At Home Date Night

Ian and I have two monthly date night tradition - the regular date night where we get a babysitter and do something out on the town (usually eating, but we do try to mix it up) and then we also have a stay at home date night. On our "out" date nights, we have 4 questions that we ask each month, usually one over appetizers, two over dinner and one of dessert (not because we actually plan it that way, just because it works out that way timing-wise). In case you're wondering, the questions are: 1) What's something you're enjoying about the stage of each kid; 2) What's something you're looking forward to in the next month? 3) What's something you're not excited about in the next month? 4) What's something you feel like God has been saying to you recently? 

These questions are great for helping us have meaningful conversation and we love this tradition.

For our "at home" date nights, we have a different tradition. We each plan one romantic thing for the other person. It can be really simple - a note, a bottle of champagne, dancing together to a romantic song, etc. Sometimes, it's more complex - one time Ian learned a Jason Mraz song that I like and played/sang it on the guitar for me. For our March date night, I made a jar filled with wooden Popsicle sticks, each saying something I love about Ian or something fun we could do together (like watching the baseball documentary he is always suggesting that I'm always shooting down).

We used to eat with the kids and then do these romantic exchanges after they had gone to bed but we recently discovered that we wanted to add a little something more to our at home date nights. So now we feed the kids something easy for dinner and then we eat cheese, crackers, salami and olives for our own dinner after they are in bed, usually with a glass of wine. 

It is so lovely and we enjoy the time so much. This past at home date night, the weather was perfect, so we were able to enjoy our dinner sans kids on the patio under our hanging white lights. It was very romantic and has already got me looking forward to April! 

If you've got suggestions (that are appropriate to share here) on romantic gestures, I'm all ears. I love new ideas! 

The Secret Is Out

I'm not a good driver. I think for several years, I tried to say that I was - that I was "efficient" and "effective." But the truth is, I drive too fast, follow people too close, am impatient and often distracted, and not just by my children. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I text while I drive. I know! It's illegal and dangerous and not worth it. But for some reason, I still do it. You'd think I'd learn, especially given...

That I rear ended someone a few weekends ago when I was checking emails on my phone. I was out running errands (alone! on a Saturday! so lovely!) and was sitting at a stop light. Being the multi-tasker that I am, I was using those few minutes to check my emails. When the light turned green, I stepped on the accelerator (with gusto, as I always do - I'm nothing if not consistent) and it turned out that it wasn't actually my light that had turned. So naturally, the car in front of me wasn't moving. I tried to slam on the breaks, but unfortunately, I hit her back bumper. Not too hard, but obviously this is one of those cases where that doesn't count. People kind of care every time you hit them, funnily enough.

So I did what only seemed right - I sped off in the opposite direction.

Just kidding. I hope you didn't believe me, not even for a second. How terrible would that be?!

We pulled over and she got out of her car and of course, I apologized. Even though the insurance companies say to never accept fault, I don't think there was any way to wriggle my way out of that one. We exchanged information but she said she didn't actually see any damage and didn't think she'd be filing a claim. I hoped that was true.

Then on Friday I got a call from a Mercy Insurance Claim Agent. She said her client didn't actually mean to file a claim but now that a claim number was open, she wanted to make sure I wasn't filing a claim myself.

I guess that should have been my first clue that something was a little off. If it was my fault (and I'm not even insured through Mercury), why in the world would I want to file a claim? What kind of claim would I even file? "I rear ended a lady; please give me all the blame and all the financial responsibility." Clearly not.

Then she began to ask me a bunch of questions. I was pretty annoyed, given that a claim hadn't even been made. Why do I have to say what happened? Why do I have so say where I was going? Seriously, with that question, I was pretty irritated. Why does it matter where I was going? But I suppose she is just doing her job, so I tried to be patient and answer the questions. (To my sister's house, in case you're wondering. But the wind was knocked out of my sails with the accident, so I never actually made it there.)

Next she asked me if there were any passengers. I told her no. Then she asked if there were any car seats in my car. I told her yes. Then she asked if anyone was in those car seats.

Didn't I just say I was alone? How could I be alone and there be people in the car seats? I wonder about this lady, I really do.

So of course, I reiterated that I was alone, so no, no one was in the car seats.

I was finally able to get out of the conversation and I truly hope that's the last time I have to talk to that Mercury agent.

But the real question is, did I learn my lesson? Have I sworn off texting and driving?

I'll never tell.

Why Is It Always Food?

Why is it always food the inspires me to take a picture and write a blog post? I guess I just feel that on top of being delicious, food is often so pretty. Just look at these tomatoes and that basil, asking to be swirled together with shallots, olive oil and salt. Don't mind if I do. Delicious! I love bruschetta and could basically eat it every night of the week. And I have to say, mine is better than pretty much anything you can get at a restaurant, fancy or otherwise. 

Boys Will Be Boys

He's been asking me all morning to put his nerf gun in his underpants, like a holster. His underpants, by the way, are superhero. You can't teach this stuff!

Banned Books

There's been a lot of talk about banned books in our house recently. One of the books that Ian chose for his 8th graders this year has been met with quite a bit of concern from the parents at his school. The book is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. At first I was sure all the fuss was for nothing, so I starting reading the book. (I thought perhaps I had read it in school myself but as I'm making my way through it, it doesn't seem at all familiar.) Now that I have passed the controversial pages, I have to admit - I can see why some of the parents were upset. But I can also see why Ian chose this book. She has a unique, beautiful voice.



When Ian was working on the letter that he would eventually send to all the 8th grade parents explaining his choice, he had me look over it. In the letter, he included a section about banned books, as Why the Caged Bird Sings has been on the list for many years. When I was reading it, I literally stopped and turned to him to say, "People still ban books? I thought that was just for the 60s." So then I was curious about other books that had that distinction. I was amazed at what I found - and how many of them I had read in school myself!

Here's a quick survey of some of the books on the Top 100 Most Frequently Banned Books from 2000-2009, in no particular order:

Of Mice and Men
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (#14 - who could object to this book?!)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Harry Potter (this was the #1 most commonly banned book - that surprised me!)
A Time To Kill 
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Bridge to Terabithia
Catcher in the Rye
To Kill a Mockingbird

And Ian's book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, coming in at #6.

But I guess I should mention that he also taught To Kill A Mockingbird, which was #21.
Curious about the whole list? Check it out here: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009

So then I was curious about books that were commonly banned before 2000. If books that used to be banned were now commonly read in school, might the same thing happen to the books from recently banned lists?

Here's a few of the top ten most frequently banned books:

1. Brave New World - I didn't read this in school, but I read it afterwards out of curiosity, as my teacher in school said that Brave New World was sort of the opposite side of the mirror to 1984. If 1984 is a story about the things we hate and how they can kill us, Brave New World is about how the things we love can also destroy us.

2. The Grapes of Wrath - I did read this in school and I have to say, I wasn't a fan. But not because of anything controversial; I think I'm not a Steinbeck fan.

4. Slaughter House Five - I was surprised this was on the list! I know it's disturbing but that's history, right?

8. American Psycho - I haven't read this, or seen the movie. What say you? Should it be banned?

If you want the full list of the Top Ten Most Banned Books of All Time, check it out here: http://www.shortlist.com/home/10-banned-books

Very interesting stuff, at least to us. For now, it seems that the meetings and phone calls and emails have settled down and Ian is back to the business of teaching. And I'm squeezing in moments to read, so I can know more about his life (and also use my brain a little bit more than I have in recent months. I have to confess that all I've read recently, aside from the Bible and some spiritual formation books, is Teen Literature. But it's just so entertaining!)

Anyway, happy reading to you, whatever you might be reading as well, banned or not.

And We're Back

Almost a year to the day and I'm finally ready to pick my blog back up. Thought it'd never happen, didn't you? I'm not gonna lie, me too. I've been ready for a while but there's just been so much to get caught up on that I haven't quite had the energy or time to dive back into all of it. And you know what? I'm not going to. No one really likes reheated left overs. So I've decided just to move on from today, except for summing up the last 12 months in few photos:

First, in February of last year, this happened:


And then a lot of this happened:


While that was happening, there was no energy for anything, let alone blogging.

And then this amazing, wonderful thing happened on November 6th:


And since then, there's been lots of this:






And we've been happy. We're so grateful to be a family of five and love our new little addition, Isaiah Donald.

That brings me to today. Ready to see the thing that finally pushed me into blogging again?



That's right, party people. Cookies. You know I love cookies. And aren't these so pretty? The kids and I made a new recipe and it resulted in these beauties. Yummy and good looking - that's my kind of Friday afternoon activity!

More to come...

Ruthie and Jonah

My kids playing together is one of my favorite things in the world. I love how they can make a game out of everything. I love how Ruthie is the first person Jonah asks for if he ever wakes up before her. I love that Ruthie is constantly calling to Jonah to come play with her. 

We spend lots of time in the backyard, since we apparently have no winter here. =) Here they are, painting together. I overhead Ruthie tell Jonah, "Good job, buddy!"

The other day when we were out for a family walk, they held hands for almost a whole block. It truly melted my heart. 

We recently received some hardware in a box - since opening the box, our kids have made it their house, where they sleep, do legos and play with each for hours. 

They are such good friends and I hope and pray it continues!