December 1st is the beginning of Advent. I feel like I should know way more about this season than I do, but I really don't. I know that in churches they light an Advent candle every Sunday until Christmas... but I really haven't dove into the meaning for myself... so I'm going to try and change that this year.
Ingrid always sends the kids an Advent calendar that's filled with chocolates on each day, but I just don't feel right about letting them open it daily when I can't even explain to them why they're doing it. Most would say, for the chocolate obviously! Well, yes, I can just give my kids chocolate without tying it to something like Advent.
This past Sunday was the first Advent Service. It. Was. Awesome. This message centered around Hope and it is well worth listening too. I don't think that the podcast is up, but it should be by at least tomorrow.
He touched on something that I think a lot of people get wrapped up in, and I'm desperately trying to keep myself in check. Consumerism. I think that Gaetan and I are pretty much out of the loop with it because we don't really listen to the radio, other than NPR and let's face it, they're not really into trying to see us things... and we don't watch TV so there goes the commercials. We felt pretty unscathed during the elections because we dont' have a landline so we couldn't get robo-called, and again, with the commercials we didn't see them.
This time of year is hard because people get so nostalgic about family and what they should be doing and making things look perfect and neat... and we all know when you bring family together, it is anything but that. It's difficult for us this time of year because Ingrid gets the same way. Throughout the rest of the year she doesn't ask about seeing us all the time or making comments about how we never spend the night at her house. My favorite lately is that she has been trying to work out this 'rotation' system on weekends to see us... like they're fighting over custody of when they get to see us. And after she says her schpeel to Gaetan (because she never talks to me about scheduling...) she doesn't actually invite us over or anything like that. It's like she just wants something to say about how we don't see her every week... And I know that she wants family to be around during the holidays and this year Zoe isn't going to come home so, this is her little way of trying to keep in control of something.
Anyways, back to consumerism. It's hard to be around her during the holidays because she is ALL about it. The deals, the shopping, the needless spending of money on little trinkets just to say that she got something for everybody. She has a stash of presents (little things she accumulates throughout the year) in her basement incase she needs a last minute present because that person got her something and she didn't get them something. It sounds like a good idea, but they're things like Christmas themed paper plates and napkins... To her its all about consumerism. And it's not to us. And she can't understand that, and she doesn't try to either. I think that's the worst part. She just writes us off as progressive and liberal and just plows right on through with all the things that she wants and wonders why we don't want to spend lots of time with her...
This part of the year should be a joyous occasion filled with hope and love, not dread of having to spend time with your family. Unfortunately, she's not really getting the point that we aren't seeing her that much because we choose not to. That may sound harsh, but we are firm believers of being truthful instead of putting out that facade. I'm not going to expose my kids to things I don't believe are helpful just to appear nice. I would rather just not see her than see her and not really want to. And that goes the same for my friends too. If you don't want to hang out I would rather you just say it than try and be polite. I'm not sure why people think that this time of year you need to be extra nice to people you normally wouldn't be, but people do. I think that's what gets me about this season. People act totally different than they do the rest of the year and then go right back to being their old self.
Just. Be. You. And I will love you for it. My closest friends know that's the key to my heart. Honesty. And they're honest with me all the time, which is probably why we're the closest.
So, think of why you're doing something this holiday season and if you can't come up with a good answer, maybe you should revise why you're doing it.
JVG
Family photo Oct 2010
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Facetime
Man, I have to say I love me some Facetime. I never really had the need for it until I used it once and can't get enough of it! :) The hard part for us is that our Facetime is on our computer because we haven't made the iPhone switch yet... but for all of our friends that don't live nearly close enough and do, I appreciate it.
I know that technology has made sure that we can keep up on eachother's lives via texts, calls, blogs whatever, but there is something to be said for being able to see that person's face. It brings some sort of community with it when you can see them and hear them. :)
So... thank you technology for these small blessings. The ability to see friends and family whom we wouldn't normally be able to see. It does this Momma's heart such good and brings me joy. :)
JVG
I know that technology has made sure that we can keep up on eachother's lives via texts, calls, blogs whatever, but there is something to be said for being able to see that person's face. It brings some sort of community with it when you can see them and hear them. :)
So... thank you technology for these small blessings. The ability to see friends and family whom we wouldn't normally be able to see. It does this Momma's heart such good and brings me joy. :)
JVG
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Friends with Kids
I watched this movie the other day and it was very interesting to me. Not the idea of trying to have a kid with your best friend to get past all the weird stuff that kills romance, but the view of how people without kids view people with kids. This, of course, is us. We are the people with kids. And not just one. In the movie the two couples that have kids never go out, always seemed stressed, their house is a mess, they parents are constantly fighting, and watching them would scare anyway anybody remotely thinking that kids are a good idea. And, that might be true for the vast majority... shoot, that is even true for us at times. I can guarantee you that my house isn't spic and span 24/7... there is that quick moment after I've gotten the kitchen cleaned after breakfast that the dining room doesn't have something all over it... and there is that small moment after the kids pick up that we can see the floor, but for the most part, nope. I would rather play with my kids and have fun, and teach them things than put the facade out there for people that kids aren't messy.
Anyhoo... it just got me thinking that being a parent isn't a cake walk, and it shouldn't be. There are hard lessons that you need to teach your kids and there are hard lessons you need to learn from your kids. I think a lot of problems with marriage, people having kids and then trying to still have a healthy marriage is selfishness. In the movie I heard the line a lot, "Well, it's your turn..." "I guess it's my turn to take care of the poop now!" Or something along the lines. There was this underlying resentment between the parents about the kids and the responsibility of having them.
First, being married is hard enough for some. There is this idea of having to put somebody else's needs above your own that is really really REALLY hard for people to get. I think that's why the first year of marriage is hard for most. And, if you sit down and think about it, it's because you're holding onto your selfish tendencies. Its hard to learn to put somebody else above your wants/needs... and not only that, but to be happy to do it. For how ever many years of your life you've been able to do what you've wanted, but now there is this other things that has come into your life that demands your time and energy, and not necessary when you feel like doing it. And, in doing that, you can become resentful. I suppose that's why over 50% of marriages fail... not easy stuff.
Then, you add in kids. Before it was just you and your spouse. But now, you have somebody else to take care of, and you are responsible to make sure they don't grow up to be an idiot or a detriment to society. And if you're still trying to work things out with the previous paragraph, then you're never going to make it. And, I hate to break the cute idea of whatever babies are, but they are selfish too. They may not be able to vocalize what they want, but as they're screaming and crying they are demanding things at a different level. Yes, you have to feed your child. Yes, you have to change their diaper because it's not morally acceptable to let them sit in their filth. So, now you're dealing with that too!
I have to say that we may joke about whose turn it is to change the diaper or spray them out, but there is this understanding, and even agreement we have about how we want to raise the kids. I don't have the answers on what makes parenting easy, or how to make it not as stressful, but I just know that its not as dramatic as Hollywood makes it out to be. Even when the kids are being terrors and I want to Homer Simpson them, I know that it's only for a little while. Makes me wonder if our friends look at us and think, "Run! Don't do it!" "Why are they having more?!" "Are they crazy?" (And the answer to that is, yes, but not because of the kids). But ya know? I wonder what our friends think about their crazy friends who started having kids really young. Fun stuff to think about. :)
JVG
Anyhoo... it just got me thinking that being a parent isn't a cake walk, and it shouldn't be. There are hard lessons that you need to teach your kids and there are hard lessons you need to learn from your kids. I think a lot of problems with marriage, people having kids and then trying to still have a healthy marriage is selfishness. In the movie I heard the line a lot, "Well, it's your turn..." "I guess it's my turn to take care of the poop now!" Or something along the lines. There was this underlying resentment between the parents about the kids and the responsibility of having them.
First, being married is hard enough for some. There is this idea of having to put somebody else's needs above your own that is really really REALLY hard for people to get. I think that's why the first year of marriage is hard for most. And, if you sit down and think about it, it's because you're holding onto your selfish tendencies. Its hard to learn to put somebody else above your wants/needs... and not only that, but to be happy to do it. For how ever many years of your life you've been able to do what you've wanted, but now there is this other things that has come into your life that demands your time and energy, and not necessary when you feel like doing it. And, in doing that, you can become resentful. I suppose that's why over 50% of marriages fail... not easy stuff.
Then, you add in kids. Before it was just you and your spouse. But now, you have somebody else to take care of, and you are responsible to make sure they don't grow up to be an idiot or a detriment to society. And if you're still trying to work things out with the previous paragraph, then you're never going to make it. And, I hate to break the cute idea of whatever babies are, but they are selfish too. They may not be able to vocalize what they want, but as they're screaming and crying they are demanding things at a different level. Yes, you have to feed your child. Yes, you have to change their diaper because it's not morally acceptable to let them sit in their filth. So, now you're dealing with that too!
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| Like who gets to stay up with the kid that is sick? This Momma will take all the chances I can get to snug with our Miss. Even if that means wearing a shirt full of snot/drool. |
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| And our little man who isn't feeling well, but just wants to be warm and in a nest. :) |
JVG
Moo Goo Gai Pan and Mountain Rabbits
There are probably exactly three things my Dad can cook well... or I would request that he makes. 1.) Chef Pierre's Pancakes (something we named after him... long story.) He makes these fabulous homemade pancakes and even though I have his recipe I'm still not nearly as good at them as he is! 2.) Egg on Bread. Nothing real fancy but they are one of the childhood memories I have of him making breakfast for us. 3.) Moo Goo Gai Pan. This is a recipe that usually gets busted out once or twice a year... so not often. When it does though it's a real treat! I can imagine the reason why it doesn't get made often because of the quantities of food that would have to be made for our size family, but when we do I get so excited!
So, I was craving it last week and I finally remembered to get the recipe from my Mom. They altered the recipe just a bit, but I like what they do, so I kept the alterations. The nice part about this recipe is that you can add or take out vegetables or protein that you may or may not like. Last night I made the recipe as is. I didn't have any green onions so I just substituted some red... it added some nice color to the dish. :) It was just as delicious as I remember it being and it definitely hit the spot. We ate the whole thing... so we no leftovers for lunch today! Well, I just couldn't deal with that so I made a vegetarian version of it for lunch today. I made it with chicken yesterday, and today I added carrots instead. It's a really quick and easy meal in the wok and the ingredients in it aren't difficult at all. I realize that with some Asian inspired meals there are harder to find spices and ingredients, but not this one. I also don't have the electric wok that the recipe calls for, but my Wok that I purchased from IKEA did just fine. :)
On Thanksgiving while the family was just sitting around the table and finishing off dessert my Dad busts out this CD that he got because it was on NPR. As soon as it started playing I knew what the song was... it's call San Toki Toki Ya (Mountain Rabbit). It's probably the most well known children songs from Korea. I learned it while I was at culture camp and it has cute little motions to go with it. So while it was playing, and I was stuffed to the gills with Thanksgiving feast, the kids and I got up and had a dance party to it with the motions. Dad thought that I should take the CD home because there are many many other songs on that CD that are in Korean and he thought that the kids would enjoy. And... we have been! There have been many a dance party to this Korean CD. :) Another great childhood memory that I'm being able to share with my family now.
JVG
So, I was craving it last week and I finally remembered to get the recipe from my Mom. They altered the recipe just a bit, but I like what they do, so I kept the alterations. The nice part about this recipe is that you can add or take out vegetables or protein that you may or may not like. Last night I made the recipe as is. I didn't have any green onions so I just substituted some red... it added some nice color to the dish. :) It was just as delicious as I remember it being and it definitely hit the spot. We ate the whole thing... so we no leftovers for lunch today! Well, I just couldn't deal with that so I made a vegetarian version of it for lunch today. I made it with chicken yesterday, and today I added carrots instead. It's a really quick and easy meal in the wok and the ingredients in it aren't difficult at all. I realize that with some Asian inspired meals there are harder to find spices and ingredients, but not this one. I also don't have the electric wok that the recipe calls for, but my Wok that I purchased from IKEA did just fine. :)
On Thanksgiving while the family was just sitting around the table and finishing off dessert my Dad busts out this CD that he got because it was on NPR. As soon as it started playing I knew what the song was... it's call San Toki Toki Ya (Mountain Rabbit). It's probably the most well known children songs from Korea. I learned it while I was at culture camp and it has cute little motions to go with it. So while it was playing, and I was stuffed to the gills with Thanksgiving feast, the kids and I got up and had a dance party to it with the motions. Dad thought that I should take the CD home because there are many many other songs on that CD that are in Korean and he thought that the kids would enjoy. And... we have been! There have been many a dance party to this Korean CD. :) Another great childhood memory that I'm being able to share with my family now.
JVG
Cards
Yesterday was quite the relaxing day. The kids were well behaved, especially for being sick. Poor girly hasn't been sleeping very well at night, due to her head cold and Dude is getting over it as well. She has a severe snot nose, which Dude did not have, but lucky for me Ratty gave us THE WORLD'S best Kleenex ever. They're so soft, so I don't feel badly about wiping her nose 15,000 times a day. After Gaetan got home from class we snugged with Dude in our bed for awhile, and I fell asleep... it was so warm and cozy... and then 2 hours later they woke me up! I couldn't believe that I slept that long... must've needed it.
Apparently Miss Lucy needed a good nap too because she slept for 4 hours! I was wondering when she was going to get the sleep she was going to need due to her illness. She hadn't been sleeping very well AT ALL at night time and her naps haven't been that stellar (except this last one). She is just so congested that you feel badly that she can't sleep vertical. When we would go and check on the kids at night we could hear her snoring through the monitor... poor girly. The other night Dude woke up and was pretty unhappy and he said that her snoring woke him up haha.
Now that the semester is coming to the end Gaetan doesn't have any more homework assignments... which means he doesn't have anything that needs to get done after the kids go to sleep! Usually after the kids go down he gets out homework or research and I do whatever. So, we've been having a lot more time together to just hang out :) We have revived our Cribbage Board, yes I know that people probably think that's an old person game, but we like it. :) And we've been playing a lot of Rummy as well.
I guess the nice part about it is that its just time to hang out. Nothing fancy, but just hanging out time. No TV shows playing in the background or anything else distracting going on. It's nice just being together.
On that note, I taught Dude how to play War and the little booger beat me at it already! He's so cute with it too... whenever we flip over cards I ask him who gets them and when he wins he gets so excited and says, "I win! Thank you for the cards Momma." Then when I win he likes to pick up the cards for me and put them in my pile. It's fun being able to have that one on one time with him too. :)
Looking forward to lots more game nights with the family.
JVG
Apparently Miss Lucy needed a good nap too because she slept for 4 hours! I was wondering when she was going to get the sleep she was going to need due to her illness. She hadn't been sleeping very well AT ALL at night time and her naps haven't been that stellar (except this last one). She is just so congested that you feel badly that she can't sleep vertical. When we would go and check on the kids at night we could hear her snoring through the monitor... poor girly. The other night Dude woke up and was pretty unhappy and he said that her snoring woke him up haha.
Now that the semester is coming to the end Gaetan doesn't have any more homework assignments... which means he doesn't have anything that needs to get done after the kids go to sleep! Usually after the kids go down he gets out homework or research and I do whatever. So, we've been having a lot more time together to just hang out :) We have revived our Cribbage Board, yes I know that people probably think that's an old person game, but we like it. :) And we've been playing a lot of Rummy as well.
I guess the nice part about it is that its just time to hang out. Nothing fancy, but just hanging out time. No TV shows playing in the background or anything else distracting going on. It's nice just being together.
On that note, I taught Dude how to play War and the little booger beat me at it already! He's so cute with it too... whenever we flip over cards I ask him who gets them and when he wins he gets so excited and says, "I win! Thank you for the cards Momma." Then when I win he likes to pick up the cards for me and put them in my pile. It's fun being able to have that one on one time with him too. :)
Looking forward to lots more game nights with the family.
JVG
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Crepes Crepes Crepes!
Ever since I've been pregnant (starting with Dude) I have become more of breakfast person. It might be because when I wake up in the morning I feel like I haven't eaten in days... so I feel the need to eat mass quantities of food! So, I have become very fond of breakfast type foods... still not a huge fan of cereal, because I feel like I have to eat way to much of it to get full, but other things, bring em on!
Dude had requested crepes when we went out to breakfast with my Dad, and they sounded good. I ran across this recipe and thought I'd give it a-go. Big thumbs up from preggo Momma over here. They were really easy to make, fast to cook (because they're so thin) and the cream is a nice sweet ending. I could see myself making them for a dessert/coffee/tea thing sometime. I forgot to take a picture because I was, well, stuffing my face. :)
http://littleyellowbarn.blogspot.com/2012/06/darn-good-crepe.html
JVG
Dude had requested crepes when we went out to breakfast with my Dad, and they sounded good. I ran across this recipe and thought I'd give it a-go. Big thumbs up from preggo Momma over here. They were really easy to make, fast to cook (because they're so thin) and the cream is a nice sweet ending. I could see myself making them for a dessert/coffee/tea thing sometime. I forgot to take a picture because I was, well, stuffing my face. :)
http://littleyellowbarn.blogspot.com/2012/06/darn-good-crepe.html
JVG
Asian Noodle Soup
I have been craving big hot bowls of soup chucked full of noodles, vegetables and all things delicious. The kids have been sick this week (poor babies!) and they've really just been wanting warm broth. This was the perfect fix for everybody. I could load them up with the broth and I could load myself up with everything else, haha.
This recipe calls for beef strips but I wasn't feeling that, so I just omitted it, and didn't miss it at all. The broth was very nice and mild (you can spice it up if you want but I didn't for the kids). I used nappa cabbage instead of bok choy, just because I was using the nappa cabbage in another recipe. I also made the noodles separately in case we had left over broth... which we did. I figured if I put the noodles in they wouldn't re-heat very well.
I garnished with the green onion and the cilantro and it adds a nice color and flavor to it. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Also, SUPER fast to make. Probably done in about 15 minutes... and I only think it took that long because it was my first time making it.
Dude told me that he thought dinner was beyond perfect and Lucy went to town on it... so it is kid approved :)
http://www.food.com/recipe/asian-beef-noodle-soup-279986
JVG
This recipe calls for beef strips but I wasn't feeling that, so I just omitted it, and didn't miss it at all. The broth was very nice and mild (you can spice it up if you want but I didn't for the kids). I used nappa cabbage instead of bok choy, just because I was using the nappa cabbage in another recipe. I also made the noodles separately in case we had left over broth... which we did. I figured if I put the noodles in they wouldn't re-heat very well.
I garnished with the green onion and the cilantro and it adds a nice color and flavor to it. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Also, SUPER fast to make. Probably done in about 15 minutes... and I only think it took that long because it was my first time making it.
Dude told me that he thought dinner was beyond perfect and Lucy went to town on it... so it is kid approved :)
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| Lu was doing very well with her fork getting noodles! |
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| Time for some broth |
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| Yup. |
JVG
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