Holy cats my baby is 2!

The title makes this post obvious but I still can't believe it.  2 years ago on this very day I thought, wow, those people at the Hospital must be crazy - do they know that they are sending this precious little person home with 2 people that have NO idea what they are doing?!  Well, as it turns out after I had my initial freak out I got the hang of things :) 

How much can life change in two years, I guess you could say it would depend on the years but the last two have been the best two years of my life.  We wanted to have a baby for quite a while but I had (and have) some reproductive "challenges" that took some time to get through, when we actually conceived Naomi (no, it's not THAT kind of post - eww - ha ha) we had just moved into our new house and we had given up focus on expanding our family to focus on the adventure of making our new house ours.  We had tried for 2 1/2 years with many hopeful moments that led to major heartache and I had just had enough and thought that hey - I love my husband more than anything in the world and he loves me (most days when I wasn't being a nag - probably even then though) and if it's meant to be just us then that is what it will be. 

Then, it was the Friday of the Taylor County Fair and I felt horrible, just run down, nauseated, achy.  I thought it must be the flu...all weekend I just couldn't shake it...then a light bulb went off - hey! Maybe I'm pregnant?  So I went and bought a 5 pack of tests and took them all.  In a row.  Because I'm crazy.  And they were all positive.  Not wanting to get my hopes up too high I scheduled a blood test at the clinic, Ryan and I kept our fingers crossed all the while trying not to get too excited.  I was driving to Merrill for work after the blood draw and I got the call, fully expecting to hear; "Sorry Mindy, I don't know what happened with the home tests but it's negative" but the first thing I hear is "congratulations!"  Wow, I was shocked and so happy that it was finally a good call from the clinic, I called Ryan right away and told him that you and me an a baby makes three and he was SO EXCITED!!! 

So, there is a little of the background on our whole wanting a baby situation - I was blessed with an extremely easy and beautiful pregnancy, yeah I had morning sickness in the beginning but I loved being pregnant.  I loved feeling that baby move and kick.  After we got the nursery set up I would sit in the rocking chair and just imagine what our baby would be like.  I was again blessed with a very easy labor and delivery.  And then it happened, love at first sight.  We told the doctor our girl name and boy name so after that final push the doctor said, "Meet Naomi" it was just amazing.  I'm sure it would have been amazing either way but I was very happy that we had a girl - Ryan looked a bit scared - he is dramatically outnumbered by girls here - all of our pets are girls as well!

Naomi has been the best life changing thing in my life.  She has made me more focused and calm.  She has brought me to the realization that there is so much in your life that you absolutely cannot control so why stress over the things that are outside of your control.  She has taught me to celebrate the little milestones.  She has made me laugh harder than I thought, worry more for someone else's well being much more than my own, she's made me cry from feeling so much love and she has made me fall even more in love with her daddy just by seeing him be such a remarkable father.  And that's all in the first 2 years!  Sometimes I truly wish there was a pause button in life, that you could just steal and extra 4 hours of a sunny day playing outside with your little family, enjoying each other's company without having a never ending "to-do" list in the back of your mind. 

I am learning that on this journey of being a mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend I just want to be fully committed to every relationship and not take anyone for granted.  One relationship has made me re-evaluate every other relationship in my life, thank you to my sweet, funny honey girl for making me stop and think more about ALL of the wonderful blessings God has presented in my life.  I can hardly imagine what my life was like before having Naomi but I know that it made me a better person just knowing her. 

I am posting a heap of my favorite pictures of Naomi through the last two years, I hope to keep writing in this blog and look back in the future at how precious the gift of time really is. 

Happy birthday honey girl!

"Yeah, you'll want to get the big spoons"

That's the words said before dinner with my friend Beth last night.  The boys had their curling banquet so Naomi and I got to watch this sweet little peanut while her mommy finished teaching:

Naomi then wanted to have her picture taken with baby Charlotte, so here are the girls together...I have a feeling they may be up to a few shenanigans together in the not so distant future!

So, Naomi is not so great at sharing her mommy.  She did pretty well, only clinging and crying a few times.  After I tucked Charlotte in bed I had about 15 minutes alone with Naomi, we were laying on the couch together watching Da-da-da-da-Dora and she grabs my face and looks me in the eyes and just keeps saying Momma, Momma, Momma.  Then kisses me.  I think she was just reaffirming to me that I am HER mommy.  Cute and funny.  Perhaps there is a divine reason we have not yet been blessed with another baby, perhaps Nay is just not quite yet ready to share her mommy.  Alright, I tuck Nay into her bed and get started on supper.

Beth gets done with class and we catch up a bit and have a glass of wine and let the chowder simmer, we dish up our bowls and we talk about what size spoons to use, after looking at the chowder, it's a consensus.  Get out the big ones!  Oh. My. Word.  It was divine.  If you like seafood this is the chowder for you.  Nothing overly fishy in flavor, super silky broth, perfectly cooked seafood.  Yum.  The recipe is courtesy of Real Simple's Meals Made Easy Cookbook:

Scallop and Corn Chowder

 

• 5 slices bacon, cut into small dice
• 1 1/2 pounds sea scallops (about 16), patted dry
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
• 1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled (if desired) and cut into a 1/2-inch dice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup corn kernels, fresh (from 2 ears) or frozen
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
2. You should have about 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings; if necessary, supplement with olive oil. Increase heat to medium-high. Season scallops with ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper; cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add the onion to the drippings in the skillet and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the potatoes, wine, broth, and cream; cover partially and reduce heat. Simmer gently until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
5. Add the scallops and corn and simmer gently to heat through. Sprinkle with the parsley and bacon.

The changes I made (of course I made changes!) I didn't realize the recipe called for 1 1/2 lbs. of scallops so I only had 1 lb. in the house, so I just added a 1/2 lb. of shrimp which actually was nice for a change up in texture and added a nice color too!

It was a great evening of spending time with some sweet little baby girls, catching up with a dear friend and enjoying a great new recipe.  This one is definitely a keeper for me!  Bon Appetit!

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Happy Birthday Mom

Warning to my sisters - this is going to be a very sappy post about mom...

March is a bittersweet month for me.  The extreme highlight is that my baby girl was born in March - she is by far and away the light in our lives, there is so much that you don't get to feel until you have a baby.  It was the first time that I really understood what love at first sight was.  Speaking of love at first sight...it is also Ryan and my 10 YEAR! dating anniversary - there will be a post ALL about that later :)

The touch of sadness in the month is that it is also my mom's birthday month.  My mom's birthday is the 22nd and Naomi's birthday is the 24th.  I was due on the 16th and when that day came and went (and went, and went, and went) I was sure that there was some divine plan that was holding out for me to have my baby on my mom's birthday.  But Naomi, in a fashion that seems to be her norm, made her own way and stayed in utero until she was good and ready on the 24th...with a little medical assistance that is.  So in celebration of two of the most important and life changing women in my life I am writing this post.  In a way I am glad that Naomi held out to have her own day and allow us to celebrate mom in her own way too.

There are a lot of things that I miss dearly about my mom.  This week she would have been celebrating her 63rd birthday and it's hard to think back on all of the things she has missed out on in our family in the past 5 1/2 years but it is a blessing to look back on all of the great memories...

Mom was always great at making things that were work into fun without us realize that we were doing chores...when we were bailing hay in the summer - something that is completely unavoidable in a farm family - she would make unloading the wagons into a game of who can pull apart the puzzle of bales without things falling.  When we brought the bale up to her to put it on the elevator she would say the name of a state and we would have to say the capital - it made the time pass and kept our minds off of the actual work that we were doing.  She also made the absolute best homemade bread, I can remember so clearly her kneading and kneading and kneading the bread on the kitchen counter and she would tear off a little piece and let me knead my own mini loaf of bread.  She was always baking and cooking and I think that my love of cooking is rooted deeply in those memories.  Evidently my inherited love language is food.  If I cook for you I must love you :) 

She was also the best listener in the world, she would let you vent, whine, grumble, etc. all you needed to and then would have the best suggestions.  She would never tell you what you had to do, just make suggestions of different solutions and would let you decide what would be best.  We all got to make informed decisions and have a certain level of trial and error growing up and she NEVER was an "I told you so" kind of mom.  She taught us to make our own decisions and live with the results.

Mom was silly.  She would do things that would just downright make you laugh out loud without her realizing she was being funny...during my teen years I would definitely have called it embarrassing but what I wouldn't give to see her dance around her kitchen or sing out loud to Maggie Mae by Rod Stewart. 

She LOVED her family.  There was never a time in my childhood that I didn't feel like I had 100% love from my parents.  I was a bit of a brat (a lot of a brat if you ask my siblings but they can get their own blog if they want to talk about that - ha ha) and my mom just took the tantrums and attitude in stride, she wasn't afraid to tell me when I was being too much but she also I think really realized how much of the attitude was normal teenage angst. 

When mom gave you hugs she always patted you on the back, for some reason I thought this was annoying and would get mad at her for patting me on the back...dumb, right?  Well, guess now who does the patting?  BOTH Naomi and I!  It is so sweet to feel Naomi's little hand patting me on the back, it literally makes me tear up every time because it makes me think of mom hugs.  Kind of like incorporating the full circle of life, my mom and my daughter having similar traits, for anyone who does not have their mom with them any longer there is nothing more touching then when you see a bit of your mom in your daughter.  What I wouldn't give to feel that hug from mom again, wrapped up and knowing that everything was always going to be alright.

Growing up, my grandma and mom were the best of friends, to the point of being really annoying in a kids perspective :)  ha ha.  My mom would talk to her mom at least once (most days 2 or 3 times) a day and we did the weekly grocery shopping with grandma.  I guess I fully expected that one day I would grow up and get the chance to be best friends with my mom too.  Unfortunately that is not how things panned out but I do have so many wonderful women in my life that have helped me grow into the person I am today.  I have been blessed with so many strong and wonderful influences it makes me realize while I may be missing a big influence in my life I have a great support system that teaches me to adapt and grow every day. 

There are so many traits that I hope to carry on from my mom with Naomi, the making everyday things fun, the support, love and care that she always made each of us and our friends feel.  Our home was always open to anyone who needed a place to stay or a someone to listen and care. 

I keep a framed picture of my mom on my dresser and Naomi takes it down from time to time, one day she took it off my dresser (I was already at work) and was talking to the picture of my mom, Ryan - being the sweet man he is - told Naomi that that was her grandma in heaven and that she watches over us.  Naomi just kept chattering away to her. 



I think it is an extremely important thing to let Naomi know about who was in our lives in the past with keeping a good balance of savoring who is here with us now and looking forward to who we will meet in our future.  Appreciate every moment you have because they are all precious, it is true that you will be given challenges in life but try to rise above it and value the many blessings that God has presented in your lives.



To my mom, I love you and miss you more that I have words to express.  To my daughter, I love you more than I thought my heart could feel and I look forward to many adventures with you.  To all of the other amazing women in my life, thank you for being a part of the journey and much love to you all.

It's Here!!!

March Birchbox

I am on my second month of my subscription to Birchbox, this month's ROCKS!  I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed in last month's goodies but this month makes up for it in spades!  Plus, it's like getting a present in the mail every month!!

I ordered a subscription for my friend Ellie too and we were talking about our Birchboxes over the weekend and she was talking about all these great things she got in hers and I honestly was like, wow your box was so much better than mine, as it turns out she just gets hers earlier than I do so all of these fun goodies showed up in my mailbox today!  Just what a girl needs after spending all day and an extra hour at night working on gun sales...nail polish and lip gloss!  haha.

 Here is are a couple of shots of the goodies:

 

There are two full size products in there this month, one is a nail polish from Essie - I have heard a lot about the brand but have yet to use it...until I'm done with this post tonight then I am off to do my nails!  The second is a lip tint by Tarte, it feels so silky smooth on your lips and is a fun bright pop of color without looking like too much...very springy indeed!  There is also a sample of delicious smelling french perfume from Annick Goutal called Petite Cherie, oil blotting papers and a snag-free hair tie.  

I would really recommend this for someone that likes to try new products and doesn't want to commit to buying a full size...it's really a reasonable way to try out new products and find things you like.  I also love, love, love that you can give this as a gift.

Well, off to paint my nails!  Have a good night!

Weekend Ahhh-way and Crochet, crochet, crochet...

Last weekend Ryan, Naomi and I escaped to the Northwoods to stay at the family cabin in Minocqua and had some much needed "reconnect with the family time".  Naomi really is a good little traveler and we pushed the limits by leaving town around 6 pm so we didn't get to Minocqua until around 8...she then stayed up until almost 10 which is way past her normal bedtime...she slept OK that night but was still up at her early bird 5:00 time so we both were feeling a little cranky that morning.  This is going to sound ridiculous but I don't care, Minocqua has a really nice Wal-mart so I like to stop in when we are in town just to browse around well...apparently my browsing got boring because I lost my shopping partner:

It may or may not have had something to do with getting 2 hours less sleep.  Any who.  We got back to the cabin and then had lunch and we had the TV on in the background and US national of gymnastics or something like that was on and she was GLUED to that TV.  I always loved watching gymnastics when I was younger and still do so that was cute, then she pulled out the sweetest, funniest thing...she looked at Ryan and I to make sure we were watching then did a somersault, rolled across the ground and then stood up and twirled then threw her hands in the air.  So. Stinkin'. Cute.  I literally could have bawled.  My baby is growing up WAY, way, way too fast and catches on to everything.  The rest of the weekend was fairly uneventful, just more crocheting (more on that to come) and a nice walk and just time to enjoy our little family.  It was a very restful weekend up at the cabin.
Here are some silly pics of Nay, she is becoming quite the little poser for pictures! :)

So, I have a bit of an addiction problem.  The first step is admitting it right?  Well, I'll admit it, I'm going to sound a tad crazy but I can't stop crocheting.  It's a real problem.  It is so fun and therapeutic and I can't even put in to words how great it feels to make something out of a literal piece of thread.  So, my dear friend Alice was kind enough to have me over for lunch one day last week and I brought my bag of troubles (an odd assortment of sewing and crocheting related questions) and she helped sort them out with me...and also taught me how to make a hat!!!  How fun is that??  I made one in about an hour and a half and the little pom-pom ball at the top took almost just as long but Naomi REALLY likes her new hat...so OF COURSE I made a matching one for myself so we can be complete dorks and match :)  Whatever, don't judge me - haha.  This is probably doubly bad of me because not only is she my daughter so I obviously think she is the best thing since anything but I also made the hat but I don't know if there is anything cuter than this.  Ahh love, love, love.  It's a very good thing.

I am back on the wagon for recipes, this one I have had in my recipe box for years but never tried, it was super easy and convenient because the crock pot did all the work, I literally came home and boiled some frozen corn and magic supper was ready!

Slow Cooker Tex Mex Chicken and Beans courtesy of Martha Stewart Living (displayed in our "fine china" Naomi's Hello Kitty bowl - haha:

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried pinto beans, rinsed
• 1 jar (11 ounces) mild or medium salsa (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream, for serving
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

Directions

1. In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, stir together beans, salsa, chiles, flour, and 1 cup water. Season chicken with salt and pepper; arrange on top of bean mixture. Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.
2. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. (Do not open lid or stir.)
3. Remove chicken from stew; shred into large pieces and return to stew. Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro.

Things I did differently (because I am horrible at following an actual recipe)  I doubled the amount of chipoltle chilis but that did make it pretty spicy, in addition to the sour cream and cilantro I added chopped up tortilla pieces, cooked corn, black olive and a little cheese - I am from WI.  I really liked it and this made a large enough batch that we ate our dinner and I have some tucked away in the freezer for a lazy day.

My final note of the week, we went to my nephew Ryan's birthday party today - I cannot believe that he is 5 already, I can remember him as a little baby so well.  He was my little snuggle buddy and I could get him to fall asleep so easily. 

Love those kiddos, it's a great to be so close in proximity and relationships to my siblings that we all actually get to know each other's families and the little things that count.  I'll tally that up on my list of things to thank God for tonight at prayers.  I snagged a few candid moments on film that I want to post and share...

I think that this happens often, I am a person that is much more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it but today  I asked my niece Brooke to take a picture of Naomi and I.  Every time that I have a picture taken with Naomi it makes me thankful to be her mommy and makes me think back to my mom and how much I miss her and wish she could see how her family has grown.  It's hard to believe all of the things that have changed since she's been gone.  I was talking about this with my Dad the other day and he told me, which I don't know why it surprised me but coming from him it did, that she does know, that she is watching and that she is proud.  Sweet sentiments that I will carry with me.  Back to the point of the picture, I have VERY few pictures of my mom and myself and I cherish the few that I do have greatly.

Based on the fact that I have so few pictures of my mom and I,  I try to not be so harsh on myself when a picture of Naomi and I is taken because who knows in this crazy world if that photo may someday mean the world to her.  Family is what you grow with, not just until you leave the comfort and safety of your parents home but the relationship with your parents and siblings is constantly evolving and I love the new discoveries that come from that.  So, for anyone reading this whose mother is still with them, please give them an extra hug or I love you because you just never know.  Much love and many blessings :)