Thankfulness--November 6

Today I am thankful for my right to vote, obviously, and the time to do it.

Clara has been sick since Saturday night.  It is just a virus and there is nothing the doctor can do about it, it just has to pass.  My mom kept her yesterday and is keeping her again today so that we can work.  I am so thankful for this, but I really didn't know how I was going to fit in voting with two drop offs.  On a whim, after dropping Clara off I rolled by our precinct.  There were only a few cars, so I put Julia in the Ergo and ran on in.  No line!  Here we are, moments after finishing up.  I got her a sticker to put in her baby book, it was really sweet to have her with me.

It's so crazy to me to live at a time where people actually remember black people and women not being able to vote.  Most days I take for granted my right to vote, access to higher education and ability to have whatever career I please.  Today I am especially thankful for those things.

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

There's a meme going around on Facebook where each day of November you post a reason why you are thankful.  I'm not crazy over detailed Facebook posts, so I thought I would do it here.  Obviously I'm late to the party, so I'll do five days now.

November 1.  My marriage.  I would not be where I am without the love and support of Quincy.

November 2.  My beautiful, healthy, happy children.  I am so incredibly happy that God blessed us with two wonderful girls.

November 3.  Beautiful fall football Saturdays, even if the game score was terrible.

November 4.  Antibiotics and an extra hour after the girls went to bed to catch up on laundry and grocery shopping.

November 5.  Having a mom that lives in town who is willing to take care of my sick toddler.

And here's a picture from the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago for good measure.

Visit to Great Grandma

For various reasons, it's not going to work for us to get to Lexington to see Quincy's grandma, PK, for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We still really wanted to see PK, so we decided to go for Lexington BBQ fest this past weekend to see her instead.  We got to see her one-on-one and the kids really enjoyed getting to play with her.

We also got to see Quincy's Dad, his Aunt Carol and Uncle Neal and several cousins, which was so special and an added bonus.

PK has really great toys leftover from when Quincy and his cousins were little.  Clara kept running upstairs and showing up with more stuff.  When we got home on Sunday she took a nap and then she and I went to the grocery store, something that we both like to do together.  After we got home she wanted to stay in the car and go back and see her Great Grandma.  She's been talking about PK the whole week.

I think not going to Lexington for the holiday may be a blessing in disguise.  We had enough time to stay over night and the girls got real time with their Great Grandma.  It was a wonderful weekend and one we will not forget.

Julia Six Months Pro Pics

I was slightly disappointed in Julia's six month professional photos.  All she does is grin and smile these days, but she was so overwhelmed by the studio and playing dress-up that she didn't really smile.  There are two photos that I just love, and you really only need a couple.  I really like our photographer, but all I really wanted was a picture of Julia looking like she normally looks and a picture of her in her baptism gown.  We got the first, but I was disappointed in the baptism shots.  I think we just should have stayed in the gown until we got it, but they wanted to do Tutu Shots/Christmas/Fall to give me a variety.  It's my fault because I should have spoken up, but I didn't know what they had and hadn't gotten.

I know, first world problems, right?  I have an adorable baby girl, the money to have professional pictures taken every three months and I only got two adorable shots of her at six months.  Never mind the fact that we had family shots done the next week and got even more adorable shots of her.

Whatever.  Here are the two adorable shots:

This is pretty much what she looks like all the time.  Only sometime the smile is bigger.

Now that's a cute picture.  I look at this now and think "COLD" but it was 85 degrees out that day.

Here are a couple of the less adorable but still cute shots:

Cute baby pic, but not special.

She does like to eat her toes!

Yeah.  Just not fabulous, but still good.

She looks like a baby doll!

Totally and completely over it by this point.

She was just humoring us here.

We had to take the pearls off because all she wanted to do was eat them.

Easy, Health(ier) Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese

The Crock Pot is every working mother's friend.  Today I am linking up with Kelly's Korner Blog for Crockpotalooza 2.  I'm a little late to the party, but better late than never!  I am sharing my recipe for:

 Easy, Health(ier) Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese:

1/2 pound Barilla Plus elbow macaroni (or spirals, you choose)
3 cups 2% or reduced fat finely shredded shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated skim milk
1 1/2 cups 1% milk
1 egg (can use egg substitute)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Step 1:  Spray the crock pot WELL with cooking spray.

Step 2:  Mix the egg, milk, evaporated milk in a large bowl.  

Step 3:  Mix in the uncooked pasta and 2 cups of the shredded cheese.  

Step 4:  Pour into the crock pot and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Step 5:  Cook on low for three to four hours. DO NOT STIR OR REMOVE LID WHILE COOKING!!

This is so easy and so good!

Pictures from Abby

Abby got a new camera this summer and has taken some amazing pictures of our family over the course of the summer.  I am hoping the novelty of the camera doesn't wear off and that she continues to do so.

Abby's two babies are 4 (Annalise, this week) and 4 months (Elliot).  They go to our church and we spend a ton of time with them.  I am really thankful to have such sweet friends.  Clara loves Annalise and Annalise likes Clara after she's had a few hours to warm up to Clara following her around and wanting to do everything she does.

These are totally out of order.

Julia on the day of her baptism.  She was changed out of her christening gown by this point and free to drool up a storm.    More pics of the baptism to come.

Clara on her bike at Music on the Porch.

Annalise and Clara.  Blurry but cute.  What do you think they are excited about?

Clara and Sophia, Love!

Julia and Elliot one Friday at Abby's.  Abby was still on maternity leave.

Another Music on the Porch.

Don't judge me for Clara's hair.  The bow/pony tail fell out.

This is how I will remember this summer.  This and with a sleeping baby in my arms at the pool.  Both amazing!

A more recent picture (last weekend) of Jules and Elliot.

These are from Abby's old camera over MDW.  Clara seems so little in these to me:

 Obviously we were all having a terrible time, especially my slip and sliding husband.

Eat Alone. Or Shop Alone. Or eat with friends. But lunch is for you.

One of the struggles of being a mother is finding some alone time.  I am sure it is the same for SAHMs and working moms, but I am only fit to speak of the latter.  (But while we are on the subject, I hate the mom wars and feel that we should spend our time supporting one another).

At any rate, when you have a demanding job, the tendency is to get in, work as fast as you can as quickly as you can, eat lunch at your desk and get out as soon as possible to spend the maximum amount of time with your kids.

There's a popular book that supports "never eating alone."  Basically, you should always take lunch and use the time to build your relationships.

While I agree that it is certainly necessary to build relationships in order to build a strong network of contacts and build a successful career, I don't think that's the right tactic to take to build a strong family or a strong mother.  I think that while our kids are little, we working moms should let someone else do the contact building and rain making and we should just be the absolute best worker bees that we can be.

The truth is, once you have kids, one parent absolutely must make professional sacrifices or the marriage suffers.  Usually, the kids do too.  Best case, each parent makes some professional sacrifice, but it's going to be lopsided.  Usually, the mother jumps on this grenade.  Although I know at least two stay-at-home-dads that have embraced their role and excel at it, most of the dads I know don't feel the same sense of longing when they are away from their kids.  Or real need to be at a doctor's appointment or kiss the ouchie.  Similarly, most women shrug their shoulders at missing a promotion because of children, whereas the men I know feel the longing in the other direction.

Anyway.  I'm getting to the point, here.  And that point is, while I'm sacrificing the partner track, I might as well enjoy it.  And even though I'm going to work hard, I'm going to enjoy my professional sacrifice by taking lunch and using that time for myself.  I go to Target.  I get returns done at the mall.  I run home and change over laundry, fold a load and watch a show.  I go to the grocery store.  I get my toes done.  I get my hair cut. I have lunch with friends.  I go to lunch with co-workers.  I feel like by doing these things, I can be fully with my husband and my children when I am home with them at night, on Fridays and over the weekend. It makes me a less-stressed mother and an overall more satisfied person.  Although I'm not always alone, I'm not working during lunch and strategically choosing my lunch companions. Of course there are days when work needs to be a priority and I will microwave lunch at my desk, but most of the time, I choose to prioritize myself.

And I promise, next post I will get back to sweet pictures of my babies.