I've thought a lot about "survival mode." About those times in your life, like when you've just had a baby, when you have to get down to the most basic level of what absolutely needs to get done in your life for your family to stay alive. Nothing (or almost nothing) extra. Quick and easy meals. Instacart for groceries. Calling that walk to the park and back your "workout." Leaving clean laundry unfolded in a basket for weeks and calling it a win that it even got washed and dried.
Truth be told, I think it's the attempted re-entry to normal life that's hardest for me. I want to know what to expect. In survival mode, I don't expect anything, so anything at all feels like a victory. This in-between time, though? The baby is four months old, not a newborn any more by anyone's standards, but still needing me an awful lot. It seems like I have it together every other week. Every other week I'm able to get my house cleaned, make reasonably delicious, interesting, healthy meals, parent successfully (read: with minimal yelling), get to the gym, talk to friends, connect with my husband, get some reading time, drink enough water. On the in-between weeks, though, I feel like a complete and utter failure. I just did this last week, I think. Surely I can replicate what I just did last week!
But then I'm yelling at my 3-year-old, eating cookies one after the other like a crazed starving person, wondering how a family of four could possibly have worn this many clothes since I last did laundry, which couldn't have been more than 2 days ago... could it? It's like last week I was comfortably swimming in this lake, thinking how cool and wonderful the water felt, thinking that yes, I was getting tired, but this work was so worth doing, was even fun! And this week, nothing is perceptibly different, but I am half-drowning, wondering how I'm possibly going to get through another minute, let alone until bedtime.
This morning, I got back to basics. I listened to my girl instead of getting distracted by my phone. I sat down next to her on the floor and joined her in arranging and rearranging seashells. We read picture books for a good deal longer than I had planned on. We made cookies together, with sprinkles and yellow icing smiley faces. She went down for a nap, and I folded just one load of laundry. Put another one in. Did a few dishes. And just like that, I was swimming again. Because I decided to put love first. Put our relationship first. I put aside my sometimes-compulsive desire to get out the door and give my daughter enriching experiences, and reminded myself that sometimes the best thing for all of us is just to stay at home together, playing and reading and enjoying this fleeting time of life.
This week, we're focusing on the letter H. H is for...
How am I going to do this? How will I survive?
Help!!!
Hard. So hard.
Home.
Healthy choices making a real difference. Enough water. Enough sleep. Healthy food. Fresh air. Basics.
Happy. Dancing to happy music, making happy faces on our treats.
Heaven: the end goal of all of this striving. All of this worry, all of this work. So very worth it to bring glory to Him.
Honey Muffins
from Super Natural Every Day
These simple muffins are quick to mix together and contain no refined sugar! The addition of millet gives each bite a lovely pop! They are also fantastic on subsequent mornings split, buttered, and broiled until crispy.
2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup raw millet
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup honey
Grated zest of a lemon, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.
Whisk together the flour, millet, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, butter, honey, and lemon zest and juice. Pour the wet into the dry, and mix together as gently as possible. The batter will be slightly puffy. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, and bake for about 15 minutes, until the muffins are golden and beginning to crack on the top. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pans, remove to a cooling rack, and cool completely (or eat warm!).
Makes one dozen.
