What We've Been Into (Winter 2015)

It's been quite awhile since I last linked up with the lovely Leigh Kramer's blog for her monthly "What I'm Into" posts, but I have a few minutes and am finally emerging a little from the newborn fog to be able to attempt some blogging.  It's the end of March, which means here in LA it feels like June would for most of the country.  It's already been hot, dry and we're hearing reports of our incredible lack of water that already plagues our state.  Seeing as how we're in the midst of adjusting to life with a newborn (he's now 3 months old!  I guess that doesn't make him a newborn anymore??) we haven't had much time to be "into" that much.  I mostly do a lot of this each day:

and to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't trade these moments for the world.  It's unbelievable to me how quickly these 3 months have flown with a busy 3 year old to keep up with.  But in addition to snuggling the happiest baby ever, here are some of the things I am loving these days.

Reading:
I have managed to do a bit of reading these past few months, mostly as I'm nursing a little one, although unlike with my first son where I could read all day, I now have a 3 year old to entertain while I feed the baby--which means my reading total is MUCH less than if I were to write this post after 3 months with baby #1!  I've read 4 books in the past 3 months:

All the Light We Cannot See: This one is at the top of everyone's reading list, the NY Times lists and book club picks.  And I honestly did not love it.  At all.  Like I think I actually said to my mom one day "good lord is this war ever going to end so this book can be done??"  Yes, there were some beautifully written moments, but the whole thing dragged out SO long for me, and I couldn't stand the way he kept jumping between time periods.  I found myself confused a lot and on a kindle it's hard to flip back and forth.  Not my new favorite read.

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult: This one was a page turner for me, as most of Jodi's books are.  I didn't love the end, it was a twist I REALLY didn't see coming, but I did like the mystery and the story.

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes:  Moyes is maybe my new favorite author obsession.  I've now read 3 of hers and really have enjoyed all of them--the way the stories are written keeps me turning pages and staying up too late!  This one was a WWI story that connected with modern day through a particular piece of art and it was a really fun read.  I just started One Plus One by the same author and am hoping it will be just as well written!

Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenrider: I've started thinking a lot about our space and our possessions and have really enjoyed her blog, so I bought her book and found it helpful in thinking through what we own and why.  We've been on a major purging kick lately and her book has been really influential in that!

Watching:
Lets be honest.  I haven't had time to watch much of anything in 3 months.  As soon as my kiddos are asleep I am generally heading to bed myself to function on the getting up every 2 hours to feed routine we're on here.  I've decided my next binge watching show is going to be Friday Night Lights. And by binge watching I mean I've watched 2 episodes in 3 weeks.  At this rate I'll be looking for a new show in 2017.  One of my best friends gave me season 1 of The Newsroom when Asher was born because she knew how much I loved West Wing (Aaron Sorkin wrote Newsroom).  I FLEW through it in the first three weeks of his life--while the grandparents were all still here to help. Oh my gosh I loved that show! I pretty much think Aaron Sorkin is the best writer around.  Ever.  I still love Nashville and have been faithfully following it--just a week or two behind usually.  I thought the ending Parenthood was phenomenal--one of the best series finales ever written.  I did discover we get HGTV when Asher was born--I had no idea we had that many channels on our TV (this should prove we never watch it in our house!).  So since then I've found myself zoning out in front of Love it Or List It when I have a half hour before bed to unwind.

Listening:
One of the things I have started doing lately is listening to more podcasts while I fold laundry or cook.  My new favorite is The Art of Simple by Tsh Oxenrider--each episode finds her chatting with someone from the blogosphere about whatever their topic is. Her guests are usually people I've already been reading and am interested in, and they just chat!  It's so fun to listen to and I have gotten some fun recommendations from hearing what they're chatting about.

My freezer:

So most of you knew that before this baby arrived I spent 2-3 months filling a chest freezer with meals I could simply heat and serve.  I made simple things like lasagnas, enchilada casserole, chili, spaghetti sauce with meatballs, ravioli bakes, and a few other soups.  I also made big batches of breakfast burritos and waffles and muffins to have simple breakfasts on hand for both myself and our 3 year old.  Words cannot express what a lifesaver this has been.  I have no idea how I would ever get food on the table each night if I didn't have the main dish already taken care of.  We still have quite a few meals left, and then for baby shower gifts and Christmas gifts I had asked for gift certificates to Dream Dinners, a company that basically lets you come in and prepare your own freezer meals to take home and store, so I can easily restock the freezer.  It's been amazing pulling something out to defrost, and only worrying about adding a salad, bread, or other vegetable as a side dish.  My new advice to expecting moms, don't worry about reading parenting books as much--no kid seems to fit the book!  Buy a freezer and fill it with your free time instead!

That's about what we've been into lately--trying to nap as often as possible (when our 3 year old will let me!), go to bed early, and snuggle this baby as long as I possibly can before he gets big too!  Happy Easter friends, may you find joy celebrating the resurrection with your loved ones!

What We've Been Into and Up To

Baby Baby Baby!  People told me that things with the second pregnancy and baby would be different in so many ways, but I'm not entirely sure I believed them!  When I was pregnant with Aidan I counted down the days and weeks meticulously.  I always knew exactly what was going on in his development, I couldn't wait for the day when we would find out whether he was a boy or a girl, I wanted him named as soon as possible so we could start calling him by name and I faithfully read What to Expect When You're Expecting from cover to cover.  Yeah...being pregnant with a toddler around is a drastically different experience!  Someone asked me the other night how far along I was and I actually had to check my iphone app to remember if I was 15 or 16 weeks.  We have an ultra sound scheduled for August 4th to find out how baby is growing and what his or her gender is, but I have so many other things going on between now and then (including preaching on the 3rd!) that it hasn't even really crossed my mind much.  When I was expecting Aidan I posted a blog post every week chronicling our journey waiting for him...this time around this is the first I've written on here since before becoming pregnant.  Poor kiddo!  I am excited to think about a name for this little one, but we've decided to not share that with people until baby arrives this time around, especially since the gender will be public and his or her birthday won't even be a surprise since we've decided with the help of my doctor to do a scheduled c-section this time around rather than risk another rather traumatizing labor experience again.  For now, baby is being called Baby Thomas Olaf (because Aidan wants to name baby after thomas the train and Olaf the snowman) and my nieces are calling it a her and have named her Elsa Anna.  Thank you, Frozen.  I think we'll keep those names until this munchkin makes his or her appearance either Friday December 26th or Monday the 29th!

When we were pregnant with Aidan in 2011, the entire year was one of stress, transitions and major life changes.  During the 9 months of his pregnancy we lost a job (5 months after buying a house and starting said job), had our only car totaled (while it was parked on the side of the road--we were on vacation at the time), went car shopping, underwent a nation-wide job search knowing the possibility was we could move anywhere, moved back to LA, Charles started a new job at a new church where we worked to get to know a whole new community of people, we sold our house long distance, changed doctors at 30 weeks, moved in with a family we hadn't ever met, apartment hunted, moved again, and finally got settled in December for Aidan's arrival in January.  Absolutely nothing about that year was easy, so our goal this time around was to simply stay put!  To enjoy this year, cherish the time we have with Aidan, spend our free time taking him on toddler adventures rather than you know, packing and moving 3 times in 9 months.  The good news, is that 2011 showed us we really can handle anything.  When we announced our first pregnancy, it was the same day Charles lost his job, and we were all of a sudden no longer a part of a church community to celebrate with.  This time around we are surrounded by people who love us, who adore Aidan, who were so so excited to hear our news.  We have incredible friends, several of whom have either just had babies or who are also expecting, lots and lots of friends to share baby clothes, play dates, meals and support with.  We are so so grateful and while our families are far away this is where we want to be--right in the midst of this rich community of people whom we love.   What a difference 3 years has made!

Working Mama: This time around I'm also "officially" working--as in, for a real paycheck!  Most people have been really excited for this job opportunity for me, but a few have let me know they think I should be at home full time, and not employed outside.  I totally respect their opinion, but here's what I have found in the past 2 months of my new job.  I am home WAY more with Aidan and have hired baby sitters WAY less in the past 2 months that I've been employed than in the previous 2 years of intense volunteering.  Saying yes to this job means that I have stepped away from all the volunteer commitments I had previously, commitments I loved, but that took me away from home usually one night a week for meetings or events.  Now, I have 1 evening meeting a month instead of about one per week.  I work a full day on Fridays which is Charles' new day off, so he gets a full day home with Aidan each week to go take him to his baby gym class, out to pizza for lunch, share nap time with him and have play time with.  In my view that is so so important.  I work a half day Tuesday and we have an incredible young woman come play with Aidan for 4-5 hours, with me arriving home before nap time.  Aidan adores his "Sammie days!" and she loves him.  I love seeing him so excited when she rings the door bell.  A sitter used to put him to bed about once a week, I think the only time we've had a sitter do bedtime lately was a week ago when I had to run into urgent care at the last minute and we needed someone to stay with Aidan.  I have WAY more free time now, instead of trying to cram all kinds of volunteer things into his nap periods or frantically doing emails after he goes to bed.  I love having a set work schedule and then being able to say "it's Thursday, I'm not at work today, I can wait until my office hours tomorrow to respond to this since it's not an emergency."  I think it's actually given us a better life balance (I know it's helped our evening commitments and schedule!) as a family having me develop a set work schedule and say no to other committees, meetings, volunteer opportunities etc in this season.  I am still thrilled to be involved in MOPS, but instead of coordinating this year I get to participate, and serve as an adviser of sorts as the staff person directly responsible for the ministry.  It's definitely been a fantastic transition for our family and for me as I've been able to use Aidan's nap times to rest and nap myself during the extreme first trimester exhaustion.  

Adventures in Cooking: My little guy's very favorite thing to do these days is to "help" Mommy in the kitchen.  The second I say "I need to start dinner" he immediately drags a chair over and says "I help!" He taste tests everything, wants to smell every spice or seasoning I put in, loves to pour, dump and mix ("I do it all by myself!") and tells me what he thinks needs to be added.  Not too many 2 year olds will say "Mommy we need a teaspoon of rosemary!" even if we're making, you know, pancakes...  He is learning the numbers on the measuring cups ("we need one with a 1 and a 4 on it!") and we count everything we put in the bowl.  Getting to cook something by myself these days is a huge treat, but I know how important it is for his learning to be part of life in the kitchen (you are welcome, Aidan's future wife.)  We're also growing tomatoes, basil and rosemary for the first time ever and every single day he tells me, "Mommy, I need to go check on my potatoes!"  "I pick the red potatoes!"  He loves taking his bucket out to "harvest" our tomatoes of the day.  And we're working on learning to only pick the red ones...

Reading Reading Reading: I have actually started reading for fun again and making time for that each evening, which is something I got out of the habit of for awhile there in a spring season of a ton of evening commitments and busyness.  The best books I have read this spring were:

• The All You Can Dream Buffet, a fun story of 4 friends who meet up on a farm outside McMinnville, OR to each find healing in life.  A great story of friendship, love, food and the northwest!  
• The One Hundred Foot Journey.  I saw a movie preview recently for this book, it's coming out in August, and looked so good, so I picked up the novel.  Parts of it felt slow to me, but overall I really loved this story of food, the clash of cultures (traditional Indian family moves to France), and the coming of age of the main character, a young boy with an incredible gift of cooking.  The movie looks like it will be really really good, with Helen Miren playing one of the main characters.  Definitely would recommend it!
• Girl at the End of the World.  This true story is the memoir of a woman who was raised right here in California in a religious cult that her father essentially runs.  Parts of her story of spiritual and physical abuse are difficult to read, but it's an important story, one of hope, redemption, and her incredible strength.  
• Carry On, Warrior.  This would be my #1 recommended book this year I think.  It's our MOPS summer book club book and a fantastic read by Glennon Doyle Melton, author of the Momastery blog.  If you're a mom especially, this one is a great one to pick up.  The chapters are super super short so you could read one a day even while nursing a baby or before falling asleep.  Definitely recommend it!

Right now I'm reading both Animal, Vegetable, Miracle for our book club and Tender at the Bone--two great books about food, although very different from one another!

Listening: Both Charles and I are newly obsessed with the band Needtobreathe and would listen to them all the time if the munchkin didn't demand the Frozen soundtrack every time we got into the car.  Powerful lyrics and great sound.

Traveling: It's been a season of surprisingly little travel for me!  I know, so strange!  In June I took Aidan to my parent's for a week while Charles was in Costa Rica, and in August we're going back to Minnesota for a quick 4 day weekend to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday with my aunts and uncles and grandparents, but otherwise we haven't gone anywhere since my trip to Colorado at the end of March.  No wonder I am feeling antsy these days!

That's about all we've been up to lately!  It's been a season of exploring a few new places in LA, delighting in Aidan's new grasp of language (the other day he told me the airplane came around the bend and startled him...) and thinking about this new little one's arrival into our family as we enjoy the summer evenings playing with friends. 

Because I Don't Want to Forget (or What I'm Into, Summer 2013)

I can sense it already.  I'm not remembering the little moments quite like I always imagined I would be able to, or like I want to.  Maybe it's the sheer pace of life, or maybe it's the constant sleep deprivation and exhaustion, but there are days I literally can't figure out if my son is 19 or 20 months old.  I can't remember when he took those first steps (I think I wrote in his baby book that it was in March, but maybe that's wrong?)  I always imagined that those key moments in my child's life would be so significant that they'd be forever etched into my mind--this mind that loves details and can recite all kinds of useless information for you.  But that is apparently not the case, much to my dismay.  That's one of the reasons I adore this monthly series that Leigh Kramer hosts on her blog--I love the chance to sit down and think at least once a month about the things that have happened, the little things that have helped define that season.  It seems to be the only writing I can muster these days.  Many of the blogs I read are written by moms of little ones and their philosophy is that if you want to be a writer you just have to do it.  You have to make time.  So they get up at 4 AM and write before their kids wake.  I'd love to do that.  Except I really love sleep, so I don't anticipate that happening anytime soon.  So instead I jot notes in my phone of things I'd love to write about, and I manage to eek out this post once a month (except for July--somehow I haven't written since June...whoops).

Moving...It's been a month of what has felt like chaos to me, which is not my favorite feeling that's for sure.  But anytime you move to a new home you're bound to feel a bit disoriented and chaotic for awhile.  We only moved a couple of miles, from an apartment to a town home with twice as much space, which we LOVE! We were supposed to close on August 8th, but at the last minute closing was pushed back a week, which in the end was fine but led to us doing some reconfiguring of our logistics, move out dates, and family coming into town to help us.  We had an amazing team of helpers, and moving weekend went as smoothly as a move can go.  Our entire house is a stark white color which is completely unacceptable in my mind, so we've already been hard at work painting each room.  Aidan's room was first completed, and we now have the laundry room, kitchen, and master bedroom also painted.  I think I have finalized my color choices for the main neutral tones that will be carried throughout the living spaces and stairwells, so it's just a matter of getting someone to come in and paint those spaces for us (we have HUGE tall walls in our living room that no ladder we own could ever reach). It's slowly starting to feel like home, and in another couple weeks I think we'll be mostly done with feeling like we have to be doing something house-related each evening. We feel SO beyond blessed to have this space--and our prayer is that we can be hospitable and use it to serve others out of.  We've already made a long list of folks we'd love to have over for a meal (something that was so hard in our tiny apartment), and we also hope to host high school small groups here at some point.

Traveling...Other than moving, August was a month of going nowhere.  I know, that is so unlike me!  (But don't worry, I'm in the process of booking plane tickets for a September trip!)  July found Aidan and I taking a quick 4 night trip up to Santa Cruz while Charles was house boating with the youth.  My sister's in laws have a home in the mountains of Santa Cruz and invited us up since my sister and her girls were going to be there visiting.  It was so fun letting the cousins play together, being in a much cooler climate, and enjoying some family time.  We also got to see our aunt and uncle and cousins which was a lovely surprise! The kids played and played and ran around shrieking together--and spent HOURS pushing strollers around--for some reason that was the huge activity for the week, pushing the doll strollers around the block. (And someday I am going to have a porch swing in the redwoods to read on.  I've just decided this).

Sermon Writing--and Re-writing...I had the incredible privilege of preaching at our church in August, as part of a summer series on the Psalms.  It had been a long time since I have been given that opportunity and it was so much fun to get to tap back into the seminary side of me that isn't always utilized on a daily basis in my child-raising life.  I will be honest, this was probably the toughest passage of scripture I've ever preached on, and I spent more time and worked harder on this sermon than any I've ever done before.  I re-wrote this several times, and wrestled hard with what God wanted to communicate to our congregation through Psalm 88 this time around.  It was such an honor, I absolutely loved working with scripture like this again and writing (and re-writing...) so much.   It has been an amazing sermon series, and if you're looking for a few week series to listen to, I'd highly recommend this one.  You can find them all here beginning on July 28. 

Books, Movies, and Netflix...Surprise surprise, in a month when I moved, had both sets of parents visit, preached a sermon and prepped for a fall of MOPS I haven't read much.  Our book club selection this summer was The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer which I have to be honest, I didn't like much.  In fact I only finished half of it.  The reviews in our group were pretty mixed, and I don't think any of us put it on our new list of favorites.  I'm just starting And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini which I'm hoping will be wonderful--he is such a fantastic writer.  I have several books to read before the end of September about adolescent faith longevity for a class I'm going to TA at Fuller this fall.  It's all about how to help students develop a faith that "sticks" beyond high school, and the reading list looks awesome so hopefully by the time I write this post in September I'll have something more exciting to say about books! 

We have watched pretty much nothing but The West Wing this summer, working our way through the seasons--up through the middle of season 3--and we are both obsessed.  It is such a good show, and has prompted some fun conversations between us.  And I am not sure we've seen a movie this summer...that is pathetic, I realize, but baby sitters are expensive! 

The Little Man...Oh there are not enough words to describe how amazing this kid is to me!  He has learned so much, and is so incredible to watch as he explores his world.  Aidan is super verbal, always talking, trying so hard to speak.  The pediatrician asked me if he had at least 5 words I recognized and I told her that I think he has at least 40.  He is 100% all boy--fascinated by anything with wheels that moves--lawn mowers, trucks, planes, trains, cars, "bigguks" (big trucks), mail trucks, shopping carts and baby strollers.  Trains are his current favorite thing, he's obsessed.  He loves going to his baby gym classes, loves any indoor play place I can find, and is happy as a clam at any park or other place to explore.  Aidan's other big obsession are books and the letters of the alphabet.  As active as he is, he will sit for an hour straight bringing me books to read to him, and he can now recognize about half of the letters of the alphabet completely out of context.  He can tell me all the letters in his name and some days we'll be driving down the road and from the back seat I'll hear "M!" or "W!" as we drive past McDonalds or Walgreens.  He is my little snuggle bug who will come give mommy hugs and kisses randomly throughout the day, and absolutely cracks himself (and us!) up with the most random things.  He pushes all my buttons every day and is incredibly strong willed and is doing his best to live into the meaning of his name "little fiery one!"  We've started going on more and more play dates with friends, and he loves his buddies Joshua, Luke and Sienna--and has started asking for them by name.  We adore this little guy and can't wait to see what else he'll surprise us with in the next month!

Deliciousness I've discovered this month....
Dinner a Love Story's Salsa Fresca My husband said this is the best salsa he has ever had.  It's amazing!
Hot dogs on the grill with a side of watermelon--nothing beats this simple meal for a summer weekend evening! 
Oven Baked Tacos SO delicious--mix the filling together ahead of time, fill hard taco shells, and bake in the oven to soften the crunchy shells--they are awesome. 

In the blogging world...favorite posts by others
Hope for Spicy Families by Jen Hatmaker
This is my Body, Sacred, and Scarred by Beth at Five Kids is a Lot of Kids
Story Formed: An Interview with Sarah Clarkson (part one) (an author who wrote a book all about what to be reading to our kids--how the quality of books we read to them really is important, and she has a book of huge suggestions of books to be reading to kids--LOVE her perspective!)
Story Formed: An Interview with Sarah Clarkson (part two)
You Are Not Too Much of Anything by Beth at Five Kids is a Lot of Kids

What I'm Into (June 2013)

Clearly writing is not something I've been into in the past few months!  Yikes!  It's been almost 2 months since I have posted anything--how in the world did that happen??  I thought life moved quickly when I was in grad school--you get the syllabus on day 1 of the quarter and before you know it you're at finals 10 weeks later.  But that was nothing compared to full days with a very busy and very curious 17 month old.  I never. stop. moving.  I never sit down.  If he's napping I'm busy trying to prepare the next meal or quickly do a load of laundry since hauling laundry baskets and a 27 pound wiggly boy down to the laundry room is no longer physically feasible.  Life feels full, rich, a bit tedious somedays (how many times can you beg a 1 year old to not touch the DVD player??), and always always involves at least one change of clothes per day (for him...but often for me as well...this kid is a pro at finding water, dirt, mud, etc).  So as I think back over the past 2 months, here are a few of the things we've been into and up to in our little corner of Northridge.

The Little Man:  Aidan is growing & changing in new ways every day.  Today I heard him "baa" like a sheep for the first time.  I know, probably not earth-shattering, but I've never heard him do that before!  He surprises me all the time with new things and he is trying so hard to communicate, and he doesn't miss a thing.  This morning the car seat was sitting in our entry way when we woke up because my husband had gone to the beach super early & left the car seat so I could use it in a friend's car.  Aidan sees it and immediately starts making his airplane signs and sounds--he knows the only time we ever pull that car seat out is when he goes on an airplane.  It took me forever to convince him we weren't going on a plane today, no matter how many times he asked for Papa and Grandma, but I was amazed--that was a connection he made immediately that I probably never would have.  He's trying to learn how to "sing" which as one of our high school friends says is "the. cutest. thing. EVER!"  (I agree, it is).

We got him a water table at Costco one day because it was so warm outside and we wanted something he could play with out on our patio.  This kid is obsessed.  He's out there all the time, often before 7 AM in his pjs playing in the "wa-wa."  Definitely money well spent! He is completely in love with Elmo (Mo-mo) and will ask for Elmo at all hours.  Part of me is beginning to regret introducing Elmo but part of me is grateful that for the first time in a year and a half I can make dinner without him tearing my pantry and cupboards apart while whining to be entertained.  I used to be one of those moms who thought I'd never let my kid watch TV this young.  Yeah, there are a lot of things I used to think about parenting.  And then I had Aidan.  And now we do what works as we go along, and in this season of constant toddler activity and destruction, that means we watch Elmo twice a day (as Mommy drinks her morning coffee and as Mommy makes dinner!).  Just today for the first time he started asking for "choo choos" so we watched Thomas the Train instead and he was fascinated (my parents took him to play with the Thomas the Train table at Barnes and Noble last weekend and he LOVED it!) So perhaps there is hope that I can have a bit of variety in my toddler-TV time :)

Since we have a tiny apartment and almost no outdoor space with a very active little boy, I spend a lot of my days taking him on outings.  We've gone all kinds of random places together which has been so fun.  Underwood Farms, Universal Studios City Walk, the LA Zoo, friend's houses, a local park with a splash zone in it, and lots of places that involve ice cream or frozen yogurt.  I love these times with him, getting to see new things and getting to explore more of LA myself.  He adores the beach, can't get enough of the sand and water--this kid definitely doesn't have sensory issues that we've found so far!  While his mommy hates the texture of sand, he rolls in it.  I can't imagine having to roll in sand, but he dives in--usually face first. Yuck.

Books, Music, and Netflix:  We cancelled our cable, so whatever we watch now is either online or on Netflix, which so far has been just fine (I do miss the Today Show.  A lot).  In May I watched season 1 of the show Hart of Dixie on Netflix while I was home in the evenings by myself and I got a teensy bit addicted.  I loved it.  Small town, cute characters, medical stuff, love triangles--I was hooked and am looking forward to season 2 coming out this fall on DVD.  Charles and I finished season 1 of The West Wing last night and were going to start season 2 tonight (but someone decided to go to bed at 7:30 after an early morning surf session....I'm not naming any names!)  We both adore this show, the writing, characters and politics.  I always said if Jed Bartlett could run for president he'd have my vote in a heartbeat!

I'm super late to the party but I just discovered The Lumineers and adore them.  I've known Hey Ho for awhile now but hadn't ever heard the rest of their album....it's fantastic. The Nashville Soundtrack has also been frequently played in the car this past month, which has some wonderful new songs on it, and I'm still living in my obsession of Elizabeth Mitchell's kid's music--so beautiful and folksy and not obnoxious at all.  I just found out she's doing a kid's concert at The Getty in August and I think I might be a teensy bit excited.

I got to go on vacation in June for 2 weeks to see my family, and I managed to read a lot while I was there.  After Aidan went to bed every evening at 7 I read for a couple of hours because I didn't have any responsibilities of cleaning or laundry or anything else that occupies my time here at home.  I read 3 books and started 2 more (hey, for me that's a lot these days!).  I loved Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, a novel set in India about two cousins born on the same day and raised together.  It's a story of their lives unfolding, their arranged marriages, their family's secrets and past--all woven together beautifully.  Definitely recommend this one!  I also read Sparkly Green Earrings, Catching the Light at Every Turn by Melanie Shankle.  She's the author of the Big Mama blog which I really love and this is her first book, a memoir of parenting that is hysterical and will bring you to tears.  Her chapter on potty training made me about die laughing!  The last book I read was one my mom's neighbor read and immediate brought over to us.  My mom read it in a couple days and then I picked it up and finished it in a few days.  It's called Left Neglected by Lisa Genova, author of the popular book Still Alice.  It's about a woman who is incredibly successful, a high powered exec, mother of 3, carefully juggling her life.  A car accident leaves her with a brain injury that causes "left neglect" where her brain completely ignores the left side of everything.  She isn't blind but she literally doesn't register the left side of her plate, a book, her body, a room, anything she's looking at.  It's a very real disorder that people experience (often stroke patients) and reading her story & her path to recovery was fascinating.  It's a fiction book, easy to read, and definitely one I'd recommend.  I've started Francis Chan's Crazy Love, and Sticky Faith by Kara Powell and Brad Griffin from the Fuller Youth Institute (since I'm going to be Kara's TA in the fall as she teaches a class on Sticky Faith I figured I should read the book!)  I get the opportunity to preach at First Pres Granada Hills in August and have been doing some reading to prepare for that as well.  Walter Brueggemann's book The Message of the Psalms is fantastic, and has given me a lot to think about as I dive into the world of the Psalms of Lament.

Other Events and Happenings: Memorial Day weekend saw us heading up to Forrest Home camp with 110 other folks from church for the All Church Retreat.  It was a lovely weekend of connecting with those I might not have known well, and letting Aidan explore nature a bit more and playing.  I will say it was REALLY exhausting with a 1 year old--who didn't sleep hardly at all and who needed to be watched at all times to avoid you know, falling off a mountain or down a hill into a rockbed.  But I am still glad we went and am hoping next year might be a bit easier.

We're still house hunting, which is a painful process in LA on a limited budget!  The market is ridiculously competitive and we've put in offers on several places now only to have 15 other offers be submitted as well.  So nothing exciting to report on that front!

June saw us getting to attend two graduation parties from students we've known and loved since they were freshmen at the church we were at previously.  It was wonderful getting to reconnect with them and their families, and to hear all about their plans as they head to places like Stanford, Yale, and Harvard (yes I had a ridiculously smart freshmen girl's small group one year!)


I hopped on an airplane June 12 and headed to Minneapolis to spend 2 weeks there with my parents (with a 5 days side trip down to Iowa to see my sister's family & new home!)  Charles was in Costa Rica with the high school students so I headed east.  It was a blast letting Aidan explore, get to know his cousins, and having extra people to chase him and keep him from eating dirt (too much anyways) and falling into the fountain at my parent's house.  He LOVED being with his cousins and asks for Lulu and Book (Lily & Brooke) all the time.  They taught him the lovely skill of shrieking and he's been practicing to see if he can give them some competition next time we see them.  He could not get enough dirt and bark and rocks and grass and sand and water in their yards.  I think we went through 2-3 outfits a day while we were there.  But in my mind that's exactly what summertime should be for a little boy!  He discovered a few new foods that he loves while there--most notably "nini" (Zucchini).  My parents took him one Saturday for several hours while I worked on my sermon, and the 3 of them went to explore the aquarium at the mall of america and then went to eat ice cream and play with the train table at Barnes & Noble.  He had an absolute ball.  He learned to make choo choo noises, and came home with a stuffed turtle just like the turtles he saw swimming in the water.  He loves his new "turtle" and makes sure turtle is now in his crib for naps.  My parents also discovered having a little boy in the house is a little different in terms of what he's interested in exploring and getting into than having the two girls come to visit.  He got into all kinds of things the girls have never dreamed of touching and kept all of us running.  I loved eating delicious summer food off the grill almost every day--steaks, teriyaki burgers, apple basil chicken burgers, shish ka bobs twice, and salmon.  Stuff I never make for us but love to eat!

 Phew!  I think that's about it for what's been going on here.  Mostly I love having a little record of what each month has held for us since life is busy enough that I'm not journaling or writing much these days.  As usual I'm linking this post up with the lovely Leigh Kramer's collection of What I'm Into Posts from around the country :)  Happy summer everyone!

What I'm Into (April 2013 edition)

Clearly blogging and writing is NOT one of the things I've been into lately based on the lack of postings here!  This past season (few months) has been full.  Really full.  Not necessarily in a bad way, but in that "by the end of the day I'm so tired and don't have the creative energy to write two words" kind of full.  I've learned that there are different kinds of tiredness.  There's that "newborn, up every 90 minutes all night long exhaustion that brings out tears, depression and loneliness" kind of tired and then there is the tired that results from fun, outings, social time with others, and involvement in various activities.  This past season has been the latter for me, and it's felt lovely and rich.  So what have we been up to this past month?  (as always I'm linking up with the awesome Leigh Kramer and her monthly round up of "what I've been into" posts from around the country) :)

MOPS.  I have loved the chance to coordinate MOPS this past year, and I will do so again next year to complete my 2 year turn at this job, and this past season has felt extra full in this area.  We're planning our biggest fundraiser/event of the year coming up on June 1, and there are a lot of moving parts in this one!  So we've had a few extra evening meetings, lots more emails, and administrating that has gone in to this one.  I've also been busily working on finalizing our summer social calendar, giving moms a chance to still connect with one another about once a week.  (My favorite...a mom's only pajama party and movie night complete with various popcorn flavor tastings...that sounds heavenly and relaxing to me right about now!)  A mom's night out to a mexican restaurant a few weeks ago brought 18 of us together without our kiddos, and a trip to Underwood Farms with our littles this past week was a great and fun way to get outside and connect with one another.

Friends.  We've now lived in Northridge for a year and a half, and seeing as how we had a baby 6 weeks after moving here we didn't have a ton of time to invest in developing quality friendships before Aidan came along.  So now that he's 15 months and yelling to get out of the apartment if he's awake, we've found ourselves connecting with others more and more, which has been lovely.  Through MOPS I've met many other stay at home moms who are great at texting if they're going to go do something that day to see if anyone else wants to join them.  We ended up spontaneously meeting up with two other moms at the mall food court yesterday where they had a "meet and pet the rabbits" event going on.  Yes, random, but it was good to get out!

Money.  I know, this sounds random, but we're working on cutting our monthly expenses and trying to cut our budget back a bit.  We just cancelled cable and have spent a week now without TV.  I miss the Today show, I'll admit, and I haven't seen any news in a week, but it's been kind of lovely.  We did sign up for Netflix again and can get unlimited streaming of movies and many many TV shows for $8 a month.  Between that and Hulu we're pretty set--who needs cable??

House Hunting.  We are just getting started with this daunting task, but we have a great realtor working with us and have seen several properties so far.  Nothing we've made an offer on yet, but we've seen some good options.  We're trusting God has a place for us somewhere, and we're hoping he makes that abundantly clear!  It happened that way when we found our place in Seattle two years ago, and we're praying for that again!  I will say, house hunting with a one year old is a bit of a nightmare.  Especially homes where people still live--trying to keep him from destroying everyone else's stuff while getting a feel for the property--NOT fun!  (Or from falling down the stairs.  Or from playing in the toilets--ours have locks on them, so he discovered quickly he can get into the toilets at these empty houses!  Or climbing right into a fireplace while my back was turned....yeah he's finding all kinds of ways to explore these potential homes!)  My sister is also house hunting right now...we won't even talk about what she can get for her money in the middle of nowhere Iowa as opposed to what we can get for that same amount here in the San Fernando Valley.....it's just depressing to think about....

Entertainment.  We haven't had much time this past month for books, music or movies.  Does anyone else go through slumps when it comes to reading?  I go through seasons where I read all the time and then I hit a several month lull where it doesn't even appeal to me. I'm just coming out of one of those lulls.  I did read The Great Gatsby this past month for our book club, and I didn't love it, just like when I was in high school.  I'm starting to get motivated to pick up books again though, and I have a few already started that are wonderful.

I'm reading Lauren Winner's book Still: Notes on a Mid Faith Crisis and am loving it so much more than I expected.  Written in the wake of her divorce and her mother's death this book of really short essays (she wasn't kidding when she titled it "notes" on a mid faith crisis) is beautiful.

I picked up a Newberry award winning book I've never read before: Moon Over Manifest and am really enjoying this late elementary school book surrounding a summer of mystery, history, and a young girl finding a new family/community for herself.

I put a few books on hold at the library and wasn't expecting them to all show up at once.  The latest one I picked up is Ellen Degeneres' book Seriously, I'm Kidding and while I"m only up to chapter 2 I love it.  Reading this is just like listening to the monologues of her show--which is my favorite part of each Ellen show!

I thought they had played the Nashville season finale already since it disappeared for many weeks, but a new episode aired this week!  That makes me so ridiculously happy I just can't stand it!  It still is my favorite show out there!  Now that we have netflix Charles and I decided to choose a show to watch together, we haven't had a series we've both enjoyed for a couple years now.  We are starting with season 1 of the West Wing and hope to watch all the way through.  I've seen the first 3 1/2 seasons, and he hasn't seen much of it at all.  We are loving it--such amazing writing!

Pinterest Attempt.  I've loved getting fun new ideas to try with my very busy and very curious toddler off Pinterest.  They have not always gone as planned however.  This was my latest attempt.  Has anyone else seen "cloud dough?"  Made from cornstarch and shaving cream this stuff is AWESOME!  SO SO soft and fun to mold and scoop and feel.  Look at these nice children playing so neatly with their cloud dough from pinterest.  See, their clothes are still clean.  They haven't tried eating it based on the lack of white stuff on their faces.  It looked like such a great idea!

Here's how our cloud dough adventure went down:

First we took a big cup of it and tried to eat it--hence the white stuff all over his face.  

 Then we dumped a bunch all over our belly like we do with cups of water in the bath tub.  Not exactly the same results as the water in the bath tub....thankfully I did have him contained in a bit rubber maid bin so I just stuck the lid on and saved it for another day....no clean up of the floor was necessary.

I think that's about it around here!  How about you?  What have you been into this past month?

What I'm Into (February Edition)

This little monthly series hosted over at HopefulLeigh has been really fun--it's been really fun to think about the things that occupy my time, thoughts, and energy in any given month--and while many things don't change from month to month I'm surprised at how new things do crop up.  So, without further ado, here's "What I'm Into" this past month.

Around the Blogging World: These are the posts that I loved enough to bookmark and re-read over the past month.  These are posts I'd love for others to see.  

Preston Yancy wrote a powerful piece called "When We Need Women Behind the Pulpits" that I wish every person would read.  "Listen up Church!  Put a woman behind the pulpit so I can see the whole picture..."

Sarah Bessey wrote a beautiful piece honoring the Men of Valor in her life as Rachel Held Evan's "Women of Valor" series took off in the blogging world.  "Ish gibor chayil! [Mighty man of Valor] for engaging joyfully in mutually submissive marriages, for loving your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, for raising your daughters alongside your sons to ask themselves “What has God called you to do with your one wild and precious life, my darling?”

The author of the blog Crazy Little Thing Called Love wrote her Manifesto, "Or How Motherhood Turned me into a Feminist" that made me want to shout Amen!  "I can’t imagine looking my little girl in the eye one day and telling her to hold back the gifts so evident in her life even now because she possesses the wrong anatomy to hold certain roles or function in certain jobs.  I refuse to be okay with my daughter growing up in a world where, had she been born in any number of other countries, she may be sold to a brothel, raped, trafficked or married off by the time she is seven.  I will speak out tirelessly against the atrocity that is 1 in 3 women raped or otherwise violated or abused in her lifetime.  My little girl deserves a better world. Every little girl deserves a better world.  Motherhood may have turned me into a feminist, but it is Jesus Christ’s example and the Holy Spirit’s conviction that will keep me one."

Other things I've been into this month...in no particular order...


15 Minute Timers: Yes, this is a literal 15 minute timer, this isn't some metaphor!  Do you have any idea how much you can actually get done in 15 un-interrupted, undistracted minutes?  It's amazing!  I started feeling overwhelmed by the amount of unfinished projects that cluttered my home--picture frames that still leaned against the wall, ready to be hung but since I hate hanging pictures they just sat there. For a year.  Piles of photos that need to be sorted.  Books that need to be reshelved.  An inbox that needed to be responded to.  Bills needing to be paid.  Thank you notes to write.  Kitchen floors that needed to be mopped.  I started setting a 15 minute timer whenever Aidan went to sleep for a nap or bedtime and I pick 1 task and do that with full focus for 15 minutes.  I don't respond to text messages, answer the phone, get on the computer etc...I just plow ahead with that 1 task and what I've found is that virtually everything on my to do list has been almost completely accomplished in 15 minutes.  If not a huge dent has been made.  It's my new favorite motivator to get something done :)  (If no project is sitting there I set the timer and do a quick run through the apartment picking up anything that has made its way to where it doesn't belong.)

Mason Jar Salads:  I saw this idea on Pinterest and friends of mine mentioned they did this and it really works.  So I have officially jumped on the band wagon!  I had a bunch of mason jars left over from Christmas gifts that I needed a use for.  The idea here is to pre-make a bunch of salads in a jar at the beginning of the week and then you have lunch on the go or a salad already made for dinner.  The ingredients stay fresh and don't get soggy if you are thoughtful about how you layer them in the jar.  Greens always go on top away from things like tomatoes which will make them damp and soggy.  You can include absolutely anything from beans, seeds, peppers, onions, nuts, or grains (cook up some quinoa and throw it in for extra protein!).  I don't put the dressing in the jar although others do (it's the very bottom layer and you put hearty veggies that won't get soggy right on top of the dressing).  I would highly recommend mason jar salads if you like having salads on the go for lunch!

Oscar Films and Redbox:  I never really cared about the Oscars until I moved to LA.  It's crazy here how many people we know who we find out are part of "the academy" or who attend the Oscars or worked on a film.  It's just a part of the culture here.  We are a little late jumping on the Redbox bandwagon but it's super convenient to rent a film from these little kiosks in the grocery stores (and they only cost $1.00!) and we have a lot of nights where the little one is in bed and we can't go anywhere.  I think this year I saw more Oscar nominated films than any year previously, and it was so fun to actually know what the films were about when I watched the Academies last night!  We saw Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Silver Lining's Playbook, Les Mis, and Charles got to see Lincoln (which I still really want to see).  My two cents?  Argo was good but not best picture material when compared to Les Mis, Lincoln, or even Silver Lining's Playbook which I thought was wonderful.  But the Academy didn't ask me....

Nashville:  I just discovered the new TV show Nashville.  I'm addicted.  I've watched all 12 episodes in about a week.  I love this series.  Country music, family drama, show business, politics...I love it.  Plus the cast is really solid, really sings, and in my opinion is extremely talented.  Have I mentioned I love it??

Jumping Beans Kid's Clothing:  When I was in Denver with my grandparents we went to Kohls to find Aidan an Easter outfit and I saw their kid's clothing line "Jumping Beans" and I fell in love.  It's exactly my style when it comes to how I like to dress our little dude--super comfy t-shirts and onesies with cute logos and appliqués with shorts--denim, khaki, and dark brown.  They're easy to wash, they are adorable and comfy for him to move around in.  I got to pick out several shirts and a few pairs of shorts which was SO MUCH FUN.  I love when people buy my kid clothes but I haven't had the chance to really do any shopping for him myself, so to get to pick out what I loved was an absolute blast.  Can't wait for it to warm up so he can wear what I found for him!

A Year of Biblical Womahood by Rachel Held Evans:  I adored this book.  It made me absolutely crack up laughing multiple times and it made me tear up multiple times.  I used several excerpts from it in the talk I gave at our church's women's tea (this book inspired my topic for the day--Eshet Chaiyl!  Woman of Valor!).  I wrote more about this book on my book blog here but the bottom line is this is one of my most highly recommended book of the year!  Add this to your must read list if you need a new suggestion!

Benjamin Carson:  I know this one might sound strange.  In case you missed it, Dr. Benjamin Carson gave the keynote address at the National Prayer Breakfast earlier this month (you can watch the 27 minute address here).  He's gotten all kinds of publicity for this because he pointed out some of the problems in our nation and offered some solutions--which in this environment was apparently not often done.  I'll just come right out and say it, I loved his speech.  But probably the reason I loved it is that I've been a big fan of Ben Carson since I was about 12.  Most 12 year olds have no idea who this guy is (okay most adults don't know either) but my parents heard him speak a few times years and years ago and they had me read his book Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story when I was in junior high.  I loved it.  I've respected and admired him ever since.

What I'm Into

I missed last month's 'What I'm Into' post and link up over at Hopeful Leigh since we were in the midst of traveling from the midwest to Hawaii and back to LA, so for the past two months here are the little things that have brought much joy to my life.

Gadgets: My new immersion blender.  This was my Christmas gift from my best friend and it is something I never would have thought to ask for but am now wondering how I ever lived without it.  It is an amazing invention.  I've been making smoothies (no need to drag out the whole blender every day!), homemade salad dressings, milkshakes, and baked potato soup.  Every time I came across a recipe that called for blending a soup after simmering I always skipped over it--I have had a few messy and disasterous attempts at blending a hot soup in a regular blender and decided never to do that again.  Now, when I come across one of those recipes I just pull out my handy dandy new immersion blender and blend right in the soup pot!  Love it!

My iPhone.  I can admit it, I was wrong.  Until a month ago I had never had a smartphone.  My husband has had one but we only wanted to pay for 1 data plan so I've had the "free" Verizon phone.  About a month ago for a variety of reasons we asked Verizon to swap our phones, so now I have the iphone.  I honestly didn't think I would like it.  I haven't ever really liked typing on the touch screen, and didn't think I would have any use for the aps.  Umm, I can admit when I am wrong.  I love my phone.  I love it so so much.  I don't love typing on the touch screen and wish I could go back to my T9 word typing, but I love having internet with me when I'm sitting nursing the babe (man I wish I'd had this all year!).  I love instagram and taking photos and uploading them straight to facebook (mostly because I'm with our kiddo all day and he's super cute and photo-worthy in my opinion!)  It's a great phone and I'm super excited to have it.

Books:

I really only read one full book in the past month.  I know, pathetic for me.  But I found I kind of hit this lull--I didn't want to be reading.  But I did read our book club's January selection which was The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and oh my word did I love this book.  Most of us did.  It's a story with so many layers--it's part mystery, part love story, part coming of age story...it's full of symbolism and all kinds of lovely literary tricks that make for a fantastic book.  I'd highly recommend this one!

In the Blogosphere:
My favorite post of the past month or so was by Rachel Held Evans and was written after the Connecticut school shooting.  It was titled God Can't Be Kept Out, and many of you probably read it, but it's worth a re-read if you have a moment.

My favorite new series is the series One Good Phrase being hosted by Micah Boyett over at her blog.  I love this idea & have a few good phrases that have shaped me mulling around in my head waiting for their own posts in the near future.  Check out her blog and the guest posts that have contributed to this series so far.

On the Silver Screen:
Does the Silver Screen only refer to movies?  Or does it refer to TV shows as well?  I don't know but I don't have a lot of time to watch either, so I'm going to lump them together in this category :)
My beloved Parenthood wrapped up it's season already.  What a season it was.  I loved it.  I laughed and cried with every episode which I think is the mark of great writing.  The professor I work for was talking about the finale in class this week, saying how it was one of the best images in Hollywood of what the body of Christ can look like--an intergenerational family seeing a kid in need and adopting him to be one of their own.  It was a beautiful season and I'm hoping it returns for another run.

The Biggest Loser came back on and my hubby and I enjoy watching this one together.  This year they're focusing on childhood obesity & they have 3 amazing teens on the show participating to various degrees with the other contestants.  The 12 year old boy Biingo (that's what he goes by) might be my favorite kid ever.  Besides my own that is.  He's adorable, and has an amazing amount of personality.  I heart him.  Jillian is back as well but I'm not sure that's a great thing--her team is down to one player, which isn't the greatest track record!

I had the chance to see 2 movies in the past 2 months, which is 2 more than I saw the rest of 2012!  On Christmas day I went to see my long awaited love Les Miserables, and I was blown away.  I loved it.  I thought it was cast almost perfectly (I was not crazy about Russel Crowe), and I loved the artistic rendering of it.  It's one I can't wait to own.  I thought Anne Hathaway was heartbreakingly perfect as Fantine, and I thought Marius was incredible.  I hope it wins all the Oscars it's nominated for!

This past weekend I had the chance to go see Silver Lining's Playbook with a friend.  We have worked out a great system for movie watching :)  She's also a mom with two young kids and she and her husband have become good friends.  The guys have gone to see a few movies together after the kids are in bed on Saturday evenings and this weekend we decided we wanted in on this deal too!  So she and I went to a matinee while our kids were home with their dads and then our husbands went to see some guy movie that night after bedtime.  It worked wonderfully :)  Anyways, I had no idea what to expect with this film, I didn't know anything about it other than that it has been getting a lot of Oscar buzz and it wasn't violent like so many other films are.  So we gave it a try & both of us really really enjoyed it.  I would definitely recommend it--it's funny, sweet, deals with some incredible family dynamics (it would be a great movie to assign to a class on family systems!) and is pretty honest and real.

I think that's about it for the past two months!  How about you?  What are a few things you've been into lately?