How did I do?

Well, the other night during my post about not worrying so much about what other people thought of me and thinking about how much God loves me---my in laws called and were going to "drop-in".

Now there was a time when I would have had a freak out and at even the thought of unexpected company---BUT this time I behaved myself. I cleaned the dinner dishes off the table and swept popcorn kernals off the floor and then I thought about how nice it was they were stopping by.

There was a lot that wasn't "perfect" that night, but I managed to sit and snuggle my kids while I waited for company, instead of scurry about the house trying to make it all look just right.

So, while I did well not to freak out--I still saw what wasn't perfect. I think I am making progress with God's help.

I want you to know that you are an important SOMEBODY to Him and so am I. Maybe we can learn this lesson together.

" The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17 (A Bible Verse)

1-1-1-1 Peach Cobbler

I made my very first peach cobbler today. I made it with white peaches which was absolutely yummy, BUT my mother in law likes it better with yellow peaches and she gave me the recipe! So she probably knows what she is talking about.

8 small peaches or 5 large peaches- sliced
A square 9 inch pan. (I used an 8x8 square casserole dish--worked fine)
1 cup of milk
1/2 or 1 stick of butter (how much is really up to you)
1 cup of self rising flour
1 cup of sugar


Preheat oven to 350. Place stick of butter in dish and place in oven to melt. In the mean time, mix milk, flour and sugar together in a bowl. Take pan with melted butter out of oven. Place peaches in pan and pour milk/flour/sugar mixture on top. Allow to bake 45min to 1 hour depending on how golden you like your crust.

Let stand 15 minutes and then dig in~ It is soooooo yummy!

I liked this quote.

I was in church today and our Pastor said something that really resonated with my heart AND I think applies to my struggle with being such a perfectionist.

He said (something like this):

"Sometimes we are so concerned with being somebody, that we forget that we are loved by someone."

He was talking about how we get so wrapped up in being "somebody" in the eyes of others, instead of realizing that we are loved by someone very important, God.

I believe if I could stop obcessing all the time about how perfect everything is or what people think of me, that I might actually be cured from this problem of perfectionism. I am too worried about being the "somebody who does it right". Why not just keep it be simple and be Kelly, the girl God loves?

Okay- the phone just rang. My in-laws are coming over!!! Right here in the middle of this post. Now what you have to understand is that my mother in law is an amazing woman and is BETTER than Martha Stewart at hospitality, decorating, etc.

Heh. God has such a sense of humor sometimes. I think He might be trying to teach me something. An impromtu guest, right in the middle of my post about relaxing and just knowing I am loved. Sheesh!

I'll let you know how I respond.

White Peaches

They are delicious. Try them. YUM.

Just a thought....

I really enjoy it when people stop by my house unannounced. Call me crazy, but I have always loved it when someone feels comfortable enough to pop in whenever they're "on my side of town" just to say hi. I don't feel pressure to have a picked up house b/c they didn't forewarn me that they were coming and I can just sit and enjoy a visit. Most people don't feel comfortable just stopping by someone's house unannounced...I have, but now that I have 5 children I don't feel nearly as comfortable about it as I used to. Anyways, all that to say...last week a friend of mine picked something up from "the big city" for me (we live 45 minutes from where we go to the doctor/mall/Target) and I was going to swing by to pick it up after dinner. It just so happened that we were going to McD's to get some ice cream sundae's for the kids (a buck each, can't beat it). What we ended up doing is calling my friend and asking if we could bring them dessert and visit for a little while since we were going by anyways. It was a very nice visit....easy/no mess or dishes, the kids ate and then ran around while we visited...in all it was about an hour. Now, this particular friend has had us over for dinner before...but in general I think it's hard to invite a family of 7 over for dinner - just the logistics of seats and 2 babies...it's just crazy. But, this ended up being very nice and I am looking forward to doing it again with other friends and acquaintances that we have.

A really good tofu recipe...

It's been a while since I've posted anything....we've been fighting stomach bugs and fevers around here...seems like it's unending for us! Anyways, I have a really yummy tofu recipe that I wanted to share with any interested parties. :) I know that sometimes just the thought of tofu isn't appetizing at all, but this dish is delicious (i promise)...my husband (who is a picky eater) and my kids (2 picky ones) even enjoy this meal. Here are the ingredients:

1 package of firm tofu (i get the nasoya brand from wal-mart)

1 pound of ground pork or turkey (pork is tastier, turkey is better for you)

seasonings: dried or fresh garlic, dried or fresh ginger, soy sauce

about 1 cup of heated chicken broth (mixed with some flour/cornstarch)

Basically, I take the brick of tofu, microwave it for 1 1/2 minutes and then cut it into little cubes. While that's microwaving I cook and drain the ground meat...then I add the tofu and seasonings to taste and stir in the chicken broth mixture (just to make it saucier)....and simmer that for a little bit. We always serve it over rice....and tonight I just added a can of green beans for our vegetable. Mmmm....I even have some leftovers which I am very excited about. :)

Anyways, I hope that someone will try this (let me know if you do!). Tofu definitely has a stereotype to it that can be hard to get past, but I'd challenge you all to step out on a limb! (btw-i get a brick of tofu and microwave and cube it up for my 4 year old and twin 1 year olds...they would eat the entire thing if I let them!)

Inexpensive, Fun Kid Entertainment

A friend recently had a 4th of July gathering and had her guests decorate cupcakes and then she placed the cupcakes in a cupcake tree for the centerpiece of her table. It was super cute! And later they served for a great kids dessert.

I decorated cupcakes with 4 of my favorite little girls this week and it was sooooo much fun! It was hit with the girls. I sent the cupcakes home with our guests, and they had already made a list of people they wanted to share them with. And they were so excited about it.

I love the attitude kids have. They make things and they are eager to share them. I watched each one of those girls decorate a cupcake for someone special. They thought about what the person might like and did the best they could to make it special for the person. They kept it simple and just had fun. Then they were bubbling with excitement to share them.

I think I learned a couple of great lessons from our cupcake Entertainment. 1) 3 year old curly headed girls like to eat the cupcakes as soon as they decorate them. And if you don't watch them carefully they will bite the center out of their portion of cupcakes. And double dip in their icing. 2) Sharing what you bake/cook/make should be fun, not stressful. 3) There is so much joy in sharing with others.

Brain Freeze

I recently had some kids over for ice cream and one of them experienced brain freeze/headache from eating ice cream too fast.

Here's a trick: Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth to warm it up or drink a glass of warm water. This will tell the nerves in your mouth they are warming up and sends the message to your brain. It actually works!

Try it out.

Breaded Chicken with Parmesan

Breaded Chicken with Parmesan

1/2 cup butter
3-4 chicken breasts OR chicken strips (as many as you want)
2 cups of Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing (Blue Bag)
1/3 Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Dash of Salt and Pepper


Melt Butter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl mix together Stuffing, Parm cheese and salt/pepper. Dip chicken into butter, roll chicken in bread mixture, place in casserole dish. Pour excess butter over top of chicken in casserole dish. Bake 50 minutes.

Note: You can bread the chicken alot or a little depending on your diet. We love the breading at our house, so we go for it. I tend to put the chicken breasts really close together in a pretty dish, so it looks great when it comes out of the oven. This great for leftovers the next day and you can slice it up an throw it on a salad.

A Creative Card

My daughter and I have decided that we're going start doing our cards that we attach to gifts differently. We've decided to start cutting out actual initials for weddings and babies and the age of the guest of honor for birthdays.

So, I gave a gift to new baby Bridget the other day and cut out a "B" for her card. Then our friend Cody had a birthday party, so we cut out a "5" for her 5th birthday celebration. I have a friend that will be getting married soon, and I plan to cut out her new last name initial "W". It's a fun way to decorate a gift and it is very inexpensive.

On the back we wrote a message to the guest of honor.

I Got Caught!!!

I don't know, maybe I should get thrown in perfectionist jail or enrolled in a clean freak probation program or something?

The other day we were having people over. We were cleaning. I say "we", because the whole family decided to pitch in because I asked for help. (Yeah, I am getting better, aren't you proud of me?!!!! Well, in theory, that's what I am saying but maybe it isn't 100% true just yet.)

My husband was so sweet. He cleaned the guest bathroom for me and was an enormous help.

I made a pact with myself long ago to always check the guest bathroom for myself when we were going to have company. This is because one time, I just glanced at the guest bath and it looked good to me. We had company, had a great time and after they were gone I had "a seat" in the guest bathroom, only to find, Reese's Cup Chocolate and Peanut butter hand prints in places that only a cute curly headed three year old could reach and were only visible in the "seated" position. I was so embarassed--- I am embarassed to say that having potty trained a little person recently, my first thought was (OH, NO!!!!). Then I realized as I ran through my head of how this could have possibly happened without my knowledge that it was in fact candy. Cute curly-headed little persons favorite food group. ... To a guest it really could be mistaken for something else....

So, I always take "a seat" in the guest bathroom before people come over. Well, I went to do this the other day, after my husband cleaned the guest bathroom and found splotches on the bottom of my mirror, the faucet had spots on it and the towel was not hanging right. So, I re-cleaned the guest bath while my hubby wasn't looking......I recleaned the whole thing. (I know it is a sickness.)

BUT HE CAUGHT ME!!!

Boy did I feel silly then. I had to apologize. Thankfully, he just laughed at me and told me I was crazy. He had every right to be completely frustrated with me. But thankfully, he extended grace towards this: "I-have-to-do-everything-around-here-if-it-is-going-to-be-done-correctly" nuthead.

Pause. (Here it comes...you've heard it before!) I realized I was being ridiculous. An approval freak, and perfectionist. I apologized to my husband and I had to apologize to God. Remember, I asked God to help me- and I keep returning to the same bad behavior.

I can laugh at myself now. I think when you really realize your forgiven, that sense of shame kind of goes away, and you can look at your mistakes and say you know....I was an idiot, but God loves me anyway.

And He does love us, even when we are ridiculous.

Cooking with MB

I have an eight year old daughter (MB) who has recently shown a lot of interest in cooking. This week she cooked her first meal for our family.

MB had some help cutting veggies and slicing a watermelon. But the rest she did on her own!

She even picked out the dishes, placemats and set the table for her meal.

MB's Menu

Parmesan Chicken (breaded chicken w/ parm cheese cooked in the oven)

Watermelon (chilled)

Sauted Veggies with Italian Herbs

Broccoli

We didn't do dessert this time...That parm chicken is a real favorite with my kids. I'll be sure to post the recipe soon. I love cooking and baking with kids, b/c it is such a great way to spend time together, having time to talk and also an opportunity for them to share something they've created with others.

Sauted Vegetables with Italian Herbs

Next time you saute some veggies (like onions, carrots, and green pepper) throw in just a dash of basil and oregano. YUM! So good-but just a dash. The natural flavors of the veggies are fantastic, so the herbs are just a way to do things a little bit different.

A House Warming Gift

Our family has been invited to a few housewarming parties lately. I've been thinking a lot about a gift to bring to the homeowners, as they've opened up their home for you to come by.

Here's what I came up with for the last party we attended. Not too expensive. We got a decorative box we had and filled it with 3 herb plants- oregano, rosemary and cilantro. Then we made a little card on a popsicle stick and stuck it in the plant.

Our hosts love to cook and I think will dabble in gardening, so we're hoping they'll enjoy it.

I've got a few more thoughts for housewarming gifts: a good bottle of wine, orchid, return address labels with their new address, book labels with their new address, My Yellow Pages, I've even seen someone give a small subscription to the local paper for their small town.

A Summer Supper for a Crowd

Recently I went to a supper held at a friend's house for a bunch of people. I think there were 10 of us total. First of all, the company couldn't be better. I sat around the table looking at some of my favorite people.

The host and hostess served pulled pork sandwhichs on hamburger buns, fresh corn, cantelope and homemade coleslaw. For dessert we had homemade pecan pie.

Makes you hungry, doesn't it?

While I we were having the meal, our hostess got up and turned on some soft music to fill the background. It was really nice~

I hadn't thought about adding music. This was a really nice touch.

Pretty Much Strangers.

Yesterday we had dinner guests, which was super fun, because we didn't know them at all! In fact, they didn't even know my name until they arrived. How often do you do that? I don't think I've ever done that. We've had folks that know little about us over, but never complete strangers. It was really fun. Give it a try!

One thing I've learned from the few times we've had people we knew little about and now people we knew nothing about was that you can't depend on your main dish. If you don't know much about them, it's hard to figure out what to cook. So I've made it a habit to have a really good salad, with multiple choices for dressing, a good loaf of bread and brownies or chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

I figure if the main dish isn't good for them, they can pile on the salad and bread. And most people appreciate a simple brownie and choc. chip cookie.

The Mad Hostess

Okay, my response to my perfectionism and stress is to get mad. So having people over made me mad because for some reason I felt like everything had to be perfect and I would stress because being hostess was work for me. That's why I deemed myself the Mad Hostess.

When you really struggle with something, you need help. Since we all struggle, we all need help. But sometimes we just can’t bring ourselves to ask for help or we are too prideful to admit there is a problem. Wait, I forgot something…maybe it is too hard to change. Or if we change, we might actually have to do something about the fears we have or we are afraid we won’t be as much fun to be around. Especially if something changes between us and God.

I finally realized that my temper tantrums, perfectionism, shutting people out rather than inviting them in--was really uncool. I was tired of it. And so I asked God for help.

It wasn’t an overnight change. And I certainly still struggle from time to time, but when you can hand something over to God and say “God, I need you. I need your help.” He can and He will.
Kelly, you think, you’ve got no real problems, you just didn’t want to have anyone over. It wasn’t that I just didn’t want to have anyone over…it was that I was holding myself captive to a bunch of expectations that don’t matter in the scheme of things. I was enslaving myself to anger, fear of disappointment, perfectionism and fear that my guests may not like my home or my food.

So, I asked for help. I asked God to help me not get so mad. I asked if He'd give me a better attitude, instead of being so perfectionistic. I asked God to forgive me for caring so much about what others think and help me to stop making having folks over about me and make it about the people walking through my door.

I don't want to sound like "I've arrived" and I don't struggle. Sure I struggle. But thankfully not as much I did at one time. And I know I can go to God with my struggles. That's a good thing.

So, the point of this blog is I realized that their are other people who aren't natural hosts and chefs. I thought since I'm learning, I'd share what I am learning. What I've found works and doesn't work. I also hope that someone else can be encouraged by how reaching out to God and asking for help with your fears, struggles and disappointments can really change you.

Thanks for reading!