Set Free

It's the first day off of my normal routine and my heart is already struggling.  I'm trying to figure things out that have been growing on my mind for the past 10 years!  I can't get it out of my head and days like today just give me more of a reason to keep it there.  Stuck.  In that part of the brain where it likes to stay and then randomly shoot off and drive you nuts. Today I felt both annoyed and painfully sad at my reactions.  I was so focused on making sure I could prove to myself, "I can do this!"  Look how well I am able to manage this!  In the mean time I didn't get a chance to engage really at all. Let me explain for those of you who can't read my mind. I've been watching everyone elses kids for 10 years.  I have showered them with love, adoration, energy, and well myself!  So that all of you parents could work, take a break, or whatever.  I've watched your kids in the following (for you one of these and some others in mulitple way

Sorry for not keeping you updated for awhile.  I have plenty to say but less than 10 minutes before I have to get going.  Since my last post I've gotten sick twice and then the days I wasn't it was "catch up days" on the apartment and on cooking....my poor husband!  This past week is a blur.  I was sick for two days practically.  Jon had a final on Monday, worked on Tuesday, studied on Wednesday, and two finals on Thursday.  Now he is completely done and only has one more semester of college left!  You can only imagine our excitement!!! :) We had it planned that Thursday night we would celebrate.  He got home from work and I was all dressed up and ready to go out!  He wanted to walk around and just enjoy the fact he is completely done...so we picked something near the mall.  Fazoli's.  We sat down and I handed him a card. :)  My hubby's love language is words and he said if you ever want to give me a gift, just give me a card.  It's cheaper, but it means

Jon and I love receiving pictures and updates about your family and we know how much fun it is to receive one. :)  However we feel like at this time in our life our letter wouldn't be worth sending out financially.  So I will sit down with Jon sometime and we will write you a letter and post it here for all of you to enjoy.  However I haven't seen my hubby for over 24 hours.  Which is a big deal to me due to my top two love languages being touch and time together.  However I'm looking forward to tomorrow evening when we finally get to see each other!! Jon has been so overly stressed over all the school work that is due and it's been intense.  It also didn't help that Wed-Friday I was sick.  He has a lot left to do before Monday and I can only imagine what the next two weeks are going to look like.  Hallelujah only one more semester left of this!  May is going to be such an AWESOME month and I just can't wait! But let me tell you a few things that have been

Long post because I'm including some directions and ingredients.....Sunday and Monday food!! Without having to work this past Friday AND Monday (yesterday), I received this extra energy boost.  (Like cleaning.  I cleaned their house, the apartment, etc.)  However my other boost was given to me for cooking.  Thankfully! Sunday night was small group which I was pretty pumped about.  That probably also gave me another good amount of energy. :)  We had tacos and I brought dessert... Brownie Cake from Betty Crocker's Cooking Basics cook book. yumm yumm yumm! My mom got me this book as a gift for one of my bridal showers and inside it says, "Can't go too long with out brownie cake!"  And oh it is SO true! :) Here's the list of goods... 350* Grease (or cooking spray) bottom of 9in round pan, sprinkle flour and have it evenly spread out sticking to the grease and remove excess flour. Mix: in a medium bowl with wire whisk 1 1/2 cups sugar 3/4 cup flour

I used an 88 cent green pepper in three ways! When I saw the sale I couldn't let it go.  I was looking forward to top it on my new favorite pizza option! First green pepper meal option: Homemade pizza- garlic chicken, mushrooms, green pepper, and lots of cheese! Second option: Jon put it in his chicken tacos for extra flavor! Third option: Hamburger and Corn Casserole I absolutely LOVE love LOVE not having to throw food out! :) Next post....this week's meal plans....

Mexican Beef and Bean Casserole (aka Mexican Casserole at the Kaisands) Jon loves Mexican so I know I couldn't go wrong with this --and it's SO easy to make!  bonus! :) 1 pound ground beef 2 cans pinto beans 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce (I just use whatever I have on hand for red pasta sauce.) 1/2 cup mild chunky-style salsa (I just used medium salsa since Jon loves the extra kick!) 1 tsp chili powder 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (I use whatever cheese I already have.) 8x8 pan aluminum foil 375* Cook the beef in a skillet until fully cooked; drain. Rinse and drain beans.  Mix the beef, beans, tomato sauce, salsa, and chili powder in an ungreased baking pan (8x8 casserole pan). Cover with lid or aluminum foil and bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring once or twice, until hot and bubbly. Carefully remove lid and sprinkle cheese on top.  Continue baking UNCOVERED for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Put on plate with some rolls or something and watch your

If you know me for very long you learn that I have issues.  Yeah, I know.  I'm not perfect.  The secret is out. One of my many issues is comfort .  Comfort through change.  Comfort while watching a movie.  Comfort about a new step in life.  Comfort about how to drive somewhere that I've never been.  Comfort about making a new recipe.  Comfort about having a warm shower.  Comfort with knowing where I'll be a year from now.  Comfort about having a roof over my head and a heater that works. Comfort about the possibility of living hours away from my husband for many months. Comfort about living on my own even though I am married. Comfort when I have no one to share a bed with and share about my day. Comfort with having a handyman. Comfort to supply me with the needs that I have as a wife. Comfort in the possibility of having to drive hours on the weekends just to see my husband. Comfort in knowing my husband is okay. Comfort in knowing he is taken care of without me

New updates on Jon's internship options: 1. Position in St Paul that was really something Jon was looking forward to: still waiting to hear back from them. 2. He told the Ames position no.  (Didn't seem the right fit compared to others.) 3. Driving to Iowa City position this coming Friday for a face-to-face interview.  This past week he had a phone interview for them.  He also likes this option as well.  However it would delay his graduation date to December 2012. Praying now with the final decision in the future and also our living situation.  At some point I knew I would have to leave the family I nanny for.  I just wasn't expecting it to be so soon.  It could be as soon as December or January.  Or not until May.  Each day I'm trying to enjoy the moments I have with them.  Taking it all in.  I love them so much! :)  It's hard to be in a child's life daily for a year or so and then never hear from them again.  I'm hoping that doesn't happen with th

I have a camera filled with pictures from this month that I am dying to share with everyone.  However the whole no computer thing for two weeks has gotten Jon and I a little behind.  We finally got it back and now spending our leisure time (well not always) watching missed shows on hulu, catching up on facebook, friends, gmail, etc.  How much we missed hulu!  We don't get TV really, just FOX and a Des Moines station (KCWI 23).  Not too bad but it gets old pretty quick.  We love sitting in front of the TV at dinner time enjoying each others company and leisurely spending time together when we can.  Some times we cuddle and watch for so long it gets too late to do the dishes.  We let them soak until it's another day.  Our poor little one-bedroom apartment kitchen. I started to call it The Hole. This picture was taken over a year ago so I have definitely changed things!  I even have a microwave cart blocking some of the space by the oven (the side closest to the camera).  I co

Jon has a couple interviews in the next week or so.  Here are the options as far as I understand them to be. Intern Option One Pros : in Ames, don't have to travel, already have jobs here Cons: starts spring semester where he already will be in school and has a well paid and he loves the part-time job (don't know how that will come to be); why this option a biggie since he'll still be in school?  Someone took one of the classes he has to take and he said, "that class alone makes you feel like you are working a 40 hour week." (side note: let's just say we're looking forward to May---graduation!) Intern Option Two Pros : during Summer 2012 (not in school anymore) Cons : St Paul, Minnesota Pros about the cons : they will help us find a place to live and will help pay for it More cons that Mary comes up with : farther from family and friends, would have to find a new job if I'm not a mommy yet. Jon's thoughts:  He likes Option two better

Sorry I have been away from my blog recently.  I'm really trying to keep everyone updated as much as possible. But busyness has over taken the position of updating my blog.  Jon and I have been keeping ourselves busy.  The fall semester has definitely got him going with more school work and he had quite the week with the career fair not too long ago.  And I'm adjusting with two kids at home instead of just one at my nanny job.  (I could also add the mom is their most of the time too.)  It's been an adjustment for all of us, but I see blessings coming through. :) This past weekend Jon got a chance to see his friends for the weekend (Harvest Party) and I tagged along with him.  It's a weekend filled with games, food, and conversation.  I'm sore after playing hours of football and having little sleep.  Going to bed early tonight! How is everyone doing?  Enjoying the wonderful fall weather we are receiving? Let me know how your October is going!

Most people understand the phrase that I am about to discuss.  However I need to be very cautious about how I talk about it.  Someday my thoughts will probably change, but let me just express my thoughts for now. :) Choosing Your Battles That's a phrase you hear, not a lot, but quite often with toddles and young children where parents or caretakers are trying to decide what battle to "deal with" or which ones to "let go." However I'm not a fan of that phrase or what it stands for.  I feel like if I happen to decide a certain "battle" is worth dealing with today, but not tomorrow what exactly does that mean?  Once the child gets older they may understand this, but really is it worth waiting until then?  Why are we "choosing our battles"? My key thoughts on parenting: 1. God is holy, and we are not. 2. We all are going to mess things up.  Even tell your kids when you mess up. 3. There are consequences for our actions. 4. The obv

So, I've only heard back from one person (thanks Erin!) on suggestions or feedback from my latest post about changing my blog and what not.  Now with answering her suggestions, I'll try to post more often. Lately it's been hard to get my brain around a more serious heart-felt post.  My mind is going like crazy.  My poor husband has to deal with my mind wrapping around in circles and never stopping.  The latest "thing" in my (our) life is that I get to take out MOST food out of my diet (normal eating habits).  Once Supplements get in I can't eat: dairy, grain (pasta/breads/cereal), fruit, etc.  I can only drink water and can only eat eggs, meat, and veggies.  I'm prepared to go hungry.  And also prepared to make veggies in ways I have never tried before!  I'll also have to spend more time on breakfast, and also more dishes.  And probably spend more time on meals (probably making two because my hubby can't go with out pasta or cheese!). Meat will

I was getting pretty discouraged lately about my blog.  Pretty much everything about it.  I realize I need to be more on top of things.  What am I trying to share?  Looking back though my past posts I see a lot of posts about updating you on Jon and my life, posts about my thoughts on marriage or life in general, or some recipes.  I think I need to change things up a bit and maybe mess around a little bit with my formatting.  Until then I changed the backround to my favorite color to kind of brighten my mood about my blog. What do you think? What suggestions can you make about my blog? -Should I have more frequent posts? -Do you want recipes? -Do you want more meaningful info? -or do you want just updates on Jon and my life? -Do you want more pictures in the posts? -Other? (Honestly, I've been trying to get Jon into being interested in writing a post on here to allow everyone to hear his thougts on whatever he comes up with.  Sounds fun right?) :)  Yeah, I thought so.

It's called Broccoli chicken casserole but I substituted peas for this last time and LOVED it better than broccoli. But it's just preference. I'm in cooking/baking mode lately since I got time off of work and been helping the family with meals in prep for the baby.  They had a baby boy, Lucas Joel just yesterday. I found this on allrecipes.com so don't thank me for this recipe.  I needed another chicken option, and this is fast and easy!  Great for when you can't start making dinner until 6pm. What you need: 9x13 pan cooking spray frozen broccoli or peas (14oz for broccoli) boneless chicken breasts 1 can of cream of mushroom soup 1 can of cream of chicken soup 1/3 cup of sour cream 1 tablespoon of horseradish (or mustard) What to do: 1. Preheat oven to 350, and spray pan 2. Spread frozen veggies on bottom of pan 3. Place chicken on top of veggies. 4. In a bowl: mix soups, sour cream, radish/mustard 5. Pour sauce mixture on top of chicken 6. Bak

During lunch today, I was talking to Jon on the phone about something, and suddenly we got sung to! (not very quietly might I add) "FIVE LITTLE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!  ONE FELL OFF AND BUMPED HIS HEAD...MOMMY CALLED THE DOCTOR, DOCTOR SAID! (finger pointing) NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPIN' ON THE BED!" But little do you know, it really sounded like this: "Five witte monkeys jumping on the bed!  One feh off and bumped his head...mommy cawed the doctah, doctah said! No moah monkeys jumpin' on the bed!" And continued the song.... I let Jon listen in and I let him know....poor Jon.  He doesn't get entertainment during lunch! :)

So I take care of a wonderful, sweet two-year girl.  We are preparing for her to become a Big Sister on September 7th.  However she knows she'll be more grown up once the baby comes, since she turns three in October. The morning however hasn't been one of the best mornings we've shared together. I won't go into detail, but the last ten minutes stand out to me.  Every day we have a routine after lunch.  We pick up from lunch and I let her know how many books we have time for (for me to read to her).  She usually likes to guess, which is pretty cute.  Her voice is enough to make you smile. :) Today I chose three books. I told her to go pick them out and I would be right there.  When I got in her room she had a pile of around 10 books lying on her rug. "Honey, I said three books.  Can you pick out just three?" So she takes out three books and tells me to put them away, meaning the rest of the books are for me to read.  Sorry, that's not what I mea

This week I've decided to try to meal plan with out having to go to the grocery store.  Let's see if I can do this! :) *I eat lunch at work and Jon eats leftovers at home. Monday: Parmesan-Dijon Chicken Peas & Corn Strawberries & Cantaloupe Chicken recipe: 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast 1/4 cup butter 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard Heat oven to 375.  Melt butter, then stir in mustard. In a small bowl mix together the crumbs & cheese Dump the chicken in the melted butter/mustard and turn chicken around to coat.  Place in 9x13 pan. Using a spoon sprinkle the crumbs/cheese mixture on top of the chicken. Bake for 20-30 minutes *The peas were from the freezer and the (1 cup) corn was leftovers from a few days ago when we had tacos. Tuesday Leftovers & Frozen Pizza Wednesday Fish sticks, french fries, and hot dogs Thursday  Lunch: $1 subs at Jimmy John's (I know I know,

My mind is inconsistent.  I will admit.  I will admit plenty of things.  I will also admit I have a hard time watching men play video games for endless hours and wonder how they can love "those games" so much. Last weekend my husband and I went out and about around Ames and we made a stop to the mall.  For the first time I went to the Ames mall, I was so excited....and left with, well, my hubby!  I was happy to hear that he is in search of an xBox game that I will enjoy!   (Why you ask?  Because my husband loves playing video games.)  Which let me tell you, finding a game I like is a LOT harder than it sounds.  I am picky.  I am not a big video game person.  I'm not very good, and after awhile I just get bored. One game I have come to like, maybe because I picked up on it pretty quickly.  It's a pretty stupid game when you really think about it, but my husband LOVES playing video games....so it's been enjoyable because we play together. Plants vs Zombies I

So today (July 29th)  is my spiritual birthday!  This night nine years ago (2002), I was invited into my sister's room.  My two sisters were talking about the Gospel and details I've never really came to grasp before that night.  I was fourteen years old. Alone in my room before bed, I prayed to God that I wanted to lay my life before Him and turn to Him.  I wanted Him to know I wanted to change.  I can't explain the incredible feeling I had.  I can't describe it.  I just remember this awesome feeling coming over me and writing it all in my journal.....before I was very good at describing my thoughts in writing.  After writing I ran into my sister's room and let her read what I wrote.  While she was reading I felt awkward, because I know I didn't write my feelings out very well.  But she told me she was so excited for me and WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! :) I wish I could tell you that life after that night was absolutely wonderful and that I focused my life on livi

My hubby isn't perfect. But really, I'm okay with that.  Really, I AM! My focus recently has been on perfection and what it truly means, for we are imperfect people . Can we really have perfection? While the days go by..... My husband helps with the dishes and cleaning My husband takes out the garbage (I've only done it a few times since we've been married!) My husband is willing to hit pause on something he is doing to give me full attention for something he honestly could care less about..... My husband is willing to do activities and discuss things about our marriage...even when his thoughts are on doing something else. My husband is willing to let me watch chick flicks.  This is a big deal because he allows me to use the TV to watch it.  He could MAKE me use our small, portable DVD player.  However he allows me to watch them, keeping him from being able to do what he really feels like doing.  He also sometimes will watch them with me, because he kno

Prepare.  Have plenty of time to prepare.  You must be thinking packing, but I'm talking about your MIND!  haha.  I talked the whole week prior with Jon about how I could really use his help and comfort.  I was so fortunate to have a patient, loving husband. [Example:  "Mary, please move behind me."  So I did.  When I asked him later he said, "There was a spider about to take over our tent and I threw it out of the way and I didn't want to throw it near you."] When people chuckle about how much I am NOT a camper I resort back to my family tree.  The Tometich's are NOT campers.  Must I repeat myself?  It's a huge stretch to even know I am now a part of a family that camping is normal and a part of life.  I grew up where a hotel was the only option.  Now, I don't blame anyone for this, I'm just giving you a few reasons why this Camping thing is not my kind of thing.  It doesn't come natural for me to go camping or even THINK of how

Have no fear, I'm still here! :)  In case any one keeps up on my blog, I want everyone to know I haven't disappeared.  I actually have plenty to say.  There's actually some topic I wanted to blog about but by the time I got free time to write it, I couldn't remember it. :P  After this weekend I'm SURE I'll be able to blog about how the weekend went and all it's festivities. So, a new blog post coming soon with updates on how Jon and I are doing....with mostly my thoughts about it. haha.  If I ask Jon to write a post, I don't think it would happen.  He's not much into the "writing is a hobby of mine" sort of thing.   It's not bad, I don't mean that at all.  I just mean it's not "his thing." A sad thing though, summer is halfway over!!!! :(

Jon didn't have to go to Rosebud with me. However he did. And he fit RIGHT in! :) Just check here. The ending really proves it! :)

a wet towel hung up carelessly a pile of dirty dishes filling up in the sink a two-year old still working on manners and patience an empty apartment where hubby is away unexpectedly a pile of clean laundry still needs to be put away a mile long to do list needed done before fall a crowded feeling of a one-bedroom apartment A husband willing to hang up his towel even though his ride is waiting Dishes from a meal we were able to pay for and made without a recipe and still turned out okay A blessing from above, because I needed a job He is able to go and just be with a group of guys for awhile Thankful we were able to do laundry for free Enjoying a summer filled with work and time with family and friends Saving money now, so we can have the blessings in the future ----- It's all how you look at it. Now read again.  This time read it in a different order, see if you can catch which sections respond to each other. Which perspective do you normally have in every da

Every night and every day I can only imagine  how many hurtful things are said to you..... how many hurtful things are done to you.... how many times you feel unloved..... how many times you feel not cared about.... how many times you don't hear you are beautiful! Every night I close my eyes and picture you wondering if you are safe and okay... worried you might be scared... concerned about your comfort... hopeful you are calling out to God... and knowing He hears your prayers. Every time I sit down to eat I'm concerned you don't have anything good to eat worried the others are calling you mean things hopeful they are not hurting you wondering if you are being hugged. And every time I start to pray I think of you praying you are safe praying you feel loved praying you know I am thinking of you praying you know I can't wait to see you again praying you know you are loved praying you know you have a Heavenly Father praying I get to see you some

Ever since Jon and I have started a relationship people inform us about just waiting for our first "fight."  When we told them we never had one, they said wait until you are married and you'll fight over something so small. We still don't understand what they mean. Don't quote me wrong however.  We understand disagreements and making the other person upset and frustrated.  We feel like we have never had a fight before, because our meaning of fight isn't disagreeing on something.  Usual fights include raised voices, hurt feelings, and the need for reconciliation.   Jon and I have had situations where someday (hopefully not) could turn into a fight if we're not cautious.  I call them TK conversations.  What are those?  Well, the "T" stands for Tometich (for me) and "K" for Kaisand (for Jon).  Meaning, whenever we have a disagreement or conversation that leads to frustration it's usually because we respond in the way we have always

Have you ever had days where you are just unsure of how things are going?  What is your boss really thinking?  What do they think of how you are doing? Well, these last twenty-four hours my husband and I are counting our blessings and running out of fingers of how many blessings we have just from this wonderful family that I get to nanny for their two-year old here in Ames. You see, I went 9 months, (did you hear that NINE months!) without a job while living here in Ames and Jon was doing twelve credits and working part-time.  The gift Jon gave me on Valentine's Day was mentioning his wife to his substitiute professor at ISU.  And that little conversation brings me to where we are today! :) Since the end of March I have been blessed with a sweet little two-year old girl who teaches me more than I could ever thought possible.  She is a gift from God--her whole family is!  Her mom is about to have a baby in early September.  I get to nanny for her through at least the summer. 

Julie Young! Julie, if you would like to message or email me and let me know what I can do for you that would be great! :) For everyone else thank you for being a part of my birthday give away!  Let me know if or when you would like me to do it again! :) Happy Mother's Day!

I will be doing a drawing for my birthday.  If you want to be a part of the drawing please comment here on my blog or comment on my link on Facebook.  Please share this with anyone you feel led to share it. What is this drawing you say? Well.... I want to find out what kind of service you need from me. Is it company?  Do you just want to get together with me and chat? Do you need a babysitter? What about someone to clean out that annoying closet? Or maybe that kid's room/toy room? What about a planned day where I come over and dust and pick up your house? Comment and I will put your name in the drawing! :) The name drawn will get the service for free.  If I get a lot of feedback I may try this again.   Or if you are in deep need of one of the things listed above I will do it for a small fee. Let's see what happens. Spread the word!   This is   Mary's BIRTHDAY GIVE AWAY!!   :) I would like the deadline to be Thursday night, but I will lengthen it if I nee