Cooking Lessons

I've got hang-ups about cooking. Okay, I've got hang-ups about a LOT of things, but cooking is a big one. When I was fourteen, I tried to cook dinner for my father all by myself. It was an unmitigated disaster, to put it mildly. Egg dripping off the counter top, flour everywhere, steak like shoe leather, burnt biscuits...you get the idea. I was trying to imitate one of my mother's "standard" dinners, but for the life of me I just couldn't figure out how to get six different items to come out perfectly all at the same time. Suffice to say, we ended up going out to Pizza Hut that night.

A few years later, when I was a young (very young) new wife and mother, I endeavoured again to learn how to cook. Have you ever seen potatoes turn green? I did, and it was not pretty. I couldn't even cook spaghetti without making a total hash of it. Even though I did eventually learn to cook a few things that were edible without having to close your eyes, it didn't take long for my (then) husband to take over the cooking. After all, "we just can't afford to waste food like that."

Over the years of my first marriage, I would still make an occasional foray into the kitchen. I still wanted to learn how to cook, despite my obvious domestic deficiency. And then came my moment of truth. After ten years of being "the breadwinner", we decided it was time to let me stay home with the children while he went out to work. My greatest fear wasn't whether or not we'd still be able to pay our bills, though that was a close second. No, my greatest fear was, "Will my family starve to death waiting for me to learn how to fix a decent dinner?"

In all, it took less than a month for me to get enough of a repertoire of dishes figured out so that we didn't have to eat the same thing every night. So emboldened by my new culinary prowess, I began tackling desserts. Before a year was up, I was making apple pies, pumpkin pies and brownie-bottom cheesecakes.

And then, I had to go back to work.

But all that changed three years ago when I married Eric. My life is so different now, it's hard to believe that I'm really the same person. I'm a stay at home mom, I home school, I have babies again, and even though my darling husband loves to help me in the kitchen, I do the bulk of the cooking. But I still have fears about learning new dishes. Until last night.

I've been so inspired by all the different recipes I've seen shared online that, after putting my husband on the spot and getting him to admit that yes, maybe something different for dinner would be kind of nice, I started going through my cookbooks in search of...something. What I came up with was Smothered Chicken. And, contrary to the visions I had of my family gagging and spitting it out like poison, they loved it! I took a major step of faith into the unknown and achieved success.

It occurred to me last night, with echoes of praise still ringing in my ears, that it's the same way with God. Sometimes, He asks me to take steps of faith into the unknown, to get me out of my comfort zone and try something new or different. And how do I answer that call? Do I balk with excuses, hemming and hawing about not having the time, the talent, or the skill while masking my fear of the unknown? Or do I trust that, whatever He has called me to, He will see me through?

Food for thought.

Originally posted September 1, 2007

Today, I Pledge...

Today, I pledge to hang up my cape and not be SuperWoman.

I will not:
Create, look at, or even think about a to-do list.
Fret about the mess in my house.
Worry about our budget.
Run myself ragged trying to do forty chores in one day.
Feel bad that I can't whip up a nutritious, frugal, gourmet meal for six in thirty minutes or less.
Beat myself up for being an imperfect, flawed human being.
Fuss at my children for being imperfect, flawed human beings.

I will:
Relax and enjoy the moment.
Laugh at silly things.
Remember that I'd rather have my home be messy and happy than neat and boring.
Thank my husband for being such a hard-working man.
Thank God for blessing me with a family that loves me and friends that understand.

Today, I pledge to hang up my cape and just be ME.

How about you?

Moments With Mary

In the quiet of night you call to me, for this is our time. No other voices, no distractions, I am yours alone as it always was.

The arms that once ached for you now hold you close. Hungrily you seek what I so happily offer. The connection is made, the circle complete, the bond formed.

You rest your head upon my breast, listening for the rhythm you have loved all your life. We sway together, a dance of two hearts bound together with love undeniable.

Softly I kiss your silky skin. Marveling I gaze at the perfection you are. Gently I surrender you to sleep, and dreams of our moments together.

It's a Birth Day Giveaway!

I'm still overwhelmed with amazement that our precious little girl is with us now. I have so many thoughts and emotions coursing through me, I don't know how I'll ever be able to capture it all, but I'm going to try to get Mary's birth story written soon, while everything is still fresh in my mind. (It'll probably take awhile if for no other reason than the fact that this little one has a serious appetite. I'm so proud of how quickly she got the whole "latching on" business down pat...go, Mary!)

In the meantime, I've decided to celebrate by holding a little giveaway!

In 2007, Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein released the groudbreaking documentary The Business of Being Born, an eye-opening look into the American childbirth experience. Now they continue the mission of informing women about their birth options with the amazing book, Your Best Birth.

Of all the pregnancy-related books I've read over the years, this ranks as one of my top five favorites. The focus of the book is to give as much information as possible about the choices every woman has (or should have) regarding childbirth to help the reader make the best decisions for her and her baby. Homebirth, birth center, hospital, c-section or VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section)...it's not a question of what's "best", but what's best for you. And that's something I believe in strongly.

I've had six children now. My first three were hospital births, my last three were homebirths. I've used a midwife once, and gone "unassisted" with my husband twice. Would I advocate that for everyone? Certainly not! What matters to me is seeing more mothers (and fathers!) informed as to what's involved in the birth scenario, and having as much information as possible to plan for the birth experience that works best for them.

So in the hopes of helping someone else "take back the birth experience", and to celebrate my adorable Mary's Birth Day, I'm giving away one copy of Your Best Birth!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. If you really, really want to win, here are a couple of ways to get extra entries:
One extra entry for following me on Twitter and leave a comment with your ID, so I know it's you!
Subscribe to my blog via email or feed subscription (again, leave a comment and let me know.)
For TWO extra entries, leave a comment telling me any of the following:
What was your best birth experience? (Or how do you imagine it will be, if you haven't had any children yet.)
What was your worst?
How did (or will you) pick your child's name?

Comments will be open until 5pm Eastern, Friday, August 14th.
Sorry, but U.S. residents or shipping addresses only.

For the record, this is not a sponsored giveaway. I was not contacted by Ms. Lake or Ms. Epstein (I wish!), or representatives of either to promote this book. I'm doing this solely on my own initiative, because I'm just that passionate about seeing more women be as well informed as possible.

Good luck!

Wordless Wednesday - Two-Fisted Daddy

Two-day old Mary and two-year old Sarah agree...Daddy's arms are the best place for napping.

Go to 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday fun.

I'm Proud to introduce....

Say hi to Mary Elizabeth.

She was born this afternoon at 12:57, weighing in at 7lb 7oz, and 19" long.

Both her and mommy are now sleeping peacefully.

But I wanted to introduce Mary to all my beloved's friends.



A proud Hubby and Dad

We interrupt this blog for a special announcement...

Just wanted to let you all know that after a weekend of on again-off again contractions, my labor finally kicked in for real in the wee small hours of this beautiful Monday morning.

WOOHOO!!!!!!!

My last pregnancy ended with five days of start and stop contractions before the baby finally came, so I am profoundly thankful that my body is being a little more on the ball this time!

Right now, it's 7:12am, and my contractions are about 3 minutes apart. My husband is getting our bed ready upstairs, the big girls are doing their usual morning chores, the little ones are still sleeping, and I'm getting ready to head into the shower for a bit. I'm having some back labor with this one (also like my last baby), and a hot soak will sure feel good right about now.

I'll continue posting updates on Twitter (@barefootmomlady) for awhile, but once I head upstairs my oldest girl will take over the tweets for me.

Okay, I'm heading off to the shower. Want to be presentable when I meet my new son or daughter. :wink:

More soon...