Thankful in all things

For a long time now, I've been trying to practice the discipline of giving thanks in all things, even when circumstances don't make sense or are unpleasant. In things big and small and in between.

Well, I'm tired today and have lots of Thanksgiving tasks in front of me, plus a wiggly, whiny, 20-month who isn't as happy to just watch me cook and putter around the house as she was last year.

This morning I was holding her in the kitchen, along with a container of oats and probably a few other things and boom, there went the oats, all over the kitchen floor. My first reaction was "Ughh, what a pain! I do not feel like cleaning those up."

So I didn't, and I kept getting ready for the day ... while lo and behold Emery fell strangely silent and self-sufficient as she busied herself in the pile of oats for just enough time for me to finish getting ready and get us out the door.

So today I am reminded, again, of why we are to be thankful in all things - in part because much of the time, the things we don't feel grateful for right away, actually wind up being unexpected blessings.

NPR car

This week Emery began a Kindermusik class for which we need a parking pass. Like a good student (or parent of a student I guess), I dutifully followed the instructor's guidance to place the decal on the bumper of my car, since that's where the parking police like to see it.

As I was trying to place the sticker on straight (unsuccessfully), with Emery in my arms and needing to get back inside for class, I felt a little thrill. If there is anything I am not, it's musical. And if there's anything we don't do in the Doescher household, it's put bumper stickers on our cars. 

So you can imagine Matt's reaction when I told him about the sticker - "Now we have an NPR car! Why didn't you just put it in the windshield?!?"

Because! I know we don't normally do things like this, but I actually find it kind of fun/funny ... makes me feel like I can pretend to be a different kind of mom for the few months that Emery is taking Kindermusik. The kind of mom who annually donates to NPR (incidentally, the class really is held on the campus of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and even in the building I think that houses the campus' NPR station. So he's kind of right), the kind of mom who sung in an acapella group in college and is now extending her love of singing and music to her young, impressionable daughter, the kind of mom who, even in the midst of all the demands of parenthood, still manages to continue nurturing her musical abilities by playing the violin in the local orchestra ... you get the idea.

None of these things will ever be true, but something about having the bumper sticker makes me feel like maybe more things are possible than I really think. Starting with Emery letting me listen to NPR news in the car in the morning instead of Toddlers Sing for the 80 millionth, billionth time.

Miscellaneous

How is it that I can lose shoes, dresses, dishes, and more ... and still this silly little eye that fell off a craft Emery "made" at the Y has been following me around the house for more than a week?

I had an old favorite for lunch today - scrambled eggs with pesto. SOOO good. Just add a dollop of pesto to your eggs as you're scrambling them and voila - green eggs minus the ham. Even got Emery to try the eggs tonight, and she's becoming quite the picky eater, so I must say I was rather proud of myself for gently coaxing her into loving them.

We love the library these days. Free, new, cleanish toys and really good AC.

A whole fried catfish! Matt and I dug into this for my birthday dinner out ... yummmm.

Even better, I was able to partake in some fried pickles on my actual birthday.

Last week we went to a huge used bookstore and got lots of credit for books I don't want anymore. Emery, who one month ago adored books and now barely gives them a glance, enjoyed cruising along the shelves much more than reading ...

The Y now has an indoor playground and this is where I found Emery the other day when I went to pick her up - just peeking out the peephole at me!

Brilliant is

• Getting a babysitter for Saturday afternoon (when Emery is awake and requires work and attention!) rather than for Saturday night (when Emery is asleep, requires no work or attention and doing anything out probably costs more anyway.) And yes, I know a certain someone is going to take credit for this idea in the comments section.

• Leveraging (certainly not taking advantage of!) friends who have dogs for afternoon outings with Emery. Just sit her on a the floor with her canine friends and there's her free, A/C included entertainment for the day and my chance to catch up with another adult. (No pics of such engagements yet, but stay tuned.)

• The brilliance might just end here, because I simply cannot think of anything else worth noting. I thought it might have been brilliant to bring the Froggy Fun Pool into the house with no water in it to get Emery acclimated, but the fear still grips her whenever she's within a foot of her nemesis the frog. Smile Emery, there's a whole summer of sun, water and fun you might waste away!

He says four days, I say five

Our power was out for five days, or four according to Matt. Technically I guess he's right, though I count four days, starting from 9am Wednesday and ending around 6pm Sunday. That's five workdays if you will, of going without power!

(candlelit breakfast for Emery)

Our "hardship" was nothing compared to what others have suffered as a result of the tornado that whipped through the South last week. That being said, I'll confess I didn't have the greatest attitude most of the time over not being able to run the dishwasher, make some coffee, cook a normal meal, watch a DVD, or even vacuum!

I did have a turning point on Friday night, though, where I think I just settled in and accepted our situation and tried to see what we could learn from it all.  Here's what I discovered:

• Power isn't conducive to sleep. Without power, when the sun sets, the day is basically done. Sure I could try to read or piddle around the house, but with only a headlamp, that's kind of a pain and doesn't last for very long. Plus, with all the darkness, my eyes were getting pretty heavy! So I just accepted that the day was done, turned in super early, and got much better rest as a result.

• We don't see our neighbors nearly enough! When some of our friends/neighbors got power back before us, we quickly transferred food to their fridge and I would be over there three plus times a day to retrieve milk, cheese, etc. Had the power not been out, I might not have seen these friends at all!

• Not everything on the Internet needs to be read. I did have Internet access on my iPhone, but it was limited, so I limited my browsing to mainly just e-mail checking, and news searching (desperately looking for any tidbits of info on when we could expect power to return!) and realized I probably squander valuable time each day just reading things I don't even care that much about on the Internet, probably as a way of avoiding tasks that really need to be done. :)

• Power makes me a lot busier. As soon as we got power back, I began scurrying around the house, cleaning what I could now see, loading the dishwasher, the washing machine, cooking, etc. In contrast, when we were without power, I spent a good portion of my time in a hammock. Staring at the sky. 

(this picture was taken on Easter, before the power went out, but you get the idea.)

So, am I thrilled, elated and so grateful that the power is back, when there was a good chance it could have been another week before ours was restored? Absolutely. However, I'm trying to take heed from the lessons I learned and spend a little more time with friends and neighbors, wind down earlier at night and make sure to spend as much time as possible in a hammock.

These days,

I am reading this

Eating this

Watching Emery do this

And of course cleaning, wiping a runny nose, preventing accidents with hazards like cords and, well, cords mainly, working during naps and in the evening, going to the Y and enjoying the visit of some wonderful MI friends that allowed for this adorable photo-op:

Miscellaneous

Here's a sampling of what we've been up to lately!

A hike at Lula Lake Land Trust - Shame on me for not getting a good picture of the stunning waterfall, but believe me, we saw it. 

It might have been that I was a bit distracted by Emery's discontent. Turns out the Ergo Baby Carrier may not be the ideal mode of transportation for longer walks with a nearly 12-month old.

A dinner of (partially) homemade thin crust pizza with bacon and onion - We almost always have pizza on Friday nights and usually buy it. Last night, though, I made a version of this plus this (with store-bought dough) and we might not be doing take-out again for a while. I loved how easy it was to whirl the sauce together in the food processor and the crust wound up being really thin, just how I like it.

Having tea parties - Emery's favorite thing to do in the kitchen is take out all the tea bags and strew them everywhere. Putting them back isn't my favorite thing to do, but it sure is nice how much they entertain her.

Groovin' to the music - I really need to take a video of Emery dancing ... whenever she plays with musical toy, she starts rockin' her shoulder to the beat. She's thrilled with these drums I got for $2.50 at America's Thrift Store, not as thrilled with the 38 cent tambourine, but for that price, who cares!

Keeping Emery away from cords - No matter how,

Determined,

She is to play with them!

What we've been doing and eating

Even as I begin to type, I am scratching my head thinking "What have we been doing?" because it feels like we've been very busy, but I'm not sure what to attribute that all to.  

Perhaps recovering from illness and nursing others back to health takes a fair amount of time and energy - we've spent a lot of time doing that, recently.  Last week, both Matt and I fell ill simultaneously. Now, whenever I think I'm having a hard day, I'll remind myself of how dreadful that day was and feel a lot better.

Fortunately we rebounded in about 24 hours ... now Emery is recovering from a cold that has quarantined us from the YMCA :(.  Her spirits are still wonderful, though, and she often finds refuge underneath the coffee table these days.

Eating?  Yes, we've been doing some of that.  Of note has been:

Baked tilapia with roasted broccoli and grape tomatoes - no link here, but so simple and for some reason, the broccoli tasted so divine. Almost as good as chocolate. 

Just mix mayonaise and mustard and brush on tilapia, top with breadcrumbs and grated parmesan, bake at 375 for about 15/20 minutes. Toss broccoli and grape tomatoes with minced garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil and roast at 425 for 10-13 minutes, or until broccoli starts to brown.

Salsa Couscous Chicken - this won a Pillsbury Bake-Off in 1998, and if you try it you'll know why. I followed a variation of this recipe found in a Junior League cookbook, which calls for an extra cup of salsa and double the amount of almonds, garlic, currants, honey, cumin and cinnamon - all variations that make it doubly delicious.

Whole wheat buttermilk biscuits - again, no link, but if you've never made biscuits before (and I don't think I had), they aren't so difficult and make the whole house smell, well, like biscuits.  And that's a pretty good smell.

Thankful for ...

"Winter" in Chattanooga - it's been feeling like spring the past few days, so much so that I had the air conditioning on in the car, ran outside in shorts and took Emery to the park to swing.

This made her HAPPY.

So much so that she really didn't want to leave and practically threw her first public temper tantrum. Fortunately, or unfortunately as it turned out, I had to set her down in the mulch to fix the stroller straps, and she bought herself a little more time, as well as an appetizer of mulch. Yuck.

All Chattanooga YMCA members - I'm thankful for the members, and not just the Y itself because I reason that even the monthly dues of those without children are going toward the "free" Child Watch for all members, and for this I am exceedingly grateful. I can even run outside with my cell phone in hand in case Emery needs anything, which fortunately she never seems to. Hooray!

Small town life - I don't even know that many people here yet, relatively speaking, and yet I still ran into five people I knew today when out and about! I love this.

Three fabulous years - This week Matt and I celebrated our third anniversary and if you had told me on my wedding day what our life would be like today, well, I don't think I'd have believed you. I am also very thankful that the flower delivery man waited long enough for me to jump out of the shower when I heard him knock, throw on some towels and a huge bathrobe and retrieve these! (you better believe I was waiting for him to come - no knock on the door goes unanswered on anniversary day!)

On this day

On this day three years ago, our lives changed dramatically when Matt asked me to be his wife. On this day one year ago, our lives changed dramatically when Matt's career at GM came to an abrupt end.

So here it is, September 14 yet again. How can I not pause and remember the miracles that have come out of "good" news and "bad" news? Never in a million years could I have predicted what saint God would send down to be my husband (truly!), what our life would look like today or just how He would devise a perfectly unknowable and wonderful way out of a rather dire situation (no job for Matt, baby on the way, needing to sell a house in metro Detroit, etc. etc. etc.)

I don't ever want to forget September 14, so I think I'm going to make it into an anniversary of sorts. NOT because I want flowers, or a reason to hire a babysitter and go out for a nice dinner. Only because I want to never forget that God is exceedingly faithful, supremely creative and outrageously generous.

Miscellaneous

I have a backlog of topics to blog about, so here are a few miscellaneous happenings/updates:

No more herbs - Yesterday I went to water my herbs and discovered that a canine friend, now foe, had taken care of business in my pot of basil, mint, thyme and chives. Tragic! Now I am petrified to begin anew, because what if he/she does it again?! Debating the probability of succeeding with indoor herbs versus the risk of chancing it again outside ...

I should also mention that every night we are serenaded by a chorus of insomniac dogs in the neighborhood who all sound a little like Emery. So when I awaken at 2am to yelping, I hold my breath, then let out a sigh of relief when I realize it's just Fido, and not Emery, who is awake.

Organized sleep - Also yesterday, for the first time in her life, Emery took only two naps, both about two hours long, and was generally happy for the rest of the day! She also conked out at 6pm without a peep. This is all very exciting because it tells me her daytime sleep is getting more organized, meaning daytime errands and events should be a lot more manageable and perhaps even fun!

A new decade - On July 25 I turned 30 and we celebrated with my parents who were in town, and good friends. Last summer I became fascinated with swimming holes and so when we moved to TN I realized we just might have hit the jackpot when it comes to free, freshwater swimming preceded by a short hike. Perhaps we did! He took me to a great swimming hole about 20 minutes from our house and though the water was probably just room temperature due to the extreme heat, it was still refreshing and a lot of fun.

Matt also surprised me with pearls - a job VERY well done for a 30th birthday. The rest of my presents from family fell into the culinary theme (i.e. new pots and pans, dish towels, waffle iron, etc.) and Matt completely understood why he wasn't qualified to participate in that genre of gifts - he catches on quickly! :)

Many Kodak moments - Enjoy!

Miscellaneous

I've been putting off blogging recently because I'm just not sure what to blog about ... I feel so scattered these days. For example, twice now in the last week or so I've had a pot on the stove and forgotten all about it, only to return later and find all the water evaporated! Perhaps this is what having a baby will do to you?

Here's some of what's been going on:

• Sleeping (Emery that is, not really me) - of all the baby books I've read, my favorite has been "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. The best thing I've taken away so far is that up till about four months old, infants can't tolerate being awake more than two hours at a time. This little fact has taken all the guesswork out of understanding Emery's meltdowns! It also means I have to become a sleep nazi, which isn't always fun ... however, having a well rested, contented child is a ton of fun, so sleep nazi I will be! Dr. Weissbluth also says that sleep begets sleep - this is very reassuring, especially on days when Emery seems to barely be awake and I start to get nervous about what that means for the night ahead.
• Talking- I've heard that it's good to talk to your baby a lot, so I'm trying to do that, but I must confess, it's not always easy. Right now, even though she's getting more interactive, it's usually like talking to a wall. Sometimes I feel a little ridiculous giving her a play-by-play of what I'm up to, what we're going to do next, etc. when I often don't even get a coo in response! Her stuffed singing giraffe gets more of a response out of her than her own mother! But I will not give up. I will not be bested by a stuffed animal.
  
• One errand a day - In my endeavor to respect Emery's need to sleep, I try to limit us to one errand/outing a day. This requires a lot of willpower since we're in a new town and there's a lot I'd like to see and do, and a lot I need to buy and do, too. Now I realize how much I took for granted the ability to run out and do whatever I wanted pre-motherhood, because no matter how hard I try, it always seems like we end up at Walmart or the grocery store! In all honesty, though, I'm thrilled that I'm able to go to both of these places, that Emery is so easy to take out, and that one of these days I'll be able to squeeze in a trip to the dry cleaners, too!

You know you're in the South when ...

you hear "Oh I Wish I Was in Dixie" on the radio, the sign on the restaurant down the street indicates that they serve gizzards, livers and fried green tomatoes ... and literally every salesperson I encountered in the past 48 hours wanted to be very sure I was going to have a happy Mother's Day. You have to love Southern hospitality!

A realization

We've been spending a lot of time this week with Matt's brother and his wife, who are in visiting before they move to Connecticut. Matt's brother works for tegu, a toy startup. They're more than just your everyday toy company, so I'd reccommend checking out the Web site for more information!

Because they are designing magnetized block sets, though, it got me thinking about Legos and how much I enjoyed playing with them when I was young. In fact, for a few years in a row, my brother and I would enter a Lego-building contest sponsored by the local toy store, Be Beep, and each design our own space stations, small cities, or what have you out of Legos.

My memories of these contests are a little fuzzy, but I do remember dropping my creation off at the store, and then returning a day or two later to see if there was a little ribbon attached to my design, indicating that I had won a prize (which was more Legos of course).

And lo and behold! There was always a ribbon attached to my design, as well as to my brother's. Imagine that - we both won!

And just the other day it dawned on me - I bet every contestant must have won a prize! I mean, there's no way to really know, but my brother and I couldn't both have been that good at Legos ... what are the odds?? And wouldn't at least one of us be an architect today if we had rightfully won our prizes?

The top five things

Well, we just returned from a fantastic long weekend in Charlottesville, which has me missing the East Coast a bit more than normal.

So, here's what we do about that ... we make a "Top five things about being in Michigan right now" list!

1. The weather is awesome. Even better than VA and MD. No humidity,and steady temps in the 70's and 80's.
2. Local produce will soon be exploding and my summertime meals will surely benefit. Hopefully my yet to be planted garden will, too.
3. It gets light very early and stays light very late, making waking up in the morning less painful and the evenings seem a lot longer.
4. It's golf season, and since last season got cut off unexpectedly early due to my foot injury, I'm feeling a new sense of gratitude for the ability to enjoy this sport. Also, we often play on Friday nights after work, and finish off the night with sausage and green olive pizza from our favorite pizza place - a perfect way to end the work week in my opinion.
5. Summertime also means that we have a couple of trips to look forward to in the next several months that will bring us back to the East Coast.

I'm not sure if the last one really counts as a top five for being in MI right now, but I'm running out of time and ideas, so it will have to do!

When?

The other day, as we were cleaning the house and preparing for guests, Matt mentioned that my mail/collect-all basket that lives in our dining room bookshelf, was full, in effect suggesting that it needed to be sorted and emptied.

To which I retorted, "When?  When, Matt, would I have had time to take care of that?"

I feel like I've been saying this a lot recently.  "When?"

My mother will say, "Have you put pictures on your new bulletin board" or "Have you blogged today?"

When?  WHEN?

I don't mean to be one of those people who moans and groans about being so busy, as if that makes me more important.  I really don't want to be that way!  But I do have to say that lately, I just haven't been able to keep up with tedious tasks like sorting the mail and folding my laundry.  Getting new lenses for my glasses or switching my debit card pin number to one I can actually remember?  Not happening.

And what's frustrating to me is that I feel like I'm one of those people who milks all she can out of nearly every waking minute.  In fact, I had a friend in college who always wondered how I could get ready so fast in the morning.  I told her that the key was to always be in motion. Never stand and pause, debating on whether or not to make your bed or get dressed first.  Just do whatever comes to your mind right away, and, when possible, do two things at once.

This is why I rarely brush my teeth standing still.  I can easily fill a water glass for my bedstand or open the blinds with toothbrush in hand.  Or in mouth, I should say.

So why do I feel so behind?  Must I really begin sorting the mail at the bathroom sink?