I love my family

I have the most amazing family in the world.  My daughter is so smart and so wonderful. My husband is supportive, caring (sometimes over caring), and loving.  I am so thankful that I have both of them.

I am also very thankful for my wonderful friends. I couldn’t get by without them.  We have been having a very hard year, and they have been there for us the whole way through. They say it takes a village to raise a family, and I truly believe this. The difficult part is that my family all lives very far away, and are not here to help us out.  I have never been a person who easily asks for help from anyone, especially friends.  It’s hard for me to not do everything by myself.  But, I am learning that I have to ask for help in order for my daughter to grow up strong in this world. I can’t do it all by myself.  It’s a tough lesson to learn, but I’ve learned it.

Now, just because I know this, doesn’t mean that it’s easy for me.  I still take on too much by myself, and I still struggle every day with when I should ask for help and when it is ok for me to do it by myself. I will probably struggle with that for a very long time, but knowing that I need to ask for help is the first step. The second step comes in baby steps. Each time I get the courage to ask for help, I grow a little more.

So, to all of my friends that are out there and reading this, thank you for everything you do for me. Thank you for your patience with me.  And, thank you, most of all, for everything you do for my family!

Mothers

Mothers Day is a big deal to a lot of people around  me.  To me, since I love my daughter so much.  To my mother-in-law and to my mother, because they live so far away from their children.  This year was special to everyone.

So, my mother-in-law has been in town for over a week now.  But, she got sick 2 days after arriving, and so we haven’t had the opportunity to spend much time with her

My parents flew into town on Friday, and we drove down to South Florida on Saturday to meet up with them and my brother’s family.  My niece, Isabella, was turning 2 years old. My brother was throwing her a birthday party.  It was a lot of fun. They had it at the Boca Play Station, which is a play lounge similar to Amaya Papaya and Peanut’s Playhouse.  Jade had so much fun, bouncing in the bounce house, sliding down the slide, and dressing up in costumes, especially the pirate costume.

Jade loved spending time with her cousin, and especially with Grandma and Grandpa.  After Saturday, we had Mother’s Day brunch with my brother’s family, and my mom and dad, and then drove back up to Orlando. Our 3-year tradition continued.  We went to an early dinner at Cafe Tu Tu Tango.  It was so yummy and so much fun, as always. Then, we went over to Granny and Grampy’s house to see my mother-in-law and deliver her a Mother’s Day present.

Now, we’re 2 days away from the MOMS Club Annual Banquet and there is still so much to do.  BTW, I was elected President of the club for next year. I have to make a slide show for everyone, but I haven’t been able to get the pictures from Becca. I’m so nervous we’re not going to have a good banquet, but I know we will.  We have a great board, all working very hard to make it special.

More to come soon. I’ll look forward to being able to tell you all about how much money we made and how much fun we had.

Teaching

I didn’t get to write yesterday, because I was substitute teaching in the 3-year-olds class at Jade’s school.  They sure are a handful compared to the 2-year-olds.

I have a meeting with the pastor tomorrow to discuss my future there, including summer teaching and fall teaching.  I’m excited and nervous all at the same time.

The Chef

I’ve made some really interesting things the past couple of weeks. I started last week out with chicken stir-fry, but instead of the awful soy sauce, I use peanut butter and wine. Much healthier and so yummy. Then, I made sweet potato cauliflower soup with Ribeye. And finished the week with a Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo.  I also made strawberry shortcake, since it is the end of strawberry season.  This week, I made lasagna and barbecue chicken bites, and tonight I’m making pizza.  I also made a chicken casserole and brownies for a friend who just had a baby.

If anyone is interested in any of these recipes, let me know and I’ll post them.  Just comment below.

Next week’s post should be much more exciting. My mother-in-law is currently here, my mom and dad are arriving on Friday, we’re going to my niece’s birthday on Saturday, and Mother’s day is Sunday, so I’ll have lots to talk about!

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 1 head cauliflower
• 1/4 medium onion
• 3 clove garlic
• 8 cups water
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 1 teaspoon curry powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Chop up the cauliflower into small pieces and spread out on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with curry powder and tumeric.  Bake for 20 minutes, until soft, but not mushy.

Peel and cut up into 1-inch pieces, the sweet potatoes.  Add to the 8 cups of water along with the onions and garlic.  Bring to boil and cook until soft.  When done, add the cauliflower.  Separate into two parts and cool a bit.

In your food processor, process one part until smooth and add back to the remaining.  Now, since I’m feeding a toddler who is a lazy chewer, I processed 3/4 of the soup instead of just half.

Crock Pot Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup oats

Directions

I made this recipe for my family, and both kids and my husband all asked for seconds.  This is odd, because my daughter never eats her meat, let alone ask for more.

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and shape into the loaf in the crock pot.  Cook on low heat for 5-6 hours.

Made it through a rough weekend

I have the most amazing husband in the world, and the cutest and sweetest daughter ever. I had expected to spend the entire weekend crying, and yet I had a very good weekend.

Last September we had a miscarriage.  If we hadn’t have lost him, little Dewey would have been born this past weekend. Today, I would be holding my little baby. I would be struggling with breastfeeding. I would be dealing with Jade’s jealousy of the new baby. I would be in severe pain, recovering from the c-section. But, I would have my little baby … the sweet addition that the Breiding family needs.

My husband came home on Friday with a big bouquet of flowers.  He took Jade and I to the beach on Saturday, then out for frozen yogurt.  Then, I got to have a wonderful afternoon at a tea party with friends on Sunday.  To finish the weekend, we went to the Food Truck Bazaar at Avalon Park and enjoyed a nice dinner as a family.

I love my family! Jeremy and Jade are perfect.  I couldn’t imagine life without them.  They are everything to me.  But, that doesn’t change the fact that I think our life would be that much better with one more. Is that selfish of me? I feel bad feeling bad.