Pancake Pudding

Ask me why it’s called that.  I dare you.

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My daughter just took a look at her dinner and said “Your pancakes look funny.”  She has a good grasp on the obvious. 

Darwin would be proud

Today the kids watched a video with me that detailed how a baby is formed in his/her mothers womb from the time of conception until birth.  After watching it, I overheard my 7 year old explaining to my 6 year old: “when that baby was really little, it was a seahorse.”



A Snapshot of Bitty

Sometimes my children say or do things that  sum up their personalities perfectly without any further words being needed.  This kind of “personality snapshot” of my third daughter took place a few days ago, after we instigated a “responsibilities chart.” Anyone who has ever been around Bitty for any length of time soon picks up on her deep-rooted desire for structure.  She wants – she NEEDS – clarification about everything.  She wants to know exactly what she’s allowed to do, and how she’s allowed to do it, and when she’s allowed to do it, and who she’s allowed to do it with.  Answering her questions can sometimes be exhausting!  I thought that giving her a list of the things she’s required to do each day (make her bed, wipe off the table, etc.) would help make things easier for her, and I made things as simple as I could by creating a “responsibilities chart” for her and for each of the children.

It goes like this:

Each child has two sets of two pockets on the responsibilities chart, which is hanging on their bedroom wall.  There is one set of two pockets (one on top of the other) for morning responsibilities and another set of two pockets for evening responsibilities.  Index cards with tasks written on them (one task per card) are placed in top pockets of the chart and as each child finishes the task assigned to them, they remove the card from the top pocket and put it into the bottom pocket and move on to the next card.  Simple, right?

On the first morning of their new program, my oldest daughter found Bitty sitting in front of the bathroom door, wiggling furiously.  Upon asking what was wrong, she received the following response:

“I wish my card would hurry up and say I can go to the bathroom!  I REALLY need to potty!!!”

A Compliment

Today, my daughter won my heart when she said to me “Mommy, I think you feel skinny.”  I’ve struggled with my weight for quite some time now, and have lost a great deal in the last few months.  Her words made me so happy and I thanked her for her sweet compliment.  I suppose that in that moment, she felt it necessary to clarify her statement, for she then informed me:

“You look big.  But you feel skinny.”

Thank you, dear. 

Antiochus the Bully

My husband works at a behavioral hospital for teenagers where occasionally a physical confrontation will arise between the patients. A few times this has led to an injury to my husband, when it becomes necessary for him to break up a fight. One such occurrence happened just after Chanukah, when my husband broke up a fight between two large teenage boys. He came home with a nasty bruise on his arm and a chunk of beard missing. The children were very concerned about this and everyone wanted to know what had happened. Not wanting to go into details for obvious reasons, Daddy simply told them that a boy at work was “acting mean” and had hurt him. Bitty thought about this for a moment and then exclaimed: “He was acting just like Antiochus Epiphanes!”

Helpful Girl

A little while ago, Bunchkin heard me talking on the phone with Daddy about what a rough day I’d had today, how little I’d gotten done, and how tired I’ve been all day. I also mentioned that I still hadn’t brought the dog in and when I got off the phone, Bunchkin let me know how sorry she was that she couldn’t help me with the dog. I thanked her for her willingness to help and assured her that I would be just fine. But she continued express her sympathy about the dog, and I finally realized that she just really wanted to help me. So I sat her down and told her that just because she was too young to bring the dog in didn’t mean there weren’t lots of other things she could help me to do. So for the last few minutes before bedtime, I gave Bunchkin a series of small things to do (give the baby his bottle, fetch a diaper for me, help get her siblings ready for bed, etc.) and she was delighted to help. She didn’t mention the dog again and I learned that I need to be careful about what I say around my soft-hearted little girl.

A New Milestone

Today my four year old volunteered to do “chores” by herself for the first time. I’d asked the girls to start on the laundry (putting it away) while I made lunch, and Bitty told her sisters that she wanted to do it by herself so they could go and play. Bundle (our five year old) did eventually help her with hanging up the clothes but for the most part, Bitty did it without the help of her siblings – just to be “loving and serving.” Bitty is our rambunctious girl and while the other two have always been somewhat responsible for their age, Bitty has always been more interested in wrestling and bug collecting than anything else. I’m glad to see this side of her starting to come out. Of course, I tried to hug her and cuddle with her and tell her how proud I was, but she wasn’t the slightest bit interested. Instead, she asked: “Will you buy me some chocolate?!”
Ah, well. It’s a step in the right direction, anyway.

To the anonymous sender of a box filled with beautiful gifts:

I wanted to let you know that the children loved everything that you sent for them. The horses, especially, we are huge hit and they are played with every day. We appreciate your thoughtfulness very much. God bless you!

12/25

I was just getting ready to post something sweet about the girls, when I realized that most people are celebrating Christmas today and it might seem odd that I’m not writing something about the children opening their presents, or learning the Christmas story, or sipping hot cocoa by the fire…
Although most people already know this about us, there may be a few reading this who do not, so I wanted to briefly explain that we don’t celebrate Christmas. It was a personal decision that we made a few years ago, when the children were very young, so thankfully they have never missed it. I have written a post on my other blog for those who are curious about the reason behind this decision, and in the meantime I think I’ll save the post I was going to write today for another time.
I hope everyone reading this is enjoying time with their families today, and I pray that God would bless you and yours.

Whose Bed IS This, Anyway?

Related Posts:  Of Cats and Kids

 

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WFMW Simple Sewing Instructions (Jumper Bodice)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week, I wrote a post over at Rina’s Reflections (now called Into Still Waters) about a beautiful blog I’d discovered which inspired me to create a more beautiful life. In that post, I mentioned some of my goals for bringing more peace and beauty into my home and I thought it would be fun to take others along in my homemaking journey. To do this, I’ll be joining forces with the prolific mommy over at Rocks in my Dryer who has a wonderful thread called “Works For Me Wednesday” where moms all over the internet gather to share their ideas on everything from cooking and organization to beauty secrets. So each Wednesday, I’ll take this opportunity to post something new I’ve learned in my quest for a more pleasant home life. If you’re a mom like me who doesn’t know how to cook, barely knows how to sew, is desperately unorganized, and has very little decorating sense… there’s hope! We can make our homes run smoothly, serve our families delicious meals, and create beauty around us. We just have to learn how! And that’s what Works For Me Wednesday is all about.

This week, I’ve been working on sewing the girls some new jumpers and thanks to my good friend over at Virtuous Daughters, I actually know how to do that. So for my first “Works For Me Wednesday” I thought I’d pass the favor along to others who really want to learn how to sew, but may not know where to start. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to make an entire dress today, but I have managed to put together a bodice and next week I’ll post instructions for sewing on the skirt. I’ve taken lots of sewing pictures for those of you visual learners, like me, and coupled them with written instructions. These instructions will work for any bodice that has one piece for the front and one for the back – it will not work with bodices that need zippers or buttons (which is a good thing as I don’t know how to do either one!) Please forgive me if I get my sewing terms wrong. Hopefully the pictures will help to clarify. If you have any tips or helpful suggestions, I’d love to hear them! And if you have questions… head on over to Virtuous Daughters and ask her. ;o)

1.) From your pattern, cut out two bodice fronts and two bodice backs. One will be your lining. Sew the bodice fronts to the bodice backs at the shoulders, right sides together.

2.) Open the bodices and place them flat on your work surface, one on top of the other, with right sides together.

3.) Stitch around the head opening and then cut out little triangles all around the opening (as you can see from the pictures, I did this backwards, but it’s a lot easier to stitch the opening FIRST!

 

 

 

 

4.) Turn lining to the inside and press.

5.) Fold both armholes on one side so that the rest of the bodice is sandwiched between them. Roll up the other side and place it between these armholes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.) Stitch armholes (but NOT sides)

 

 

 

 

 

7.) Cut triangles around armholes (I forgot to take a picture of this)

 

 

 

 

 

8.) Turn right side out through the shoulder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.) Repeat steps 5-8 for the other side.

10.)  Open sides of bodice and sew them, right sides together.

 

 

 

 

 

11.)  Flip right-side-out and iron.

 

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He Who Desires to be First Shall be Servant of All

Dear Bunchkin,

A few months ago, you and I had a talk about what it means to be “loving and serving.” I’d been noticing an increasing tendency for you to take the last bite, or the best plate, and rarely volunteer to help anyone when they asked. We spoke for a little while and I gave you some examples of things you could do to be more sacrificial. You were very receptive and eager to start. Later that night, you shared something with your sister. The next day, you gave your brother the best bowl of oatmeal. It’s been a few months since that conversation and I couldn’t be more pleased with your progress! When I ask for help, you’re often the first to jump up. You give away your toys when you know your sisters want to play with them, even though you really really want to play with them, too. Today, I was especially proud of you. All day, you told your sisters to go and play after they were done eating – that you would do their responsibilities for them. And so three times today, once after each meal, you cleared of the table, wiped down the counters, rinsed off the dishes, and loaded the dishwasher. You asked me not to help you. “I want you to go rest,” you said. You did allow Bitty to help you put away the dishes in the upper cabinets, but you shooed everyone else out of the kitchen, determined to serve your family. I want you to know that I am SO PROUD of you. Service is not something that comes naturally to you. It doesn’t come naturally to me, either. You are a beautiful example to me of what it means to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of serving God and others.

I love you.

Mommy

World’s Greatest Six (almost seven) Year Old

This morning, I was awakened from sleep by a voice whispering “Mommy! The Baby’s awake… can you go make him a bottle and I’ll feed him for you?” After she fed the baby, Bunchkin made breakfast for the other children so that I could “sleep in.” How blessed am I?!

 

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What a Mother Must Sacrifice

Today I was visiting a new blog I recently discovered, which is fast becoming one of my favorites, and found a link to a beautiful article that has been in my mind all day long. Click here to read something that, if you’re a mother, I doubt you’ll never forget.

 

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Fumble

Jon may not know much about cooking rice, but it’s undeniable that I know virtually nothing about sports. On Thanksgiving, I announced my plan to stay with the kids in the dining room while the guys were in the living room “watching the Super Bowl.”

 

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The Living Word

Today, Bitty was flipping through my bible and staring intently at each new page she came to. After a few moments, she looked up to find me watching and proclaimed:

“I’m looking in your bible to see what God is doing.”

Rice-A-Yoni

 

Kids aren’t the only ones who say funny things around here. I’m reminded of the time my husband came searching for me to ask:

 

“How long do you suppose minute rice is supposed to cook?”

 

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The Man in the Moon Must be Eating Too Much

Jon and I have been teaching the kids more about the solar system. The older children, especially, are beginning to understand that the earth revolves around the sun, and that the moon revolves around the earth. They even understand that when we see the sun “set,” it’s actually the earth’s rotation making it seem as if the sun is disappearing. But something tells me we still have a long way to go. The other night, Bunchkin was gazing at the full moon and exclaimed, “wow, the moon is really full tonight! I wonder how it got that full.” She paused for a moment, and as Daddy began to respond, she went on:

“Maybe it ate a whole loaf of bread.”

 

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The Greenhouse Effect

People often ask us how we’re going to prepare our children for “real life” if they’re being home schooled and “sheltered” from the world. I once read a book that answered this question beautifully and today I finally got around to checking it out again. I’d like to share it here, in hopes it might help others to understand where we are coming from and why we are raising our children this way:

“How are you preparing your daughter for a world that, it is all too clear, may not be pleasant?” asked Thaddeus. “All this here – it seems too perfect, too serene, too idyllic. Don’t you feel that, if the worst does come, perhaps your daughter will be ill equipped to cope with it because she has been so completely protected from the harshness and cruelties of life?”

The baron nodded and continued to reflect a few moments after his friend was through, and then spoke.

“There are times and seasons, Thaddeus,” the baron said, “periods of life, now for one thing, now for another. God gives seasons of difficulties that lie ahead. It is a mistake, in my view, to think that only hardship prepares one for hardship. There is, of course, a sense in which that is true. But there is another sense in which serenity is of equal strengthening value.

“Take growing plants, for example. Nurturing a tender young plant in a greenhouse early in its life, and then exposing it to the harsh winds and frosts of winter could kill it. On the other hand, if the years of its early life are such that its roots go deep and its stalk and trunk and branches grow strong and vital, then it becomes a plant of such virility that it will flourish under any adverse circumstances. So the greenhouse yields two very different possibilities of result.

“Likewise, imagine a tree having grown from a seedling high on the slopes of a rugged, rocky mountain where all nature did her best to destroy it. If that tree survives, it will indeed be tough and sinewy and hardy, able to withstand most anything. Yet most such seedlings die on those fierce slopes before reaching maturity. Those that do survive are usually dwarfed and deformed and never shaped and fruitful as they might have been had they spent their early years in a more protected environment.

“So which is the best way to grow a healthy and vibrant plant? In the greenhouse or on the mountain slope? Both contain inherent risks.

“What are children but tender, growing live things? I happen to be a strong believer in giving all things that grow a strong and healthy beginning in the protected environment of the greenhouse. Figuratively speaking, of course.”

“Please explain what you mean more specifically,” said Thaddeus.

“Let me give you an example,” replied the baron. “When I travel to find a certain new specimen for my garden, or to purchase seedlings, or obtain a cutting or start of some plant I want to try, I go to extreme lengths to give that plant all the help I can to make sure it begins its life in a healthy manner. Whatever strength it will carry with it throughout the remainder of its existence depends on the help I give it in its first year or two. What I must do mostly at first is protect and shelter it from all sorts of effects that would kill it if left to itself – snow, frost, wind, pests, various fungi, rabbits, deer, snails and so on. I am extremely protective of my young plants, and often I cover them with small shields until they are well under way. I also fertilize and prune as needed. I spare no effort during the critical first two seasons.

“You see, it’s all a matter of getting their roots deep into the good, rich soil so that the growth of stalk and trunk and stems and branches and leaves above ground is vital and healthy. Without deep roots, and if outside influences continually come to eat and destroy the first tender green spouts, a long and healthy and productive future is doomed.

“I happen to believe that the same thing is necessary in the matter of one’s children.

“In any case,” the baron went on, “such was the Father’s way with his own Son. To insure Jesus’ protection and nurturing, his Father chose the most godly woman of the time, young Mary, to act as his greenhouse, so to speak, to sield him from all that could thwart the Father’s plan. If such was the Father’s way, it is the example I for one desire to follow.”

“But how long is such to last with children?” asked Thaddeus.

“Jesus remained at home with his mother for thirty years, so I suspect it is longer than most people realize.

“It has been our hope and prayer that by providing a serene life for our daughter, and by giving her an environment where there is a minimum of conflict, internally, so to speak, that she will be strengthened within herself to face the external conflicts that will come upon her later in life. We desired to show our daughter what life and relationships were supposed to be like, how they could and should function in an ideal setting, in order to give her the roots and strength necessary when later trials come.

“You come to know the true and the real by being surrounded by it, not by going out into a world where false values and wrong attitudes and shallow relationships are the norm.”

 

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Adventures In Homemaking – Making Butter

Today, I made my own butter!!! I can’t begin to express how exciting this was – I don’t think I’ve had so much fun with a domestic undertaking since I made my very first batch of challah bread! I had no idea how to make butter, but I was surprised by how easy it was once I got the knack of it (thanks, Michelle and Tracey for the instructions!!!) And, of course, I documented the WHOLE thing!  So… here’s how I did it:

First, I poured about two cups of fresh cream into my blender. I turned the blender on the HIGH setting and waited. And took pictures, of course…

 

Looks a lot like milk in a blender. 

But it quickly turned into whipped cream, and then started to get frothy and a little “chunky”…

 

I started to check it more frequently at this point, and when the sound of the blender began to change, I opened the lid to find this…

At this point, I made the mistake of continuing to blend the butter and it all became the consistency of whipped cream again. Ooops! I called my friend who told me to put it back in with the rest of the cream and start over. So… I repeated the process until it became the solid consistency again…

I then strained it (my directions said to use cheesecloth but I didn’t have any and the strainer worked just fine).

I took the leftover curds (are they called curds???) and transferred them to another bowl.  I then poured a few cups of water over these “curds” and kneaded them for a few seconds, until they formed a solid lump.  Then I strained the water off and repeated this a few times until the butter ran clear (my directions said I could do this in the blender, but I wanted to do it by hand instead.)

I then added a little bit of salt (about a teaspoon for a pound of butter) and molded the butter into sticks.  The final result:

Homemade Butter!!!

And, fresh buttermilk!

 

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