Christmas, Curtis Style

B took the "big" boys to Home Depot today. (Thanks for the awesome gift card, Mom and Dad!) This is the conversation they had with the check-out girl:

Girl: "Did Santa visit you guys?"
O: "No . . . Did he visit YOU?"
Girl: "Well, didn't you get any presents?"
R: "Yeah! Chapstick!!"

So you can see, Santa does not play an important role in Christmas celebrations around our house. (Isn't it all about JESUS, anyway?!) And, as previously stated, Chapstick is a great gift.

Christmas

Chappy Holidays

Chapstick is a GREAT stocking stuffer.

Me: "Rhyle, why have you not done what I told you to do?"
Rhyle: (With chapstick in hand) "Because I'm styling my lips!"

Rhyle: "Mom, can you smell my delicious lips? I did the top and the bottom and both sides." Indeed, his lips were covered in chapstick, and there was a chapstick ring around them, too.

Braden: "Rhyle, why are you taking two chapsticks to bed?"
Rhyle: "Because my lips are chappy!"

An Indication

Perhaps I'm a bit distracted?

Halfway through a holiday tea this week I looked down and realized that I was wearing TWO watches- on the same wrist, no less.

Two days before that, I got home from church and noticed that I only had ONE earring in.

It's okay. You can laugh with me.

One Question

My question (and yes, I know it is dumb): Do you need to go potty?

Two answers:
Rhyle: "No. I just like to move around like this."
Livia: "No. I'm just dancin' to this song." (sans music)

Stuffed Acorn Squash

YUMMM! This is my kind of meal. Last night we had stuffed acorn squash, a big salad, and steamed cauliflower with grated cheese. It was so delicious, so fall, so good for us. I should have taken a picture; they were gorgeous! Added bonus: these were super simple to make, quick and also very economical. A real winner! (adapted from a "good deal" by Rachael Ray.)

Stuffed Acorn Squash
(serves 6)
Prep: 20 minutes or less
Cook: 1 hour

3 medium acorn squash
2 Tb (or less) of butter
salt and pepper
1 cup couscous
1 Tb olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 pound ground, mild sausage
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Parmesan cheese, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400. Cut the squash in half crosswise and scoop out the pulp and seeds. Trim, so that each half will stand upright. Place all halves in a baking pan, flesh side up, and pour hot water into the pan to reach about halfway up the squash. Add a bit of butter to the center of each squash, and season with salt and pepper. Loosely cover the pan with foil. Bake until tender, 45 minutes to an hour.
2. Prepare the couscous according to the package directions, and set aside. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened (about 4 minutes). Push the onion aside and add the meat, season with salt and pepper and cook through. Stir in the walnuts, cranberries, and couscous.
3. Remove the squash from the oven (drain off any excess liquid from the centers) and carefully transfer each half to a plate. Divide the couscous among the squash, mounding it up in each center. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and serve!

A Relay Of Sorts

My husband said to me tonight, "Do you ever feel like you are on a roller coaster?" (He also had great hand motions to illustrate my up and down emotions.) I was trying very hard not to talk to him. He was studying in the living room and I was working in the kitchen. . . but I just couldn't help myself. There were many good and exciting things that happened today and I DO feel excited. Then he asked me to run by the bank tomorrow, and drop him off at his friend's to study; I already need to take the kids to CBS (community Bible study) tomorrow and bake bread and make some phone calls. . and do all the usual chores. I must have been teetering on the the brink of my high because it only took this one request to send me tumbling to tears.

You know, I have this out-of-breath feeling lately. It reminds me of those kinds of relay races I have sometimes participated in (in younger years). You know, the kind where you have to race from "thing" to "thing" as fast as possible. Say, spin around with your head on a bat for 30 seconds. Okay, now run 10 circles around the tree. Okay, now pop as many balloons as you can, then run to the finish line and tag your partner. By the time you cross the line you are dizzy and out of breath. That's how I feel- a lot.

It feels like I'm in finals week; never enough time to do what I need to do, and everything matters. I work until I'm winded! Whew! And thankfully, Braden acknowledged tonight that I AM in finals week- HIS finals. And it requires extra from both of us. And we will all celebrate when it is over.

Eewwww!

I'm glad I have boys to help me. . . pull slugs out of my little girl's hair. (Gross!) That's what she gets for playing in the leaves with them.

Celebrate Good Times

Just wanted to share our good news with you- We have a new, good NAPPER at our house!

Yes, this is a big deal.

All of last week was spent teaching Tate to nap in his bed, by himself, for extended periods during the day. Yesterday after church I was putting dinner on the table and overseeing three very busy (and tired) children. It was a HUGE blessing to be able to calmly walk upstairs, say "shhh. shhh" to Tate, and to walk back down the stairs just a minute later, leaving a quiet and peaceful baby in his bed. AHHHHHHhhhhhh. This is JOY to me. I can do so much more with two hands free and a cleared head.

It helps that Tate will soothe with any combination of finger(s). This child, who smiles so often, causes me to smile much more frequently, too. God was so good to give us this delight. Oh, and he also slept 5 hours last night. I'm not sure why we got that blessing, too, but I am so thankful today I don't even have words for it. *smile*

Questioning Philosophies

I started to title this "identity questions," but stopped myself with the thought, "I know WHO I am. That isn't really the question." I'm simply wondering about HOW I do things.

Take, for example, sleeping. I think Tate should be sleeping through the night (he is 3 and 1/2 months old). The other children did by now. But I also scheduled the other children more rigidly and let them cry longer. Tate doesn't cry much at night because my husband needs to sleep, so nursing Tate and putting him back down seems like a logical solution. But is it long-term? Or do I train him to sleep better when Braden is finished with finals? Or do I need to nurse at night to keep my supply up? The other, "better" sleepers all quit nursing before I wanted them to, probably because of supply issues. Do I care that I'm not sleeping through the night? I'm no longer a strict scheduler, but I'm also not a co-sleeper (usually!). I'm not in either camp anymore, so I feel a bit lost in the murky middle. I've read lots of books, but in taking bits and pieces from many of them, I can't just turn to one and find the answers I want. Maybe this is where God wants me, though: without answers, dependant on Him, paying closer attention to this unique child, at the end of myself. Then again, when I ramble on, stream-of-consciousness like this, I wonder.

It Was Inevitable

I knew it was going to happen. It was only a question of WHEN? and WHOM? Well, now I know. YESTERDAY, I began finding little pieces of hair in the house. At first I thought the boys had pulled Livia's barrett out. . . but then I noticed that the pieces were a little more chunky, with nice straightly sheared ends. RHYLE had decided to give Livia a haircut (and I usually monitor the scissors so closely!). He said he wanted her to have a boy haircut, like his. In his mind it just didn't seem right that while he and Owen and Dad have haircuts every 4 or 5 weeks, poor Livia has only had one or two in her life. He wanted to even that up a little bit. And so he went to work. . . and now I should probably even it up for her, too.

This One Is For My Brother

Rhyle just finished coloring a page from his Color Wonder book that had rows of juices. (Yes, his mom bought him a book with fruits and vegetables and not super heros!) Each container had a label and the word for the kind of juice it was. (e.g. cranberry, pear, tomato, etc.) He was telling me what each of the containers held. We came to one that had him stumped. He sounded out, "O-R . . . or, or, or, ORGANIC?" he guessed. (Actually, it was ORANGE.) HA!

In Training

It was kind of a long Sunday. I had children who weren't feeling well and running fevers, so we stayed home from church. (that's always disappointing.) And just the nature of having four children means that we are never just lounging around, relaxing and resting. No, we are always in training.

Owen (6) was being trained today that even when you don't feel well, sin is still not permitted. (And I agree that it's hard to make good choices when you feel lousy and grouchy!) He can choose to be strong and avoid strife.

Rhyle (4) was being trained that his actions are either for good or evil, and that it is foolish to destroy what he has- or what belongs to others (Proverbs 21:20). (Thanks to Ginger Plowman's "Wise Words for Moms" for helping me through these!)

Livia (2) was being trained to say BANANA instead of GaMana. (this was fun training!) and she was also cracking me up by telling me that she had "a bone in my trotter." (John Burningham's book "Mr Gumpy's Motor Car"- by the way, what does this mean?!)

Tate (3 months) was being trained to nap in his bed. It didn't go very well today, but I have confidence that this is going to work out REALLY well in the long term. =)

I was being trained in all these things, and trained especially in reliance upon my Lord, who holds all things together by His will, who does not give me (or my children) more than we can handle, but enables us through His Spirit to be overcomers. And so, goodnight.