On Hospitality Pt. 2

So I want to do a post on Christmas but I think I'll save that for later and do part 2 of my hospitality posts.  Christmas actually reminded me of this because my family got sick on Christmas Eve and so instead of having dinner with them, we ended up having friends over to our house.

So much of hospitality is just getting over one's self.  Seriously.  It is about humbling yourself and esteeming others better than yourself.  I'm going to keep this short and simple.

Stop worrying about yourself and how your house looks.  Work on maintaining a fairly tidy and organized home (I definitely need to work on this one) so that you don't have to stress and run around cleaning like a madwoman before guests come.  If they do see you with a messy house, who cares?  The point is to provide a loving and welcoming home not to be the model of perfection.

Do you have a small house?  This one takes some creativity.  We live in a house that is barely over 1000 square feet but we try not to let that stop us from having guests over.  One way we try to solve this problem is by planning on having over larger families during the spring or fall so that we can eat outside on our deck and spread out.  Just remember that your guests want to spend time with you and with each other and might not mind to be squashed together.  You can also plan hospitality away from your house such as organizing a picnic at a park or inviting others to go caroling outdoors.

Preparing food for a bunch or even a few people can be daunting especially if you do not consider yourself a good cook.  I love to cook so this isn't really a fear that I have.  Here are a few tips that I have:
1. Ask your guests about any potential allergies.
2. Be unafraid of people's allergies or eating styles.  I used to be afraid of inviting over a family that primarily ate organic and vegetarian.  It turns out that they while they eat rather selectively at home, they are totally willing to eat just about whatever we served them.  Also the internet is your best friend for gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian recipes.
3.  Ask your guests to bring food.  There is no need for you to be the ones to cook everything.
4.  If cooking is really not your thing, order a pizza and throw some dressing on a bag of salad.  The goal is not to impress but to share and love your neighbors.
5.  Plan in advance.  Do NOT wait till the last minute to figure out what is for dinner.  The crockpot is great for guests since you can make up your food hours before.

Just as the task of preparing for guests can be overwhelming, cleaning up can also be scary.  Don't be afraid of using paper plates and plastic cups.  I love having guests but I used to hate the clean-up the day after the dinner party.  Throwaway dinnerware saved us!  Now we have a dishwasher and it isn't a big problem.

At the end of the day, just keep in mind that hospitality is about you loving a neighbor.  It is not about showing off, performing, or making everybody happy all the time.  True humble hospitality is radical in today's world and a great way to advance God's kingdom.

I originally meant this to be more in depth and eloquent but my child is screaming...again.  Excuse me while I work on dying to self and showing hospitality to my baby.

5 Months + 1 Week

I haven't forgotten about my blog, really.  Since my last post, I've written approximately 3 more posts in my head.  The problem is actually having the time, free hands, and motivation to write them up.  Here is a quick update on my baby boy.  I like to keep track of my children on here because this is essentially my journal.

Don't worry, my hand was supporting his back. 

He weighs approximately 18 lbs. 

He is exclusively breastfed.  We'll hopefully start solids sometime after 6 months. 

While he has slept through the entire night in the past, he spent most of the time between 4-5 months waking up 4 + times a night.  Yes, talk about walking zombie mommy.  As of this Sunday  night, he seems to have remembered that he is capable of sleeping and has only been waking up around twice a night.  

He is super good at grabbing things.  He managed to grab a paper off of the fridge the other day as we walked by it. 

Right at the 5 months mark, he learned to roll from his tummy to his back.  He triumphantly refuses to do tummy time. 

A couple of days before he turned 5 months, he got his first tooth!  I couldn't believe it.  Today, I noticed his second tooth is starting to come in.  

He loves to snuggle and stinks at self-soothing.  I rock him or nurse him to sleep every single time.  

He still has nights where he refuses to sleep in his bed.  Sometimes I'll let him scream for 10 minutes before picking him up and yet he can go back to sleep within 30 seconds of me holding him.  On those nights, I just give in and let him sleep in his swing.  The only problem is that he is almost too big for his swing.  

He is very much in 6-9 month clothing.  

He thinks his big sister is the most interesting and hilarious person that ever lived.  

On Hospitality

I recently read this book:

I neither loved it nor hated so don't necessarily rush out to buy it.  If you really want to read it, I'll be happy to lend you my copy.  I don't plan on rereading it though I will probably continue to use some of the recipes.  

The point is that this book got me thinking about hospitality.  One of the main points of the book was that practicing hospitality is an essential part of life.  This didn't surprise me as we regularly have people over.  However, it did get me thinking about other people's hospitality or lack thereof.  I'm an extrovert and I grew up in a family that was always inviting people over so it is no surprise that I love to show hospitality.  Reading this made me realize that this not everybody is made this way.  Big surprise, I know.  

Anyways, it made me hope that everybody who is reading this blog (yes, all 3 of you) is consciously making an effort to show hospitality.  In an effort to encourage you, I want to do a miniseries on hospitality and what works for us.  I am not a pro in any way, shape or form, but I have learned a thing a two along from my mom.  So first let me start with my biggest weakness and we'll move on from there.  

I suck at making things fancy.  Seriously.  Serving bowls?  What is this thing you speak of? What is wrong with just spooning out gravy from a saucepan?  One of the biggest deterrents here is that I lack a dishwasher. Fortunately, this will soon be remedied!!!!!!!!!!!!! My mom always made holidays super and special occasions so memorable and pleasant to look at.  She is can lay a mean looking table.  

This is a picture of the dinner we had the last night Sara was home this fall.  We're just having meatloaf and jello but it looks beautiful.  How does she do this?  I was born too much a Martha and am totally lacking in the Mary department.  

Now that I've fessed up, feel free to share your biggest tips and secrets to making something memorable and fancy.  

The Easiest Berry Sauce

As previously mentioned, I love pancakes.  I also love berries.  I love fresh whipped cream.  In case you haven't figured it out yet, I love food.  

A couple of years ago, I figured out how to make the world's easiest berry sauce and have since been intermittently enjoying it over pancakes.  Here is the recipe if you can even call it that.  

Easy Berry Sauce

Berries - frozen or fresh, any variety or even a mix

Throw the berries into a small saucepan and put over medium heat.  Cook until soft and the juices run out of the berries.  Serve over pancakes, ice cream or whatever else your heart may desire.  

That's it.  Seriously.  Nothing else.  I love the combination of tart berries with sweet pancakes and freshly whipped cream.  I suppose that if you felt it was too tart, you could throw in a little sugar.  

I should have taken a picture before I ate most of my breakfast.  Oops.

Kira is definitely a huge fan. 

Too Skinny for the Skinny Jeans

So it isn't much of a secret that I've lost a lot of weight these past 4 months.  It feels wonderful!  I love being relatively skinny again and being able to wear some of my favorite clothes.  This past week I wore my skinniest pair of jeans for the first time in about a year!  I also went out and bought my first pair of real skinny jeans.  I'm officially only 5 years behind the style!

Before 

After

While I wouldn't be too disappointed if I happened to lose another pound or two, I thought I'd mark this occasion by posting some of my favorite things to eat when I'm feeling super skinny.  So if you happen to being feeling a little too skinny for your skinny pants, give one of these things a try!

1.  Pecan pie!  My favorite pie and it is almost Thanksgiving which always reminds me of it.  I have never actually made a pecan pie because pecans are ridiculously expensive and I'm scared I'd eat the entire thing by myself.  
2. Cheesecake.  I'd take just about any kind especially if it includes dark chocolate.  Just sayin. 
3. Talenti Sea Salt Caramel Gelato.  It is like eating butter.  So rich.  So salty.  So sweet.  So amazing.  One of the best date night treats around!
   
4. Fresh from the oven homemade bread slathered with butter.  I could seriously eat 1/2 loaf by  myself when it comes out of the oven.  I've been making this bread recipe recently.  
5. Pancakes!  Our normal breakfast in this house is oatmeal.  I like to make it a variety of ways.  We also eat a lot of homemade Greek yogurt, granola, and eggs.  My true love is pancakes.  I love them with fresh whipped cream.  They are also yummy when a fruit sauce.  To make a fruit sauce just dump some fresh or frozen berries in a small pan over medium high heat and wait until they turn into a lumpy sauce.  Much better than syrup! While I'm not super picky about my pancakes (though no mixes please), these are my two favorite pancake recipes: pumpkin pancakes and banana blueberry pancakes.  
6. Fruffy coffee!  I love occasionally splurging on super girly coffee. 
7. Finally, I leave you with one recently discovered savory item.  I don't know if it makes the favorite list yet because I've only had it once, but the recipe is definitely a keeper.  I'm hoping to make it again for the holidays.  Check out this butternut squash and cheddar bread pudding. We had it as a vegetarian main dish but it would also work great as a side or even for breakfast. 

What are your favorite indulgence foods?

Christmas List

So I've been getting my elf on.  I already have completed one handmade Christmas present, completed a second but decided it was a failure, and put several hours into a third present.  I've also made about half of our Jesse Tree ornaments.  I love it!  I'm super excited about Christmas this year primarily because Kira will finally be old enough to enjoy starting some new traditions with us.  I finished my Advent calendar last January so we'll get to use it for the first time this year.
Here is my Christmas list:

Because let's face it, I need help as a mother. 

New rain boots.  I not super particular about the design but I need, need, need new rain boots.  

I don't know that I really need a dutch oven, but it sure would be fun to have one in a pretty color.

Last but not least, I'd like to refill my supply of dark chocolate.  A little goes a long way as I like to eat it slowly and enjoy small bits of it during the day.

Life With a Toddler

Here are a few little snippets from our crazy life.

During a diaper change:
Kira: I have poopies!
Me: Yes, a lot of poop.
Kira: I did good job poopsies!
Me:........uh..........a good job would have been if you had done your poop on the potty.

 We've been attempting to teach her the sounds that the different letters of the alphabet make.  Aaron was trying to use songs that she knew to help with this.  For instance, whenever they would see an "A", they would start singing Amazing Grace stressing that "ah" sound.  When they came to "E", Aaron asked for a song suggestion.  I volunteered Everybody Wants to Be a Cat as Kira had just watched Aristocats.  Now every time Kira sees an "E", she loudly proclaims, "Evybody be a cat, Mama!"

This is what happens when daddy picks out Kira's "pjs"

 Me: Please stop crying now.
Kira: I want to cry!

She kept wanting to sit in Will's bumbo and then would get stuck.

Me: Please don't smoosh your brother. 

Kira in a whiny voice: "But I want to smoosh him." 

Things I've had to tell my daughter not to lick: 

1. The dustpan

2. A package of raw bacon at the store

Finally, I just found Kira holding a blanket over Will's face.  He'll be lucky if he makes it to his first birthday at this rate.