New Post, Long Overdue!

Since we last touched base, I have started two different posts on two entirely different topics and haven't finished either of them! I suppose it is highly unlikely I finish this post either.

Did you know that I like to make fun of "inspirational" quotes?

If you've been around awhile, you might have figured as much.

I do not make fun of quotes which I consider to be truly inspirational, but only those which I consider cheesy and not inspirational and/or too cheesy to be inspirational. Therefore it is totally arbitrary. Also, at one point in my life (early high school), I do remember being obsessed with cheesy "inspirational" quotes, so something changed in me, and I am not necessarily sure if I am better or worse for it- just different.

My sister and I have a game where when we come across a "too-cheesy-to-be-inspirational" quote, we post the quote on the other's Facebook wall.

Last time I did this, one of my good friends commented on the post, "Leah, is that you?" Clearly, it is out of character.

So, now you know. I am too cool to be cheesy. Or I think I am too cool. One or the other.

Anyway, I thought I'd give you a few examples (five, to be exact) of my favorite "too-cheesy-to-be-inspirational" quotes. Please don't be offended if you love these quotes or identify with them. I was once a cheeseball, too. Without further ado...

1. "Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching."
2. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the number of moments that take your breath away."
3. "Don't frown! You never know who's falling in love with your smile!"
4. "Reach for the moon. If you miss, you'll stand among the stars."
5. "To the world you might be just one person, but to one person, you just might be the world."

And my work here is done. Please feel free to share your favorite inspirational or cheesy, non-inspirational quotes with me.

update and recent pictures

My little man is one cute stinker.  I say he's a stinker because... well he is.  Let's just say that before his surgery he was dream baby. After his surgery he is still a dream, but a little more realistic one or something. :)  It's probably a lot to do with his age, but everything- from sleeping to taking a bottle or a pacifier- has just been a little rocky since the surgery.  And I don't really think the surgery is to blame anymore, but maybe that combined with how we dealt with it and combined with his developmental stage has had the effect of turning him into a "realistic dream baby."

Henry was measured and weighed at the doctor this week (bonus, since it wasn't a well check), and he was 23 pounds, 3 ounces and 29.5 inches.  I'm not sure, but I think that means he's still big.  :)  Not going to lie, sometimes I get nervous that he is too fat.

My little crawler!  Did I mention that my floors haven't been this clean since I was nesting?  Still probably not as clean as they should be.

He's pulling up now, too!

I thought I'd post a before/after picture of him on his changing table- one now and one from March... to show how much he's grown!

This was in March... the days when we didn't need to handcuff him to the table in order to change his diaper. 

Goodnight!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

I got the original recipe from cooks.com, but I modified it, and I can pretty much guarantee that my recipe is better (and easier bc it's made w/ self-rising flour).

1-2/3 c. self-rising flour
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice (I made my own with 1/4 cup cinnamon and 1 tbsp each of nutmeg, ground cloves, and ginger)
2 lg. eggs

1 15 oz can of plain pumpkin
1/2 c. (1 stick) melted butter
1 1/3 c. chocolate chips (or raisins, dried cranberries, or nothing...)

 

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. In another bowl whisk until well blended: eggs, pumpkin and butter. Stir in almonds and chocolate chips. Pour over dry ingredients and fold in until just moistened. Grease muffin cups or use paper baking cups.

Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Make 1 or 2 days ahead for best flavor. (I didn't do this, but they were still very yummy.)

Makes 12 regular or 48 miniature.

*The original recipe only calls for 1 cup of pumpkin, but if you use a whole can they are much more moist.  Also, you substitute even more pumpkin for some of the butter if you're into healthy... not me.

a deep thought for you- yes!

Before I get started, let me tell you that I just made some Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Muffins that were MONEY! They are so delish... if I was a good blogger, I'd post a picture and the recipe.

Next, I shouldn't be blogging right now, and here's why. After little H goes to sleep is when I should be doing the following: cleaning my house, taking a shower and blow-drying my hair, folding laundry, returning e-mails, planning for the next day, spending time with the Lord, etc. These things just do not get done efficiently or sometimes at all during the day, especially when he's awake.

But, unfortunately, after he goes to sleep, the only thing I really feel like doing is plopping down on the couch and eating ice cream and bon bons... and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. And this I have done many a night... When I do that, the next day never seems to go as smoothly as I'd like.

Anyway, I had a deep thought I'd like to share. Matt and I used to watch The Biggest Loser, but we don't anymore because of the aforementioned. Anyway, we did notice a common theme, though, in the amount of time we watched it. So many of the people there, especially women, said that they had gotten overweight because they had spent so much time over so many years putting other people first. Now, they said, it was time to put themselves first again.

Matt never understood this, and I sort of understood it, but I never liked the way it sounded. It sounded like what they were saying was that they became overweight because they had been so unselfish, putting others first, etc. That just didn't sit right with us because we believe that we are called to consider other people as more important than ourselves, and at the same time, we don't think that must equate to neglecting to take care of yourself.

Well, now that I am a mom, I have a new perspective about this. I can see how some of those people might get that way. It is very hard for me to leave Henry at the gym and go workout. It is hard for me to leave Henry at home with Matt sometimes and go take care of my own business, whether that is working out, studying my Bible, spending time with friends, etc. Why is it hard? Well, I might be oversimplifying when I say this, but I feel like Henry needs me, like I am being selfish if I spend too much time away from him and Matt, even when doing so would benefit ALL of us.

But here's what I am getting at... it actually isn't selfish to leave Henry with a caretaker while I go workout. It isn't selfish to leave him and Matt together for awhile so I can go read my Bible at Starbucks. My tendency is to overestimate how much Henry needs me. I wrongly consider myself to be the one who needs to meet all of Henry's needs all the time, and so in a way, I am considering myself to be indispensable. (And I know from my limited time in the business world - no one is indispensable.) This attitude can look very unselfish, but I think it's pretty prideful.

Now clearly, God has made me Henry's mom, and no one else could be Henry's mom, and it's an important role with serious weight. HOWEVER, if my view of myself and my role is such that I begin to think that by neglecting my own needs (hear me, needs - ie physical, spiritual, emotional health), I can be a better mom- then I think I have overestimated my value and underestimated what others can do for him, and what God can do for him.

And that my friends, is what I believe that many of those Biggest Loser contestants have done. They really do need to take the time to care for their own needs, but not because they have been so incredibly unselfish. Maybe more because they have overestimated their role in the lives of their children, spouses, friends, etc. Lest I appear to lack compassion (who me?), I will say that this opinion has been primarily formed out of my own experience, and everyone is different...

There are a lot of implications to this. One of them is that when I drop that sweet baby off at childcare to workout and feel a sense of guilt or sadness (which I think is normal), I mostly just need to trust that God cares for him and is with him, and that I am not God, and therefore I am not indispensable.

The end.

I have 9 minutes to write this post

Here are some random things I feel like sharing with you.

I am a different person than I once was.  I remember at one point in my life, I would flip out if I stood a small chance of being late ANYWHERE.  Until college, I arrived everywhere 10 minutes early...  during college, I began the downward spiral of arriving closer to "on time" (aka, 5 minutes early)... and then after I was married, I started getting places on time, like actually on time... and now... well, let's just say our church starts at 9:00 AM, and this morning we left at 9:05 AM.

How many coffee shops have creatively weaved the name "JOE" into their name?  Why do people call coffee a "cup of Joe" anyway? 

Today at church, when I was dropping Henry off in the nursery, the girl who was working in his classroom said, "Oh, I remember seeing you in the Old Testament class last year when you were pregnant!"  And I said, "Oh really, that's funny... I guess pregnant people sort of stick out... literally."  She didn't laugh, but Matt went ahead and commented on how funny my joke was - but he was being sarcastic.  But I thought it was pretty funny.

Also, because of schedule and inconvenience and a lot of other excuses that really equate to bad planning on my part - I almost always drop Henry off at childcare places when he is both tired and hungry... as you might imagine, this doesn't go over well.  He usually cries.

It's NOON, and we are supposed to be meeting our friends for lunch at 12:15 at a place that is approx 11 minutes away, and Henry is asleep and I am not ready to go.  See first paragraph.

Oh, yes, update - Henry started crawling on Tuesday.  It was soooo fun to watch.  It's like he woke up, and all of the sudden he knew how to crawl - the right way, too... opposite arm and leg... you know whatev.  Well, it's time to go, but I will tell you one more thing.

I want to share more fun, deeper, real things that are really going on in my life, but I just barely have the time to share the surfacey things, and I haven't learned to deal with this.

That's the end of this post.  Leave me a comment or something.

Also, I didn't sleep very much last night - this might be obvious.

Love,
Leah