I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
We did. Take a peek into The Simple Home over the holidays.
We had our seventh baby on Thanksgiving morning. (That’s the precious little bundle being held by my firstborn. By the way, don’t let the sweet innocence of that three-year-old princess in the front row fool you. She spent Christmas Eve morning coloring my white office door blue with a permanent marker while I was on the other side of the door finishing up those PJs she’s wearing. Life is colorful.)
By now, bringing a new baby into the house is a pretty smooth process. This baby, however, has colic. Sweet and content as she is is during the day, in the evening she has what my children have termed “her time.” During “her time” our mild-mannered Baby Jekyl transforms into Miss Hyde. This involves inconsolable, heart-wrenching screaming…lots of it…and lots of walking and singing for a Mama who just can’t bring herself to let the poor little dear scream it out alone.
I underestimated the amount of time and energy a colicky baby would require, particularly during the holidays. Walking my baby uses up my productive evening hours (although it gets me out of my morning walk, since “her time” doubles as exercise…in my warped mind.)
Fortunately, my children are amazing with a capital zing! Not only did they handle our lovely Christmas Eve dinner (and I’m not talking toast and popcorn), but they took on the Christmas Day buffet planning, baking, and cooking. (I wasn’t making rolls alone from scratch when I was eight. Were you?) All I did was brine a bird and pop it in the oven. They did everything else. Everything.
Which leads me to this point, the crux of simplifying life in a large family:
Train your children when they are young!
By always having a child or seven working at your side, you will soon have a houseful of capable, willing, and enjoyable helpers who will someday step out into the world perfectly capable of taking care of themselves and others…including you! But that is a post for another day.
What you really want to know is who won Smart Sweets.
But first…
Remember, if you didn’t win, you can get your own copy of Smart Sweets from Katie at Kitchen Stewardship.
Buy Smart Sweets.
Now…the winner!
The winner is Hannah with this comment/entry:
“I am already subscribed to your newsletter and love reading it!”
Isn’t she sweet?!
Congratulations, Hannah! Enjoy your Smart Sweets!
I wish that all my entrants could be winners. One of these days I’m going to have something for all of you.
Meanwhile, consider starting your new year with Smart Sweets and enjoy healthier treats in 2012.
Buy Smart Sweets.
Now then, tell me about your Christmas! Was it wonderful?
TSHM disclosure statement: All Smart Sweets links are affiliate links. If you buy Smart Sweets through my affiliate link, I will receive a percentage of the sale. Thanks! (In case you are wondering, all current TSHM proceeds go toward purchasing math books for my children. They have requested that you not purchase through my links…the stinkers.)
This was the best Christmas ever. 🙂
Woo hoo!!!
Your kiddos are so cute and your new little addition is ADORABLE! Look at all that dark hair! My baby’s hair is starting to fall out… we’re calling her Baby Fudd! 😉
I LOVE what you said about training children when they are young. I said the same thing in my “Let Them Help” series. My three-year-old can do more in the kitchen than most ten-year-olds, and she loves every minute of it.
Now that I’m getting the hang of having more than one little one to take care of, I’m looking forward to getting to spend more time exploring your blog. I pray your little one will get past her colic very, very soon.
Baby Fudd–ha ha! Too cute!
When I had three under four years, my grandmother gave me a book which said your teens should be able to run your home. And you know what…mine can! So you’re right…we both are! Train them when young and you’ll have able-bodied dears to work beside you. 🙂
Thanks for the prayers. I think she may be coming out of it…or is that wishful thinking?
Hi,
I have been exploring your newly discovered site this morning and my eyes zeroed in on “colicky baby”. My first baby, now a 23 year old newly wed, was very colicky, so I can relate. But what I wanted you to know is something I just discovered! Colicky babies are usually colicky because of an allergy to something in their mother’s milk. It most often is a sensitivity to dairy products, so if your little one is still having difficulty with colic, you might try eliminating dairy from your diet for a while.
I’m enjoying reading your stuff!
Rhonda
Thank you, Rhonda!!! 🙂