'Children can not live on pasta alone'

If our children could choose what to eat every day, we wouldn't have to guess what it would be.  Noodles and Parmesan cheese would be the choice du jour.  We don't know why this seemingly bland selection has so much appeal, as it certainly wasn't anything we encouraged.  We always make sure that they eat some of what we eating along with it, such as meat sauce, or some other pasta sauce, and although there is some complaining about this rule, it doesn't take them long to finish it so they can have plain pasta with Parmesan.  And for Mikaela it doesn't stop there.  She does the same with rice.  She enjoys stir fry, but as soon as the required amount is eaten, she continues with just rice. And Chasadya uses just sour cream as her dip of choice for nachos.  As well, if there's anything that could have sour cream on it, she would do it.  Perogies or potatoes with sour cream is almost as high on the list as noodles.  Tonight I thought I had made enough pasta for both supper and a pasta salad for a gathering tomorrow, but my girls just kept right on going until there was only about a quarter of the amount I needed for the pasta salad left.  Now I will admit to feeling a bit concerned about how this overindulgence will affect their digestive systems(can you say plugged up?), but at the same time, we feel that if they've eaten a decent amount of other food, and that's what they want to fill up on instead of some other dessert, well,  have at it.  After dishing up the umpteenth serving to both girls Stan and I just shake our heads. This is one thing we can say they don't come by honestly. 

Progressive Supper a Success

When I was asked to host a course of a progressive supper that our youth were doing, I must admit to a slight amount of trepidation.  Regardless, I said yes, and agreed to do the appetizers.  For those who don't know what a progressive supper is, it is a 5 course meal, done throughout the evening, but each course is at a different person's house.  There were four different groups going from place to place, and the aim of the game is that they won't get there meal in any particular order.  So some groups start with dessert, while others start with main course and so on.  I've discovered that although I love having people over, its a stretch for me to have people over that I don't know, or who have never been to our house.  And typically I want a tidy and clean place to give a good impression.  Thus my trepidation.

I was therefore pleasantly surprised with myself  that I agreed to do this as it stretches me a little with my comfort zones.  But as I was preparing yesterday and today, I was quite excited.  And when each group came I realized that it was quite fun.  Not only to provide the food, but to actually see who the youth in our church are and to talk a little with them. And we also heard from the youth that they were enjoying not only the food, but also having some people from the congregation they don't know take an interest in them.  It was truly a neat experience all around.  Over the course of the evening I served 3 different appetizers to approximately 20 people.  And a note of interest was how much less the last groups ate compared to the first!  They are, after all, stretching their meal over 3 hours, and at many of them eating as much as a typical meal. 

For the girls the highlight was having their babysitter come in one of the groups.  They waited anxiously all evening for when she would come, and we let them stay up later than normal, because as it was, she was in the last group.  But for them, well worth the wait.  In fact it was great for them to see so many different people here, and after the initial shyness passed they definitely enjoyed it as much as everyone else.  So first time hosting the youth for progressive supper is deemed a success.!

Mennonite? Me?

During a friendly game of Dutch Blitz this weekend I endured a bit of family teasing when I was talking about the fact that here where I live, Pepsi is the drink of choice, not Coke.  To add to that, I apparently also said it in a very Mennonite way.  That brought about a discussion of the grammar that I use on this blog, which is, according to them, also Mennonite.  So it then becomes an interesting thought to me, about how we adapt to our surroundings.  Being in the heart of Mennonite territory, surrounded by those who speak low German, have I started to like what everyone else likes, sound like everyone else sounds?  Maybe so, but now that I'm back on this side, not yont szeed(?), I say, 'here's to all who love Pepsi and to all that live where my Mennonite "accent" is no longer an accent, but just how everyone talks.'  And although I love my family dearly, I'm not sure that I can ever drink another Coke without feeling as though I'm betraying my new roots.  So I sound Mennonite?  I'm okay with that.  After all, I am!

It feels like SPRING!

Finally it feels like spring here.  Its taken a while, but we're starting to enjoy the outdoors more(actually the girls enjoy it year round, but there's been a definite increase of late).  Yesterday we took the girls to the playground for the first time this spring and I told Stan that I haven't started buying the necessary 'Spitz' that we take with us on such occasions.  But with the feel of spring comes talk and about our yard, which we want to get done as soon as possible.  I'm dreaming of summer already and having grass, and our pool up, and suntanning on the deck.  It feels like a lot of work before that, but every time we are at someones house that has grass, our girls are tearing around, and it makes me excited to be able to have them do that at home, instead of having them playing on dirt(or mud).  So come  summer you can probably find me out in the back yard or deck, because now its become a priority to get it done.  But for today, we'll enjoy the decent temperature and be taking the kids for a bike ride and another stop at the playground, sans seeds. 

Frustrated

I am so frustrated with myself.  This week I was doing so good with what I was eating, and I felt good, and the scale was looking pretty good.  So why do I always ruin it for myself?  I keep track of what I eat and how much I exercise on a program, so it calculates everything out in terms of calories earned by exercise and subtracts calories consumed.  I do this because I was at a plateau and needed to step things up a bit.  Exercise is no big deal for me.  Its just a part of my day and I've been doing really well since October, mostly on the elliptical, but some other stuff at times.  30 minutes a day is no problem.  The difficulty is in eating good.  Thus, the challenge, and the new program, which I've been doing about a month.  But invariably after a few good days of eating healthy, I blow it with a pig out meal, usually at some fast food restaurant.  And I know that as I order, I'm going to regret my decision, but I give in anyway.  So today I went for my first run outside this year, and didn't do nearly as well as I had hoped, but I still did 2.5 miles in 22 minutes.  Not bad.  The scale was finally back down where I wanted it to be after a couple weeks of being slightly elevated.  And what  do I do?  I consume over 1000 calories on a meal at DQ.  That's almost a whole days worth in one meal.  I read in a weight loss magazine "you ate it, negate it".  So I think it calls for a bit more workout today, probably  a bike ride with the kids in the trailer.  Obsessive?  Maybe.  But I don't want to lose the momentum I've had this week, so for today that means a bit more exercise, and a low calorie supper.  The  thing with knowing how many calories I consume, is that I also know what I need to do in order to see results.  I can no longer plead ignorance saying" I don't know why I'm not losing weight- I exercise all the time."  Its been a good thing for me to see how my decisions in what I eat have such an impact on the big picture.  So yes, today I disappointed myself, but its not too late to do something about it.

Blessings

So often I lose track of the many blessings right in front of me, while I wait, impatiently, for God to give me more.  It's sad but true.  Lately a prayer of mine has to been to have joy, regardless of the circumstances I face.  Its a good reminder to me that there is so much in my life to be joyful about, so many blessings.  When people hear that we're dealing with infertility again, the response I often get is "but you have two beautiful girls already".  Of course that is true, and I feel incredibly blessed to have them.  To see them play together so well, to see them take immense pleasure and security they have with each other is amazing.  But there is just something in me that desires to expand our family.  To be round with pregnancy, feeling a child I haven't met yet, but love completely, move and kick inside me.  To wait with bated breath for that first cry and glimpse of God's most amazing of creations.  Yesterday we watched a Full House episode with the girls where Jesse and Becky's twins were born.  I glanced over at Stan afterwards  and he was misty eyed( he's embarrassed about how easily that happens), and all I could think of was, how much more special to see him get that way when its our child he sees for the first time. I want to see the girls excitement when they meet their new brother or sister, because its become a family thing- that we're waiting for another baby.  The greatest calling for me is to be a mom.  The greatest blessing for me is my children.  My prayer is that I won't miss out on the ones right in front of me, while I wait for the ones to come.  I want to live in the moment, enjoying each day with my girls, because sooner than we know they're grown.  We're approaching Mikaela's third birthday, and perhaps that's what makes it feel a little more difficult right now.  My "baby" is gone, and we never planned for there not to be another by now.  I can't say that its easy putting aside my desires and what I think should happen, for God's perfect plan.  I don't see the big picture.  I only see right here and now.  And maybe that means that for today I see the beautiful children entrusted to me, I give them an extra hug, and I spend a little more time just enjoying what my life is right now.

Spoke to soon

Not long after my last post, I was thinking that I should have waited a bit, as the girl I thought handled the week okay, maybe didn't after all.  For no apparent reason, shortly before lunch today Chasadya had a melt down.  I couldn't make out what was the problem, and it lasted till after nap time.  As I thought about it, I realized that maybe she just takes longer to react to the busyness and stress than Mikaela.  Its so interesting to see how the girls are so completely different in so many ways.  This week is just prime example of that.  Mikaela acts out during the craziness, and Chasadya takes a few days to decompress.  The next week is going to be a lot less busy, which is obvious we all need.