Mommy Breaks

For those of you reading this with kiddos - I will most likely be preaching to the choir, but it is so important to take "mommy breaks" where you have a weekend, a day, an hour , 5 minutes or whatever you need to just breathe and be yourself...I had a mommy break this past weekend and spent the weekend in Madison with my best friend Ellie.  It was refreshing and relaxing and exactly what I needed to refocus on my life back home.  If you haven't taken a break lately - you really should, it's so easy to get wrapped up in the day to day that you forget to take care of yourself too. 

While in Madison we visited the Farmers Market there - the first one of the season, their market is held right by the Capital which is really beautiful.  It was the perfect morning weather wise and I just started taking a photography class/get to know how to use my new fancy dancy camera  last week so I was looking ALL over the place at all of the things I wanted to take pictures of!  I ended up with a lot of the tulips out around the Capital - I couldn't help it - they were so pretty and now that I know how to play with the light with my camera my photos look completely different then when I was in the auto setting - F.U.N.

Continuing on in the fun we spent the afternoon at some thrift shops on Odana Street - VERY fun and we both were able to snag some little treasures :)  Ellie and I are both little foodies so our dinner plan for Saturday night was to put together a great meal that could stretch over the night so we could chat and cook and just not be rushed.  We looked over a few recipes and put together one of our own from the ideas of what we read - literally my absolute favorite way to cook - getting the general idea and then putting your own spin on things.  Here's what we did:

Our first course was some great rustic Italian bread from Trader Joe's, Ellie mixed olive oil, Parmesan and spices for dipping and some great red wine.

While we enjoyed the bread here is the recipe that we got to work on creating:

Seared Salmon over Linguine with a Lemon Dill Vodka Sauce (don't be scared of the title!)
For the Sauce:
Dice 1 medium onion and saute over medium high heat in a good drizzle of EVOO until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes) 
Add:
1 Cup cream
3 Cups Chicken Broth
1/3 Cup vodka
Simmer the sauce over medium heat for 1 hour to reduce to 2 cups

At about the half way mark we started assembling the other parts (pasta, salmon, salad) of our dinner and the timing worked out fabulously....

Bring a big pot of well salted water to a roaring boil and add your pasta of choice - we used linguine - according to the pasta measuring thing from Cooks America is said we had 2 servings of pasta measured out - I think it was more like 4 but it worked well for the amount of sauce.  Cook the pasta until el dente.

Saute 1 medium diced red pepper and a 50/50 mix of spinach and arugula (about 2 cups each) in a pan with a good drizzle of olive oil.

Meanwhile - back to the sauce, once reduced add 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest and 2 Tbls. lemon juice, black pepper to taste and 1/2 Tbsp. dried dill.  The sauce will be thin - it's not like a cheesy Alfredo sauce...that kept throwing us off, while it's not thick it is still rich and satisfying!

Pour the water off the pasta and add the pepper and greens along with the sauce to the pan and simmer everything together for about 5 minutes.

Your pasta is set - while all of that magic was going on, Ellie was tending to the salmon fillets - we picked up about 3/4 of a lb of fresh salmon from the grocery and rubbed it with the leftover bread dipping oil and seared it on a grill pan over medium/high heat for about 4-5 minutes per side.

Plate your pasta and place salmon over the top alongside a salad - for the salad we did a mix of romaine and spinach tossed with pecans, bleu cheese and dried cranberries.  We dressed the salad with 1 clove of garlic mashed to a paste (dice the garlic then sprinkle with a little salt and using the back of a spoon mash the garlic into a paste - or they sell mashed garlic in a tube at the grocery store but where's the fun in a just squeezing? :) ) then whisked with 3 tsp. honey, 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup lemon juice with salt and pepper to taste.

Yum.  It was delicious - the flavors in the sauce are outstanding without being overpowering.  I would definitely make this recipe again. 

Sunday we took Ellie's dog Loki for a long walk on the Ice Age Trail - yes, the same Ice Age Trail that comes through by Medford is in Madison, I never knew!  While out on our walk I brought my camera along and got some really fun shots of flowers along the path...we also spotted two HUGE turkeys - luckily, I spotted them before Loki did so we were able to get her on her leash before she ran off after them.  Ellen and I were joking around about the scenarios of when turkeys attack - our imaginations may have gotten the best of us! 

It was a wonderful weekend away and great to spend some time just relaxing...but one of the best parts of the weekend was walking through the door at home and hearing "Momma!" and to see Naomi come running at me with a huge smile on her face and getting the biggest hug in the world.  It was a great welcome home!  I think that when you take a break or time out from your day to day it gives you a chance to breathe and refocus.  It gives you the perspective you need to come back to your "real life" with a new perspective and appreciation. 

Many blessings and much love :)

Officially Belated...

Naomi's birthday party was a week after her actual birthday this year, the post about the party is about 2 weeks after the actual party...it's officially her belated birthday year...a tad bit of mommy guilt but we've been busy! 

Naomi's birthday party was a blast, literally everything went well, from the food to the guests - we had 10 - count 'em - 10 kiddos age 3 and under at the party.  Naomi did extremely well sharing her toys which can on best days be a...challenge to say the least. 

Weather-wise the day could definitely have been better but we were blessed with great family and friends to celebrate our sweet little lady.  The following day Marsha and her boys (hubby included in that boys group) came over to play and my dad stopped by too - we got some fun pictures of the kids playing together.  Have I gushed recently about how sweet those little boys are?  Extremely, marshmallow peep sweet. 

I hope that Naomi had as much fun at her birthday party as some of the grown ups did!  Happy 2nd birthday to my honey girl!

"Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be..."

March was a whirlwind for our little family, one part I wanted to make note of was our 10 year anniversary on the 29th!  10 short years ago Ryan and I had our first date...we looked something like this:

Babies!  We were just little babies then - he was 20 and I was 18.  How crazy is that?  He was such a sweet boy I was in L.O.V.E. from the start.  We had SO much fun in our early dating years, lots of silly times out with friends and staying up until ungodly hours of the night talking about everything under the sun.

Ryan has always been one of the most kind souls I have ever met (sorry to wreck any sort of "tough guy facade" ha ha).  My mom really loved him from the start which meant a lot to me, to see how easy it was for him to relate to people that were really important in my life. 

Our relationship, like most, has had it's share of hard times, but we have literally grown up together.  We bought our first home together, got our first pets together.  Laughed, loved and lost together. 

Not every day is roses and sunshine but I think that would be unrealistic to expect to see eye to eye on everything...luckily for me Ryan has been extremely forgiving for my bullheadedness and I've tried to stop sweating the small stuff..and by small stuff I mean socks on the living room floor - ha ha.

Starting our most recent adventure of working together day in and day out I was very nervous, it's a lot on a relationship to not have down time but I think things are going better than I could have expected.  I have found a whole new respect for Ryan after seeing him in his element doing the work that he loves.  I love that I feel like his family truly is our family, there is something to be said that working in a family business can be a challenge but at the end of the day it is such a huge reward to know that all of your hard work is literally going to people that you love.

Thank you Ryan for making me laugh so hard my sides hurt, for making me feel beautiful when I know that I look a fright, for remembering the dumb, cheesy little things that I love.  For being a strong supportive partner, for being such a loving daddy to our sweet little girl. 



Thank you for not being afraid of change, for calming me down and helping me see the lighter side in things.  Thank you for being you.  Even when you wear your packer zubas with a brown plaid flannel, I will still always love you :)

One of my favorite quotes from Robert Browning was included in our wedding, I think it holds true to a great marriage and makes you realize how everyday is a gift and even when things are hard they will always get better.  It's about embracing the journey, not racing to the finish, about realizing that you truly are in this together.

"Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in His hand

Who saith "A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!''

Thank you Ryan for a wonderful past 10 years, I can't wait to see what the next 10, 20, 30, etc. bring and there is no one else I'd rather share it with. 

 

 



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.