Play Time

Me: Caeden, can I play with you?

C: Sure Mommy!

(As I begin to play)...

C: No Mommy, don't touch that!

C: Excuse me, get off my rug. I need more room. MOVE.

C: No - don't move my trains.

C: See this? You can't touch that, either.

He was very gracious to smile for the camera in between his "directing."

Playing with Claire involves smiling and bubble blowing. Now that, I can do. :)

White Chicken Chili

Made this last night with some corn bread and salad. A friend made it for me and I immediately had to have the recipe (thanks Melissa!). It really hit the spot on such a cold night (tonight it should get down to 20 degrees. I need to do something with my roses, pronto!)

The chili is delicious just as the recipe reads, but last night I omitted the sour cream and used fat free milk instead of the cream. It was awesome and so much healthier. Either way, enjoy!

White Chicken Chili

1 Pound skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1 medium onion chopped
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1T vegetable oil

3 cans 15 1/2 oz each of great northern beans, rinsed
1 33 oz. can chicken broth
2 cans (4 oz each) of chopped green chilies
1 tsp salt/pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion, garlic in oil until chicken
is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasoning. Bring
to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove
from heat. Add cream and sour cream.

This is also great in the crock pot. Just mix everything together after the chicken mixture is cooked.

Connecting

I read an article online that talked about the disconnection of people these days. The way we prefer email to letters, text messages to phone calls, etc.

I really notice it at the airports and shopping malls when I see 1 out of 3 people with iPods glued to their ears so that they are not forced into an actual conversation or have to mutter a single word.

I am sort of coming out of my "just had a baby please don't expect any sort of communication with me for months" phase and I am looking around ... where is everyone? Oh yeah, probably going on with their lives as I stopped to hunker down with mine. Guilty. Time to connect.

The other night I met a girlfriend at Starbucks. We both snuck out after we put the kids in bed, our husbands contently watching t.v. or surfing the web...

We talked for 2 hours non-stop. I mean, there was not a pause to be found. Talked about clothes, baby weight, babies, family, schools, church, other people ...

And it was wonderful.

Just two hours of connecting with someone who can say, "Yes! I know what you mean," is good for the soul. That little escape will stay with me all week as I navigate the kids, the house, my life ...

So, with all the avoidance of personal, face to face contact, I don't know what to say. We're all busy; email and texting is so convenient. I could argue we are more in contact than before with the use of the internet and savvy little camera phones, but it definitely can't be the only way. You can be in touch with people and still be out of touch to what matters.

I think that's why I love to blog and read others' blogs. The daily things are not the little things. They are the big, important, this is what life is made of things, that might get lost in an email, a phone call. And, with so many of us spread apart - new friends, old friends, and family, getting a glimpse of the daily grind is just enough to feel the connection. That feeling of we are not alone in this world.

And, for the locals, I know I'll be picking up the phone more to say, "Let's go have coffee tonight/tomorrow," rather than shooting off an email saying, "We should get together sometime."

Connecting. I've really missed it.