The Saturday 7

1. When we were camping last weekend, we had a couple large family meals where everyone brought something to pass. I brought things like store-bought potato salad and bags of chips. But Justin's cousin brought homemade salsa one night. I'm usually not a big salsa eater. And I'm certainly not a big vegetable eater, but it just looked so good that I decided to try it. I loved it so much, I got the recipe from her and made it myself this week. I was so proud of myself for snacking on vegetables all week! Haha. Here's the recipe if you want to try it yourself:

Thanks, Kara (and Betsy - since I think she actually got the recipe from you)

2. My mom bought my dad a Keurig for his birthday last week and I've been greatly enjoying it. The coffee is definitely more expensive, but the convenience is worth it. And I love how fast it is. #murica

3. After a rough second week of school where Lucy cried every time I dropped her off, she did much better this week. She's getting in the groove, making friends, and getting more comfortable with her teacher. I'm loving the whole school experience . . . except for the homework. It's not actually that big of a deal. Lucy does it without complaining, but I realized this week that it's really more of a responsibility for me than her. She brings home her homework folder once a week and it's due a week later. So I have to keep track of the homework, make sure she does it, then make sure she brings it back on time. She also had a special project this week - making a timeline. It was a super easy project, but again, I had to sit down with her, print out the pictures, help her write the captions, make sure she did it on time and had it returned to school on the right day. And don't even get me started on library books and show and tell. (I forgot to send her with show and tell the very first week of school. Way to go, Mom.)

4. I helped in her class again on Friday. I work with the kids for 2 hours - playing word Bing-o and doing little science experiments (smelling things for the senses unit, etc.). I noticed this week that by the end of the two hours, I was totally going hoarse! I guess I'm not used to talking that much! Also, I forgot to share last week how weird it was to introduce myself to the kids as "Mrs. VanderKodde." Justin's mom was our school secretary for a few years while we were growing up, so she was Mrs. VanderKodde to me for a long time. This is the first time since I've been married that I've really used that moniker. Although the kids just call me "Lucy's mom" anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Haha.

5. I read a fluffy inspirational Christian book this week: From the Start (Melissa Tagg). It was cute and fun. Then I started Give Them Grace (Elyse Fitzpatrick), which has been sitting in my "to read" pile since Christmas. I only read the first chapter and am already feeling in over my head. If you scroll down to my the entry right before this one, you can read some of my scattered thoughts on it. It's going to be a thinking book. We'll see if I can finish it before my 30th birthday (3 weeks from today!) or if I'll chicken out and pick something easier. Haha. I also ordered this devotional that I intend to start this week:

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I've been trying to have a more consistent devotional life, but I find that if I just read through the Bible, I read a chapter as quickly as I can, check it off my list, and don't give it any thought the rest of the day. So I decided to try a devotional book. I spent hours on Amazon looking for something that's deeper than a little one page blurb, but not something deeply theological on every page. I figured this 11-week study was a good start. I'll let you know how it goes.

6. Last week, I read and wrote a review on Crazy Busy on Saturday. The next day at church, our pastor did a sermon on being a risk-taker, doing something, avoiding laziness. Uhhh, conflicting messages! I've actually been really convicted about my laziness lately, so I decided to throw myself into this stay-at-home-mom thing. On Tuesday, I did all kinds of housework until my sciatic nerve started hurting so much I could hardly move. I hit a wall by 5:00, but still had to make dinner, give the girls baths, and put them to bed. Justin did most of the baths/bedtime routine because I was so dead on my feet. And I was reminded once again of the need for balance between laziness and busyness.

I also had the thought that maybe this season of pregnancy is going to be a season of rest for me. I was sick for the first 13 weeks, finally started to feel better enough to get back to my daily routine only to be knocked back down by the sciatic pain. I might have a few weeks of relative comfort once that subsides, but it's only a matter of time until I get huge and uncomfortable. It's frustrating to me that I have to start asking for help already. I know the last three months will be miserable. I've already warned my family that there will be very little cleaning or cooking from about January on. But it's too early for that now! I hate feeling so worthless! Just another reason to immerse myself in devotionals and the Bible and those difficult parenting books - at least I can do that from the couch.

7. It's late, so I'll end with these cute pictures from the ACS carnival last night:

Lucy the cat.

I asked Lena if she wanted to be a cat like Lucy, but she insisted that she wanted a butterfly. Came up with that all on her own .