There and back again.

Yeah, so we're crazy.

On Thursday morning, our plane flew out of Omaha at 6:20 am and we made our way to visit Thang's parents in Erie, PA. So thankful we have a good sleeper who woke up bright-eyed at 5 am on Thursday morning and slept or watched curiously out the window of the plane for most of our journey. We got to Erie about 3 pm, only to wake up Friday morning to take a road trip to DC to visit Thang's brother - about an 8-hour drive. With a 1 year old.

Yes, again, we are crazy.

I sat in the backseat with her singing every kid's song I knew - itsy-bitsy spider, pat-a-cake, played peek-a-boo 500 times and realized after 6 hours that if I laid my head back with my eyes closed, Nora would follow suit and fell asleep for a 2 hour nap. Phew.

We spent Saturday hitting a few spots on the mall in DC. Thang and I have both been there several times before, so we decided we would ONLY spend a few hours there hitting a couple museums and the new WWII Memorial. Of course, a FEW hours turned into 6. We toured some exhibits at the Natural History and American History museums and made it to the memorial at the heat of the day.

Waiting for the Metro with friends Hoang, Khanh and Thang's brother, Thien.

Catching some zzzzz's while Mommy and Daddy check out the Ruby slippers at the American History museum. 20 minutes was all she slept the entire day!

Hot and sweaty family pic in front of the Washington monument.

Big smooch from Ba at the World War II Memorial after a dip in the pool (hence the wet pants). The memorial was definitely worth the trip - beautifully and poignantly done.

Saturday night our hosts took us all out for Korean food - mommy and Nora tried Kimchi for the first time, very yummy! Sunday we picked up Vietnamese pastries and drove the 8 hours back to Erie. Again, Nora was way more patient than I would ever expect from a 1 year old - in fact, I think Mommy was getting more antsy and whiny than she was! : )

We are now in Erie and staying put until we return to Omaha next week. Hoping the weather will be warm enough to spend some time at the beach along Lake Erie, do some fishing, take a bike ride and relax...

Happy homemaking.

In December I resigned from my job as a city planner to come home to raise our daughter full-time. I can't tell you how much joy this has brought me and how grateful I am for this season. Being home has reduced the stress in our family, big time, has allowed me to experience so many of Nora's firsts that I would have missed out on and has given me the time to explore some ways to make income from home (more on that to come). However, while I wouldn't change my life for anything, being home all day, being your own boss and having a to-do list that never seems to end can be overwhelming.

Below is a repost from a blog I have been following for sometime. It has been SO HELPFUL to me in figuring out my daily priorities and to help create a peaceful and joyful home, although I have a loooong way to go. But in the words of a wise man, "baby steps, baby steps...".

Here's a summary of Lindsay's "Tips for Maintaining a Simple Home":

1. Keep your relationship with the Lord first and rise early.

May the Joy of the Lord be your strength! (Nehemiah 8:9-12).

Eliminate physical clutter. More importantly, eliminate spiritual clutter. ~D.H. Mondfleur

2. Keep your priorities in the right place. Maintain regular date nights & family nights.

This helps keeps priorities in the right place. Relationships are first! When I keep this in balance, by Gods grace, everything else falls into place.

3. Take time to rest.

Acknowledge Sunday as the Lord’s appointed day of rest. Take time to be a family and enjoy each other’s company! If you can take regular prayer retreats to just get away for a few hours, or a whole day, it does wonders for maintaining a God-centered perspective in your calling.

4. Maintain a right perspective of the home.

What is the purpose of your home? My purpose is to maintain a peaceful restful home. I want it to be a haven for my family and those I welcome in hospitality. This provides me good Biblical motivation to keep it maintained in an orderly fashion. Simplifying allows for more time to focus on relationships with your family and others.

A good home must be made, not bought.
Joyce Maynard

5. Have an annual/bi-annual re-haul of your home.

When my home is organized and simple, there is peace. My goal is to have a place for everything and everything in its place as much as possible. More stuff means more things to maintain, clean, organize, break and replace! At the beginning of every year, I progressively work through each room in our home and thoroughly de-clutter. Be thorough! Be aggressive! Once you do this, each following year becomes easier!

6. Complete a daily to-do list (but keep it flexible!).

Every night before I retire, I try to compile a brief list of tasks for the next day. This helps me plan in advance and get a good start on the next day. Writing it down helps me sleep better! My list is never more than five items in length. Keep it manageable, especially if you have children around.

7. Hold a weekly family planning meeting.

This was a habit developed when I was growing up. Every Sunday evening, our family would gather in the living room to discuss our schedules for the weeks, transportation needs, etc. Now, we and I take a few moments each Sunday evening and sync our schedules for the week. Helps keep us organized and communicating well.

8. Develop Morning & Evening routines.

Having a simple list of morning responsibilities helps kick start the day. My list includes: Prepare breakfast, think ahead and make dinner preparations, fill up water bottle, clean kitchen, etc. After dinner I complete the following tasks: clean up kitchen, quick house pick up, make quick meal preparations for the next day (pull out anything from the freezer, soak something, etc), and finally make a to-do list for the next day.

9. Make a regular schedule for cleaning/house maintenance.

How can you peacefully maintain housecleaning? Map out a simple schedule for your home maintenance. One load of laundry a day, bathrooms on Tuesday, Kitchen on Wednesday, or whatever method suits you. Write it out and place it in a visible spot that you view most frequently.

10. Work quickly.

It seems basic but it is important to set your mind to a task and stick to it! Whatever you hand finds to do, do it with all your might! (Eccl. 9:10)

11. Conquer your distraction.

We all have them. Too much of anything can be a bad thing. Too much computer, phone, email or even reading. My weakness is too much computer time and God graciously is working on me by removing my computer all together. Ephesians 5:16 says, “Make the most of your time for the days are evil.”

12. Make a simple schedule for your days activities.

Having a simple schedule is very beneficial but not completely necessary. Rather than mapping out hour by hour how your day will transpire, work around a model of “themes” focuses for each day of the week. This gives more freedom to not get overly consumed with my to-do list as it is much more simplified.

For example:

Mondays: Organizing for the week, Finish laundry (if necessary)
Wednesdays: Housecleaning
Thursdays: Baking Day.
Fridays: Errands.
Saturdays: Laundry day.

I hope this is helpful. I know it has been a great list to revisit when life seems out of balance or when I'm taking on more than God has given me the grace to do. Happy homemaking!

Risotto -TDF!

I've been trying to be resourceful and use up some stockpiled foods we have in our pantry. I browsed Allrecipes.com and came up with this delish dish and thought I would share. However, I think I will probably save it for the winter months as it does take some time on the stovetop which is no fun on a 90 degree day! If you want to print the recipe out in a 3x5 card format, click here.

Risotto with Tomato, Corn and Basil

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• 3 tablespoons white wine
• 1 medium tomato - peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 1/3 cups fresh corn kernels
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (instead of adding grated parmesan, I added the "butt" of a parmesan cheese wedge, which infused it with yummy flavor)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips (I didn't have any fresh basil, so skipped this and it still tasted great!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the water and milk in a medium size pot or saucepan, heat the water and milk to a simmer. Keep the pan over low heat.
2. Melt the butter in a large casserole or skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and the rice, stir constantly for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir until completely absorbed.
3. Begin to add the heated milk-water mixture 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently. Wait until each addition is almost completely absorbed before adding the next. When the rice has cooked for 15 minutes and most of the liquid has been incorporated, add the corn kernels and tomatoes along with the end of the milk-water mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender but still slightly chewy.
4. The risotto should take 18 to 20 minutes of cooking all together. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, most of the basil, and the salt and pepper. Spoon the risotto immediately onto plates, top with the remaining basil strands, and serve.

The Birthday Girl.

Since I've been thinking about starting a blog for well over a year, I've also been ruminating on about a gazillion posts I would like to write. Now that I've actually started a blog, of course, I have writer's block! So, as I work on some inspiration, here are some more cute kid pics of Nora's birthday weekend festivities!

We had Aunt Jenny and cousins Teagan and Ruby over for a swim. Nora could just touch the bottom and was pushing off and gliding across the pool like she'd been born to swim. So fun to see!

4th of July - I think this is one of my all-time favorite pics of her!

Mommy's first official attempt at cake decorating.

Started out eating quite daintily...

...but eventually figured out that sugar is YUMMY!

...and ended with a hose-down in the sink!

When you need a little levity...

I couldn't help myself but post this link. My favorites were posted on July 6th and July 8th, can you guess which ones? Enjoy!

What a difference a year makes...

Just a year ago, I was a bleary-eyed, brand-new mom, stumbling through my days and nights with a tiny infant in my arms. Last week we celebrated Miss Nora's 1st birthday! It is AMAZING how much she has grown and changed from that teeny, wriggly newborn to a beautiful, joyful toddler, so full of life. I remember the moment she was born, as they laid her on my tummy, thinking "Hello there, Little One. Nice to meet you! Who ARE you?!"

So who is this Nora? I know all moms want to brag, but we truly believe she is a gentle, sweet, laid-back, big-hearted little girl who we can't wait to continue to get to know and help mold and form into a wonderful, godly woman. Here are a few pics from this past year (just can't help myself!)...

I think this is the angriest she's ever been!

1 day old

The smile that lights up our hearts!

Chub!

So cool

Our Little Lady with her *HANDSOME* Ba

Gotta love this girl!!!