I don't very much like to cook. I never really have. I don't like the idea of spending forever on something and then 15 minutes later it's gone! I'd much rather spend that time making a quilt which I can look at forever or painting something which will last a long time. But cooking? Much to Stephens sadness, nope, not my cup of tea. Not to mention that I am extremely picky, so that doesn't help Stephen out much either. If it's pasta, chicken, or pizza, you can count on it being shuffled thru our dinner meals, but if it's seafood, something I have to buy at a specialty grocery store, or something I can't even pronounce, you can guarantee that I will not serve it, let alone, use my hands to prepare and cook it.
Our first year of marriage I rarely cooked and if I did cook it was often the same thing over and over again. I blamed a lot of it on me going to school in Moses Lake (we lived in Othello at the time) and then working at the gymnastics center and not getting home until 10-10:30 at night. So how could I cook right? Well, even after Beck was born it did not get much better. I tried every once in a while, but at most maybe once or twice a week there was an actual prepared thought out meal on the table. The rest of the nights it was frozen pizza, a Costco lasagna, or cold sandwiches. As Beck got older I tried to cook a little more. And even after Paisley was born a little bit more. And especially after my friend Bethany started being an awesome cook, or maybe I just never noticed it before, I was able to call her and ask what "lemon zest" was or if I could substitute cheddar for mozzarella in a lasagna because, well, I didn't have any mozzarella and dinner was in like 20 minutes! My sister, Jakobi, taught me about "color" on a plate for my kids to eat better. I never really thought about, I'd plop down chicken nuggets and a vegetable here and there and call it lunch. But she says to me on a visit there once, "aren't u gonna put any color on their plates?" so now I bought the plates that have little sections in them and I put a whole variety of foods and "colors" on their plates. If there's only like 2 things say, yogurt and chicken, Beck is like, "where's all my food?!?" so I must say that I have improved leaps and bounds in what my kids eat, but I still struggle with dinner. I have made many improvements this last 6 months or so. What can I say? I crave the domesticness of it! I have tried many new recipes, granted it has 6 ingredients or less, many of which have stuck to our menu and made it into the rotation. I have started serving dinner earlier, I used to wait until Stephen got home, 7 or 8, sometimes 9, but now I serve it at 6 and I find that Stephen comes home earlier. I can proudly say I am up to 4 meals a week, with a frozen pizza thrown in there and left overs for the other meals. But not this week, sadly, this week was a strep throat week for Korbi, so it was a fend for yourself, peanut butter and jelly kind of week. So the hard part about all this change and trying to be the "dinner is on at 6!" kind of gal is that they don't eat your food. :( it's a wrestle with the kids to try the new baked chicken and ranch recipe, even if it is smothered in cheese... "Take a polite bite" is my new rule, and kids don't leave the table til they've tried it. And poor Stephen is running in the door at 5:50, to make it too a church meeting at 6:00, so he grabs a small slice of chicken off the kids plate, and let's all admit it together; reheated up food is NOT as good as it was right when it came out of the oven! So he's eating his for lunch tomorrow or 3 days from now on left overs night. So seriously? What do all these recipes and nights of torture get me? What I tell ya?!? For one day having piece of mind that you did everything you could to provide a nice family dinner where you pretended to think you all would talk about your day after giving thanks to our Father in Heaven for supplying this food? I guess. I guess I'll take it. That and my cute little recipe box! Heck ya!
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My mom has stage 3 breast cancer. It sucks. She lives in Idaho and I haven't seen her since the beginning of December, but hopefully will be making another trip down there soon. She found out before Thanksgiving. Strong lady, plowed right thru Thanksgiving and Christmas like it was nothing! Has already had 3 surgeries and going in for another one this week. Headed for Chemo on the 31st, she has been an inspiring lady if anything. She'd hate that I called her lady, so I'll call her a girl. :) I sent her a necklace that said "Fights like a girl" and had a pink charm. I wouldn't want to fight, I'd wanna curl up in my bed and cry, but my mom like just keeps going. I am sad that I am not there and that Britni is the only sister there, I don't like only hearing news thru the phone and not face to face. Dang it. So yea, inspiring GIRL. Haven't always seen eye to eye... who knew sneaking out in the middle of the night to go see boys was a bad idea? Apparently my mom did. :) But she has always been a go getter. You put her in charge of something and you can guarantee it's gonna be decorated, organized, serenaded, that there will be things to take home, and definitely well attended. So I'm posting this out there because well, honestly its a part of my life. Don't feel bad for me, I don't have cancer, but you can say a little (or a big one) prayer for my mom and pray for her to stay strong... I LOVE YOU MOM!
Sledding hill on the right side of the cabin
