Sunday, June 29, 2008

Motherhood

***Warning to the reader: This is a mushy, gushy post, especially the poem at the end. What can I say?***

My Wesley has the most stunning blue eyes. He's the entertainer in our family. He is mischievous and opinionated but also all love and affection and sweetness. He's a little mama's boy. He doesn't love anyone more than he loves me--if only that could last! He loves and insists on falling asleep on my shoulder, with his fingers twisted up in my hair. It's hard to feel too badly about anything in life when such a sweet little person loves you so much.


I love this picture (thanks Donna for all of these!) because to me it captures best the Henry I know. He's a beautiful, big-eyed boy with lots of great blonde hair which I hate to cut. Henry is good right down to his core. He loves his friends and adores his daddy, who is his "best buddy." He is curious about everything in life and is both funny and light-hearted as well as thoughtful and sensitive. He's a true "barefoot boy," which is another poem I should post on here sometime. He is perfectly happy exploring the outdoors and nature and the way things work, and I love to let him enjoy a happy childhood and not try to force adulthood on him too fast.


Gosh, I love this picture so much too! How can you not love that squishy little baby face right in front of the camera? To me that face just says, "Mommy, I am an important person too."

Ahh...life with a sibling. Not always what it's cracked up to be. They definitely love each other a lot though and are heart-broken when the other one is upset or not around. I'm glad they have each other, and James and I know how fortunate we are to have them. They are our greatest blessing.

The Girl I Used to Be
Author unknown

She came tonight as I sat alone,
The girl I used to be,
And she gazed at me with her earnest eyes,
And questioned reproachfully,
Have you forgotten the many plans,
And hopes I had for you?
The great career,
The splendid fame,
All the wonderful things to do?
Where is the mansion of stately height,
With all of its gardens rare?
The silken robes that I dreamed for you,
And the shining jewels in your hair?
And as she spoke,
I was very sad,
For I wanted her pleased with me,
This slender girl from the shadowy past,
The girl I used to be.

So gently rising,
I took her hand and guided her up the stairs,
Where peacefully sleeping,
My babies lay, innocent, sweet and fair.
And I told her that these are my only gems,
And precious they are to me.
That silken robe is my motherhood,
Of costly simplicity.
And my mansion of stately height is love,
And the only career I know,
Is serving each day in these sheltered walls,
For the dear ones who come and go.
And as I spoke to my shadowy guest,
She smiled through her tears at me,
And I saw the woman that I am now,
Pleased the girl that I used to be!


Pumpkin Muffins, Ratatouille, and Key Lime Pie

Well, here I am, posting again after all of you gave up on checking my blog weeks ago...

I thought I'd share a few recipe thoughts. We had a whole lot of company over lately, and it's been great fun, although a lot of work and a lot of cooking. (At least my house stays looking good though!) We've had a double baby shower and several game nights and dinners.

So, with all this going on, I've made a few interesting culinary discoveries I thought I'd share. The first is the little known fact that if you add twice as much canned pumpkin as the pumpkin muffin recipe calls for, it still turns out pretty darn good. I did this by accident when I made muffins for a pool party with other moms and kids from church, and all the while I couldn't figure out why the batter was so weird and why I had to cook them forever. And actually, not only did they have twice as much pumpkin but I had reduced the oil and sugar already, so they had less than 50% of what they should have had of those. And I'd added flax seed, so they were pretty darn healthy and actually really good still. Here's the recipe:

Jennifer Eyring's Pumpkin Bread
1 2/3 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. each of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice
1 1/2 c. sugar (or 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 c. oil (or 1/3 cup)
2 eggs
1 c. pumpkin (or 2 cups!)
3 T. flax seed

13+ min at 350 (with extra pumpkin, closer to 20 min)

My next discovery was with Ratatouille. We were figuring out what to make as a side dish for our friends and I realized I had all the ingredients for this one except the eggplant. So we got it and made it--very simple and nutritious, and even James liked it in spite of the squash and eggplant. However, I did finally finish it off for lunch today, which was probably my 4th time having it, and I have to say it had lost a bit of its luster after the 2nd or 3rd time.

Ratatouille
2 cloves garlic
1 med onion
1 med eggplant
2 small zucchini
1 med green pepper
2 med tomatoes
fresh basil
1/8-1/4 c. olive oil
1 1/2 t. salt
1/3 t. pepper
dash of thyme

Saute all the vegetables in the oil in a pan until tender, garlic and onions first, then everything but the tomatoes, and finally the tomatoes and fresh basil. Let it cook down to a consistency you like--about 10-15 min total.

Finally, we recently had James's lab group over for dinner. We made Thai spring rolls with peanut sauce for an appetizer, and then had (all homemade) Thai Green Curry with chicken and eggplant, Matsuman Curry, Pad Thai, Tandoori chicken, and Key Lime Pie for dessert. Whew! It was good. The spring rolls were my favorite, but I was surprised how easy the Key Lime Pie was--easy enough to memorize and so delicious (as long as it's not overcooked).

Key Lime Pie
3 eggs, beaten
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. lime juice
1 t. lime zest

1 graham cracker crust
Whipped cream

Whip up the first 4 ingredients and pour it into the crust. Bake 30-35 min at 350 until center is set. Chill before serving. Top with whipped cream. Yum!