Starting the Day off Right

I have been having major issues with my temper and patience lately. I am not an angry person at all, but since Clara has hit the big 3, whoa! watch out!! I mean, my hormones are a bit whacked out right now, I am not getting much "alone" time, Trent has been pretty busy lately, and Ruby's scans are coming up and I am starting to get a little anxiety...but, I should still be able to keep my cool, right?? Seriously, if I would just rely on God and not myself, this would not be a problem. When I got back from yoga this morning at 6:30, my darling husband already had a pot of coffee brewing and had his Bible in hand. I instantly got it!! I am sleep deprived...so much so, that I don't even notice it at all anymore...so, I need to get up at 6 in the morning to have my time with God. I seem to try and find time during the day to have my precious time with the Lord, but it never comes...when I finally get to bed, I just want to sleep or talk to Trent. I think God will bless me with patience and temper management if I am faithful to start my day off right.

Ginger Snaps

Ginger snaps are good with everything!! You don't need very many of them to satisfy your sweet cravings and they compliment nearly every hot drink you pair them with. They really aren't very bad for you (the Nabisco ones are 120 calories for 4...and 4 are all you really need) and they aren't sooooo good that you can't stop eating them and thinking about them. I can't believe I have underestimated the goodness of ginger snaps for all of these years! I encourage all of you to go out and buy a box if you don't already have one. Today is Monday, one of my fav. days of the week. I was able to start the day off with 2 appointments and a great cup of coffee. Ruby is napping and Clara is watching the "They Might Be Giant's ABC's" DVD that Trent bought her. We are thinking about checking out HY- VEE's organic section and going to Barnes and Nobles to look at kid's books and get some free coffee drinks (thanks, Londa) Plus, this week I am getting some new dishes in the mail. Things are looking good here at the Hol's. Happy Monday to all!

Worn Out

I think I am getting old or something. I woke up with a neck full of excruciating pain this morning. Neck Pain? What's up with that? I was able to get in with my chiropractor pretty quickly and he worked on it a bit and then told me to come again on Monday. I am seriously not the type of gal to be getting aches and pains. I guess I am almost 32 years old...but, I didn't think this kind of stuff started until at least my mid 40's. Oh well, at least I have way more good things going on in my life than bad things. I helped out at a carnival we had for the kids at church today. It was super fun and now my daughter who was once deathly afraid of clowns now wants to be one for Halloween. I think that will be a super fun outfit to throw together. I love coming up with Halloween costumes with stuff around the house. I may have to purchase a red nose and wig, but I am sure that's pretty cheap. I thought Ruby could be a mini clown with Clara, how adorable would that be? I guess "super fun" is my word for the day. So, have a super fun weekend everybody!!

Play Places

It's that time of year again...the girls are a little squirrely and it's a bit too wet to play outside, so, we set out for the Valley West play place. Trent had to work late today, so I tried to keep our day jam packed with fun stuff. I still ended up letting Clara watch a little too much TV as I got some odd jobs around the house done. No matter how much I plan, I always have a lull where I can't help but compulsively clean and the girls have to entertain themselves. They are usually happy, so I hope that's okay? We also went for a wonderful walk where the girls got to debut their new winter hats. We even had a really nice fellow who looked a bit like Santa Claus help us cross a street we live by that has been under construction for about 5 years. Don't worry, he was totally safe. Clara thought it was the greatest, but little Ruby wailed the rest of the way home. That's pretty much it for today. Nothing too earth shattering.

Pumpkin Dip

Does anyone need pumpkin dip out there?? Call me if you do. I have massive amounts of it left over from Ruby's 1st birthday party. I guess I know now that if a recipe calls for 2 eight ounce blocks of cream cheese and 4 cups of powdered sugar and 1 cup of pumpkin....I won't need to double it. Seriously, I wonder where my brain is sometimes. On to other subjects, my head cold is totally gone!! 2 days of zinc and vitamin C nippped it in the bud. Having 2 young children and a house to care for does not leave time for colds. Colds are really weird when you think about it. Stomach viruses and headaches make sense, but colds??? What is up with a bug that makes your nose run, sneeze a lot, and gets your head all plugged up? It's really quite interesting. I am so excited for today. This is the first Monday in like 4 months that I haven't had to take Ruby to the clinic. It was so nice to wake up casually, go get some coffee, and blog for a few minutes. We have a whole lot of nothing planned for today, but then tonight we get to go have dinner at some friend's house. How perfect of a Monday is that? We had a house full of guests all weekend and their sheets and towels are already washed and put away. So, I don't even have remnants of company to concern myself with. I think a walk and some major playing outside with the husband and girls is going to be high on my priority list. Wishing you all a perfectly autumny Monday!

Head Pressure

I am not one to complain about being sick. Even when I am sick, I try to disguise it a bit, but this morning...whoa!!! I knew I had a touch of a cold yesterday, but this morning I had to get up for yoga at 5:30 and there was no doubt in my head. I cannot be sick, Ruby's 1st birthday is today and her big shin dig is on Saturday. I will relax, take Vit. C and zinc, drink water, and take it easy. I must get rid of this crud. Doing yoga with a runny nose and head pressure is not advisable. It probably did my body good in the long run...but, it wasn't very comfortable. My sweet husband brought a birthday lunch home for Miss Ruby. I put some balloons up and we all watched as she drank some whole milk for the first time. I have been drinking coffee too. That seems to help...it gives me a sort of buzz and it clears my head a bit. I better go clean some more while the girls are having a quiet time upstairs!!

Innovative Design

It has come to my attention that it is very fun to "redesign" a space in your home without buying anything new. It forces your creativity to come out. I have been a bit spendy on things lately, and now that Trent has cut my cash flow off, I have been forced to become more innovative with my home decor stash which already exists in my home. We have quite a few guests coming from Wisconsin this weekend and our basement is going to have to be put to some good use. Trent freshened it up with paint and such a few years ago, but we weren't intending for house guests to actually sleep in the basement. The time has arrived. My ultra generous parents sent some money for a full size box spring and matress. We already had a full size bed frame, so with some fresh sheets and an old World Market bed spread, it looks more than cozy. I feel like it's a cabin in the woods/ brick loft in the city/retro feel. Yeah, it's a little on the hodge podge side, however, I like it...I really like it. I am hoping for a tornado so I can sleep in my cabin in the woods/ brick loft in the city/retro basement guest room. Tours are available by appointment only.

Bacon

My friend came to my MOPS group and got me interested in using pork a little more. I am not the biggest meat eater in the world, but bacon is something that could really add a little flavor to some of my favorite vegetarian dishes. I actually made up a recipe that tastes fantastic. My friend even came over and approved it. Here it is:

RED PEPPER AND BACON PITA SENSATION
Ingredients:
1 pkg. whole wheat pita bread
I pkg shredded mozzarella cheese
1 roasted red pepper ( How to roast a pepper: wash the pepper, stick it in the oven whole, bake at 350 degrees until the pepper is a little charred looking, take pepper out and stick in a plastic bag, loosely tie it and leave it for 15 minutes, take it out and the skin will slide right off, quarter it, take seeds out, and dice)
1 small jar of your favorite salsa
2 stems of green onion, sliced
8-12 slices of cooked bacon

Directions:
Spread salsa in the bottom of each pita, sprinkle cheese, and stuff it full of the rest of ingredients. Bake in oven at 350 degrees until cheese is melted (10 - 15 minutes)

I thought these would be easy to prepare ahead of time if you have company coming. You can just pop them in the oven 10 - 15 minutes before you want to eat.

I have never really posted a recipe I made up, but any positive or negative feedback is welcome.

Early on a Friday

Yes, that's right, it's early on a Friday because Ruby was ready to get up about an hour ago. I give in too quickly to the qualms of my children. I am now up and have eaten breakfast, fed Ruby, and folded some laundry. Our 2nd MOPS meeting is today. I am excited about it. I have my muffins and cranberry juice all set to go. I hope we have as many moms as we did last week. It's nice to be involved with a ministry that is flourishing and to be with other moms who want to be the best they can be.
I really hope to start getting up early and running every morning...that is, once Ruby sleeps until at least 7, then maybe I can start each day with a refreshing blog...and I realize I need to start posting some pictures...once I figure it out.

Gluten Free Gingerbread

Let's face it, sometimes it's really nice to just sit with some other great ladies, eat some gingerbread and blueberries, watch your children play together in the beautiful fall weather, and have great conversation. That is exactly what I was able to do today with 2 of my lovely fellow neighborhood moms. I forgot how nice it can be to have some adult conversation in the middle of the day. My days usually go quite fast and I do savor every second I have with my beautiful daughters, but sometimes my brain needs a break from making decisions every 5 seconds. It's good for the soul and body to just be mellow.

Minneapolis

My family and I went to Minneapolis this past weekend for the Desiring God Conference, which is organized by John Piper. We stayed at a great hotel and my parents came and watched Clara and Ruby while we went to the conference. I don't even quite know where to begin with what I learned. The topic was "words." The focus was, obviously, on what things come out of our mouths. The speakers were amazing...even the really smart and hard to follow ones. I have never been to a conference that I have really enjoyed until this one. I hope to return next year. I guess one of the main points that hit home was that loving others shouldn't be out of obligation or because it makes us feel good, we should love others out of gratitude for what Christ has done for us. His two most important commands to us are to love Him with our heart soul and mind and then to love our neighbors as ourselves. Let's face it...we seem to love ourselves quite a bit. It's not that hard to do. Loving difficult people is rough sometimes. It's easy to love people that are pleasant to be around...but people that talk too much or people that just rub you the wrong way are not as easy to love. Christ was perfect. He never once sinned and He chose to die for us and take our penalty for our sin. That is love!! Anything good that we do is because of Christ. How refreshing to know that we werent' meant to trod through this life on our own. Christ wants to be with us and have a relationship with us. I am baffled that such a powerful and loving God cares for such an imperfect and hopelessly sinful woman such as myself. I did learn a lot more that I would love to post, but my mind is still trying to grasp and organize the things that I learned. Plus, Trent is upstairs waiting with ice cream and a pod cast of Mark Driscoll's Song of Solomon series. I just can't get enough of that guy!!

Young &Smylie

I have found a fantastic licorice...it's even better if you chase it with a few dry roasted peanuts. It is Young &Smylie brand licorice. It is made with real licorice root, which is 5 times sweeter than sugar. Unfortunately, the #1 ingredient is still corn syrup!! That upsets me a bit, however, it is very, very, tasty, and I recommend it highly. It can be found at Target. Also, in a previous post I had mentioned the possibility of posting a Pear Cobbler recipe..I made it, I tried it, and it is nothing to write home about, sorry! I realize this entire post is about food and such, but I have one more tip that I recieved from my health conscious, smart, stylin, yoga doin', neighbor friend. If you are down cast and heavy laden about the price of organic foods...at least buy hormone free, organic milk. Sometimes you just have to buck up and do the right thing for your body and the bodies of your children who are 100% reliant on you to help them make good and healthy choices regarding their overall nutritional well being.

Party Decor

I must say that I am a bit disappointed with the selection of one year birthday decorations at our local retailers. There are maybe a few selections, but everything is pink!! Don't get me wrong...I love pink, however, ugly, not unique, and boring come to mind when I think of the decorations I have seen. Due to the lack of cuteness, I have come to the conclusion that I can totally create my own! All I need is a color scheme, scissors, pretty paper, balloons, and some paper plates from the dollar section at Target. This should be interesting!! I am super stoked about doing this and I think more mammas should not give in and buy the ugly pink...because you never know what a little creativity and some scissors can do for a fantabulous birthday for you child!!

I love Mondays

I used to hate Mondays so much that I started not even liking Sunday nights because Monday would be the next day. However, after some major changes in my life, I now love Mondays!! My husband has the day off and I don't have a job outside of my home. There's nothing like cozying up with my stud of a husband and watching a movie on Sunday night and then waking up Monday morning with no agenda...other than caring for our children and brewing a good cup of joe! Today started off with a trip to the clinic to make sure my sweet little Ruby was doing okay. She was. Then, off to a fresh, healthy, and affordable lunch with our great friends. After great conversation and lots of veggies and noodles, we headed home for naps and more coffee. Clara's little boy playmate, Henry, came over for awhile. He had a good time playing on the swings, riding on the rocking horse, and getting his nails clipped. After his mom and dad came to get him, we went for a fantastic walk that Clara slept through...so it was a very peaceful, quiet, tranquil walk!! Got home, made dinner, did some laundry and headed over to the Charlton residence for treats and planning of a Bible Study. Now, that's what I call a very nice Monday!!

What a weekend!

I have had a lovely weekend. It started off with a super fun cookout/bonfire at some friends house. A lot of my other friends were there too, which made it superb! Clara and Ruby were in the capable hands of my good friend Stacie. It was so nice to have uninterrupted conversations with my favorite gals and their spouses. Saturday morning was actually quite nice even without Trent. He had to do some cleaning at the church which lasted until about 1 pm. I took my girls out for a good, long walk. The weather was perfect and they were in great moods. No whining, pooping, or temper tantrums along the way. We came home and played in the sandbox forever. Trent got home and we lunched together. For the highlight of the weekend, we went to the Picket Fence Creamery and Prairieland Herbs in Woodward, Iowa (about 30 minutes northwest of here) We bought some cedar, sage, and sweetgrass body spray and some patchoulli for Trent. Driving up to Prairieland Herbs is like driving into some sort of fragrant haven of peacful relaxation. The owners have like 500 dogs, so Clara was in heaven. They even had cute little white ponies in the back and a real goose in their parking lot that likes to sit under your car. Picket Fence Creamery has an adorable little country store with dairy galore and unique, healthy foods. We bought some fun little food products that the normal run of the mill stores in Des Moines don't carry. We even got a 3 pound bag of cute, small pears for $1.29...the bag also contained a recipe for Pear cobbler. I will post the recipe after I try it...I don't want to mislead anyone who might actually make it. We went to church today and we napped to the seranading of Clara on her pink and purple keyboard. I will continue to try and figure out how to make my blog cuter....Abby, Londa...wanna come over for lunch someday and help me??

My very own blog spot

I am really living on the edge now. I have been reading my friend's blogs for the past few months or so. A few of them have been strongly encouraging me to have my own blog spot, so here it is. I think I need to work a bit on the format, but just give me some time to explore my options please!! I like to write and I really like organization, so this blogging thing is right up my alley. Is it just the woman in me that finds it so fun to see what my friends are doing on a daily basis?? Is it snoopy of me?? Does it mean I have no life so I must see what others are doing in theirs?? I am not sure about the answers to these questions that I have just asked myself, but if you are reading what I am writing...well, I guess we are one in the same. I am a stay at home mom presently, so I do indeed have quite the life. I really, really love it!! What could be better than having a God who loves me, a husband who I am totally in love with and he is totally in love with me, children who are so adorably funny and cute, and a nice red house that I get to be in and be in the yard of for the majority of my day? I truly have a 1950's housewife mentality. I don't feel like I am being stifled or being put in a box at all. Being a housewife is the first "job" I have ever had that I really want to excel at and am passionate about. It's the most rewarding and most enjoyable thing I have ever done. I do get a bit obsessive compulsive about keeping my home, children, yard, cupboards, closets, pantry, kitchen counter, linen closet, and husband neat and tidy. It's tempting to go a bit overboard just to see how "perfect" things can really get, but I realize it's not healthy....so, I just need to let it go sometimes. I look forward to writing more, but there is an awful lot of banging around and yelling going on upstairs, so I must peel myself away and see what is going on with my husband and children. 'till we meet again!