**Update: I am switching from posting on my blog daily to posting weekly. I was feeling overloaded and burnt out from what I was trying to do before, so I've gone through my goals and changed what I want to get done everyday. I might post more often, if I feel like it, but I want to post on Wednesdays now**
Yesterday morning, I was making pancakes for Benjamin and Ashtyn, just for fun. I had a bigger pan and I'd put a normal-sized pancake on the pan for Ben and a smaller one for Ashtyn, cooking them at the same time.
I was trying to do a lot at once, because that's how breakfast is. In a hurry, I flipped Ashtyn's pancake, then went to flip Ben's. I flipped it onto Ashtyn's pancake. It was very annoying. I tried to fix it as best I could, but it was mostly just a mess of pancake batter.
I sat down to finish my eggs, telling Ben in a grumbling voice what I did. Ben started laughing, saying to Ashtyn, "My pancake ate your pancake."
His laugh, and joke, were contagious and I began laughing too, my frustrations melting quickly away.
The experience was a small one, but it reminded me of how grateful I am for Benjamin in my life. He complements me in ways that I really need sometimes. He can always get me to laugh when I need it and helps my uptight personality relax a little. And for that, I love him.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Friday, February 19, 2016
Ashtyn's Quirks
Kids are weird. I mean, they can be really weird sometimes. Ashtyn is super cute, but definitely not the exception to the weird rule. Here are some of the funny, odd things she does:
She drinks out of her sippy cup is it's facing backwards. This makes it harder for her to get the liquid to come out, but if I rotate it so the nipple is on the bottom, she inevitably turns the other way within just a minute or two.
Ashtyn has to put her colored pencils in their cardboard box upside down. She'll start putting one in the other way, so "oh!" and switch it.
She likes to back up to things. She'll back up slowly to the wall or door and then run forward and back up again. I am still not sure why she does this.
When Ashtyn is eating in her high chair, she'll eat off her plate or bowl for a little while, but eventually, she dumps all her food onto her tray and throws her plate onto the floor.
This is one I try to stop, but she loves to drip her water or milk out of her bottle onto the floor and then lay down and lick or slurp it up. She especially loves to do this when I make hot chocolate.
Ashtyn has a portable training potty, that she doesn't yet use, to get her used to it. She loves to put toys inside of it, but her newest favorite thing to do is take the potty part out, climb inside the hole that's left, and sit in there with a toy or book.
Ashtyn also loves to climb inside things, which is normal for kids, but still really funny. The funniest is when she climbs inside my pots or pans.
Ashtyn has a barbie from the dollar store. She brings it over to me, saying "help" and "off", I take the dress off for her, then Ashtyn promptly bends the leg off. She then walks around with either just the barbie leg or with the naked, one-legged barbie.
She loves to read. Ashtyn will get a book (not a kid's book) and sit and "read" it. She also loves to take her finger and move them over the words, babbling as she "reads" the words.
Ashtyn also loves socks. One thing she likes to do that's ... interesting, is using her mouth to pull her socks off. I'm not sure why she does this, but she does.
She also talks to walls. She'll stand up on the couch or crouch down and babble to the wall, or repeat the same sound over and over again. She used to do this with tags. I remember, before she was very mobile, she'd roll over to the tag on her play mat and sit there and make loud noises at it.
She does a lot more, there's just way to many to write here, or even think of all at once. But she definitely already has her own personality, ideas, and quirks. And we sure love her for it.
She drinks out of her sippy cup is it's facing backwards. This makes it harder for her to get the liquid to come out, but if I rotate it so the nipple is on the bottom, she inevitably turns the other way within just a minute or two.
Ashtyn has to put her colored pencils in their cardboard box upside down. She'll start putting one in the other way, so "oh!" and switch it.
She likes to back up to things. She'll back up slowly to the wall or door and then run forward and back up again. I am still not sure why she does this.
When Ashtyn is eating in her high chair, she'll eat off her plate or bowl for a little while, but eventually, she dumps all her food onto her tray and throws her plate onto the floor.
This is one I try to stop, but she loves to drip her water or milk out of her bottle onto the floor and then lay down and lick or slurp it up. She especially loves to do this when I make hot chocolate.
Ashtyn has a portable training potty, that she doesn't yet use, to get her used to it. She loves to put toys inside of it, but her newest favorite thing to do is take the potty part out, climb inside the hole that's left, and sit in there with a toy or book.
Ashtyn also loves to climb inside things, which is normal for kids, but still really funny. The funniest is when she climbs inside my pots or pans.
Ashtyn has a barbie from the dollar store. She brings it over to me, saying "help" and "off", I take the dress off for her, then Ashtyn promptly bends the leg off. She then walks around with either just the barbie leg or with the naked, one-legged barbie.
She loves to read. Ashtyn will get a book (not a kid's book) and sit and "read" it. She also loves to take her finger and move them over the words, babbling as she "reads" the words.
Ashtyn also loves socks. One thing she likes to do that's ... interesting, is using her mouth to pull her socks off. I'm not sure why she does this, but she does.
She also talks to walls. She'll stand up on the couch or crouch down and babble to the wall, or repeat the same sound over and over again. She used to do this with tags. I remember, before she was very mobile, she'd roll over to the tag on her play mat and sit there and make loud noises at it.
She does a lot more, there's just way to many to write here, or even think of all at once. But she definitely already has her own personality, ideas, and quirks. And we sure love her for it.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
My Natural Yeast Troubles
I haven't always loved to cook, but when we got married, I began (out of necessity, since we like to eat healthy and didn't have tons of money) to cook more. I'd helped my mom in the kitchen for years, because she was an amazing cook, but I was never interested in doing more than grating the cheese or browning the hamburger.
As I've learned more, I have found I actually really love to cook. One of my favorite things to do is take something delicious and make it as healthy as it can be.
A few years ago, Ben's mom got into natural yeast bread. You grow a start, a mixture of flour and water that attracts the wild yeast in the air, and use that to raise your bread. It takes a lot longer, at least six hours (for bread, usually longer), but the flour soaking in the start makes it a lot healthier. The bacteria in the start feed off the flour and sugars in the dough, beginning the digestion process and breaking down the wheat particles in a way that makes it easier to digest. The bacteria in the natural yeast also lines your intestinal tract in a way that helps your body digest other food more quickly as well, and balances out the yeast and bacteria in your body.
It's still bread, but it's basically the healthiest way we've found to make bread.
Ben's mom can make all sorts of things with it--bread, pancakes, waffles, cookies, crackers. I've tried a few of these and they've worked, but I'm still learning. It's honestly a pretty steep learning curve.
I think the main thing is that I am still learning how to feed my starter. Because it's yeast, it's alive, and to keep it healthy, you need to feed it water and flour at least every four days. You need to get it a good, thick consistency and use spring water. I'm still working on that, but I think once I get spring water, it'll work a lot better.
The bread is also the trickiest recipe, probably, because it's so important to get the dough the right consistency to make sure it raises right. I also had a trouble with the pancake recipe when I tried it, but I think that was due to my starter. I hope.
It's really fun to learn to cook in healthy ways like this. Ben and I love to eat healthy, but we also still love to have our treats and favorite foods. I love that we can find ways to still enjoy our favorite things in a healthier way.
As I've learned more, I have found I actually really love to cook. One of my favorite things to do is take something delicious and make it as healthy as it can be.
A few years ago, Ben's mom got into natural yeast bread. You grow a start, a mixture of flour and water that attracts the wild yeast in the air, and use that to raise your bread. It takes a lot longer, at least six hours (for bread, usually longer), but the flour soaking in the start makes it a lot healthier. The bacteria in the start feed off the flour and sugars in the dough, beginning the digestion process and breaking down the wheat particles in a way that makes it easier to digest. The bacteria in the natural yeast also lines your intestinal tract in a way that helps your body digest other food more quickly as well, and balances out the yeast and bacteria in your body.
It's still bread, but it's basically the healthiest way we've found to make bread.
Ben's mom can make all sorts of things with it--bread, pancakes, waffles, cookies, crackers. I've tried a few of these and they've worked, but I'm still learning. It's honestly a pretty steep learning curve.
I think the main thing is that I am still learning how to feed my starter. Because it's yeast, it's alive, and to keep it healthy, you need to feed it water and flour at least every four days. You need to get it a good, thick consistency and use spring water. I'm still working on that, but I think once I get spring water, it'll work a lot better.
The bread is also the trickiest recipe, probably, because it's so important to get the dough the right consistency to make sure it raises right. I also had a trouble with the pancake recipe when I tried it, but I think that was due to my starter. I hope.
It's really fun to learn to cook in healthy ways like this. Ben and I love to eat healthy, but we also still love to have our treats and favorite foods. I love that we can find ways to still enjoy our favorite things in a healthier way.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
My Love Language
According to Gary Chapman, there are five love languages: words of affirmation, acts of service, physical touch, gifts, and quality time. You've probably heard of these, they're really famous. I've learned about them multiple times--in church, in almost every class for my major at school, reading other books on marriage and relationships--and have taken the test in multiple settings, including with Benjamin.
The funny thing is, I thought after taking the test that I knew what my love language was. I thought I was a balance of physical touch and words of affirmation, with a little bit of quality time. Gifts are nice and I appreciate when people serve me, but those aren't huge for me. They're just nice additions.
And so I read the book, thinking I wouldn't take tons away from it, but reading it because we had it. I feel like I learned so much, though, especially about myself and my own love language.
I realized while reading through the different love languages that mine is very much quality time. Looking back over my life and especially my marriage, I can definitely see that showing through. I think physical touch would be next, especially when combined with quality time. I also really like words of affirmation still, but again, words of affirmation as a part of quality time is really what is big for me.
I realized, thinking about it, that this is probably one reason I love pictures so much. I love taking pictures of a moment and looking back on it, remembering the quality time I spent with those I love. I also realized that in high school, the people I felt closest with were those that I spent a lot time with. I would plan a lot of activities, especially once I started dating, and felt so much closer to my friends when we would do those things together.
My love language explains why I love planning parties and events so much. I get to anticipate the quality time I'll be spending with my loved ones by planning all the little details.
It also explains why it was so hard for me to date Benjamin long distance. When you're long distance and your boyfriend's love language isn't naturally quality time, it can be hard. I felt like I didn't see him very often and that I wanted to spend time with him more than he wanted to spend time with me. While this probably wasn't true, I can see with both our personalities and our love languages why it would seem that way to me when we had an hour and a half between us.
Some of the biggest misunderstandings we've had in our marriage have come because I was looking for quality time with Ben, but our definition or expectation of that quality time was different. That's something that we're still working on, though we've made a lot of progress already. It's just interesting to see how my love language has affected those disagreements.
I really think it's important that we learn the love languages of those close to us, especially our spouses, and learn to show love that way. I also really think that showing love in all the languages is wonderful. Just because acts of service isn't my main love language doesn't mean I don't love it when Benjamin does the dishes after I've made dishes. I still understand that this is an act of love on his part and that he is doing it to help me. Just because gifts aren't my main language doesn't mean I don't love getting little gifts from him, especially ones where I can tell he put a lot of thought into it.
The most important thing is to find ways to show others that we think and care about them. We can find out from them what makes them feel most loved and try to focus on their love language, but really, we just need to be thinking about it.
Monday, February 15, 2016
I Have a House of Sick Family
I woke up extra early this morning (that's one of the strange side effects of my pregnancy this time around, I'll randomly wake up at 5:00 in the morning), so I was able to get more done than I normally do before Ashtyn woke up. The fact that she slept until 8 (she wakes up between 7:30 and 8, so that's on the later side) meant I got even more done.
Both Ben and Ashtyn have had a cold these past couple of days. Ben's has seemed worse than Ashtyn's, but I could tell her body was fighting it by how much she was sleeping. Yesterday she took an almost four hour nap (compared to a normal two hour nap) and then slept from 8:30 to 8 last night.
When I got her, we sat on the rocking chair to snuggle for a minute, one of the new things we do. Usually, she'll only stay this way for about two seconds before sitting up and jabbering away to me, telling all sorts of things that I have no idea what she's saying. Today, though, she stayed snuggling on my shoulder for quite a while. Then she sat up, hugged her doll to herself, and came back to snuggle on my shoulder some more. We probably stayed that way for almost twenty minutes, something that definitely is not usual for Ashtyn.
I finally got her to let me slowly change her diaper and get her dressed for the day, between more snuggles. Then she wanted to go find Daddy, so we went into Ben and my bedroom, where Ben was still asleep because he doesn't feel well either. I lay down on my pillows and Ashtyn lay herself right down on my shoulder. She would switch shoulders every once in a while, but we stayed that way, snuggled in bed together as a family, for probably another ten or twenty minutes.
Ashtyn would have probably stayed that way indefinitely, but I was hungry and knew Ashtyn needed food, so I talked her into coming downstairs with me while I made some eggs. When I first put her in her chair, she didn't want me to put her down, but food sure helped her feel better.
I always know when Ashtyn doesn't feel well, because she wants to snuggle. And, while I hate her being sick, I will selfishly relish all the snuggles I get.
Both Ben and Ashtyn have had a cold these past couple of days. Ben's has seemed worse than Ashtyn's, but I could tell her body was fighting it by how much she was sleeping. Yesterday she took an almost four hour nap (compared to a normal two hour nap) and then slept from 8:30 to 8 last night.
When I got her, we sat on the rocking chair to snuggle for a minute, one of the new things we do. Usually, she'll only stay this way for about two seconds before sitting up and jabbering away to me, telling all sorts of things that I have no idea what she's saying. Today, though, she stayed snuggling on my shoulder for quite a while. Then she sat up, hugged her doll to herself, and came back to snuggle on my shoulder some more. We probably stayed that way for almost twenty minutes, something that definitely is not usual for Ashtyn.
I finally got her to let me slowly change her diaper and get her dressed for the day, between more snuggles. Then she wanted to go find Daddy, so we went into Ben and my bedroom, where Ben was still asleep because he doesn't feel well either. I lay down on my pillows and Ashtyn lay herself right down on my shoulder. She would switch shoulders every once in a while, but we stayed that way, snuggled in bed together as a family, for probably another ten or twenty minutes.
Ashtyn would have probably stayed that way indefinitely, but I was hungry and knew Ashtyn needed food, so I talked her into coming downstairs with me while I made some eggs. When I first put her in her chair, she didn't want me to put her down, but food sure helped her feel better.
I always know when Ashtyn doesn't feel well, because she wants to snuggle. And, while I hate her being sick, I will selfishly relish all the snuggles I get.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Love Covereth All Sins
Happy Valentine's Day!
In celebration of Valentine's Day being on a Sunday this year, I thought I'd share a scripture on love that I found this morning.
Proverbs 10:12 -- Hatred stirreth up strifes: love covereth all sins.
This scripture has so many implications, from God's love and Christ's love covering our sins to how we should love others and forgive them. I wanted to share a few thoughts I had when pondering this scripture.
One thing I was thinking about was a story from The Five Love Languages book, the book I just finished reading.
The author told about a couple who'd been married for years, but their marriage was not a healthy one. Both felt their emotional love tanks were empty and the husband often lashed out at his wife, mistreating her with unkind words.
She wanted to go to marriage counseling, but the husband refused, saying she was at fault, so she could go if she wanted. Some of her close friends told her it was a toxic situation and that she should get out. She wanted to, because she was unhappy in the marriage, but when she prayed, she felt that leaving wasn't the answer. She went to counseling (to the author of the book) and together, they talked about what it meant to love your enemy. She sadly agreed that her husband had become an enemy to her and that instead of love, she felt hate towards him because of how he treated her.
Then they talked together about love as an action, rather than an emotion. They worked together to find her husband's love language and she told him she was working on becoming a better wife. Then she went to work showing him love, no matter how he reacted. Slowly, he began to soften towards her and she was able to help him learn her love language.
Now, because she was willing to show love towards someone who wasn't showing love, their marriage is stronger and healthier than it's ever been.
I really love this story. I know there truly are toxic situations that you just need to get out of (and have witnessed first hand some of these), but I know the Lord will direct us as we are trying our hardest to love in hard situations.
I also love this story because sometimes marriage can be like this. This is an extreme situation, but there will be times in every marriage where you feel things are unfair or have hard feelings for your spouse. Choosing to love in those moments, when you least want to love, can be so hard, but will strengthen your marriage and your love for your spouse more than anything else. And the Lord can help us do it.
I think this scripture also applies in other situations, especially with family. Ben and I have talked a lot about this lately and we both agree that it's so important in families, where emotions and opinions and misunderstandings get in the way and can hurt feelings, to love in a way that "covereth all sins." No one is perfect, but when their imperfections hurt us, it's hard to let that go and just continue loving them. I think that, just like in marriage, God can help us in those moments to love as He would.
And, of course, God's love "covereth all sins." I will be forever grateful that He loves us enough to forgive us for everything we do wrong, because it sure is a lot. And I'm sure it hurts Him when we do those things. But He's always there for us, no matter what, just waiting to love us.
In celebration of Valentine's Day being on a Sunday this year, I thought I'd share a scripture on love that I found this morning.
Proverbs 10:12 -- Hatred stirreth up strifes: love covereth all sins.
This scripture has so many implications, from God's love and Christ's love covering our sins to how we should love others and forgive them. I wanted to share a few thoughts I had when pondering this scripture.
One thing I was thinking about was a story from The Five Love Languages book, the book I just finished reading.
The author told about a couple who'd been married for years, but their marriage was not a healthy one. Both felt their emotional love tanks were empty and the husband often lashed out at his wife, mistreating her with unkind words.
She wanted to go to marriage counseling, but the husband refused, saying she was at fault, so she could go if she wanted. Some of her close friends told her it was a toxic situation and that she should get out. She wanted to, because she was unhappy in the marriage, but when she prayed, she felt that leaving wasn't the answer. She went to counseling (to the author of the book) and together, they talked about what it meant to love your enemy. She sadly agreed that her husband had become an enemy to her and that instead of love, she felt hate towards him because of how he treated her.
Then they talked together about love as an action, rather than an emotion. They worked together to find her husband's love language and she told him she was working on becoming a better wife. Then she went to work showing him love, no matter how he reacted. Slowly, he began to soften towards her and she was able to help him learn her love language.
Now, because she was willing to show love towards someone who wasn't showing love, their marriage is stronger and healthier than it's ever been.
I really love this story. I know there truly are toxic situations that you just need to get out of (and have witnessed first hand some of these), but I know the Lord will direct us as we are trying our hardest to love in hard situations.
I also love this story because sometimes marriage can be like this. This is an extreme situation, but there will be times in every marriage where you feel things are unfair or have hard feelings for your spouse. Choosing to love in those moments, when you least want to love, can be so hard, but will strengthen your marriage and your love for your spouse more than anything else. And the Lord can help us do it.
I think this scripture also applies in other situations, especially with family. Ben and I have talked a lot about this lately and we both agree that it's so important in families, where emotions and opinions and misunderstandings get in the way and can hurt feelings, to love in a way that "covereth all sins." No one is perfect, but when their imperfections hurt us, it's hard to let that go and just continue loving them. I think that, just like in marriage, God can help us in those moments to love as He would.
And, of course, God's love "covereth all sins." I will be forever grateful that He loves us enough to forgive us for everything we do wrong, because it sure is a lot. And I'm sure it hurts Him when we do those things. But He's always there for us, no matter what, just waiting to love us.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Signing Time
I have had Ashtyn watch Signing Time almost everyday for a little bit since she was very young. I used to feel guilty and worry that I was doing something wrong, because a lot of people say you shouldn't give kids any screen time at all before three.
Then one day, Ashtyn started repeating words as she watched. Then she started copying signs. Then she started doing those signs, without any encouragement from me, later in the day. It was painfully obvious to me that she was getting a lot of out of Signing Time.
So now, we let her watch Signing Time in the morning and I have basically no guilt about it. Especially since she doesn't sit and watch it, she watches it while she runs around.
It's really cute.
Then one day, Ashtyn started repeating words as she watched. Then she started copying signs. Then she started doing those signs, without any encouragement from me, later in the day. It was painfully obvious to me that she was getting a lot of out of Signing Time.
So now, we let her watch Signing Time in the morning and I have basically no guilt about it. Especially since she doesn't sit and watch it, she watches it while she runs around.
It's really cute.
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