Libbie picture purely for entertainment value and having nothing to do with this post.

It’s Tuesday but it feels like Monday? Thursday? This is summer for us, a stay-at-home mom and a teacher. Days blend together. For the next eight weeks, my kids will go to their Mother’s Day Out program on Tuesday … and I’ll be lucky if I can remember it’s Tuesday and get them there.

For the second morning in a row, David has gotten up before 7, nursed and then had breakfast, played for a few minutes, and then started whining incessantly and gone back to sleep. I’m hoping to leave for storytime in 30 minutes and he’s still snoozing away in monkey pajamas.

Speaking of his pajamas, my cousin sent me about a zillion pairs of PJs for him and at least half of them have dogs on them. This thrills David to no end. The boy loves dogs so much he will let our neighbor’s lick him plain on the face and then laugh about it. This has not lessened our determination to not have another dog for a LONG time, though. We learned that lesson.

Leaving in now 18 minutes means it’s time to go into overdrive and we’ll probably be late anyway. I never understood why people with kids were always late until I had a second child. The unexpected, the potty trips and soiled diapers, shoes and socks and stains and clothes stripped off when you’re trying to leave … it’s not always under Mommy’s control.

We try. Oh, we try.

Just Writing, inspired by Heather at the Ordinary Extraordinary.

I am SO glad to be done with this menu! I’ve never before attempted a whole month’s menu, but with lots of other stuff to do this summer (including trying to plan “camp” weeks for my kids: Dinosaur Camp, Jungle Camp, Ocean Camp …) I wanted to get meal-planning out of the way ASAP. I see a Big Cooking Day coming soon so I can stock the freezer with breakfasts and lunches and have that done, too!

June 1: Faculty dinner

June 2: Lemon Dill Chicken, rice, corn on the cob

Note: June 3-9 we are participating in JessieLeigh’s Eating By Ancestry challenge. We’ll be eating like Germans (my heritage) and see how we feel! We’re going to go the traditional route of eating our bigger meal at lunch, which is perfect since it’s VBS week anyway. If you’re interested in participating, let JessieLeigh know and check out our group Pinterest board!

June 3
B: Potato Pancakes, coffee
L: Gulaschsuppe, Pretzels
D: Sandwiches, fruit

June 4
B: toast, jam, marmalade, coffee, milk, ham
L: Kase Spatzle
D: Leftovers, sandwiches, fruit

June 5
B: toast, jam, marmalade, deli meat, coffee, milk
L: Rouladen, Mashed Potatoes, Braised Red Cabbage
D: Bierocks

June 6
B: Crepes with jam / cream cheeses
L: Fladesuppe (Soup with Crepes)
D: Sandwich fixings, raspberry strudel

June 7
B: toast, etc
L: Konigsberger Klopse (German Meatballs), mashed potatoes, bread
D: leftovers

June 8
B: apple pancakes
L: Geschnetzeltes, noodles, roasted carrots
D: sandwiches

June 9
B: German yeast donut holes with powdered sugar, coffee, milk
L: Frikadellen mit Bratkartoffeln (hamburgers) with fried potatoes
D: leftovers or sandwiches

June 10: Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, salad, baked potatoes

June 11: Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops, Green Beans, Fruit Salad

June 12: Balsamic Chicken and Tortellini, Spinach Salad

June 13: Tilapa with Honey-Tangerine Sauce, brown rice, broccoli

June 14: Cajun Shrimp Pizza

June 15-18 Out of Town

June 19: Citrus-Honey Chicken Thighs, veggie stir-fry, rice

June 20: Honey-Parmesan Pork Roast, Italian white beans, broccoli

June 21: Roasted Tomato Soup, grilled cheese

June 22: Crispy Salmon with Basil Noodles, broccoli

June 23: BBQ Chicken Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing, homemade bread

June 24: leftovers

June 25: Italian Stuffed Peppers with Sausage in the Slow Cooker, salad

June 26: Marinated Grilled Shrimp, fried zucchini, baked potatoes

June 27: Steakhouse Steaks, sweet potatoes, broccoli

June 28: Rosemary-Brie Chicken Burgers, potato wedges, fruit

June 29: Summer Bow-Ties

June 30: leftovers

Breakfasts:
Baked Banana Donuts
Granola, yogurt, fruit
Easy Breakfast Casserole
pancakes / oatmeal pancakes
Peachy Granola Muffins
Oatmeal Cups
Banana Puff Pancake
Breakfast Quinoa with Maple and Nuts
Breakfast Cookies
Orange Muffins

Lunches:
Ham and Potato Pockets, pretzels, fruit
BeBe Bolognese
leftovers
sandwiches
Cheese / PBJ pockets (made like these pizza pockets), tortilla chips, fruit with peanut butter dip
Clean Eating Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili
Balsamic Onion Pot Roast in the Crockpot, Corn on the Cob (Sunday lunch)
Pasta with Very Veggie Sauce
little quinoa patties, eggs
“muffin tin meals” – assortment of small, toddler-friendly foods
salads for mommy
PBJ, pretzels, fruit

*Shew.* Honestly, I hate menu planning! And since we eat in the dining hall about 9 months of the year, I don’t have to do it a lot. But when I have to cook, it definitely makes life much easier.

Linking up, as always, with Menu Plan Monday.

Well, here I am on the last night of my 20s. Listening to my daughter sing “Jingle Bells” at the end of May, having a rough parenting day, having a baby with an ear infection, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. This is my life. And I embrace it!

Here are the best things I read this week. Don’t forget to link your own linky love posts up this week!

• 5 Ways to Breathe in a Breathless World at Chatting at the Sky
• Top Five Ways to Psyche Yourself Up to Clean House at Aunt Peaches – As a messy person, I TOTALLY love this post.
• Creating a Healthy Family Culture at Impress Your Kids
• 10 Habits for a Well-Run Home at The Stressed Mom
• YUM of the week: Blueberry Lemon Oatmeal Bars from The Noble Pig

So, what did you read that was great this week? Link up here. You can grab the code for the button in the sidebar, if you want. Please link back to Vanderbilt Wife and add the PERMALINK to your post, not your home page.

It’s the incredulous tone of her voice that catches me, makes me stop talking and start listening.

I’ve just admitted to my mentor, E, that the more I read about and see other 3-year-olds, the more I am convinced Libbie’s idiosyncrasies and bad behaviors are just her being 3, not my own fault.

E kind of stared at me and asked, “You didn’t really think that, did you?”

Well, yes. I often wonder if I could have done something different, something better, something more that would have made Libbie an angelic child, obedient to a fault. I feel like I’ve failed her as a mom each time she ignores an instruction or hits in response to something she doesn’t like.

Does everyone not feel like that? E seems to think the answer is no. And she is wise.

It’s then that I relate the story of The Mom Who Saved My Sanity Sunday.

source: mhaithaca

Sunday after church we went to Moe’s for lunch. If you don’t know, Moe’s is a restaurant known for burritos, where you wait in line to get to the counter and then instruct those behind the glass on how to fashion your burrito or nachos or tacos.

We probably waited 20 minutes before we even approached the counter. Behind us in line was a mother with her two kids, also an older girl and younger boy. They were around 8 and 5. While we waited, the kids flirted with eye contact and giggles. We made a little chit-chat.

By the time we reached the counter, David was done. He did not want to be held or put down. He wanted to wail. Over his cries, I gave my order. Surely he’d be happy once he was sitting down and eating.

But he wasn’t. Sunday, we were THOSE people. The ones with a baby screaming bloody murder in a restaurant, who are trying every song and dance they can think of to calm the child down to no avail. David was simply inconsolable. After five or ten minutes of dirty looks and intolerable wailing, we packed up our food and dashed to the car.

But as I was leaving, obviously ruffled and near tears, the woman who had been behind us in line looked me straight in the eye and told me, “You are doing a great job. It gets easier.”

Such simple words, but they meant the world to me. It was a pertinent reminder that my kid’s behavior does not always reflect my parenting–sometimes they are simply acting their age, or are overtired, or just in a funk.

Thank you, Lady in Moe’s. You sincerely touched my heart and made my day better. Instead of fretting over how many people’s lunches we had ruined, I took a deep breath, loaded kids in the car, and thought, “I am doing a great job. It gets easier.”

In my ripe old age, I’ve started to upgrade my kitchen tools a little bit. Sure, that cheap muffin tin that came with a set of 14 other bakeware items for $15.99 in 2004 still works … as long as it’s lined with papers. If I don’t have any muffin liners, I might have to pry out muffins with a butter knife and pray they don’t fall apart.

For Christmas, my mother-in-law bought me some awesome silicone muffin pans. I have a 12-cup regular muffin pan, a 24-cup mini-muffin one, and a 6-cup heart-shaped pan.

I am continually amazed at just how easy it is to pop muffins and other baked goods out of these babies. Cereal bar cookies? No problem at all in the silicone pan, but would not come out of my regular ones at all.

Another tool I didn’t own until more recently was a cookie scoop. I’ve had a medium-sized scoop for a few years and for Christmas got a larger scoop.

They are amazing! They make cookies the same size! No messing with two spoons and trying not to lick my fingers! It’s incredible.

The large scoop also makes perfect-sized muffins. Which brings us to these Double Chocolate Zucchini Spice Muffins.

I posted my mother-in-law’s version of these muffins a few years ago. I wanted to jazz it up a bit, though, which I did with MORE chocolate, more fat, and some almond extract. (You know, Jessie style!)

You’ll have to make more than one batch to use up all that extra zucchini from your garden. But these will freeze great for future breakfasts. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Spice Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder (or regular is fine)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium zucchini, shredded
1/2 cup milk (any kind is fine – I used coconut milk)
4 T butter, melted (or oil)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup mini or regular chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl, combine shredded zucchini, milk, butter, egg, and almond extract and stir well. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Baked for about 23-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in middle of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

Libbie wanted a picture of her breakfast, too!

In light of yesterday’s very interesting cooking experience, I thought it was high time for another installment in this series!

If you follow me on Facebook, you might have laughed alongside me as I sat scared of the absolutely enormous mass of bread dough rising in my kitchen … and then at this loaf that obviously should have been two loaves.

That bread recipe was Oatmeal Sandwich Bread from Bee’s Knees Recipes. I did everything exactly as written, but ended up having to add quite a bit more flour to get an elastic dough. (Probably 2 cups more.) The recipe said to form 3 loaves, which I did. And it left me with 2 normal loaves and this GINORMOUS loaf. Obviously, I should have made 4 loaves. So if you think one loaf is too big … do as I say, not as I do. Make 4. The bread itself is really yummy, but I wouldn’t classify it as sandwich bread. It’s still too falling-apart for me to make sandwiches with. Maybe I shouldn’t have let it rise so much? Who knows.

Cinnamon Roll Bread in 30 Minutes – I was up early Saturday morning, and decided to knock out breakfast before the kids even woke up. I was thinking about JessieLeigh’s similar Deconstructed Pain au Chocolat, but it felt too decadent to have chocolate for breakfast. This cinnamon roll bread probably has at least as much sugar … but it feels more breakfasty.

It’s rare that I find something every member of my family will eat, but this did the deal! My husband gobbled up about half of it, and the kids both ate their fair share. In all honesty, it was a little sweet for me – I could probably do with about half of the streusel mixture. But Mr. V said it was perfect, so I’d leave the recipe the way it was!

Strawberry Dream Cake – For Mother’s Day, I decided to make myself a strawberry cake. I looked, and most of the recipes I found used strawberry cake mix, or jell-o, or cool whip. Not my favorite things. This recipe is made from scratch, including a VERY cream cheesy frosting. The most difficult part was putting the strawberries through a sieve to separate the liquids and pulp. The liquids are used in the cake batter and the pulp in the frosting. It was delicious! Mr. V didn’t like the frosting; it still tastes very much of cream cheese and is not terribly sweet. So if you’re not a big cream cheese fan, I would cut the amount down to 6-8 ounces. It will still turn out fine.

Lemon Garlic Tuna Burgers – I’ve made these tuna burgers several times. They are SO easy since you use canned tuna, but taste fresh because of the lemon juice and sour cream. Perfect for lunch on an English muffin. My picky toddler will even eat one, so I deem that a great success!

What’s the best recipe you’ve tried lately?

This week has felt SO long to me. Anyone else? And in other news, I have one week of my 20s left. Any wild and crazy things I should have done by now? (I have never sky-dived, gotten a tattoo, been drunk, hitchhiked, or even skied. And have no real desire to do any of those things!)

Here are the best things I read this week. Don’t forget to link your own linky love posts up this week!

• How to Conquer Your Fear at Getting Down with Jesus
• “I would have liked the other one better!” How Too Much Choice Affects Our Kids at Simple Kids
• The Mediterranean Secret to Phenomenal Vegetables at Keeper of the Home
• 5 Classic Novels for Your Preteen Readers at CentriKid Blog – A guest post I wrote for them!
• YUM of the week: Rosemary Brie Chicken Burgers at Pass the Sushi

So, what did you read that was great this week? Link up here. You can grab the code for the button in the sidebar, if you want. Please link back to Vanderbilt Wife and add the PERMALINK to your post, not your home page.

source: charlesfred

The end of the school year can be heard around campus, muffled by high-school giggles and stern teachers’ voices, insisting that there is still work to be done.

The indicators are everywhere. The seniors aren’t wearing uniforms. Signs line the patch of grass in front of the guard shack announcing concerts, awards ceremonies, uniform returns. The way you hear “only __ left” as you wonder outside toward your car and recall the last weeks of your own high school experience—12 years ago now.

We’ve made it through almost an entire school year here on campus. I have yet to find a routine cleaning our tiny apartment and we’re on the brink of moving to a new one (adding an extra bedroom and bathroom, and a parking space that isn’t a fifth of a mile from our home). I’m both ecstatic about moving and dreading the change of routine that comes with summer along with the change of location; with two little ones, change is a four-letter word. Acclimation does not come easily.

But I look and hope for another fresh start. Another chance to start out cleaner and neater and healthier. Has my life been anything but fresh starts for the last 8 years?  Have I taken advantage of any of them?

I pray and beg and exercise for 10 minutes and look at the rings on my finger that have led me to join with a man and move with him. This will be the fifth home we’ve had in eight years of marriage. Five!

Seniors sing of new beginnings and jeans and dorm rooms. I consider a bed that is truly our own—that I don’t have to share with toddlers unless I want to—and a bathroom that my child has no reason to use or be in. Of cleansing and simplicity and painted walls and butterflies and dinosaurs.

I say amen to the fact that “Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning” (Lamentations 3:33, NLT). Every morning, a fresh start. A new breath. Whether you’re 18 or 30, 8 or 98, they are always new and waiting.

It’s about time I grasped ahold of that fact.

source: pete_pick

Joseph, eleventh of Jacob’s twelve sons, did not have an easy life.

You can read about it in the second half of Genesis, if you want. I’ve always found his story fascinating—OK, especially after seeing a high-school production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat when I was 14 … and most of the brothers were pretty hunky.

Joseph was hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, spent years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, and lived in a country foreign to him for most of his life.

Despite all of this, Joseph came to glory and power: because of his God-given gift of interpreting dreams, Joseph saved Egypt from being destroyed through famine. And during this famine, he was able to wholeheartedly forgive his brothers for their part in his pain. 

I imagine the seven years of plenty in Egypt were pretty crazy for Joseph. Maybe some wondered if the famine would really come, as Joseph insisted on cramming the storehouses full of grain and goods. But he had Pharaoh’s backing … which in Egypt, meant he had it all. He married. And then he named his first son Manasseh.

Manasseh means “forgetting.” (It’s actually the same word used when Paul says “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead …” [Phil. 3:13].) In these years of plenty, of new marriage and Pharaoh’s adoration, Joseph was able to say he forgot his past. Not literally, of course, but after years of turmoil he could put it behind him and go on without resentment.

Joseph went on to have a second son, Ephraim. Ephraim’s name means “fruitful.” Born during the plenty years, Ephraim was certainly an appropriate designation for the boy.

Then came the years of famine.

Only because of Joseph’s God were the Egyptians spared from what might have been obliteration. Seven years is a long, LONG famine. Can you imagine? I am sure Joseph looked around at those people, many of whom he was likely friends with or related to, and sighed a giant sigh of relief. All those years of pain saved a nation.

The International Bible Lesson Commentary says, “He has seen the suffering that God has prevented through him, and he knows that this suffering that God has prevented through him far outweighs any suffering he has ever experienced.”

Even though Joseph claimed through his son’s name to have forgotten Israel, I think if his brothers had shown up during the years of plenty, Joseph might have thrown them out. He was too close to the pain. The brothers’ faces that laughed at him as they tossed him into a pit still taunted his dreams, maybe. Ironically, Manasseh is a Hebrew name, while Ephraim is a much more Egyptian moniker. In a way, he still held tightly to Canaan and his hurt while claiming to forget those years.

Through famine, Joseph truly knew God’s greatness and His plan for Joseph’s life.

How many of us can say the same? If you’ve been around here for awhile, you know we’ve had our own famine years recently, ending (sort of) with the foreclosure of our Nashville home. Nearly three years of pain regarding jobs, homes, and our finances. Begging God to let me understand why He wasn’t working.

Not working? Hardly.

I am who I am because of the famine years. I understand so much more what it means to rely on God and lean on His promises. We, like Paul, know how to live with little. I found that my biggest transformation was my disregard for our “stuff.” I could pick up and leave with just my husband and children and be content. I’d like to have our pictures, but there is no “stuff” I don’t think I could live without.

In no way do I feel healed yet from the pain of these years. But I think one day I’ll be able to thank God for them and mean it.

In Genesis 50, Jopeph’s brothers are still scared he might be resentful after their father has passed on. But Joseph tells them, “Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it. This was to keep many people alive, as he is doing now” (v. 20, God’s Word Translation). Can I even hope that God might use me to keep someone alive, physically or spiritually, because of my struggle? What an honor that would be.

Have you had famine years in your life? What did you learn?

The portrait of stay-at-home-momhood has always been eating bon bons and watching soap operas.

I won’t say that my mother fit this to a T in the 80s and early 90s, but she did watch All My Children. She also kept the house clean, cooked, and played with me and my sister all the time. The more I reflect and the older I get, the more I realize that I had a rocking, blissful childhood.

But she did watch soap operas.

So did most women in that time, especially those who stayed at home. I think the women of my generation often find ourselves high and mighty, thinking we would never be enthralled with something as silly as a television show where one week can span years and characters come back from the dead more often than they marry, which is saying a lot.

But I think we’ve found our new soap operas in the Internet and blogging.

Oh, blogging. It can be its own soap opera, can’t it? Will you share your kids’ names? Will you link back? Are you a vegetarian, breastfeeding, cloth-diapering, non-vaccining mama … or THE DEVIL?? (I kid. I also vaccinate.)

Are you wrong to advertise? Wrong to not charge for giveaways? Wrong for posting pictures of yourself or your kids? Wrong for speaking about God? Wrong for using a pudding mix occasionally?

It seems like it’s another way to cause contention. It’s another obsession. Another thing you’re drawn to as soon as your kids are asleep in the bedroom, another reason to hold up your hand and say, “five more minutes,” another interruption to a healthy sleep schedule.

I feel we’ve moved from soap operas and bon bons to blogging and Pinterest-worthy cupcakes.

I’ve felt very unbalanced lately, to the point where it’s keeping me up at night. I know I want a quieter, less technology-laden life. I hate the Internet addiction; and yet, it’s part of our livelihood: I make money writing articles, blogging, and managing ParentLife Online.

It’s extremely difficult to separate work and enjoyment, however, when they all live inside the computer.

I’m reading Organized Simplicity on my Kindle, evaluating our “stuff,” and determining how I can fit work into blocks of time that don’t take attention away from my kids. I’m remembering the habits and joys that used to be a bigger part of my life: crochet, reading books.

Above all, I want to crave God, not blogs, or Twitter, or anything else.

Soap operas or blogging, addictions are not healthy. I want to enter my 30s seeking a healthier, holier life.

Join me for the ride, won’t you?