The nerve...

I hear all kinds of comments when I have both babies in tow but nothing like the conversation that occurred "around" me earlier this week...

A mother (maybe in her 70's) and daughter (in her 50's) pair were behind me in the checkout line at Hobby Lobby. 

"Wow! Look at her, she's got twins! She is busy." 

"I mean...look at how skinny she is."

"We'd look like that, too, if we had two little ones..."

I looked behind me...wondering who they're talking about but wanting to see this skinny-momma-of-twins for myself.

The daughter says to me, " You are so skinny and you BIRTHED TWINS!! It must be because you're so busy chasing them everywhere..."

I look back down at my double stroller terribly confused. The ladies clearly can't see my two babies inside....they only see the back of it. They may be being raised like twins, but it's quite obvious that I didn't birth one of these babies.

I'm puzzled about how to respond. I smile as I'm beginning to get a bit nervous about how I'm going to put an end to all of the undeserved compliments. 

Still trying to figure out quite what to say, I open my mouth to give a response when the mother cuts me off.  "Yes, she may be skinny but look at the dark circles under her eyes..."

(I think my mouth was still open at this point.) That's it. I'm completely speechless.  Is there even a response for this? I turn to my cashier.  Her mouth is now open, too, as she gives me an apologetic look. I grabbed my receipt and walked out as fast as I could.

I'm not sure why I am the one, in those moments, that starts getting sweaty and wants to disappear as soon as I can.

This definitely rivals all of those wonderful comments that people make when you're pregnant.

Spaghetti Squash & Meatsauce

"Spaghetti":

Boil a large (or two small) spaghetti squash until fork tender.  Slice open. De-seed and scrape out the "spaghetti" with a fork so it's nice and stringy.

Meatsauce:

1 lb ground meat

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp whole oregano

1 tsp basil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 T salt (my tomato sauce usually doesn't have salt added)

1 T dried parsley

1/2  onion 

2 cans Tomato sauce ( 15-oz cans)

Brown meat. Drain well. Stir in flavorings. Add tomato sauce. Simmer at least ½ hour. Stir in spaghetti squash until well-combined.

I like making this meal ahead of time (or at least the meatsauce) b/c Charlie and I agree that it always tastes better when it's had a bit of time to "marry" in the fridge. (Sometimes I'll even make and store it in the fridge for a few days before we eat it. Then, it's an already a prepared, quick dinner option.)  I've also prepared and frozen the meatsauce.  Just let it sit in the kitchen sink for a few house to thaw the day you want to eat it and prepare the spaghetti squash separately.

Crazy Caprese Salad

Thanks, Aunt Rachel, for sharing this recipe a few years ago!

Caprese Salad, or "crazy salad", as McKlayne calls it, is the perfect summer side.  I'm sorry that I don't give you the exact measurements. I used to hate cooks like me...but this is all from memory, and depending on the size of the group I'm making it for, it often varies, so here goes:

Tomatoes, diced

Feta or Fresh Mozzarella cheese (both are really great, but I hardly ever have fresh mozzarella...and it's more work to cut up...so on a special occasion I use the real thing.)

Red Onion, diced

Basil, chopped

Dressing: (A little goes a long way, so start small and add more.)

1:2 of olive oil to balsamic vinegar 

Salt & Pepper

That Daddy...

He's the kind of Daddy who scoops you up when you're inside the kitchen screaming at him through the window...

and single-handedly maneuvers heavy machinery, just so he can continue to hold you.

I'm sure in love with that Daddy...and his inability to resist that rosey-cheeked boy that just couldn't stand not being in his Daddy's arms.

Swiss Chard

Thanks to Marylou, this is how we like to eat our swiss chard, usually grown from her garden, but you can really use any type of green :

Ingredients:
Greens (chard, kale, spinach, etc.)
a few slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
fat of choice, (We love butter around here!)
S&P
Lemon juice

While the bacon is cooking, wash and chop or tear the leaves, removing the center "spine". (The chard will cook down a lot, so I always prepare what seems like WAY too much.)

Saute greens in fat of choice until it's really cooked. Toss in broken bacon pieces. S&P to taste and squeeze fresh lemon juice on top. And, if I'm feeling extra naughty, sometimes I'll even sprinkle on a dash of parmesan cheese.

I cannot overstate how much my kids love this. Asher calls this his favorite vegetable and will often go back for third helpings...after two hefty ones. Before this we had never even tasted swiss chard, so I was shocked that we all loved it so much. But, I mean, with a little butter and bacon, how can you go wrong?

Chicken pox

The entire month of April we were quarantined to our home with the chicken pox. Calamine lotion every couple hours and oatmeal baths twice a day had become part of our routine.

On April 1st, I noticed some small red marks (some were fluid filled) on Asher's trunk and face as he was getting ready for church.  And then I remembered that two weeks earlier our niece, Elaina, had broken out in chicken pox within 24 hours after we'd seen her. I told Charlie, "I think he has chicken pox!" He thought it was an April Fool's joke.

The joke got old after it plagued all four kids for the entire month. (And L even ended up getting it a SECOND time which is VERY rare and almost never happens. Her first round was very mild, though.) Asher was first. His lasted about 4-5 days from the first sighting until they were scabbed over.  Calamine lotion and oatmeal baths help them dry out quicker, I learned. And, though they get itchy at this point, if you stay on top of them, you can really quicken the process.

McKlayne broke out exactly two weeks later, as Asher's were just fading. She probably had them the worst out of everyone, yet is the only one who doesn't have any scars from it. (For the most part, McKlayne really enjoyed all the attention of having the pox. Truly. She wore her pink and white polka-dot Minnie costume with the white gloves for a full five days and colored in her new giant coloring book most of the time "to keep her hands busy so she wouldn't scratch.") 



And five days later, as the worst of McKlayne's pox had come to an end, the babies both broke out with their first signs of the pox.  Is anyone really surprised? I mean, why wouldn't they start the same day? They share everything.  I sewed socks to a couple pairs of the babies' long-sleeve jammies to keep them from scratching while they were sleeping. This really seemed to help.

I was hesitant to even post about this because I know this can be a very controversial topic.  And, depending on the which side you fall on...whether to vaccinate for chicken pox or not...both have compelling persuasions. I'd mentioned on facebook, in jest, about having a "pox party" for my other non-vaccinating friends who wanted to expose their children, and it quickly spiraled out of control. I received some ugly comments about it being "child abuse to intentionally expose children to a disease" and even threats about CPS becoming involved. Yikes. The last I'd heard, chicken pox was a virus. Choosing not to vaccinate for chicken pox was a decision that Charlie and I had made in faith, with much prayer and research. (And, as a foster parent, I might be a little more sensitive than the average person about what constitutes child abuse. I want to be gracious, but please, please consider the weight of such words. Whew. I had to tame the Momma Bear rising up in me with all those comments.) Boy, times have changed since we were kids, huh?

I have gotten numerous email about this over the last month, so I'll just answer why we believe it was best, for our generally very healthy kids, to have not received the chicken pox vaccine:

1. The vaccine has the potential to "wear off" in some cases.  Mostly, we reached our decision because we were just not comfortable with the "newness"of the vaccine, which came out in 1995. Because of that, the long-tern effects are still unknown. There is potential that the vaccine may not have lifetime immunity, meaning it may "wear off" after a certain number of years. In some cases it has been reported to wear off as early as 6 years after the vaccine.  So, wouldn't it be better to let our kids get it the old fashion way when they're young and can have true immunity?  We think so. 

2. The severity and potential complications of the chicken pox increase with age...including, sterility in men and often times requiring hospitalization as an adult. This was truly one of the main factors that made me leery of vaccinating our sons, especially.  We have a friend who had a pretty severe case of the chicken pox when he was 19 years old.  Ten years later, after years of his wife unsuccessfully becoming pregnant, he found out he was sterile.  While his doctor said he can't be completely certain it's because of the pox, after looking at family history and sibling fertility, they've concluded it's a good chance it is because he had chicken pox as an adult. 

3. There's still a chance that you can get shingles, even with the vaccine! One of the main arguments for receiving the varicella vaccine is to prevent chicken pox and shingles, but that's not always the case. We also have a friend who vaccinated her little girl with the chicken pox vaccine and less than a year later, she broke out in shingles at the age of two!!  It's nice to know that after a month of enduring chicken pox-ridden children, Char and I were given a month's worth of boosters to help prevent shingles for us, one day.

Carnitas Ensalda

Sometimes we'll have leftover pork from making this recipe.  And, if we do, Charlie and I really enjoy eating this for lunch.

Shredded Lettuce (this happened to be iceberg, but we'll use whatever we have on hand)

Tomatoes

Red Onion

Sour Cream (optional)

Salsa

Guacamole

Carnitas

Mix it all together and squeeze some lime juice over the top.