best. picture. ever.

This was taken when we went bowling last week.  Priceless.

stepmom

Someone asked me the other day at church if it's hard being a stepmom.  Umm...yes it is, very hard, but so is being a womb mom {my term because I don't like "regular" or "normal" mom, which would infer that I'm neither regular or normal, which I definitely think I am}.  But it's also wonderful and rewarding in a very unexpected way.  I get to help raise these wonderful children, who are a part of my wonderful husband.  I get to be a part of that! 

I'm going to be honest though.  It is hard and I'm not sure how much of it is just being a mom and how much of it is the stepmom thing.  There are days when I feel so much like a stepmom I want to scream, but those days are pretty rare.  My daily routine involves work, picking up the kids after school, laundry, cleaning, helping with homework, the kids' friends, cooking, more cleaning, reading to the kids with my husband, hanging out with them, making lunches, getting kids ready for bed, and then some time alone with the husband {yes!} before I fall into a deep slumber within thirty seconds of head hitting pillow.  Maybe the most difficult part is that I got all this overnight.  I didn't have a pregnancy and then the day-to-day stuff to get used to this routine.  I just sort of inherited it.  But it's my life now, and I'm more than OK with that. 

When my husband was out of town recently, it meant the kids spent all that time with their womb mom.  Being able to just come home and do what I wanted was really pretty sweet.  I spent all that free time reading books, magazines, watching chick flicks, and not cleaning up messes I didn't make.  After a couple days of this freedom, however, I missed my family terribly.  In a sort of strange way, the cleaning, and laundry, and reading with the kids, hearing their commotion and running footsteps, well, it sort of keeps me sane and gives me purpose I never knew I needed.  And then a most unexpected thing happened on day five of no family.  My stepdaughter called me.  She called me! And we talked for a whole twenty-eight minutes which is completely unheard of in the history of my stepdaughter.  You're lucky if you can keep that girl on the phone for three minutes.  And it was the most glorious conversation.  We talked about the Valentine's Day Fairy, and how much we love cuddling with Daddy, and how much we missed him and each other, and she just kept talking and talking and talking.  When it was over, I couldn't stop smiling.  It was a pretty special stepmom moment.

And then there was yesterday.  I was sort of stressing out about getting dinner on the table, and getting the table set, and wiping off the counter, and well, I was sort of a mess and all frazzled.  My stepson saw this, grabbed the sponge and started wiping off the table and counter for me.  I didn't even ask--he just did.  Oh my goodness that boy reminds me so much of his father, the ultimate helper and problem solver.

So yes it's hard, but it's also pretty awesome.  I don't for one second regret marrying a man with children.  It's the life I have, and I'm starting to realize that it's probably the life I was meant to have.  This has always been part of the plan, part of His plan, and I love feeling like I'm doing the right thing and walking down this path with the three people I belong to, knowing they belong to me too.

my favorite weekday breakfast ~ mango smoothie

Lately I've been making a better effort at eating breakfast in the morning.  Since I'm not really willing to wake up ten minutes earlier AND sacrifice prime cuddling time with the husband, it's got to be something quick that I can eat/drink in my car on my way to work.  This smoothie was sort of inspired by my husband's extreme love of mangoes, since I usually make him one too, but I've got to say, this drink is almost as good as a chocolate milkshake, almost.

Ingredients for Mango Smoothie {per serving}

1 cup of frozen mango
1 cup of milk {I use 1%}
1 packet of Truvia {you can use any sweetner you want, I just happen to love Truvia}

Put all ingredients into your blender, turn that puppy on, and blend until smooth.  Enjoy!

guest post ~ mari from design shuffle

Hi, all! It's Mari here from Design Shuffle, an online community for interior designers and design enthusiasts. You'll find lots of projects and interior design inspiration. I'm delighted to be visiting A Collage of Sorts as a guest blogger. Have you noticed how many design and decorating blogs also include posts about food? Today we're following their lead and talking about dream kitchens that seem to have been created for someone who loves to bake. A beautifully designed space and the aroma of something delicious baking in the ovenónow that is a kitchen dream come true. Please enjoy!



A dedicated space for mixing up baked goods is the perfect addition to a baker's dream kitchen. I love how the roll out cabinet tucks away under the counter when not in use.



Lots of oven space and a marble topped island would make a baker's heart beat just a little faster. There's a deep apron sink for clean up. The beautiful lighting fixtures are a lovely additions to this dream kitchen.



What do we love more? The awesome black range topped by that amazing hood or the stunning wood island. How beautiful would those glass shelves be filled with irresistible baked goods? This is one of my favorite kitchen†designs.

s

This kitchen from House Beautiful has it allófunctional design, lots of space, plenty of oven space in a gorgeous range and beautiful vintage lighting.



A stunning kitchen with pale cabinets and twin granite-topped islands for prep and casual dining also features huge double ovens at the ready. One could bake the day away while enjoying the company of family and friends.



This lovely blue country kitchen is also a baker's kitchen dream come true. Double ovens and twoócount themótwo full sinks. The marble atop the island is the perfect place to work with pastry dough.



A lovely center hood is the focal point of this perfect place for baking. Work space, convenient storage, ovens ready to be filledóall the elements of a dream kitchen.



Straight out of a kitchen dream, this creamy kitchen is so appealing and at the same time so functionalóeverything a place to bake should be. It filled with decorating ideas that could be implemented in lots of kitchen styles. Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Which one of these is your dream kitchen? Find more kitchen inspiration at Design Shuffle! Get great ideas from top San Diego interior designers, Chicago interior designers and so many others!

pizza

This is what I made this week.  If you'd like to follow suit, you'll need:

Pizza dough {store bought, homemade, or whatever, mine is below}


Fresh rosemary chopped {about a tablespoon}
Crumbled goat cheese {3 oz.}
One pear sliced
Caramelized onions {slice up half a red onion and saute in a little butter for about 10 minutes}

1. I learned this week that cooking your pizza dough before you top it makes all the difference in the world. So that's what I did, on my pizza stone, which stayed in my oven while preheating {to 425 degrees}, so it too was quite hot.  I pre-baked my pizza dough for about 10 minutes and used the recipe I linked above.

2.  Sprinkle rosemary, goat cheese, and top with sliced pear and onions.

3. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese looks toasted.

4.  You're done.  Enjoy!

valentine's day

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day.  The husband's gone this week, so I made sure to wrap up some of his favorite things, hide them in his suitcase, and then write him a love letter (folded into a heart) for each night we would be apart.  I'm a sap, I know, but I miss that boy.  To dull the missing, we had ourselves a Skype date, which can be very romantic if I do say so myself.  Oh the memories, but more on that later.

7

No introduction needed.

“I am satisfied that happiness in marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one’s companion. Any man who will make his wife’s comfort his first concern will stay in love with her throughout their lives and through the eternity yet to come."

--Gordon B. Hinckley