My kitchen is fairly spacious. It's about 10x20 with reasonable storage, although we're thinking of adding a moveable island. However, it's the activity that we pack into it that makes it the Crowded Kitchen of Love and Noise! My computer cabinet is in one corner, and obviously I check what's going on online a fair amount! The kids watch Netflix shows on the computer, or they play some educational games, and all our art supplies are there. They rob the printer of paper regularly. We have a plastic table for projects near the back door, and the kids eat breakfast and snacks there. Access to the back yard, the bathroom, my bedroom, the basement, and the rest of the house is through this room. Because of my long-term love affair with useful electronic gadgets (nothing real fancy) and with kitchen appliances, the counter and the computer cabinet are littered with wires and chargers and additional parts. I do get it all organized when it bothers me, but it gets loose again.
With 3 busy kids, a dog and two adults, the kitchen traffic is pretty constant! When I'm working in the kitchen, the dog is pretty consistently stepped on (YIP!) because she makes it her business to live underfoot. The dog has a spot by the back door, where she sleeps when she's tired of me stepping on her. The Jedis and M-girl like to dance and spin and have epic lightsaber battles in the kitchen as well. Currently, it's also the location of the potty chair because we need quick access for M-girl without worrying about whether anyone else is in the bathroom. The floor usually has a mixture of stray LEGOs, snips of paper, a few assorted toys, and whatever M-girl has carried out of the bathroom. Currently, that's eye makeup remover.
When the noise and activity reaches a fever pitch, I eventually shoo them toward the living room if I'm working with hot or sharp implements. But if I'm not, I enjoy the love and the noise in my kitchen!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Abraham and God's Promises
I have the blessing of being a children's church teacher for our congregation. We have a little lesson in our children's chapel during the sermon, and we return in time for Communion.
Now I'm presenting a series of stories leading up to the first Passover, with travel to and from Egypt being a common theme throughout Scripture. At Epiphany, I taught the children about how God sent the Holy Family to Egypt to avoid the infant Jesus' death at the hand of Herod's soldiers. Travel to Egypt occurs a number of times in Scripture, and it always marks a significant event. My theologian husband says it was especially important to the gospel writers to present Jesus as a fulfillment of the law and the work of Moses, a connection that I can see clearly in my preparation for class.
These lessons will lead to the story of Joseph, who was part of Abraham's family's return to Egypt during another famine. There they became numerous, just as God had promised, and their presence became a threat, so the Egyptians made them into slaves. It took Moses to lead them back to the land that God had given them. We will study the plagues and passover so that the children understand what Jesus is observing when He institutes the Eucharist just prior to His crucifixion and His resurrection!
Abram (Abraham) was born in Ur but moved to the trading city of Harran. Life would've been comfortable for a wealthy man in a trade-heavy community. In Harran, God presented Himself to Abram as the One True God, a novel concept in Abram's culture. He promised Abram a land of his own and innumerable descendants. Abram believed God, even though he had a comfortable life in Harran and his wife was too old to bear children.
He went to the land of Canaan that God had promised to him. He built and altar to God at Bethel. Later, a famine came, and Abraham moved to Egypt, where food was plentiful at the time. Rather than risk his life as the husband of a beautiful woman, Abraham told a half-truth and claimed that Sarah was his sister (they were half-siblings). Pharaoh took her into his harem and gave Abraham wealth. However, God punished Pharaoh for having Abraham's wife in his home. Pharaoh got Abraham to admit his lie and sent him away. I told the children that Abraham's lie lost him a friend in Pharaoh and was disobedience to God. It showed a lack of faith in God's promises to bless him.
Abraham and Sarah returned to Canaan with their ill-gotten wealth. Still no children. Sarah gave her slave Hagar to Abraham to have a child with her. They rushed God's blessing and did it in their own understanding. There would be serious consequences. This arrangement caused trouble between the women and resulted in Hagar and her son Ishmael being sent away.
In Canaan, Abraham saw that visitors were approaching, and he sent Sarah to prepare food for them. God Himself was their visitor, although they did not know it. He promised that they would have a son, and Sarah laughed to herself inside the tent because she was too old. God reproached her for her lack of faith, but He still blessed her with a son, and she named him Isaac, or "laughter". God still blessed them with Isaac, even after their lack of faith in having Ishmael and in Sarah laughing at God's promise. However, God's blessings were divided between Isaac and Ishmael.
Abraham and Sarah doubted God's promises in the face of impossible odds, which is easy to do! They would be tested again, even to the point of sacrificing their son Isaac. The lesson? I think Jeremiah 29:11 applies here: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future!'" Abraham still received blessings when he doubted God because God still kept His promises. However, Abraham's blessings were diminished because he tried to make God's will come to pass under his own power.
Now I'm presenting a series of stories leading up to the first Passover, with travel to and from Egypt being a common theme throughout Scripture. At Epiphany, I taught the children about how God sent the Holy Family to Egypt to avoid the infant Jesus' death at the hand of Herod's soldiers. Travel to Egypt occurs a number of times in Scripture, and it always marks a significant event. My theologian husband says it was especially important to the gospel writers to present Jesus as a fulfillment of the law and the work of Moses, a connection that I can see clearly in my preparation for class.
These lessons will lead to the story of Joseph, who was part of Abraham's family's return to Egypt during another famine. There they became numerous, just as God had promised, and their presence became a threat, so the Egyptians made them into slaves. It took Moses to lead them back to the land that God had given them. We will study the plagues and passover so that the children understand what Jesus is observing when He institutes the Eucharist just prior to His crucifixion and His resurrection!
Abram (Abraham) was born in Ur but moved to the trading city of Harran. Life would've been comfortable for a wealthy man in a trade-heavy community. In Harran, God presented Himself to Abram as the One True God, a novel concept in Abram's culture. He promised Abram a land of his own and innumerable descendants. Abram believed God, even though he had a comfortable life in Harran and his wife was too old to bear children.
He went to the land of Canaan that God had promised to him. He built and altar to God at Bethel. Later, a famine came, and Abraham moved to Egypt, where food was plentiful at the time. Rather than risk his life as the husband of a beautiful woman, Abraham told a half-truth and claimed that Sarah was his sister (they were half-siblings). Pharaoh took her into his harem and gave Abraham wealth. However, God punished Pharaoh for having Abraham's wife in his home. Pharaoh got Abraham to admit his lie and sent him away. I told the children that Abraham's lie lost him a friend in Pharaoh and was disobedience to God. It showed a lack of faith in God's promises to bless him.
Abraham and Sarah returned to Canaan with their ill-gotten wealth. Still no children. Sarah gave her slave Hagar to Abraham to have a child with her. They rushed God's blessing and did it in their own understanding. There would be serious consequences. This arrangement caused trouble between the women and resulted in Hagar and her son Ishmael being sent away.
In Canaan, Abraham saw that visitors were approaching, and he sent Sarah to prepare food for them. God Himself was their visitor, although they did not know it. He promised that they would have a son, and Sarah laughed to herself inside the tent because she was too old. God reproached her for her lack of faith, but He still blessed her with a son, and she named him Isaac, or "laughter". God still blessed them with Isaac, even after their lack of faith in having Ishmael and in Sarah laughing at God's promise. However, God's blessings were divided between Isaac and Ishmael.
Abraham and Sarah doubted God's promises in the face of impossible odds, which is easy to do! They would be tested again, even to the point of sacrificing their son Isaac. The lesson? I think Jeremiah 29:11 applies here: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future!'" Abraham still received blessings when he doubted God because God still kept His promises. However, Abraham's blessings were diminished because he tried to make God's will come to pass under his own power.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
What's for dinner? 1/15/11 Sofrito Chicken Tacos
I made it to the produce market today, and I bought a replacement for the food processor that recently bit it. It was time for a big batch of sofrito!
This is a cooking sauce that you can customize according to personal preference, but here's my basic recipe:
1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and minimally trimmed
2 onions
4 cloves garlic
1-2 red bell peppers, or 6-7 ajes dulces if you can get them
3 green bell peppers
(1T tomato paste makes a red sofrito)
Make a chunky puree of this in the food processor, then put into freezer bags and store until ready to use.
Here's how I'm using it tonight:
Serve in whole wheat tortillas with some shredded cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, etc.
The sofrito from the original batch is about 8 cups, so my batch lasts me several weeks. Plus it's a great way to sneak in some veggies! It makes a nice cooking sauce in the crock pot for chicken. You can use it to flavor rice and beans. I like to make chili with it. The possibilities are pretty endless, so google sofrito recipes and see what you find!
This is a cooking sauce that you can customize according to personal preference, but here's my basic recipe:
1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and minimally trimmed
2 onions
4 cloves garlic
1-2 red bell peppers, or 6-7 ajes dulces if you can get them
3 green bell peppers
(1T tomato paste makes a red sofrito)
Make a chunky puree of this in the food processor, then put into freezer bags and store until ready to use.
Here's how I'm using it tonight:
- In a large skillet, thaw 1/2 cup prepared sofrito, saute on medium in 1T olive oil until it starts to caramelize
- Add 2t soy sauce to pan, and 2T lime juice
- Add 2-3 chicken breasts and cook them slowly until they can be shredded. If they're frozen, just keep the temperature pretty low to let them thaw and cook through.
- Shred chicken with forks
- Optional : Add 1T cumin and 1T chili powder and stir to combine, add a bit of water if pan is getting dry (less if you don't want it spicy, add a sprinkle of cayenne if you want heat).
- You can also heat black beans in the same pan once the chicken has been shredded. A can of tomatoes is also good to add at that point. Just heat the beans and/or tomatoes through and make sure there's not too much moisture, or the tacos will be drippy.
Serve in whole wheat tortillas with some shredded cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, etc.
The sofrito from the original batch is about 8 cups, so my batch lasts me several weeks. Plus it's a great way to sneak in some veggies! It makes a nice cooking sauce in the crock pot for chicken. You can use it to flavor rice and beans. I like to make chili with it. The possibilities are pretty endless, so google sofrito recipes and see what you find!
Friday, January 14, 2011
What's for dinner? 1/14/11
Friday Night Dinner
Every Friday night for about 4 years, we've made this pizza recipe. We've had homemade pizza every Friday for much longer, but this whole wheat recipe has become the hands-down favorite. I make the dough, prebake the crusts, then top and bake the topped pizzas.
Every Friday night for about 4 years, we've made this pizza recipe. We've had homemade pizza every Friday for much longer, but this whole wheat recipe has become the hands-down favorite. I make the dough, prebake the crusts, then top and bake the topped pizzas.
Plans? Never heard of 'em!
I have lost my ability to make and keep plans for things since our move . I had a summer of no plans to speak of, and it was wonderful! Once school started, we were inundated with lots of meaningless deadlines, so I think I got numbed to them. There were just too many, and each organizer felt that theirs was crucially important. Now I'm trying to re-train my brain to put plans on my Google calendar, where I have Dr. O's imported calendar and the PTA imported calendar. I can put my appointments and events and bill reminders straight into my Google calendar from my gmail, which has helped a lot. I get a reminder email every morning, and it makes me feel much more competent. The downside is that I do miss putting things in now and then when I make an appointment in an office or if I forget to put down an appointment that I make over the phone, but I'm steadily improving. An example of success is that I remembered that A-man had Show-and-Tell today, an event that I have a history of forgetting (or dismissing!).
Days like today mess with my burgeoning system as well. There's yet another 2-hour delay, we're way off schedule. The MOPS meeting scheduled for today has been canceled because it affects so many of the mommas. Monday is Dr. King Day, and I'm looking forward to a scheduled day off with my Jedis. Hopefully, we'll have plenty of snow on the hill for the Jedis to sled. I'll make sure we have plenty of milk for cocoa! Tuesday I have a meeting at school for I-M and an appointment to test him for allergies. Wednesday, I figure he'll be home sick after that assault on his immune system. How do you schedule for days like this when the rest of the world doesn't have 2-hour delays?
Days like today mess with my burgeoning system as well. There's yet another 2-hour delay, we're way off schedule. The MOPS meeting scheduled for today has been canceled because it affects so many of the mommas. Monday is Dr. King Day, and I'm looking forward to a scheduled day off with my Jedis. Hopefully, we'll have plenty of snow on the hill for the Jedis to sled. I'll make sure we have plenty of milk for cocoa! Tuesday I have a meeting at school for I-M and an appointment to test him for allergies. Wednesday, I figure he'll be home sick after that assault on his immune system. How do you schedule for days like this when the rest of the world doesn't have 2-hour delays?
On potty training and parenting advice....
A happy unscheduled event is that M-girl has decided to give the potty a try. She may change her mind. She's 22 months, which is less than 1/2 the age A-man was when he did this. I haven't pushed, just watched to made sure she doesn't pee on the wood floors or the carpet. She's ready and interested, and she likes to be without her diapers, for sure!
I couldn't give advice on how to potty train for my life, nor can I take credit for potty training. I always want to stick my tongue out at those who purport to be experts because they had the kid who trained himself at 15 months. No one cares. It just makes insecure moms feel like bad parents. What I can say is that, like all parenting advice, it's not one-size-fits-all. Anyone who tries to offer this kind of advice is trying to make others feel inadequate or trying to sell something. They will do it when they're ready. It's not worth destroying your relationship with your kid (or your carpet, or your sanity) to have them wearing undies.
After we started a family, we moved to place where parenting advice was rumored to keep the electricity on, much like kids' screams did in Monster's Inc. There, competitive parenting was an Olympic sport. I grew a thick skin early on and decided that some of these parents were lunatics. (No, don't worry. Not you. Someone who would never read this blog!). Okay, that sounds judgmental, but that was also an Olympic sport there. There was this divergence of big picture vs. micromanagement parenting, attachment vs. Babywise (I'll confess that I can't stand when they get all smug, so give me a point for judgment! I've also seen them when they can't do anything for fear of throwing off the schedule), etc.
I eventually worked in leadership there and would get parenting questions. My thought was always "Have you MET my kids?!?". I had some extremely difficult years with A-man's behavior and I-M's encopresis issues (look it up if you want to, but it's gross. I'm just saying.). People who asked me parenting questions HAD met my kids, and maybe they wondered how I could be a happy mom. I don't know, either. Anything I got right was thanks to prayer from those who saw me struggling and to an extra measure of patience that God gave me when I most needed it. My sole unsolicited advice on parenting is this: It's not about your ego, parent. It's about growing good people and still having a relationship when them when they're grown. In my case, I hope that I raise faithful hearts for God and that I can worship Him alongside them when they're grown. Won't happen unless my relationship with God and my relationships with them remain intact.
Long post. Enough about bad parenting advice. Now I'm soliciting your GOOD parenting advice. What's the best parenting advice you have ever been given?
I couldn't give advice on how to potty train for my life, nor can I take credit for potty training. I always want to stick my tongue out at those who purport to be experts because they had the kid who trained himself at 15 months. No one cares. It just makes insecure moms feel like bad parents. What I can say is that, like all parenting advice, it's not one-size-fits-all. Anyone who tries to offer this kind of advice is trying to make others feel inadequate or trying to sell something. They will do it when they're ready. It's not worth destroying your relationship with your kid (or your carpet, or your sanity) to have them wearing undies.
After we started a family, we moved to place where parenting advice was rumored to keep the electricity on, much like kids' screams did in Monster's Inc. There, competitive parenting was an Olympic sport. I grew a thick skin early on and decided that some of these parents were lunatics. (No, don't worry. Not you. Someone who would never read this blog!). Okay, that sounds judgmental, but that was also an Olympic sport there. There was this divergence of big picture vs. micromanagement parenting, attachment vs. Babywise (I'll confess that I can't stand when they get all smug, so give me a point for judgment! I've also seen them when they can't do anything for fear of throwing off the schedule), etc.
I eventually worked in leadership there and would get parenting questions. My thought was always "Have you MET my kids?!?". I had some extremely difficult years with A-man's behavior and I-M's encopresis issues (look it up if you want to, but it's gross. I'm just saying.). People who asked me parenting questions HAD met my kids, and maybe they wondered how I could be a happy mom. I don't know, either. Anything I got right was thanks to prayer from those who saw me struggling and to an extra measure of patience that God gave me when I most needed it. My sole unsolicited advice on parenting is this: It's not about your ego, parent. It's about growing good people and still having a relationship when them when they're grown. In my case, I hope that I raise faithful hearts for God and that I can worship Him alongside them when they're grown. Won't happen unless my relationship with God and my relationships with them remain intact.
Long post. Enough about bad parenting advice. Now I'm soliciting your GOOD parenting advice. What's the best parenting advice you have ever been given?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
On video games and LEGOs
I have been somewhat resistant to get my boys into video games, fearing the lack of exercise and lack of socialization that playing these games can lead to. However, I am really pleased with the Wii that we got from my brother as a second-hand Christmas gift for the boys. We bought the LEGO Star Wars ($20!) game that lets them play through all 6 movies, unlocking characters and scenes as they go. Dr. O' has to jump in and play to get them through some of the challenges, but it's a good activity for him to do with them. I do cringe a bit at the on-screen (very mild LEGO-on-LEGO) violence, but it seems to be a good outlet for boy energy to engage in protective and chivalrous battle for good. I love that the boys have to communicate, to cooperate, and to move their bodies in order to play this game. I-M takes the lead, reading for A-man and telling him where they're going to go. It helps I-M's working memory to recall the next step and helps his problem-solving skills as they navigate the terrain. Unfortunately, they saved a game yesterday back at the beginning, locking up 8 of the 10 characters that Dr. O' had unlocked for them. We're going to start saving our progress on an SD card when we get to a new level.
As for my socialization fears, I think it's good for boys to play these games in moderation so that they have an "in" with other boys and can play video games together or can play the story of the game outdoors. They watch almost no TV and play these games less than they had previously spent watching TV. After a stimulating time playing Star Wars, they want to go upstairs and build with LEGOs. My kids have never been bound by the constraints of Star Wars canon, so they have made up their own Star Wars myth that they enjoy playing indoors and outdoors with lightsabers and in their room with LEGOs. A-man reminds me every day that they don't have Darth Vader or Yoda. I know, little man. He's a tremendously thankful and contented kid, but he does see a gaping hole in the LEGO collection. We have Anakin, multiple Lukes, Obiwans, and C-3PO's, but no Vader or Yoda. In due time, kiddo.
{Edited somewhat for clarity. I read so much bad writing that I fear it works its way into mine!}
As for my socialization fears, I think it's good for boys to play these games in moderation so that they have an "in" with other boys and can play video games together or can play the story of the game outdoors. They watch almost no TV and play these games less than they had previously spent watching TV. After a stimulating time playing Star Wars, they want to go upstairs and build with LEGOs. My kids have never been bound by the constraints of Star Wars canon, so they have made up their own Star Wars myth that they enjoy playing indoors and outdoors with lightsabers and in their room with LEGOs. A-man reminds me every day that they don't have Darth Vader or Yoda. I know, little man. He's a tremendously thankful and contented kid, but he does see a gaping hole in the LEGO collection. We have Anakin, multiple Lukes, Obiwans, and C-3PO's, but no Vader or Yoda. In due time, kiddo.
{Edited somewhat for clarity. I read so much bad writing that I fear it works its way into mine!}
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)