 100th time "can I play Wii", "can I have a chocolate muffin with my snack".  This did not leave me in a continued "best of moods" mood.  And all day, I was apparently Thing 1's go to for entertainment, though I told him like usual "you are in charge of your own fun."  So this brings me to my point.  Poor Ma Ingalls.  At the end of the day (before daddy got home) I finally told Thing 1 to put the TV on.  I just was done with it.  And it got me thinking.  Poor Ma Ingalls.  When the kids were driving her bananas, she didn't have the TV to flip on to save her poor mind from losing itself.  When it was blizzarding outside, what did poor Ma Ingalls do?  She just lost her mind a little more....  Poor Ma Ingalls.