The Naked Truth

Bath time at our house is always eventful. Jazz (4), Eli(almost 3), and Madi (1) all in the tub together makes for lots of fun. Getting everyone’s hair and body washed requires lots of concentration on my part and the ability of contortionism on theirs. Sometimes I forget which parts are washed and which are not.
However right after bath is everyone’s favorite time. They call it SUPERHERO time. I have allot of towels with hoods and the kids put the hoods on and race around the house “Maked”(naked), as Eli says, to dry off. As frenzied as bath time is, “maked” superhero time is even wilder.
Eventually everyone has to get dressed. I always have the same conversation every time with Eli.
Me “Ok we have to be dressed Superheroes now”
Eli (pating his chest) “I wangabe yike unca ZAYPEE” (I want to be like uncle JP)
Me “what about uncle JP?”
Eli “I wangabe maked yike unca zaypee” (I want to be naked like uncle JP)
JP(brother, basement inhabitant) is perpetually “maked.” On a good day he will have on pants, some days underwear is all you can hope for and you simply pray it isn’t the TW’s (tighty whities).
If it’s a day off he will be disrobed all day. But if he comes home from work it goes something like this.
Boots off in mud room, walking through kitchen (check fridge) coveralls off by staircase on the floor. Sit on couch, socks off. Sweater followed by T-shirt. If were lucky that is as far as it goes but if it a really bad day pants come off and he covers up with a blanket.
Since Eli only sees unca ZayPee at home he thinks he is always somewhere in the world maked. I have yet to disillusion him because the idea is hilarious. I know they have naked house cleaners (gross) but JP could rename his business
JP’s Naked Roofing
(disturbing, but funny)

Booo for Valentines

If you are anything like me you have always had a chip on your shoulder about valentines day. I wish I could get over it now that I am old and married but the fact is I despise this contrived holiday. I think saint Valentine was great blah blah blah but I think getting candy and flowers on the 14th of February is stupid.
I have to admit, Kyle (husband 25 this Friday) treats me as if Valentines was everyday. He cleans, he brings gifts and he greets with kisses. The most often repeated word from his lips go along the lines of “you’re so beautiful, I love you, you’re so cute and ect.. He says thank you all the time for the housework that is just apart of my job description as a mom and housewife.
As a result of Kyle’s behavior and my dislike of the 14th of Feb. we have participated in the following subversive behavior for the past three years.
On February 15th we go and buy a bunch of chocolate on discount!!!!!!
MWAHHAHA HA HA (cue pan out over extended laugh track)
We’re so BAD
“Bad boys bad boys whacha gonna do….” (to the tune of Bad Boys)
However since Kyle left on this morning for a month long trip to the US I found myself asking “what am I supposed to do with all this chocolate?”
And then inspiration
LAZY REAL PEOPLE RECIPEEEEEEEEEE
February 17 Cake
Directions:
Make cake (any kind I made carrot apple)
Chop up all your Vday or day after Vday chocolate and put it in
Bake and give it to your neighbors’ family and friends.
Enjoy!!!

Have a LOVELY day

I am trying to go through everything I own and get rid of all the stuff I don’t need. In fact my goal this year is to get rid all my excess. I have been giving/recycling/throwing things away for weeks now. Today I went through most of my kitchen cupboards and packed away all the things we don’t use to go to this wonderful store Cochrane Home treasures. They take donations of your house wares and they also sell off house wares for charity. I have found many a thing there for 50cents.
I am getting rid of excess weight, not as easy of a process but were on the road. I am learning to say no to excess responsibilities, which makes life more relaxing and I am learning to ask for help when I am overwhelmed. I am in an altogether better place these days because of all of this.
I am also discovering I have another excess but I don’t think I am ready to let that go yet. Kyle bought me a set of transfer ware Wedgewood dishes for Valentines day and even better he got them at the home treasures for cheap. JP(brother, 22, resides in basement) and his employee Mac (19, JPs best friend) are on my roof tearing off the shingles and preparing to put new ones on. They are doing it for Kathy Morales our landlord for just the cost of materials. Even though they are doing it to show her love I feel it too. Madi greets me with a cheery “Heeeyyyyy” every morning and though she is not a huggy cuddly baby I know she loves to be near me. Just now Jazz (4, niece) came into my room and said “Neen do you know that I love you?” I said “ I do know that, go back to bed its nap time.”
There are so many ways to show love and so many ways to receive it. But the way that sticks out in my mind the most is how God showed us love so many years ago.
John 3:16-17
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Challah

For Communion this Sunday I made special communion bread, as some of you have asked for the recipe I thought I would share my secret to finding recipes. My favorite website for recipes is www.allrecipes.com you can find a recipe for anything you need to.
here is the recipe for Challah.


Challah
Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
* 1/2 cup honey
* 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 3 eggs
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water. Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt. Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition, graduating to kneading with hands as dough thickens. Knead until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed. Cover with a damp clean cloth and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.
2. Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto floured board. Divide in half and knead each half for five minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep from getting sticky. Divide each half into thirds and roll into long snake about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Pinch the ends of the three snakes together firmly and braid from middle. Either leave as braid or form into a round braided loaf by bringing ends together, curving braid into a circle, pinch ends together. Grease two baking trays and place finished braid or round on each. Cover with towel and let rise about one hour.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. Beat the remaining egg and brush a generous amount over each braid. Sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 40 minutes. Bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. Cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing.

WHO DAT

Football is never something I have been interested in. I have never enjoyed watching sports I would much rather play sports than watch. I find it pointless. When I met and subsequently married my husband Kyle I was happy to find he also could not be bothered to watch. We went without TV for the 1st 2 years of our marriage. However this Louisiana boy I married could not resist the pull of the Who DAT nation forever. This year as the Saints drove for the super bowl I began to recognize names like Brees and Bush. I even put our 1year baby in a Reggie Bush onesie. I spent this last Sunday afternoon on the couch cheering on the saints to victory while I munched on carrot sticks and bit my finger nails.
I have to say that when porter caught the interception and went all the way I was out of my seat and jumping and screaming. Its funny how cultures meld together in a family. My Louisiana brother in law now cheers for the Montreal Canadians with my Dad and brother. And my Dad (the pastor of our church) served communion in a Saints Jersey this week. After all the Saints is a holy team.
Families are unique in their ability to join together and build their own culture and make their own traditions. Lots of different attitudes and way of doing things. A family weaves itself together like a tapestry lots of different threads and colors. I guess the point is every family is a beautiful work of art.
WHO DAT

Oh Man WHAT a MEal

JP(22, brother, basement) thought today he would do me a HUGE favor and he would cook super. Proudly he began to assemble ingredients and move around the kitchen. Generally speaking JP+Kitchen = hurricane type destruction so Mac (19, JP’s employee/best friend)and I sat back to watch the chaos happen.
He started by putting four,12 inch Mennonite sausages on the George Foreman Grill. He then put approximately 30 Chicken Nuggets in the oven.
JP “we need that many because Madi will eat some too.”
Mac “ya maybe two total”
Me “not even two”
He ignored us and began pulling out the ingredients for scrambled eggs with ham and cheese. That was too much for me.
Me “NO NO NO you are not making eggs as well there is already enough food and you don’t have any vegetables”
JP “but the scrambled eggs are going to be gourmet with ham and cheese”
Mac “ I think we have enough”
JP “but I make great eggs”
Me “how about some snap peas and some carrots
JP “gross”
Me (in very disrespectful imitation of Chinese voice ) “You eat like free willy”
Mac ( in similarly disrespectful voice ) “you scare my wife”
JP (voice) “ you here four hour”
I forced them to eat some veggies as the meat fest cooked. Needless to say when it was all done I passed on the meal but Madi (1), Kyle (24, husband) and both boys seemed to really enjoy it. I guess there is a difference between what makes a good meal for men and women.

TOp TeN

One of my best friends is perfect. Can you imagine how irritating that is? She enters a room smelling like the baked goods she has just pulled out of the oven, every hair is in place, she looks like a fashion model. She is talented, smart beautiful successful. She cooks, her house is immaculate, and she even has a vibrant growing relationship with God.
It is so easy to envy the things in others that don’t come as easy to us. The shocking thing to me is that she seems to see enough good in me to be my friend. Who knows what it is but she seems to enjoy me as much as I enjoy her.
If I am being honest as much as I admire her I would not trade my life for hers. I love the way I get to live. The free time I get to spend with Madi each day. The slightly messy times I get to spend with JP(brother 22, currently in basement). I know what I am doing is valuable and even enviable but sometimes during my days of changing diapers and washing dishes I think about a different life. And some Sundays when I show up to church in the last thing I own not covered in puke I look at her pressed dress and perfect hair and think….ahhhhh
Of course if I was being perfectly honest whether I had a baby, Husband, or JP I would not look , act or bake like she does. In fact these feelings have much more to do with how I see myself than how I see her. It is always easier to appreciate good qualities in others than in us.
So my challenge for today is list 10 things you like about yourself. I realize as I write this most of us are much better at listing the ten areas we need improvement but FORCE yourself. I think it will be an interesting exercise.
SO here goes in no particular order.
1. I am funny, whether I am being laughed at or with it is a guaranteed good time.
2. I am low maintenance, all I need to be happy is a diet coke and an episode of “Criminal Minds”
3. I am a great thrift store shopper, I always find great things for 2 bucks.
4. I have great taste in men, Kyle is patient, kind, loving, compassionate, forgiving, patient, patient, patient….and hot. Ha ha ha
5. I have beautiful eyes
6. I am creative, I have great ideas, not all of them are doable but they are great
7. I am a really good nanny, it is a job I enjoy and I think Jazz, 4 and Eli 2 are better for it
8. I think enjoyment of an activity and learning are much more important than the mess those activities create. I LOVE to cook with Jazz and Eli even though it means I will have the mop the floor after.
9. I have the ability to make friends with amazing women, I learn so much from them, even though they are so different from me they seem to like me as well.
10. I love God more each day and I hope I am becoming more and more like Jesus everyday.