The Hills Are Alive....

The Hills Are Alive....

que angelic voices breaking into a rousing rendition of "Hallelujah!"

que ME, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Andy is BACK after being out of town the better part of 3 weeks.  Hallelujah, thank you Jesus, literally, as Jesus was my main Sustainer while Andy was gone.

Something was different this time with him being out of town (no, I'm not pregnant).  My sweet little Jackson is repeatedly showing off his sin nature, needing attention that I can't fully give with a distracted nursing baby, and discombobulated by Andy here, gone, here gone.  I'm struggling between grace and mercy, and all-out disciplining, figuring out which battles I need to tackle, and all the while chugging those last dregs of my coffee and praying, a lot, throughout the day, throughout the night.  The Lord, yet again, has been faithful in providing strength while I've been a single parent.  But man, are we all glad Andy is home, at least for a week?!

Jackson is so in love with his daddy (and I'm in love with Jackson's daddy too, for the record).

que, this amazing picture Andy just sent me

This boy loves some choo choos with his DaDa.  And he is loving running one-on-one errands with Andy.  They are so sweet together...melts my heart.

(And my pride as a mother must mention that I am blessed with a child who is fairly compliant, NOT strong-willed, pretty happy go lucky most of the time.  But then again, that's his personality, not a result of my parenting.  I didn't want any readers out there to abstain from calling us for playdates, fearing Jackson has turned into a Greek mythological figure from Hades.)

Now that I can abstain from my previous 3 weeks' diet of cut up fruit, an occasional piece of green something on my plate (thank you Juice Plus for filling in my lacking nutrients!), and 3 or 8 bowls of Lucky Charms, with an extra adult hand around the house, I can cook.  Yee-haw.  I feel like a sane lady.

My friend Emily encouraged me to cook a whole chicken.  Bones and all.  After I got over the fact I had to rub butter over the creepy little ribs, I realized this is a fabulous and wholesome and easy dish, and it makes your house smell like it stepped right out of the Martha Stewart magazine. (note, your kitchen will not look like a Martha Stewart kitchen afterwards. Just had to throw out that disclaimer. Nor was the Proverbs 31 woman all put together either...she had servants to clean her house, to scrub those dishes. You young mamas, give yourself some grace!)

Pioneer Woman's Roast Chicken

Recipe here.

prep work, courtesy of Pioneer Woman

With this recipe, I prepared BEETS (think Dwight Schrute from The Office).  I've never cooked with beets before, never touched one, and the only beets I've ever eaten have been prepared by the fanciest restaurants around.  However, I KNOW beets are packed with amazing nutritional content, and if you don't believe me check out this little article here.  This recipe is courtesy of Pinterest.

Balsamic Beets

Recipe here.

While I'm not jumping for joy about consuming these, I know these nutrients are needed for myself, for Ellie, and remember, Andy is back in town, playing with Jackson, so I can try new recipes.  Note, I took the easy way out and bought frozen sliced beets at Whole Foods.  It made the prep work super easy, and my hands are not stained a lovely shade of purple-y red.

Sloppy Joe's

Pioneer Woman

Recipe here.  (Also found in her new cookbook, which I love. I highly recommend getting your own copy)

Photo courtesy of Ree Drummond

And the key to losing any and all baby weight is....

Dessert.

Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe here.

Since I must seize the opportunity to cook/bake while Andy is here, I made these little beauties to take to visit family over the 4th.  (Surprise, YaYa!)

Cooking/baking is hard with two littles around the house, so don't beat yourself up if your diet consists of the occasional banana or watermelon or Lucky Charms, they're magically delicious.

If you need a GREAT laugh in these little years of motherhood, you HAVE to read "Sparkly Green Earrings."  It takes a lot to make me laugh out loud while reading.  I think I may have developed a stomach muscle while reading it and suppressing laughter so I didn't wake the kids.

 

 Some of my favorite excerpts from the book, along with the line: "Robert Frost took the road less traveled because he wasn’t traveling with children who need to go to the bathroom."

Funny!

Now to our survival...we did have fun, lots of laughter, some tears (by all 3 of us), lots of wine after bedtime (just kidding grandmothers! I am sane, I promise!)

First time watching "Pinocchio"

Mama needed a pedicure (after repeated instances of Jackson saying "O My, What's This" while pointing at the calluses on my feet. It.was.time.). So we all went!  Crazy and desperate mama.