Spaghetti Squash Boats and Little Words of Wisdom

 I made a new dish last night. Kinda. Karlyn and I love a good spaghetti squash but Ryan's not a fan so we took the opportunity of him being out of town to have it for dinner. I had seen this recipe on Pinterest and thought I'd simplify it some - although I think the original recipe looks DELISH!

I split the huge squash in half (this is super hard sometimes so be careful with the knife!) and roasted it at 425 for an hour, although I should have cooked it longer. Scraped out my seeds and started pulling the noodles out with a fork. I made Karlyn's separate since I knew she wouldn't want spinach. I combined my "noodles" with Classico brand tomato & basil sauce, browned ground turkey that I'd seasoned with salt, pepper, and fresh garlic + some wilted spinach. Tossed colby jack cheese on top and broiled it until it looked right.

IT. WAS. SO. GOOD.

I had leftovers tonight, minus my squash boat. Definitely a keeper recipe and the combination / topping possibilities are endless. 

Beef, turkey. Ricotta, mozzarella cheese. Salsa, black beans, corn, cheese. Pepperoni, onion, green bell pepper. What would you like in your boat? ;-)

I definitely ate too much and the less than adequate belly space I have left was f.u.l.l. 

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My four year old is going on fourteen. The stuff she says...it blows me away. Last night we were getting ready for bed and she was hanging out in my bathroom while I soaked in some epsom salts - my almost nightly ritual. She was getting to sleep in the big bed with daddy being gone.

I decided to confide in her. I said, "Karlyn, I'm scared a little. I'm kind of scared to have another baby. And to have two kids." She didn't blink. Didn't laugh. Just stood there and said,

"Mom, just take it easy. Just take it one step at a time...and just try it."

 It was amazing! She knew exactly what to say and truthfully I sometimes feel like the Lord speaks through her. I think she and I are going to grow so much closer over these next few months being home together and I will treasure that time. Not every day will be perfect - we both agreed that yesterday was kind of a bust. But I told her today, some days will be more fun than others.

Some days we'll get out of the house and do things. Some days will be like yesterday where I piddle around the house wondering whether or not I should pay $60 for her to go see the chiro because her head hurts, she stays in her pajama shirt where both breakfast and lunch stains land, and we leave the park crying after ten minutes because she wanted to swing, but I messed her up, but I was only trying to help, and no, she didn't want to do anything else but swing. #stayathomemomadventuresday2

I'm so thankful for her little life and the person that she is. Thankful that she eats my spaghetti squash, and blessed to have her speak words of life into me at four years old.