Large Families: Making Time for Everyone

Having a lot of children may take a toll on the waistline, but not on the hearing. Sure, when someone small cries out from the bathroom, “I missed,” we moms of many pretend we can’t hear in hopes that Daddy will go handle potty patrol.  In reality, however, the more children a mama has, the more highly attuned her sense of hearing becomes.  Therefore, the comments people mutter when our large family parades by do not fall on deaf ears.  

Large Families: Making Time for Everyone

The first thing I usually hear from the parade watchers is, “She has seven children?! Wow, she looks amazing!”  (Okay, so maybe I am just a little bit deaf.)

What I actually hear outside of my fantasy realm is, “How does she find time for all those kids?”

Is there time for everyone in large families?

My friends, I have an answer for you, and it is a mere click away!  I wrote about busting the not-enough-time-for-everyone myth over at Purposeful Homemaking.  

If you think parents and children in a large family have it rough, go have a read. If you think parents and children in a large family (or any family where they are loved) have it great, go have a cookie…or three.

While you’re here, I will give you a little hint about spreading myself around as a mom of many: 

It doesn’t require a superhero cape…although I do have one in a stunning shade of red.  No, you may not borrow it.

Read the post at Purposeful Homemaking.

Linked up to Big Family Friday.

Love in Action: Smile

Remember that special smile your husband reserves just for you.  You know the one.  It’s the smile that makes you go weak in the knees.

Oh, that smile.

I’m sure you have a smile that makes him go weak in the knees as well.

Love in Action: Smile

Love in Action Day 2

Your love in action for today is simple, but powerful.

Smile!

Look your husband in the eyes, connect, and smile.  Oh, and mean it.

It’s easy to get absorbed in the worries of life, the busyness, the tasks, the child with the leaky diaper sharing its burden with your last clean outfit, the three-year-old regifting her fifth consecutive meal to the overweight (but happy) dog.

Sometimes we forget that, as husband and wife, we are in this beautiful mess of an adventure called “life” together.

We can each make it easier for the other with the simple beauty of a smile.

You and your husband have a connection that neither of you shares with any other human being on earth. Savor it.  Reinforce it.  Renew that connection as often as you can.

Cement your togetherness with a smile.

Show your husband you are happy to see him when he wakes up in the morning.  Smile.  Show him you appreciate him when he comes home from work.  Smile.  Show him that he is more important than whatever he is interrupting.  Smile.  Catch his eye when he least expects it and, you guessed it, smile.

Love in Action: Smile

Look him in the eyes and smile the smile that makes him go weak in the knees.

Who knows.  Maybe he’ll smile back.

Oh, you’re going to love how this one makes you feel!

Share your thoughts on today’s Love in Action task!

Fun Tools: Preserve your smiles on a free 8×10 photo canvas from Canvas People.  Upload your favorite week-in-the-knees-smile photo and the Canvas People will send you a free 8×10 canvas (nearly a $50 value) for the price of shipping (our shipping fee was around $15).  Or get $35 off a larger canvas.  Preserve those romantic smiles in style!

Love in Action: Smile

 

Top photo credit: Troy B. Thompson

Linked to Weekend Whatever.

Love in Action: Stop Criticizing

Why is The Simple Homemaker hosting Love in Action?

Establishing a simple, peaceful home environment involves getting back to the basics: the basics of housekeeping, the basics of feeding your family, the basics of managing your time and money, the basics of family relationships.

Love in Action: Stop Criticizing

When you take away all the trappings and externals of a family–the house, education, careers, outside distractions–you are left with what? Dust bunnies, yes.  But something better.  People!

And those people need love. It’s a very basic human need. Denying it doesn’t change it.

That is why The Simple Homemaker is focusing the Love in Action series on the simplest and greatest thing we can do for our husbands and children: love them.

Love in Action: Stop Criticizing

Love in Action Day 1

Our first goal in showing love in simple ways is the only “thou shalt not” in the list.

Stop criticizing your spouse.

Today and for the rest of the Love in Action series, stop criticizing your husband.

Don’t criticize in any way. That means no nagging, belittling, huffing, eye rolling, “joking,” sarcasm, meaningful sighing, or treating your man, your hero, like a child.

That doesn’t mean you can’t disagree or lovingly discuss a matter, but don’t make it a personal attack.

No matter what!

When you want to criticize, replace it with gratitude.

Whatever the circumstances, find gratitude and kick the negativity in the backside.

And when this “game” is no longer fun, think how belittling, how demeaning, how indescribably unpleasant it is for a man to live with a negative, critical, nagging wife. I wouldn’t wish that on my son, nor on any other mother’s son. Would you?

Better to live in a desert
than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.

~Proverbs 21:19

Are you ready to stop criticizing your spouse?  Let’s encourage each other in the comment section below!

Love in Action The Power of a Praying Wife Stop CriticizingHelpful Tool: Instead of criticizing your spouse, pray for him.  Stormy Omartian’s book The Power of a Praying Wife offers a month’s worth of guidance for praying for your husband.  My favorite paraphrase from the book reads something akin to, “Lord, give my husband a new wife…and let it be me.”

There is also The Power of a Praying Husband if the two of you want to read together…but separately.

Read more reviews here.

 

Original artwork by my daughter Marissa.

Love in Action: Building Strong Families

Monday marks the beginning of a 14-post series entitled Love in Action. This series encourages all of us to express love through simple actions that will work toward building strong families.

Love in Action Series: Building Strong Families (www.TheSimpleHomemaker.com)

I first posted this series last February around Valentine’s Day.  It’s easy to show a little mush on Valentine’s Day, but the kind of love we’re building extends beyond a one-day holiday.  It’s the nitty-gritty, down-and-dirty, baby-puke-in-your-hair, morning-breath kind of love.  It needs work, nurturing, and effort…more than once a year.  It is for that reason that I have chosen to revisit the Love in Action series. (Plus I need a little kick in the pantaloons, myself.)

Love in Action: Building Strong Families Details

There will be 14 Love in Action tasks.

Love in Action: Building Strong FamiliesWe will focus the first half of Love in Action on loving actions toward our husbands (or wives, for my male readers).  The second set of Love in Action posts will focus on loving actions toward our children.

Now, please don’t do your loving action for the day and check it off your lifelong love list.  Practice each day’s tip from the day you read about it throughout the rest of the Love in Action weeks. I’m sure your family won’t complain if you make these loving actions a habit for life.  (I know. I’m a pest. I get that a lot.  A lot a lot!)

Scared?

Don’t be. These are simple, common sense (but unfortunately not common practice) ways to express love. You may well be doing all of them already. Me? Well, let’s just say I’ll be actively participating in all Love in Action tasks.

A simple home is a home where love is a priority. Let’s put building strong families back where it belongs–at the top of the to-do list.

Love in Action Building Strong Families

Love in Action Series: Building Strong Families

For my spouse:

For my children:

And the closer, Love in Action: All Wrapped Up.

Will you join me for Love in Action: Building Strong Families?

Love in Action Building Strong FamiliesHelpful tool: I received Gary Chapman’s book The Five Love Languages from someone who had alienated most of his children and three ex-wives, so I read it only out of an I’m-afraid-you’re-going-to-call-me-and-see-if-I-read-that-book-yet sense of a duty.

Wow!  The basic premise is that, essentially, if you parlez vous francais and your loved ones sprechen sie deutsche, you won’t understand each other, no matter how fervently you exclaim “Je t’aime!” or “Ich liebe dich!” Mr. Chapman does an excellent job of explaining the importance of learning how to say “I love you” in the language of our loved ones. Highly recommended!

Read more reviews here.

Amazon Prime members can read The Five Love Languages free on Kindle.

Disclaimer: I in no way accept any responsibility for damages incurred by my creative use of foreign languages.  If you’re confused, get a dictionary here or here. Yes, those are my affiliate links.  I earn a small commission on anything purchased through them, and I will not be using the money to travel to a foreign country to impress the locals with my mastery of foreign languages.

Linked to Better Mom Mondays,  Weekend Whatever, and Marriage and Mommyhood.

Easy Scalloped Potatoes Recipe – Frugal, Classic, Delicious


This easy scalloped potatoes recipe is a classic dish to fit any budget.
 The original recipe which we adapted slightly to make our own creamy potato goodness is from Modern Alternative Mama’s cookbook, Wholesome Comfort: Whole Foods to Warm & Nourish Your Family.

Easy Creamy Scalloped Potatoes (www.TheSimpleHomemaker.com)

These potatoes are comfort food bliss served alongside Italian chicken in cream sauce with apple spice cake for dessert, all from the same cookbook.  Are you drooling yet?

Easy Scalloped Potatoes Recipe – Frugal, Classic, Delicious
Recipe Type: Side Dish
Author: Kate, Modern Alternative Mama
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour 20 mins
Serves: 8
This easy scalloped potatoes recipe is not only simple to make, it’s so creamy and delicious, you won’t believe it’s not bad for you!
Ingredients
  • 8-10 potatoes
  • 1/2 onion minced
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2-4 tablespoons arrowroot powder (or the thickener of your choice)
  • 4 cups milk
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Peel the taters and slice them to a relatively uniform 1/8 inch. Spread them in a 9X13 pan. (Don’t be picky!)
  3. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Saute the onions until they are translucent. Try not to eat too many just yet.
  4. Add all the seasoning and your thickening agent of choice to the buttered onions. Whisk until smooth. (I usually get someone shorter than me to whisk. Pretend whisking is really fun and you’ll have plenty of volunteers. Eventually, they’ll wise up, though.)
  5. Add the milk slowly to the saucepan, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. (Remember, milk can burn…and tends to do a volcanic eruption impression if overheated, so don’t go anywhere.)
  6. Pour the mixture over the potatoes. Pop them in the oven at 350 for an hour. Not being one who wants to wait an hour for my taters, I boiled them for ten minutes before putting them in the oven, so they were done in half the time.
Notes

For a little change in the ol’ scalloped tater routine, toss in some cooked bacon (cook it in the saucepan and use the drippings to saute the onion), cheese, broccoli, or all of the above.

Want to know what a real family thought of this recipe?  Because I’m off dairy to help our Little Miss Colic, I did not get to try this dish.  (Yes, it broke my heart, thank you for asking.)  So we polled the other taste testers.

Here’s what some members of the family thought…in their own occasionally incomprehensible words:

  • The cheese-obsessed Wisconsin-born teen: “I thought they were really good…but they needed cheese, sort of. I think it was good without cheese too, though.”
  • The food enthusiast: “Ooh, those were totally awesome!”
  • The contented, quiet child: Um, I loved the potatoes, um…and I don’t think they would have been better with cheese on them.
  • Gabbie Girl: I like them.
  • The boy who doesn’t eat potatoes: I only had one with salt on it and it was really good that way. I don’t know what it tasted like without salt.
  • The three-year-old who ate every bite: They taste like peppermint candy canes with pepper.  (She’s three, people.  Seriously.)

If you enjoyed this easy scalloped potatoes recipe, you’ll love the other recipes in Wholesome Comfort: Whole Foods to Warm & Nourish Your Family by Kate at Modern Alternative Mama.

Buy Wholesome Comfort here.

What’s your favorite comfort food?

 

Wholesome Comfort Giveaway

Meatloaf is my comfort food.  In fact, I am somewhat of a meatloaf connoisseur. You can keep your gourmet meatloaf.  What I love is a great big slice of homestyle meatloaf and a heaping mountain of mashed potatoes.  Gravy?  Yes please!

Wholesome Comfort Giveaway

You can imagine my culinary enthusiasm when I found a meatloaf recipe in Wholesome Comfort, the just-released e-cookbook by Kate of Modern Alternative Mama.  There is meatloaf, and then there is Meatloaf! Kate’s meatloaf recipe is Meatloaf! It’s a taste of home on a plate, a visit back to Grandma’s farm kitchen, comfort food at its finest.

Wholesome Comfort: Whole Foods to Warm & Nourish Your Family is all about comfort food.  Don’t let the word “wholesome” scare you off. These dishes are delicious and nutritious.  They contain whole foods that you will recognize, no chemically laden pseudo-foods, and no ingredients you would have to order from Timbuktu.

Most people who are attempting to transition to a less processed diet fear they must resign themselves to a life without their favorite comfort foods.  Wholesome Comfort totally debunks that fear…totally.

Want chicken and dumplings?  There’s a recipe for that.  Apple spice cake? It’s in there.  Turkey dinner with all the trimmings?  You got it!  Chicken pot pie, macaroni and cheese, chocolate peanut butter fudge?  It’s all in there!  And have I mentioned the meatloaf!?

Check out the table of contents here.

Looks good, doesn’t it?  After trying several recipes (and the meatloaf three times), I can assure you, it is good.  Try it for yourself with a free, easy scalloped potatoes recipe.

Want a copy?

Buy Wholesome Comfort here.

Here’s a great Simple Homemaker perk. TSHM readers can use the code HOME25 to receive 25% off through 1/31/12. Or you can…

Win Wholesome Comfort below.

If you are new to Rafflecopter, simply log on below. Click “Do it” on the entry methods of your choice. Follow the instructions that pop up. Some will take you away from the site, but you must come back and click “Enter” to complete each entry. It’s really quite simple!

Continue reading “Wholesome Comfort Giveaway”

Simple Exercise Plan: 10,000 Steps Challenge

The good news: My jeans finally fit comfortably again.

The bad news: They’re maternity jeans and I’m not pregnant.*

I seriously need to get back into my old jeans, primarily because they have pockets I can stuff with chewed bubble gum, used tissues, rocks, and every other imaginable treasure my little explorers hand me.  Therefore, I need to kick up the exercise a bit…as in, start doing it.

So…what am I gonna do about it?

I’m glad you asked.

To help me on my journey, some of my daughters and I have joined J-La-Sta’s 10,000 Walking Steps Challenge as she describes at A Work in Progress.  It’s really quite simple.

You need some of these (in your own size)

Simple Exercise Plan

and one of these (the pedometer, not the cutie, although I highly recommend a few of those around the house)

Simple Exercise Plan

and you do this.

Simple Exercise Plan

That’s it!

What are the details of the challenge?

The challenge runs for twelve weeks beginning on January 8 (but jump in whenever you can). 

Track your steps daily and enter your day’s total in the online log found through A Work in Progress, or keep your own records for a personal challenge.

Your goal is to work up to a consistent average of 10,000 steps a day.

While there is a small prize involved, the ultimate prize is improving your fitness and activity levels…and fitting into jeans with pockets.

I love the low commitment involved in this simple exercise plan.  All you have to do is walk—anywhere, anytime, wearing anything (but preferably something).  Walking Miss Colic back and forth counts.  Taking my three-year-old to the bathroom counts, too!  Taking laps in the backyard counts.  Running away from the neighbor’s dog while screaming like a sissy totally counts…maybe even double.

How do you sign up?

J-La-Sta has set up a team challenge board to keep each other encouraged (or challenged, depending on your personality), which you can access through A Work in Progress.  Leave a comment on her post and follow the link.  She’ll add you to the team.

Don’t have a pedometer?

J-La-Sta uses this pedometer you can slip in your pocket or hang around your neck.  Some people have phone apps that turn their cellphones into pedometers.  My family uses the cheapies from Walmart and some freebies we’ve picked up over the years.  If you want to spend a bit more, you can find pedometers that do everything except microwave your leftovers.

Are you with me on my simple exercise plan?

*To be entirely fair to li’l ol’ me, my baby is only 6 weeks, two days, and one hour old, so maternity pants aren’t really taboo…are they?