folding skills

the last day of march! good riddance, i say.
this year march has come in like a lion and gone out like one too.
last year it was in like a lamb and out like a lamb and that's the ways i likes 'em.

anyway, back to the GARAGE SALE...

blech. it's affecting my sleep. i can't get to sleep because my mind is going 90 miles an hour and then the boys wake up and i'm all - wait - no - please, just a few more minutes (oh heck, might as well make that 30 minutes or even an hour!). and then i'm groggy. and i want to sleep all day.
and then it's night and i think about all the things i need to get done and then i can't sleep. *complain, complain, complain*
it's a vicious circle, my friends.

but today my amazing friend Suzanne came over and watched the boys while i organized the garage and then we folded, categorized, priced and boxed all the children's clothing so that it's all ready to go.
she is amazing and i seriously could NOT have done it without her.

thank God for friends!

tomorrow my sister comes over for the day and is spending the night as well.
(heck YES i'm pumped!)

here is suz's amazing folding skills:

thank you, sweet friend!
(plus jude learned how to say suz's son's name: jacob. and it was the first word out of his mouth after his nap. really, ridiculously cute.)

on being productive

We've been all about packing, sorting, organizing and preparing for our BIG garage sale happening this Saturday.
As I was going through the office closet I found 8 pillows. EIGHT!
I tossed them downstairs and made a "bed" in the middle of the living room for the boys (Jude is sick and Noah's always happy to have a "movie day") and we chilled at home today.
I got some pricing done and some sorting but the way I work (is this the way it works for everyone?) is that it almost always gets messier before it gets cleaner.
So we're kinda living in chaos and disorder.
I realized something about myself recently - or perhaps I put into words and a distinct thought what I had always felt before - I can handle the mess and disorder but the outcome is that I am prone to feeling overwhelmed and I usually end up doing nothing.
An organized, clean house leads to a productive Vanessa.
And that is a good thing.
Now, to get busy "organizing".

gramma

today my mom came for a visit.

she comes about once a week.

i am so thankful for her.

for her visits.

for her love for my boys.

i did some garage sale organizing and she did my dishes and played with my kids.

and we talked.

i love my mom.

my boys love their gramma.

on finding my groove

today was weird.

i couldn't find my groove until about 4pm when i finally had a shower.

i started sorting and pricing for our garage sale this weekend. (insert anxious emoticon here)

so that was something.

and then we bought noah this sesame street numbers/letters/shapes computer game and i fear i have opened pandora's box (it's his first computer game).

but it's cute.

(and portable so we'll be bringing it with us when we move.)

i hope for more productivity tomorrow.

(and warmer weather for the rest of the week. and especially saturday.)

eaten

they were $1.99 a pint (?) at the grocery store tonight so i picked up 2.

good thing.

the boys gobbled up an entire container within 5 minutes.

lord help me when they're teenagers.

thank you Jesus for money for food and ample, delicious produce readily available.

and life goes on.

we went to a wedding in oshawa.

my childhood best friend's wedding.

i remarked to my mom that it's interesting how people grow apart. 

we were tight when we were little.

now i barely know her.

it's okay. that's life. 

and i don't know how much different either of us would have been had we not been in each other's lives. 

but i'm thankful for the years of friendship we shared together.

and life goes on.

(and i didn't have to buy a new dress or shoes - i opted for a new belt and i worked it, people.)

I want time to slow down....sorta

Noah's pants are too short. Most of them, anyway.
They're at that awkward stage where if I saw another kid with the same length pants on, I'd probably cringe and think, "Oh how geeky. Get some new pants for the kid, already!"
He's too big for size 3's (mostly) and too small for size 4's.

How'd he get so big, anyway?

He's got an appetite these days that could break the bank and endless questions and comments about everything and anything.

Yesterday as he was finishing his lunch and trying to get the last bit of food stuck to the side of his bowl he said,

Oh. It's on the wall. The bowl wall.

God, I love this kid.

And he still needs an afternoon nap.
Oh he can get through the whole day without one but come 4pm and he can snap and melt into a teary mess if he's angry enough or doesn't get his way.
Tonight as Jamie left at 6pm to get onto campus for dinner and the weekly meeting Noah wailed and cried for a good 20-30 minutes saying,

I need Daddy! I need Daddy!


over and over again.
Jude and I cleaned up their room and then Jude had a bath. By the time Jude was done his bath (and ready to wear his dragon house "coke" (coat)) Noah had calmed down and was ready for his bath but got all riled up again when I told him I had to wash his hair.

Oh my boy. I love you so much.
You are worth every single second of the hard times.

Dizzy Sailor

This is what happens when Daddy plays with the boys.


Dizzy Sailor from Vanessa Strickland on Vimeo.

What's in a name?

I've noted differences between Noah and Jude before, but I just had to make note of this particular difference.

Noah calls me either Mama or Mom. Very rarely will he call me "Mommy".

And Jude calls me Mama or Mommy. It's absolutely heart-melting to hear him call me "Mommy", I'm not going to lie.

It'll be interesting to see if Noah changes what he calls me and if Jude drops the "Mommy" once he starts talking more.

My siblings and I called our parents Mommy & Daddy for a very long time and I had to tell myself (I was at least in my teens...longer, possibly) that I had to start calling my Mom, Mom and not "Mommy" anymore. And same with my Dad, although "Daddy" still slips out every once and awhile. For some reason it seems more socially acceptable for a daughter to call her father "Daddy" even once she is grown.

I like that my kids call me "Mama", though. It's warm and nurturing I hope it stays in their vocabulary for a long time.

Seconds, please Shepherd's Pie

It was the snowstorm from blech today.
I'm choosing to talk and think as little as possible about it in the hopes that it will quickly go away.

Anyway...

So what better than to hibernate and make comfort food?

This is a long recipe, but oh baby - this one's amazing.
My conversation with Noah went like this:

Noah: What's for dinner, Mom?
Me: Shepherd's Pie.
Noah: What did you say?
Me: Shepherd's Pie.
Noah: Ew, that's gross.
Me: Noah, that's very rude. We don't say food is gross. You don't even know what Shepherd's Pie is.

later at the table as I put his bowl in front of him....

Noah: Is this Shepherd's Pie?
Me: Yes!
Noah: I think I'll try this!
Me: (trying not to let my jaw hit the floor) That's a great attitude to have, Noah!

He eats it all.
I ask if he wants seconds.

Noah: What's seconds?
Me: It's when you get more of your supper because you liked it so much.
Noah: Yeah. I want some more please.

And then he proceeds to eat it all. Again.

So here's Shepherd's Pie. I don't know where I got the recipe from but I'd be happy to credit whoever it belongs to!

Ingredients:
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb of ground beef
2 tbsp butter
and whatever veggies you want - I used: 3/4 cup diced onion, 1 cup diced celery, 2 cups diced carrot
I would also add peas and corn next time too.
1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp flour
1 cup red wine (I discovered you can use broth if you don't have red wine and it works just as well - just not with that lovely wine flavouring)
2 1/2 cups beef stock
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

1. Add 2 tbsp oil to a large sauce pan over med high heat. Add ground beef.
2. Allow excess liquid to bubble away; stir and cook until meat is well browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. This is an important step! It made a huge difference in my pie! Drain the excess fat using a colander.
3 Deglaze the pot with red wine (or your broth), scraping up browned bits and let reduce slightly.
4. In another large pot, add remaining vegetable oil over med high heat. Add onions, carrots and celery; cook until golden, about 7 minutes.
5. Add garlic, stir briefly and add tomato paste. Brown paste slightly and sprinkle in flour. Cook out for a minute or two.
6. Add in red wine/stock from deglazing beef, scraping up crispy brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
7. Add beef stock, rosemary, thyme and bay leaf. Return browned meat to the pot. Simmer, covered for 20-25 minutes.
8. Remove lid and continue cooking for another 10 minutes; the liquid will reduce and thicken. Remove rosemary, thyme and bay leaf. (This is where I'd add the peas/corn next time). Season well with salt and pepper.
9. Add to the bottom of a 10 inch round casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes done however you like (I add lots of butter, milk and parmesan cheese - you can even boil your potatoes with some smashed garlic cloves and then mash it all up together - yum!).
10. Cover the mashed potatoes with a topping of parmesan cheese and bread crumbs (if you like).
11. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Bake on the middle rack until the top is golden and the filling is warmed through, about 20-25 minutes.
Let stand a few minutes before serving.

And while you might hope for leftovers, don't count on it.

**As requested, here's my recipe for mashed potatoes (it changes almost every time, but here's what I did for this specific recipe).


Mashed Potatoes
7 medium cooking potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/3 cup butter, cut into cubes
1/4 cup cream or the highest percentage milk that you have in your fridge (I used 2% as that's all I had)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste


1. Add quartered potatoes and smashed garlic to medium pot. Fill pot with cold water just to cover potatoes; season cooking water well with salt (it should taste like the sea) and bring to a boil.
2. Boil on medium high heat until potatoes are tender but not overdone, about 15-20 minutes. Now I definitely undercooked mine this time (by accident), but it worked out and lent the "crust" to a more "smashed potatoes" type crust instead of the typical smooth mashed potatoes. It worked, thankfully. :)
3. Strain potatoes; let dry out slightly in colander before returning to pot. Add cream, butter, pepper, parmesan cheese and more salt if necessary.
4. Mash roughly with a fork or potato masher.
And there you have mashed potatoes for your Shepherd's Pie crust! :)

shelter from the storm

we all have storms in our lives. 

for some people it seems like the storm barely subsides before another one rages in.

for others there are many, many moments before the next storm.

but we all have storms.

today i looked out my window to see at least a dozen robins huddling in the branches of the tree in the corner of our yard.

poor robins.

they had no idea this wicked storm would hit just days after our balmy 10 degree weather.

i was forced out of the storm of good byes and packing and details of our move just today with someone else's storm. 

a scary, life-altering, family-changing storm.

thank you Jesus that you are the calm in all our storms - no matter what they be. 

and thank you that you provide shelter from the storms that shake us to the core of our being - especially those that come out of nowhere.

Dear Noah

When you smile at me with your head tilted and your eyes all squinty,
my
heart
melts.

(And all you wanted was a few more Cheerios.)

love,
Mama

Crunchy Tortilla Chicken with Avocado Dip

Heck to the yes this was delicious!

So the other day I found this book in the library called Bite me and was immediately drawn into the witty comments and preambles as well as the amazing food photography and mouth-watering recipes.
I signed the book out and today made this recipe from it that astonishingly had Noah eating chicken. I kid you not. The Boy Who Shall Not Eat Chicken actually ate chicken!

So I took a quick snap of it and wanted to share it with you!
Make this and enjoy!

adapted from Bite me cookbook

ingredients
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups sour cream (I used whatever sour cream I had left and made up the difference with plain yogurt - either work fine)
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme (I only had the dried stuff, so I did a quick sprinkling of it)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
finely chopped jalapeno peppers to your liking

Avocado dip
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
2 ripe avocados, peeled and pit removed
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

1. for the chicken, place the chicken between 2 sheets of wax paper and pound to even thickness, about 1/2 inch thick (do this. it made a huge difference!)
2. in a large bowl, combine sour cream, brown sugar, chili powder, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic powder. add chicken and toss to coat, cover and let marinade in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
3. preheat oven to 425 degreesF. line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray.
4. in a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, tortilla crumbs, cheddar and jalapenos. remove chicken from marinade and coat each piece with the breadcrumb mixture, pressing down so coating sticks well to each piece. place on the prepared baking sheet and bake 20-23 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
5. for the avocado dip, place all ingredients in a food processor, blender or immersion blender-safe container (i used the immersion blender and it worked fabulously). blend until smooth.
serve alongside chicken but if you're not eating it immediately, place avocado pit in the bowl to keep the dip from turning brown (neat trick, eh?). cover and refrigerate until ready to use. this dip yields 2 cups.

i dream

i dream of:

romance

adventure

sitting at a bay window, cozied up with a good book and a wool blanket

opening up my own bakery

- in Europe somewhere (or the beaches)

singing in front of small but crowded venues

being skinnier

being healthier

being closer to Jesus

adopting 5 (or so) kids

giving birth to a few more, too

living downtown Toronto

travelling across Canada (in one of these) and then down the west coast of North America

running a marathon

peonies, lots of peonies

acting again

summer

owning a piano

the tattoo i never got

reaching out to my neighbours

making friends in uganda

doing something BIG

living on the east coast

living on the west coast

living in new zealand

sailing around the world

having a closet full of beautiful summer dresses

never having to shave my legs again

throwing caution to the wind

i dream.

what do you dream of?

*found this video (03.25.2011) and it fits so perfectly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKfDwChOoHI

direction

last night and this morning we were in toronto, speaking at the church i grew up in; sharing about what's been happening in this last year and where we're headed next. 

it was a bit nerve-wracking (public speaking always gives me the jitters), but by the third service i felt a lot more confident and was able to really feel excited about what we were sharing.

some of these people have been praying for me since i was born! 

afterward, as we caught up with old friends and introduced ourselves to others, i said something to a friend;

i think i'm just starting to get a little nervous about everything. but ultimately i have never felt so sure or at peace of where God wanted me to be as i feel about us moving to uganda. 

*pause*

i'll be clinging to that in the hard times, i'm sure.

there will be hard times. guaranteed. 

but i know this is where God wants us;

where He wants me. 

it's not the typical direction most people head in with two small children.

but i'm so excited to be taking these steps in the direction He's called us to.