A term I have learned in graduate school is, self care. It's pretty obvious what it means, taking care of yourself so you don't get completely burned out when your working in the field of social work. As I have been home the entire month of July, after a nine months of a pretty tight schedule and routine of not being a stay at home mom, I have been a tad bit overwhelmed. I fully admit that I enjoyed my time at school and at my internship. I like having more to my title than mom. So, as I found myself frazzled and sometimes irritated, the idea of self care for moms popped into my head. Now I know that moms are always being told that they need to take time to make time for themselves, are you following me?:) But I ask you when is that suppose to happen? Especially in the stay at home mom's life?? At least when you're a working mom/student mom, you have carved out times that you can squeeze some time in. When your full time job is to be at home with your kids, it is much more difficult to find the time and the resources to make that happen. You have to find someone to watch the kids and usually those people like to be paid:)
One way in which I have been relaxing lately is through cooking and baking. I have always loved trying new recipes, making yummy dinners and treats. Baking is my least favorite, it seems that we don't always see eye to eye, baking and me:) This summer however, that has changed!! I am proud to admit I have made butterscotch/chocolate chip pudding cookies that are to.die.for and a peach cobbler that is scrumptious. Lately I have been obsessed with a seasonal favorite, zucchini and have made many variations including oven parmesean, cakes and plain old fried zucchini. I have tried some new salads, new chicken dishes and even perfected a rib rub!! I credit Pioneer Women, with whom I am just a tad bit obsessed, because she got me inspired to try some new recipes last year at this time through her delightful blog. If you've never checked her out please do so at www.pioneerwomen.com.
I have come to realize that sometimes when you're feeling overwhelmed by life, whether it's because your two year old refuses to nap or your job is super stressful or your marriage is a disaster, sometimes a peach cobbler, in all its delicious, sugary, perfectly crisped cobbler crust, and a dollop of fresh whip cream can make the world a little brighter, or at least a little tastier!!
I am going to try this, again, in hopes that we can get some yummy recipes in the comment section. There is a counter on the blog now, so I know you people are reading, but NO ONE COMMENTS! Please, I beg of you, leave a comment on what you do for self care? If you bake or cook and have a recipe you think we all need to have, link it or write it out! Come on, you can do it!!
Happy bake caring!!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Sunday, July 08, 2012
Mid-Summer postings
I can not believe that the fourth of July has come and gone! I remember growing up, my dad would always say on the 4th of July, "Well, summer is half over! Before you know it, school will start again!" It was so annoying! Thankfully my summer break has just begun. We're enjoying a more leisurely pace around here. I am trying to get these children of mine to sleep past 7a.m, we're staying in our jammies a little longer, I'm making pancakes more and just chilling out.
I am happy to report that we've accomplished several items on our Summer bucket list. We've been to the beach, had Popsicle's for breakfast, and gone to a carnival! This past weekend we visited our friends in Traverse City. They have four kids under age eight so adding in our three made for some craziness! Some highlights from the weekend included going to the Cherry Festival and watching the air show and riding the rides at the carnival . The kids loved the rides. Our friends have a blowup water slide and the kids spent all day Friday on it. Jeff got to golf with his buddy, Pat. I forgot to mention that Pat and Pam are the reason that Jeff and I are together. Jeff and Pat were close friends in high school as were Pam and I. While we were at MSU, Pam and Pat met and started dating and they introduced to me to Jeff. We don't get to see them as often as we would like and it was long overdue to get everyone together.
In other news as I stated before, I am done with school till September. I ended up with a 4.0 and I was so happy. This past semester was by far the hardest in the MSW program. Lots of papers and assignments were required and it was a lot of work. I am glad that I did well. I am thankful for Jeff and his support and encouragement. I also am blessed to have two friends who are gifted editors who help me with my papers! It takes a village people, a village to get me through this program!
This week I am having dinner with my a few girls I lived with at MSU. I haven't seen two of them in nearly fifteen years! I am so excited to catch up with them! Next week is Jeff's 20 year high school reunion. It should be interesting to meet some of his high school friends and catch up with others who live out of state. The day after the reunion we head to Silver Lake, up by Ludington , for our annual summer vacation with Jeff's side of the family. Ellie has finally taken a liking to swimming which is nice because being around water with her before that was not exactly fun. Our neighbors put in a pool and for the last month all she wanted to do is walk around it and throw stuff in it..without a life jacket! Of course now that she has transformed into a water baby she wants to be in the water with me, all the time. I don't mind, she is pretty darn cute! I am hoping all goes smoothly at the cottage. I worry about the sleeping aspects because my kids struggle when they are not in their beds. I am trying to remember that it's only a week and that we will survive. The most important thing is that they have so much fun and are building such great memories with their cousins. This year we will also be taking Matthew, Caroline and Jeff's sisters son, Derek, to Michigan Adventure. After seeing how much fun they had at the Cherry Festival carnival, I am excited to see how they do at Michigan Adventure.
Matthew and Caroline are wrapping up with tee ball/baseball this week. They have both enjoyed playing. Matthew is doing golf lessons every Wednesday through August. Both kids are going to the Springhill day camp at our church in August. I am very excited that they are able to go as I have heard wonderful things about it.
Poor Ellie is having her tonsils out on August 2nd. She has been such a sickly girl the past two winters. Last winter she had strep 7 times. I know once they are out that she will be so much healthier but I am dreading it. It is so painful. Matthew had his tonsils out when he was 5 and it was a pretty hard recovery. Because she is less than three, they will keep her overnight at the hospital. I am grateful for this because when Matthew had his tonsils out the first day was the worse. I am hoping that by being in the hospital we can get a good handle on pain management and hydration. Thankfully Grandma Betsy is taking Matthew and Caroline to Chicago for Camp Grandma, so I can devote all my time to my little patient.
Speaking of Ellie, she is getting so big. Her speech has improved by leaps and bounds in the past two months. In fact, I am fairly certain she will be getting kicked out of the speech preschool she is going to. Oh well, I am just glad she has found her voice! She says the cutest things. Some of my favorites are, " I did it!" " Squeaky, top it!" she calls Caroline Squeaky and has no problem letting her sister know when she is not happy. " No, me do it!" and " Me give you a running huggy" When anyone leaves she likes to run to them and jump into your arms to give you a hug.
We took her out of her crib and into a toddler bed last week. It was going well but tonight we added Caroline, and her bed, to the mix. Let's just say, Miss Ellie is not happy! In fact, she cried for nearly two hours and finally fell asleep under the window in her room. Poor little girl seems a bit confused by all the transitions. Our thinking was that we would do all the changes with the rooms/beds before our new school routines start in the Fall. Because we all know there is nothing I would rather do than listen to my nearly 3 year old scream, "Mommy open dis door!" for hours on end!
I guess that about sums up what's been going on around these parts. I hope everyone out there is enjoying summer!!
I am happy to report that we've accomplished several items on our Summer bucket list. We've been to the beach, had Popsicle's for breakfast, and gone to a carnival! This past weekend we visited our friends in Traverse City. They have four kids under age eight so adding in our three made for some craziness! Some highlights from the weekend included going to the Cherry Festival and watching the air show and riding the rides at the carnival . The kids loved the rides. Our friends have a blowup water slide and the kids spent all day Friday on it. Jeff got to golf with his buddy, Pat. I forgot to mention that Pat and Pam are the reason that Jeff and I are together. Jeff and Pat were close friends in high school as were Pam and I. While we were at MSU, Pam and Pat met and started dating and they introduced to me to Jeff. We don't get to see them as often as we would like and it was long overdue to get everyone together.
In other news as I stated before, I am done with school till September. I ended up with a 4.0 and I was so happy. This past semester was by far the hardest in the MSW program. Lots of papers and assignments were required and it was a lot of work. I am glad that I did well. I am thankful for Jeff and his support and encouragement. I also am blessed to have two friends who are gifted editors who help me with my papers! It takes a village people, a village to get me through this program!
This week I am having dinner with my a few girls I lived with at MSU. I haven't seen two of them in nearly fifteen years! I am so excited to catch up with them! Next week is Jeff's 20 year high school reunion. It should be interesting to meet some of his high school friends and catch up with others who live out of state. The day after the reunion we head to Silver Lake, up by Ludington , for our annual summer vacation with Jeff's side of the family. Ellie has finally taken a liking to swimming which is nice because being around water with her before that was not exactly fun. Our neighbors put in a pool and for the last month all she wanted to do is walk around it and throw stuff in it..without a life jacket! Of course now that she has transformed into a water baby she wants to be in the water with me, all the time. I don't mind, she is pretty darn cute! I am hoping all goes smoothly at the cottage. I worry about the sleeping aspects because my kids struggle when they are not in their beds. I am trying to remember that it's only a week and that we will survive. The most important thing is that they have so much fun and are building such great memories with their cousins. This year we will also be taking Matthew, Caroline and Jeff's sisters son, Derek, to Michigan Adventure. After seeing how much fun they had at the Cherry Festival carnival, I am excited to see how they do at Michigan Adventure.
Matthew and Caroline are wrapping up with tee ball/baseball this week. They have both enjoyed playing. Matthew is doing golf lessons every Wednesday through August. Both kids are going to the Springhill day camp at our church in August. I am very excited that they are able to go as I have heard wonderful things about it.
Poor Ellie is having her tonsils out on August 2nd. She has been such a sickly girl the past two winters. Last winter she had strep 7 times. I know once they are out that she will be so much healthier but I am dreading it. It is so painful. Matthew had his tonsils out when he was 5 and it was a pretty hard recovery. Because she is less than three, they will keep her overnight at the hospital. I am grateful for this because when Matthew had his tonsils out the first day was the worse. I am hoping that by being in the hospital we can get a good handle on pain management and hydration. Thankfully Grandma Betsy is taking Matthew and Caroline to Chicago for Camp Grandma, so I can devote all my time to my little patient.
Speaking of Ellie, she is getting so big. Her speech has improved by leaps and bounds in the past two months. In fact, I am fairly certain she will be getting kicked out of the speech preschool she is going to. Oh well, I am just glad she has found her voice! She says the cutest things. Some of my favorites are, " I did it!" " Squeaky, top it!" she calls Caroline Squeaky and has no problem letting her sister know when she is not happy. " No, me do it!" and " Me give you a running huggy" When anyone leaves she likes to run to them and jump into your arms to give you a hug.
We took her out of her crib and into a toddler bed last week. It was going well but tonight we added Caroline, and her bed, to the mix. Let's just say, Miss Ellie is not happy! In fact, she cried for nearly two hours and finally fell asleep under the window in her room. Poor little girl seems a bit confused by all the transitions. Our thinking was that we would do all the changes with the rooms/beds before our new school routines start in the Fall. Because we all know there is nothing I would rather do than listen to my nearly 3 year old scream, "Mommy open dis door!" for hours on end!
I guess that about sums up what's been going on around these parts. I hope everyone out there is enjoying summer!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)