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smilesbymiles
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Name: Michelle
Gender: Female
Interests: Writing, Choral Music, Photography, Scrapbooking,Interior Decorating, Cardiology, International Travel, Child Development
Expertise: Organization, Iced Tea, Hosting Guests, Speed Reading
Occupation: homemaker, photographer, autho
Message: message me
Member Since:
8/14/2006
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Did you ever think about how many of the favorite things in our lives are things we can't really capture anywhere but in our minds? Like the other morning when I was washing Liam's face and he pursed his lips and opened his eyes wide and stretched his neck .... I giggled at his funny face trying to get away from the washcloth.
Or the way Adam will beg to ask grace at the table and then when he finishes look up in all seriousness and say, "Was that a good prayer, Mommy?"
I was looking through photo albums last night and so many of the pictures brought back an entire flood of memories of things Adam did and said when he was little. But so many moments go unrecorded. I wish that in ten years from now I could remember the way Liam's eyes lazily drift open and shut when he's falling asleep. Or the way Adam came and kissed me goodnight when I went to bed earlier then he did last night. And then, just before he turned to run to his own bed he said, "I like your toothpaste, Mommy." Which was doubly good to hear since every morning when he comes downstairs I am just finishing up my coffee and he avoids my hugs like the plague because "Mommy, your breath STINKS."
I love the way David's eyes smile at me across the room even more then his mouth does. I love the way the porch pillars turn pink as the sun goes down across the road. I love the way the phone rings almost every morning around 9 because David is checking in to see how our day is going. I love the way Liam thump, thump, thumps down the steps after his nap, the way he stomps around in boots all day long as though they were a security blanket. I love the way Adam sits and looks at books on insects or the world around us for thirty minutes at a time and how he looks at me in bewilderment when I tell him that he will like "reading" books even more when he can actually read for real.
So many moments meant to be savored and enjoyed in the here and now. Maybe it's just as good that we can't record some of them; because if we forget them, we can't long to have them back.
What is your favorite little moment? | | |
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Adam hates to clear the dishwasher. He can poke and poke and poke and poke around. If I don't stay after him, it can take him over thirty minutes.
Every time a new job has become his responsibility, he dislikes it fiercely until he becomes good at it and then suddenly it's old hat and he doesn't complain, just gets it done. Somehow the dishwasher dislike has seemed to get worse instead of better. He's become a master of getting Liam enthused about the job (yes, manipulation happening already) and coaches him patiently through putting away silverware and pots and pans. But then the job takes an hour.
Today David told him it's time to clear the dishwasher and he is setting the timer for ten minutes. I've tried this trick myself and it usually only generates more complaining. Today he somehow realized David meant business and flew toward the dishwasher and started throwing things into drawers. About three minutes into the game he said with surprise, "Mommy, this goes really quickly when I hurry." | | |
| Last summer when Liam was first officially diagnosed with his long list of allergies, I wished desperately for a blog that addressed his specific allergens. I found many, many blogs about allergies. Some of them were helpful. But so many times if I found a recipe that was dairy free, it contained wheat. Or if I finally found something gluten free, it still contained dairy. Or tomato. Or egg. Or soy.
I stumbled around in the kitchen feeling as though I didn't know how to cook anymore. For awhile I used a lot of gluten free pasta and tried various substitutes. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes Liam didn't like the food. Most of all, it was expensive.
I still use substitutes sometimes; but I have also learned to cook in a way that all of us can enjoy the same meal a lot of the time. I love it for several reasons. It's a lot less work. Cooking separate dishes literally means cooking two meals at the same time ... and twice the dishes. And, Liam eats better when he is eating the same thing he sees us eating.
My biggest challenge was that our family likes flavor RICH food. "Season it well," is David's motto. I turned our weekly recardo chicken over to him and it's twice as good now because he is so liberal with the seasonings. Unfortunately, we have now run out of recardo seasoning and will have to survive without until someone goes to Belize again.
I really hope that none of you will ever need these recipes; but just in case, I'm going to post one occasionally and tag them with food allergies so they are easily accessible.
This is one of the first "regular food" meals I discovered Liam could eat.
Growing up in the South, we almost always had "hoppin' John" on New Years Day. I don't remember all the significance of the food groups ... I just remember that the pork (bacon) was to signify prosperity and the greens indicated health for the coming year. We love this dish so when I discovered Liam can eat it, I started making it more then just at New Years.
My recipes are somewhat make and dump so if you need more specifics, feel free to ask.
To make hoppin' John:
2 cups rice, cooked (We love basmati rice; but you can use whatever you like)
In a separate pan fry
bacon cut into bite sized pieces (I like the 12 oz packages of Oscar Meyer center cut) and
1 lb hamburger and
1 onion, chopped
Once fully cooked, add
1 can black eyed peas
the cooked rice
to the meat mixture. The reason this dish works well is that I can saute without using butter. Liam is so restricted that I suspect he needs a little animal fat. If you're worried about your own intake, you could drain the meat and then saute in olive oil (although you will lose some of the flavor).
Saute a bit to get everything mixed and flavorful and season to taste with Lawry's season salt (this has become my best friend in the kitchen ... it's one of the few brands that contains no MSG) and a little garlic.
Enjoy! We love this dish served with
cooked spinach -- I add a little butter and salt and we each add our own vinegar sprinkled on top at the table (yeah, I'm the only one who eats seconds and wishes for more but David and Adam like it well enough to claim they "like" the first serving). Liam is still extra "gaggy" so I don't push spinach on him yet. When I do, I will take a little aside for him before adding the butter.
a salad
and applesauce.
And there you go. No dairy, soy, tomato, gluten, or egg. Just a mouthful of flavor. | | |
| Finally. I succumbed.
I've been thinking of starting a photography blog for months and months; but somehow I always balked at the idea of keeping up with another blog. But whenever someone asked, "Where can we see samples of your work?", I knew what I needed to do.
I've finally stopped balking. If you are interested, you can view it here. Not much new going on there yet ... mostly old items. But I'm very happy with a place to put pictures that don't belong on my family blog!
Enjoy! | | |
| David had TWELVE days at home over Christmas time thanks to the snow and the fact that Christmas fell on a Friday this year. It was absolute bliss. The more "daddy attention" (as Adam calls it) we get, the happier we are around here. He's definitely the all-time favorite person at our house.
Before we got married, I was a teeny bit worried that David would be one of those guys who would just sit around on the couch and not want to do anything. He had a super laid-back personality and came from a family of boys who seemed to love staying at home. While they loved their own church functions, they didn't like crowds and I rarely saw them at joint church events.
I was the exact opposite. Take me anywhere and everywhere.
Now that we've gotten married, we have reversed roles completely. I think it's something in the water. But frankly, it's a lot of work to take children along to an event, get home late, and then get up the next morning to extra mess and kids who are cranky from losing sleep. Not to mention, anywhere over a twenty minute drive and we get to listen to very loud whining and complaining and screaming from one car seat. Nothing, and I repeat, nothing, quite grates on my nerves like my child screaming in his car seat, because I cannot do anything about it. I don't like screaming; but as long as I can do something about it or it's not my responsibility to take care of the child, it's bearable.
So I'm the one who says, "Oh, let's just stay home," and David is the one who says, "Hey, we should go to the afternoon music session" (right over the boys nap time).
Aside from social things, I am the lazy one around here. I thought I knew how to work; but this guy works circles around me because he does not stop. I thought our furniture had no chance of ever wearing out; but the boys are taking care of that now by jumping on it and dumping orange juice on it. I thought Saturdays are a day to take it easy. He has finally compromised and gets started working at 9 instead of 8. And Christmas vacation? Make that a "workcation."
Much of this has come from building two houses. This year he is much more relaxed, same as he was after we'd lived in the cabin for about eighteen months. I cannot even describe how much I appreciate the fact that he is so determined to get things done instead of letting half started projects sit around. It is because of him that our place has made such drastic steps toward being finished in the past two years. And when I don't have a baby, all of us working together is one of my favorite ways to spend a Saturday. It's hard to explain. Maybe it has a little to do with the fact that doing small building projects is a welcome break from our normal routine during the week. Maybe it's because we've gotten into the habit. Or maybe it's just because we like being together so much.
And with two boys in tow, "workcations" are actually kind of fun. Over Christmas time this year David tackled the gigantic mess we called our basement. Amazingly enough, when he was finished, ALL our storage and lumber and leftover house supplies fit into one back room instead of taking up 2/3 of the basement. I would not even have known where to start. I helped for two days with things I could do; but the master plan and major work load was his. After clean-up was done, he painted shelves and put them in my "can room." (What do people call those?) After storing things at someone else's house when we lived in a trailer, then under our bed at the cabin, and now on the floor of the can room and the top shelves of my kitchen cabinets, I feel like a rich woman to have things out on shelves where I can easily take stock of what I have or need.
And now the boys have what I think looks like little boy heaven. So much space.
So many fun toys.
They can play basketball, T-ball, ride bike, use carpentry tools, or just run around. Adam is completely enamored with rollerblades and insists on wearing mine .... a ladies size six for his little boy size eleven feet. Amazingly, he stays upright. I think I know a good birthday gift for someone! He's even sparked some rollerblade interest in us again.
I had a pair of roller-skates when I was a little girl. Everyone at school had roller-skates. It's all we did at recess. Then the craze passed and all the girls had to have a chinese jump rope. Until our family moved to Virginia and everyone was rollerblading. But our new school was many times bigger and it looked intimidating to learn to rollerblade in that mass of moving humans. I bought a pair later and never used them.
The other day when David was at work I got brave enough to put them on. I don't fly around by a long shot; but at least I'm not getting black and blue either.  We had a blast the other evening when both of us skated and the boys played with their toys.
Adam and I played P-I-G the other day with his basketball hoop. Having little boys is so much fun! I think we'd get old twice as fast without them. | | |
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