Kitchen Happenings

So what's been going on in my kitchen lately? I actually took some pictures last night!!

We had homemade chicken noodle soup- super for immune boosting.




And delicious whole milk yogurt topped with this berry sauce- raspberries, blueberries and blackberries sweetened with sucanat and thickened with arrowroot powder.




Here's my brewing cupboard- an every growing kombucha mushroom that I need to pull out of there and make a new batch of! And a jar of kefir, almost ready to refrigerate.



I have 2 cups of steel cut Scottish Oatmeal soaking in water and whey for today's breakfast. Yum. No comparison to regular rolled oats.




Here are my herbal brews! I finally got them going! I have two large jars of immune booster and 1 of sleepy time. I'll give the recipes later.



I also made a large pitcher of herbal tea since the tinctures aren't ready yet. This is a mix of elderberries, echinacea tops and roots, yarrow, mullein and catnip. I HIGHLY recommend buying herbs from www.bulkherbstore.com You get a LOT of herbs for the price. I was absolutely floored when I saw how much I got in each bag!!!


And here is a kitchen tip. When I open a bag that doesn't have resealable thingie, I use clothespins! Works great- much better than the little twist ties and cheaper than buying 'Chip Clips'. I do also save the twisties from bread packages as well.


And I must close the post with a baby picture :)



And maybe another....

Unexpected Break

Apparently I took a blogging break!

Unintentionally.


Samantha hasn't been eating well and I've been really busy with that. She's going to try another medicine to see if it helps block acid from coming up the esophagus. I was gone on a field trip Wednesday, Thursday I had lots of housework to catch up on, I was out all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday then this morning Leiah woke up vomiting and I had Samantha's 2 month check up! Praise the Lord Leiah is fine now- it only lasted about 3-4hrs thanks to God answering our prayers. Samantha got some shots and is a little fussy, poor thing.

Baby has also been waking again in the early morning (4-5am) so I'm a bit sleep deprived as well. My eyelids are very heavy right now :)

Some day I will be a better blogger again. Right now things are just too busy.

I do have a new recipe to share- that's one thing I can do- COOK! I also have a very neat thing to share about my oldest daughter, Leiah's school experience. God totally brought us here.

So, I need to go get the crying baby quieted and at some point I'll be back to talk some more :)

Love you all!

A Recipe and organization

What lovely wonderful fall weather we are getting! Such a huge blessing! The mornings and evenings are cool enough we need to turn the heat on, but by midday it's in the 70s. Last night the kids were outside playing in the dark while their daddy was burning some trash-cool out, but not cold.

For us autumn doesn't really feel real until late October and November. I know in more northern states it might even start in September. We're still getting summer heat then!

Last week I bought some fresh fall veggies and wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. Well, boy did I come up with a winner of a recipe! I don't really just love butternut squash and sweet potatoes, but when I cooked them this time I LOVED it. This is what I did:

I cubed 1/2 a medium peeled butternut squash (my veggie peeler was sharp enough to get the strong hide off it), 2 medium sweet potatoes, 2 green apples and 1 large onion. I tossed them in a large baking dish and seasoned them with dried rosemary, dried thyme, a sprinkle of cayenne, a sprinkle of nutmeg and ginger, garlic powder, salt and pepper and olive oil. I had a whole chicken that I nestled in the middle and covered the chicken with the same spices and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. THEN, I poured about 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar and 2/3c real apple cider of all of it and roasted it.
WOW!! I served it with some saffron flavored rice (yeah from a package). The veggies got slightly blackened around the edges, so I turned the temp. from 425 to 350. I cooked them for a total of about 45 minutes-1 hour. It was so good I wished I would have made it for my mom's birthday party. Which, by the way, went very well, I was just too busy to take any pictures. I made the chocolate layer cake and the girls decorated it with candy corn, candy pumpkins and 'halloween' sprinkles. (orange black and purple)

I have the rest of the squash and a sweet potato left this week, so I will either make it into a smooth and creamy soup or baby food :)

Organization

I mentioned I was working on a new binder. I will take pictures of it in a bit. I just bought a little skinny one and built like the control journals on the Fly Lady website. Basically all I have in there now are my daily routines, a weekly plan, a few things about cleaning and my girls' daily routines and my menu plans/master grocery list.

It's helped me out a lot.

The Weekly Plan is like this:

Monday- some cleaning (vacuum, dust, sweep and mop) and laundry (clothes from the weekend, sheets if I can manage it) Plus just regain the house from the crazy weekend.

Tuesday- Projects, towel laundry and whatever else needs washing. Today I have lots of towels and I MUST wash my clothes. A project would be sewing, decluttering something, decorating something, deep cleaning...Today I plan to cut out some fleece into a cape/poncho for Leiah. Should be quick to sew, and she needs a jacket!

Wednesday- Errands/shopping; wash diapers
you know, groceries, library etc. However tomorrow is the pumpkin patch field trip with the girls' school, so I'm going to that and will try to do my grocery shopping tonight.

Thursday- food preps : baking bread and granola and whatever else, soaking beans, grains etc., culturing kefir and kombucha, maybe cooking some meat for the freezer, washing produce....and possibly clean something in the kitchen like the microwave, bleach the sinke etc. (since it's white)

Friday- more cleaning and laundry- windex screens and mirrors, bathrooms, change trash, febreeze furniture and finish up the laundry for the week. (except more diapers on Saturday)

Yesterday I was able to do all my day's tasks and my routines pretty well, without feeling overwhelmed and overworked and my head wasn't spinning with all that needed doing. I didn't have to worry about baking because that is scheduled on Thursday and if I need something before then, then I have license to buy it :)

Of course I will rearrange things as needed, but it really helps me a lot to have a set day for certain things. It's not so jumbled up in my head. Also, my daily routines aren't set in stone. For example, in the morning this is on my list of things to do:

make bed and tidy room
wipe down bathroom
(get dressed of course)
begin laundry
unload dishwasher
make breakfast and lunches

However, this morning went something like this: Matt wakes me up telling me it's 7 am (Samantha got way off schedule yesterday and woke up at 3:30 to eat and then stayed awake awhile). I get out of bed, barely conscious and make lunches. Then I fix the girls' hair, make a pot of coffee, make Samantha's bottle (must stay on schedule today!) and feed her. Then I change her diaper, tidy up a bit, make myself some breakfast and sit down at the computer. My bed is not made, my room is not tidied, the washing machine isn't going yet and I am not dressed! As long as I get to it by 11am, that's still considered morning :)

I have an afternoon routine in which I put away laundry, make sure the dishwasher is started so I can unload it for dinner, make snacks, check the girls' folders when they get home, start dinner and clean up etc.

My before bed routine includes tidying the house, finishing dishes and cleaning the sink, prepping for breakfast and next day's dinner, prepare bottles and set out clothes, take bath/shower etc.

Last night I forgot to turn the dishwasher on, and there were a few things not put away or bottles made (dh needed some quality time with me, so those got put aside) but overall I did everything else. And the main thing, it wasn't HARD! I don't know about you all, but the time between dinner and girls' bedtime can be a real challenge. My energy is lower, the baby is usually a little cranky, the kids needs baths and to clean up their messes and they're tired and don't want to. My husband is usually wiped out too, yet we both gotta keep going. Hopefully this will change soon as I create chore charts for the girls' so they can keep track of what needs doing and if they get stickers for doing it, they'll be excited! I also learned something new about boosting energy for us that I'll blog about soon.

So, things are coming together a bit better. Samantha is adorable is you can see on the video, but I still get a bit stressed about the feedings. I'm going to keep her on the medication until her well baby check up next week. Hopefully the doctor will listen to me then and we can figure out if she even needs the medicine.

Time to go and do what I'm talking about :)

My Sunshine Baby

Hi everyone! Here is a video of Samantha. She is really starting to smile and notice things around her alot.

Guilt and Perfectionism

We homemakers and mommies are in a precarious position. Especially those of us who blog and read blogs. I think the majority of us greatly desire to be the best we can in all areas. Yet being the best doesn't always look the same in each family.

I have always struggled with a fear of failing. I don't want the bad grade on my job. I don't want to fall short in any area of my life. Well, this sets me up for failure because I am human. If I start slipping in some area, then I begin comparing myself to others, or even worse, my PAST self!

" I wish I could do _______ like I did before the baby."

" I used to do _______ and __________ but now I just don't have time."

I remember reading a post on another blog, describing a woman like this:

This particular lady grinds her own wheat and bakes all the bread, has 8 children, breastfeeds them all, homeschools, keeps her house spotless, sews all the clothes for her family, raises chickens and milks her own cows, makes her own butter....Yet how would you feel about the lady if you knew she was an unbeliever? Suddenly it doesn't look so attractive does it?

The most important thing we can have for our families is a heart that is sold to the Lord. When our goal is to shine His light everyday in every way, then that is more important than that list of accomplishments up there.

Still, I get into the 'perfectionist' trap and then feel guilt. When the laundry is backed up again, the floor has junk all over it, the kids' rooms are a disaster, the dishes get piled up, the fridge is stinky, the windows are all smudged, the yard is littered and the kids are half naked when daddy gets home, I feel some GUILT! Big huge time guilt. I also get to feeling guilty for not being able to focus on my husband and the lack of time/ability to exercise and lose weight. Yet, it can't be helped right now.

And when I find myself getting stressed because the throw pillows aren't in the right place, or the cooking utensils are in the wrong drawer, then Miss Perfectionist has taken residence. Where is the balance?!

I don't know! I do know that having a plan each day helps. But then the to do list can sometimes mock you when you've worked hard all day and not ONE single thing got done on that list. I also know that if you get up earlier, things go so much better. I am in the process of creating a new home management binder. It's smaller, or skinnier, as I am leaving my recipes in the older big one. Basically I am working on daily routines for myself and a weekly plan, because I have lost track of things a lot lately. Life will go much smoother if I can focus on these things. And then one day, suddenly things will get easier, and there will be more time for those things.

And then, I'll think wistfully upon my baby's newborn days, my three year old's cuteness, and be sad that it's gone :) Why do things work this way?!?

Anyways, if I am doing my absolute best, then I shouldn't have anything to feel guilty about. If I do, then I need to go to God's Word and read what He thinks about me, and resist the enemy. He'll leave if you resist and take the guilt with him.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

I'm back to my old self again!

Posting here is hit and miss, eh? (That's my yooper coming out)

Well it has been an exceptionally busy week with extra appointments and stuff. Stuff like me deciding I should throw my mom a birthday party on Friday night. I decided it Sunday :)



So, my mom is such a giving person, and never expects anything for her birthday or Christmas nor acts like she wants anything- EVER! Because she has been such a huge blessing to me the last several months I really wanted to do something nice for her.



Friday night my sister's family will be here as well, so 6 adults and 7 kids will be piled in our home. The weather is supposed to cool down quite a bit, so I decided to make Ina Garten's cheddar corn chowder, sausage dogs with creamy mustard sauce, a cheese ball with crackers and apple slices, mulled cider (crockpot) and an insane chocolate layer cake decorated with candy corns and pumpkins.



And if you know me, there will be a fall tablecloth, pretty little pumpkins and mums, birthday candles on the cake and possible balloons and streamers.

Thoughts on Halloween

I was very staunch about absolutely no Halloween anything for our family. I am amazed that people get so excited about it! I mean honestly, let's compare it to Christmas.

Halloween- celebrate ghosts, monsters, skeletons, DEATH!!! Nasty, evil things like witchcraft, blood and guts, and just plain horror.

Christmas- hope, love, giving, joy, light...

The only thing in common is candy and the seasonal movies that come on TV.

So, we don't do Halloween. However, we love fall and decorating for it. My girls adore dressing up in beautiful dresses and anything princess/fairy related. And for some reason, I really like Jack-o-lanterns, even though he isn't totally innocent either...I still like them though.

I also dislike them getting lots of candy. They just do not understand moderation or sugar crashes.

Dilemma! So, I do allow costumes. In fact I really wish I could make them some this year, but it probably isn't going to happen. I did let them go 'trick-or-treating' last year to our surrounding neighbors' homes. Lucky for us, this year, our annual church hot dog roast is on Halloween, so we don't have to do anything regarding trick or treat. Still, they will be decked out in their princess rig unless it's cold. I admit, I was glad we didn't celebrate Halloween as a child (well we did until my mom found out the origins), but I did wish I could dress up and get candy.

So, because we take joy in giving our children joy, they will get costumes and a moderate amount of candy provided by the church I'm sure. If we did celebrate Halloween and get all into the scary stuff, we would have an awesome place for a haunted house/woods thing. Saturday I finally explored the rest of our property, and it's like a little forest back there! There's lots of low hanging branches and vines that would probably look pretty creepy done right.

But, we don't, so instead we'll clear the back out, and I have Christmas light plans for the little forest in the front yard! So exciting :)