Ellie's Life

Last Friday, Mr. Handsome informed me that he wished to get up early the following morning and head to the hardware store to buy supplies for my honey-do list. Needless to say, I was thrilled. I had a few errands of my own to do, so the kids and I decided to tag along.

When we woke up, I didn’t dawdle getting ready to go. My husband was excited to work on house projects, and I didn’t want to get in the way of that. But for some reason, he was stalling, and we didn’t leave the house until 9:30. As we drove down our street, he suddenly turned into one of our neighbor’s driveways, parked, and started getting the kids out.

Turns out, he had planned for them to babysit so he could take me on a surprise date. He had had to stall because he had given them an exact time when we would be over. When I asked him what he had in mind, he replied, “Just brunch and spending time together.” I told him, in a joking tone but still very serious, that I would still like to stop by the hardware store so he could get his supplies to complete the list. He laughed and agreed.

We only stayed out a couple hours, but it was lovely just spending quality time together. After the hardware store and brunch, he asked me if there was anything else I would like to do. I suggested shopping for baby girl clothes, and he obliged. So we spent 30 minutes picking out about five outfits that were all discounted. One of the outfits we chose is on the left in the photo above. The rest were mostly sleepers.

I was having the time of my life looking at all the adorable options. Mr. Handsome, being a man, wasn’t quite as into it as me, but he tried very hard to look excited. He also appreciated that I asked his opinions. Aside from a few quick stops at thrift stores, that was the first time I had browsed a full section of baby girl clothing. My minimalist tendencies will stop me from buying too much, but it sure was fun to pick out a few things.

Christmas Eve for us this year was a bit of an adventure. Mr. Handsome’s family has a tradition of eating homemade deep dish pizza, and I have tried to keep that tradition going with our little family. I spent the entire morning preparing pizzas so we could cook them for the evening. Deep dish pizza is a little tricky to make and very labor intensive. We then went to Christmas Eve service at Church, thinking we would be out in plenty of time to put the pizzas in the oven.

The pastor decided to dial up a hard hitting Christmas message, complete with an altar call at the end. It was wonderful to see people coming forward to commit their lives to Jesus. But by the time it was all said and done, the service was about 30 minutes longer than expected.

We rushed home and put the pizzas in the oven. By now, the kids were whining and complaining because they were starving, so we gave them a snack. After cooking the pizza for the amount of time indicated in the recipe, we took it out and let it cool for 15 minutes. We all sat down for dinner, only to realize that the middle of the pizza was still completely raw.

Deep dish pizza is about two inches thick and is more like pie than a pizza. It is a bit of a challenge to cook thoroughly without burning the crust.  We turned the oven back on and put the pizzas back in. Finally about 30 minutes later, the pizza was ready to eat.

Little Buddy took one bite, spit it out, and said “Spicy, spicy, spicy! I can’t eat it.” He used to like pepperoni and sausage but has apparently decided that it’s too spicy. We tried to take the meat off, but it was challenging because the toppings were baked into the center of the pizza. I had made a Hawaiian pizza for myself, but it wasn’t fully cooked yet.

Littlest Buddy, who doesn’t mind sausage or pepperoni, had also decided that he didn’t like the deep dish pizza, probably because it looked different than the pizza he was accustomed to. Out of desperation, I pulled some frozen chicken nuggets and vegetables out of the freezer and microwaved it for the kids. So much for spending the whole day cooking a delicious meal for the family.

After the kids wolfed down their food, it was past bedtime, so we decided to wave the white flag and call it a night. We did their bedtime routine and then sat down to eat our pizza at 8:30. It was a little dried out, but after waiting so long, it tasted great.

For the third time in our marriage, Mr. Handsome and I are spending Christmas without extended family. We value time with family, but since I am in my third trimester of pregnancy, we decided it would be a good year to enjoy a quiet Christmas with just our family of four. If we have the energy, we might have family over to our house for New Year’s Eve.

Unsurprisingly, the kids were very excited for Christmas morning. We woke up to Little Buddy running around the house in circles, cheering, “Hooray it’s Christmas! Hooray it’s Christmas.” I did not want to be in the kitchen on Christmas morning, so Mr. Handsome and I prepared a breakfast egg and ham casserole the day before that we just needed to pop in the oven. I also temporarily forgot my low-sugar diet and made sweet rolls that were ready to cook (granted, I did cheat and start with Pillsbury biscuits).

Originally, the plan was to eat breakfast before opening presents, but Little Buddy convinced us to let him and Littlest Buddy open one gift before we ate. Our generous families gave the kids so many toys that we did not need to buy them anything from Mommy and Daddy. They also both have birthdays around the holidays, so they are very well stocked up. I did buy gifts for them to give to each other, which they loved doing. Little Buddy was very excited to give his younger brother the car that he had picked out.

Since Mr. Handsome and I don’t need anything, we chose not to give each other gifts this year. Mr. Handsom’s present to me was checking off the items on his honey-do list, and my gift to him was cooking deep dish pizza for Christmas Eve. I also spent several creating a Shutterfly book of all his paintings, which I gave him on his birthday.

This very moment, we are in the process of assembling all the kids’ toys. Those of you who are parents know that this can be a time-consuming task. Little Buddy received a Playmobil firetruck, and Littlest Buddy got a big barn for his animals, as well as a toddler flashlight. They also got magnet tiles and train tracks to share.

How has your Christmas morning been? What did you and your family give/receive?

I hope you have been enjoying the last official days of summer. I apologize for the length of time it’s been since my last post. Now that the weather is cooler, we’ve been busy with our annual outdoor home maintenance and yard work duties. On the docket for this year have been deck painting and pressure washing. Lots of fun!

I have also been battling sickness because…we are expecting our third child in 2024! We are thrilled and are looking forward to sharing the gender with you later this fall. Sickness has been intense, and people have asked me how I have handled having two active little boys in the midst of it. They have been very much a welcome distraction. Having other kids to take care helps me stay active and gives me a reason to spend time outside and get things accomplished.

Hi there, readers! I just have a few questions left to answer from my most recent Ask Ellie post. Feel free to submit more, but until then, this should be the second-to-last batch.

What religion are you, and do you follow a strict dress code?

We are Christians. We aren’t tied to a specific denomination and have attended churches of multiple denominations. Our current church is non-denominational. I don’t follow a strict dress code. I wear pants and shorts, but I do have personal standards and don’t wear certain things that make me feel uncomfortable.

You mentioned you went to public school. What were your experiences?

I attended public school through 10th grade and then was homeschooled for the last two years of high school. My experience in elementary and junior high was very good. I had great teachers and good relationships with them, and kids behaved and listened during class. When I hit high school, the overall maturity level of the student body seemed to decrease, especially after 9th grade. Everyone came into high school excited about the new freedoms that the school offered, but after acting like adults for the first year, they seemed to regress. I have vivid memories in 10th grade of some of my favorite teachers being out sick, and the class would take the opportunity to show off their worst behavior to the substitute. They acted worse than elementary school students and would be so disruptive that the sub couldn’t accomplish anything beyond attendance. The general maturity level continued to plummet in other areas, and I disliked how much time was being wasted. By the end of the year, I had successfully convinced my parents to agree to homeschooling.

In school, what was your best/favorite subject? Were you more of a science and math kid or a reading and writing kid?

I’ve always done well in math and have somewhat enjoyed it, but my favorite subject has always been writing/language arts.

What adventures/holidays would you like to take your family on when your children are older (10+)?

When our kids are older, I look forward to traveling more (maybe a road trip out West). I am also excited about outdoor activities like water parks, canoeing, camping, and high ropes courses (my favorite).

I’m continuing to answer the questions that you all submitted to my Ask Ellie 6.0 post. If you missed part one of my responses, be sure to go back and take a look. If you would like to add your answers in the comments section, I would love to hear them.

Who does Little Buddy take after in looks? Littlest Buddy?

Little Buddy looks so much like Mr. Handsome, especially his hair, that I sometimes have to do a double take. Everyone says that Littlest Buddy looks like me as a baby. 

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Probably Hawaii, although I think it would take some adjusting to live on an island when it’s not what I’m used to. Someone actually offered Mr. Handsome a 1-year job there when we were first married, but when we figured out that he would have to get a new license, which would require another exam, we decided it wouldn’t be worth it. We’ve never liked the thought of moving far away permanently because we would hate having to fly to see family, but sometimes it’s fun to dream.

Did you read Jinger’s book, ‘Becoming Free Indeed’?

I did. I’ve read every book that the family has written. 

What’s something you gave up to be a mom?

This is going to sound silly, but the thing that comes to mind is downhill skiing. I loved downhill skiing growing up. My dad and brother and I went almost every weekend during the winter, and I hold those memories very dear. When I became a mom, however, I stopped having the desire to ski. As fun as it is, the risk of getting injured just isn’t worth it to me at this point in life. 

What was your first job?

Babysitting. I started babysitting for my neighbors at age 12. All throughout high school, I babysat every weekend (and sometimes once during the week) for a family that lived five minutes away. When I was 15, I began sterilizing equipment at an orthodontics office a few days a week (three hours after school). For the last two years of high school, I also worked as an assistant to an interior designer, so I had three jobs. I was busy, but I loved it. The people I worked for were wonderful. 

As a mom of two boys, I am often asked if we are going to try for a girl. We do want more kids, but I can honestly say that I don’t have an opinion on whether or future child or children are boys or girls.

I am so grateful to have had two boys in a row, especially since there is a three-year age gap (many of you know that I suffered two miscarriages in 2020). I think a three-year gap would have been hard if we had had a boy and then a girl, but I am hopeful that my boys will be best buds. My husband has a brother who is five years younger, and they did a lot together growing up and are now even closer as adults.

I’m not pregnant, but when we do decide to have another baby, I would be thrilled to have another son, or two. More brothers would only make the bond between our boys stronger. And I would be equally as thrilled to have a daughter, or more than one. It would be very sweet to see my sons interact with a younger sister, or sisters. Whether we have all boys here on Earth or end up having a mix, we have two babies waiting for us in heaven, and we know for sure that one of them is a girl, so we already have a daughter who will be with us for eternity.

I can truly say that I am grateful that it’s not up to me to decide the combination of sons and daughters that we end up with. I can rely on God’s sovereignty to create the family that He knows is best for us.

Our winters are short in Tennessee, but the small amount of harsh weather that we get causes everything to shut down. Readers from colder areas probably think it’s ridiculous when the Southeastern United States closes schools and businesses for an inch of snow, and we used to think that, too. But it makes sense when you realize that cities and towns have very few snow plows and salt trucks. In fact, some of the less traveled roads are never plowed or salted.

Ice storms are infrequent in the North. But here, with our temperatures going well above freezing on most winter days, rain can turn into sleet and eventually ice when temperatures drop overnight, causing treacherous road conditions. Then it all gets covered in a thin layer of snow, and you can imagine what happens.

With multiple rounds of icing and sleeting over the past three days, we have spent a lot of time indoors, only venturing out when the temperatures go above freezing. Schools have been closed for three days, and Mr. Handsome’s office has had late starts. It actually isn’t anywhere near as bad as the winter storm two years ago that prevented us from leaving our driveway for six days. We kept getting hammered with ice and snow, and the temperatures stayed in the 20s for a week.

To keep our kids from going stir crazy, we have been painting, doing sticker books, and pretending to howl like wolves. Here is a picture that Little Buddy painted yesterday called “The Cow.”

Is anyone else having a snowy/icy week? What have you been doing to fill your time?