One of those afternoons

When we first moved into our apartment e.v.e.r.y window screen had a huge hole in it. We called the property manager yesterday and asked if the owner would be able to fix them, and they said yes. So,  a handyman came by to fix our window screens. And we are thrilled, because it's cool outside now and we want to open our windows without letting all the six-legged critters inside.

A happy-ending, but it was still one of those afternoons. The handyman scared Aleigha by his mere existence, and she wouldn't calm down for an hour. I was a bit tense too, since I dislike letting strangers come inside. When she started crying, I felt a bit like crying too. Jason thinks she picked up on my tension, so she kept crying and trembling despite my efforts to reassure her.

After two hours he left...what a very long two hours. What kept me going was the thought of my surprise date with my husband. In the one hour and fifteen minutes I had until my friend came to baby-sit, I was so mentally drained that I had to think about each step I took.

What do I do next? Do that which needs to be done.

Which is...? Focus on one room at a time. One room...kitchen. Dishes. Wipe counter. Mop floors.

What next...? Vacuum. Clean the floor so Aleigha won't find anything to eat and choke.

And then....? Get dressed. Cuz I look like I've been cleaning dead bugs off the window sill. Cuz I have been doing just that. That and hugging a scared and crying Aleigha.

But you know what I remember most vividly from the day? The walk we took this morning. The bright blue sky we saw out our open window this afternoon. And the lovely date Jason and I had this evening. And now....zzzzzz........

Happily Ever After... Year Two

Two years ago I married this man:

Jason getting ready on our wedding day

....and we couldn't be happier.

Life's changed so much for us over the past few years. After we were engaged in August 2010 . . .

9 months later, we were married. 

7 months after our wedding day we conceived. 

9 months later, we had Aleigha. 

8 months after our baby was born...we are more in love than ever. 

So much change has not been easy for us (we've been challenged and stretched!), but we've persevered through trying moments...and it's worth it!

Our Wedding Vows

Jason’s vows
I take you, Aubrey, to be my wedded Wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge you my troth.*

Aubrey’s vows
I take you, Jason, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give you my troth.*

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25

 *“Troth” means a promise of truthfulness and is derived from the same word as “truth.” Therefore, "Pledge you my troth" means that the groom pledges his truthfulness, faithfulness, and loyalty to his promise. "Give thee my troth"—the bride likewise gives her word. Betrothed is to be “trothed,” from the word “troth,” meaning promised or contracted to marry.

When I grow up...I'm going to marry Tigger

When I was about 4 years-old, I told my mommy that I was married to Tigger (the bouncy striped tiger from Winnie-the-Pooh). My reason? He was just like my daddy.

Huh?

You see, my dad was a policeman who "worked in the fields" (patrolling the streets). Hmmm...what are fields? Oh yes! Where things grow! An orange grove. Tigger likes to bounce among the orange trees. He does what daddy does-- I want to marry someone like daddy. I want to marry Tigger! (So my 4 year-old mind reasoned).

A decade-and-a-half later my mom tells Jason (while we were courting) that I used to pretend to be married to a storybook animal as a child-- Tigger.


So, when Jason proposed to me, he unbuttoned his overshirt to reveal an light orange shirt with a picture of Tigger on it. He spoke the words on his shirt: "Can I be your Tigger?" (And, I said "yes"!)

Jason & I the day he proposed....see the Tigger shirt?

So, I shouldn't be surprised that Aleigha really like playing with...a Tigger rattle!

Aleigha at a few days shy of 7 months

True Love Makes Deviled Eggs

I’ve just eaten a deviled egg, an egg my husband made for me.

We learned in our BradleyBirth Class about the importance of consuming lots of protein during pregnancy.  Yet, when I tracked my normal eating habits, I discovered that I generally eat about 25-50 grams per day, which is what a normal woman needs. A pregnant women needs about 70-100 grams per day. Since I am in the last trimester of pregnancy, when baby’s protein needs are the highest, I realized that I needed to increase my protein intake. (A high intake of protein might also decrease the risk of complications like preeclampsia.)

Eggs have lots protein and they are inexpensive, but I dislike eating them. Jason, hoping to encourage me eat the right foods, made hardboiled eggs anyway. Yucky.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've disliked the texture, taste, sight, and smell of hardboiled egg yolks. Usually, I pull out the yolk, add salt and pepper to the white part of the egg, and quickly eat it before I change my mind. I actually used to wash the yolk residue out of egg white part because I couldn’t stand to eat or look at even a tiny bit of yolk. I don’t do that anymore, so I consider that enough progress for the next decade or so.

Apparently, that’s not enough progress for Jason. “Eat the yolk—it’s good for you.” Eat the y.o.l.k? Gross! There’s no way I can choke that down. Never.

“I can’t!” I whined. “Please don’t make me. There’s enough protein in the white part.”

Jason said, “You have to.”  

Noooo! I can’t! Uh, I can only eat them when they are deviled.

Deviled eggs? I actually don't prefer to eat deviled eggs either. But, truly, that is the only way to make the egg yolk palatable enough for me to eat. I discovered this years ago at my aunt’s house one holiday. (Easter?) I bravely gave the deviled eggs a try and realized they weren’t so terrible.

Ironically, to make a deviled egg, one mixes the yolk with mayonnaise (and a few other ingredients). Now, I really dislike mayonnaise, probably even more than I dislike egg yolks. Yet, when mixed together, the hardboiled egg yolk and mayonnaise cancel each other out and create something that I can eat. (Kind of like how sodium and chlorine, two poisons, combine to make table salt.)

So, upon hearing that I won’t eat egg yolks unless they are in a deviled egg, my sweet man hardboiled a dozen eggs and found a yummy deviled egg recipe. See?

Love comes in many forms.

Chick-fil-A (A.K.A “Pregnant Cow”)

Tomorrow, August 1, is “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” day.

In honor of the day, I’d like to share some of my favorite Chick-fil-A experiences.

My first time eating at Chick-fil-A was a few years ago. I attended a homeschool conference in North Carolina to help Vicki Bentley with her booth, Everyday Homemaking. On our way home, we stopped to have a bite to eat….at Chick-fil-A.

We pulled into the parking lot and walked inside. Nearly every customer was dressed like a cow. Vicki, however, did not appear surprised. “Oh, I forgot! Dress-like-a-cow day!”  

What?! She knew that nutty people eat here?

Ignorant of the restaurant’s annual “Cow Appreciation Day,” I assumed that Chick-fil-A had a cult following of bizarre customers. Then, I noticed the fliers, banners, and balloons indicating that this particular Friday occurred only once a year and customers who dress like a cow receive a free sandwich. Ah! We bought our sandwiches, sat down to eat, and admired (or perhaps secretly mocked?) people’s cow costumes.

I didn’t have the opportunity to eat at Chick-fil-A again until one was built closer to home. Then, I mysteriously developed a pregnancy craving for Chick-fil-A chicken strips. Jason, my wonderful husband, lovingly surprised me with chicken strips a few times.

Last month, July 13 was “Cow Appreciation Day” and I felt the urge to participate. I am still pregnant and couldn’t resist a free sandwich made with yummy baby-approved chicken. I mentioned the day to Jason and we made a mental note to participate.

The night before, we realized that we did not plan ahead and prepare cow costumes. But, it was late and we needed to attend our Bradley Birth Class the next morning. We made plans to think of a costume the morning of “Cow Appreciation Day.” That morning, Jason followed an online tutorial to make a cow mask, and I wore a black (maternity) shirt with the intent to tape white hand-cut “cow spots” all over my back and middle.

That morning, I made blackbean brownies for our class, so I ran out of time to cut spots. Instead, I grabbed some white paper, scissors, and tape to bring with me into the car. After birth class ended, we sat in our car and cut out some white “spots.” Jason carefully taped them to my back and I artistically arranged them on my front. We drove to Chick-fil-A, eager for a free sandwich.

When we pulled into the parking lot, we noticed that no one else was dressed like a cow. Hmmm. Maybe we missed the peak hour. Nevertheless, eager for a free meal, we marched on dressed like…cows. Well, I was dressed like a cow. Jason was holding his mask since he didn’t cut eyeholes!

As we walked towards the restaurant, we took a closer look at the flier on the door and realized that we had actually missed “Cow Appreciation Day.”

Instead of turning back to discreetly remove all cow markings from our appearance, Jason decided that we should go through with our plan anyway!

“What?! You mean walk into Chick-fil-A dressed like a cow even though today is NOT the day for free sandwiches?”

Jason shrugs, “Sure! Maybe they’ll take pity on us and still give us free food anyway.”

I was not particularly comfortable with this idea but I figured I didn’t have much to lose.

We walk inside, dressed like…cows. Jason was still holding his mask and I was covered in white paper spots. I could see the amused smiles forming on the employees’ faces. I imagined that they were thinking….

Oh, poor customers. How do we tell them that they totally missed Cow Appreciation Day? Bummer for them.

I instantly regretted our decision, but determined to save what little dignity I had left, I figured the best option was to pretend I was having fun and “play it cool.” I elbowed Jason, “Put on your mask! I am not going to be the only one dressed like a cow. This was your idea!”

When we walked up to the counter he quickly put it on…and then took it off because he couldn’t see. While ordering, he laughed and blurted a quick explanation. “Uh, well, we missed the dress-like-a-cow day, but we thought we’d come in here anyway since we already had our costumes and everything.”

The sweet Hispanic lady behind the counter smiled and replied sadly, “I’m sorry but I can’t give you a free sandwich.”

“Uh, that’s ok.” Jason said. “We understand.” And he placed our order. The lady entered our order into the computer and disappeared to the back, returning with a voucher for a free sandwich. She waved it around and said excitedly, “I can give you one!”

Really?! It worked?

We actually received a pity-inspired free chicken sandwich the day after Cow Appreciation Day!

When our food was ready, we took our bag, and scurried out of the store.

But, I realized something. Jason wore his mask less than 30 seconds and I was the one who was dressed like a cow the entire time.

I thought I earned a Starbucks for my performance. Jason prefers not to spend money on expensive coffee, so I reasoned with him. “You can take the money you saved getting a free sandwich and buy your wife a frappuccino (your wife who was pregnant and dressed like a cow when it was not “Cow Appreciation Day”)!

Jason laughed and kidded that he wouldn’t be “ahead” if he spent money he just saved. But, being the wonderful husband he is, he agreed and bought me one.

How can I end without a picture?

Next year, I plan to dress baby like a cow calf.