Simple, classic chicken soup

It's a month into a new school year, and it's about that time when your kid starts bringing home illnesses along with forms to sign and artwork. Our own D is sick at the moment, with an ongoing cough and runny nose, and, as of last night, an ear infection. So it's also about time for a simple, homemade soup with (hopefully) some healing properties, if only because the secret ingredient is love. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure I've never made chicken noodle soup from scratch before. Growing up, we loved the kind that came in a packet, including those cup-a-soups. For awhile, my parents would make it from the mix, but add in carrots, potatoes and other veggies. I remember having an amazing chicken soup at my dear friend Lindsay's house when I was in early labour with M, and it was made by her grandma. So this soup is a mash-up of what I recall from childhood, and three years ago. It is a low-prep, delicious, and the quickest homemade soup I've ever made.

2 Becel containers' worth (I think this works out to roughly 10 cups) of homemade chicken stock (as in, throw your leftover chicken bones and/or vegetable peelings into a crockpot filled with water, and let it simmer for 24 hours/ I freeze mine in huge Becel containers, hence the unusual measurement); or water, if you must
10 packets chicken bouillon
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1 cup chopped leftover chicken (I suppose you could poach a chicken breast and/or thigh if you don't have leftovers)
2 cups egg noodles

Put everything except the noodles into the pot and bring to a boil over medium heat; let it simmer for 15-20 minutes, then add the noodles and cook for another few minutes, until the noodles are cooked to your liking. Serve with bread and cheese planks, if you like that sort of thing (and I certainly do!).

Delicious soup

Some people who ate the soup (one, by proxy)

An improved room for two

My in-laws have been wonderfully helpful during their visit, as they always are; one of their favourite jobs has been working on the girls' room. First, the girls picked out colours (D-pink, M-blue) and the grown-ups figured out a way to make that look nice (pink walls and blue ceiling). While Hubby and his mum painted, he replaced their overhead fan with a better one that works properly and silently. Mum-in-law and Dad-in-law were keen to get some pretty curtains and wall decals to pull the room together, and that's where I was able to make a contribution. The blackout curtains they found were a vibrant purple; they happened to be on clearance, and they were two different lengths, both of which were way too long for the window in the girls' room: we have learned from experience that long curtains in kids' bedrooms are just asking to be pulled down. I am able to sew straight lines, so I offered to hem the curtains to a proper length. Once that was done, there was ample material left over for tie-backs and cushion covers, and I even had two pillow forms in my stash of craft things. I think I had meant to knit cushion covers at some point. Anyway, I used this tutorial to sew the covers, and while it didn't take me five minutes (more like two hours), it was easy enough for a novice like myself. Here's how the room looks now:

It's a great improvement on the pull-down blinds that had been there since we moved in, and not bad at all for 22$ worth of curtains! And the paint job was beautifully executed. Good work, everyone!

Marvellous meat pie

While I don't always make the best of leftover meals, I definitely did yesterday. The previous evening, we'd had roast beef for dinner, and I knew I didn't want the remaining meat to go to waste. I decided to make a pie out of it, like a chicken pot pie, but with beef. Or like beef stew with a pie crust lid. It was a big hit with everyone, although the girls took their sweet time finishing their plates. Here's the recipe, before I forget:

Filling:
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 can of corn
1 cup of peas
4 packets beef bouillon (or 2 cubes)
1/4 cup cornstarch
Leftover roast beef, cut into cubes

Pie crust:
2 cups flour
1 tsp sugar
2/3 cup chilled butter or shortening
1 egg
1 tsp vinegar
water

In a large pot, boil carrots for 10 minutes, then add corn and peas and cook for another 5 minutes.
Before draining vegetables, reserve 2 1/2 cups of the cooking water. Dissolve bouillon in the water.
Return vegetables to the pot, add bouillon and beef, and simmer on medium heat for 20-30 minutes.

While it's cooking, start the pie crust: in a large mixing bowl, stir together flour and sugar. Cut in shortening or butter with a pastry blender. Crack the egg into a measuring cup, add the vinegar, and beat lightly. Add enough water that the whole mixture measures just over half a cup. Pour into mixing bowl and stir until the crust comes together. Don't overmix, or your pie crust will be tough. This recipe is for a double crust, so you'll use half now and half later; I freeze my leftover half and use it for quiche or something later on.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Draw out 1/4-1/2 cup of the broth and whisk it together with the cornstarch. Return to pot, and stir filling until thickened.

Pour filling into a casserole dish. Roll out half your pie crust until it's big enough to top the casserole dish. Place on top, use a knife to cut a few slits in the centre, and do whatever you like to the edge of the crust.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with some kind of potato side (we had leftover mashed potatoes).

Getting ourselves sorted

My beloved in-laws arrived on Friday, which was the day I came down with the worst cold I've had this year. Sore throat, chills, hot flashes, headache, all the fun stuff. I was able to stay in bed from naptime through until morning, thanks to my parents taking the girls out, and a hardworking Hubby who cleaned up the house and got the basement all ready.

Five days on, I've still got this horrible sore throat, but my energy and appetite are slowly returning. Yesterday, I was able to hang up and later fold laundry, and get D ready for school. It took a tiny bit longer than last year, between labelling clothes and shoes, and cramming everything (bottle of hand sanitizer, box of tissues, ziplock bags) into her backpack, leaving enough room for her lunch bag. Her lunch was nothing notable; no cute bento boxes or cheese cut into artisanal shapes. Just crackers, cheese, a peach, some cucumber slices, a pickle, and a yogurt tube. Water bottle on the side. Like a nerd/affectionate parent, I did include a small note saying "I love you, have a great day!"

After our trip to the bus stop this morning, my in-laws took M on an outing, leaving now-sick Hubby and me at home. I had been wanting to sort through our bins of girl clothes ever since G was born, so this was my chance! (When did I become remotely fond of cleaning?) The girls' room was reasonably tidy, so I decluttered and reorganized their toy bins (tucking a few things away out of sight), and did a small toy cull. For the clothes, I decided to keep a few of the girls' baby things, just the ones I was sentimental about. And all knits, of course. I managed to pare three full bins down to one, and it still has some room for more clothes. I have two more bins to go, which are the things M is outgrowing and growing into, respectively. They can wait til tomorrow. The whole endeavour took about two hours (thank you, G, for sleeping! We'll say no more about the 4 am thing), and I am quite exhausted.

I'm looking forward to the return of my schoolgirl in a couple of hours, and hearing all about her day. No doubt one of the things she'll be most excited about is that now she can start planning her birthday, as it's about a month away. We had to put a limit on her talking about it, as it was becoming fairly constant by the end of the school year. Sorry, but you're not going to decide who's coming to an October party in June. I can't wait to find out who's in her class, and who her English teacher is (French is the same as last year, and is it weird that the school didn't tell me her other teacher's name?), and what they got up to today. And how she liked her lunch.

4 things that make the newborn stage easier

1. Breastfeeding: I know not everyone wants to, or is able to, but I love nursing for the bonding, convenience, and health benefits it affords. I'll nurse G in the carrier, on the couch, out in public, anytime he wants. Nothing to pack for going out, or sterilize when we're home. I've never worried about over- or under-feeding, and G is gaining weight like a champion.

2. Co-sleeping: we did this with D after fruitless attempts to have her sleep in her crib early on. M disliked cuddling, and showed a clear preference for her crib. I'm very glad that G is comfy in bed with us, because that means a much more restful night for everyone. I barely have to wake to nurse him, and we both fall back asleep immediately. This way, unless he needs a burp, he doesn't cry much in the night at all. He's also happy to sleep almost anywhere during the day, whether it's on the couch, in the swing, or in someone's arms.

3. Having a great support network: this has been absolutely indispensable. For the past month, the girls have spent about every weekend at my parents' house (in anticipation of labour, and immediately thereafter). My mom has been over almost every day since G was born, mostly to take the girls out to play in the morning, rain or shine. She looks after them whenever G has an appointment, and encourages me to stay out as long as I like. She'll read to them, colour with them, remind M to go to the bathroom/clean up accidents, and when she's here in the evenings (often with my dad), she gives them baths and does their bedtime routine. In the first couple of weeks, she made or bought dinner for us. It's made a world of difference, allowing me to settle in to our new life gradually, bond with G, get breastfeeding established, and take care of our home. We are also blessed with wonderful friends and neighbours who bring us meals and have play dates with the girls.

4. Nursing tank tops: we didn't have Target here last time I had a newborn, and I've never had a tiny baby in the summer anyway, so I hadn't yet encountered nursing tank tops. They had them at maternity stores and other purveyors of all things baby, but they were so expensive that I didn't really care to try any out. I had my nursing bras, and with those, any top can be a nursing top. My sister has used the Target nursing tanks almost exclusively, and she loves them and they're only 20$, so I bought a few to try, and now I have six and they're all I wear, lined with nursing pads. Even with the recent cold weather, I'm still hot most of the time, given how often I'm nursing/cuddling G.

As his sisters like to say, "isn't he the cutest thing?"

This kid gained a pound in a week, mostly in the cheeks, I believe

Welcome, Sesame!

My boy; am I ever thankful for gender-neutral clothes!

The "Welcome to the Flock" hat and sweater set I was able to knit for him

And we have a son! Gavin Ferguson was born almost two weeks ago now, and he was my tiniest baby at 9 lbs 5 oz. Labour was relatively short, maybe four hours altogether, but as painful as ever. He was what they call "direct OP", meaning he was head down but facing the wrong way, which meant back labour for me. When it was time to push, he came out so quickly that no one caught him and he just landed on the bed, poor thing! He was none the worse for wear, though. Present at Gavin's birth were Hubby, my friend Sarah, my sister Hannah, my mom (!), and our three midwives, and everyone was wonderfully helpful, encouraging, and supportive.

Gavin and his enormous cousin, on a gorgeous blanket the ladies from knit night put together for me

Nesting 3.0

The kinds of things one does when overdue by more than a week, regardless of 30 degree heat:

-remove oneself from the public eye by having an awesome friend drive one's eldest child to and from Vacation Bible Camp (thanks, Jen!)
-mend a younger daughter's favourite dress
-vacuum up the sandy evidence of playground outings
-wash the front porch windows and sweep the porch in anticipation of eventual visitors; consider and reject cleaning the front door 
-scrub sinks and toilets, particularly after a potty training #2 accident... gross
-dust the ceiling(?!)
-attempt to keep up with the laundry
-attempt to keep the house tidy
-jump at anything that could be a contraction
-gear up for further appointments and ultrasounds
-knit
-remind oneself that this was to be expected, and that's it's just an extended period of calm before the storm