The Saturday 7

1. I made another winning recipe this week. Slower cooker enchiladas. The name is deceiving. Only the chicken is slow-cooked. You still have to assemble the enchiladas and bake them in the oven, but they were easy and delicious! I loved how tender and flavorful the meat was. And I really liked the sauce on top. Justin said it was too tangy. (I'm pretty sure the recipe is from plainchicken again, but I can't find it. Sorry.)

Crockpot Enchiladas
1 packet taco seasoning

1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 can (14.5oz) low-sodium chicken broth
6 chicken breasts
12 flour tortillas
2 cups pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup light ranch dressing
1/2 cup salsa

Place chicken, taco seasoning, ranch mix and chicken broth in 6-quart slow cooker.   Cook on low 6 hours.  Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred.
Divide chicken and cheese between tortillas.  Roll up and place in a lightly greased 9x13-inch pan.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Combine Ranch dressing and salsa.  Pour over baked enchiladas.  Serve with rice.

2. Here's the weekly potty training update: It's going very well. She's really getting the hang of it. Occasionally she'll pee a tiny bit in her undies before she realizes she's going, but for the most part, she tells me when she has to go and rarely has accidents. For my records: There was about a week of constant accidents and cleaning up puddles. By week 2, she was having maybe 1 or 2 accidents a day. By week 3, she's rarely having accidents and making it a long time without having to go. She's also doing awesome when we're out and about. She used the bathroom at Meijer, the library, the boys' soccer game, and the hair salon this week. However, she still wakes up from naps and overnight completely soaked. She actually peed through her diaper a couple times overnight this week.

3. We finally got the fall weather everyone's been wanting this week. I usually hate fall because it leads to winter - the most despicable season of all. But I'm feeling less animosity toward winter this year because I know I won't have to drive in the snow every day. :-) I've been somewhat enjoying the onset of fall. I especially love this in-between weather where we don't have to use the AC or the heat! And I enjoyed burning my fall candles and pulling out my warm clothes. Ask me again in 6 months how I feel about cooler weather. Haha.

4. Here's a random one. I take issue with people saying, "God won't give you more than you can take." I'm pretty sure they're referring to this verse in 1 Corinthians: "You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out so that you can stand up under it." That verse says God won't give you more temptation than you can take. It's not referring to hard circumstances. If I remember correctly, God promised that we'd have trouble in this world, that we'd be persecuted and hated. Of course he has promised to be with us every step of the way, but he never said he wouldn't give us more than we can take. Do you think Job felt like he could handle his circumstances? Really, I don't think the term "more than you can take" makes sense anyway. What's going to happen if you can't take it? You're going to have a mental breakdown? You do what you have to do. Haha. Random rant over.

5. I bought Lucy some watercolor paints this week. (Just the $1 ones from the dollar store.) It really stresses me out. I hate hate hate messes. She uses way too much water, spills all over the table, gets it all over herself, then flips her paper over halfway through painting so the still-wet paint gets all over the place. Ahhh! I found myself saying, "No, no, no! You're doing it wrong! Stop making such a mess!" I can see parents, teachers, and artists all over the world cringing at my criticism of her artistic process. Haha. Time to get over my hang ups, and just clean up after her when she's done. I need to find a little table and chairs set she can sit at in the kitchen - at least then I don't have to worry about my carpet!

6. I can't get to 7 this week. I'll end with this:

Got my hair chopped today! Please excuse this horrendous picture. I look so pale and tired and am smiling very fakely. Plus I majorly need my eyebrows waxed - they're practically casting shadows over my eyes. Haha. Anyway, I'm happy with the haircut! I'm pretty low maintenance and don't have grand expectations. I told the girl I'd like to donate it, but not go shorter than my shoulders. She managed to cut off 8 inches, so I should be good. (Pantene Beautiful Lengths only requires 8 inches. Locks of Love wants 10.) And I just asked her to throw in a few layers and leave it long enough to put in a ponytail. Voila!