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Melissa

For When Your Words Don’t Match Your Heart – {in}courage

I don’t answer the question How are you? because I’ve convinced myself the person asking doesn’t really want to hear that I feel isolated in my journey, overwhelmed in the task, scared of the unknown, struggling with the calling.

Oh, this is wonderful. Just wonderful. I know I do this all the time. How about you?

In Which We Are Not Invisible: Emerging Mummy

There are those that think that I’m not as competent as you because of my choices. I know it’s hard to believe, but I promise that when I put on my yoga pants and nursing bra, I did not take off my brain and my passionate soul.
The eyes of the world (and the church?) just slide right over and past me though, just another tired mother, clearly not much to offer.

Oh, please read this. Please. This spoke right to my heart and brought me to tears.

Cleaning Wood Floors Before Company Comes – Reluctant Entertainer

It’s been said many times here on RE: People are coming to see us, not coming to inspect our house or our floors.

Do you clean before company comes? I know I’ve been trying to let go of appearing to have the perfect house and just let people see us as we are.

Tips for Getting the Most out of the Farmer’s Market – Musings of a Housewife

It’s always a good idea to do a walk through to see what’s there. There are usually several vendors selling some of the same things, and you will want to compare prices and quality so you can be sure to get the best bang for your buck. If you did your homework ahead of time, you’ll know who is organic and who isn’t, and that sort of thing. If not, you may want to ask some questions.

We’ve been hitting the farmer’s market hard lately, so I loved Jo-Lynne’s tips!!

cleaning for therapy

Melissa 6 Comments

With all the craziness going on over here, what have I started to do?

Maniacal cleaning. Something about having life suddenly seeming so out of control makes me want to whip my house into shape. I've always been like that – when I get upset I clean.

I'm sure there is some sort of psychological term for this.

Sunday, I tackled the kitchen. Monday, I attacked our bedroom. Yesterday, it was the mudroom. I have three huge bags for Goodwill and now I need to take on the kid's rooms. Their clothes are out of control.

So, on the bright side, my house is finally getting the deep cleaning it has been screaming for. And I'm totally exhausted from cleaning, so I'm sleeping better. 

Am I the only one who cleans when life gets crazy?

rest for the weary

Melissa 4 Comments

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

This was the verse painted on the wall behind the pulpit at the church we went to yesterday. And I realized something:

Perhaps the reason I'm so exhausted and overwhelmed lately is that I'm not resting in the Lord.  I'm worrying over things that are totally and completely out of my hands, stressing over things that are out of my control. I'm holding on to my worries and concerns instead of turning them over to God.

Worrying is forbidden (Philippians 4:6). It is useless, a colossal waste of time. Rest is a divine gift. But why aren't we accepting it?

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:1

monday tidbits

Melissa 6 Comments

Dear Colin,

If you do not stop waking up at 5am, Mommy and Daddy are going to lose their minds. You are not very cute at that hour, particularly when you are trying to sit on my face or saying "Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama" 300 times in a row while poking me. Not cool. Especially when Mama has has a killer head cold and her head already feels like it might explode. Thank you!

Love,

Mom

*******

Click over to Girlymama Reviews today – I'm giving away a gorgeous pair of sterling silver & pearl earrings from Elyria Sterling valued at $175. I wish I could win them, but I'll settle for one of you guys getting them!  Seriously, the new collection is beautiful – you'll love it!

*******

Sing with me: "We're al-most done with soc-cer! We're al-most done with soc-cer! We're al-most done with soc-cer! Hooooo-RAYYYY!!!!"

*******

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that are important to moms now, like getting organized, Halloween, fall
fashion, the holidays… Sign up at http://www.momologie.com/mn.

try this: black bean tacos

Melissa 4 Comments

This is one of me and my kids favorites! We have this often when my husband (Mr. Where's The Beef) is traveling. Even Colin loves the black beans! Its simple, inexpensive and makes terrific leftovers.

Black Beans Tacos

Black beans (recipe follows)DSC_0008-1
Rice
Diced Tomatoes
Shredded lettuce
Shredded cheese
Salsa
Guacamole
Flour Tortillas (Trader Joe's has the best!)

Set up an assembly line and make your favorite!

Black Beans
2 cans black beans, drained
1 clove garlic, crushed with knife
1/4 cup diced sweet onion
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

In a large skillet or saucepan, saute whole garlic in 2 tbsp olive oil; remove when golden and discard. Add beans and remaining ingredients; cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Salt to taste.

Did you post a try this recipe this week? Leave a comment and I'll link to you!!

tips for surviving a traveling husband

Melissa 6 Comments

Staying at home with three kids by myself while my husband is traveling for work is quite a trip for me as well. Usually by the end of the week, I was exhausted, the house is a disaster and patience had left the building. But, over time,  I've learned a few little tricks and developed a good attitude about his traveling.

Sticker Charts
Each girl gets a piece of paper with their name on it and we hang them up on the wall of the kitchen. At the end of the week when Daddy comes home, the kids are thrilled to show him all of the stickers they earned by quick obedience, being loving, doing chores, etc.

Quick meals

I’m totally not motivated to cook when my husband is gone. And my kids love it. Meals like breakfast for dinner, hot dogs, quesadillas, and grilled cheese are easy, (somewhat) nutritious, and don’t require lots of cooking or clean up. Paper plates are your friends.

Plan, plan, plan

The time between dinner and bedtime can drag like you would not believe. Planning will save your sanity. The first night he is gone, we go to the library to get new books and movies. We have Popcorn Pajama Parties, where the kids and I pile up on the couch in our pjs and watch a movie.  We’ll snuggle up in my bed and read books all evening.  Sometimes when I need to get out of the house we’ll head over to Barnes and Noble or Ikea.

Then have a backup plan

Pick up a movie or toy on sale and save it for when you really, really need it. If your kids love stickers, have a stash of stickers handy. My kids love to color, so I pick up new coloring books at the Dollar Store to pull out on a particularly long night.

Strength in numbers

Send out an SOS email – there is probably another mom who has a traveling husband too! Get together! One mom brings the nuggets, the other brings the french fries, the kids get entertained and you get some adult conversation! (My friends and I call it "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Husbands.")

The day of…

I try to make sure Husband does not come home to a disaster. I clean the house during the afternoon on the day he is coming home. My kids like to “help” me, by dusting or cleaning up their room. Then I get the kids bathed and dressed in their pajamas and get dinner made.  That way, when he is home, we can all just relax.

It’s so tempting to make my husband feel guilty when he travels. He’s jetting around Europe, going to amazing restaurants, not to mention sleep in a hotel room with no kids waking him up all night. I’m stuck at home with the kids, eating fish sticks. Again. But he’s not on vacation. He’s super busy on these trips and usually comes home exhausted and jet lagged.

One of my favorite cookbooks is Barefoot Contessa at Home and this quote from the introduction really spoke to me: “Most weeks, Jeffrey has been around the world and back and when he walks in that door, I want him to feel that he's really home. What he doesn't realize is that what feels very casual is, in fact, quite deliberate: the music is playing, all the lights are on, there are flowers everywhere, and chicken and onions are roasting in the oven.” And I realized that is what I wanted for my husband. Do I want him to dread the chaos he is coming home to? Or do I want him to walk in the door wanting to be nowhere else in the world? And a few tricks to save my sanity and one afternoon of cleaning make that possible.

originally posted on 20 november 2008