The House Was So Quiet...

I came down with a bad case of mastitis on Tuesday, fever, chills, bodyaches, the works. As soon as Ryan got home from work I got into bed and stayed there for the remainder of the evening. I called a friend to see if she wouldn't mind watching Robert(3) and Ted(1) so that I could stay in bed on Wednesday too.

Ryan got up extra early and made breakfast for all of us, then dropped off the two middle kids on his way to work. I kept Little Ryan(5) with me to entertain the baby and get me things so that I could stay in bed. We were so lonely without Robert and Ted, and bored too! The house was quiet, not just quiet, spooky quiet.

I thought I might enjoy my day of rest, but truth be told I couldn't wait for my husband to get home with my two MISSING children. Little Ryan was a trooper, but I could tell he was miserable as well. When the two little sweeties finally got home they hugged me really tight. They probably didn't miss me as much as I missed them.

I'm so thankful that God hand-picked Robert and Ted especially for MY family. They BELONG here, and I NEED them. I think it is interesting how the role of the mother is always emphasized as being so important, the role of the father too. What about the role of the children? I NEED my children! When one or two of them are not around, I feel a bit lost. I ENJOY my children. Their role in MY life is every bit as important as my role in their's. They sanctify me, daily, hourly, minute by minute.

Thank you God for giving me my children...

Epicurious.com

A good friend of mine recently told me about a cooking website where a lot of great recipes can be found, Epicurious.com. Last night was the first chance I've had to go check it out. I am trying to revamp our menus and add in some more variety.

I am so impressed by this site. They have cooking demonstration videos, a ton of recipes that are rated by members with comments and reviews, an advanced search tool to find just the right recipe, a recipe box where you can file the different recipes that you want to file, message boards, and a whole lot more! Joining is free too! The website is run by the folks that put out bon apetit, and Gourmet magazine, so you know they have a lot of great content to share.

Go have a look and let me know what you think.

For more kitchen tips don't forget to visit Tammy's Recipes for Kitchen Tip Tuesday.

Starting a Morning Routine

According to the 2007 Mom Salary Survey issued by Salary.com, the work that a stay at home mom does has an annual value of $138,095. Is it any wonder? I have often thought of the many different facets of my most important job. I am a laundress, seamstress, chauffeur, doctor, chef, nutritionist, teacher, activities director, psychiatrist, judge, warden, personal shopper, gardener, sports coach, librarian, dentist, and housekeeper. I do not claim to be the master at any of these noble professions. However, the one job that I have learned and tried to master, out of sheer desperation is the job of the scheduler.

A good working schedule, or routine, can make or break the stay at home mom. When a good routine is in place the stay at home mom knows what she should be doing, as well as what her children should be doing in order to accomplish the day’s goals. I like to think of my routine as the order in which my day occurs. I don’t have a set amount of time to accomplish each task because, let’s face it, diaper changes happen, and they rarely happen at the scheduled time. With three children currently in diapers, getting sidetracked comes with the territory. A routine allows for these little distractions to happen when they happen, and then it’s right back to the routine.

Here is an example of what a normal morning in my home looks like. I wake up around 6:30, shower, get dressed and nurse the baby. After the baby is fed, changed and dressed, I wake up the boys. I change two more diapers, and get those two boys dressed while the oldest boy gets himself dressed. I cook breakfast and we sit down and eat. I do the dishes while my oldest son make his bed, my three year old wipes off the table and chairs, my 1 year old looks at books in his high chair and the baby goes down for her nap. After the dishes are done I sweep the floor. At this point I spend thirty minutes to one hour doing maintenance cleaning, for example mopping, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, and changing sheets. I do different chores on different days. While I am working on the cleaning my oldest two sons collect the dirty laundry and take it to the laundry room. When cleaning time is through, we get the laundry machine going and go outside for some playtime.

When my morning routine occurs, we have peace in our home. When the morning routine gets shelved, regaining the structure of the day is difficult. For that reason I make sure to schedule appointments and run errands no earlier than 11am. When we follow our morning routine the rest of the day flows better. Think of it as the foundation of your day. When you have a good strong foundation, the rest of your day will remain strong and be productive.

The best way to set up your morning routine is to start with two or three things and then add on as you can. For example, I started my routine by waking at 6:30am, showering and dressing, then nursing the baby. Those three activities in that order were what I worked on for one week. After I had done that for a week, I added in doing the breakfast dishes right after breakfast. In two weeks time I went from still being in my pajamas at noon with a sink full of dirty dishes, to being dressed with an empty sparkling sink by 8:30. Making small gradual changes, baby steps, over time are the best way to build your routine. You are much more likely to stick with your new routine when it is built slowly.

The job of the scheduler is the backbone for all of the other jobs of the stay at home mom. When I finally figured out how to maximize my time within a routine, I was then able to start adding in other areas. Without a good structure, the day will fall.

Give-Away at Families Againtst Feminism

Kelly from Families Against Feminism is doing a HUGE give-away! She is giving away the ENTIRE Reclaiming the Culture DVD set shown here:



Go on over to her blog to enter! Make sure to tell her that Ashley from Feminine Pursuits sent you. You have until Friday at midnight.

Also, stay tuned later this week for my review of this DVD from the series

Cheap Flowers and Veggies For the Garden

Now is the time of the year to stop into your local Lowe's and Home Depot to scoop up some great clearance deals on flowers, shrubs, trees, and vegetables. Most people have already come in to purchase their plants. End of the season deals don't just work on clothes! Most of the plants will be clearanced at 50% off, sometimes even more. Don't be afraid to take a chance on some plants that look a bit rough around the edges, especially if they are perennials. Most of the time all they need is to be planted either in a bigger container, or in the ground, given some water, and some compost, and they will return to life with vigor! You can even try bargaining a bit with the department manager if you are willing to buy a whole bunch of the plants. I'm going in tomorrow to see what deals I can scrounge up!

For more frugal tips don't forget to visit Biblical Womanhood for Frugal Friday.

Freezer Breakfasts

A tree fell on our electric fence sometime this morning, and our pig got out. After spending over an hour trying to round up the pig, get the goats milked on a broken milk stand (the pig broke it), and chasing a rooster around with an ax, Ryan got home from work and the pig walked calmly into her fence. I still had a baby to nurse and three boys to get dressed, and breakfast to fix. We don't keep convenience foods in the house seeing as they are not convenient for our health. The idea of cooking breakfast did not appeal to me at all, but I have a family (army) to feed. I remembered that I still had a bag of pancakes in the freezer from when I made up a few batches before Clara was born. I threw them in the oven and we all sat down to a nice hot breakfast.

Most of the time when you think of freezer meals, you are thinking DINNER. I am going to invest a bit of time this week to get some breakfasts and lunches in the freezer as well. We all have those mornings, or noons that don't go according to plan. But, like death and taxes, meals are another constant of life. They will always need to be fixed, even when the pig escapes. Planning ahead with freezer meals is a great way to alleviate a portion of the stress that comes along with unavoidable circumstances.

I am going to try to keep two bags of pancakes, and two breakfast casseroles in the freezer for times like this.

For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, visit Rocks In My Dryer

For other kitchen tips be sure to visit Tammy's recipes for other kitchen tips!

For Shay (and anyone else who enjoys pictures)

It was hard to get a good shot of a kid nursing.


The money shot...









Piggly wiggly was supposed to go to freezer camp this past Saturday, but she got ANOTHER reprieve, lucky girl...


Ted loves having Clara hang out in his crib. Clara is not so sure she loves being there...



Clara was upset because she wanted a purple bow in her hair today. Temper, temper...

Menu Plan Monday

It's been almost a month since I've posted. I've been trying desperately to get the house and life back in good working order. I figured I would jump back into blogging with a Menu Plan Monday post to kick off this week in an organized fashion. I will be getting part two of the jam tutorial up later this week. And I would also like to get some pictures of baby Clara posted. She is already three months old! She is such a sweet, lovely baby, we are enjoying her so much!

Monday- Lasagna and green beans
Tuesday- Chicken and pinto bean burritos and a large salad
Wednesday- Ham and Swiss quiche, peas, pineapple
Thursday- Chicken fried rice with sauteed zucchini
Friday- Chili and cornbread
Saturday- Leftovers
Sunday- Rice and Bean burritos and a large salad

For a peak at other ladies' weekly menus go visit OrgJunkie for Menu Plan Monday