We're Back!

After an 11 month hiatus, we sisters are dusting off our keyboards and are ready to start posting to The Sisters O'Brien once again!  This time, however, we are setting no rules for ourselves.  As busy wives and mothers we are unable to commit to a Monday - Friday posting schedule as we did previously.  We will post when we post.  We hope that you enjoy our blog as we continue to share our lives with you. 

Thank you for taking the time to read our thoughts and please check back often (or follow us) as we continue The Sisters O'Brien.

p.s. We would love to hear from you so feel free to comment anytime!

A Sad Goodbye

Today I am tasked with writing a sad post. A goodbye post. It has been nearly a year since we began this blog and we have enjoyed it and been challenged by it. We have loved having the chance to write, and we have sure appreciated each person who chose to read what we wrote. Unfortunately, the time has come for us to end this endeavor. We each have our own reasons for stopping, but we are all in agreement that it is the best action to take. There has been no dispute between us! We largely took our other responsibilities and family time into consideration when making the decision.

Thank you for "following" our blog. Thank you for caring about what was happening in our lives and for appreciating our take on life. We have loved this experience as sisters, and we have treasured the time shared. If you are interested in keeping up with us in other ways, you can follow Esther's personal blog at: http://estherbeard.tumblr.com/ and find out more about Maude's production company here: http://ehrenkrookentertainment.com/. As for me (Lizzi), I guess I'll just have to be in touch.

Sisters Chat about 4-H

Maude: This week I thought we would talk about 4-H. I am not sure if you all heard about the announcement from the Dept. of Labor who is revamping child labor laws but they made it illegal for kids to work on anything but family farms (most family farms are legal entities and therefore would not be considered "family"). In addition there was language that would make 4-H and FFA illegal.This has been rescinded because there was such a big stink.
But it got me thinking about 4-H.
Esther: That's crazy and dumb!
Maude: I know, it is ridiculous!!!
Esther: like we need kids to be learning less. 4-H and helping on farms is such a great way to learn.
Maude: And it teaches them hard work. Plus there is something of a catastrophe looming for farms because around 80% of small farmers are set to retire in the next 10 years and there is no one to replace them.
Lizzi: Wow. That is certainly a catastrophe!
Maude: All the big farms will continue but small farms are the backbone of this country. Imagine the countryside without small farms!!
Yuck!
To those reading this who aren't familiar - What is 4-H?
Lizzi: I don't remember what the 4 h's stand for! Isn't that terrible?
Maude: head, heart, hands and health
Not sure why I remember that...
Lizzi: I was close! I was going to say head, heart, health and home. Close, but no cigar!
Maude: haha, Liz!
Esther: 4-H is an opportunity for young people to learn how to work, farm, build, sew, cook, and lead.

lamb leg roast

I like lamb. I think it is delicious, however, I have very little experience cooking it.  I have decided to change that.

I bought 3lbs of a boneless leg of lamb.

What to do with laundry...

This morning I was making my bed and thinking about the dishes I needed to get done and then I noticed the laundry pile in the corner of our room and remembered that I forgot to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer last evening. Ahhh! Ever have a morning like this? I started my day feeling overwhelmed before 8am, that is a little depressing.  Unfortunately, I think I start the majority of my days this way.  Beginning my days in such a stress filled state is just asking for disaster. I am snippy with my husband, impatient with my son, and just frustrated in general. What can I do about this?

When in Louisville.

If you were to come to Louisville I'd suggest a few places to try out.  For a good cup of coffee Sunergos  is the place for you.  They roast all of their own coffee beans and the result is always a smooth satisfying taste.

If you are into doughnuts then you can just walk next door to Nords bakery .  There apple fritters are basically to die for.  

The mission field of Motherhood

I have been thinking about Mothers recently.  My Mother, being a Mother, friends who are Mothers, the Mother down the street I have been wanting to talk to because I see her son running, screaming, and being a little extra mischievous like my own and I think, I want to know her .  How do you start that conversation exactly? "I see your kid is as crazy as mine, let's be friends!" that may not go over super well...

I don't know about you but I like to see Mom's with crazy kids too! "You mean your kid does that too?!" It puts my heart at ease knowing other Mothers are probably making the same dumb decisions I am.  Us gals need each other.  Whether it be a fellow Mom, your own Mom, or an understanding kid less friend.  Motherhood should not be done alone.

One of those days

I should have written this post days ago.  Now I sit and stare at a blank page.  What to write?  What to say? I think something witty would be good, something sad would be better, and then of course there is my favorite topic: FOOD.  But, I do not have anything witty to say today, perhaps something sad, and as to food? Well, I would love to get a moment to sit down and eat at some point today.  May I be honest with you?  I am overwhelmed.  I was thinking I need to write about "something positive" but I am positively not there.  I do not think it is wrong to acknowledge hardship, it is not wrong to see the mess in life.  The question is: How do you deal with the mess?  I don't know about you, but I am full of mess.  I have been struggling with that question all morning.  I know what I want the answer to be, but I am not sure if that is the real answer of my heart.

Does a Mom have time to workout?

We live in a very different world then we once did.  We once lived in a world full of physical labor.  Now we are sitting all the time.  Men used to work the fields, work with their hands.  Women would get down and scrub the floor on their hands and knees and wash the laundry by hand.  People once walked to the places they needed to go, not anymore!  Now we have vehicles, sit at desks all day, just to come home and sit at the dinner table and then move to go sit on the couch.   I am glad we have the modern convinces we do but unfortunately, one of the things that was lost with more technology was the necessity to be active. We now have to work to be active, we now call being active "working out".  I do not know if I am the only one, but working out that is more difficult then I would like it to be.  Not only do I  find the time hard to come by but also the motivation to do it!  It just makes so much more sense to have activity built around your day  like it once was then to isolate "activity" to 3 hr. a week (or whatever it may be for you).  Now don't get me wrong, I do not think there is anything wrong with having a workout routine, going to the gym, or for a run, in fact, I would greatly encourage that! I just know that regularly heading to the gym or going for a run can be hard to keep up with. Especially if you are a Mama.  Do you workout in the evening so your husband can watch the kids? That can cut into family time and when does he get to workout? Do you try to do it in the day? How a Mom of three or more kids goes for a run (or has time to workout at all) is completely beyond my comprehension! (Please, fill me in on how you make this happen!)  Some gyms provide childcare, but what if you can't afford a gym?

How is a Mom supposed to get the opportunity to work out?  Between dirty diapers and laundry it can get to be kind of challenging.

WAFFLES!

What is better then a warm waffle with maple syrup? Not much! Maybe, just maybe a savory waffle filled with paprika and cheddar cheese, topped with an over-easy egg and spinach? Well, at least it could give it a run for its money!

I recently invested in a Waffle maker one of the best decisions of my life.  Waffles go so far beyond breakfast food.  You can have them for lunch or dinner, gluten free, or good old traditional.  I do not regularly keep bread in my house but sometimes I get a hankering for a sandwich and what does a girl do? Waffle sandwich of course! The other day I had a delicious cornbread waffle sandwich with pulled beef, horseradish, spinach and peppers.  So, many things you can do with waffles.  

Sisters Chat: Dealing with the Elements

I have entitled this chat 'Dealing with the Elements' because we will talk about our responses to factors (exhaustion, anger, stress, excitement) that are simply part of living this life.

Lizzi: We all have full, busy lives. This can mean that at times we suffer from sheer exhaustion.

What do you do when you need to relax?

Maude: I have 2 main things that relax me - reading a good novel and laying down (that's important!). And listening to music.

Esther: A bath with a book.

Maude: Yuck. I hate baths. I tried that once - a bath with a book - I found it stressful, or at least irritating.

Lizzi: I like baths and books to relax, but not together!

Esther:  Really? I think it is wonderful.

Maude: Ugh. To each her own.

Lizzi: I'd just end up dropping my book in the water or catching it on fire with the candles and I'd be stressed out again. BUT I do love them both at separate times.

Maude: How do you turn the pages with wet hands?

Lizzi: Exactly!

Soaring to Freedom

I sit and watch the little planes take off and land from the airfield near our house.  My son always yelps an excited "ooh!" as they fly by.  Often I have this feeling well up inside me that I want to soar like that plane, go where the wind takes me.  May I be honest with you? Motherhood is hard. I am a care-free person, I like to be able to just go and do, try new things, go exciting places but that is a little hard when you have a two hour afternoon nap to fit in and an 8pm bedtime.  Where can you go between 4pm and 8pm? Not very far.

Sister's Chat About Music Part 2

Maude: This is about music again but a little different than the chat Esther recently lead. But to start off I did want to remember wht genre of music you typically listen to...
Esther: okay!
Maude: I listen to country and classic rock (and a LOT of kids music!)
Esther: singer songwriter/folk/indie rock
with some bluegrass & classic rock thrown in
Yes kid's music too!
Lizzi: I listen to Christian (rock, pop, contemporary, worship, hymns), some classic rock (mostly of "Delilah" style), jazz, old styles (20s-40s)
and LOTS of kids music too
Maude: I want to listen to oldies but there are NO oldies station here!
Okay, what song do you really like right now?
Only ONE ladies!!
Lizzi: Oh dear.
Maude: I REALLY like "A Little More Country Than That" by Easton Corbin. It is sweet because it says "If you think I'm gonna give you this ring and then take it back - I'm a little more country than that." Good song.
Lizzi: This has been a favorite for a little while now, but I still really like 'Blessings' by Laura Story
Esther: I have been listening to a lot of "May your power rest on me" by Sojourn
Maude: Cool.
Is there any band/album that you particularly like that you would recommend one or both of us to listen to?

The Hunger Games...and popcorn!

I love reading. I love eating popcorn. I love reading and eating popcorn together.  Last night I did both; a lot of both.  I have been reading the Hunger Games

 which is the popular teen book at the moment. We had our Harry Potter faze, our Twilight faze and now it is the Hunger games (maybe I missed a few in between?) The Hunger Games is the first one I have gotten sucked in to.

No More Mondays

If you're reading this, then you are aware that we have posted five days a week since we began this blog together last summer. After Katharine stopped regularly blogging with us, we have rotated the Monday duties, and asked guests to share certain blog posts. Well, after several months of sharing this responsibility we have voted to cut down to four days a week and forgo the Monday post. This will begin immediately.

We will still post Tuesday- Friday. Lizzi will post on Tuesday, Esther on Wednesday, Maude on Thursday, and Sisters Chat on Friday. One Friday a month we will plan to have a guest blogger instead of posting a chat.

We believe this change will allow us the time needed to prepare our entries, participate in and tweak the chats, and give priority to our homes and families. Thanks for continuing to read, comment, and connect with us! We appreciate you!

My garden

We did it! We planted our garden. I was beginning to think it was never going to happen. We have been having torrential downpours here. But, on Saturday evening we got it planted! Because we have had such rain I have not watered it once! (That is my kind of garden).

Sisters chat: Music

 Esther:  Question one: On a sunshiny day (like today! at least for me...) what is the cd you would pop in your player?

 Maude:  Beach Boys

 Esther:  I would opt for either Noah and the whale (what I have been listening to on a lot of sunshiny days recently) OR Beach boys! Maude, it is fun we listed the same group.

 Lizzi:  Hmm... Isn't that silly? I'm having trouble thinking! I guess for sunshine-y we are thinking like, happy, fun music, right? Well, I love Matt Papa, Audio Adrenaline, or Casey McGill

 Esther:  Whatever you think when you think "sunshine"

A breakfast of champions

I am going to let you in on a secret that you probably already know if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time... I love food.  I love making food and tasting food. So, today I am letting you in on the best breakfast ever. Period. Full of sweet potatoes, sausage, spinach, eggs, cheese, and coffee (of course!)  This is honestly my favorite breakfast. Anytime we have a little bit more time in the morning this is what I make unless of course I am making coconut pancakes (but that is a recipe for another day...)

Sisters Chat: A Day at the Spa

Lizzi: So the services we can keep in mind while talking are: haircut/style, coloring, other hair services, pedicures, manicures, massages, makeovers, facials, etc.

If money weren't an option, what service would you want to use regularly?

Esther: Massage or facials. Pedicures are nice too!

Maude: Facials

Esther: Am I allowed to say all of them? Haha!

Lizzi: That's what I'm thinking!

Esther:  Not hair color though... I don't color my hair.

Lizzi: I LOVE getting my hair done, and might get it highlighted sometimes if it weren't so expensive. I also love massages, and manicure/pedicures.

Maude: Nope, Esther is not allowed to color her hair! It is just too pretty naturally to do anything to.

Spring has SPRUNG... or summer?

Aubrey Renee Photography

The high in Louisville Kentucky yesterday was 88 degrees. I greeted the first day of Spring with windows closed and A.C. blaring. Is not Spring supposed to be around 65 degrees or am I crazy? (Don't answer that!)  Despite the heat I LOVE spring.  It is time to head back to the Zoo! I have to admit we have a pretty rockin' Zoo around here and I live less than 10 minutes from it (Score!) We spend a lot of days/evenings/mornings at the Zoo.  It is also chalk-sidewalk-art season! Translation: I attempt to draw flowers with chalk on my sidewalk but give up when my 17-month-old's scribbles look better than my "flowers" (if only I were joking).  On Friday we are going to attempt to plant our garden.  (I do say "attempt" or "try" a lot don't I? I think that is because I am a lot like Amelia Bedlia and most of my "attempts" go a little awry. But, that is a post for another day!)  I will let you all know how our garden adventures go. I am hoping for success and lots of growing veggies!