The Beginning

Where to start...

I am a 29-year-old wife, mother, and youth pastor. I live in south central Kansas but have lived in Philadelphia and its suburbs, Louisville, Kentucky, and in northern Indiana. The slower pace of life in Kansas suits me best.

My house is a mess and by that I do not mean that there is a small, neat stack of mail on the counter. Currently, there are clean and dirty clothes all over the house, toys all over the floor, clean dishes in the dishwasher and dirty ones on the counter, and a washer full of diapers. There are at least 3 different crochet projects around the living room and DVDs stacked precariously on the entertainment center. The pumpkins on the porch are shriveled and in need of a move to the compost pile.

My life is ordinary, and I like it that way. My clothes smell like sour milk and have mac and cheese smeared on them. I am wearing no make up and I am watching a DVD of an old episode of "I Love Lucy." My husband is out running with our one-year-old in the jogging stroller. I have half an hour until supper needs to go in the oven so with a few moments to myself I begin a journey of blogging my moments of mommy-ing.

People keep telling me that my son is going to grow up so quickly that I need to start writing down what happens so I don't forget. We live in a mad house of toddler, dachshund, and orange-and-white tabby cat craziness, and this blog will be a record of a few of our adventures. I will do my best to write down at least one thing that happened every day along with some recipes and projects here and there.

Today's adventure included much weeping while making macaroni and cheese for lunch. One-year-olds need naps and mine desperately needed his while I was cooking. So what to do for such an unhappy child? Download a new kindle app! He was suddenly content to sit and play while I finished lunch. After he ate, he fell asleep while playing! Such a simple thing and it made  him so happy!

Homemade Mac and Cheese

1 c. Whole wheat elbow noodles
1-2 c. Veggies (cooked peas, carrots, broccoli, etc.)
2 T. Butter
2 T. Flour
1 c. Milk
4 oz. Cheese
1 5 oz. can of tuna in water

Cook pasta according to package instructions, adding veggies for last minute of cooking. Drain pasta. While pasta is draining, melt butter on medium low heat and wisk in flour. Cook until bubbling and remove from heat. Add milk and return to heat. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens. Add cheese and continue stirring until cheese melts. Return pasta and veggies to pot and add tuna. Mix well with cheese sauce and heat through.