We started off with a Baby Einstein and a Veggie Tales or two — gifts, all of them. But then time went on and being the word-lovin’ mama I am, I felt Livia needed a new Baby Einstein DVD, Baby Wordsworth. Now, I believe it was entirely worth it to buy this one for Liv. She’s learned many words and a lot of sign language from it (and she has thoroughly entertained us during all the learning), but overall I would rather not spend another dime on a children’s video. Why is that? Because our library ROCKS.

I can pick up scores of different children’s shows on DVD (many more on VHS) at our library for, and here’s the clincher, FREE. Free! We can check them out for three weeks at a time (four weeks from the Bookmobile) and return them any time before that, at our own convenience. That’s not all… I recently learned that if Livia checks out her own books (and, ahem, some of her mom’s, too), late fees are reduced to a dime per day, per item. This is definitely something that works me me considering the fact that my late fees alone could pay for the eventual renovation of the public library downtown.

Normally I’d consider it redundant to post on a topic someone else has already covered, but I feel I must mark the passing of time by sharing photos of our glorious catalpa trees. There’s something stunning and unexpected about our “wedding” trees. They are fairly ordinary and commonplace (albeit to the untrained eye, not you, Christina!) during most of the year, except for late spring/early summer when they develop white blossoms, which eventually fall beautifully on our lawns. When I walked out front to snap pictures today, the flowers looked like snowflakes, gently falling in the midday breeze, blanketing the green grass.

It is trees like catalpas, not to mention the numerous perennials and annuals planted in our gardens, that make this season, the spring season, my absolute favorite.

Though I am definitely not the genius behind freezer meals (the true genius would be hard to pinpoint anyway), I am extremely thankful that this tactic works for me as I enjoy cooking only when I’m in the mood, which is most certainly not every day at 5:00pm.

Within my circle of girlfriends, the first freezer meal session came by way of The Occasional Cook, a how-to by Cyndy Salzmann. Salzmann’s book is really helpful; it contains recipes and teaches you how to go about preparing and freezing meals. My good friend Carrie ran with these ideas and, at the last cooking day, saw eight women (and two husbands) in her kitchen/dining room darting around like mad and preparing 30+ different meals for our freezers. Suffice to say that I wouldn’t engage in this process without the genius and hardworking spirit of Carrie. She does almost all the meal-planning and grocery shopping, then enlists the other ladies’ help to do things like browning ground beef, cooking pasta and deboning loads and loads of chicken. On cooking day we all gather together, pair off in twos and begin assembling meals. By the end of four hours (the process used to take 12 or so hours, we’ve become more efficient now) each woman takes home 30+ meals and places them in her freezer.

Many recipes can be easily frozen, then defrosted the day they are needed. Some thick casseroles, like lasagna, require a little more defrost time. You don’t need to invite all your girlfriends over for cooking day — though a party does makes the work more fun.

Here are two tried-and-true freezer meals our family enjoys:

Ham/Cheese Quiche
– Joan Texel

9-inch deep-dish pie crust (unbaked)
1/2 cup Swiss cheese
1/2 cup Monterey jack cheese
1/2-cup mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup cubed ham
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup half and half
2 Tb flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper (opt)
1/4 cup sliced green onion (opt)

Assembly: Combine all ingredients, reserving only pie crust and cheeses. Place Swiss and Monterey cheeses in separate self-sealing bags. Place all bags in 2 gallon bag. Label. Freeze.

Preparation: Thaw. Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle Swiss cheese on bottom of crust. Pour egg mixture into pie shell over the Swiss cheese. Sprinkle Monterey jack cheese over the top of mixture. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

*This recipe came from a friend and works well as a freezer meal. A lot of our meals are along the meat-and-potatoes line, so I like this one because it’s a lighter meal. Paired with a fruit salad, it makes a simple lunch or dinner.

Swiss Casserole
– The Occasional Cook

3 C cubed cooked turkey or chicken
2 C sliced celery
2 C croutons
1 C mayo
1 C swiss cheese
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/3 C chopped walnuts

Assembly: Mix all ingredients except walnuts. Place in 1-gallon freezer bag. Place walnuts in small self-sealing bag. Place both bags in 2-gallon self sealing bag. Label. Freeze.

Preparation: Thaw. Place in 2 qt casserole dish. Sprinkle with walnuts. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

*This recipe sounds a bit strange (at least to me), but Jeremy and I love it. The flavors combine to make a yummy dish. Great paired with a fresh green salad.

Here’s tidbit that’s been floating around… (chuckle, chuckle)

“Most people don’t know that back in 1912, Hellmann’s mayonnaise was manufactured in England.

In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York.

The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost. The people of Mexico were crazy about mayonnaise, had been eagerly awaiting its delivery, and were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.

The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.”

After going to the opened back door at 8:00am and belting out, “JASON! JASON!” Livia settled in my lap this morning while I read the newspaper. On the front page, she finally located our neighbors.

“Jason!” she said, and pointed to a small pic of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister of Iraq. Mmm, y-e-a-h.

“Nae Nae?” she questioned, while pointing at Cindy Lange-Kubik’s photo near the bottom of the page. I found myself saying, That kind of looks like Renae; and then upon closer examination, Uh, she doesn’t look like Renae at all, but okay…

Touching the colored picture of Marg Helgenberger, native Nebraskan and a star of the tv program CSI, I asked Liv, “Who’s this?”

“Mama.”

What a sharp, observant two year old I have. What can I say? It’s good to be a celebrity.

There is sad news in Lincoln today. A 30 year old pregnant woman, hit by an intoxicated driver on Mother’s Day, was taken off life support yesterday. She was a drug/alcohol counselor at a recovery program in town and had received her license as a mental health practicioner just two days before the car accident. Her baby was delivered at 7 months gestation and is in stable condition at St. Elizabeth’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU); little Jadyn weighs 2lb, 12 oz. My heart grieves for this family — for the father who is entering parenthood on his own now and for this teeny little girl who will especially miss her mom on Mother’s Day. Please pray for the Luebbert family and, if you are able to, donate money to cover the baby’s medical expenses at a local Union Bank.

In other news regarding premature babies, Fox’s Pizza Den is holding a fundraiser all day Saturday for St. Elizabeth’s NICU in honor of the owner’s daughter who passed away there a year ago. The owner’s wife recently gave birth to a healthy, full-term baby and now they’d like celebrate their first child’s memory. So here’s the deal… Buy pepperoni pizzas for you and your friends tomorrow for $7.99 a pie — and support the “baby hospital’s” care for their littlest patients.

**I can’t help but post this sweet baby picture of Livia, taken by my Uncle Steve a few days after we brought her home. I loves my baby!

Shannon started the Works for Me Wednesday idea and I’ve enjoyed reading tips from other women. (Though, I must confess I become overwhelmed with tips quickly and can’t read very many in one sitting.)

My tip for the day involves a cheap, odor-friendly, and environmentally-healthy way of cleaning your tub: I use dollar shampoos to do the job. Shampoo is designed to strip grease from your hair — and it does the exact same thing in your bathtub. Go ahead and give it a whirl. It will leave your bathroom smelling nice and your tub looking sparkly clean.

____________

I’ve been getting a kick out of reading the labels on my shampoo bottles, especially the one that insinuates I can escape reality by sudsing my hair follicles. Here’s a little quiz for the rest of you. By the info on the back of the bottle, can you identify which shampoo is 1) the cheap, tub-cleaning one? 2) the moderately priced one? and 3) the expensive, purchased-while-on-sale one?

a. “Thoroughly cleans, while adding volume and fullness. Leaves hair noticeably softer, smoother and more naturally vibrant.”

b. “Come clean. A rich, creamy lather takes shine and softness over the edge. Escape reality, experience the fragrance. Become a Moisture Maniac. Indulge your craving for brilliant hair.”

c. “____ Shampoo combines the light, fresh fragrance of aloe vera in a formula with honeysuckle, Vitamin E and gentle cleansers to nourish and restore the natural beauty of all hair types. Treat yourself and your hair to the long-lasting beauty and fresh fragrance of Aloe Vera.”

The subject line of a recent email read, “Trusting God with Your Adopted Child,” and it struck me as a very true hope/desire for those of us who have gone through the adoption process. But the “trusting God” part applies to way more than the future of your adopted child. It applies to the future of your biological child, to the present and future bond of your marriage, to the hard conversations you need to have with your friends, to the health of your physical and emotional self, to the commitment of your community, to the daily grind in the workplace, to the future of your church, to the day-by-day sacrifice of self.

Trusting God is hard. H-A-R-D. There’s nothing at all easy about believing that God loves you and knows you intimately… and then choosing to put faith in Him. Parents who have adopted children struggle sometimes with the messy reality of broken families. What should I tell my child about her birthmother? What kind of relationship should I allow? Should I let her know she has half-siblings? So on and so forth. Trusting God through these questions means praying almost constantly for guidance and wisdom in these issues, and then that word again, trusting that He’ll walk you through each day and supply the answers as He sees fit.

Like I said before however, the trust issue comes forth in every aspect of life. Every single person I know struggles or has struggled with some intense issue. Brothers going off to war in Iraq, pressure and major conflict with coworkers and bosses, strained relationships with mothers and fathers, poor self image, trouble completing major projects, alcoholism, depression, death of a loved one, divorce. There is relief in the struggle in that you don’t have to go it alone. Trust in one greater than yourself, in the God who created you, knows you, loves you.

Psalm 56
3 When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?