Adventures in La La Land

1. I haven't been able to sit through the service at church much recently thanks to sick kids and nursery duty. But I was finally able to hear the whole message on Sunday. God knew I would need it for the rest of my week. We're learning about Israel's first kings, and this week was about Saul's jealousy of David. Pastor Chris emphasized that jealousy and envy can fester and become bitterness. As was Saul's case, it can literally lead to madness and open the door for demonic oppression. But it also just makes you an unhappy, un-likeable person. I've always struggled with jealousy, and this week was hard. I heard of a few friends getting amazing jobs, making lots of money. And then I saw some people from my past that are very successful and beautiful. It'd be one thing if I could tell myself these people are all greedy and mean-spirited and selfish, but they're not. They're all sweet and kind and deserving. I've been constantly reminding myself to ...

I apologize for my tardiness. I was gone all day yesterday and am just now getting around to it. 1. I made two new meals this week that actually turned out well! I'm a terrible cook, so this is a big deal. The first was Garlic Chicken Stir Fry . I couldn't find sesame oil at the store, so I just used a little bit of peanut sauce that I found in our fridge. It was delicious! But it cracks me up that the blogger who shared the original recipe describes it as her go-to easy week night meal. For me, easy means frozen pizza, not chopping 4 different vegetables and standing over the stove to saute them. #lazy The second was Slow Cooker Angel Pork Chops . Pork chops were buy one get one free a couple weeks ago, so I've been looking for new recipes. This one fit the bill. They were creamy and delicious! (And truly easy!) 2. I finally fully weaned Levi this week. I'd only been nursing him once in the morning, but I decided it was time to be totally done. I nursed him for t...

1. My kids were all sick at different times this week. Lucy puked before school on Tuesday morning, so she stayed home the rest of the day. She acted mostly fine. Occasionally she'd run to the bathroom thinking she was going to puke, but she never did. She ate like normal and played with Lena all day. On Wednesday, Lena started out fine, but steadily went downhill throughout the day. She had a really barky cough, a fever, and complained all afternoon of a belly-ache. She even fell asleep at rest time, which never happens. But she never puked and she was mostly fine by the next day. At least it was a fast-moving illness! Levi, on the other hand, has been grumpy all week thanks to teeth. His top right is so  close to poking through and it's really bothering him. The poor kid is miserable. :-( 2. I tried a couple new meals this week. The first was a desperation meal. I intended to go grocery shopping on Tuesday, but I refused to bring Lucy out in public while she was sick, so I ...

1. I started reading The Boxcar Children to the girls at night before bed. We're only 3 or 4 chapters in, but it's kind of blowing my mind. Who are these mysterious children with remarkable survival skills? How do they stay so optimistic in the face of adversity? Why aren't they more worried about their future? Are they ever going to go to school? Aren't people going to start asking questions about why Henry keeps appearing in town looking for odd jobs? Don't they get hungry on a diet of blueberries and milk? Do they live in a cold climate? What's going to happen when winter comes? What happened to their parents? Why did they think to pack a "cake of soap?" What kind of kid packs a bar of soap when running away? Is this how kids thought/acted in the 20s? My girls are not nearly as concerned as I am about these children . . . 2. I think I mentioned that we had a YouTube-free summer. I was feeling convicted about how much the girls were watching and ...

1. I had this thought recently: why are tiny houses trendy and hip when the original tiny house (mobile home) is considered white trash? (Sorry if you live in a mobile home. I think they're awesome.) 2. We had a strange week of sleep (which probably contributes to random thoughts such as the one above). Levi started sleeping through the night! But Lena stopped. I usually feed Levi for the last time between 8 and 10, then he sleeps 'til between 4 and 6. I call that sleeping through the night! Woohoo! Lena, however, has randomly been waking up around 1:00 and freaking out. She pulls out all her stalling tactics (I need my blanket on, turn my CD on, rub my back, I just wanted to tell you I love you), and when I've had enough and tell her to go back to sleep she screams bloody murder. A few times this week, I finally just turned off the monitor and went to sleep while she screamed. She can  climb out of her crib, but she doesn't. And that is why she's still in the cri...