Conversations with my Toddler: On Getting Dressed

It's Sunday morning, time to get dressed for church.  Getting dressed is a battle I normally delay during the week until he feels like it.
Here is how today's went:

Mommy:  Do you want your dinosaur shirt or your froggie shirt?
C: No oggie!  (Froggie)
M:  You want your dinosaur shirt!
C: No d-saur! (Dinosaur)
M: do you want you want your dinosaur shirt or your froggie shirt?
C: No!  No!.... ga-ga's!  (Music)
Mommy goes and finds a music shirt and everything is fine (until I try to put shorts on him)...

Frustration

Let me start this out by saying that I love staying home with Caleb, and if that's where God wants me this coming year, I'm fine with that.

Some days, I'm fine, but other days, I get extremely discouraged.  Today is one of those days.  I see other teachers posting ideas for their classrooms and wonder what the difference is.  Why do they get hired but not me?  I have the college degree.   I have the initial license.  I'm willing to do the work.  But I don't even get an interview.  Why?

Okay, that's my frustration for the day... Thanks for listening.

Contradiction?

Yes, I will admit that I stole this photo from Facebook.  

I just find it ironic.  It's a picture of a pretty angel.  If you share it, it will bring good luck.  And the address at the bottom is MyChristianLifestyle.

See my problems?  First of all... How are angels described in the Bible?  Second,  Sharing an angel will bring luck?  Christians believe in luck?  

Wouldn't it be more effective to spend some time on your knees in prayer?  Or getting up and doing something practical?  

And now I'm scared.  Scared that I've come across too bluntly.  If you shared this, or other things like it, please understand that I'm not trying to be judgmental.   You are still dear to me.  I'm just wondering if we really think about the message contained in what we post.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Recently, I have been trying to do better about planning the meals for the week at least partially in advance.  So this week, on Tuesday morning, I planned what I was fixing for supper for the rest of the work week.  Last night was Slow Cooker Pot Roast.

I can't take credit for the recipe as I got it off of allrecipes.com.
It was easy, all I did to start was put a chunk of pot roast in the crockpot (I usually cut our roasts in half when I first get them home from the store because we don't need a whole one in one sitting).  Then in a separate bowl, I mixed one small can of Cream of Mushroom soup and half of a package of onion soup mix with a little bit of water.  Then I poured that mixture over the roast and turned it on high for about three hours.

I was very pleased with how it turned out.  With the amount of roast I had, I probably could have used one-half can of mushroom soup and one-fourth package of onion soup mix and been fine.  There was plenty of sauce left over.  Andrew said something was missing and we finally figured out what it was... Noodles.  It reminded us of Beef Stroganoff.

Oh, Helpful tip of the day:  Line your slow cooker with aluminum foil.  Or you can use the liners that you buy at the store.  Makes clean-up a lot easier, especially if the inside of your slow cooker doesn't come out. 

Random Baby Things

Yesterday, I finally got around to taking Caleb to the library's "Baby Rhyme Time".  It's been something that I thought I should have started a long time ago especially since I'm home with him.  But I have been putting it off mainly because it was something new and unfamiliar to him... and to me.
I thought it went very well.  The librarian was very enthusiastic and did a great job of including all of the little people (and big people).  There were about a dozen pre-walkers there, plus parents and older siblings (which were also included in the activities).
Caleb wasn't sure about it at first (which isn't uncommon for him).  I set him on the floor in front of me, but he started to turn around, grab my legs, and whimper.  So he spent the singing, reading, and bubble time on my lap. After the activities were over, they brought out a bin of toys to play with, so then he started moving around to get the toys.  I think that as we continue to participate, he will become more comfortable.

So Caleb doesn't always eat in the middle of the night.  He often sleeps all the way through, but once in a while, he does wake up to eat.  Usually when he does, he eats, then he becomes all arms and legs and cries until I get him back in bed, then he goes right back to sleep.  Last night though, he woke up and after he ate, he just laid against me and we rocked and cuddled for a while.  Very Sweet :)

Opinion on Anti-Gay Calendar

I don't like it when people are made fun of or ridiculed.  I just don't.  I never have.  It REALLY bothers me.  It did in my High School Sunday School class (however long ago that was).
 It really bugged me when I went to a Christian Leadership camp just after high school and it was considered perfectly acceptable to make fun of the nations leaders.
I didn't like hearing derogatory jokes during college... especially the "That's what she said" ones.

It's no different today.  Yesterday, I stumbled across an online controversy.  A large online retailer is selling a calendar titled, "I'm Not Gay, I'm Just a Sissy."  Please understand that I have not actually looked at any previews of the calendar so what I am saying should be taken with that in consideration.  From what I have gathered, it is a calendar dedicated to making fun of people who are living a homosexual lifestyle.  Naturally, GLAAD and others in the LGBT community are highly offended and calling for online retailers to pull it off their websites (Barnes and Noble already has).

The fact that this calendar existed and was being sold bothered me.
Do I think that people living in a homosexual lifestyle are living as men and women were designed to live? Absolutely not!
Do I believe that their lifestyle is contrary to God's plan as laid out in the Bible?  Yes!
Do I want to see them be made fun of because of their choice to live that way?  NO!

You see, it never has mattered to me whether the person being made fun of was popular or not.  The fact remained that they were a person that had feelings just like mine
That fact is still there.  Just because someone has chosen to live a life contrary to what I believe (and more importantly, contrary to God's will for our lives) does not mean that they should be fair game for ridicule.
They are people, just like you and I.
They have feelings, just like you and I.
And, they are loved by God, just like you and I.

Cheese Cracker Recipe

First off, I want to make it clear that this was not my idea!  I was searching for some alternative to the mainline snacks for infants such as Gerber Puffs.  I wanted something that would be easy for my 9-month-old to pick up and eat without me worrying about him choking on it, or spreading crumbs all over the place.  I had extra pie dough left over from Thanksgiving and had made pie dough crackers, which he loved, but they are so flaky that they make a terrible mess.  So in my searching, I came across this site and recipe.  She has wonderful step-by-step pictures, so be sure to check it out!

Here are the instructions:
Cheese Crackers

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground pepper (optional) - I left this out.

4 TBSP cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces  (I used light stick margarine)

8 ounces grated cheddar cheese (I used part sharp cheddar and part mexican blend cheese)

3-4 TBSP water

In a food processor, Pulse the flour, salt and pepper, then add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add grated cheese a little at a time until the mixture again resembles coarse meal.

Pulse in 3 to 4 tablespoons of water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms into a ball. It will probably take a minute or so.

Remove, wrap in plastic, and chill for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.

Roll the dough out to 1/8th-inch thickness directly onto a baking sheet. You don't want to roll them paper thin, neither do you want to roll them too thick. If they are too thin, they will not puff up as much. If they are too thick, they will not be as crispy.

Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut 1 inch squares.

Bake at 350° F for 15-20 minutes or until crackers are golden brown. Watch them after the 10 minute mark.

I decided I wanted to try the recipe, but didn't want to make the whole batch in case I didn't like them, so I halved everything.  I left out the pepper (It just didn't sound right).  I also used light margarine instead of unsalted butter.
I don't have a food processor, so I used my blender for everything through adding the cheese.  Then I transferred it to a small bowl and used my pastry cutter to add the water.
After it had been in the refrigerator for a couple hours, I rolled it out an a parchment covered cookie sheet.
Here is where I would change how I did things.  I used a round cookie cutter, but I think it's too big.  Next time, I will probably use a pizza cutter or something to cut them into smaller squares.

I LIKE them!  My little guy seems to like them to.  I broke them into smaller pieces for him and he did fine.  My husband will be lucky if there is even one left for him!  Next time, I will definitely make a full batch!  They are kinda a mix between Cheez-It's and the cheese rolls that they serve at... I think it's at Ruby Tuesday.