because i need this reminder a lot these days...

I hope that my child looking back on today
Will remember a mother who had time to play:
Because children grow up while you're not looking
There are years ahead for cleaning and cooking.
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm nursing my baby and babies don't keep.

meals for 4.25.11 through 5.1.11 *eek! MAY!*

how is it that April is almost over?? geez louise...

well, it's quiet in my abode right now... kids are sleeping *yes, simultaneously...that doesn't happen often* and it looks like another spring storm is a-brewin' :) dark clouds, wind... i love storms! have you ever noticed that, when it's about to storm, the trees seem to turn their leaves upsidedown so that the lighter green side is showing? maybe it's just the wind, but i've always found this to be something i've wondered about for awhile... hmmm...

it's Ry's spring break this week... and don't you know that he is now sick with something or other... the pits, i tell ya... he's at the doctor now, so hopefully the vacay won't be totally ruined by an ill-feeling self, husband, and daddy... *gotta love the timing of sickness*

and, there's nothing like posting a meal plan when the week is almost halfway through, huh?! :) anyhoo...here's what we're going to be eating (or already ate :)) this week... :)

Monday: fried rice (yep, from last week...never got to it... Hannah got shots on Friday and was a little fussy and feverish...i held her most of the night and didn't make dinner :) i'm a rebel :))
Tuesday: Easter leftovers :)
Wednesday: creamy scalloped potatoes and ham (new recipe)
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: eating out in No. VA? may be at the zoo this day :) (literally, not figuratively :))
Sunday: grill out - bbq chicken and baked potatoes

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week...ENJOY the beautiful weather and spend some time dancin' in the spring rain :)

happy Easter...

it was a wonderful day today... it was a long day, but it was a wonderful one...
we made it to church...heard a fabulous message...gosh, our pastor is a talented and gifted speaker... seriously, i can't wait to hear what he's going to preach about each Sunday...

today, i was moved by the thought of me giving up one of my children, willingly, knowing she would die a terrible, terrible death so that others could enjoy a life everlasting... i can't even fathom that concept...me handing over Katherine or Hannah, knowing she would die... wow.... there's no way...

i feel like i need to say how great it is to be part of a church again... we strayed away for awhile...and not because we were living life on the wild side or anything... we couldn't ever find what we needed... great preaching, great music, no fellowship with people...great fellowship, lacking preaching, lacking music...people who made us feel uncomfortable... and it's so nice to be with people who are so nice and focused on the right things...
anyway... :)

we made it to church...again, when people were singing already... and we were up without a problem, but as most of you know, life with two little kids makes prompt attendance sometimes a bit challenging...

but Katherine was sooooo excited to wear her "pretty dress" and adorable little shoes... :) gosh, she looked so cute in her pink floral dress... and sweet little Hannah wore a little mint green dress with a smocked front... it was my dress as a baby, and when i put it on her this morning, i had a flashback of dressing my baby dolls in it... it was one of those full circle moments when i realized how "right" things are right now... :) we took pictures, and i will load the pictures this week and get them posted...

we had a fabulous dinner with our friends, The Strongs... :) ham, rolls, green bean casserole, pineapple stuffing (heavenly!), mashed potatoes, green jell-o salad, and apple pie... :) our bellies were FULL but our hearts were more full, i think...

on the way home from church today, i heard this song that i had never heard before... i worked hard to remember the artist's name so that i could look it up... it was just one of those songs that hit me, ya know... i know the Easter story about Jesus' tomb being empty... but i've been reminded at what a terrible death Jesus suffered...and his courage and faith as he hung there being spit upon, insults floating in the air, onlookers unmoved by the pure act of crucifixion... how gracious and amazing He was and still is...

i hope the words speak to you as they did me... Happy Easter <3

meals for 4.18.11 through 4.24.11 :)

it is holy week for many... i know a lot of people will be busy with church services and might be having quick meals...or maybe meals at church with all the yummy fixins... while we are christians, and practicing ones at that, we don't have a lot of "traditions" when it comes to "holy" week as far as meals... we'll be enjoying a nice Easter dinner with friends on Sunday, but that's about it... :) so, this is what will be cookin' up at the Rakows for the week before Easter :)

• Monday: French toast, turkey bacon, sausage (ry)





• Tuesday: open face pork loin sandwiches & mashed potatoes (leftovers from Sunday)





• Wednesday: turkey burgers on the grill, mac n cheese, and tater tots :)





• Thursday: conversational dinner at Pastor Lindsay's - not sure what we're taking yet :)





• Friday: fried rice (homemade) and from chinese take out: egg rolls, wonton soup (Robin), dumplings (Ry)





• Saturday: eat out? (may switch this with Friday and have Friday's meal on Saturday)





• Sunday: Easter dinner with the Strongs - we don't know what we're having yet... :)

We hope that you have a wonderful week, and don't forget to celebrate the risen Lord on Sunday! :)

pick me up :)

i heard this song for the first time last week... :) i'm not a huge country music person, but i do know that there are lots of great country songs out there that i enjoy... and this song - well, it has a great message... :)

Bending the Twig

i'm at the point in my "parenting" journey where i'm starting to "look for" things to help me be a better mom... i did a TON of reading on pregnancy...and a pretty equal amount on the wee baby stage... but now, i have an almost 2 1/2 year old... :) and, well, if there's one thing i'm learning, it's that being a momma to a 2 1/2 year old toddler is a humbling experience... there are days where i'm guilty of NOT being an exemplary mom... i am not always proud of how i "mom" my sweet K... and i want to be as good as i can be to her...no, i want nothing but the best for her... she deserves that, more than anything in the world... and, i hate the feeling of embarrassment and disappointment that i feel when i know i didn't handle a situation in an appropriate way... this soul searching has me acting like that inch worm "reaching" for anything in the air...waving around and trying to see what i can find to "fill my soul" properly to be a better mom... before katherine was born, my mother-in-law gave me a book... she didn't make a big deal out of it either, but she told me, "this is probably the best book on parenting i have ever read..." and kind of walked on... :) i still remember how non-challant she was about it...and not in a bad way, either... well, the book inadvertently got put on Katherine's book shelf... and i found it mixed in with Clifford and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear..." :) i took it off the shelf last week...and have been filling my soul with some fabulous reading... "Bending the Twig" is a book written by a "grandmama" (as she calls herself :)), Bernadine Bigner Cantrell, and it's a guide to biblical parenting. she raised 4 children of her own, and she has lots and lots of grandbabies... :) (this is not the same cover to my book...i see it's been revised :)) i love it... and i love what she has to say and how she says it. she doesn't talk down to you...but she does present some thought-provoking insight on how to raise a Godly child... i love that she said, in the beginning, that you didn't have to agree on everything she presents (and so far, i have agreed on what she's said :)), but instead, she hoped that it would at least make you THINK about things or reassess your stances on topics... i am hungry to read it... i want to know more...and i feel like i can't get the information fast enough... i plan on posting about things i read in this book... not only to help me digest and think about what i'm reading, but also, in hopes of also hitting a chord with you, the reader... stay tuned as i journey through this book so that i adjust my actions and thoughts, perhaps, so that i can be the best Momma to my sweet girls... after all, they are my world and heart...

meals for 4.11.11 through 4.17.11

well, the heat is on in VA right now... it's been such wacky weather this spring... we were running our little heater in our bedroom a few days ago, and now, the cool air from our AC is keeping us comfortable after a day of temperatures in the high 80s with lots of humidity... rain is in the forecast for the next several days, and so, it struck me that, interestingly, weather, seems to play a roll in what we decide to eat here at the Rakow house... weird!! :) nevertheless, this is what will be adding to our hips this week... :)

• 
  
  Monday: filet mignon, baked potatoes, mac n cheese (not a typical meat selection for us penny pinchers...they were left over from when we didn't have kids and were able to spend our money at Omaha Steaks! :))


• 
  
  Tuesday: out to eat - Happy Birthday, Ryan :) - i'll probably make him some brownies instead of cake, too :) but i doubt we'll have room! :)


• 
  
  Wednesday: macaroni soup and grilled cheese


• 
  
  Thursday: frenchies chicken tenders and tater tots (Ry's request :))


• 
  
  Friday: leftovers (probably soup) and rolls


• 
  
  Saturday: not sure yet...fried rice? bisquits and ham?


• 
  
  Sunday: crock pot - pork loin, mashed potatoes & carrots :)

hope that you have a fabulous week and ENJOY every minute! :)

boring randoms

• i love it when the weather gets warm...but i hate a hot house... i don't think it's necessary to turn on the AC yet....


• my dog snores really loud... my husband snores louder... *sigh*


• i finally ordered Hannah's birth announcements :) i'll be excited to see them when they come... and, gosh...birth announcents are so expensive... gone are the days of simple written ones with a picture enclosed... oh well...


• i have to dust our ceiling fans before i will turn them on for the spring... i don't like friction and how it makes so much dust collect on their blades.... ugh...

(i fell asleep while writing this the other night...)

• Katherine has been singing "Frere Jacques" for the last week now... it cracks me up... then she switches to the English version, "Are You Sleeping?"... she will skip around the house singing it... :) this morning, when i went in to get her, she was quietly singing it in her crib. so stinkin' sweet...i love it... :)


• if we invited the cows that live on the farm next to our back yard, they'd be happy to eat all of our very tall grass... hard to believe it's mowing season already!


• i am mailing our efile permission to our accountant tomorrow so our taxes can be filed... yay! :) i'm a little ashamed to say that i forgot to total the amounts of various "home business" expenses for him...which translates into extra work for him... oops... he even wrote a note on our return information... Ry's reply, "Way to go...you've made the accountant mad!" :)


• Hannah struggles with sleeping during the day... sometimes, she will sleep for what seems like the entire day, waking only to eat... then, there are days, like today, where she cat naps for 10 minutes at a time and her longest nap is 30 minutes... her big sister tends to be a little loud, waking her sometimes...and she does NOT like to be left alone in a room to sleep... within about 10 minutes of me leaving the room, you'll hear her cry... interesting... but, she is sleeping through the night like a champ...if she wakes, it is only once... :) i love that... :)


• we have 2 stray cats that call our house a "Fine Bistro" :) they get fed, generally daily, on our deck... they're probably keeping the mice at bay in our shed, so we'll keep them around. :) anyway, they're geniusly named Momma Cat and Baby Cat (Baby Cat was Momma Cat's kitten last spring! :))... when K seems them outside when we're playing, she'll crouch down, put her little hand up by her cheek, wave, and say in her highest voice, "oh, hi Momma Cat...hi Baby Cat..." it's pretty cute... :)

it's time for me to go to bed... :) i'm not going to fall asleep this time while writing... :)

Hannah's conversation :)

hannah's aunt boot* shot this video of her and hannah having a little conversation yesterday...

it's the kind that's so cute that it melts this momma's heart :) i love her little coos and smile :) i especially love the yawn at the end :) hahaha :)

(sorry it's crooked :))

* it's technically Aunt Brittany, but K called her Boot from the beginning, and now, everyone else in our immediate family calls her Boot..... :)

meals for 4.4.11 through 4.10.11

back to meal planning :) my mother in law has gone home...so no one is here to cook for this lazy momma... :) i'm not really that lazy... :) i don't mind cooking... :) it's actually a nice little break at this point... :) lots of stuff swiriling around in my mind...but i will write that in another post sometime later...and since it's almost 2 AM, i better get my fingers typing so that i can get in bed before too long!! :) i will pay for it tomorrow...

our meals for the week... :)

• Monday: grill out - hot dogs, mac n cheese, mixed veggies


• Tuesday: meatloaf, leftover mac n cheese, veggie


• Wednesday: sandwiches (something quick and easy - i have a dentist appointment late in the afternoon :))


• Thursday: Chick-Fil-A (ry has a dentist appointment on this day and said, "Chick Fil A is nice and easy..." :)


• Friday: french toast and a fresh fruit salad :)


• Saturday: Easter Egg hunt with friends - dinner with them - TBA :) (probably grilling out


• Sunday: grill out - probably BBQ chicken :)

hope you have a great week! :) enjoy lots of good eating with those you love! :)