Favorite Foods

We have lived in several different parts of the country over the last 10 years of our marriage. As we sat down to lunch this afternoon at a small Teriyaki restaurant, I realized that we have discovered a few favorite foods in each place where we moved.

My husband and I both grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Here is a Teriyaki place in almost any strip mall you encounter. (They also have the best Thai food restaurants we have ever encountered, but that is for another post).


When we moved to Chicago, we discovered another favorite food ... gyros. We have tried gyros in other places around the country, but they have never been as good as those first gyros we tried in Chicago.


Next we moved to the beautiful southern city, Nashville, Tennessee. In the south we found the best barbecue ever. Whenever we were downtown we loved to visit Jack's Bar-B-Que. South of Nashville in Franklin where we lived, we had little take-out place down the road from us that had great food (it looked like a little trailer with a drive up window). We also often at at Famous Dave's because it was so close to home (and I love their beef brisket).


New Jersey is not really known for it's food, and I must admit that I can't think of any food that we really discovered there. However, Philadelphia was only an hour drive away and we did enjoy the best Philly Cheese Steaks at Tony Luke's (home of the original Philly cheese steak sandwiches).


I wondered today at lunch, as I thoroughly enjoyed my teriyaki chicken, what kinds of food we will discover (and grow to love) in Scotland!

2 weeks later...

Has it really been over two weeks since I last posted?

In that time we moved all our belongings from New Jersey to Washington State. We will stay here for six weeks, at which time we will leave for our new home in Scotland. My husband will be starting his PhD studies at the University of Aberdeen.

I am trying to decide how to structure my blog for the duration of our stay with family. Life is so far from normal right now, and all the things I usually post about are not necessarily happening. But please stay tuned, and check back soon for more blogging updates.

Blitz-It Friday - Big Project: Moving #3

I can hardly believe that we are moving in less than a week.
On Saturday, we are having another big yard sale. This one should be even bigger than the last one.

We have now sorted through about 90% of our apartment - all the closets, drawers, cupboards, bookshelves and more. This has been a hard purging process. My husband and I are so burned out with the weeks of this - we are at the point where everything left just needs to go into a box.

Our bedroom has a huge stack of boxes in it - 32 boxes at last count. We have blitzed too many hours to count in the last few weeks. And we are almost done ... we have to be almost done, right?


GOALS FOR THE NEXT FOUR DAYS (July 25 - 29):

1. Finish UK Visa applications
   
2. Big Yard Sale on Saturday
   
3. Put EVERYTHING into boxes
   
4. Pack for six weeks in the Northwest with family
   
5. Pack for three years in Scotland (only taking what we can carry on the plane)
   
6. Clean the apartment
   

If you want to follow all the details of our crazy move, this will be the topic of my Blitz-It Friday's for the next several weeks.

Stop by Organized Everyday for more projects that are being blitzed.

What's Up With My Three-Year-Old?

Your Three-Year-Old: Friend or Enemy
by Louise Bates Ames, Ph.D. and Frances L. Ilg, M.D.

I was introduced to these books by Sarah at Hindsight – Thank you!

This is a great series of book about child development, from Your One-Year-Old through Your Ten- to Fourteen-Year-Old.

This is not just another parenting book, and does not teach a particular philosophy or discipline style. Instead, the focus is on the characteristics of each age – how your child responds to other children; what general milestones are reached; why your child is behaving a particular way right now.

The authors talk about alternating times of equilibrium and disequilibrium. Where three is an age of conformity, three-and-a-half is just the opposite. A three-year-old is confident and happy; a three-and-a-half-year-old child becomes insecure and anxious, but also determined and self-willed.

Reading this book has taught me several things:

• It is normal for my son to experience fears and insecurities, even in things he had previously mastered.


• This weird stutter that has developed over the last few weeks, is normal and will fade over time.


• My son is learning to exert his will; I need to give him room to “win” in the daily struggle for control.


• This is the age to begin developing meaningful conversations, to lay the groundwork for great conversations later on.


• And especially that this phase will pass, both the bad and the good.
  

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a three-year-old, even if you only read the first four chapters. The entire book is packed with valuable perspective and information. The chapters are as follows:

1. Characteristics of the Age,
2. The Child with Other Children,
3. Techniques (great chapter) and
4. Accomplishments and Abilities
5. The Three-Year-Old Birthday Party (terrific ideas for a successful party),
6. Help with Routines (great help for those who's child is at three-and-a-half),
7. The Child’s Mind or How He Sees the World
8. Individuality
9. Stories from Real Life

Also included are recommendations on toys and books for three-year-old’s, and a list of suggested parenting books specific to this age.

This book is only 150 pages and well worth the read!

By the way, this is not a paid or solicited review; I just really liked this book.

Growth: Stretching and Training

I am currently reading The Mommy Diaries: Finding yourself in the daily adventure.

This straightforward book is a collection of stories from moms sharing what they have learned on this journey of motherhood. Check out my previous post about Identity.


"Recognize this journey [of motherhood] as one that shapes and defines you, helps you scale new heights, and brings you closer to your amazing potential."

~ Chose to Grow ~

In Mississippi Epiphany, Letitia Suk wrote the time she made a deliberate choice to stretch herself. "What that the kind of mom I want to be?" she asked herself. When the answer was "no" she decided to change. In this story, she chooses to say "yes" to her daughter's request for her to jump out of the boat for a swim.

Every day I am bombarded with requests from my son to play some made-up game, dance some jig, do something totally silly. I tend to take myself too seriously, though, and don't say yes as often as I should (I am especially uncomfortable with physical humor). But now I see each day as an opportunity to grow in this area. Today I can say yes to a silly game or two, even if I feel completely ridiculous.

~ Grow as They Grow ~

Along the same lines, Cathy Penshorn writes in Goodbye Toddler Mom about loosening boundaries and allowing her kids more freedom as they grow older - and to enjoy their more adventurous activities.

Although my kids are still young, I have found myself stuck in the toddler mode, even though my son is older and ready to take bigger risks. I want to encourage my son's curiosity and allow him to explore in ways that I may have determined too dangerous for a smaller child. Of course, I am still watching for his safety, but I need to loosen the boundaries and allow a few bumps and bruises that may result from a beautiful learning experience.


Where have you already experienced growth in motherhood?
Is there an area of your life where you feel pulled to make a change?

Menu Plan Monday

Two weeks left to empty our refrigerator, freezer and pantry. I don't know if we can use everything. But here is another week of planning from our cupboards.

Menu for this week:

• Monday -- Chicken Fajitas
  


• Tuesday -- Grilled Shish-Kabobs
  


• Wednesday -- Sausage and Mushroom Calzones
  


• Thursday -- BBQ Pork Sandwiches


• Friday -- Red Curry with Potstickers
  


• Saturday -- Baked Potato Bar


• Sunday -- Pasta Primavera
  

Check out more menu plan's at Organizing Junkie.

Happy Monday!

Blitz-It Friday - Big Project: Moving #2

We are down under three weeks before the move. Some of our friends have commented that we are starting the packing very early. But it is slow going because we have to purge so heavily while packing, not to mention how much two little kids slow us down.

Here is what we accomplished this week:

• Blitzed for a total of 5 hours.


• Packed 6 boxes.


• Cleared out 3 more bags of clothing, 2 boxes of kitchen appliances and dishes, 1 box of random bedroom stuff, and 2 bags of garbage / recycling.
  


• Cleared out / packed our bed stands and started on the master closet.


• Moved all the boxes into the corner of our bedroom to clear the living room of the feeling of clutter.

GOALS FOR NEXT WEEK (July 11 - 17):

1. Spend at least one hour blitzing each day (maybe take the weekend off)
   
2. Continue sorting the file cabinet
   
3. Sort, Pack, Purge - focus on unused kitchen items, and unused clothing
   
4. Finish the Visa applications; continue gathering supporting documentation
   
5. Finish scanning pictures (left over from the last project)
   

If you want to follow all the details of our crazy move, this will be the topic of my Blitz-It Friday's for the next several weeks.

Stop by Organized Everyday for more projects that are being blitzed.