one week until...

I am in Kansas for Thanksgiving.  I told Jason that I don't want to eat pickled herring this year.  Made a horrid mistake my first thanksgiving with the Kansas side of his family.  I didn't run from Grandpa Daniels when he pulled out some toothpicks and shoved them into the herring.  I should have known that he was going to aim for my mouth with the herring.  My husband's grandparents drive all the way to a special town to pick up that gunk.  It is a highlight for them, one in which they love to share with everyone who is too dumb to quickly stuff something else in their mouth right as Grandpa makes his aim. I am smarter now.  I have several "Kansas Thanksgivings" under my belt and my escape routes are well mapped. 

But, as much as I am NOT a fan of Grandpa's herring...I do love the games of mexican train that follow the big dinner, and the handmade potato chips that precede it.  I partake in the annual tradition of bringing out everyone's Black Friday fliers and making a huge list of where we are all going to shop and what time of the night, er...morning, we are meeting up. I love the laughs and hugs and the parade.  I am so very thankful for this family that so graciously welcomed me into their clan eight years ago.  They have truly made me one of them and it is nice to belong.

A week from now I will most likely be out shopping with the crazy women of Jason's family. Last year I was still breastfeeding so I didn't go at 4am.  This year, I am leaving my two men home and I am going out for some strong coffee to start the day and then some good sales to sweeten it with.

not happenin'

You know that stuffed bunny I was attempting to make??  Well, it has been an epic fail.  Multiple tries, a wreck of a spare room, and many hours later...  I have decided that my calling in life is not to make stuffed toys.  Tomorrow I am going to the store and we are going to buy one.  Not the same as a sweet homemade toy, but I just CANNOT justify sending an already poor kid a little toy animal that looks like it has be maimed.  I want the kid to be happy when he opens his box, not permanently scarred.

It was worth a try though.  But the adage of "if at first you don't succeed...try, try again" does not apply in this scenario.  It really doesn't. I promise!

today

today I .....

went for a super long walk with my mom.  It was great.  We stopped to feed some horses, played with Obi on a playground, and just enjoyed each other's company.  Being adults together is WAY better than me being a teen and living at home.   Yeah, I tortured her.  I am sorry about that now.

went shopping for a new top to wear to have our family pictures taken this afternoon.  Should I have gone shopping earlier than the DAY OF?!  Yes.  I should have.

am enjoying the cloudy, morose, feeling of the weather.  It is cool, but not cold.  It is overcast, but not pouring rain.  There is a faint musty smell of leaves in the wind, and it reminds me of "home".  I don't know why it does because I didn't grow up with a fall season, but never the less....when I smell those fallen leaves I feel all cosy and comforted by home.  Weird, huh?!

made a cup of hot cider and coffee at breakfast.  Both are sitting half full on the counter.  I am a horrible drinker.  This is how I know that I will never become an alcoholic.  If I can't drink a whole cup of hot, creamy, deliciously sweet coffee while it is still hot and my body needs the caffeine...then my shot at downing too much alcohol is not that great.

am going to make a little stuffed bunny to put in our shoebox for Operation Christmas Child.  If it doesn't turn out so well then I will go buy a little stuffed toy, but I wanted make something for the little boy.  Maybe he won't know that I made it, but I will.  I will pray for this little boy while I make it and hope that he will feel loved when he opens that box.

have Food Network on.  I find that channel so comforting.  I just wish that I could smell what they are cooking.

am putting vegetable beef soup in the crock pot for dinner.  The cloudy weather is begging for some warm soup and corn muffins this evening.

am going to spend some time reading with my kiddo.  More than just before bed time.  He and I fit perfectly in the rocking chair together.  One day we won't. So, today I am going to soak up some of that sweet time together.

really want to dye my hair super blonde.  But I am chicken, so I won't.  I had a bad experience once in college.  It involved henna, and a hat to cover it up, and a comment that my hair somewhat resembled an orange highlighter. I've been a little dye-shy since.

There is a brief look into my day. Nothing fancy schmancy, just a little bit of my ordinary.

scones and the like

Umm...so where did the past week go to?  It is the middle of October already.  I am FINALLY starting to feel more settled in the new place.  Today I hung up pictures and put the last of the boxes in the garage.  I have decided that I both love and hate having a one story house.  I don't ever have to worry about Obi falling down stairs now, but he now has free reign of the entire place!  Between Obi and Pooka I am constantly picking up one mess or another.  It is outta control y'all.  Fortunately, Obs thinks it is equally as fun to pick up toys as it is to get them out. The hard thing in this house is the kitchen cupboards.  Our last place mainly had drawers on the lower cabinets, and he wasn't too worried about opening them.  But, my odds of finding a clean pot lid are slim to none here in this house.  He is soooo proud of himself that I have a hard time chiding him for "getting into Mommy's toys". Clean pot lids are overrated anyways.

I don't have any pictures for my post today.  But I do have a question.  Do any of you have a fabulous muffin, scone, snack-ish recipes you'd like to share?  I am in the process of putting together the menu for the coffee shop.  There are so many options out there.  So many fantastic fall yummies. I am pretty sure that all that weight I lost in the past few months is about to go right back onto my thighs.  Crossing my fingers that it won't.  A daily walk won't hurt either.  Anyways, share your fave and if it makes it onto the menu, I'll name it after you.

This week was SO much better than last.  I'll admit, I was almost in tears Monday night.  Those darn hormones.  How's a woman supposed to get any peace in her life if they are causing a ruckus?  But, a few mornings of getting up before my sweet wee one, some time spent with the Lord, several cups of coffee and tea, and many walks in the fresh air have significantly helped my mood and my attitude.

Since I don't have any pictures for you, I will leave you with a recipe that I found from Annie's Eats.  If you haven't ever read her blog then you must DROP what you are doing (unless of course you are holding a baby) and go read it.  Ah-mazing.  I am making these this week.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Oatmeal Raspberry Scones

Ingredients:
1 large egg
½ cup cold buttermilk
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
Pinch of nutmeg
10 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, grated on a large grater or cut into small pieces
¾ cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Combine the egg and buttermilk in a liquid measuring cup.  Stir together; set aside.

Whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.  Add the butter to the bowl and toss.  Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture so that the mixture is crumbly.  Pour the egg and buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a fork just until incorporated (the mixture will be sticky).  Fold in the berries just until incorporated (be particularly gentle if using fresh berries).  Gently knead the dough 6-10 times, just until it comes together into a sticky dough.  Portion the dough out into 8-12 scones, depending on the size you prefer, and transfer to the prepared baking sheet.  (A large dough scoop is a good tool, but not necessary.)

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

yo-yo

Please tell me that other women besides me have days/weeks in life where they feel like they are on an emtional yo-yo!  The past two weeks I have felt hormonal and just not right.  Mostly I have been feeling frustrated, irritable, and just easily upset. This weekend was spent arguing with my husband, and disciplining my kid.  My husband and I have argued more in the last two weeks than we have in months. I even took a pregnancy test the other day to just make sure that I couldn't blame that type of hormone on my recent attitude issues.  And no, I am not pregnant.   I don't know whether it is just that I need more sleep, or the move affected me more than I thought, or that I am stressed.   Thankfully tomorrow is a new day, a new week and a fresh start.  I plan on starting it early in the morning, on my porch with a cup of coffee and my Bible.  If anything is going to recharge my batteries, it will be time with the Lord. 

I am blessed.  No matter my feelings, I need to focus on the Lord and the ways in which He has blessed me.  Here is one of those blessings. A cute one, don't you think?

online again

We moved. That is my excuse this time for the lack of posting.  We moved and it just took me a while to get the other house in shape and this one somewhat unpacked.  I have a complete lack of motivation to decorate this house, even though it is cute as a button and I should be thinking of all sorts of ways to make it into my new home.   I'll get there. 

We have been sick too.  My first bout with cleaning up my kiddo's throw-up was this weekend.  I won't go into details, but I will say that it did involve me taking my pants off in a public restroom so that I could rinse them out in a sink.  My kid was mostly naked in a restaurant.  It was not our most stellar evening. I am happy to report that my "mom instinct" kicked in and I didn't even gag while cleaning it up.  Secretly I have always been worried that the instinct wouldn't work for me. 

I found me camera battery recharger today.  Whew...I was worried it had gotten really lost.  I'll take some pics of the new place and post them.  I really am thankful for our new home.  I am just grieving the loss of my stove.  I loved that thing.  Maybe a little too much.  Pretty sure that if this home wasn't only electric I would sneak back in the old house and somehow haul that thing to my new kitchen.  Sigh. I am pathetic.  I know.

Anyways, I am happy that we getting settled and things are normalizing a bit.  I like normal life.  At least, I like it sometimes.

I neeeeeeeeed one

Ok, this week has been busy.  No, no, this week has been CRAZY!  And this, dear friend, is exactly what I need.

Not just a "oh, that would be nice to have right about now".  No, this is a chin the air, hands gripping the hair, eyes squeezed shut... "I neeeeeeeed some".

I am on day 4 of being home without my hubs. This means I am a single momma for the week. How's it going you ask?!  Obadiah = hilariously funny, Obadiah also = getting into every possession that his father and I own. Which, on an average, or even not-so-average week I don't mind.  I am all for him delving into his exploratory curiosity.  But on this week o' pure chaos I need him to reign in that curiosity just a little.

We are moving in two days.  We found out about this move 12 days ago, and though we are just moving about a mile from where we currently live, there are a million details to take care of.  And, let's face it....moving before we had kids, and moving now that we have a kid are two totally different scenarios.   The current moving scenario goes a little like this:

Me packing and cleaning.  Obi unpacking and un-cleaning everything I just packed and cleaned.  Obi naps.  I pack and clean.  Obi gets up, and mysteriously I find my skillets on the living room carpet, the oil paints are littered around as if he was leaving breadcrumbs to find his way.  I currently have a huge pile of toilet paper that has been gleefully unwound off the tube.  This means yet another dose of fumbling around looking for the end of the paper when getting up to pee at night.

At this moment the wee man is in his bed for the night and though the sun is no longer shining I am "making hay".  Hence, the absolute NEED for some coffee.  Four nights of going to bed at 1am are catching up with me, but press on I must.  Because, if I can get a few more things in a box and tape it SHUT, then there are that many fewer items for my son to get into.  Heading down to the coffee pot now. I still have a solid 4 hours before I will crash. Nighty-night!