Good Word Wednesday: Night Owl

"Who? Who?"

I’m functioning on a combined four hours of sleep. Daisy and I rendezvous every other hour for a snack and staring competition during the night. I’m partly to blame for my sleep depravation, though. I loose track of time as I examine her perfectly round head and her ears, nose and crazy dimpled chin that she took from her daddy’s side of the family. I hold her tiny feminine hands and wrists and notice her long fingers and toes aren’t from me, either. I rub her peach fuzzy head and wonder if her transparent eye lashes and white eyebrows might be a clue that she may be my one blond baby, and I keep my fingers crossed that her eyes will stay blue. Then I realize that she’s finished her bottle about twenty minutes ago and has fallen back to sleep and I’m, yet again, the undisputed champion of our staring competition.

My Good Word this Wednesday: Catching up.
Catching up on bending over to pick things up with my hands instead of my feet. Catching up on playing tickle time and making paper dolls with London. Catching up on laying down next to Porter on the floor and not having to ask him for a boost to stand up. Catching up on hugging Olen without my tummy getting in the way. Catching up on feeling like me again.

Molly's Rule of Life #8

When our lives get a little tangled, it's always better to ask for help than make things worse on our own.

(I had to cut this comb apart tooth by tooth...)

My Flower Child

Friday was Olen’s birthday. He wanted a joint birthday party with Daisy...

...so that's what I gave him.

I saw my Nurse Midwife on Thursday and she said to get ready. The contractions hit on Thursday evening and I went to bed to rest up. Water broke at 12:30 Friday morning and Olen and I hurried off to the hospital with bags thrown in the back seat and kids still sleeping in their beds. Daisy was born only three very quick hours later perfect and chubby as can be.

The only thing that could make this story completely perfect would be having my mom there holding my hand, but she and Daddio were out of town so I had to be the brave girl she taught me to be. I know she wanted to be there too, but life moves on its own schedule and I could feel their prayers with me instead. However, there were two things that made this birth experience semi-perfect; the first was my Nurse Midwife. Never have I had such personal attention by a medical provider who genuinely cared about my comfort and well-being.

Secondly was the epidural. Yeah, cheesey and I’ll spare you details, but it was so needed. I had my first two births without an epidural, or “naturally” as they say, because I knew I could do it and I wanted to be able to say I had been there and done that. Now that I’ve been there, I won’t be doing that again without one.

When Daisy was laid on my tummy taking her first confused breaths and trying to adjust to the light, I was totally in the moment. My mind and body were right there and the world stopped as I finally met the person who liked to squat on my bladder and kick my ribs and I fell totally in love.

Special Thank-you to: Haskel and Valerie, for being our home-base and keeping our kids safe and happy. Wendy Hall CNM, for her level head and tender heart. Katie Mae, for keeping our fish alive and mailbox empty. And to Olen, for never letting go of my hand.

And now introducing...

More of her story to come.

Maternity Leave

"Freaking excited!" doesn't come close to describing the way we feel right now, but it's a start.

Good Word Wednesday: Final Preparations

It's like a good friend said, "You will always look better the last day of your pregnancy than the first day after giving birth." If that's the case, I plan to live it up.

Meet my gorgeous cousin, Jessica, she is a genius with the hair colors and cuts. My hair has a date with her every six weeks, but today she so graciously came to me before going to work this morning. Jess, thank-you so much. Now my daughter's first look at her mother will be one without roots.

My Good Word this Wednesday is: Pamper (And I ain't talking about the diapers, well, not yet.)

What is your favorite form of pampering?

Spa day? Mani-pedi? G.N.O.? What...?

I have good news and bad news. Good news is that my kids are both on the mend in record time. Bad news is that I'm not feeling so fab today, but let's focus on the positive.

Mamasita Bonita knows more about herbs and natural ways of healing than anyone I know. So when I told her the cold bug stopped in at our house she came over with these drops by Nature's Way called Umcka. I was directed to give each sick and healthy person one dropper full every hour to kick the cold bug or to prevent it from catching on. Like I said, she knows her stuff, so I gave it a try.

Porter's been getting these drops every hour since he started coughing and voluntarily laying down instead of playing. A fever did creep on, but only for half the day. By dinner his appetite had returned and he was ready to wrestle with Olen. London hasn't had a cough or cold, but I've been giving her the drops every hour just to be sure. They are both so excited to have Daisy come home to a healthy house that they don't mind a little bitter medicine every hour. I'm taking it too, and already feel better than I did this morning.

This brand also makes a cold and flu formula, if you're interested; and if you don't want the cold bug to linger at your house, I highly recommend being interested. Find it online by distributors, or at your local Sprouts or Nature's Finest stores. Nawh, this isn't a paid advertisement, but if it helps kick that cold bug out of your house a little quicker than that's all the payment I could ask for.

The flu bug has come for a visit. Little does it know it won't be around for long.

I am armed and ready with Airborne artillery and a cupboard of vitamins and Redbox rentals.

Today has movie marathon written all over it.

Tri-monthly Sister Brunch

Now I know what you're thinking as you look at this picture, I should change the title of my blog to As Told By Ginormica. But no, dear reader, that really is yours truly.

Don't hate the sweet waitress for the blurry picture, it's not really her fault. I think my camera is on its last leg. We'll need a new one before Daisy gets here, any suggestions? Please, otherwise I'll just get the prettiest point-and-shoot on the shelf.

Chelsea, Bethany, Katie Mae and Me.

Katie and Darcy, two words: missed you (so much).

Flashback Friday: Unfinished story

Once upon a time a handsome boy with blue eyes and dimples fell in love with a girl with red hair and good taste in handsome boys. The red head loved him back, so they decided to get married. They found that two was way better than one, but three would be even better. So they had a son. The son brought more laughs and love into the family and made them feel complete. For the time being.

They waited and waited and were blessed with a daughter, making a family of four. Now life was filled with daily rays of sunshine and sweetness and all felt complete. For a while.

To be continued...

I walk past London's room and peek in on her playing house with her animal friends. She's so lovely I loose track of what I was doing.

She spots me watching her.

"Hi sugar, just checking. I love you." then I head back for the laundry room.

"Mom. Mom! Let me in. Let me inside to talk to Daisy."

Well, this is a new one.

"Let me in to talk to Daisy!"

I laugh it off and say something like how there's no more room and turn for the door again.

She grabs my shirt and sticks her head under so that she's nose to tummy with me.

I hear a muffled, "See mom! You have lots of room for me! Hi Daisy. I am playing house in our bedroom..."

I wait while she's "inside" talking to Daisy because evidently there's room.

Good Word Wednesday: Are you listening?

The freezer is stocked, the bags are packed, we've got a plan A and a plan B.

My Good Word this Wednesday: Bring it on.

Forcing Fall

Around these parts of Arizona, the only way we get to experience the season of fall is by pretending. I made a pumpkin cobbler last night because I needed it to also smell like fall. So delish. That's a recipe everyone should have. It smells just like those fancy candles but tastes way better.

FJ1W Report: My goal was to make a double batch of meals for the week and freeze half for quick re-heating when Daisy arrives. I totally flunked the assignment because I only made one meal (tortilla soup) capable of freezing. So I'll just carry out the goal till next week, I'm a pretty easy going teacher and believe in make-up assignments.

Go make your house smell like fall...
Aunt Colleen's Pumpkin Cobbler
1 30oz can of Libby's Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix
2 eggs
2/3 c evaporated milk
1 yellow cake mix
1/2 to 1 c butter, melted (you may need more, you may need less)

Coat 9x13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together pumpkin pie mix, eggs and evaporated milk. Spread evenly into pan. Dust dry cake mix over the top of pumpkin mix. Pour melted butter in a zig-zag pattern over cake mix, till cake mix has absorbed all butter and there aren't any more dry spots. Bakes for like 45ish minutes, I think (I wasn't timing). Just bake till the pumpkin is solid and the butter on the cake mix has turned golden brown. Cool on rake for one to two hours till pumpkin has set and eat up! This is even great the morning after for a sweet breakfast. Experiment with the size of pan you use, maybe you want your pumpkin layer a little thicker and would prefer to use a smaller pan, just adjust your bake time accordingly.

Have you ever thought about what protects our hearts? Just a cage of rib bones and other various parts...

Father and son out for a stroll at the Tucson heart hospital, catching up on life and each other. The son promises to take the dad fishing when this is all over because that's where they both would rather be.

Tortilla Soup Tutorial

You know how everyone tells you how much they love that one dish you make and asks you to bring it to the party every time? Or how you make the best desserts, so that's what you're always assigned to make for pot lucks? Or how people will ask for your famous recipe for that one thing you make once a year and they can't get enough of? Well, I got one of those.

Now that the weather is cooling off and our thoughts are turning towards the holidays, we seem to naturally start craving cocoa with little marshmallows and dishes that are served hot in a bowl with a spoon. This is where I come in. Soups are my specialty. They seem to be the grandmother of all comfort foods. Throw some ingredients into a pot, simmer, serve with a side of crusty bread and call it golden. This soup recipe is one I got from my friend Frankie in Flagstaff and have altered it a little through out the years.

Tortilla Soup

4-5 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (more if you like it chicken-y)

3 cups chicken stock

1 28oz can green chili enchilada sauce (note: some brands are spicier than others, just use your favorite)
1 26oz can cream of chicken soup

3 15.5oz cans of your favorite bean or a variety of, drained (more if you like it bean-y)

1/2 to 3/4 cup of diced green chilies

1 14.5oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

1 15oz can tomato sauce

1 cup whole kernel corn (optional, but it adds a sweet crunch and looks pretty)
1 T cumin powder

1/2 t chili powder (optional)

1/2 to 1 t garlic powder (optional)

Corn tortillas or corn tortilla chips

Cheddar, Monterrey jack or Pepper jack cheese, shredded

Green onions, diced

Avocado, diced

Cilantro, chopped

Sour cream

First, cook your chicken, boiling is the easiest for this recipe. After the chicken if fully cooked, clean off any unwanted bits and shred in your Kitchen Aid. Sorry to all you Bosch believers, I've tried, and this only works in a mixer with a paddle like a Kitchen Aid. This is what it looks like (easy peasy, eh?):
Into a large pot add chicken stock, enchilada sauce and cream of chicken soup. Whisk together and bring to a simmer. Add drained beans, green chilies, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and corn. Remove 1/2 cup liquid from soup and whisk in the cumin, chili powder and garlic powder. Stir liquid back into soup. Add shredded chicken and simmer for fifteen minutes.

Now, you could either fry up your own corn tortillas strips (see above picture for example) or use your favorite store bought tortilla chips. Things to consider: Store bought chips add more salt to the dish and lose their crunch quicker. Home made tortilla strips are typically sweeter than chips and hold their crunch longer. It's a preference and convenience thing, you decide.

After the soup is cooked on the stove top, it's still not finished until served in the bowl. Here's the preferred order at our house: tortilla strips, soup, then whatever else we want on top. The tortilla strips soften just enough and lend their earthy corn flavor to the whole dish, the cheese melts and brings it all together, the sour cream balances the spice and everything else adds to the symphony of flavors.

This recipe makes a lot. Like enough for a family of four, three nights in a row. It will stay good in the fridge for a few days (maybe four? but it never lasts that long over here) and freezes nicely, too. I hope you give it a try. It's basically just cooking the chicken and opening a few cans of things you probably have in your pantry right now. After you make this once for your family get together or when you have friends over for dinner, you'll have this recipe memorized soon because chances are you'll be asked to make it again.