Archives for October 2012
Love is a Verb…
Last night, I went to bed before the kids.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a night owl.
The kids tucked me into bed with their soft kisses and gentle “goodnights,”
and made peace with the fact that Daddy was going to have to put them to bed,
without the presence of Mommy {or Mum, as Finn calls me}.
I had a migraine….
and there was slim chance of me making it another minute
with the light and noise involved with the bedtime routine.
I woke when Husby finally made his way into our bed.
Half asleep, I asked if he had stayed up late.
He told me that I had already been asleep for SIX hours, meaning it was after 2 a.m.
My heart sunk realizing that he must have stayed up getting things done around the house for me.
This is what he does.
He feels bad going to work and leaving the kids and I,
especially over the weekend when most families are spending it together.
He explained to me that he had cleaned up the kitchen from dinner,
packed the car for today’s soccer games,
folded laundry…
and cut out most of the black laminated cardstock spiders
needed for one of our son’s classroom door decorations for his upcoming Red Ribbon Week.
Husby quickly fell asleep for the three hours that remained
before he needed to get up and head out for a 48-hour shift at the fire station.
As he left this morning, he kissed me goodbye,
letting me sleep a few more precious moments before the pandemonium of the day ahead began.
During a rare moment of peace,
I started thinking about the book I read so many years ago on the different languages of love.
Clearly Husby shows his love for me through acts of service.
It isn’t unusual for him to stay up to the wee hours of the morning folding laundry
and tidying up the house so I don’t have as much to do the next day.
The funny thing is….
is that we don’t necessarily speak the same love language.
He loves gifts, acts of service {wink},
and words of affirmation, while I soak up affection and quality time with him.
Even though his late night didn’t involve affection and quality time spent together,
I still knew, that what he did was his way of showing his love for me.
Love is not only a noun…. but a verb!
This was his way of loving me!
Maybe someday, when the kids are all grown…
love might look like romantic dinner dates…
dreamy long walks on a stranded beach…
big bouquets of unexpected flowers…
and intimate nights spent in deep conversations
while gazing longingly in each others eyes…
but for now, for us…
love translates into folding laundry,
watching the kids so I can grab coffee with a girlfriend,
unloading the dishwasher,
putting the kids to bed…
and lets not forget,
cutting out endless amounts of awkwardly shaped spiders!
Hmm…
maybe with the arrival of our four little ones,
and our current crazy {but wouldn’t change it for the world} chaos,
my love language has seriously changed!
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Thank you to the most awesome Husby a girl could ever dream of!!!
I APPRECIATE the way you love me!
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P.S. Even though affection and quality time still rank high on my list of priorities
with respect to feeling loved…
this wifey does greatly appreciate Starbucks on your way home from work
{just in case you’re reading this, my handsome Husby}!
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{The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts: Gary D Chapman}
Making Bread
Saturday seemed like a perfect day to stay inside and be warm and cozy.
Drizzle is making a wet blanket on the street outside. The perfect excuse to use my baking imagination…..
Hmmm, what is this I have underneath the bottom shelf of my pantry, hidden behind mixer attachments….
a bread maker. Okay, so I knew it was there. It has traveled from three homes plus a storage unit in the 9 years
I have been married. It was one of the few things I allowed Shane to register for. The other was a set and forget it
chicken rotisserie and that, well it did not make the move into this house.
Don’t get me wrong I love bread, but it was not
a top registry priority as I believed I could myself. I did not need a fancy machine.
My kitchen aid mixer has a dough hook so I thought it would be enough.
So I pulled out the bread maker from below.
I skim the instructions and I think at best the honey wheat sounds amazing and fairly simple.
I take a look for what the recipe entails and chance may have it, I have all the ingredients needed.
The process is fairly simple but precise. I put together the ingredients and set it to bake
for three and half hours. Boy did it smell like a French Bakery.
After the small yet satisfying ding of the bread baker…..here is the finished product:
Fantastic Bread. The smell amazing….but a little bit dense in comparison to bread from the store.
Well, that part could have slightly been prevented. Maybe my son opening
and closing the machine top played a part in the dough rising.
Minus that the bread machine experience was:
1. Easy to put together (if you have the most of the ingredients)
2. Really set it and forget it. It does it on its own.
3. Makes the house smell fantastic.
4. Is very healthy like any other baked good you make from home.
5. Probably most important it made the hubby happy.
Thanks to whom ever gave The Lindstrom’s a bread maker as wedding gift!
Hope you pull yours out soon!
ÁBATON: ESTATE IN EXTREMADURA
From traditional to modern, Nicole and I both LOVE design and architecture.
Personally, if I were to be a house…..
I’d choose to be this one!
This stunning Estate is located in the province of Cáceres, Spain.
Ábaton Architects did a brilliant job of transforming an abandoned stable into a family home.
They renovated the structure in a way that would be “consistent and respectful with the environment.”
How lovely is that?
Indulge for a moment and view this inspirational house….
Photographs: Courtesy of Ábaton Architects
{xo, sara}
We’ve been Booed!
I love Halloween and I do believe my kids have had it engrained
into their tiny souls since the moment they were conceived.
I don’t know how or what as a child made me get into the spirit, well I do know…..my grandmother.
My grandparents were wonderful people to be around growing up. They were a huge part of my life.
My grandmother, Blanca had always allowed my sister and I to rent the scariest of movies.
We would go into the video store and look at all of them around Halloween.
We would pick the scariest cover and my grandmother would say yes!
I don’t know if it was partly because my grandmother spoke Spanglish
or the simple fact that she as a person loved the holiday.
All in all the parental guidance was disregarded when choosing scary movies…..
making it a major plus spending time with her.
Halloween as a child was the smell of plastic masks and costumes.
Being scared of Poltergeist and thinking it could happen to you and that Jason was the scariest man ever!
I loved waiting for The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown to broadcast on one of the major networks
and visiting the haunted mansion at Disneyland.
Today my kids can’t wait for the holiday to start.
It seems like in our household we skip the fall decor and go straight to Halloween with jack o’ lanterns and spiders.
Besides the actual date of Halloween and all that it brings, my kids can’t wait for us to get “Booed” by someone.
It is the Halloween’s eve to the date of All Hallows Eve…….
Being Booed is very exciting….its the wonder of who Booed us? Being Booed is very simple yet extremely fun.
Someone leaves a bucket of goodies on your door step with clear instructions on what to do next…..
What usually happens once you are Booed you have two full days to Boo two other people/families.
They need to be families that have yet to be Booed as you will know this by the instructions of placing a sign on your door that was
created by the person that Booed you. The above is a fun little riddle that came with our boo bucket.
Below are the buckets we created for two unsuspected
families…I hope they liked them!
Happy Booing!!!!!
You’ve Been BOOed! Halloween BOO Poem and Signs | Organized Christmas.
Banana Chocolate Muffins {Vegan}
Today is one of our favorite kinds of days….
a Fall Sunday, that is both crisp & cool.
Husby went off to work for the next two days.
The kids and I decided to stay in & have a pajama day!
A perfect, cozy day….
A wonderful time to bake up something delicious & wholesome!
Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Don’t let the “vegan” part scare you!
They are honestly delicious!
They just don’t have the usual eggs, which I am certain you won’t miss!
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Miss Sophia Blue {a.k.a. “Little Ina,” as I like to call her}
and I made some adjustments to the recipe.
All you need is:
* 1 cup of whole wheat flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
*1/2 cup granulated sugar
*1/3 cup canola oil
* 4 ripe bananas
* 1/4 cup water
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
{I use the Trader Joe’s brand which is naturally vegan}
* 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped pecans {optional, but highly recommended!}
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Perhaps, the best part!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease your muffin tins.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, & salt together.
In a large mixer, beat the sugar & oil together.
Add the mashed bananas.
Stir in the water & vanilla.
Mix thoroughly.
Add the flour mixture, along with the chocolate chips & optional nuts.
Stir to mix!
Fill each muffin tin halfway with batter.
Bake for 15-20 minutes {depending on your oven}.
* Note: I usually have extra batter. I use the excess to fill a mini loaf pan
& cook slightly longer.
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{Drum Roll, please}
Here is a little piece of heaven!
Moist, chocolatey, & decadent….
The perfect Fall snack!
We hope you thoroughly enjoy every delicious bite!
{xo, sara}
{Original Recipe Via: The Joy of Vegan Baking}