Mom News
The Last One
As I sit here typing this post, he is sitting next to me, explaining the detailed issues between “Zig and Sharko” on Netflix.
“Oh no! Stingrays!” , he says.
A giggle follows as he scoots a little closer. He grabs his “blankie” and immediately goes for the gigantic hole that he has worked back into after the countless times his Nana has fixed it. (* You see, he loves the batting inside)
The blanket wiggles back and forth from his little fingers rubbing the soft aged cotton inside. At what point will this blanket completely disintegrate from the constant abuse? (I think)
By now, he is practically underneath my side and that glorious lime green blanket is lovingly rubbing my arm. I already knew that this would be the end result. Not a day goes by that I do not get asked, “Mommy, can I rub your arm?” Because I know it is a comfort thing for him, I always oblige. 🙂
Now…… I can’t seem to get rid of this lump in my throat.
Ugh! I knew this day was going to come, but still, I guess deep down, I could avoid it somehow!
My mind immediately throws me back to almost six years ago when I was sitting in my bedroom, telling Z we were pregnant. I had a plan and it DIDN’T involve being pregnant with a 3rd child at the time.
However, God had other plans for me. You see, God remembered how I use to sit and stare at Z and the girls and be so INSANELY jealous of the relationship they had. How I would be with them all day long and the moment that man stepped in the door, they would instantly go running to him like he was a Rock Star and not leave his side the entire night until bedtime. Or how we could be anywhere and they would want him before they would want me.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I know my girls loved and do love me, but it’s different with their Daddy. You love both of your parents but there is something about a girl’s love for her Daddy. I knew that because of how I love my own.
Anxiety is now setting in…….
Will his teacher be understanding when he says he is hungry a MILLION times, when he just ate something 5 minutes earlier?
Will his teacher be able to resist his “pout face” he uses when he wants something?
Is she going to understand his bursts of energy?
What if he needs me? Will I feel it?
I asked him a few things tonight. First, “if your teacher asks you a question and your answer is yes, what do you say?” “Yes, ma’am”.
“Good! I said.”
“Ok, if your teacher asks you a question and the answer is no, what do you say?” “No, ma’am”.
“Great!”
“When Mommy misses you tomorrow, what is she supposed to do?” He paused…… Then he thought…….
“Ummm, go to the Grocery Store?”
So, there it is FOLKS!
I guess if you need me tomorrow and every school day after that, you can find me at the Grocery Store……. ALL…DAY….LONG. 😉
Showing Hospitality Towards Others: Veggie Garden Baskets
This is going to be a different kind of post….. well sort of. As you know, I love to blog about all kinds of things. Decorating, cooking, my “babies”. I don’t usually talk about my faith or mention God a lot, but lately, I have felt a tug on my heart to mention him more in the posts that I share.
Now, that doesn’t mean I’m going to go all “Bible” on y’all. I wouldn’t dream of doing that!……. OR WOULD I? 😉
I mentioned before in a previous post about being Hospitable towards others. We are called to do this and I believe it is truly good for someone’s soul to show hospitality towards others. It is a natural thing to want to show others kindness. Showing hospitality is a kissin cousin of kindness.
Think about it!
Doesn’t it make you happy to see the smile on someone’s face when you give them a gift? It’s a joyous feeling when you truly see the look of excitement from them. The fact that you would take the time to think of them and make them feel special makes their heart so full.
Well, we have been blessed this year with a Crazy Growing…..Wild Looking……. (Like it is on Steroids)……. Garden.
We have veggies coming off left and right. As we sat there admiring the fruits of our labors, we thought to ourselves…..” There is no way we will ever eat all of this ourselves!”
Then, for a second (AND I MEAN SPLIT SECOND), we thought we could.
Then we thought about the MASSIVE 5 day bellyache that may cause.
Then, we had an idea!
Why not bless our friends and family like God has blessed us this Summer?
I thought this would be a great opportunity to show my BABIES how to show that same hospitality towards others…..
So, we grabbed our baskets….
Some ribbon, and cards and got movin.
We stuffed them full of goodies….
Added a quick note….
Plus a little tag secured by the ribbon. “Veggie-Blessed” was the best I could come up with. DONT JUDGE ME! LOL!
Then we took off and made our stops.
I loved the sheer excitement on my babies faces when they got to deliver the baskets to our friends. Some were home and some were not. I don’t know…… There is something fun about leaving goodies for your friends on their doorsteps. Thinking about the look on their faces when they see the gift that was left for them.
*SIDE NOTE: Make sure that you let them know there is something waiting for them on their doorstep just in case they have a garage. If they are like me, they don’t use their front door as much and might not see it waiting there for them! 😉
They couldn’t wait to run up to the next door!
You know, they say it is better to give than to receive.
However,
When you give,
You DO Receive!
You receive the smiles and the thankfulness that goes along with giving of yourself and your time.
Now I ask you…..
What could be better than that?
“Do not forget to show Hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some have shown Hospitality to Angels without knowing it.”
What ways do you show Hospitality towards others?
Why not try something easy to start off with? Why not try writing a note to someone and ask them how they have been and tell them how much you care about them? Put a stamp on it and stick it in the mail! The gesture will go further than you think!
*Will you be the next to be Veggie-Blessed?
Let’s SEE!
xoxo,
Esther
Salmon Chowder
I know that you can eat fish pretty much any time of the year, but let’s be honest, it’s the best during the Summertime, right? When I think of fish in general, I think of the ocean and that usually leads me to thinking of the beach and that ultimately is the goal for most of us during the Summer!
If you love Salmon as much as I do, YOU MUST TRY THIS RECIPE! This might not seem like it would be very “kid friendly”, but I swear….. my little BABIES eat this up!
Maybe they are just weird or maybe they just can’t taste the salmon, or ……. yeah, maybe they are just weird………. 😉
Regardless the case, they really do love this one!
Salmon is probably one of the healthiest kinds of fish out there. The best part is that this meal is very light too!
Check out the Recipe below!
Recipe: Salmon Chowder
• 1 lb. fresh skinless Salmon
• 1 – 2 Tbsp. of Olive Oil
• 2 cups Shredded Carrots
• 1 cup Chopped Onions
• 1/2 cup Thinly Sliced Celery
• 2 1/2 cups Cubed Red- Skinned Potatoes
• 4 cups Reduced-Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 (16 oz.) package Frozen Corn
• 1 Tsp. Fresh Chopped Dill Weed , plus more for Garnish (Optional)
• 1/4 Tsp. Salt
• 2 Cups Milk (I used Skim)
• 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch (for thickening)
• Water for Poaching Salmon
Directions:
• Rinse Salmon and pat dry. Set aside.
• In large pot, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Cook and stir carrots , celery, and onion in hot oil about 10-12 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, in another large pot, bring water (about 2 cups) to a boil. Add salmon. Return to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the salmon flakes easily with a fork. Remove salmon, flake into 1 inch size pieces and set aside. Discard water.
• Stir the broth, potatoes, corn, dill, and salt into cooked veggies. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium low heat . Cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
• Stir together 1/2 cup of the milk and cornstarch. Add milk mixture to pot.
• Stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups milk to pot.
• Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and slightly bubbly. ( about 5-6 minutes)
• Gently stir in poached salmon and heat through.
• Serve in bowls and top with additional fresh dill.
• Goes GREAT with Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread!
ENJOY!
XOXO,
Esther
Teacher Appreciation Luncheon
A couple of months ago, I was asked to throw the end of year Teacher Appreciation Luncheon at my son’s preschool. I love being hospitable to others. In fact, I’m pretty sure that has turned out to be my calling in life. I really hope that statement doesn’t come across as boastful. In fact, I mean it to be anything but that.
You see, back when I was in school, I felt like everyone knew what they wanted to “be when they grew up”………… EXCEPT ME!
When asked that question, I think I came up with something original, like…… an actress! I even convinced myself that I REALLY wanted to do that and even got as far as auditioning for the Raleigh Christmas Carol, which happens to be ran by no other than Ira David Wood, which happens to be the father of Evan Rachel Wood, (the hollywood actress). (I realize I just gave you ENTIRELY TOO MUCH information!)
Anyway, I had to sing for my audition and as it got closer and closer to my turn, I realized VERY QUICKLY that I did NOT want to be an actress afterall !!! Well, God must have heard my plea to make something happen that would allow me to crawl out of the building prior to my turn because literally 3 turns before my own ( I know this because I was counting as I sweat profusely) , they announced they would be taking a quick break.
I QUICKLY seized the opportunity to turn to my mom and let her know my thoughts and after seeing the shear TERROR in my eyes, she lovingly abliged my departure. (*THANK GOODNESS!)
Honestly, I cannot believe I just told you that! Oh well, I guess it isn’t a secret anymore………. The point is, I’m glad that I have found something I love to do for others and that I have turned out to be at least decent at and others appreciate.
BACK TO THE HOSPITABLE PART!….. 😉
I had a great group of ladies jump in to help me. We decided to go with a “Super Hero Theme”.
Now, I cannot claim ALL these ideas. I searched Pinterest (the Holy Grail of Ideas) and put our own spin on them.
The picture above is an IKEA picture frame that cost a whopping $. 99 ! That’s right, 99 cents!
Then, I just found a picture of Wonder Woman and sized it to 4×6 and printed on regular computer paper. The picture frame is double sided, so I printed 2 per frame ( I had 3, so I did 6 total) and lined them down the banquet table.
The table cloth is a simple deep blue also purchased from the Dollar store as well as red paper plates and gold napkins secured with red ribbon.
We did a candy bar and used jars from IKEA ( I had just gone a trip so they all really came in handy) .
I made the labels using glitter foam sheets found at the craft store. They are sticky back so you can play around with them how you like. I used a circle punch to make the white circle and then stuck them to the clothes pins. The clothes pins simply clip on to whatever container you choose. The small scoops were purchased at The Party Store for $.89 each.
I found the cutest Galvanized Container at Sams Club and layered chocolate chip cookies and specialty cupcakes from a local cupcake shop.
What candy bar would be complete without goody bags to put them in?
The goody bags are simply brown paper bags purchased at the Dollar Store and cut to fit (my best interpretation of The Captain America logo) sticky back glitter foam sheets left over from the candy labels.
Did you know that local establishments will graciously donate items to functions like this? All you have to do is ASK! Of course, it would be very courteous to give them adequate notice and NEVER FORGET to send them a “thank you” note to let them know just how much you appreciate their kindness. We were very lucky to have wonderful people in our community from a few different restaurants graciously donate to our function. The result was AMAZING!
These cool dispensers were picked up at Sam’s Club for $29.99 for the pair! Chalkboard necklaces let the teachers know which drink is which. Simple decorations that the volunteers found in their children’s rooms decorate the table. 🙂
We made gift baskets for each of the teachers as well. I found the coolest drink cups (even though you can’t see them very well) at Michael’s. They had Wonder Woman on them and they were PERFECT! Paired with girly items from the Target dollar bins, they made a cute little gift for the teachers to take home.
I have to admit, when I was first asked to do this, I kind of PANICKED! What did I know about Teacher Luncheons??????
Well, after it was all said and done, I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to do it and the response from the teachers was worth it.
If you are planning or have been asked to help throw a Teacher’s Luncheon, I hope this may have given you some great ideas!
Have you thrown a Teacher Luncheon? If so, what was your theme? I would love to know!
Until next time…….
XOXO,
Esther
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