The Fall

Over the past 2 years there have been moments (or hours, or days) where I stop and ask myself if I'm really cut out to be a homemaker and stay-at-home mom. These moments have gotten fewer as the years have gone by and I've grown more comfortable in my role in the home. In fact, most days now I am proud of the job I do and the home I keep. You know what they say though....pride goeth before the fall.

We're having a Gospel Meeting at church this week. (It's excellent too--if you're in our area, we would love for you to come. Every morning at 10 and evenings at 7. The speaker is Kenny Marrs and he's excellent.) Anyway, because the meeting makes our life much more busy and slightly more hectic, I have planned simple suppers each night, with the exception of Wednesday when I will host the speaker and his wife. Tonight was a simple, delicious and fairly nutritious casserole. I went to prepare the dish at about 4:45pm tonight. Aaron arrives home between 5:30 and 6:00 each evening. It's not a long cooking meal, but I wanted to give myself plenty of time. Anyhow, as I was gathering my ingredients I realized I was one ingredient short. After all my careful planning, I fell slightly right here. A quick inspection and I realize I didn't have anything else that could be whipped up quickly, so I loaded Caroline up in the car and ran to Bruno's for that one ingredient. 15 minutes and $0.97 later, I'm home and I've got my dish going. I get the meat browned and I'm ready to drain it. In the spirit of saving time, I decide to drain the meat over the trash can, using the lid to keep the meat in the skillet. Oh, and may I add that I've got a crying and whining toddler who is unhappy that I've sent her into the grotto to play while I cook. You can probably guess what's coming next. As I'm draining the meat, the lid slips and half of it ends up in the trash can. I fall a little more then, but I'm still proud and thinking I may be able to salvage some of it. Once I've got my meat ready (half still in the can, salvaging didn't work out so well...) I let it simmer in the pan with the tomatoes while I layer the casserole. I get everything ready to go and I layer the meat in...only to realize that I've forgotten to layer the kidney beans before the meat. I've completely fallen at this point and I'm no longer proud of my supper. I add the beans, do a little stir and get it in the oven. It's a slightly different rendition of a favorite around here, Taco Casserole, but I'm hoping it will be fine.

This weekend was the small birthday bash. I'm planning to post more tomorrow, but for now, let me leave you with a reminder of her birthday last year....