A Quiet Simple Life | Sallie Borrink

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

A Quiet Simple Life

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In Which She Writes About Long Babies, Sleep Deprivation, and Tarjay, While Insulting At Least Four Demographic Groups


First of all, I have no idea why I am naming my entries what I am the past two days. Well, yes, I do. I think it is called sleep deprived. Gee, I can’t even think of the word. You know that word when you are wacky from lack of sleep?

Well, it will probably come to me by the time I’m done writing.

We took Caroline to the doctor today for her four month appointment. She was so good for the doctor and we could tell he enjoyed her. We then turned her over to the torturers nurses for her shots. The first time she had her shots (at two months) it didn’t bother me at all. I actually felt kind of bad it didn’t bother me since I hear all these stories about moms crying when their babies get shots. But I was able to steel my heart and emotions, distancing myself from it so I didn’t get emotional.

Well, today I got weepy so I guess that makes me a good mom now. 😉

Caroline was a trooper. She screamed briefly when the pain hit, cried hard briefly, and then was pretty fine. The nurses said she did better than most babies.

That’s my girl.

We also learned that she is no longer in the 90th percentile in her length. She’s 97+%. Yeesh. I can hear the college basketball recruits calling already. It truly would be ironic if she ended up playing basketball because as much as I love watching college men’s basketball I find women playing basketball one of the most boring sports known to man. It ranks right up there with golf and NASCAR. (Oh, I can see the flaming coming already! I’ve insulted three sports groups!) She’s also in the 95% in her head circumference so that brain must be growing quite well. Hmmm… Maybe basketball at a top tier school? Just kidding. I truly don’t wish that for her at all. I’m just trying to generate lots of controversial comments. 😀

Ok, about the sleep deprivation…

Caroline is four months old. She is not sleeping through the night. I sent one of my friends an email this morning that was a desperate cry for help. David and I are starting to really feel the lack of sleep. I mean, really feel it. Like it is starting to get a little a lot depressing. (And, please… if your child did not sleep through the night until 18 or 24 months, DO NOT leave a comment telling me about it. I really can’t hack it right now.) We talked with the doctor about it today and he said she probably needs more calories because she’s a big girl. (Although her weight is only 80% so she’s not chunky, just nice.) Anyhoo, we’re going to start her on rice cereal this week and put her to bed an hour later and see if we might — MIGHT — be able to get six hours of uninterrupted sleep. I’m not even shooting for ten to eleven here, folks. I’d be THRILLED with six at this point.

So, anyone want to share their silver bullet story of how they got their child to sleep through the night? Beyond practicing the eat/play/sleep cycle which we have been doing near religiously for the past four months?

And about Tarjay…

I’m not a fan of consumerism and mass marketing, but you have to really love Tarjay. Good quality stuff for reasonable prices. You can get almost anything there. And I never feel cheap or dirty afterwards like I do if I go to Walmart. (Hey, I’ve insulted everyone else tonight! I might as well make the Walmart people mad too!) So while we’re on the topic of Walmart, go check out the new poll.

Slap happy. That’s what you call it. 😛

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If You Don’t Have Time To Do That Which You Love


When was the last time you did something you truly loved, but no longer have the time for?

(This is going to be kind of rambly. Consider yourself forewarned.)

I’m still thinking about some of the things I wrote last time regarding coping with my abundance. I appreciated two other posts today because they touched on two things I’ve been contemplating:

  • How many clothes are enough?
  • If you don’t have time to do something you really love, what is out of whack in your life?

Meredith and Lanier touched on these topics in recent entries.

These are not new topics for me. David and I have been working on simplifying and prioritizing for the better part of nine years. We’ve asked these questions lots of times. We’ve made changes accordingly.

But having a baby changes everything (with apologies to Johnson and Johnson).

David said the other day something about why it seems like he never has time to read or do other things. I’ve noticed my severe lack of reading and other creative endeavors. (Reading is like water to me. I shrivel up and die without it.) It didn’t take me long to remind him that we would have plenty of time to read if we didn’t spend (ahem) many segments of time every day playing with Caroline, taking pictures, shooting video, and just generally hanging on her every coo and movement.

Oh well. The books can wait. What can they say that can possibly be more interesting than “Nin!” and “Ahooey!”?

Anyway, I loved Meredith’s closet makeover, including the photo of herself as a bride. Hmmm…. I’ve been contemplating lately the fact that I do not weigh what I weighed when I married David. Not. even. close.

And I loved what Lanier said about her music: I’ve realized that when I’m too busy to make music, I’m too busy to be living properly. It’s that important to – I wonder that I can ever forget!

So I’m trying to figure out what living properly means with a new baby.

And whether I will be able to ever fit into my wedding dress again.

Photo credit

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Living a Quiet Life


My favorite books have usually centered around living a quiet life at home. Laura Ingalls Wilder, Grace Livingston Hill, Grace Richmond, Sydney Taylor (author of the All-of-a-Kind Family books) and Maud Heart Lovelace (author of the Betsy-Tacy books) all write stories about home life and the relationships of the home. While the characters may go here and there at times, most of the story revolves around the home.

While some people read to escape to places and people and events they can never experience in real life, I read to be encouraged and strengthened in my desire for a cozy, homey life.

Our Idea of a Quiet Life

David and I live a pretty quiet life. We live this way by choice. We thoroughly enjoy being at home. Our idea of a good time is sitting together in our wingback chairs, a candle and small lamp lit between us, watching something we love and own on DVD while eating a warm homemade meal that consists of some kind of comfort food such as soup. We follow that with a good cup of coffee and something sweet. (The only thing missing is a crackling fire in a fireplace. It is my prayer that God will allow us that little dream in our next home.) It truly doesn’t take a whole lot to make us happy.

I’ve been thinking about this as it relates to Caroline. She has lived a pretty quiet existence so far. I remember one time when I was in my third trimester, we stopped to have lunch after a doctor’s appointment that ran long. It was very busy and LOUD. Did she ever bounce around in there! Caroline was so accustomed to our quiet home with quiet music, quiet voices, etc. that being someplace so loud really agitated her. Even now when we absolutely have to take her to the mall or the store, we try to go at a slow time so it will be relatively quiet and not quite so overwhelming.

The Challenges of Living a Quiet Life

But that’s one of the cons of living a quiet life – you are slowly resensitized to noise and motion. It is difficult to go out among the hustle and bustle. Being with a larger group of people where it is noisy confusion can be overwhelming.

We’ve experienced this by staying home and then going to a busy mall. We’ve experienced this at the movies. We’ve experienced it at parties. On the expressway. We’ve experienced it by going to a quiet cottage up north for a week and then driving home to the city. Because we are not desensitized to the noise and speed of life in our culture, we notice it very quickly when we are put in those kinds of situations. And not only do we notice it, we also have to find ways to cope with it because it is not our natural way of living.

One of the other “downsides” to living a quiet life is that it is often misunderstood. People think that you are selfish, that you don’t care about (insert whatever it is here), or that you are just, well, weird. I struggle with knowing people judge us because we don’t go here and there.

A Quiet Life For Baby

Especially now with Caroline, we are even more selective about when and where we go. She can generally miss one nap and do okay. But if she misses two in a day, she’s an unhappy little girl. For that reason, we have chosen to adjust our plans to her needs. For example, we attend the morning service at church right now, but that is it. (This choice is also influenced by our view that Sunday is a day of rest, but that’s another post.) Someday she may be able to better cope with a busier Sunday, but right now she’s only sixteen weeks old (today!) and we’re making this choice in her best interest.

In fact, I would guess one of the reasons Caroline is such a happy and easygoing baby is perhaps because she’s lived such a quiet life both in the womb and in our home. She isn’t overstimulated (except when Daddy gets too excited when playing with her!). She doesn’t have to cope with constant change, lots of people, and too much stimuli. She can just enjoy being a baby.

I struggle with the idea that we somehow need to “desensitize” Caroline so she can cope with living in our culture. I’ve said before on my blog that I don’t want her to grow up naïve to the point that it is used against her and to her harm, but nor am I in any hurry for her to be five going on twelve. I anticipate it will be a struggle for David and me to find the balance between getting her out and about in the world and giving her the joy of a peaceful, quiet and – may I dare say it – idyllic childhood.

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Garden Herb Bread for Bread Machine Recipe


There are two recipes I make most often in my bread machine. The first is a Honey Wheat. This Garden Herb Bread is the other.

I found this Garden Herb Bread in the recipe book (Electric Bread) that came with my bread machine. It is a delicious and fragrant. Just smelling it while it is baking is worth the time alone! It makes great sandwiches or accompaniment to soup. I think it would also make great croutons, but I haven’t gotten around to trying that yet.

Garden Herb Bread for Bread Machine

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup water
  • 2 cups white bread flour
  • 1 tbsp dry milk
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp chives
  • 1 tsp marjoram
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • 2 tsp active dry yeast (use 1 tsp yeast if using fast rise)

Directions

  1. Place the ingredients into your bread machine according to the manufacturer’s directions.
  2. All herbs used should be dried and flaked, not ground.
  3. This makes a regular sized loaf and can be made using the regular, rapid, or delayed time bake cycles.

Happy eating!

You can see all of my recipes under Sallie’s Favorite Comfort Food Recipes. If you do try one of my recipes and like it, please come back and let me know in a comment. I truly do appreciate it when people do so!

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