Kitchen Therapy

My dear friend Kayla has always shared a love for cooking. From the early days as newly marrieds we would talk about how great it was to cook in our own kitchens, bake bread from scratch without a machine, and so on. Recently she posted her Great Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe on her blog. It is legendary in her family being passed down through generations of women.

Today Nolan had to work even thought it is Saturday.(Blah) I decided to give myself a little "kitchen therapy." There is nothing like turning on some good music and making some good food. It is fun and relaxing. It is not something I have time to do on every normal day of the week. The soup had a new twist of homemade noodles that remind me of dumplings. So yummy and very satisfying to know I took a whole chicken, some veggies and spices and made a masterpiece for dinner. =]





And what is chicken soup without a mascot??? Ha!

Top 10

Well My Guy came home from work at 1:00 today. He finished up his job this morning (he is a Contractor) and didn't have anything else that was ready for him to work on. This doesn't happen often.

I was both super excited and a little bit thrown off by him coming home. Not that I don't LOVE having him here, but we have a daily routine that doesn't quite flow when my "daddy's girls" have their daddy home.

So today I blog about him. He told me I am not supposed to do that as I took his picture for this post. ;) He is the best husband any girl could ask for. My top ten reasons for thinking so?............

10. He provides for us financially.
9. He plays with the girls as if it is his FAVORITE thing to do.
8. He helps me with housework.
7. He brings me flowers.
6. He builds, fixes, cleans things around our house.
5. He is sensitive.
4. He makes a great cup of coffee.
3. He is good with finances and money responsibilities.
2 . He has integrity.
And the number one reason............
He is diligent is studying God's Word, living it out and leading our family in it's truths.

Baking Beauties

Well, what do you do when you have nothing to do.... Baking is always in my top ten. Today, I decided to let the girls take part in making pumpkin spice cookies. It was a blast for them which equals more work for Mama. In the end, it is so worth it to make special memories with them. Although I'm pretty sure Audree won't remember any of it. Karalee, well maybe not her either. But I will treasure the memories of having my little girls by my side in the kitchen. Learning to love baking like I do.

The Meg Ryan in My Head

I think I have realized the root of why I enjoy writing a blog. It all goes back to my favorite movie that I watched about 1 billion times with my roommates in college. Especially my roommate Kate, who shared my ability to watch a movie almost every day and still laugh every time.

It began with You've Got Mail, and after a while we began watching Remember the Titans. We could quote each movie flawlessly with voice inflection and hand motions. More than once, our boyfriends (now husbands), would politely ask us to STOP!

Anyway, I recently went to see the movie Julie & Julia. In it, Julie writes a blog. Throughout the movie you hear her read her blog as she types. Now that I have started this whole blog thing, I realized.............In my mind, there is an audio of my blog being played out loud. The funny thing is, it is not my voice but the voice of Meg Ryan. Although You've Got Mail wasn't about a blog, she also "reads" her emails as she writes them. Her questions to Joe Fox, (Tom Hanks), her quirky comments and sayings..........are all said out loud as an interesting narration of her day.

And so, this blog is the narration of my day. If you can read it in the voice of Meg Ryan, and the personality of "Kathleen Kelly"you may get a better glimpse of the tone in which I write.



"I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void."
Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail

Just a few more quotes.......... Dedicated to My Dear Kate....

"Joe? Just call me Joe? As though you were one of those stupid 22 year old girls with no last name? Hi, I'm Kimberly, hi I'm Janice. Don't they know you're supposed to have a last name? It's like they're an entire generation of cocktail waitresses."

"Mr. 152 insights into my soul."

"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino."

Happy 5 Months, Audree!

How can it be! She is already 5 months old!
So much personality in one little ball of cuteness.................

With enough sleep, I could rule the world!

As most of you know, Audree decided to try out being nocturnal for about 6 weeks after her accident. I am praising the Lord that she has learned how to sleep again and has had 7 nights in a row of normal sleep. Just as important, MOM has had 7 nights in a row of restful sleep. I truly do feel like I could run a marathon.

How does that translate into our everyday lives................pictures! When I have free time & energy, my favorite thing to do is take pictures of my precious girls. I pretend I have the best camera, a fabulous studio or location, and all the time in the world to capture their smiles. The thing is, their smiles seem to change almost every day. They are morphing before my very eyes, and so I capture what I can, and treasure each frame. Here are a few of my favorite from this Fall.

Pumpkin Patch, Bauman Farms 10-09-09

Fall Pictures in the Front yard...

Here goes nothing...

Crazy moments fill my everyday life and I often find myself rushing around trying to keep the juggling act from crashing to the floor. As I go about each day with my two little girls, I cherish the funny comments, the simple yet insightful observations, and the laughter and squeals we share as a family.

I also deeply value my stolen moments of checking in with my computer world, my
"band of mothers" if you will. I would not consider myself a blog junkie, but sometimes looking at a friends musings is just what I need to know we are doing ok.

So, here I go. Adding to the population of bloggers. I am not a great writer like some of my friends who can get me laughing out loud, partaking in tears, or reading the page to my husband. Nonetheless, this is my story. One day at a time.

Here goes nothing...