Your mission this week, should you choose to accept it (and I recommend you do), is the first of three steps of the planning stage. Our planning missions deal with time, money, and food. Because I value time over money and slightly more than food, we will begin there.
The first thing I want you to plan is to plan to not over-plan. Commit to not overfilling your schedule, overextending your family, and spreading yourself like butter scraped over too much bread. Make this commitment, and then remind yourself of it every single time you’re tempted to overbook your Christmas. (More on this next time.)
Now, time for the Christmas schedule planning.
Grab your calendar (or your calendar app) and write down (or type) the following:
Where you will be for all the upcoming holidays and when. If you are traditionally at a certain person’s house or you stay home, this should be simple. If you rotate annually or have no set pattern, work on getting those details nailed down this week.
Add in all the activities you choose to be a part of. Some you know right now, but others are still sketchy–write them down as soon as the invitations or notices come in, such as church programs or office parties. Call people for info if you need it. Do it!
Write down all deadlines and requirements–shopping deadlines, card-mailing deadlines, shipping deadlines, cookie-baking for a school party, packing days…you know the drill.
Schedule in downtime and family fun, or you won’t have it. Include your family in this. Ask them what they absolutely want to do this Christmas to ensure their favorite holiday fun is included. This is super important!
Need some ideas of what could be on your calendar? Consider these to get the ol’ hamster in the head running and the idea wheel turning:
Set a gift-buying deadline.
Schedule a family Christmas photo picture day. If it’s a pro session, call today and set it up. Today!
Set a shipping deadline well ahead of the USPS’ deadline.
Set a stocking stuffer shopping deadline.
Choose a decorating day.
Pick a gift wrapping day or deadline if you wrap as you go.
Set a deadline for any homemade gifts you’re making.
Do you bake? Set grocery shopping and baking deadlines.
Add your kids’ and spouse’s school and office Christmas functions.
Add club and church functions if you know about them.
Call nearby relatives and ask about their kids’ events.
Write in any set family events, like the New Year’s Eve party your aunt holds every year.
Schedule in family fun: movie night, Christmas light viewing, attending the live nativity, delivering cookies to shut-ins, Christmas caroling, craft day–whatever you want to do.
Simple! Now grab that calendar and get it done! You can do this! You can have a peaceful Christmas–start today.
For more guidance in scheduling your Christmas without feeling stretched, buy my book, From Frazzled to Festive: Finding Joy and Meaning in a Simple Christmas.
Did you do it? Did you start your planning?
Holding myself accountable: Each week I will tell you what I have done to follow the missions. Since this is the first week, and there technically shouldn’t be pre-mission homework, I’m in the clear. Next week, however, is a different story!
It’s time once again to start thinking about Christmas. Whether you go all out or you buy a box of Oreos and eat them all while singing Away in a Manger, Christmas will be here before you know it. I want you to be prepared. That is why I am once again running my annual series entitled Twelve Weeks of a Simple Christmas. It’s like the song Twelve Days of Christmas, except I won’t sing it. You’re welcome.
Here’s the lowdown:
This series will obviously be about twelve weeks long…unless, of course, Christmas is cancelled, I move to a country chalet in France our nine-year-old has been begging for, or I just plain quit so I have more time for my new crazy book about our crazy ol’ life, any of which could happen.
This is what you’ll find here over The Twelve Weeks of Christmas:
Christ focus–SIMPLE ways to keep the Christmas focus heavenward
a weekly goal to accomplish so the basics are ready on time and you’re not rushed. I’m talking basics.
AFFORDABLE and SIMPLE gift ideas, mostly posted on Facebook as I find them, but there will also be a running list posted on the blog to ignite ideas in your noggin (you’re on the blog now–don’t panic.)
a few simple and fun recipes, activity, and craft ideas that I want you to completely ignore if you don’t have time for them. I’ll be ignoring them right along with you.
thoughts on a simple holiday season and what really matters–spoiler alert: Jesus, others, you (Joy).
If you’re looking for a Martha Stewart Christmas or an over-booked calendar, you’re on the wrong blog. Sorry–except I’m not.If you’re interested in spending more time enjoying the people in your life, the chocolate in your pantry, and the pillow in your bedroom, and less time running around like a frazzled frazzly thing, stick around!
Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss out on any Christmas updates. You can also follow my Christmas pinboard where these links will be posted regularly…unless of course I move to France or Christmas is cancelled. It could happen.
If there’s anything specific, simple, and doable you would like to see here over the Twelve Weeks of a Simple Christmas, or if there is a topic you would like me to ramble about from my simple perspective, please leave a comment. I love your comments…unless you’re a spammer. Then, not so much.
What would you like to see here in the next twelve weeks?
Children love to make things grow. Parents, grandparents, teachers, and anyone who is responsible for watching children could and should take advantage of this natural fascination for the botanical kingdom.
I’m not going to give you any hidden secrets or amazing tips for how to garden with children. In fact, most of my gardening attempts have been failures, but my gardening with my children has been memorable and fun. There are no how-to lessons here, merely a little guidance about the philosophy behind creating garden lovers of all ages.
Five Real Life Tips for Gardening With Children
1. Please don’t wait for the perfect scenario in life to start gardening with your children. If you wait until they can have their own plot of land, it may never happen. You don’t need acreage to start a garden. Our first child had a small garden on the balcony of our micro-apartment, and watered it every day, much to the chagrin of the downstairs neighbors. Sorry, Mr. Hernandez! It was nothing fancy, but it was ours.
2. Please do not be afraid of dirt. Dirt is uber-important (what does uber mean?) to the development of healthy immune systems. In fact, our daughter’s doctor prescribed her soil-based supplements to help manage her autoimmune disease. Interesting, eh? Wash their hands before dinner, but otherwise, chill out!
3. Keep it simple. Some lima beans and a washed-out pickle jar would be a nice start. Chia seeds–fun! A cheap bag of flower seeds from an end of season sale and a tray full of dirt–awesomeness! Simple is excellent. Just do something!
4. Don’t hover. Let your child pick the seeds, scoop the dirt, plant, water, and harvest. It won’t be perfect. So your daughter picks every flower she planted and puts them in her pocket to save for the sweet lady in church. That’s wonderful! So your son eats every pea pod and cherry tomato as soon as they appear. Okay! So they over-water and prune a little exuberantly. It’s a learning experience you can use to teach, but don’t ruin the enthusiasm in the process.
5. Celebrate the successes. Sometimes things don’t turn out the way we intended, but find something positive about the experience and celebrate the seeds that sprouted or the one strawberry that grew.
These are little steps for little hands in little gardens, but they can be applied to many ages and situations. Most importantly, make it a positive experience.
What are your experiences and best tips for gardening with kids?
Remove the yolks to a bowl and break them apart with a fork.
Add mayonnaise one spoonful at a time until you’ve reached your desired moisture level. Add mustard and salt to taste.
Combine until smooth or the texture of your choice.
Spoon or pipe into the egg white hollows.
Sprinkle with paprika, or top with red peppers or green onions if desired.
Deviled Eggs Recipe Tips
For perfect hard-boiled eggs with bright yellow yolks, click here.
Wipe the knife after cutting each egg to keep the whites clean.
Cool eggs are easier to slice cleanly than warm eggs.
If desired, spoon the filling into a plastic bag, seal, and snip the corner off. Squeeze the bag to pipe the filling into the eggs.
If you mess up some of the eggs while peeling, throw them in with the yolks to mash into filling. Click here for easy-peel eggs.
Here’s the printable version:
Deviled Eggs Recipe
Recipe Type: Appetizer
Author: Christy, The Simple Homemaker
This basic deviled eggs recipe lends itself to a lot of variations to suit your fancy.
Ingredients
12 hard-boiled eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise (or to your preference)
2 teaspoons mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of pepper, optional
paprika
optional green onions, red bell peppers, or any other pretty garnish
Instructions
Peel eggs.
Cut the eggs in half lengthwise.
Remove the yolks to a bowl and break them apart with a fork.
Add mayonnaise one spoonful at a time until you’ve reached your desired moisture level. Add mustard and salt to taste.
Combine until smooth or the texture of your choice.
Spoon or pipe into the egg white hollows.
Sprinkle with paprika, or top with red peppers or green onions if desired.
Notes
Wipe the knife after cutting each egg to keep the whites clean.
Cool eggs are easier to slice cleanly than warm eggs.
If desired, spoon the filling into a plastic bag, seal, and snip the corner off. Squeeze the bag to pipe the filling into the eggs.
If you mess up some of the eggs while peeling, throw them in with the yolks to mash into filling.
To learn how to boil and peel perfect eggs, visit www.TheSimpleHomemaker.com
2.2.6
Deviled Eggs Recipe for Stuffed Egg Chicks
For a fun alternative, try these stuffed egg chicks:
Cut a small slice off the wide bottom so the egg stands flat.
Cut the top off. Remove the yolk.
Make the filling as directed above in the deviled eggs recipe. Pipe or spoon the filling back into the larger white segment and top with the small white piece.
Add olive slices or raisins for eyes and a carrot segment for a beak.
Feel free to give your newly formed friends a little personality.
“Aaaaah! Herbie!”
“Okay, Kids, who yolked up in my shell!”
“It happens every Easter, Ethel. He stuffs himself to the eyeballs and then he pays the price.”
What is your family’s unique twist on the basic deviled eggs recipe?
Last year I posted several articles about hard-boiled eggs. They were some of my most popular posts of all time. Apparently, you people are all about the incredible edible egg! And why not! Eggs are awesome. In honor of the amazing egg, here is a round-up of my best hard-boiled egg posts, as well as some newbies.
Check out this picture sent in by my sister-in-law, Karen, one of my most faithful readers from Wisconsin. It shows the difference between their old method of boiling and peeling eggs and the new method they learned right here at The Simple Homemaker. Now that’s a gorgeous egg!
Do you want gorgeous eggs? Easy as pie! Easier, really. Just follow these directions:
For more ideas, I created a Pinterest board entitled Using Up Hard-Boiled Eggs. It’s about using up hard-boiled eggs. Appropriately named, don’t you think? Check it out for more ideas.
There are many ways to celebrate Easter with food, and many of them point directly to the Resurrection, such as this Jelly Bean Gospel or these Resurrection Rolls or these Resurrection Cookies. Chocolate Bunny Oatmeal has nothing to do with anything. It’s just plain fun. That happy, oblivious little bunny has no idea what’s about to transpire.
Serve up bowls of piping hot oatmeal and stick a chocolate bunny smack dab in the center.
As the bunny melts in the hot lava death hot cereal, it will transform the oatmeal into chocolaty goodness!
That’s all there is to it!
Tips:
To help the bunny stand up and create a better effect, make thicker oatmeal by using less liquid than usual.
The oatmeal must be served hot.
Don’t add milk or coconut cream or whatever you add until the bunny has worked its little bunny magic.
Adjust the chocolaty goodness by using a larger or smaller rabbit.
The teeny tiny one-bite bunnies are really too small, so have chocolate chips on hand to add some yum.
Solid rabbits are not going to melt as quickly or completely as hollow bunnies, unless they are small. We used small solids (7/$1) and they melted fine.
Make this after Easter when the bunnies are being unloaded cheap.
Don’t serve this on a morning when your kids will be expected to sit still and quiet for an hour. Ahem.
This works great for a no-life-lesson breakfast around Christmas, too. Stick a Santa in it.
You know this idea is going to nag you until you try it, so just give in!
While I am involved with the music mission, I don’t do enough. My time is split between writing magazine articles, writing for The Simple Homemaker, and working for the mission (never mind changing diapers, homeschooling the kids, parenting eight children, wifing one husband, cooking, cleaning, reading whatever 1800s book my teens are excited about, and eating cookies.)
By getting rid of the first two, I can concentrate more time on eating cookies the music mission. Ideally, that will take some of the weight off my husband’s shoulders. Isn’t that, after all, the definition of a helpmeet?
helpmeet
[help-meet] noun
definition: helpmate
Origin of “help·meet”:
from the phrase “an help meet for him” i.e., a help suitable for him, in the Authorized Version of the Bible (1611)
That was a lot of words to say “helper.”
I want to be a better helper, and to do that I need to be heading in fewer directions on my own. I need to be more of a team player. My team deserves it.
The Team handling the “team lift” box.
TWO: I’m tired of being part of the noise.
People like me have come to be known as “mommy bloggers.” There’s nothing wrong with mommy bloggers. But have you noticed how many of us there are? Seriously, I can’t count that high. There’s a lot of good in the mommy blogger world, and there’s some amazing encouragement and support, but there is also a lot of un-good.
There are too many “experts” where nobody is an expert, too many false fronts, too many idols, too many selfies, too much guilt, too much time-wasting, too many readers drooling over other people’s lives, too much noise.
I’m just another voice in the noise, and all that noise is hurting my sensibilities. I don’t want to add to the noise.
I don’t want to be part of the noise. I want to focus on this noise instead.
Plus, to succeed in this crowded mommy blogger region of the universe, you have to compete, and compete hard. Unless magic happens (which doesn’t in my world–you can tell by my hair), you have to punch the numbers, track the clicks, study your analytics, make yourself shareable, and on and on it goes. I can’t spend that much time on mommy blogging when I have “mommy being” and the mission calling my name. Nor do I want to.
Also, I’m bored of all the repetition–there’s nothing new under the mommy blogger sun. There’s nothing I can tell you that someone else already hasn’t. There’s just another social media outlet to suck up my time and yours, another recipe, another how-to, another parenting approach, another chemical threat to the lives of your children. I’m getting overwhelmed and, worse, I’m getting bored! I’m too aware of the value of a minute to waste my time being bored, boring, or bore-able…which is a word I just made up and which has absolutely no meaning, so don’t look it up.
Life is too short to be bore-able.
Therefore, while the motivated mommy bloggers are pushing harder, getting book deals, increasing their numbers, and “hustling,” all of which is great, I’m heading in the other direction. I’m stepping out of the crowd, shamelessly stopping at the cookie table for a little stash for the road, and retreating to my own little world.
My world–home, sweet home.
Why?
Because other mommy bloggers can tell you how to fry an egg or bake a ham or ditch a closetful of clutter, probably better than I can and without the cheesy jokes. They can review a book or tell you how to save money at the grocery store, and their pictures will be prettier and more pinnable. They can promote a curriculum or a diet plan or an affiliate program, and they can do it with style. They can share a recipe or tell you how to do your laundry, and their hair will look better in the process.
They can tell you you’re valuable (because you are) or your job is important (which it is) or comparison is a trap (a mighty truth) or to slow down and spend more time with your family (do that, okay?).
Forget smelling roses. Take time to kiss the babies!
They can do that stuff…and they are probably willing to get off their backsides and grab a thesaurus to think of a better way to say “do that stuff.” Some of them are really good at being mommy bloggers. (Some stink and don’t use commas wisely–I caution you.) Therefore, you will be no worse off if I step out of the mommy blogger crowd, because you can go to one of them and hear many of the same things I would be telling you if I were still here.
So if all you want is a how-to on using natural cleaners and tips on simplifying Christmas, you will not miss me one crumb. They’ve got you well in hand. I salute them.
But…
If you want to see how my family handles toys, toddlers, teens, books, Crohn’s disease, roadschooling, college, restricted diets, storage, chores, clothing, cleaning, a gluten issue, family conflict in tight quarters, full-time RV living, Christmas, screens, road trips (we’re the masters), repairs, culinary disasters (and some successes), and a Christian music mission in a 30-foot travel trailer, correct me if I’m wrong, I believe we’re your only option.
The boys on laundry duty.
THREE: It’s time to show instead of tell.
Here at The Simple Homemaker, I talk about simplifying, but wouldn’t it be more effective to see that in action.
As you know, there are ten people in our family, plus a fluffy bipolar cat living in a 30-foot travel trailer. That’s roughly 250 square feet of living space. To thrive in that environment, you have to simplify…a lot…a lot a lot. (Where is that thesaurus?) Because I’ve been busy putting out a post or two a week at The Simple Homemaker this year, I didn’t put up a single post in 2016 at our family blog, The Travel Bags, and haven’t shown anybody in two years how it’s done.
Shame on li’l ol’ me.
Up until now, The Travel Bags has mostly been about our adventures. Good news: we are revamping it to include more how-tos.
Our first four beauties!
How do ten people (including four teenage girls) manage one bathroom? How do we cook with a single burner? How do we keep enough clothes for every season for ten people, when our living space is pretty much equivalent to the combined square footage of some people’s closets?
What about toys? What about homeschooling? What about Hannah’s restricted diet? What about college at home? What about friends? How do we make it all flow?
How do we make it all flow?
We will resume regularly fielding questions, because holy curiosity, Batman, people have a lot of great questions. Not only is what we do unique, it also exemplifies what The Simple Homemaker is all about–finding joy and meaning in a simple life.
FOUR: It’s more fun over there.
Wheeeee!
My kids love to read that blog. They don’t care quite as much about this one. They think I’m too serious here, if you can imagine that. Plus they already know how to fry an egg, because I teach them stuff…like to not write “stuff.”
I have to keep the fans happy, because, well, they’re going to take care of me in my old(er) age. That’s reason enough, don’t you agree?
Ya gotta keep the kids and the jackelope happy–if the jackelope ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.
FIVE: It’s also because of books, cookies, and the cat that hates me.
Life keeps moving. I have a book waiting to be edited. I have cookies needing to be worked off my thighs. I have a psychotic cat I’m trying to transform into a dog to take the place of Jedi who died this summer (sniff sniff), and it isn’t working. In other words, I’m a busy woman, and these things cannot wait any longer. (Maybe the cat can wait…and the thighs…but not the book, hubby, or kids.)
That cat is not a dog.
I’m mostly kidding about the cat. She’s a great kitty. It’s not her fault she’s not a dog.
SIX: Mostly I want to enjoy my people.
I want to be able to look at my people without my eyes crossing because I was staring at a screen for two hours. I want to play a rousing, top-of-your-lungs game of Pit without thinking I should be writing about biscuits. I want to read the novels my daughters wrote instead of snoozing through “How to make your post go viral.” Who cares about viral?! Really, I try to avoid anything contagious anyway.
Something “went viral” and someone tossed his cookies in the van. Let’s just say nobody will turn that aroma into an air freshener.
I want to write more letters to people. I want to call my mom more often. I want to laugh more with this guy.
Oh, wait…he’s the only one laughing here. That’s because he got carded the same day I was asked if I qualified for a senior citizen discount. The stinker.
I want to live more, think less, and avoid using or hearing all the abstract, overused-and-consequently-annoying-to-me words like intentional, authentic, present, and organic. Instead I want merely to be a better, more Christ-like version of me…which is some days super authentic and other days super just-trying-to-remember-that-I-love-my-life-on-the-other-days-so-I-shouldn’t-drown-myself-in-a-vat-of-chocolate-today.
That last sentence. That sums it all up. Let’s just stop here.
Where is the vat of chocolate? And, yes, this is my real hair, thanks for noticing.
Plus I’ll be back here from time to time with my ramblings.
Hooray! It will be fun. Trust me. And sometimes it won’t be fun. Trust me. And I’ll try not to talk about cookies so much. That last part might have been a lie. Yes, I think it was.
See–its fun!
In summary:
I am leaving The Simple Homemaker blog and moving over to The Travel Bags. It will be fun. Come with me.
For perfect hard-boiled eggs with bright yellow yolks, 
Wipe the knife after cutting each egg to keep the whites clean.
If desired, spoon the filling into a plastic bag, seal, and snip the corner off. Squeeze the bag to pipe the filling into the eggs.
If you mess up some of the eggs while peeling, throw them in with the yolks to mash into filling. 
To help the bunny stand up and create a better effect, make thicker oatmeal by using less liquid than usual.
The oatmeal must be served hot.
Don’t add milk or coconut cream or whatever you add until the bunny has worked its little bunny magic.
Adjust the chocolaty goodness by using a larger or smaller rabbit.
The teeny tiny one-bite bunnies are really too small, so have chocolate chips on hand to add some yum.
Solid rabbits are not going to melt as quickly or completely as hollow bunnies, unless they are small. We used small solids (7/$1) and they melted fine.
Make this after Easter when the bunnies are being unloaded cheap.
Don’t serve this on a morning when your kids will be expected to sit still and quiet for an hour. Ahem.
This works great for a no-life-lesson breakfast around Christmas, too. Stick a Santa in it.
