Monday, October 4, 2010

Embracing the Fail

I have to say, it's getting a little old complaining about Molly. She's just doing her thing, even if it drives me nuts. I love her to pieces. These early weeks of pregnancy have been hard and tiring, and most days I feel like I'll never be able to handle a third child, because I'm doing so poorly with just two right now. It's been a bit disheartening, and it's probably rubbing off on her and making everything worse.

Last Thursday, Bryce stopped by home to pick something up mid-morning. He so rarely does this that I never expect to see him here during the day. It was around 11am, and I was just getting out of the shower. The breakfast dishes were still on the table, toys were everywhere, Porter was still in PJs watching TV, and Molly had taken a poopy diaper off while I was in the shower. She'd tried to clean up the mess herself, and you can imagine. Super yuck. Everywhere. So he came home to that, and I was upstairs, sort of oblivious, like "what?" He left pretty quickly. And I thought, of course. Sigh. Super mom.

But you know what else? I'm really thankful that these are my stories to tell. I'm glad that I get to stay in PJs with my kids until embarrassingly late hours and do a bad job cleaning up the house. They throw tantrums in stores and whine and throw up on me (that one happened last night, oh the joy). But I'm still glad. And excited for what's to come.

I'm Cooking: I made my friend Jennifer's tomato soup the other night, and it was delicious. And super easy. The cheese really makes it.

Tomato Cheddar Cheese Soup

3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
28 oz can whole tomatoes
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup chopped onions
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Bring the broth to a boil in a saucepan, add the tomatoes, carrots and celery. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, or until the veggies are softened.

In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour until absorbed. Stir in the veggies and broth, and cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil.

Puree the soup with a handheld immersion blender, or do it in batches in a regular blender. Stir in cheese and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until cheese is melted and soup is heated through.

4 comments:

  1. Jessy,
    She just started the terrible twos early so she'll be all done when the new sibling arrives.
    All my love, wish I could help you out.
    Deb

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  2. Hang on Jessy, you are almost to your 2nd Trimester and then hopefully you will start feeling a little better. It took until about 16 weeks for me, but the last few weeks have been so much better - I actually have a bit of energy left when I get home from work. You are going to handle three just fine.

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  3. Deb: Yeah, we're counting on this being her "difficult" age. But I don't know.

    Andrea: I can't believe you're 18 weeks! Eek. You'll be finding out the gender soon. I'm almost 13, and I think I'm starting to feel a little bit better. Thank goodness. I can't wait to have a little more energy!

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  4. Oh Jessy... you are (honestly) one of the best moms I know. It's so hard not to take our kids' difficult stages and challenging personalities as a reflection on our parenting skills. We all have our sucky parenting stories, obviously, but you are doing a phenomenal job. Your kids are sweet, caring and bright. I know you know that; just a reminder that everyone else sees that, too. Hang in there and seriously call me if you need a break. Sucks to be sick and dealing with the terrible twos.

    Oh, and I'm glad you liked my tomato soup! It's the best with a toasted PB&J to dip in it. Sounds strange, but it's true.

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