THIS is why "There Is No Place Like Nebraska"!

I am very proud to call myself a Nebraskan today!  

The Nebraska Cornhusker football team "adopted" 7-year-old brain cancer fighter, Jack Hoffman, under the leadership of former player Rex Burkhead (Number 22) through the Uplifting Athletes Campaign.  

Jack Hoffman and Rex Burkhead, Photo from Team Jack Legacy Fund

The Nebraska Cornhuskers and "Team Jack" continue to raise funds in the hopes of finding a cure for brain cancer.  At any given Husker event, you're likely to see a red "Team Jack" shirt on at least one fan.  

During today's Spring Game (the annual red and white scrimmage), Jack made the biggest play of the day.  Jack took the field with the red team under the leadership of quarterback Taylor Martinez.  Wearing a number 22 jersey in homage to former Husker player Rex Burkhead, Jack awaited the snap next to Martinez on 4th down.  Martinez took the snap and handed the ball off to Jack.  Jack ran down the field with his red team "blocking" his way through the white Husker jerseys.  The crowd went wild as Jack ran into the end zone to make a 69-yard touchdown.   

According to an article on KETV.com, head coach Bo Pelini said the team asked Jack's dad if he would like to participate in the spring game.

"Jack's a young man who has touched the hearts of a lot of people. Our football team and the student body have gotten behind him, and he's become a big part of the team," Pelini said.

Here is another article from ESPN.com about Jack's big play. 

Here is the video of Jack's 69-yard touchdown:



To learn more about "Team Jack" and their crusade to cure pediatric brain cancer, please visit Team Jack Legacy Fund.

Go, Team Jack!  Go, Huskers!

Yet Another Gem on PBS: "Call the Midwife"

We cancelled cable about three years ago and subscribed to Netflix.  Aside from a few cable shows like "Top Chef" that we can't seem to find anywhere or the occasional Husker football game that doesn't air on a major network, we haven't missed cable or the bill.  

Since cancelling cable, Philip and I have found some fantastic movies and television shows that we previously probably never would have given a second look.  

One of the gems that we found is "Call the Midwife" on PBS.  

Photo from PBS.org

The show chronicles the stories of the midwives and nursing nuns in 1950's London's East Side Nonnatus House.  The women live together between making bicycle house calls to the nearby pregnant women.  Each episode introduces us to new patients with quirky family members.  We watch as the midwives navigate the medical and social problems hurled at them as the patients go through pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the postpartum period.  The stories range from gut-wrenching to gut-busting.  I laugh and cry several times each episode.  

We've all heard that "truth is stranger than fiction."  Knowing that the show is based Jennifer Worth's memoir makes the characters and their stories even more powerful.  The memoir was previously published as The Midwife and is now titled Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times.  

Call the Midwife cover image from Amazon.com

The show just aired the first episode of Season 2 on March 31.  Here is a 30-second video that gives you a glimpse into the show:

Watch Season 2 Preview on PBS. See more from Call the Midwife.

In my opinion, "Call the Midwife" is one of the few shows on television that:

• Convincingly and beautifully develops its characters
• Conveys their wide range of emotions
• Shares the gut-wrenching stories without being vulgar or explicit 

Season 2 of "Call the Midwife" airs on PBS through May 19, 2013 Sunday evenings at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  I hope you'll catch up on the previous episodes and start tuning in Sunday evenings to this fantastic show.  

Once you've seen a few episodes, take this fun "Which Midwife Are You?" quiz!  Are you Jenny, Chummy, Trixie, or Cynthia?  Apparently I'm Cynthia Miller.  Which Midwife Are You?

"Cynthia Miller" photo from PBS

What We Had For Dinner

I'll start periodically sharing weeknight recipes on here in the hopes that you'll share some of yours in return!  

Tonight, we had:

1.  Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki (served over Jasmine rice)

Image from CookingClassy.com

Boy, oh boy!  This was DEEEEEEEE-LISH-USSSS!  It was our first time trying this recipe, and I loved it for several reasons:

• It's a slow cooker recipe.  What's not to love about throwing dinner together before it's even lunchtime?
• It made the house smell amazing all day long.
• I had all of the ingredients on hand.
• I love sauces, and this recipe made plenty of sauce.

We might add 1 more tablespoon of orange marmalade for next time since we liked the orange-iness.  Otherwise, I have absolutely no changes!

The Recipe (from CookingClassy.com):

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce (regular would work too)
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 Tbsp orange marmalade
• 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 Tbsp cold water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
• Cooked long grain white rice, for serving
• Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Directions

• Place chicken in a slow cooker, set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, light-brown sugar, honey, orange marmalade, ginger, garlic and pepper. Pour mixture over chicken in slow cooker, cover with lid and cook on low heat 5 - 6 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred. Strain sauce from slow cooker through a fine mesh strainer into a medium saucepan. In a small mixing bowl whisk together 1 1/2 Tbsp cold water and cornstarch. Pour cornstarch mixture into liquid in saucepan and heat mixture over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to gently boil. Allow mixture to gently boil about 20 seconds until thickened. Return chicken to slow cooker and pour teriyaki sauce from saucepan over chicken. Toss mixture gently to evenly coat. Serve warm over cooked rice garnished with optional sesame seeds and serve with diced fresh pineapple if desired.

2.  Roasted Broccoli Florets
While the Jasmine rice is simmering on the stove top...

• 1 head of broccoli cut into florets
• Place on baking sheet
• Drizzle with olive oil
• Sprinkle on some freshly ground pepper and sea salt
• Stir it all together to evenly distribute the olive oil
• Roast at 350 for 15 minutes (or until browned)
• Sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

3.  Sliced strawberries
I had a bunch already sliced up from Costco.  Yummy yummy!

What's your easy weeknight dinner recipe?  Share away!

My Laundry System

"Woman Plunges and Scrubs"

A mom friend told me that she is sick of the mountains of laundry, and she asked me to share my laundry system as well as any tips and tricks.  Here is my response:

Two years ago, I finally decided to create a system for tackling the laundry.   I used to do a marathon day of load after load of laundry.  I know that system works for some people, but it wasn't working for me.  When laundry day rolled around, I dreaded the task because I knew it would take all day.  Often, I would put it off because it seemed so daunting, and the task grew even larger.  

Creating a laundry schedule and tackling a little bit each day (except Sunday!) works for me.  

Here's my system:

Monday

• Kid laundry
• Philip's and my casual clothes
• Philip's and my dress clothes

Tuesday

• Children's bedding
• Our bedding

Wednesday

• Whites
• Towels
• Bath mats

Thursday

• Bibs/Dish towels
• Cleaning rags

Friday/Saturday

• Extra loads or special items like reds or blankets from the family room.

Sunday

• NO LAUNDRY!!!  

A few tips I've learned along the way:

• Whenever possible, treat stains immediately.  Different kinds of stains on different fabrics will need different treatments.  Here is a helpful stain chart from Better Homes and Gardens that you can download and print off for your laundry room.  Always treat the stain before washing to avoid setting the stain.  
• Read clothing labels carefully to avoid shrinkage, discoloration, dying, etc. 
• Unless you really like the color pink, ALWAYS wash red items (especially new ones!) separately.
• Washing items on cold prevents you from having to separate brights and darks.  That would turn into so many loads of laundry, and I don't have enough time to do that much laundry! 
• Containing socks--especially itty bitty little baby socks:  Hang a mesh zipper bag (the kind you use to wash delicate items) on a skirt hanger next to the hamper.  Place socks in the bag instead of the hamper, and toss them in the hamper when the clothes are ready to be washed.  This way, all of your socks stay together, and you won't end up losing one in a sleeve.
• Bibs:  My kiddos are messy eaters, so we go through a few bibs a day.  At the end of the day, I rinse them out with soap and water.  Then, I hang them to dry from the wire shelving in the laundry room.  When the weekly washing day rolls around, I unsnap them from the wire shelf, and toss them in the wash with the dish towels from the week.
• Hang items immediately from the dryer to limit ironi ng.  
• Pleated skirts:  You can place bag clips (the kind you use on bags of chips) on the hem of a pleated skirt to avoid ironing.
• Lint:  Empty the catcher often to maximize dryer efficiency and limit the risk of fire.  Thoroughly clean the lint out with a vacuum at least once a season.  Vacuum behind and under the machines as well.
• If you use liquid softener, top off the softener distributor with water to avoid gunky softener build-up.
• After each cycle, leave the washer's lid open to allow for air circulation.
• My laundry room hamper with three dividers on wheels makes separating clothes an easy job.
• Separate clothes while waiting for the washer to fill.
• You really can fold a fitted sheet! 
• Bedding:  Keep 2 (or 3) sets for each bed on rotation.  Store the fitted sheet, bed sheet, and one pillow case inside of the other pillow case to create neat "packages" for your linen closet.  Blankets can be folded and placed in separate shelves.  
• Give every item a home in closets and drawers to make putting laundry away easier.  
• Clean out closets and drawers at least once a season.
• Keep a "donate" and "mend" bin in your laundry room.
• Immediately trash items that are beyond repair or cannot be donated.

What's your laundry system?  Do you have any tips to share?  

Snooty McSnooterson at Easter Sunday Mass

You know how there are way more people in attendance at Mass on Christmas and Easter?  Apparently people who attend Mass exclusively on Christmas and Easter have a lot of nicknames:  the C&E (Christmas & Easter) crowd, Chreasters, the Poinsettia/Lily Crowd, etc.  Us awesome regular Sunday Mass attendees have the temptation to feel all high and mighty when encountering the C&E crowd this Sunday.  What are they doing?!  I mean, really.  Just look at them.   

If you're feeling the temptation to get all high and mighty this Sunday at Mass, one of my favorite bloggers on the National Catholic Register, Simcha Fisher, has an article for you:  "The C&E Crowd: How to Deal."  You have to read the entire thing.  Really!  Read it!  Read it now!  Not only is it hilarious, but it cuts to the hard truth of what anyone tempted to look down on the C&E crowd needs to hear.  Are you ready for it?  Here's the hard truth:

"...we need Easter because we're crappy people who get mad at other people even during Mass."

Yikes.  I.  Am.  A.  Crappy.  Person.  

In typical Simcha fashion, she made me laugh my way through the article.  Then, I came to that line, and I wanted to cry.  What is wrong with us?!  What kind of a crappy person gets mad at people even during Mass?  

Me, that's who!  I know I've grumbled to myself (and, after Mass, to whoever is in the car with me on our way out of the parking lot) about the irreverence and general lackadaisical attitude of the C&E crowd.  How dare they take my well-deserved spot in a seat?!  Where have they been every other Sunday?

Well...they've probably been avoiding me and every other Snooty McSnooterson parishoner that grumbles about the crowd.  You know what's a terrifying thought?  Regardless of why the C&E individual seated next to me is there, I need to consider:  Might mine be the only hand they shake during the Sign of Peace?  Will they remember my face as their reason for not returning to Mass?

You know what I should be thinking?  I should be keeping my focus on the Mass.  I should be asking God to forgive me for all of the times that I've messed up big-time and He could and should have looked at me with the same stink-eye I'm giving my neighbor for saying, "And also with you."  Instead of asking myself, "Where's that family been the other 50 Sundays of the year?!"  I should be asking myself, "Is it possible that I've been the one keeping them away?"  It's really a shame if those of us that look like Judas to the C&E crowd are the reason they are staying away from Jesus.  There's no need for them to leave Christ because of Judas!  Nonetheless, it happens.

We will likely encounter all kinds of distractions that will do their best to keep our focus from where it should be.  That's the time for us to do some serious prayer and contemplation on how we can keep the C&E crowd coming each week and what kind of a message our lives outside the walls of church send the world.  Scary, huh? 

If that's not powerful enough, just look at Him.  On the cross.  Look at what we did to Him, and He is God.  Was He talking about the C&E crowd or me when he said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"?  And even though I'm being a crappy person, He still died on that cross for me.  Shape up, Snooty McSnooterson.  God loves me in spite of myself, and He loves the C&E crowd, too.  

The joke's on all of us Snooty McSnootersons and not the C&E crowd.  Just like a mother disciplining her tween in front of her toddler, God will tell me, "You should know better."  And I should--precisely because I'm not in the C&E crowd.  I've been there the other 50 Sundays of the year, and I'm the one who still doesn't get it.    

God is Good!

I had my 20-week ultrasound this morning, and we got to see the precious baby that has already brought us so much joy.  The same ultrasound tech has performed all of our ultrasounds.  We told her we didn't want to find out Baby's sex, so she did a great job of telling us when to avert our eyes.

Baby's Leg and Foot

Precious Baby's Silhouette

Our first 3D ultrasound!  I think Baby looks a lot like Philip.

Baby looks all snuggled up for a snooze.

Aw, look at those little tootsies!

This is one of my favorite images of the day.  New ultrasound technology allows the tech to select an area of the spine, and the software turns the image vertically to show the spinal anatomy.  (This helps doctors to detect spinal defects.)  Isn't the human body incredible?!

Thank you for your continued prayers during this pregnancy.  Baby is doing wonderfully, has a strong heartbeat, and everything looked great on the ultrasound.  God is SO GOOD!  

Easter Craft/Activity: Paschal Mystery Eggs

Happy Holy Week!

I wish I could say that I came up with this fun (and easy!) Easter craft/activity all by myself, but I stole it from a few different sources.  My go-to faith-related craft site is Catholic Icing.  If you've never visited before, do yourself a favor, and check it out!  It has all kinds of fun ways to celebrate the liturgical calendar with your family.  

Catholic Icing had a great link on how to make "Resurrection Eggs" with various other links to other bloggers that have done the same craft.  Between Catholic Icing and a really straightforward explanation from Our Sunday Visitor with corresponding verses, I came up with my own version.

Instead of calling them "Resurrection Eggs," I decided to call our set "Paschal Mystery Eggs" because they help us to remember the Last Supper, Christ's death, and His resurrection.  (Again, I wish I could say I came up with that all by myself, I but I stole that from blogger Gae.)  Maybe next year I'll get around to decorating our egg carton like the other fancy bloggers, but I'm trying to remember that the goal is to enhance our liturgical celebrations rather than detract from family time.  So, here's our plain carton with the eggs inside. 

To make your own "Paschal Mystery Eggs," you will need:
1.  Empty egg carton
2.  12 plastic eggs
3.  The following 11 items to place inside of your eggs:

• Palm (cut-up fake leaf from old centerpiece for Christ's entrance into Jersualem)
• Coin (3 dimes to represent Judas' betrayal with 30 pieces of silver)
• Feather (representing the rooster and Peter's denial of Christ)
• Towel (small piece of terrycloth from a rag from Jesus washing the disciples' feet)
• Bread (mini saltine cracker to represent the Last Supper)
• Crown With Thorns (small twig with thistles to represent the Passion)
• Cross (I had a small wooden cross from an old retreat.  Others recommend using a crucifix from broken rosaries.  Most of us have one if we have small children!  Of course, this represents Christ's crucifixion.)
• Sword (I used a cocktail toothpick sword, but a regular toothpick will work perfectly to represent the Centurion piercing Christ's side with his sword.)
• Dice (Representing throwing lots for Jesus' clothing.)
• Spices (I placed dried spices in a sandwich bag, wrapped a rubber band around them, and cut off the excess.  This represents the burial of Jesus.)
• Stone (Any small pebble from outside will do.  This also represents Jesus' burial.)

 

These are just the 11 objects I chose.  Other sites and bloggers have a plenitude of other ideas to choose from!  If you're wondering why I only used 11 objects to fill the eggs, the last egg remains empty to signify that Christ left the tomb empty upon His Resurrection.

If you like the objects I chose, please feel free to use the document I created with the corresponding verses to explain how each item fits into the Paschal Mystery.

After you have assembled your eggs, the idea is that you will open one a day, discuss how the object inside relates to the Paschal Mystery, and read a corresponding verse from Sacred Scripture.  

If your children are like mine, they will want to open, reopen, and move around all of the items.  To save yourself a little sanity when you go to reassemble them, I recommend writing the number, item, and corresponding verse on the outside of the eggs in permanent marker.  I only wrote on the tops so that I don't have to find the exact bottom for each.  For example, I wrote:

#1
PALM
John 12:12-13

Hopefully next year we will open one egg each day (starting the Wednesday before Holy Week), but we got a late start this year since I made the Paschal Mystery Eggs this morning.  So, we're just enjoying opening them whenever we get a chance, discussing what the kids find inside, and reading the Scripture verses that go along with them.  I stored the printed off Paschal Mystery Eggs doc in our ever-growing family prayer binder that stays on top of the fridge.

NOTE:  The eggs contain small items that are choking hazards for small children.  Please do not leave your children unattended with the eggs! 

Have a blessed rest of your Holy Week!