Homemade Baby Food Pride

Hola!  I made baby food from scratch.

This is in reference to #3 in my New Year's Resolutions List.  I thought we could do a lighter, brighter topic for today after the last few posts. 

FYI - Should you ever attempt this, you may want to know that you should only do one item at a time.  One squash will provide LOTS of baby food portions, and more than one will be overwhelming - but you will feel like a sacrificial wonderful mother while you learn how dumb you are.  :)

Alright, here are my BE-U-T-FUL pics!

 

Yes.  I really did plan to make all of these at one time.  I'm crazy.  I stopped short of the sweet potatoes, though. 

But...I did this on November 5, and we still haven't run out!

For how to make pumpkin puree, please visit my friend Hannah's post.

 1.  Wash the pumpkin.

 

2.  Cut off top.

3.  Scoop out the seeds. 

4.  Place seeds in a bowl to bake later

...or to neglect until they're moldy...ahem.

 

5.  Place in a baking dish and add water.  (Then bake as recommended on Hannah's blog.)

Squash is a lot like pumpkin, hence the similar photos.

 

Eventually, I realized that I was CRAZY and would never make it on my own, so I enlisted reinforcements. 

*Well, actually, just one reinforcement.

 

 

All baked!

 

Then we just had to scoop out the yummy insides and puree them.

 

 We had so many things that we had to store TONS of puree in ziplock bags until the first batch had frozen, because I ran out of containers to freeze in.

All I could think of once I hit the third and fourth hours of the night in my over-zealous cook-ahead-ness was Proverbs 31:15.

"She stays up into the night;
   she provides food for her family" 

I think it may actually say something about that blessed woman getting up while it's still dark, but I'm not a morning person, so I've adjusted the text a tiny bit.  ;)

Dr Pepper - Part 2

For those who missed yesterday's post, Dr Pepper - Part 1, you may want to read it before this one.

For those who don't want the long version (which I ALWAYS give), skip to the part highlighted near the end.

For those who don't mind the long version:

Have you ever had that one thing that you just pray for deliverance for over and over?  For me, it's been a myriad of issues, mostly having to do with food.

Anyway, now that Dr Pepper isn't an option, life has been better.  I don't have the option to drink it (since I'm still fasting), so my poor over-caffeinated-prayer-life has become much more free to pray for other stuff.  It's kind of neat.  And...I've been able to notice some other problem areas in my life (sigh...stay tuned to the end of this super-long post).

The addiction is gone.  It makes me think of the verse:

Matthew 18:8-10 (NIV)

⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Now that the addiction is gone, I feel such freedom.  I cut that part out of my life, and I'm better off without it.  Plus, a lot of the crummy foods I eat only really taste good with high fructose corn syrup, carbonation, and caffeine.  So, I'm eating healthier, too.  Btw, I have substituted sweet tea when I eat pizza or hamburgers or stuff, but I'm DEFINITELY not addicted.  I just get sick of water after a while, and I'm really not a juice person (usually). 

**Disclaimer: Dr Pepper-drinking is not sinful.  My heart attitudes were.  You happy Pepper's out there, you keep on enjoying yourself.  Unless God has convicted you that you have issues, too.  I'm not condemning anyone here.

I did show some moderation during my pregnancy.  This is at Sea World.  I spent lots of time both in this T-Shirt and in bathrooms by this point in the pregnancy.  (3 wks. before she was born.)

Some reflections:

One issue for me was a lack of moderation.  Over-doing it was the primary sin.  Part of the reason why I would over-do it, though, was simply because I knew I shouldn't.  I was rebelling.  (More on that in a moment).  Rebellion and gluttony are both sins.  Oh, and I valued it above everything else.  It had become a stupid, sugary, delicious idol.

Since giving up Dr Pepper and also becoming a stay at home mom, I've removed a major addiction/idol in my life and replaced it with lots of free time.  Free time/space where there was once a stronghold invites a replacement.  Or a deep, internal-house cleaning.  Or both.

Luke 11:24-26 (NIV)

   ²⁴ “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

 

Fasting tends to help highlight issues.  This has been a really-long (but tiny) fast.  I'm discovering some serious issues.  I don't think my issues have moved in since Dr P. moved out (like in the verse above), because they've been there all along.  I do think, though, that if I'm not careful, something else could slide into that coveted spot in my heart.

I was always extremely busy before E was born.  I never stayed in one place long enough to reflect on my deeper-heart attitudes about anything.  Now, with more free time, I am finding quite a bit of time alone with myself and my thoughts.  I'm kind of a jerk.  

Here are the main issues I've discovered:

1.  I am rebellious.  If I argue with Matt (not that my feisty self would ever do that, but hypothetically, for the purpose of this post...), my immediate response is to act out.  I will eat fried food, pout, stamp my foot, etc.  

In fact, If you called me and asked me to do something crazy while I'm in this state, I'd probably do it - if it's not too expensive or painful - no tattoos or shopping sprees.  (Tantrums have their limits before my common tendencies take back over.) 

This is a little scary for me, because it's new.  The oldest, "perfect" child persona isn't usually prone to temper tantrums designed to make people I love angry.  Usually I want affirmation.  So, to want to go be a punk and start tossing all of my usual self out the window is mortifying.  Now, I know I have an anger problem, and none of this is really new, but I've always been too busy (or attributed flare ups to stress) to realize that I have a seriously corrupt heart going on!  Plus, I'm realizing that it's actually rebellion against Matt as my authority.  If I willingly rebel against Matt, when I can see and touch him, what would I do against God?  Hmm.  Plus, I'm not perfect.  

While everyone else - possibly even my younger sister - already knew this, it's still kind of shocking for me.  I had myself pegged as practically perfect with some quirks.  

2.  I want my best interests over all else, and I don't really want to serve people.  I just want them to think I'm nice and like me.  This particular trait was demonstrated at a Christmas party white elephant exchange where I nearly sacrificed some friendships for a wallet.  Sigh.  No recovering there.  This issue was less surprising to me than the fact that I couldn't control it.  I was mortified.  (As was the poor hostess...)

3.  I have allowed disorganization and lack of discipline to prevent/ruin some pretty great relationships.  How?  

Well, thank you cards for one.  I immediately write a thank you card the moment I receive something.  Then, I set it aside until I find a stamp, or look up an address, or buy a thank you gift.  One particular thank you card was lost (twice) and mailed a year and a half late and I'm pretty sure the friend will never speak to me again (mainly because I told her repeatedly that I had a thank you card but couldn't find it - and she moved twice, so I had to ask for her address a ton and never got in in the mail until a few weeks ago.)

Our house is so crazy unorganized and generally messy, that we've not been entertaining new friends in our home for quite some time until recently.  God has given us the gift of hospitality, and our lack of discipline has squelched it.

All of these are issues keeping me from living like God wants me to.  All of these are slowly being dealt with.  Many of my friends have been on the receiving end of my issues.  I deeply apologize.

Here's what I would say to sum all of this up:

1.  I was addicted to Dr Pepper.  I prayed about it all the time, but I was an otherwise decent gal (I thought).

2.  I stopped drinking Dr Pepper as part of a fast.

3.  I began to spend more time just being quiet and still.

4. God answered many prayers as a result of the fast.

5.  Nearly 6.5 months later, God began to reveal other sins in my life.

Sabbath rests and fasting are HUGE tools God can use to really focus your prayer life and lend a new perspective to your situation before him.  

If you are constantly praying for something that is a stronghold, I'd recommend fasting from it for a time if at all possible.  

Satan is a master at distracting us from the real stuff.  

Here I have a self-centered, undisciplined, rebellious heart, and I've spent the last seven years praying for God to help me be disciplined with Dr Pepper.  It's definitely an issue, but it's not the only issue God wants to correct in my life, nor is it the biggest.  

It's just a straw-man argument, put in place by the enemy to keep me from serving God. 

 

Dr Pepper - Part 1

(This is part of item 5 on my 2011-2012 Resolving Life Posts)

I am was addicted. 

I especially love Sonic's Vanilla Dr Peppers with Extra Vanilla.  (Yes, it's capitalized like a title, because it is a title...the title of my most favorite drink ever! - A big shout out to Sarah S. for the introduction!)

I even had a neighbor once (Jen), who knew a Sonic manager in GA, and he mailed me some vanilla syrup!  Seriously.  (Sonic's is better than anywhere else.  Don't ever get vanilla syrup at McDonald's.  Just sayin'.)

Ok, so the addiction.  It is was real, people.  

I had gotten to the point where I would pray for God to help me be strong.  I'd also begun trying to sneak it in with my breakfast before Matt found out so I could also have it another time (or two.  or three.) during the day without being judged.  I did Weight Watchers in 2008, and I planned my daily points around my 8 oz. of Dr Pepper and splurged my extra points on refills.  Who does that?!?!?

Anyway, back in June last year - Father's Day, to be exact - there was an issue I was praying about.  I had prayed on and off for a LONG time (not sure how long, but at least 9 to 10 months, maybe more), and I just wasn't getting results.  I know God is sovereign over everything and He knows best, but really, by my calculations, there was no reason why the issue shouldn't have been in His will, and therefore answered favorably.

So anyway, I began bargaining.  Because that's what you do when you want your way with God.  You bargain.  Right?  How logical.

Moving on...I began bargaining.  I promised to pray about it every day (it was actually kind of a group of stuff, just to be clear, but one primary issue).  I even set my alarm to go off at the same time every day so I'd remember to pray.

I just didn't have a peace that God was going to go on and do His part in the situation, though, so I didn't feel like daily prayer was enough.  So...I made Him a deal.  (Are you laughing yet?  You TOTALLY should be!)

I told God I would give up Dr Pepper until he answered my prayer(s).  

(Please take a moment to reflect on the absurd things I posted at the beginning of this post.  This was a HUMONGOUS thing.  This was like the ULTIMATE sacrifice - daily - for me.)

In fact, I told God I wouldn't drink soda any more at all until things were resolved.  My only escape clause was if I had an awful stomach ache - then I would have Sprite or something - trust me...I have zero addiction to Sprite. 

At that moment, I'm pretty sure I heard an audible laugh (kind of annoyed, too) from heaven.  

Seriously?  God sacrificed Himself.  His Only Son.  By DYING.  On a CROSS.  For me.  

And to get my way, I'm graciously fasting from SODA?  I have had issues!  God basically said, "That's fine.  You give up your Dr Pepper and all, but does it ever occur to you that if that's your ultimate sacrifice then you have serious problems?  My Son died on a cross so you could give up your Dr Pepper for me?  Why is your FIRST thought in the morning how to get a Dr Pepper into your system without your husband noticing?  Why isn't it praising me or meditating on Scripture, or ANYTHING else?  You're messed up.  Thanks for the offer.  Go ahead.  But you have issues."

*Cough.  (Again, feel free to judge.  I understand.  And laugh.  But, if you know me, you also know that the giving up Dr Pepper thing, as ridiculous as it was, was QUITE ginormous.  FYI.)

Anyway, fast forward a few months.  

The primary issue I had been praying for (as well as several others) have been resolved favorably.  I'm still waiting to hear on the last few.

As far as Dr Pepper...even when all the prayers are finally answered, I'm not sure I'll want to step back into that minefield too quickly.  As dumb as it was, it held serious sway over my life.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you what I've learned since then.

My new hair

This post is part of my New Year's Resolutions Post (#8, to be exact)

I cut my own hair today.  

You should know that this hasn't worked so well for me in the past...especially during middle school. Around Labor Day.  Just before family friends arrived for their yearly visit.  Two years in a row.  

Not one.  Two.  Sigh.

Sorry to say I don't have a photo on hand to show you.  Trust me.  It was bad.  

I never could get my bangs straight, so I just kept cutting.  

And cutting.  And cutting.  And cutting.

Moving right along...This was how my hair looked today before I cut it.  Not bad, but not much shape either.  And long.  Very, very long.  I wanted to keep most of the length, but add layers, re-cut bangs, and thin it out some.

I vaguely remembered my college roommate, Katie, said something once about cutting layers with a pony tail.  So...I scoured YouTube for tutorials.

This is my pony tail.  

Note the little hair band on the strand by my shoulder.  

That's where I marked the shortest layer before I put everything on top of my head.  

Wouldn't want a repeat 7th or 8th grade bangs incident, now would we?

I kind of felt like I Dream of Jeannie with my ponytail on my head.

To keep everything neat, I put a ponytail in place where my little marker had been before.

And...snip.

Well, that was fast...and easy.  Hmm...

I can't believe I just did this!  Hope it works. 

I took out the ponytail holder, and...

Not bad!  

The layers are a tad choppy, but since my hair is normally curly, it's not a huge deal.

I cut off this much for my shorter layers!

(Not pictured...I thinned out two handfuls of hair and added bangs back in.)

This is the picture I sent Matt.  

Try not to be jealous of my mad romantic skills.

Here's the finished, non-flirtatious product.  Not bad, huh?

I've never really been one for New Year's Resolutions.

Perhaps that's because I only ever think of the usual stuff like: "journal more" or "eat veggies".  Ick (to the veggies, not the journaling).  As it turns out, I've been resolving several areas of life for the last six months or so, and therefore I didn't really have any new and improved resolutions for 2012, just a continuation plan.

I'm going to share what I've been working on for the latter part of 2011, and then I'll elaborate over the next few posts...which will actually happen soon, because I'm going to type them now and post a little at a time, thus outwitting myself.  Hopefully.

1.  Be intentional with my time.  Don't waste it and then complain that there's not enough time to get things done.

2.  Simplify our stuff.  (Remove clutter...ugh!)

3.  Save money.  (Make Emily's food, for starters.)

4.  Do my job.  (Make meals each night, do laundry, and generally have a presentable house.)

5.  Deal with the little stuff in my life that's keeping me from being who God wants me to be.  (Ahem...Dr. Pepper.  Don't underestimate the power of addictions!)

6.  Raise Emily as well as I possibly can to know and love God, His Word, and His ways.

7.  Create traditions for our family. 

8.  Look nice for Matt and Little Bit.

9.  Make cute stuff.  (Crafting is important.  I'm a recent convert.  I'm still working through this one, but I will post cute things as I steal ideas from other people and make them.  Thanks primarily to Tara and my in-laws for sucking me in with your adorable-ness and making me say, "I can do that."  Sigh.)

So, that's what we'll be discussing over the next few posts.  Stay tuned.

A quick summary upon which I shall elaborate soon.

Life has been delightfully busy.  Here are the tidbits:

E was a giraffe for Halloween!  Thanks Nonni!

My mom has a tumor that was discovered in June.  Totally treatable, but still ongoing at the moment.  She finished chemo in October, and to celebrate, we went on a cruise just before Thanksgiving.  

My parents, sister, bro-in-law, us, and the ocean.

 

We had a lovely time, and Little Bit is quite convinced (thanks to being one of the only babies on the ship) that all strangers should stop and greet her and tell her she's cute.  

Note:  She can be in the middle of crying, and if someone walks by and coos at her, she'll grin, with tears on her cheeks and all, until they leave.  Then, when they've gone, she goes back to fussing for us.  

Sigh.  Extrovert.

            

Lovin' great grandpa Gray.

Oh!  And she thoroughly enjoyed the ocean and playing in the sand.  So did her dad.  So did I, for that matter, which is a huge improvement for me.  Normally I avoid sand at all costs.  :o)

Four generations

During the cruise, Emily gained a pound and a half, so she apparently totally gets the cruising life: eat, sleep, eat, repeat. 

(Most people add sunbathing to this list, but not pale people or babies, so there.)

The Tuesday after Thanksgiving, mom had surgery to remove the tumor.  They got part of it, and she is now home and recovering.  She'll have radiation once she's all healed up.  Stay tuned. 

 

Randomly, have I ever mentioned my love for Nutella?  No?  Hmm...  Well, then I should tell you...

I. Love. NUTELLA!  

We found these beauties in the duty free shop on the ship.  A 7-day pack and a jar the size of my firstborn.  Ah-mazing!

Moving on...

Thanksgiving was delightful!  We went to Cracker Barrel for lunch (it was delish), and then we went to our friends' house for dinner.  It was probably the most people-full and food-varied Thanksgiving affair I've been to in at least ten years.  There were endless options, and everything tasted WONDERFUL!

Just got this adorable guy on sale the day before Thanksgiving!

Also, in honor of Thanksgiving weekend, Matt, E, and I had a little R&R time, just the three of us.  We watched Pirates 4 and Cars 2, and now we feel caught up with the rest of the world.  We also bought this year's tree, Theodore, and he put lights on our roof.  He-Matt, not he-Theodore.  Obviously.  Although we did put lights on he-Theodore as well.

Emily and Theodore the Tree

So far this December, we've had two movie nights (beginning at 9pm till late!), 2 Zelda-playing nights (thanks M & K), at least 2 board game nights (maybe more...I lose count easily), a book club meeting (me, not Matt), we've seen Dickens Christmas Carolers, the Singing Christmas Trees at First Orlando, gone to a Christmas party, and we've sung carols by our tree at home.  Ah...festivities!

Other Little Bit updates, for those wondering:

 - She is on the tail end of her very first cold. (4.5 weeks and counting, with a touch of RSV thrown in sometime near the middle.  It's out of her lungs now.)

 - She eats all kinds of foods: peas, green beans, pumpkin, squash, carrots (don't agree with her, so only small amounts), applesauce, banana, avocado (she's not a huge fan, but stay tuned), and grains.  

 - She had her first sip of water from a glass last Saturday.  She grabbed my glass, lifted it to her lips, and drank straight from it, like it was no big deal.  What a big girl!

 - She is totally aware of cameras and how they work.  She will stop whatever cute activity she's engaged in the minute she sees a camera and smile until it goes away.  Hmm...wonder where she gets it?

 - She is also a Skype-pro.  She grins the moment the program opens and smiles and coos at every relative she sees.  Smart girl.

Alrighty.  Now you're in the know. 

Merry December!  

(I would say Christmas, but it's a tad far away and yet I still feel merry, so there.)

-T

Moving Toward Household Happiness - Step 3

I'd say in the grand scheme of Household Happiness*, I've just finished Step 3.  Because it's the most succinct, I'm starting with 3.  I promise to go back and do Steps 1 & 2 later, though.  I'm envisioning around an 8 to 10 step program overall.

*Household Happiness (my definitions):
1.  A state of being where I am not wallowing in unending guilt due to overwhelming household tasks (...like laundry and dishes - which NEVER end...  Sigh.) 

2.  The ability to actually invite people inside my home with a moment's notice and not have to shove stuff into the bathtub or the oven. 
(You might be wondering, "why not the closets?"  They're...ahem...full.  Stop judging and go open your own closets.  Yours probably are, too.  If not, then come teach me!)

Now, I know what you're thinking.  "Poor Tiffany.  She doesn't realize that Matt loves her and the house just the way she (and it) is, and no one expects perfection, and...blah. blah. blah."

No worries!  I'm not at all needing affirmation in my daughter of God-ness, or in what priorities REALLY matter, or in Matt's love, or whatever. 

What I do need, is to figure out this whole domestic diva thing so that I can actually be spending time doing the stuff I want to do and not keep folding laundry and moving piles of stuff around so we can sit down to eat the meal I didn't actually make because I was too busy trying to downsize my to-do list with a crying baby* on my hip. 
*Sometimes she's crying because I kept ignoring her while I tried to get stuff done.  :o(

Jesus came that we might have life more abundantly and let me tell you that spending the day locked inside and avoiding the neighbors who want to come for playdates because the house is a mess and sometimes not even having time for a real Bible study or playing with my ah-dorable daughter because of chores is NOT an abundant life.
*Yes, I avoided all of the punctuation in that crazy, run-on sentence.  Wasn't sure about one or two spots, and I figure the bad grammar adds to the stress the paragraph is trying to convey.

I'm doing fine, and I have a decent outlook on life.  I would simply like more time to live my life and less time maintaining it.  On a side note, I've been learning TONS about God lately, too, which I think has helped my outlook immensely.

Anyway, Step 3 in this whole process is a permanent grocery list.  I had one a while back, but I stopped using it as our tastes changed.  I was writing more in the "other" categories than I was marking the stuff already on the list.

I took my old list along with a list from Woman's Day, and I made the following list.  I'm a wee, tiny bit proud (and giddy), so I'm sharing it with you here.  And then, I'm going to bed.  It's 1:36am.  I'm going to pay for my latest obsession tomorrow.  But, oh how glorious this obsession will be the next time I need to buy groceries!!!

Drumroll please...

My new grocery list:

E-mail me if you'd like the original Word Document so that you can play around with it for yourself.

Have a lovely weekend!