Kitchie Coo

For obvious reason, I have been having a hard time finding quiet time to write lately.  I read a lot of other mom blogs and I have found myself wondering how the hell they do they do it?!  Are they superhuman?  Do they get more hours in their day? (I want in on this secret if that's the case.) Are they sacrificing precious sleep to write? (I refuse to participate in silliness such as this.) Are they better multitaskers than me? (I suck at multitasking. I literally cannot type and nurse Claire at the same time, or carry on a telephone conversation and grocery shop.)  Whatever the case, I cannot join the ranks of these awesome women and pound out a post a day while keeping it together here.  Not yet, anyway.

But in the interest of keeping a promise to myself, now that things feel a tiny bit more manageable in my daily life, I am going to attempt to keep up with my Weekly Cooing.  And with that tiny promise to myself and the idea of doing this one thing each week for myself...Coooo...

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Life with two has been...an adjustment, to say the least.  Its been as daunting, tiring, hectic and exhausting as I had anticipated.  But, its also been a time full of beauty, blessings and falling in love over and over every day.

It is amazing how many times and ways you can fall in love with the same person.  I fell in love with Claire the moment I laid eyes on her, and every day since she was born the falling in love has happened again and again.  I have fallen in love with those deep blue eyes, the spiky brown hair on top of her head, the way she sounds exactly like a sheep bleating when she is sleeping, the soft baby scent of her skin, the way she stares at me when she is nursing, her warm cheek pressed against my chest as she sleeps on my stomach, her mellow spirit.  I could go on and on...


As I've learned since Anna entered our world, I continue to fall in love with her in different ways every day.  Lately, I have fallen in love with the her new found way of nurturing her sister, shushing her softly when she cries, patting her head and saying "its okay Cwaire".  I have fallen in love with her ease at adjusting to this new way of life, her ability to carry-on amid change, her easy going spirit and her smile that has somehow gotten bigger and brighter these past four weeks.  I think it has something to do with her new love...her baby sister.



I have fallen in love with the ease in which Mace has fallen into being a daddy to two.  I have fallen in love with his strong, gentle way with our stubborn two year old, and his sweet, gentle way with our newborn baby.  I have fallen in love with his ability to love me unconditionally through the major ups and downs in my moods and his unfailing commitment to our family, even through the end-of-the-semester busyness of grad school.


Our family.  So much love.  My heart oozes with the love we've created in our home.

Coo.

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At this very moment, Mace is at Guard drill, Anna is off to see Santa with Mace's parents and Claire is asleep.  The house is quiet and still.  I am soaking up these moments of doing anything I damn well please.  I ate a cookie.  On the couch.  Didn't even have to eat it in secret for fear my two-year old would think cookies are an appropriate breakfast (they are, but only for adults, duh). I had an extra cup of coffee.  I sorted through pictures from the last month.  And now I am writing, uninterrupted and freely.  I was craving, deep in my soul, some time just like this. Precious time, just for me.  I love being selfish, even if its only for an hour.

Coo.

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We have had a flourish of family here since Claire was born four weeks ago.  We are so darn lucky. Seriously.  I am realizing what a blessing it is to live far away from all our parents when we have had our babies.  And its not for the obvious reason.  Its because we've gotten to have our family plant themselves in our home and be with us.  I imagine if we lived in the same town there would be plenty of visits, but at the end of the day everyone would leave.  Being fully immersed with our parents, having extra hands at all hours of the day, and sharing the first weeks of Claire's life in a very intimate way has been pure joy.

Coo.

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I hear the littlest one stirring...time to be mommy again.  What a beautiful morning this has been.  My batteries are charged.  Have a beautiful weekend!

Anyone out there think they have the best husband in the whole wide world?

Ah, sorry ladies and gentlemen.  You're wrong!  I snagged him up before any of you could.  Ha ha! Lucky me!  He's mine, all mine.

He's this guy...


He's also this guy...



And this guy...


He's also the guy that shovels the snow, mows the lawn, eats all the cookies (true story) and does ALL the driving (even that 18 hour road trip from Montana to Minnesota.  All.)  He goes to grad school full time, serves as a 2nd Lieutenant with the National Guard, hangs with Anna during the day while I work, often has dinner cooking when I get home and still manages to find time to snuggle up with me and have a glass of wine at the end of the day.

He's sweet, he's funny, he is compassionate, handsome, adorable, clever, hardworking and laughs so infectiously that it would make Oscar the Grouch smile.

He is the most amazing dad to Anna.  Man, those two are a pair.  My heart aches with joy and pride when I watch them together.  He is impossibly patient with her.  He teaches, he guides, he keeps her safe, keeps her smiling.

He is my best friend in the whole wide world.  I still get butterflies in my stomach when he calls me.  I cannot wait to get home at the end of the day and wrap myself up in his arms.  I know how lucky I am...I do.

So, even though we've never been big Valentine's Day celebrants, this is my love letter to you, today and everyday.  You are an amazing man Mace and I am honored to be married to you. Thank you for picking me.

As a tribute to my darlin' and Valentine's Day, I present to you these awesome heart healthy cookies.  I found these on Amy's blog over at Gastronome Tart and fell in love.  Still love you more Mace, but these are pretty darn good.

The pages of my blog have been silent this past week.  I have been enjoying this way too much to do anything else.




Mace returned home on Friday evening and Anna and I have been blissfully attached to his hip ever since.   I hope we never have to go 5 months being apart again, it just plain sucks.  But, we did it.  We made it through.  And being together as a family has taken on a whole new light.   I've learned with all my soul, during this Fall, that absence really does make the heart grow fonder.  I have a whole new appreciation for my husband.  And not just the things he does around the house (although I am so grateful for this too), but the love and laughter he brings to our family.  Our home feels warmer and cozier and more peaceful with his presence filling the walls.  This man makes my heart beat wildly, makes me giddy and giggly, makes me feel like every day is Christmas.  He's just so darn amazing.

So, besides being all googly-eyed at each other, we did some other really fun stuff this weekend.  We got our Christmas tree, the second tree we've ever gotten together.  We decorated and smiled as Anna stared at the tree in awe, and then tried her hand at some tree trimming. You know, for her first time, she did pretty good.


We ate some really good food.  I was a very naughty food blogger and didn't take as many pics as I should have, but I made an amazing savory galette for Mace's homecoming dinner.  I got the recipe for this butternut squash and cabbage galette from Mind Over Batter and it was out of this world!



I am going to make it again for Christmas Eve dinner, and if I can get my mind out of the gutter I'll take some action shots with my new Canon Rebel T2i and post my version of this recipe.

What's that?  Oh, the Canon Rebel?  Its nothing really.  Well, okay, its something.  If you really want to know...maybe I'll gush just a little...its pretty amazing...I like it a lot...okay, I am wild about this new toy!!  In crazy wild passionate love with this camera.  My early Christmas present.

I have no clue how to operate it.  Well, except the very basic point and shoot settings (which I happen to think still takes pretty phenomenal pictures).  If anyone has any photography tips regarding DSLRs I'd love to hear them.  I'm on a mission to conquer this Canon.


My tummy is butterflying like crazy in anticipation of Christmas.  We're spending it in Missoula, which we've never done before.  We are going to wake up in our own house, in our own bed, and have coffee on our own couch.  Together.  My in-laws are coming on Friday for the weekend and Danesa and her family are coming over for Christmas Eve dinner.  My mom-in-law and I are going to make one of my favorite meals of all time on Christmas Day.  Its a Tuscan recipe with spinach, mushrooms, homemade ricotta and fresh pasta.  Stay tuned, I am chomping at the bit to share this one.  Its a good 'un.

Have you ever seen one of these?

Such a cool gift for a cook.  My mama sent this to me for Christmas, its a Cooks Wreath from Williams-Sonoma, and the herbs on the wreath can be used in cooking.  I hung it on a wall in my kitchen and I've already used herbs off it a couple of times.  This theoretically will last up to a year...but I have a feeling it will last more like 3 months in my house.  Look at all those gorgeous bay leaves!  Can I say: SOUP all winter long?

I'm rambling today.  My mind is still blissfully foggy and lovey from Mace's arrival and I wanted to share this joy.  My heart is running over with all this good stuff.

What are you most grateful for at this very moment?  I'd love to hear the holiday jabber in your heads.