What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Getting back to normal

(Addie Mae helping Papa bring in the wood)
  • After two weeks of sickies, I (and the whole household) are feeling not only better but actually...pretty good!! Which means there is work to get caught back up on. I have no reason to put off tackling a house (or laundry, or dust bunnies) post two weeks of neglect. (Rats.)
  • Yesterday I tackled our bedroom, laundry, the kitchen and dining room. By the evening I was exhausted. Still lots of work to do.
  • An odd thing has happened~ after coming off of that sickness last week, I noticed that I feel much more like ....ME....lately. Not so down-trodden, exhausted, discouraged. In fact, I feel PERKY. (It is an odd feeling to feel like you are someone else entirely than you have always been. Welcome back, Rebecca.)
  • I am at week 14 (okay, two more days...) in this pregnancy which is about the time when nausea subsides. Trust me-I have been counting the days and sure enough~ it IS. Still have it at night but it is entirely manageable~especially knowing it is on its way out completely. In fact, I even have an appetite. I just fixed myself a tuna sandwich with cheddar and lettuce on toast and I could very EASILY eat another one. MUST. HAVE. WILLPOWER.
  • The other day, after everyone snarfed their packed sandwiches on a long car ride, we decided to stop and get an extra snack from the gas station. After looking through the selection, I found a thing of four cookies for $3.39 or a BIG box of NuttyBuddy bar things (24 bars!) for $3.00. Knowing we had a whole van full of hungry souls, I opted for the monstrous box of Nutty Buddy Bars. It was cheaper AND you got a bunch more! Went out to the car and downed a package. I have not had ANYTHING "Little Debbie" in probably years and let me tell you---it was so STINKIN' GOOD. That's when I made the mistake. I looked on the back and saw.... there were 20 GRAMS OF FAT in one package. Um. 20 grams of WHAT?! What did they do? Inject the things with cellulite? How could something so small have SO MUCH fat? I now have a huge box of peanut butter bars in my cupboard that are calling to me, begging to be eaten, and a waistline that threatens abandonment if I do. This IS a predicament. I think I ought to burn them right here and now and be rid of the temptation. Little Debbie~ you are no friend of mine. Making something so delicious yet so inaccessible.
  • I am fully aware that I have missed sharing the last two weeks worth of "crafting until spring" projects. I *HAVE* done them, I just haven't really showed you. I will. Soon. Promise. )Just wait until you see last week's...
  • Speaking of which~ I was SUPPOSED to be working on THIS weeks "Craft the Winter Blues Away" project during rest time (right now) and lookie here. I am blogging.
  • I read The Way Home by Mary Pride over the weekend. In it's entirety. This is surprising to me because I have picked it up no less than five times and always read up until the abortion information and then wound up so disgusted, appalled and mournful that I would close the book and put it away. This time I very nearly did it too. I spent an entire day--not weeping---but sobbing. The book was written in the 70's and even thirty some years ago, the truth was almost too much to handle. (Knowing we are thirty-some years further in the pot makes your stomach wretch.) With lots of head-stroking from Matt and after I had thoroughly saturated his pantleg with tears, I forced myself to read the rest. It was a really good book. REALLY good. I have seen a copy of ALL THE WAY HOME (same author) at the library that I think I will borrow on library day.
  • Two nights agoI prepared some spaghetti and yogurt on Adele's plate and, just for kicks, gave her a spoon. Up until now she has been finger-feeding herself or I would feed her the non-fingerfoods. After giving her the spoon, I went to bring the milk cups to the table, sat down, dished food onto plates and then looked over and....ALL HER FOOD WAS GONE! When your baby stops nursing that is a seriously sad milestone but when they no longer NEED you for foodhelps? That is when they begin the downward spiral of no longer needing you at all. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh
  • Smootch is four inches long, which I joyfully approximate with my fingers every day. If I were to have an ultrasound, sadly, I am not (boohoo), s/he would look something like this:



    Or THIS (replacing the word FETUS with BABY, thankyouverymuch)



    egads! Isn't s/he DARLING?!



  • I am currently working on a soapbox series on the topic of child discipline in response to several email inquiries over the last few months. For those of you inquiring minds~ I have not forgotten you (or been ignoring you)! They are to come soon. It is a tender topic and one I wanted to take my time on and try to represent *right*(Thank you for your patience) And thanks to you all, I will likely make many enemies. And it will be all your fault. ;-)
  • We are having chicken marsala for supper tonight. I have been craving it for weeks.
    (finally feeling like ME again...what a great feeling.)


13 comments:

Bonnie said...

I am counting the minutes too- I will be 12 weeks Thursday, and that is the magic time for me. I hope it doesn't change. I'm noticing I have a smidgeon more energy, but not much. I wake up gung-ho, and am exausted by breakfast.
Yes, yes, post the crafts! I pulled out my crochet hook, determined to try yet again, and accomplish *something*, even though I haven't got the slightest idea of what i am doing, and am making up what I think will be a wash cloth as I go. I might even drag out my supplies this evening, and start a batch of hand milled soap...
Mmmm, chicken marsala, I just pulled a roast chicken out of the oven- you wanted a tutorial on homemade noodles, didn't you? I'll try posting that maybe Thursday.
Must go, things to do.
Glad you're feeling like *you*!
Love,
Bonnie

P.S. I never finished The Way Home either, I got mad reading it, and I forget why, perhaps I'll think about it again.

Bonnie said...

Forgot to say Addie has little pigtails! Oh! how sweet!
And Little Debbie is a very close, but currently estranged friend of mine... Oh Nutty Buddy- how I love thee!
that tuna sandwich sounds divine- how do you make your tuna salad?
Until I think of more to say...

Donna said...

I have been following your blog for about a year or more.

I love the way your family reminds me of our family in the past. We have 5 children and they are all married and have families of their own. We raised them much the way you are raising your own. I homeschooled many years and also taught school in a christian school.

I have been camp counselor and school cook, AWANA leader, 5th&6th grade teacher and many other things in this journey of "what so ever your hand findeth to do, do it with all your might".

My husband & myself are in our60's now and have retired to the beach in North Carolina. We are still working though and doing lots of other things. Thanks for letting me share with you, as you have been sharing with me this past year.

Blessings to you and your family.

Charree said...

Nutty Buddy bars are a weakness for me as well. If they are in the house they call my name until I have eaten them all.

I hope that you and your family continue feeling better.

Have a blessed week!
~Charree

Unknown said...

I look forward to seeing your crafts AND your post on discipline (I have 3 kids under the age of 4.) I'm glad that you're back to you "old" self....I love your posts.
http://www.corleyz.blogspot.com

New Beginnings... said...

Rebecca,
I have All the Way Home and I think it is in the box of stuff I am getting ready to start to list on ebay. If you want it, you can have it. Let me check first and make sure it's there though.
Jen

Unknown said...

*sigh* I just love news-y posts like this...heehee! So glad you guys are feeling better! :)

MameyJane said...

I'm chuckling. Your post was mostly about food. It's easy to see what's on your mind :). That baby is GROWING and wanting GOODIES!! :)

Full of Grace said...

So glad you are feeling better, hope you enjoyed that Chicken Marsala, it's one of my favorites :)

Peggy said...

Oh Rebecca,

I am so glad that you are beginning to feel perky again! Isn't "perky" such a great word?!

Miss Adele is feeding herself? Ahh...

You have no idea how much you have been missed over the past few weeks. I check up on you daily and was ecstatic to see your post this morning! Crafting... crafting is a good thing and cooking too!

Toodles, back to the challenge of today!! :) To unpack another box and actually put the contents away, ha ha! It is so tempting as I want to sew sooooooo badly, Chris saw a couple of pillows at Pier One he likes and was wondering if I could make them for the sofa and our bedroom. Hmm, I think I see a birthday present in the works... :)

(my word verification has "adele" in it! :) )

Rebecca said...

Bonnie~ I'll post a recipe in Kitchen Riches for it. I never thought to do it because it is so simple but, I refuse to eat any other tuna fish so....I guess mine IS different. ;-)

Donna~ a great joy of mine is when people write me and introduce themselves to me. Often blogging is so very one-sided and self-centered. I find great joy in seeing "the other half". Thank you!

New Beginnings~ oh yes-I would NOT turn that down! My email addy is sgrbear724@yahoo.com. If you do have it, email me and I will give you my addy. I'll pay for shipping!

Mamey Jane~ after no less than two months of being absolutely repulsed by food, it is VERY exciting to finally be able to talk about it and enjoy it! I might get myself into trouble....

Leah said...

I've been wanting to comment on your posts for weeks!!! But our keyboard quit working and we couldn't figure out what was wrong. We finally got it working last night!!!

I'm so glad that you and your family are over the sickies. It's no fun to be sick, especially when you're pregnant.

I'm also glad the "morning" sickness seems to be headed out! And hurray for the strong appetite! :)

I can't wait to see your "crafting until spring" projects! I was inspired by your bread cloth tutorial and have been sewing and knitting away! When I get batteries for the camera today, I'll take some pictures and post them on my blog. You should consider hosting a "Crafting Away the Winter Blues" challenge like you do with Foto Friday! I'm no good at taking pictures but I love crafting!

I have both the books by Mary Pride that you mentioned. I've also picked them up and started them many times. You've encouraged me to pick them up again and determine to get through them!

Esther loves feeding herself, too, although she holds the spoon in one hand and shovels the food in with the other! Ha! Isn't it so fun to know that you have another baby on the way to fill the empty(ing) shoes of your baby-turned(ing)-little-girl.

It's amazing to me how much growing our babies do in utero. Will you be seeing the same midwife that you saw with Adele? Do you have any upcoming appointments? I guess I need to sit down and write you a lengthy letter! This comment is getting long!

I can't wait to read your series on child discipline. I'm sure it will an encouragement to me. I've been struggling lately with how best to approach the coming years. It seems like I've lost some ground lately.

Can't wait to hear more from you! Have a wonderful day!

Christine said...

Congratulations, dearie. I love your photos!