Tulips!!

Here in SW Missouri it is Spring. That means that the buds are coming in on most of the trees. The daffodils and tulips are up. The ice cream man has made several passes down the street. The weather radio is on the counter. The grass has needed one mowing. Ants are showing up one at a time in various places in the house....though the kitchen gets about 75% of them. It also means that there will be several random nights (and days) that you least expect and highly detest of freezing temperatures. So when we had 2 consecutive days forcasted last week....I picked a select handful of tulips, put them in my blue mason jar (Anne gave all of us sisters one) and hoped for the best. Well, the rest of my tulips made it, so no worries. I had SUCH high hopes, that's why I didn't pick them all. My neighbor had similar fears and brought me over a coveted bouquet of lilacs with a single purple tulip in the center...bliss. What IS it about tulips? I don't think it's just that they are the first blast of color after the deadness of winter....I think it is truly because they are rad flowers. I am pretty sure, sisters correct me if I am wrong, that a red tulip is Dad's favorite.
So while I am on the subject, I should mention that I talked with my bro-in-law, Mike, last night about how to preserve tulip bulbs so they continue to produce. Mike is a Schaffitzel of "Schaffitzel Greenhouse" here in town....the man is a down-to-earth plant wizard. Mike said to "idealy" give them one month after the bloom falls to continue to "feed." That means they are still sucking nutrients from the soil, but not spending those nutrients on the bloom any longer. He mentioned that you could probably just wait til May 1st though. Then he said to pull them and hang them. I plan to tie a string across a wall in the garage and use close pins. Then after they dry completely, cut off the foilage and store somewhere dark until the fall when you plant them again. I'll try and post some pics of the tulip drying process.
I am sure I could be more eloquent with this post, but it's late. I was on the road today visiting my grandparents with the girls (and cousin Sam) and I am plum tired. All I can say is let's get one of my Seattle sisters to get on here and post some REAL pics of tulips from the fields they will be visiting this Easter weekend with Dad, Mom et al.

Ten Things I can Do for my Husband

I came across this list from my journal of 4 years ago.  It stemmed from a group study of the book "Created to be a help meet," by Debbie Pearl.  It encouraged and inspired me for today so I thought I'd share:

How to be more precious to my husband:

1. Smile at him whenever I see him

2. Have healthy pupus (appetizers) always on hand

3. When he shares about a hard day walk over and start rubbing his back

How to be a better help meet:

4. Do the errands he asks of me THE DAY HE ASKS

5. Ask him about what he needs (what laundry, errands, phone calls, prayers, etc.)

6. Never let the trash build up outside of the can (a MAJOR pet peeve of his)

How to be an encouragement:

7. Once a day praise something physical about him

8. thank him EVERYDAY for providing 

9. Ask him to pray with me everyday

How can I change my appearance for him:

10. Shave every other day 

I'm so glad I wrote this simple list.  It's obviously not exhaustive, but I can always come back to it--even 4 years later--and come up with something to do for him TODAY.  I realized recently that when I do things for someone it endears them to me.  I've found this so true recently as I've been more proactive in serving John--he has become more dear, even more attractive to me. Thank you Lord for the benefits that come when we love our husbands intentionally.

The dress up corner

In preparing for the arrival of my sis, Mary, and her family I realized that a frothing mess of imagination inspiring attire had taken over my little girl's bedroom.   I knew something needed to be done--quickly and cheaply.  Inspiration came from Amanda Soule's book, The Creative Family (chapter 4) and from a play day at the park after a big storm.  My kids and I collected all the branches we could fit in the back of our Ridgeline and took them home to our handsaw and sandpaper.  We stopped on the side of the road to collect a pallet too.  Two days later our free dress up corner was born--just in time for Mary and her family's two week visit.  After 14 days of Hawaii rain and clouds, I'm so thankful we made the effort--our boys made lifelong memories dressing up as super heros fully outfitted to protect their sisters from dragons and badguys and anything else their imaginations could come up with.  

My one and only diary post--Julie

MaryEllen's girls have discussed the need for introductions.  Trish, the writer among us appropriately posted hers before any of her other posts.  I, on the other hand, dread writing these kinds of things so I'm just now getting to it.

I am Julie, second of MaryEllen's girls.  I was the peacemaker of the group growing up.  Now I mix things up a bit because I have one of the craziest of the grandkids.  Life is sweet for me these days raising two kids as a stay at home mom.  Before that I was a commercial beekeeper for a little honey company here on Oahu; I produced honey and kept the bees "happy" for my employers.  Last year I began organic gardening, which can occur all year round here in Hawaii.  I am so blessed to live just off the beach,  making gardening a bit more complicated with all that alkaline soil.  

I am a helpmeet to a generous and hilarious and spontaneous husband--a work hard/play hard anti-procrastinator who refuses to allow our life to become boring.  Many things about our life are "up in the air" right now, so we're afforded a great opportunity to depend on the LORD instead of our own plan.   

My days include tons of cooking, playing on the floor, watering vegetable beds, and rinsing sand off my children's feet.  Thankfully, I have learned to see the beauty in a messy, and sometimes dirty house, that's full of love and fun and good food.  I have many interests, but some of them have gone on the shelf for a bit while I make the most of the short time I have with kids so fresh and responsive and eager to soak up the world.  

Right now it's naptime at my house.  While I'd love to curl up with a book and watch the passing shower move it's way across the bay and over our house, I'll just have to settle for smelling the fresh rain from my bedroom window while I fold the 3 loads of laundry that just barely made it off the line in time.  At least I'll have my cup of mint chocolate, roobis tea.

Oh, yes, I almost forgot...my favorite thing is afternoon tea.

Free Stuff...It's bliss.

So Julie and I have decided that there is no shame in pulling up along side someone's trash at the curb and pulling out a treasure...I suppose there are some "rules" to doing this, but let's be real, we are always up for a bargain. I remember mom pulling over the big, grey suburban out in front of our high school to pick up a mink stole that was lying in the road. I am slightly scarred from this. We called it "road kill." I don't know whatever happened to it. Now that I am older...Mom, if you still have it, I could use it thrown over the back of a cozy chair or if it is in poor shape, maybe I could use it to make a pillow.

So far, my favorite free finds include a darling bookshelf and the TOP of my list is a woven rug, it's like, 4 1/2 ft in diameter!. It was my first find ever (go figure, the best so far). I was super nervous and had to go pick up my mother-in-law to go with me as moral support. She was the one that actually nabbed it. It was lying on the top (probably one of the unwritten rules mentioned above) and it looked like it had been laying on a dusty baseball field. I washed it several times in my (then old school) washer and it came out clean. I love love love it on my kitchen floor. I aspire to make my own woven rug someday, but let's be real....I have kids and it looks like a project that would take up too much space. I prefer tiny projects that can be hidden away in a bin, basket or bag during the day so I can pull them out when the kids go to bed and it's just me and my man enjoying some quiet. Ju does this too, and Mary....sheesh, she is the queen of gorgeous home-made gifts.

Anyways, here's my plug for free stuff. Free stuff is rad.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My husband and I have had a Valentine's Day traditional dinner for 5 yrs. running. It's a shrimp recipe that I actually like. I am not a big fan of shrimp (beings as I live smack dab in the middle of the US), but this recipe is a keeper....and it gives the illusion that I worked really hard, but it's easy....always a bonus. Even, Josie, my 3 yr. old liked it....double bonus:

Shrimp Scampi from my Hana Hou cookbook:

2 T. butter

2 T. olive oil

4 lg. cloves garlic, minced

1/4 C. chopped parsley (fresh is important)

Juice of 1/2 lemon (more the merrier)

1/2 C. dry white wine

pinch of dried hot red pepper flakes

1# lg. shrimp, shelled and deveined

salt and pepper

Heat the butter and oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until the foam subsides. Add the garlic, parsley, lemon juice, wine, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 3 mins. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, 5 to 6 mins. until shrimp is pink. Place shrimp on serving plate. Pour sauce over them. The sauce ROCKS!!

Also, since it IS the day to show love...Josie made up a couple Valentines and we took them to a couple of single ladies that live nearby...It was so fun to watch proud little Josie sneaking Valentine's into the mailboxes. Fern joined us in the sling and it was good for all of us to get a little fresh air in February.

Julie's stuffed peppers

Wow, I made the best super easy dinner last night.  I went walking on the beach during dinner time with my friend and her newborn, so I wanted something made ahead that John could pop in the oven while I was gone.  The kids ate it all up (of course they first needed the enticement of heart shaped sugar cookies for dessert.)  We only had one left (pictured) for lunch today... guess we'll do paper, scissors, rock.

Stuffed Red Peppers

1 lb ground beef

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

2 eggs

2 Tbsp italian seasoning

1 tsp. salt

1 small onion chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup shredded cheese (I used romano and mozzerella)

6 red peppers

Mix everything but the peppers in a large bowl.  Cut peppers in half length-wise then trim away the stem and seeds.  Fill peppers with meat mixture.  I stored them in the fridge this way all day.  

Bake in a large baking dish at 350 for 40 min - 1 hour.

The Youngest

I am Trish. I am the youngest of Mary Ellen's girls. Perhaps that makes me the most blessed...not so much lucky. I don't like the word "lucky." It takes credit from our Creator. Why am I the "most blessed?" Because I get to watch and learn from my sisters. I always have and I always will. They are the 3 most important women in my life and to them I owe a great debt. They have saved me from some doozies.
So today, I woke up early, set the kids up with the sitter here at home and then headed off to my "out of the box" job. There I dove a 20,000 gallon fish tank, completed some routine maintenance and then headed home to make venison chili for dinner. It is refreshing that I have had the chili simmering on the stove for more than an hour now and my husband will have dinner ready when he gets home. Regretably, he usually has to wait. The girls have been napping, so for the past hour I have been reading info on the net regarding "worm composting." Julie is getting me started on it. I am trying to find a suitable supplier of starter worms here in Southwest Missouri. I currently have a coffee can of "compost" material filling on the counter. I look forward to seeing where it takes me. I plan on a bigger garden this year. Not only because of the economy, but I also desire to feed my kids the most natural, nutrient rich food I can. Cost being an issue....I need to work at supplying it myself.

A Start

Let it begin.

This blog is an attempt to share what we do with our lives as stay at home moms.  Hopefully we can encourage other women in their walks with God, their husbands, their children and the world.