Tuesdays & Turkey Burgers

Every Tuesday my mama-in-law takes Madeline & Simeon for the day. It is perfect. She loves it. They love it. And I love it. Sometimes I run errands or visit friends but generally I just enjoy a day at home with my sweet Anna. She is so precious & our time is going SO fast. So much faster than it did with only Madeline at home. She is almost 8mo. old & is seriously the BEST baby ever. She never fusses or cries, sleeps wonderfully, handles her siblings jumping & shouting all around her, and has the most precious giggle. I love her to pieces.


And her daddy is pretty wonderful too!


On another note, I made these really yummy turkey burgers recently. I've never used ground turkey & I have to say I was impressed. Cheaper, healthier, and still yum. Give it a try.

3 lb Lean Ground Turkey
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs
1/4 cup diced onions
1 large Egg White
1/4 cup Parsley
1 tbsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper

Mix, patty, grill, & enjoy! Mine were a little "wet" so I added more bread crumbs as needed. I served them on wheat buns with lettuce, tomato, & avocado. Very delish. To be totally honest we ate them with chips & cheese dip so it took away a little of the healthy factor but it was good!

what do...

Here's a fun question. What do grapes, steel wool, and the pitter patter of little feet have in common? The sad & disgusting answer is....MICE. We have spent way too much time over the last week dealing with mice in our kitchen. Every morning I wake up to find new little mice droppings in places I just cleaned the day before. So, we clean, we set traps, we plug holes, we wait, we catch no mice, and we start over. The worst part of this I haven't even shared yet. So prepare yourself for something really awful. I was working on some yummy sweet potatoes for my sweet Anna when I opened a utensil drawer and found the grossest thing I could imagine in the back of it. 20 plus grapes plus lots of little droppings filling the corner. It was so awful. I gagged multiple times, shut the drawer, and called Andrew. At first he didn't understand the urgency I was trying to convey until I step by step explained that the mice had to scamper and scurry their little selves all the way across the kitchen in order to get from that drawer to the grapes on the other side. So. So. Very. Gross. In case you haven't already looked down, here is a picture of what I found. Sorry for the gag I'm sure it will produce.

Yea!

Hello blog. I am back. Thanks to my wonderful friend from Boston days I have this beautifully designed blog. And because I am so THANKFUL I will shamelessly put in plugs for all her creativity starting now. You can see her blog designs here and more of her awesomeness here. Thanks Rach! &, aren't you proud I figured out how to do the links?

a new broom

This is a conversation that occurred between Andrew & me this week that was priceless. It was around lunchtime at our house and I had just returned from a WalMart run with the kiddos. They were eating & Andrew called. We chatted some and he proceeded to tell me what the rest of his day looked like. He was on his way to lunch with a friend at Whole Hog, then to meet up with another friend for a bit (work of course), then to play hand ball with the guys he disciples for the afternoon. Also work, of course. After he said all that, I said, in all seriousness, guess what I found at Walmart today? It's a really great new broom! As the words came I genuinely meant them...my new broom is really great. But the image of the things that fill his day next to the things that bring excitment to my day was very laughable. Either way, I firmly stick to the fact that I love my new broom...even more now after a weeks worth of use.

a little on parenting & community

I think I've either said or heard the words, "phase of life", about 1000 times over the last few months. And generally it is in some connection with the ups & downs of parenting & the ups and downs of living life in community with others. I actually write this thinking I am thankful for that phrase, how often it is used, and what it implies. Because this is my phase of life: I'm a wife, a mama, a friend, a mentor, a teacher, a chef, a book keeper, a driver, a washer, a wanna be reader, and I love it. And I am walking through this "phase of life" with a group of folks who are walking the same way-and I don't mean that we are doing all the same things & constantly talking, sharing meals, spending time together, or anything like that. But we are walking together headed towards more of what Jesus has called us to, planned for us, and prepared in advance for us to do during this exact time in our lives. So I'm thankful. Thankful for my wonderfully chaotic life. Thankful for my community that pushes me to authenticity, vulnerability, truth, grace, love. And thankful to Jesus, my Sustainer in a sometimes confusingly beautiful "phase of life."

good feelings

Two nights ago I felt the baby move for the first time. I had just gotten in bed and Andrew was still brushing his teeth. Quickly I called for him to come and we sat for a good while with hands on my belly waiting and smiling and willing the baby to move some more. As we were sitting there I couldn't help but get overwhelmed and giddy. To feel life within your body is an unbelievable and indescribable feeling. Several Scriptures came to mind but especially Psalm 139. Every day when I put Madeline & Simeon to bed I tell them they are fearfully and wonderfully made and now I have the blessing and privilege of being a part of another life being fearfully and wonderfully made. With Simeon home and being pregnant at the same time I find myself thinking often of his birth mother. What feelings was she having when she was 18 weeks pregnant? What emotions go through her life now as she will most likely never see her biological baby again? The baby she felt God fearfully and wonderfully make within her. These are difficult and emotional things I wrestle to understand. There are days I get tired, frustrated, overwhelmed with parenting but I rejoice in the blessing and honor it is to be a mama to all three of my kiddos.

unblogworthy

So I kind of made a mental goal to blog weekly-I know I am failing but my new struggle is what to blog about. I'm not a creative writerly person. And pretty much every day we do the same kind of things. Wake, eat, play, eat, sleep, wake, eat, play, eat, bath, read, bed. And so on. So here is my feeble attempt at a new post. Things I'm currently enjoying that you might as like as well.
1. Sandwich thins-introduced to me by my sister Becca. They are great for panini's or burgers. Yum.
2. Big girl beds-Madeline is now in the bed I grew up in which is high off the ground. We added child safety rails & solved the getting out of bed 1,000 times a day & night problem. Yea.
3. Exercise class-I am taking an exercise class at a local church that is 3 days a week, includes child care, and is only $15 a semester. Love it.
4. Friends who cook-we have had meals brought to our door, warm & yummy, three days a week since getting home. Wow. Thanks.
5. I also love friends who don't cook by the way. :)
6. Simeon's funny faces. Pics to come as soon as we can get the computer liking us again.
7. Warm fires. As Madeline says, they are nice & cozy.