In My Heart...On My Mind...

I'm rather afraid that this post may come off as very disjointed.  For, I've really no idea where to begin...and even less of a clue where I'll actually end up.  This subject has been so prevalent on my mind lately...it seems that most of my waking moments are colored over with some shade of its influence.  It's affecting nearly everything I do...everything I say.  It's making me intentionalize my actions {if that isn't a real verb, it shorely is now}...making me analyze my motives.

Yet, when it comes right down to it, I'm not even sure how to put the thought, the subject, the concept into words. 

I've been struck by the sheer brevity of my time with my children.
The shortness...
The lack of time I really have with them.
In a blink...in a mere twinkle of an eye, they'll be grown.  They'll be "big people" all on their own...

And yes, I know I'll still be Mom.
I'll still be able to love them.
And {hopefully, prayerfully} they'll still love me.

But it isn't the same.
It just isn't.
You know that.  In your heart of hearts, you know it's true.
And I do, too.

And yes, of course there are days that seem like years...
Days in which no one is happy, everyone is quarreling, three heads of long hair are tangled, a picky boy can't find anything he likes, diapers are soaked through, Legos become mini-landmines, laundry forms seemingly insurmountable peaks, the last roll of toilet paper runs out...and I think that if one more maple-syrup-sticky-hand touches me I might just go insane...those sort of days.  But, wise is the one who said, 
"The days go by so slowly...and the years so fast."

I have today...and the next day...and the next day...
But one of these days, those "next days" will come to an end.

And I won't have my lanky, toothless, nine-year-old begging me to take her to the library {"...the library is one of my favorite places in the world, Mom."} ...she'll have a driver's license of her own.
And she won't be poring over the shelves of Nancy Drew mysteries...she'll probably be more interested in the latest fashions or the newest electronic gadgets {can you even imagine what they'll have come up with by then??}

And I won't be having a nervous breakdown because that same girl is trying to earn her Cooking Badge...by then she'll {hopefully} be able to boil water without making my heart race.



One of these days, I won't have them begging me to read Narnia...

He won't want to play with cast-off bricks in the back yard...

She won't plead for a Tea Party with Daddy...

And she won't suck her toe in the middle of the kitchen floor.

{wait...that didn't come off nearly as sentimental as all the rest of them, did it?}



One day....one day that time will come.
And I know it needs to.  I know that that's the cycle of life.  I know my children should grow up.  They should go out on their own.  But not today.
Today I should hold them close.
Instead, I found myself constantly sending them away.
"Mommy has to package this up, baby. Go watch a movie."
"No, not right now.  Maybe later."
"Go play."
"Mommy's busy."
"No.  I can't.  I don't.have.time!"

All.The.Time...sending them away.

All too soon, they will go away.  They'll be off to college, off to jobs, off to marriages and careers and children of their own.

And I'll be left with my empty nest.

And I'll wish that I could dress a dolly, or read a book, or find a missing shoe, or kiss a boo-boo...

Or just hold them.

I've had an awakening...and now that my eyes have been opened and I've seen it, I can't un-see it.
I realize that TODAY is the day to take her to the library.
TODAY is the day to let her cook dinner.  {Help me, Jesus!}
TODAY is the day to read to them.
TODAY is the day to set her a Tea Party.
TODAY is the day to pull their warm little bodies against me...to hold them as long as they'll let me...to have them be the first to let go of a hug...
To relish the warmth, and the love, and the TIME that I'm able to INVEST TODAY.

Don't get me wrong...
I realize that life requires balance.  I know that it can't be all fun and games all the time.  And if you know me, you know that I'm in exactly 0% danger of that happening.  I'm out-of-balance the other way.  I err on the side of caution...on the side of responsibility...on the side of duty, of sensibility, of seriousness.

I have so much more to say...so many more thoughts that are roiling in my brain.
But I don't want to overload.  I don't want to heap so much on the plate that it's too much sweet and too much savory all at one time and it simply cannot be digested.
Besides, I can't handle it all at once.
I'm still so fresh in this learning process.
But it's wonderful.  It's so fabulous.
And the best part is that I know I'm growing.  I've seen actual change in myself.
I can sit for a half hour or even an hour, reading to my two oldest, without wondering what's going on on Instagram.
I can eat at the lunch table with all four of my littles and just talk to them and listen to them and that's enough.
I can lay on the couch, cradling their still-nap-warm bodies, and soak in their closeness, their still-baby smells...and I can stay like that until they want get up and going.
I can actually make eye contact with my almost-five-year-old when she's chattering on about something that really makes no sense whatsoever...and when she's done and she sees that I'm still paying close attention to her, she smiles that smile that scrunches up her cheeks so high that her eyes close and gives me a leg hug.



So, now, this is the school known as Life...
And your assignment is this:
TODAY...not tomorrow, TODAY take the time and                                                                  with/for your child/ren.
You fill in the blank.
And do it FOR THEM.  Not for you.  Not so you can post a picture of this wonderful thing you did with them...so that a bunch of "strangers" can tell you what a wonderful mother you are.
{I know, you would never do that.  But I have.  I'm guilty.  I'm the one raising my hand.}

I promise you'll be happier for it.  Promise.
It's SO worth it.

My Winter Mantel...and a Giveaway...

So...

Christmas is over, and the decorations had to come down.

But I wasn't ready to let go of the seasonal pretties altogether.

I wanted to re-do my living room mantel...

didn't want it to look Christmas-y...

but I wasn't ready to switch it back to the "normal" decor, either.

I had a vision of light...very light...

lots of white...with maybe a few touches of grey.

I went down and "shopped" my basement shelves...

did a little spray painting

(is any decorating project complete without a bit of spray paint?!?)...

and this is what I came up with.

{{spray painted sticks nestled in with some evergreen clippings, all tucked into a vintage milk glass vase}}
{{oh! and holy oh-my-goodness!!! have you ever spray painted sticks?  I've seen it here, there, and everywhere...let me just tell you...it is a lot more work than what it looks like!}}

{{crocheted coasters from my friend, Allison, strung on primitive jute for an impromptu banner}}

{{sweet birdie atop an upside-down vase...

vintage "Welcome" cross-stitch, all in green tones...

teeny ironstone bowl with end-of-season nest and eggs...

birdhouse built by my dad}}

{{a black "H" and a white "H", staggered for depth and effect...

German glass glittery snowflake...

deer couple--previously relegated to Christmas decor, metallic gold in color, 

given new purpose with a fresh coat of matte white...

antique wooden architectural pieces--50¢ garage sale find}}

{{vintage books...

and a wee vintage winter painting--frame formerly olive, spray painted matte white, 

then sanded and roughed-up a bit...

also, I think I want to live in that cozy little cabin, don't you?}}

{{I'm so happy with how it all turned out...
and my out-of-pocket cost was nothing.  All the items I used were things I already owned--
and almost all of them thrifted.

{{yes, I know it's not technically part of my mantel...

but it's so close to my fireplace, on that same end of the living room...

I just had to carry over the bright, clean, white decor.

{{huge apothecary jar filled with vintage aqua, gold, and silver Shiny Brites...

Mom's antique vase filled with these from Viva Terra--a completely frivolous and ridiculously expensive Christmas gift (last year) from my baby brother--and I absolutely LOVE them (and him)}} 

{{barn wood birdhouse...

carved wooden bird from some outdoorsy shop I happened to step into 

the ONE time I was ever in Canada 

(for about 30 minutes--one of those "let's cross the border just so we can say we did it" sort of things)...

rummage sale lamp}}

This mini-project was fun. 
I've been inspired by many of my friends to do a bit more seasonal decorating.
I'll admit, it wasn't nearly as difficult or laborious as I thought it was going to be...
and I came out of it with fresh inspiration and ideas for other nooks and crannies in my home.
Now I'm just trying to figure out if I can bear all the pinks and reds of Valentine's Day?!?!

Oh!...and hey!!!...

my friend, Tricia, is hosting a giveaway of one of my Traveling Mason Jars!!!

It's going on all this week over at her blog,

Mama Marchand's Nest.

Be sure to check it out!!!

Chicken Noodle Soup 101--A Beginner's Guide

{{{warning and disclaimer: this is a long post.  a really, really long post.  but i've had many people ask me about my chicken noodle soup...and many of those asking have no clue where to even begin in the making of said soup.  i love to cook soup.  if there's one thing i can cook, with great success every time, it's soup.  all that being said, i tried to wrap up all i know about making cns in this one blog post.  so it's long.  really long.  if you're already adept at soup cooking, by all means, skip my blabbering about stock and base and all that.  but if you're a chicken noodle soup newbie, this post is for you.  the entire post.  read it.  devour it.  memorize it.  you will be tested on it.  trust me.}}}

So....how many people in your household are sick right now?

Do not...you are absolutely not allowed to answer "none."

I think everyone I know has kids that are sick or they are sick themselves...or both!  It seems like every other picture I see on Instagram is of some sort of illness-related something-or-other.  The Crud is definitely making its rounds...and we all have the digital thermometers, bottles of medicine, piles of dirty laundry, and bags under our eyes to prove it.

Whenever the Ick is making its way through my house, I have to cook up a pot of chicken noodle soup.  I'm genetically engineered this way.  I can't help it.  It's in my DNA.  When I was young, chicken noodle soup was my mom's cure-for-what-ails-ya.  And it worked.  Every time.  Well, that and cod liver oil.  Mysteriously, the cod liver oil skipped my DNA.

I am quite religious about my supply of chicken noodle soup.  I will never be found without at least one large-ish {large enough to feed our family of six} container of it in my freezer.  You know why?  That container, my dear friends, is for in case **I** am the one that gets sick!  I found out {the hard way} a long time ago, that when you're sick, you want to eat chicken noodle soup...but you do not want to make chicken noodle soup.  

Well, the Ick, the Crud, the Yuck...whatever you want to call it has hit my household with a vengeance.  Last week, when I posted an IG photo of my rather large batch of chicken noodle soup, I was bombarded with recipe requests.   For me, chicken noodle soup is far less "recipe" and a whole lot more "throw in this, throw in that, boil, stir, taste, throw in a little bit more of this, there, now it's perfect."  I tried to figure out how to share my "recipe" with you and have settled on this...

I'm going to give you my VERY large recipe without any Pomp and Circumstance...and after the recipe, I'll give you lots and lots of helpful little hints that should make chicken-noodle-soup-cooking pretty much the easiest thing you've ever done. 

So...here goes...

Ok...I can't help it...
I've got to give you one teeny-tiny little note right here before we jump into things...
This recipe is for a big batch of soup.
No.  I mean a really, really BIG batch of soup.
Like, as in, I make my soup in a 16-quart stock pot.  And it's full.  
16 quarts, y'all.  That's four gallons.  Four. Gallons.  
That's a lot of soup.
You do NOT have to make that big of a batch.  By all means, feel free to do a little math and cut this recipe down to fit your needs.  You do not need to make enough to feed an army.  

Ok, now let's get on with it...

Erin's Chicken Noodle Soup
40 cups water or chicken stock or vegetable stock
4 1/2 to 5 pounds chicken, cooked and cubed
1 entire bunch of celery, including leaves
1½ pounds carrots
3 medium to large-ish onions 
1 whole bunch of parsley
16 oz. bag egg noodles
14 Tablespoons chicken base*** {you MUST see my note about this}
ground black pepper to taste

I know there are a lot of people that save carrot and celery ends and all sorts of other veggie parts and pieces to boil them down for delicious homemade stock.  I'm not that good.  I'm really not.  My veggie parts and pieces go into my little counter compost crock {and then out to the backyard compost pile, when the crock is full}.  

When I need stock for chicken soup, I make it one of two ways--and it all depends on whether I want to eat the soup today or tomorrow.

➲If you want soup for tomorrow {this is the tastiest method, though only by a fractional margin}:
Make chicken for dinner today.  I might get two of those ready-made rotisserie chickens from Walmart.  I might roast a whole chicken {or whatever various chicken pieces I have in my freezer} in my Nesco roaster.  I season the chicken how I would normally season it for the meal I am making.  I also roast it with the skin ON.
{{Shameless Advertisement ➧➧➧  I love, love, love my Nesco roaster.  If you have a large family and you don't have a Nesco, you MUST get one.  Seriously.  It will change your life.  I use mine like an extra large Crock Pot.  It's amazing.  I love it.}}
Most of my children are still young enough that they don't enjoy eating the chicken on the bone.  Therefore, I skin and bone the chicken before serving it, saving all of those delicious skins and bones--you should do it this way, too, if you're hoping to make stock.  After dinner, take all the skins and bones and whatever juices you can scrape together {either out of the rotisserie package, or out of the roaster}, dump it all in a big soup pot, cover it with water {just cover it with water--right now you're not worried about trying to make a huge amount of stock} and bring it to a boil.  Boil it for about ten minutes, then turn it off.  Strain all the liquid through a large colander into another soup pot.   The liquid will go into the refrigerator overnight.  The bones and skins can all be thrown away {be sure to check for any little remaining pieces of meat}.  In the morning, skim off the thick {may be solid} layer of grease on the top of the cooled stock.  And viola!  You have your yummy chicken stock.  Later on, when you're cooking your soup, you will probably need to add more water and some chicken base...we'll cover that then.

➲If you want soup for today:
Put your skinless chicken pieces in a pot. {I use boneless, skinless chicken breast.  If you use bone-in chicken, that's fine; but be sure to remove the skin.}  Cover your chicken with water.  Bring it to a boil and boil until cooked through.  Pull out your chicken pieces and set aside to cool.  The liquid is now your stock.  This stock will not be as flavorful as that from the overnight method--especially considering that the overnight stock has additional seasonings in it from the meal in which it was used.  However, this method is still good and you'll still get delicious soup in the end.  I've used this method many, many times when I just couldn't wait until tomorrow for the soup.  Again, you'll probably need to add more water and base later while you're cooking the soup.


Ok...so now you have your stock.  
You should also have your cooked chicken meat by now.  Maybe you just cooked it with the soup-for-today method.  Maybe you have some left over from last night's dinner.  Either way, you should have about 9 cups of cooked, cut-up chicken {for this size batch}.  There is no science to how large you should cube your chicken pieces.  Cut them up what ever size best suits your family.   I chop mine into ½" pieces.  Set your chicken aside.

Put your stock on the stove and bring it to a boil.
While it is heating, chop up four things:
☞3 medium-large-ish onions--I always use sweet yellow onions.  I buy them in a bag from Walmart.  They are not the huge vidalia onions that you usually buy singly.  They are the same size as a your run-of-the-mill onion, but are sweeter.  I like 'em.  Throw the onions into the stock once they're chopped, even if the stock isn't boiling yet.  It'll be ok.
☞an entire bunch of celery, including the leaves!☟☟☟

This is the most memorable cooking tip Mom taught me--when you're cooking soup or stew {or most any dish, really} that includes celery, ALWAYS include the leaves and as much of the celery heart as you can.  Oh, the delicious-ness that comes from those leaves...you just won't even believe it!  Do NOT throw those flavor-packed green bits of goodness away.  Trust me.  Just chop them up with the rest of your celery and throw it all into the stock...those leaves will cook down just fine.  You won't even notice they're in there; but you WILL notice the flavor.  Yummmmmm.
☞1½ pounds of carrots.  I use whole carrots, not baby carrots--to me, the whole carrots have more flavor.  I wash my carrots, but I do not peel them.  I know many people do peel their carrots and if you're one of those, more power to you.  I find that it's just an extra {unnecessary} step, and I think if you made your soup once without peeling your carrots, you'd probably never go back to peeling them again.  There is absolutely no taste or texture issue whatsoever.  It's as if the peel isn't even there.  Honest.  Just try it.  Once your carrots are chopped, throw them into the onion-y, celery-y stock.
☞a bunch of parsley.  I do chop off and discard the lower leaf-less portion of the stems.  Rinse the rest of the bunch in a colander, and then chop it up.  I like mine finely chopped, but not minced like I ran it through a food processor.  I just give it a good butcher-knife chopping.  Throw the parsley in to join its veggie friends in the stock--the stock that should be boiling by now {or awfully close to it, at least}.

Boil those veggies and herbs for a good while...20-30 minutes...until they're nice and tender.  During this time, assess the amount of veggie goodness you already have in your pot, and the amount of chicken and noodles you'll be tossing in, to figure out whether or not you need to add more water.  Don't worry about the water affecting the flavor, we deal with that next.  I like my end-product soup fairly thick, not terribly broth-y--I like to get veggies or meat or noodles in every bite.  However, you do need to add enough water so that your noodles can cook sufficiently.  Use the water amount I gave at the beginning of the recipe {adjusted accordingly for your size batch}-it is a good guideline for a thick soup.  If you prefer a bit more broth, you can add more water.
Toward the end of this cooking time, I like to add my fresh-ground black pepper and my chicken base.  

The chicken base part is important.  It's really important.  Here is where you can really botch up a great pot of soup.  Do NOT add too much chicken base.  Your chicken base does two things--it adds chicken flavor...AND it adds salt.  I add my chicken base a very small amount at a time.  When I'm making a batch of soup this size, I add my base two tablespoons at a time.  That may sound like a lot, but considering that my pot of soup is nearly four gallons, two tablespoons really isn't that much.  Please...add your base slowly.  Add a bit, stir the soup, ladle a small amount out and taste it.  Repeat over and over and over...it only takes moments, but you MUST trust me...you do not want to over-salt your soup.
☛☛I also wanted to be sure to note here that the chicken base I used for my soup is a "2 teaspoons base per 8 ounces water" base.  Many chicken bases are "ONE teaspoon base per 8 ounces water." Please check your base before you use it.  If it's the latter sort, your pot of soup would require quite a bit LESS base than what I used.

All right...
You've got your stock boiling...
It's got onion, celery, carrots, fresh parsley, ground black pepper, and chicken base in it.
Go ahead and dump in your chopped chicken and your bag of egg noodles {for egg noodles, I always use Creamette Extra Wide Egg Noodles}.  Note the cooking time required for your noodles.  Reduce your heat so that your soup is at a bubbling simmer, but not a rolling boil.  Allow it to simmer for half the cooking time called for on your noodle package.  Once that time is up, remove the soup from heat and set on the back of the stove until ready to serve.  The noodles will continue to cook in the hot soup, and turning the soup off before the noodles are completely cooked will keep them from getting over-done and mushy.  {{Of course, if you are planning to serve the soup immediately, you will want to go ahead and cook the noodles completely.}}


I've had people ask about the consistency of the noodles after being frozen.  Here's what I've found...
When I take a container of soup out of the freezer, I run the container under hot water until the "block" of soup comes loose.  Drop the soup into a pot, add a thin layer of water to the bottom of the pot, and place it on the stove at medium-low heat.  And leave.it.alone.  Leave it alone!!!  Don't poke at it.  Don't try to cut off pieces as it thaws.  Don't try to heat it up faster.  Just leave it alone.  As long as you can leave it alone, it will thaw relatively quickly and you should have no issue with mushy noodles.  I find that the noodles break apart and become mushy when they get "over-worked."  You could also just think ahead and take your soup out of the freezer early enough that it could thaw out on your counter...unfortunately, I don't often think that far ahead.

Keep in mind, this recipe is for a big batch of soup...a really, really big batch of soup.  It's definitely nice to have extra to freeze, but you can certainly scale this recipe down to meet your needs.

However, don't even tell me that you're only going to make enough for one meal.  That, my friends...that is pure sacrilege.  You must make enough to freeze a container.  That is not optional.

{{please feel free to shoot me any questions.  i'm not on my computer often throughout the day, but can usually be reached fairly quickly via my Instagram @tweetpotatopie.  and by all means, PLEASE let me know how your soup turns out!}}

PSA Update: Your Laundry's Best Friend

Remember this post?

Just wanted to give you a little nudge...

a little reminder...

to try the incredible laundry miracle otherwise known as 

Dawn.

You've got to.

I wanted to show you this☟☟☟

You do see those little wet-ish looking spots up on the dark blue stripe, right?

Right.

This is one of Addie's newest Hanna Andersson dresses 

(bought from my very favorite kid's-clothes-selling Insta-shop @phoebes_closet)...

I was NOT ok with permanent grease spots on it.

Fortunately, I didn't need to be ok with the grease spots☟☟☟

Pretty awesome, huh?

Yah...you MUST go read all about it.

You'll love me forever.

Also, an answer to one of your questions....

This does work on whites.

I've never had an issue with the dye from the Dawn

causing any damage or discoloration on white.

And again, you're going to use plain old Dawn.

The blue or the green or the yellow or the amber...

they all work just fine.

But don't get all fancy-schmancy and try to use the Dawn with bleach.

Don't.  Just don't.

The plain old stuff is what you want.

Also, just wanted to let you know,

tomorrow I'll be posting the epistle known as 

Chicken Soup 101.

It started out as a few simple paragraphs.

Several hours later, I'm still working on it.

It might be my most lengthy post to date.

But it will be a valuable resource for any CNS newbies out there...

chock-full loaded up with all sorts of handy info and kitchen tips.

See you tomorrow!!!

My Word for 2013

My Word for 2013

is

Grace

{an affirmation of His grace ON me...

and a call to action, showing His grace THROUGH me.}

(my own words)

This is the fourth year that I have chosen a Word for the Year.

In 2010, I chose "Calm"...

In 2011, "Perspective"...

In 2012, "Moderation."

Why a Word for the Year?  

I am a very goal-oriented, ambition-driven person.  For years, I made New Year's resolutions, struggling to keep or achieve any of them.  I'd keep a journal faithfully for months, but my Bible reading would suffer.  I'd keep up with my Bible reading, but my weight would be out of control.  I'd watch my eating and work out regularly, but would be short-tempered and sharp-tongued with my family.  I would focus so much on the target prevalent on my mind that day, that I would completely lose sight of the long-term end goal--to better myself through becoming more like Christ.

I've found that giving myself one word--ONE word to focus on over the course of an entire year--allows me to direct all my attention and energies toward a singular aim.  I still set other mini-goals for myself, but my primary "resolutions" are all neatly wrapped-up in my Word for the Year.

My previous words have all been personal challenges...words representing areas of my life that I felt I needed to work on.

This year, I wanted...I needed a word that was two-fold.  

I still needed a word that would inspire me...spur me to action...kindle true heart-changes within me.

But I needed more than that...I needed a word for me.

Even as I write that, I wonder if that makes sense...

Does it?  Does it make sense to you?

I needed a word I could claim.

Grace.

Grace is that word...the word for me...my Word for 2013.

It's my affirmation...and it's my call to action.

It's my challenge...and it's my promise.

It's His gift to me...and through Him, my gift to others.

...and it's already working incredible, amazing changes.

Amazing Grace.

His amazing grace.

I can't wait to share more with you throughout this year...

as He, and His grace, works in me.

What about YOU?  What's your Word for 2013?  I'd be thrilled if you'd share it with me.