Homemaking 101

Today we had a productive, learning experience in our homeschool without even opening our school books.  Well, we did use one book.  This one:

 We have been reading this book and the girls have done some of the paper-sewing activities on my sewing machine.  (They have you sew on paper to learn how to sew before using fabric.)  Well, since Nanna gave them their own sewing machine for Christmas, we had to move on to fabric.  **Yay!!** They were quite excited!!  

So we did a little pinning,

and pressing,

and sewing.

And the girls made pillow cases! :)

And in the meantime, Joshua brushed up on his babysitting and cooking skills. 

And the little ones spent much of their time cooking as well. In their "very own kitchen"!   :)

Next sewing project: a Bible cover!  :)

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Burden-bearing

~~ Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. ~~ Gal. 6:2 ~~

I recently had a very difficult day.  I felt bad physically.  I was tired. And I was discouraged.

Even so, it was payday and my 3 year old was not about to let me miss "her turn" in the rotation of eating out and grocery shopping with Mom.  So I went.

As we were beginning our shopping time, I remembered a friend of mine, a fellow homechool mom-of-many, who had told me to "shoot her a text" if I was having one of those "aaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!" kind of days and she would pray for me.  So I did.  I stopped right there in Walmart and sent her a text.  (Which is a really big thing for this non-texting mama, whose phone is not terribly "text-friendly"!) No real details, just a plea for prayer.  And I was so encouraged by her reply.  Nothing earth-shattering.  Nothing I didn't already know or hadn't heard before, but encouraging just the same.  And when she checked up on me (still via text) the next day I got a second dose of encouragement.  She sent me more sweet words but also, she remembered me!

And then I heard a sermon this morning on this verse and I realized that I often don't allow others to bear my burdens along with me because I don't simply reach out to a fellow Christian and say, "I'm struggling."  I too often let my pride get in the way.  I want to appear to "have it all together" when I certainly don't.  And so I miss out on the help, the prayers, the encouragement I can get from others.

As Christian moms we often need to know that we are not alone in the daily duties and difficulties.  We have the Lord, but we also have each other.  Let us bear one another's burdens.

**Note:  It was pointed out in the sermon that a few verses down, in verse 5, the apostle states that each one will have to bear his own load.  This is not a contradiction.  We do still have to bear our own burdens, but as Christians, we are to bear one another's burdens and this makes our own burdens easier to bear.

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Scarves

Scarves seem to be really popular right now.  I see lots of ladies wearing them.  So when I signed up with Amazon to feature their links on my blog, I noticed these links with some cute scarves.  The first one could also be used as a baby sling since it is nice and long as well as wide enough.  All you need are a pair of ring slings and the instructions for a no-sew baby sling.

This one is nice for wearing.   Here are some wearing suggestions.

So if you are looking for a cute scarf to wear or use for babywearing, click on the link to purchase.

Peanut Butter Cup Baked Oatmeal

One of my family's favorite "breakfast-for-dinner" meals is Baked Oatmeal.  It is yummy!  I have a great recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, from the dear saints in Kirksville.  The recipe includes several variations.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

3/4 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. sugar (I forgot the sugar in my photo.)
1/2 c. peanut butter
4 large eggs (Mine came from my own backyard!!)  :)
6 cups oatmeal (I have made it with both old fashioned oats and quick oats.)
1 T + 1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
2 c. milk
chocolate chips (I just eyeball it.)

Mix oil, peanut butter, sugar and eggs until smooth.

Add remaining ingredients and mix until blended.

 As I was taking pictures I realized that I forgot that I usually also stir in some shredded coconut and some toasted wheat germ.  This is not included in the original recipe, but makes a nice addition.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spray a 9x13 pan and pour in mixture.

Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.  Yummy!!

Note:  I have found that if I use a deeper dish (this one is not a true 9x13) I do have to bake it longer.  This one took 45 minutes to no longer be "quivery" when I lightly touched it in the middle.

Michelle Duggar's Beautiful Words to her Daughter

Jubilee Shalom Duggar from WMtek Inc on Vimeo.

Thankful Thursday

So much to be thankful for!  The Lord is so good!

This morning I was pondering the Duggar family's loss of  their sweet little girl, Jubilee.  I've been praying for them all this week since I know that losing a child must be one of the most difficult things the Lord could allow us to endure.  I love the way the Duggar family has chosen to celebrate her very, very short life.  For she WAS alive!  Many people on the internet have ignorantly condemned the Duggars for the photos they took of Jubilee's tiny, perfectly formed hands and feet.  I applaud them for loving and celebrating their daughter!

And I'm so thankful for the little ones the Lord has allowed me to mother.

Taming the Laundry Monster

A family of nine can generate some major laundry!  It took me a while to get into my "groove" with laundry, but I'm almost there in taming that laundry monster!  Here are some of my own "monster-taming" tips:


~First of all, my husband bought me the biggest machine in the store.  Now, I'm not advocating purchasing a new machine unnecessarily.  My machine had washed its last load and we were shopping for a new one.  His one question to the salesman was "Where is the one with the largest washing capacity?"  (He's super sweet like that....thinking more of saving me time and helping me out than the cost of said machine!!)  And that's the one he bought.  So if you are looking for a new machine for your large family, find a super-sized capacity washer.  Mine happens to be a front-loader, but there are some really big top-loaders as well.


~Each bedroom (with the exception of ours) has a laundry hamper in it.  My son has his own room (great benefit of being the only son in a houseful of sisters!!)  so he has his own hamper.  There are two rooms of girls and each room has a shared hamper.


~Once a week (preferably on Monday) each hamper is supposed to make its way down to the laundry room.  Once there I wash each hamper of clothing separately from the others.  Joshua's clothes usually take me two washer loads. The girls' hampers usually take two or three. I don't separate by colors and I have not had a problem with this. (Except for hubby's white undershirts, which I wash separately and bleach.) I try really hard to remember and separate out any new red or dark-colored items that may bleed, but since we rarely purchase clothing brand-new, this is rarely an issue. I can usually finish all this in one day. 


~Loads are removed from the dryer (or brought in from the clothesline) and placed, unfolded, into the same hamper.  Then each room's occupant(s) are required to return it to the room and fold/hang/put away all the clean clothing. 


~I either fold/hang/put away all of my own and my husband's and the little ones' laundry, or I enlist the help of an older child to do it for me.  Quite honestly, this is the one area of laundry I haven't quite "tamed" yet.  Sometimes clean laundry hangs around in baskets a bit too long in our house.  <blush>


~All other laundry (towels, sheets, blankets, coats, etc) are washed on the days I'm not doing the hamper laundry.  I run a load of laundry (or several!) almost every day.  


~Occasionally, such as after an out-of-town trip, I will have a literal mountain of laundry.  And it is not all sorted out by room in those hampers.  During those times I just make a big pile of the dirty laundry in my laundry room floor and go to work.  It may take me several days to get through it, but we just work hard on it until it is finished.  Since it is all mixed up, I separate each load into one of my many laundry baskets.  I separate it just like when I have hampers, by room occupancy.  And at the end of the day, each room is required to put away their own stuff.  Because my laundry room is in the middle of my house, we have to navigate this mountain until it is finished.  This helps keep me motivated to get it done!  :)  


So. These are my tips for taming my laundry monster.  Like I said at the beginning, I'm still not quite where I'd like to be in the taming process, but that monster sure is more manageable than he used to be!  :)

Lilla Rose giveaway at Mama Chocolate!!

Go here to enter.  You could win a lovely Lilla Rose Flexi-clip!  

Such a great giveaway!  This would make a wonderful Christmas gift, or you could wear it yourself!  

Thankful Thursday

I'm so thankful for spending time with my son today. For such a long time he didn't want to be in on the biweekly rotation of "getting to go shopping alone with Mom".  But then he realized he was missing out on that part of the trip where we eat out before the shopping.  :)  So now he takes his turn with all the rest.  I'm really glad he decided to do so.  I really enjoyed his company tonight.  I'm realizing more and more each day that my days with him under my roof are numbered.  :(

Josue's Favorite Muffins

Lemon Sour Cream (or Yogurt) Muffins

2 c. whole wheat flour
2/3 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
3 T. lemon juice
3/4 c. sour cream (or plain yogurt)
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/8 t. lemon extract
1 stick butter, melted


Preheat oven to 400*. Whisk dry ingredients together in large bowl. In another bowl, whisk remaining ingredients.  Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients.  Mix everything together.  Batter will be slightly lumpy.


Spoon batter into greased or paper-lined muffin tins. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until muffins are golden. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. Makes 12 muffins.




These are soooooo good!  I first made them with the sour cream, but one time I didn't have any so I substituted plain yogurt and I think they may be even better that way!  Super yummy!

I almost missed it......

I almost missed out on so much. My Esther's baby raspberries and slobbery kisses. Her little hands on my cheek or pulling my hair. My Miriam's sweetness and toddler-talk "I lub ooo". My Lydia's hilarious personality. My Sarah Grace's joyful chattering. I almost missed it all. These four little girls are the result of our tubal ligation reversal. I will tell that story some day. But for now, I'm just oh-so-thankful for my little girls. 


Oh how much I would have missed out on!!! Thank you, Father, for your wonderful mercy.

Yummy Toffee Brittle

My kids and I LOVE this recipe. It is fast to make, has very few ingredients, and tastes WONDERFUL!!!

Yummy Toffee Brittle

40 saltine crackers
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. butter (NOT margarine)
6 oz. chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped pecans, walnuts or sliced almonds

Line 11 x 16 x 1 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Line with saltines. Boil butter and sugar for 3 minutes. Pour over crackers and bake for 5 minutes at 350* or until crackers float. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. When melted spread chocolate and top with nuts. Cool and cut into bars or break apart.

Thankful Thursday

I am so blessed.....

Thankful for:
~my wonderful husband, who loves me even when I'm cranky
~my Joshua, who is so ready to be helpful with anything heavy or difficult for me
~my Rachel, who can whip the house into shape faster than I can blink
~my Rebekah, who loves to laugh
~my Sarah Grace, who wants to be a good worker like her big sister
~my Lydia, my giggle-box, snuggle-bug
~my Miriam, who says to me "Yes, I do, Mama" when asked if she loves me
~my sweet baby girl, Esther, who just learned to blow cute little baby raspberries

THANK YOU, LORD, FOR MY FAMILY!!