Frosted Fingers

One of the best parts about being a mom is learning how to be the fun mom.

Porter and I made a cake. A chocolate cake, with milk chocolate frosting. He was beside himself with joy, but I explained to him that we couldn't frost the cake until the cake was totally cool.

"Cool? I cool, mom!" (We always tell him how cool he is - when he dresses himself, or uses his imagination, or keeps a really great beat on his drums).

"Yes, Porter, you are SO cool. But I mean, like, we can't put frosting on the cake when it's warm because the frosting will slide off."

"Into my mouf? Frosting will swide off into my mouf? Dats ok mom!"

"No, no... onto the floor. It would probably slide off onto the floor. And that would make us so sad, right?"

"I lick it off da floor, mommy."

Me too, son. Me too.

So, we waited for a painfully long time before the cake was cool. Then, I sat him up on the counter and began to spread the chocolate frosting around the top of the cake. His little fingers were shaking, and I watched him swipe little bits of frosting as I turned the plate... And I didn't admonish him. I just smiled and smoothed out the dents.

Then I let him eat a big mouthful of frosting off the knife (a butter knife, it's ok. I'm fun, not murderous). He kept dragging his finger across the side of the cake as I turned it, and I kept smiling at his not-so-secretive efforts to sneak frosting and smoothing it over.

He got so excited when we were done, he ran into the living room to announce to everyone the the "CAKE WAS READDDYYYYYYY!" And then he split a slice with his dad, and gazed at this dessert so lovingly. He was so proud of the process.

I hope I'm always the mom that doesn't hesitate to let down my hair so that my kids can eat the frosting with their fingers. In a world where structure is king and rules are rules and omg that's not vegan/gluten-free/of the earth/free of preservatives and colors and BPA will keep you up at night, it was great to let Porter have a little fun without worrying that I was a total failure.

I try pretty hard every other day, but indulging with the littles is truly the ultimate treat for the soul. Try it this weekend: eat some frosting from your fingers, have a bowl of cereal for dinner, split a milkshake, let them top their ice cream with whatever they want, and think of us!

Currently In The Oven

This:

Roasted Pepper & Eggplant Marinara

It's way, way, waaaay too hot to be roasting vegetables and garlic and eating pasta, right?

Wrong. Shame on you. It's NEVER too hot for pasta. NEVER.

I watched Rachael Ray make this this morning as I was getting ready for church, and I was sold. So, currently, I'm waiting for my garlic and eggplant to finish roasting, sweating like... something that sweats a lot (the only thing I could think of was an inappropriate example).

Review coming soon!

Make Yourself A List

Write it down.

Do something for you, today. Take a breather. Plan out your meals. Inspire. Fix what's ailing you.

Write it down.

Dream your dreams, but list your goals. Call your mother. Compliment a stranger.

Write it down.

You make grocery lists and honey-do lists... but why not make a list for yourself, of completely random things that could improve the heart of your day?

Leave a handwritten note. Read your Bible and memorize a verse. Drink a bottle of water. Print out pictures.

Before you forget, write it down.

Our Beautiful Mess: For All The Moms

Yesterday, we had our first MOPS meeting of the year! I can't believe, for one, that I have a child and can now attend meetings like this. It's so surreal.

We were so lucky to hear from Nicole Moore... she was our first speaker of the year! Nichole is an amazing wife, mother and teacher. She is on staff at my church, and every time she speaks, I always find myself completely wrapped up in every word she's saying. She's so poised and well-spoken; one of those women that truly feels like they have it all together. Well, it was such a breath of fresh air to hear her speak of her mistakes, the lessons she's learned, and what she misses most about the earlier stages of motherhood. I took amazing notes, so I thought I would share this with you all, too.

I hope there's something here that resounds with you.

• Take time to play. A kid isn't a task to be managed. Sometimes, work can wait. Sometimes, the agenda can be paused. Sometimes, you can put off your responsibilities to take a few extra moments playing with your little one, because those are the moments that mean the most.
• There's a book for that. Resource yourself. We are so blessed to have blogs, websites and books galore. If you're dealing with something, rest assured that someone else has (or is!) too.
• This too shall pass. It won't last forever. The tantrums, the teething, the never-ending diapers... soon enough, you'll be driving your baby to high school, and wondering where the time went. Cherish the present, because in no time, it will become a memory.
• Nobody will ever take your place. Your personal standards will become your child's standards. Your kids are a reflection of you. Is what I am transferring into the life of this little being? If it is, and you don't like what you're seeing, it's not too late to change that. Growing yourself is the greatest gift you can give to your kids.
• The golden rule is for you, too. Being the boss doesn't mean you can treat your kids however you want. Speak kindly. If you want your kids to restrain emotion, then you need to restrain YOURS. Show respect to your little person.

• Never lose yourself. We let our identity become wrapped up in being a mother. A mother is not all that you are. You're a sister. A friend. A wife. Never lose sight of that. We need to recharge every once and awhile, too.
• Failure isn't the end, it's the beginning. Acknowledge and learn from your mistakes, and move the heck on.
• Create a safe place where no conversation is off limits. If you act hypersensitive about something, your kids will not feel safe talking to you about it. If you shame them, they will not feel safe to open up.
• The future is now. Children are little people who are out of control of themselves, and attempting to control everyone around them. Help them develop character that will help their future go well. The patterns that children establish early in life becomes their character. And their character is their destiny.
• The days are long, but the years are short. Cherish every single day.

Adventures In Baby-Proofing

Yesterday, I followed Porter around the house baby-proofing. I followed him around for a good hour -- he realized he was no longer confined to the TV area and was booking around the house like a locomotive.

You guys, this was genius. Sometimes you never know what needs to be adjusted until your baby is all over it and/or shoving it into his mouth, right? This was a great plan. Or, so I thought. I didn't take into account that he is fast. While I was busy "fixing" something, he was off into another mess.

Just a few of his shenanigans:

• He ate dog food. A stray piece from the bowl I had removed from within his reach. HE ATE DOG FOOD. I fished it out of his mouth as fast as I could, but not fast enough. Eww.
• He got stuck behind the recliner. I didn't realize that I couldn't follow him everywhere. He wasn't a happy camper for a good 90 seconds and I tried to free him frantically.
• He got ahold of his bottle of teething tablets, which were on the bottom shelf of his changing table, and now it's his favorite rattle. He won't give it up.
• He got on my laptop as I plugged some outlets and sent an email that I wasn't meaning to send yet. Thank God for the "undo send" option.
• He found my magazine stash, and proceeded to rip all the pages he could get his hands on. Within the four seconds it took me to make it to him, he had demolished like ten magazines. HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE.

Last Thing Thursday

Welcome to THE LAST THING THURSDAYS, brogught to us by The Life of the Wife! :)

READ: Outsmarting Google. If you want to know the secrets of SEO, this is a must read. I was scared it would be an intimidating read, but it's not! Evan Bailyn is a legend, and I'm excited to learn from him!

PINNED: I haven't been in Pinterest in forever. Don't hate me. I partially blame Jessica. She sent me an article last week about how Pinterest is under scrutiny, and how there's all this talk of possibile lawsuits from people pinning stuff that they don't have rights to. So, while I was scoffing and telling Jessica that her research was a load of crap, I was busy disabling my boards deleting any identifying information in my account.

BLOG POST I READ: I'll admit, I've abandoned blogging lately. Not on purpose, but this last week and a half has been so crazy... so many things going on in my world, changes being made (all good!), and overall, just not enough hours in the day. BUT, I did find this blog today, and I think I love it. And her. I love food blogs; I'm such a fat kid! So, I will be visiting Lindsay quite frequently! :)

TV SHOW I WATCHED: American Idol, yo. Does anyone even watch AI anymore?

CANDY I ATE: My guilty pleasure.

DID FOR SOMEONE ELSE: I stopped by Jessica's house last night, on my way home from work. She got some teeth pulled, and was all drugged up and bleeding from the mouth. Super glam. But, she needed someone to be her voice on the phone with her dentist, so... Corianne to the rescue!

BAKED: Sigh. I haven't cooked in a while. But last time I did, I made Bethenny Frankel's Stuffed Peppers... and they were ah-mazing.

BOUGHT & LOVED: This. Has. Changed. My. Life.

Ok, and if I'm being honest... the TECHNICAL last thing I bought was this:

And I thoroughly enjoyed (LOVED!) my avocado for lunch. So, while I still need to make sure everyone knows how much I love my dry shampoo... the fat kid inside always wins.

Last Thing Thursday.

The Life of the Wife along with aunie SAUCE have begun this fun link-up party called The Last 13 Things. Be sure to join in and link up over on their blogs!

The Last Thing I:

ATE:

Kashi Go Lean cereal and vanilla almond milk.

BOUGHT:

An Emerald City Smoothie - Lean Body for Her w/a scoop of peanut butter and NO BANANA. Tastes like a PB&J in a cup. Delicious, and no gross like my desciption may lead you to believe. Ha!

READ:

Some beautiful posts on Facebook, for a man that went to Heaven far too soon for my liking. We love you, Joe.

LAUGHED AT:

COOKED:

A Chicken Pesto Melt. Just as delicious as it sounds. We served it "open-faced" (only one piece of bread), with provolone and pepperjack and roasted red peppers and fresh tomato. Absolutely amazing.

BAKED:

Haha. Bake? Me?

CRAFTED:

Haha. Craft? Me? I think I hot-glued some rhinestones to a ceramic picture frame, which I loved so much I BEGGED my family to get me my own hot glue gun for Christmas. They did. And I haven't even opened it. That was two years ago.

DROOLED OVER:

All of this loveliness from Target. Are you kidding me?

COVETED:

This, also from Target. Man. What is it with me and Target lately?

THOUGHT:

I cannot wait to get off work and go to the gym. (Weird.)

WORE:

A long-sleeved grey shirt from H&M, black leggings, brown Steve Madden boots and bedhead. I'm fancy.

CRAVED:

this smoothie that's I'm drinking. I'm telling you. Addicting!

WAS THANKFUL FOR:

Tomorrow. And with tomorrow... life. My family. My husband. My Jesus, and the gift of grace and peace.

Irony & The Ugly Truth

Today has been a great day.

No work. Woke up on my own at 8am (this is sleeping in), went to the gym with my work-out buddy (high-five for yet another perk of being married; live-in workout buddies!) and then proceeded to do nothing all day except for make lunch, get an evening coffee, hit up Target for nothing in particular, and spring-clean my closet.

And just like that, my much-anticipated Monday off, is over.

Why do these precious days fly by? And if I was at work today, the 8 hours would have been the longest, most painful chunk of time ever. I know this is nothing new. I know I'm not the first to observe this. But this is one of the many ironies that I just can't wrap my mind around.

Now, we're wrapping up the night with a delicious dinner - whole wheat pasta with tomato chunks, feta cheese and avocado - and watching The Ugly Truth. I seriously will watch anything that Katherine Heigl has a role in. It's pretty bad. I have no shame.

This movie, I loved. It's a tad inappropriate, but oddly charming. Maybe it's the combination of Gerard Butler and Katheine, or the witty dialogue, or the fact that any movie where the main actress plays the producer of a news channel/morning show is an automatic hit with me.

Ok, wrapping this up now - it's the dinner scene with the inappropriate undergarments (if you have seen this movie, you know exactly what I mean. I think I snort-laughed in the theatre the first time I saw it). Have I mentioned that I adore Katherine Heigl?

Rose Colored Glasses (and Watches).

Image Source: CorianneLand