Days Like Today...

...Make me not want children, LOL. Everyone asks me if my job is good birth control and honestly it's usually not. My 2's are so loving and huggable and I love their laughter and smiles... Makes my ovaries hurt just thinking about how much I want to be a mom. But then I have days like today. I imagine the same thing happens once you're actually a parent, though; you're like "why did I have kids?"

We have a new girl in our class who doesn't speak a lick of English and has never been in daycare before. All of this equals a clingy, screaming child. Dad left her there for the whole day which meant nap time was AWFUL because I had to keep her quiet while the rest of the kids napped because she wouldn't friggin' lie down and sleep.

I was so frustrated all day, especially because I felt like the office wasn't listening to my concerns about her. And my favorite challenge kiddo, K, hit me in the face. Good times, lemme tell ya.

On the lighter side, I love the rest of my kids almost all the time. On Monday when I was in the room next door, one of our kids who is potty trained as far as "number 1" goes still poops her pants. EVERY afternoon, but never at the same time so we can be sure to sit her ont he potty. Well she pooped in her pants on Monday and Katie went through the usual, "Where do you go poop? And where DID you go poop?" Well, her answer ot the latter was NOT "in my underwear" like she usually says. Instead she said, "In library by the books." WHAT?! I didn't want to know where you were WHILE you were poopin'. Ha ha.

And that same challenge child, K, was outside and tripped, falling back onto her butt. She got right back up and said, "It's okay... I bounced."

And because blog posts are never complete without photos, apparently, here is a shot of some of my kids picking flowers.

Tonight's Dinner

So last night I was trying to think of what to cook for dinner. I am NOT adventurous and have little experience with cooking anything that isn't out of a box, so I can't just say, "Oh we have X, Y, and Z... Let's make A!" Nope, doesn't work that way. As a result, J and I eat a LOT of pasta, taco salad, and baked chicken. Said baked chicken is usually marinated in Italian dressing (we tried a lemon pepper marinade once and it bubble over the sides of the pan I was using and I had to scrape it off the next day because my oven would smoke when I turned it on). Or we grill it, either with Italian dressing or BBQ sauce.

Last night I knew I wanted to try SOMETHING a little different. We have no pork or beef, so it chicken it was... but WHAT? HOW? I logged on to allrecipes.com and typed in chicken and slow cooker and, of course a bajillion recipes came up, but then I found this one:

Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue

Best of all? I already had EVERY SINGLE ingredient (which doesn't happen often in my hosue because, like I said, I'm not a cook). So I hoped and prayed that J would put the chicken I pulled out and the sauce I made into the crock pot before leaving for work, and that my crock pot wouldn't burn it before I got home.

Verdict: Amazing. Incredibly simple, and completely delicious. This will probably become a staple in our menu. I love the feeling of success I have now that I've taken that first leap and made something off of the internet. Because, honestly? It's not liek I burn water or anything, but I'm so uneasy about cooking in general that it freaks me out if I'm not using a box or something from a jar. OR popping something in the oven out of the freezer. But I'm sure to cook much more often now that A) My first foray has been successful, and B) I almost have all of my weeknights back.

Resolution #4

Remember my New Year's Resolutions? Remember the list of books I said I would read? I am halfway failing at this resolution, but only because I haven't touched any of the books on my list. I have, however, read 2 books on faith that I know will help my in my role as a youth minister.

Your Own Jesus: A God Insistent on Making it Personal
This one was written by Casting Crowns' front man Mark Hall. He begins the book by telling of a time when he wanted to take his own life because of a breakup with a girl he thought he would marry -- in high school. He talks about how he knew who Jesus and God were -- he had, after all, been baptized at 7 -- but he didn't KNOW them. In college was when he really started living life with a real relationship with God. The whole book is full of stories relating back to this point. We can talk about God and Jesus all we want, but until we really own our relationship with Him, until we truly seek Him and His will for us, it's not REAL. This book was awesome. It's easy to read while still having substance.

Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit
This is Francis Chan's second book, after the huge hit "Crazy Love." I haven't read Crazy Love yet because he tells the read to do a lot of stuff on the computer and since I read at work while the kids are napping I can't exactly do that. Anyway, in this book, Chan addresses the discrepancy that is taking over the church: we aren't living as if the Spirit is in us. Chan writes in a way that is engaging and convicting, pointing out that many Christians' lives don't look that much different from nonbelievers because of this reason -- we aren't letting the Holy Spirit move in us. Great book with a great message!

I'll try and write a little more about each of these at a later date. I'm currently reading The Screwtape Letters for a second time. I was in high school the first time I read it and I'm getting a lot more out of it now that I'm older and more mature in my faith. I love how C.S. Lewis writes from the POV of demons. If you haven't heard of or read the book, it's a series of "letters" written by Screwtape, an elder demon, to his nephew Wormwood, on how to be an effective tempter to his "patient." Lewis is basically saying, "Be careful because this is how it gets to you, watch out!" But when told like this, I definitely pay attention better. I leave you with an excerpt from it (remember the POV from which it it told):

We want cattle who can finally be food; He wants servants who fan finally become sons. We want to suck in; He wants to give out. We are empty and would be filled; He is full and flows over.