hold onto your britches.
I do have a W.U.W. post coming today; I'll have it uploaded by noon. That's it for our daily announcements.
i just love my job.
I have been struggling lately with the weight of life. Homeschooling is a lot right now. Juggling seven kids is a lot. (Derr, I know that sounds like a dumb thing to say.) I have been getting overwhelmed and discouraged. And then last night, I was going through photos from our vacation this summer, and stumbled across these gems that put life back into perspective.
I love taking care of these people of mine. I love spending my days with them. Sure, it gets hard sometimes, but that just indicates the amount of sweat equity they're worth. My goal is not to have an easy life, but a great life. I'm grateful that the difficulties are simply indicators that I'm not settling for easy. It does get hard sometimes, but I'm deeply happy.
I love taking care of these people of mine. I love spending my days with them. Sure, it gets hard sometimes, but that just indicates the amount of sweat equity they're worth. My goal is not to have an easy life, but a great life. I'm grateful that the difficulties are simply indicators that I'm not settling for easy. It does get hard sometimes, but I'm deeply happy.
fa-la-la, la-la-la, blah blah blah.
Well, it seems the Christmas Spirit has alighted on yours truly and things are finally getting into the swing of Advent! It's about time, now that Advent is nearly half over. (HOW.)
On Saturday night, we loaded the kids up into the Kraken and headed to Lowes to pick out our tree! I know it's silly, but I spend time in prayer every year before this trip. I want to find a good tree, and if we end up with a not good tree, I don't want to act like a baby like I did that one year that we ended up with Little Billy, Jr., the world's tiniest Christmas tree. (It seems like picking out a tree shouldn't be such a gamble, but it's often hard to see a tree's full character when it's cold out and all the branches are huddled tight against the trunk. Once you get it inside and it relaxes a bit, it often looks at least a little different than what you were expecting. So I get nervous.)
We perused the aisles at Lowes for a bit, and landed on a tree we all seemed to like, and that seemed like it would fit in our family room. This year, I decided to try putting the tree in our basement family room, since our main floor living room is already pretty tight quarters and in years past, the tree has really obstructed the main pathway from the front door. But the ceiling down there is lower than upstairs, so I needed to make sure I was judging the height of the tree accurately.
Once we had committed to our family room tree, I also found a little mini tree for our living room. I fully recognize the irony of purchasing a tiny tree on purpose after holding a grudge against Little Billy, Jr. for all these years. You don't have to rub my nose in it.
You know what I just love about the Kraken (besides everything)? The fact that we can fit a seven-foot tall Christmas tree right in the trunk.
When we got home, I got it all situated in the stand in the basement, and while Todd and the big kids were at church yesterday morning, I got the lights on it. (I stayed home with the littlest kids to keep working with Callista on potty training.) After lunch, we put on Christmas music and hung ornaments.
Rocco loved getting to hang his ornaments on his own, and though the broken arm kind of slowed him down a bit, it couldn't steal his cheerfulness.
Pepper, on the other hand... well, all kinds of things were stealing her cheerfulness, not least among which was the duty of being awake.
Ohp, I guess I spoke too soon. Something was able to steal Rocco's cheerfulness, but it was not exactly clear to anyone besides Rocco what the problem was. Being a preschooler is hard.
But I am cheerful at the moment, because the tree is up and decorated, and the Christmas season seems to have fully launched. I would like to get our mini tree decorated - I had the idea to put all of Todd's and my ornaments on that one, but seeing as how most of our ornaments are of the ridiculous or breakable sort, I'm not sure putting them all right at Pepper-Level is the best idea. If I haven't learned that much after eleven years of parenting crawling-babies-around-Christmas-trees, what have I learned, really?
Anyway. Onward and upward into Advent, friends!
On Saturday night, we loaded the kids up into the Kraken and headed to Lowes to pick out our tree! I know it's silly, but I spend time in prayer every year before this trip. I want to find a good tree, and if we end up with a not good tree, I don't want to act like a baby like I did that one year that we ended up with Little Billy, Jr., the world's tiniest Christmas tree. (It seems like picking out a tree shouldn't be such a gamble, but it's often hard to see a tree's full character when it's cold out and all the branches are huddled tight against the trunk. Once you get it inside and it relaxes a bit, it often looks at least a little different than what you were expecting. So I get nervous.)
We perused the aisles at Lowes for a bit, and landed on a tree we all seemed to like, and that seemed like it would fit in our family room. This year, I decided to try putting the tree in our basement family room, since our main floor living room is already pretty tight quarters and in years past, the tree has really obstructed the main pathway from the front door. But the ceiling down there is lower than upstairs, so I needed to make sure I was judging the height of the tree accurately.
Todd Conquers Tree.
Van Voorsts Ogle Awkward Tree-Cutting Employee.
Once we had committed to our family room tree, I also found a little mini tree for our living room. I fully recognize the irony of purchasing a tiny tree on purpose after holding a grudge against Little Billy, Jr. for all these years. You don't have to rub my nose in it.
You know what I just love about the Kraken (besides everything)? The fact that we can fit a seven-foot tall Christmas tree right in the trunk.
When we got home, I got it all situated in the stand in the basement, and while Todd and the big kids were at church yesterday morning, I got the lights on it. (I stayed home with the littlest kids to keep working with Callista on potty training.) After lunch, we put on Christmas music and hung ornaments.
Ornament hanging always produces a flurry of activity.
I keep things as simple as possible by keeping each kid's ornaments in separate boxes, and setting up camp on the couch, where they can bring their ornaments for hooks.
This was Rocco's first year of full-on participation!
Rocco loved getting to hang his ornaments on his own, and though the broken arm kind of slowed him down a bit, it couldn't steal his cheerfulness.
Pepper, on the other hand... well, all kinds of things were stealing her cheerfulness, not least among which was the duty of being awake.
Ohp, I guess I spoke too soon. Something was able to steal Rocco's cheerfulness, but it was not exactly clear to anyone besides Rocco what the problem was. Being a preschooler is hard.
But I am cheerful at the moment, because the tree is up and decorated, and the Christmas season seems to have fully launched. I would like to get our mini tree decorated - I had the idea to put all of Todd's and my ornaments on that one, but seeing as how most of our ornaments are of the ridiculous or breakable sort, I'm not sure putting them all right at Pepper-Level is the best idea. If I haven't learned that much after eleven years of parenting crawling-babies-around-Christmas-trees, what have I learned, really?
Anyway. Onward and upward into Advent, friends!
Little Billy, Jr. graced our presence in 2013. It appears we don't have a stump ring for him, but that's only because the ring is so tiny it's hidden between 2012 and 2014.
what's up weekly.
Is it weird to anyone else that it's full-on Advent already? Having Thanksgiving so late this year has really thrown me off. We have done a few little Adventy things, but I still am not mentally in the game! As my mom would say, I need to get my poop in a group.
Well, that's about to change, as today is St. Nicholas Day and I was given the push to actually pull out our wooden shoes to set out for Sinterklaas. (Who, spoiler alert, IS ME!) So today the kids will be waking up to shoes full of decked out Santa chocolates (they have bishop hats! And little staffs!) and gold coins and Dutch letters, and Sinterklaas is leaving Yours Truly a big bag of Dutch coffee.
I am so very, very glad I married Dutch so that Christmas can start early.
Since I've already started with today, how about I continue to work my way backwards through the week? Unconventional, I know, and potentially more confusing than it's worth, but what the heck. Let's give it a go.
Yesterday was Atticus' eleventh birthday! We celebrated by eating his requested meals through the day: blackberry oatmeal for breakfast, brats and bbq potato chips for lunch, and Mexican restaurant tacos for dinner.
Yesterday also marked the day Callista started potty training, and she did so incredibly well. No accidents, and a couple of successes. She's still not super comfortable peeing in the potty, so she was basically holding it all morning, but still - that's a sure sign of pending success. While it went very smoothly, all things considered (nothing like when I tried training Penelope for the first time and slipped in puddled urine and bruised my tailbone and called my friend Kristy while crying and covered in pee), it was still exhausting keeping her corralled near the bathroom all day, especially while trying to do extra daytime cooking for Atticus. By last night, I was completely spent. I was inexpressibly grateful to a friend who sent a coffee over!
I continued to work on painting the shiplap yesterday. I had no idea when I started this "project" that shiplapping is less of a project than it is a permanent lifestyle choice. It is taking for. stinking. ever. It doesn't help that I typically have only an hour or two to work with each afternoon when the little kids are down for nap, and I have to pull all my tools and supplies out and put them all away within that time frame as well, so progress is made in only small windows of time. It has been two weeks of daily work, and I still feel so far from done. The goal is to get it done by tomorrow, though - and then Sunday's rest will be so, so appreciated!
...Okay, Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday is where this whole "reverse news" thing breaks down. Whoops. But I'm too far in to totally overhaul the system now, so we're just going to make things more confusing and do those days in their actual order. (Just go with me.) Monday was the night Rocco made his fated jump from the top bunk and hurt his arm. Callista also fell and gashed her head on the coffee table. It was a rough night for everyone.
Tuesday morning, Callista just wanted to lay on the ice pack for a while, so she hunkered down for some couchside meal service.
My friend Rachel came in the afternoon to watch the other kids so I could take Rocco in for X-rays. Wednesday, Meghan and Josiah watched them all so that I could take him to get it casted. He did an amazing job of staying his cheerful self through all of it.
Wednesday night, we headed out to pick up pizza, get panties for Callista so she could start potty training the next day, and pick out our Christmas tree. We got two of those three things done. WHY ARE THERE NO CHRISTMAS TREES ANYWHERE NORMAL? I know for a fact HyVee used to have them, as did Walmart, if I remember correctly. Not anymore, and we didn't have time to drive across town to Lowes. Now that Lissy is housebound with potty training for the next few days, the plan is to go on Monday. See? Advent is being super weird. Hopefully they still have trees by then.
Okay, now back to our previously attempted reverse countdown: Sunday, we drove home from Iowa, as we had spent Thanksgiving up there.
Saturday, Atticus had his birthday party. He got a drone from my sister and her husband, and about three minutes into flying it outside, he lost control of it, and he and my mom spent the next hour looking for it! We like to keep things memorable. (And yes, they did find it!)
AND THAT BRINGS US TO FRIDAY! The kids did some crafty projects with my mom, and Todd and I braved the mall on Black Friday to get Juniper's ears pierced!
Whew. How's that for tons and tons of news? I'll admit, this whole week has felt like a race to the finish. I am worn out, beat down, and just plain exhausted. On Monday, we will be jumping back in to two weeks of school before Christmas break. I hope to have learned my lesson from overscheduling this break, and will allow the upcoming stretch of downtime to be actually restful. But it looks like I will probably still be shiplapping my basement by then, and forevermore, so probably not.
Well, that's about to change, as today is St. Nicholas Day and I was given the push to actually pull out our wooden shoes to set out for Sinterklaas. (Who, spoiler alert, IS ME!) So today the kids will be waking up to shoes full of decked out Santa chocolates (they have bishop hats! And little staffs!) and gold coins and Dutch letters, and Sinterklaas is leaving Yours Truly a big bag of Dutch coffee.
I am so very, very glad I married Dutch so that Christmas can start early.
Rocco fashioned this gas mask so he didn't have to smell Callista's poop. Resourceful. Also, I want one.
Since I've already started with today, how about I continue to work my way backwards through the week? Unconventional, I know, and potentially more confusing than it's worth, but what the heck. Let's give it a go.
Yesterday was Atticus' eleventh birthday! We celebrated by eating his requested meals through the day: blackberry oatmeal for breakfast, brats and bbq potato chips for lunch, and Mexican restaurant tacos for dinner.
Yesterday also marked the day Callista started potty training, and she did so incredibly well. No accidents, and a couple of successes. She's still not super comfortable peeing in the potty, so she was basically holding it all morning, but still - that's a sure sign of pending success. While it went very smoothly, all things considered (nothing like when I tried training Penelope for the first time and slipped in puddled urine and bruised my tailbone and called my friend Kristy while crying and covered in pee), it was still exhausting keeping her corralled near the bathroom all day, especially while trying to do extra daytime cooking for Atticus. By last night, I was completely spent. I was inexpressibly grateful to a friend who sent a coffee over!
He was there to lend her moral support. He also lent her his weirdest facial expression.
I continued to work on painting the shiplap yesterday. I had no idea when I started this "project" that shiplapping is less of a project than it is a permanent lifestyle choice. It is taking for. stinking. ever. It doesn't help that I typically have only an hour or two to work with each afternoon when the little kids are down for nap, and I have to pull all my tools and supplies out and put them all away within that time frame as well, so progress is made in only small windows of time. It has been two weeks of daily work, and I still feel so far from done. The goal is to get it done by tomorrow, though - and then Sunday's rest will be so, so appreciated!
...Okay, Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday is where this whole "reverse news" thing breaks down. Whoops. But I'm too far in to totally overhaul the system now, so we're just going to make things more confusing and do those days in their actual order. (Just go with me.) Monday was the night Rocco made his fated jump from the top bunk and hurt his arm. Callista also fell and gashed her head on the coffee table. It was a rough night for everyone.
Tuesday morning, Callista just wanted to lay on the ice pack for a while, so she hunkered down for some couchside meal service.
My friend Rachel came in the afternoon to watch the other kids so I could take Rocco in for X-rays. Wednesday, Meghan and Josiah watched them all so that I could take him to get it casted. He did an amazing job of staying his cheerful self through all of it.
Wednesday night, we headed out to pick up pizza, get panties for Callista so she could start potty training the next day, and pick out our Christmas tree. We got two of those three things done. WHY ARE THERE NO CHRISTMAS TREES ANYWHERE NORMAL? I know for a fact HyVee used to have them, as did Walmart, if I remember correctly. Not anymore, and we didn't have time to drive across town to Lowes. Now that Lissy is housebound with potty training for the next few days, the plan is to go on Monday. See? Advent is being super weird. Hopefully they still have trees by then.
Feeling better, but appalled there were no trees to be had.
Okay, now back to our previously attempted reverse countdown: Sunday, we drove home from Iowa, as we had spent Thanksgiving up there.
Saturday, Atticus had his birthday party. He got a drone from my sister and her husband, and about three minutes into flying it outside, he lost control of it, and he and my mom spent the next hour looking for it! We like to keep things memorable. (And yes, they did find it!)
AND THAT BRINGS US TO FRIDAY! The kids did some crafty projects with my mom, and Todd and I braved the mall on Black Friday to get Juniper's ears pierced!
Whew. How's that for tons and tons of news? I'll admit, this whole week has felt like a race to the finish. I am worn out, beat down, and just plain exhausted. On Monday, we will be jumping back in to two weeks of school before Christmas break. I hope to have learned my lesson from overscheduling this break, and will allow the upcoming stretch of downtime to be actually restful. But it looks like I will probably still be shiplapping my basement by then, and forevermore, so probably not.
During Advent, we forego most TV watching, except for Christmas movies together in the evening. I was glad to snuggle in with everyone last night, after a long, exhausting week!
happy birthday, Atticus!
Atticus is eleven today. Eleven years old. How, tho?
I still remember Baby Atticus, with his hilarious, lush hair; and Toddler Atticus, who crawled around like a cat named Murph for an entire year; and Preschool Atticus, who was obsessed with construction vehicles and whose favorite snuggly toy was a solid metal excavator that he even slept with. I remember Early School Days Atticus, who threw a ball and made a basket, and instead of celebrating that he made it, he rejoiced that he 'did not miss.' I remember Growing Atticus, who always cried when Todd would read the poem, "Hungry Mungry," because he got so angry that Hungry Mungry ate the Army.
I remember Thomas the Tank Engine on repeat when he had an ear infection and couldn't sleep at 4 a.m. I remember him running around the living room with a wrapping paper tube, threatening to "poike yow eyes out with God's pwomises!" I remember him spending hours digging a huge hole in the yard in Cedar Falls, and I remember him eating cherries straight off the tree and chives straight out of the garden.
And now he's eleven. He scooped our driveway the last time it snowed, and used the nail gun when he helped me hang shiplap. He wants to start a lawn care business so that he can start saving up for a pickup, so he doesn't have to drive the minivan when he starts learning to drive. He wants a good wife and a bunch of kids when he grows up.
He is such a compassionate leader. He looks out for the younger kids, and helps me so much. He is always quick to apologize to us if he feels he has misbehaved or misspoken. He is quiet and introspective, and has an incredible imagination. He is much too hard on himself. He has a heart for justice, and hates seeing bad people or things prevail when they shouldn't. (Reading Greek myths often gets him so riled up he angry-cries, because those gods and goddesses have so much power and use it so vindictively!) He would play alone for hours, if he were to ever find himself alone for hours, and he especially loves being outside.
He is soft and tough, rigid and yielding, quiet and vocal, compassionate and principled, old and young, a thinker and a doer. He is growing up into such a multifaceted, fascinating young man, and we couldn't love him more or be prouder of who he is. He is a joy to be around, and an honor to claim as our own.
Happy birthday to the one who first made me a mom, and who amazes me everyday with how he takes the little I offer and alchemizes it into something more incredible than I could ever take credit for.
I still remember Baby Atticus, with his hilarious, lush hair; and Toddler Atticus, who crawled around like a cat named Murph for an entire year; and Preschool Atticus, who was obsessed with construction vehicles and whose favorite snuggly toy was a solid metal excavator that he even slept with. I remember Early School Days Atticus, who threw a ball and made a basket, and instead of celebrating that he made it, he rejoiced that he 'did not miss.' I remember Growing Atticus, who always cried when Todd would read the poem, "Hungry Mungry," because he got so angry that Hungry Mungry ate the Army.
I remember Thomas the Tank Engine on repeat when he had an ear infection and couldn't sleep at 4 a.m. I remember him running around the living room with a wrapping paper tube, threatening to "poike yow eyes out with God's pwomises!" I remember him spending hours digging a huge hole in the yard in Cedar Falls, and I remember him eating cherries straight off the tree and chives straight out of the garden.
And now he's eleven. He scooped our driveway the last time it snowed, and used the nail gun when he helped me hang shiplap. He wants to start a lawn care business so that he can start saving up for a pickup, so he doesn't have to drive the minivan when he starts learning to drive. He wants a good wife and a bunch of kids when he grows up.
He is such a compassionate leader. He looks out for the younger kids, and helps me so much. He is always quick to apologize to us if he feels he has misbehaved or misspoken. He is quiet and introspective, and has an incredible imagination. He is much too hard on himself. He has a heart for justice, and hates seeing bad people or things prevail when they shouldn't. (Reading Greek myths often gets him so riled up he angry-cries, because those gods and goddesses have so much power and use it so vindictively!) He would play alone for hours, if he were to ever find himself alone for hours, and he especially loves being outside.
He is soft and tough, rigid and yielding, quiet and vocal, compassionate and principled, old and young, a thinker and a doer. He is growing up into such a multifaceted, fascinating young man, and we couldn't love him more or be prouder of who he is. He is a joy to be around, and an honor to claim as our own.
Happy birthday to the one who first made me a mom, and who amazes me everyday with how he takes the little I offer and alchemizes it into something more incredible than I could ever take credit for.
whoops, we broke one.
It's official. After 4016 days on the parenting job, this workplace has to now set its 'lost time accident' record back at zero.
Rocco can now say that he's the first Van Voorst kid to have broken a bone. (Or, at least, the first one to have it verified that his bone is, in fact, broken - I'm pretty sure Atticus broke his toe once, and he built himself a little skate out of Duplos and skated around the house for a couple of weeks because he couldn't put any pressure on it.)
Monday night, the boys were playing a game in which (unbeknownst to or sanctioned by us) they were jumping off the beds. It started on the toddler mattress, then moved to Finneas' bottom bunk, then eventually up to Atticus' top bunk. I think you can see where this is going. Unfortunately, Rocco didn't have that kind of foresight, and he jumped anyway and landed funny on his hand.
He cried a bit, and came upstairs to tell us what had happened. When asked where it hurt, he just kept being vague about it. "Kind of everywhere." He could bend his fingers, grasp things, bend his elbow, roll his shoulder. He headed back down and kept playing happily (a different game, to be clear). He went to bed, and slept fine.
When he woke up yesterday, he said his arm was still sore, and it was clear he was babying it - he was having a hard time getting himself dressed and getting his shoes on without pain. But otherwise, he was acting totally normal, so we thought it was most likely a sprain. I called the nurse, and she didn't seem overly concerned or feel that it was urgent to get him in. So we spent our morning as planned: hanging out with a college gal, dropping her off at class, and then heading to Hobby Lobby.
But while we were at Hobby Lobby, it was clear he was just kind of letting it hang funny at his side, and it was beginning to swell. He started asking to go see a doctor.
So a friend came over in the afternoon while Rocco, Juniper and I headed to the pediatrician's office to have it looked at. The doctor ordered x-rays of his whole arm, since he wasn't really complaining of localized pain, other than a little tenderness around the elbow. She couldn't tell exactly where the injury was at, but it seemed like it might be right above the elbow. (She was shocked he was so chill about having it moved or touched - he was seriously so happy the entire time she was checking him.)
So we headed over to radiology, and after getting the results back... sure enough, he has fractured his arm. We'll be going to the orthopedic pediatrician later today, presumably to have a cast put on, and I'll have to get more details then. I'm still not exactly sure where the break is (the nurse didn't explain much on the phone, and the kids were running crazy while I was trying to listen).
Poor brudder. He is doing amazingly well, all things considered. He's running and playing like normal, not really ever complaining other than to make sure we don't forget that he fractured his arm. "Do I put on my shirt on over my broken arm?" "This is my broken arm." "I'm just going to sit down with my broken arm." I think it's more a badge of honor than anything. It makes him feel both special and grown up, two things little boys crave more than almost anything else.
Luckily all his siblings have also made it their mission to take care of him and cheer him up. (All except Callista, whose mission had to be aborted when she fell and gashed her head open on the coffee table last night. Yesterday was a rough day.) It's clear he's very loved.
I'll keep you posted with any follow-up information!
Rocco can now say that he's the first Van Voorst kid to have broken a bone. (Or, at least, the first one to have it verified that his bone is, in fact, broken - I'm pretty sure Atticus broke his toe once, and he built himself a little skate out of Duplos and skated around the house for a couple of weeks because he couldn't put any pressure on it.)
Monday night, the boys were playing a game in which (unbeknownst to or sanctioned by us) they were jumping off the beds. It started on the toddler mattress, then moved to Finneas' bottom bunk, then eventually up to Atticus' top bunk. I think you can see where this is going. Unfortunately, Rocco didn't have that kind of foresight, and he jumped anyway and landed funny on his hand.
He cried a bit, and came upstairs to tell us what had happened. When asked where it hurt, he just kept being vague about it. "Kind of everywhere." He could bend his fingers, grasp things, bend his elbow, roll his shoulder. He headed back down and kept playing happily (a different game, to be clear). He went to bed, and slept fine.
When he woke up yesterday, he said his arm was still sore, and it was clear he was babying it - he was having a hard time getting himself dressed and getting his shoes on without pain. But otherwise, he was acting totally normal, so we thought it was most likely a sprain. I called the nurse, and she didn't seem overly concerned or feel that it was urgent to get him in. So we spent our morning as planned: hanging out with a college gal, dropping her off at class, and then heading to Hobby Lobby.
But while we were at Hobby Lobby, it was clear he was just kind of letting it hang funny at his side, and it was beginning to swell. He started asking to go see a doctor.
So a friend came over in the afternoon while Rocco, Juniper and I headed to the pediatrician's office to have it looked at. The doctor ordered x-rays of his whole arm, since he wasn't really complaining of localized pain, other than a little tenderness around the elbow. She couldn't tell exactly where the injury was at, but it seemed like it might be right above the elbow. (She was shocked he was so chill about having it moved or touched - he was seriously so happy the entire time she was checking him.)
No surprise there. This buddy is seriously the most easy-going kid.
So we headed over to radiology, and after getting the results back... sure enough, he has fractured his arm. We'll be going to the orthopedic pediatrician later today, presumably to have a cast put on, and I'll have to get more details then. I'm still not exactly sure where the break is (the nurse didn't explain much on the phone, and the kids were running crazy while I was trying to listen).
Poor brudder. He is doing amazingly well, all things considered. He's running and playing like normal, not really ever complaining other than to make sure we don't forget that he fractured his arm. "Do I put on my shirt on over my broken arm?" "This is my broken arm." "I'm just going to sit down with my broken arm." I think it's more a badge of honor than anything. It makes him feel both special and grown up, two things little boys crave more than almost anything else.
Luckily all his siblings have also made it their mission to take care of him and cheer him up. (All except Callista, whose mission had to be aborted when she fell and gashed her head open on the coffee table last night. Yesterday was a rough day.) It's clear he's very loved.
I'll keep you posted with any follow-up information!
world's easiest, yummiest, cheesiest, fattiest, Sundayest alfredo sauce.
Pretty much every Sunday*, I make pasta with homemade alfredo sauce for dinner. Why? Because it's easy, so I don't have to spend my Sunday afternoon cooking or cleaning up a huge kitchen mess; plus, it's relatively inexpensive, and all my People like it, so I don't have to spend my Sunday evening bribing or threatening anyone to eat their dinner. It's the little things like this that help keep Sundays relaxed and enjoyable!
*No part of me would ever assert this is a low-fat recipe. But no part of me thinks you should be living a low-fat lifestyle, so this is for your own good.*
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients:
2 TBSP butter
2-100 cloves of peeled and chopped garlic, according to taste and how garlicky you want your breath to end up. (I usually use a whole head of garlic. We like garlic.)
1 oz cream cheese, cut into chunks
1.5 c. heavy cream. (Yes, that's a lot. It's worth it.)
4 oz shredded parmesan cheese
1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes, until soft and fragrant, but not browned.
2. Add cream cheese to pan and mash/stir/whip/what-have-you until it's softened and mixed in with the butter. It won't be totally incorporated, and that's fine. Just try to get the big lumps to be less...lumpy. (I should write recipes for a living. I'm good at it.)
3. Stir in heavy cream. Once heated through, add parmesan and allow to melt thoroughly, stirring so it doesn't cook to the bottom of the pan.
Serve this over pasta, and/or it's also so excellent over broccoli or spaghetti squash if you're doing THM or keto. Topping it all off with strips of grilled chicken isn't the law or anything, but that's only because the actual jurisdiction of the Flavor Police is more limited than is good for us.
happy advent from lissy!
I told Callista that yesterday was the kickoff for Advent, and she was in disbelief.
You know if something shocks Callista, it has to be pretty epic. Get ready to party, people.
You know if something shocks Callista, it has to be pretty epic. Get ready to party, people.
what's up weekly, and Juniper at seven months.
Hey buddy! I have SO much to tell you about. If our internet hadn't crapped out last week, I would have covered at least some of this in last week's What's Up Weekly, but these are the cards I've been dealt and I will do my best to put on a brave face. So, two weeks' worth of news it is!
Two weekends ago, we headed up to Iowa for my first niece's first birthday. It was so fun.
After the party, I got some sistertime with my bestsisterfriend, and it was SO good for my soul.
We drove home on Sunday, and Juni got the Star Car treatment: diaper changes on the front seat. I'm basically a pro at this by now, and I only sometimes end up getting baby poop on the seat. (I kid, I kid; I would never deface the Kraken like that.)
Monday launched our last week before break, and we had a lot to get done in order to get done in time to do exams on Friday. The week was going to be even more full than usual because we had a bunch of appointments scheduled as well, so we really buckled down and got to work.
On Tuesday, three of the kids had eye doctor appointments in the morning. I'm always appreciative when doctor's offices can get as many of us into a single visit as possible!
On Thursday, the five big kids all had dentist appointments. It meant we were there for two and a half hours, which was pretty brutal, but I'm so glad we don't have to go back for another six months. The last dentist we went to would only see two kids per visit, and would schedule exams and cleanings and individual cavity fillings all on separate days for each kid - we spent three months visiting that dentist at least once a week, and by the end of that stretch, we still hadn't finished all the dental work they said was necessary. (Scam, much?) This time around, the only cavities they found in ANY of the kids were the two that Penelope still hadn't had filled - five kids, no new cavities! I'm blown away.
On Friday, we did get exams (mostly) done, and it felt so good to jump into the next two weeks of break. I had (and still have) big plans for this stretch of break - a few major house projects I'd like to get done, lots of checking papers and filing portfolio materials, and possibly potty training Callista. We'll see how much I end up getting done.
I started a shiplap project in the basement, and it's really coming along! I've had so much great help from the boys, and while I was pretty nervous to get started (I'm not super handy), it has been a pretty simple project.
I also got a closet system installed in the girls' room, and I've been moving around the kids' clothing, which has been kind of a mess - Rocco, Callista and Laurelai's dressers were stored in Juniper's room, Juniper and Finneas' dressers were in our room, and only Atticus and Penelope had their dressers accessible in their own rooms. But I'm hoping to get everything squared away in a more intuitive way by the end of break.
And yesterday was Thanksgiving, and we spent the day feasting in Iowa.
That's all for schedule-specific news. In kid-specific news, spoiler alert: they're all still the absolute best. Atticus and Penelope played Clue at my mom's, and loved it so much they made their own version when we got home.
I painted the girls' nails, and they were adorable about it.
Todd walked into the girls' room the other day, and found Callista just hanging out in the big girls' cozy bed.
I think Callista is going to be a beautician, and I'm not complaining about it. She spent half an hour giving me a pedicure and foot massage. And I'm not complaining about it.
And Juniper turned seven whole months old!! It is becoming increasingly more difficult to get a good, clean shot of her.
She is on the move now, and she has the most adorable way of crawling. She's such a tiny nugget, and everything she does, she does in a tiny-looking way. It's crazy cute. Which is helpful when I start to feel frustrated by the common annoyances of having a freshly mobile baby. We bought a baby jail (or, I guess the technical term is play yard, but who are we kidding?), but she quickly learned that she does not like being contained, so she now starts to cry as soon as she's put in. You'd think she'd eventually get used to it, but that is not the case so far. Pray for us.
And those were our last two weeks! I have one more week of break in which to finish so many ambitious projects - I'll keep you posted.
Two weekends ago, we headed up to Iowa for my first niece's first birthday. It was so fun.
The Van Voorsts take up an entire table all by ourselves. #winning
After the party, I got some sistertime with my bestsisterfriend, and it was SO good for my soul.
We drove home on Sunday, and Juni got the Star Car treatment: diaper changes on the front seat. I'm basically a pro at this by now, and I only sometimes end up getting baby poop on the seat. (I kid, I kid; I would never deface the Kraken like that.)
Monday launched our last week before break, and we had a lot to get done in order to get done in time to do exams on Friday. The week was going to be even more full than usual because we had a bunch of appointments scheduled as well, so we really buckled down and got to work.
On Tuesday, three of the kids had eye doctor appointments in the morning. I'm always appreciative when doctor's offices can get as many of us into a single visit as possible!
On Thursday, the five big kids all had dentist appointments. It meant we were there for two and a half hours, which was pretty brutal, but I'm so glad we don't have to go back for another six months. The last dentist we went to would only see two kids per visit, and would schedule exams and cleanings and individual cavity fillings all on separate days for each kid - we spent three months visiting that dentist at least once a week, and by the end of that stretch, we still hadn't finished all the dental work they said was necessary. (Scam, much?) This time around, the only cavities they found in ANY of the kids were the two that Penelope still hadn't had filled - five kids, no new cavities! I'm blown away.
On Friday, we did get exams (mostly) done, and it felt so good to jump into the next two weeks of break. I had (and still have) big plans for this stretch of break - a few major house projects I'd like to get done, lots of checking papers and filing portfolio materials, and possibly potty training Callista. We'll see how much I end up getting done.
I started a shiplap project in the basement, and it's really coming along! I've had so much great help from the boys, and while I was pretty nervous to get started (I'm not super handy), it has been a pretty simple project.
"Before"
Progress!
I also got a closet system installed in the girls' room, and I've been moving around the kids' clothing, which has been kind of a mess - Rocco, Callista and Laurelai's dressers were stored in Juniper's room, Juniper and Finneas' dressers were in our room, and only Atticus and Penelope had their dressers accessible in their own rooms. But I'm hoping to get everything squared away in a more intuitive way by the end of break.
And yesterday was Thanksgiving, and we spent the day feasting in Iowa.
That's all for schedule-specific news. In kid-specific news, spoiler alert: they're all still the absolute best. Atticus and Penelope played Clue at my mom's, and loved it so much they made their own version when we got home.
I painted the girls' nails, and they were adorable about it.
Todd walked into the girls' room the other day, and found Callista just hanging out in the big girls' cozy bed.
I think Callista is going to be a beautician, and I'm not complaining about it. She spent half an hour giving me a pedicure and foot massage. And I'm not complaining about it.
I call this photo, "Paige's Huge Butt, and Some Other Stuff You Can See Around the Periphery if You Squint Hard Enough." I'm really hoping the camera added all of its ten pounds in one very localized region.
And Juniper turned seven whole months old!! It is becoming increasingly more difficult to get a good, clean shot of her.
She is on the move now, and she has the most adorable way of crawling. She's such a tiny nugget, and everything she does, she does in a tiny-looking way. It's crazy cute. Which is helpful when I start to feel frustrated by the common annoyances of having a freshly mobile baby. We bought a baby jail (or, I guess the technical term is play yard, but who are we kidding?), but she quickly learned that she does not like being contained, so she now starts to cry as soon as she's put in. You'd think she'd eventually get used to it, but that is not the case so far. Pray for us.
And those were our last two weeks! I have one more week of break in which to finish so many ambitious projects - I'll keep you posted.
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