Why Don't I Do That Anymore?

The guest speaker at our November Lighthouse homeschool group parent meeting was Vicki Bentley. Vicki homeschooled her 8 daughters as well as numerous foster children, led a large support group in VA, speaks at homeschool conventions all across the country, has authored several books, and now works for HSLDA as their Early Years program and Group Services coordinator.  We were blessed to have her visit us, and next time, will definitely have her stay longer, because she had great stuff to share with us!

Her topic was Time Management and Organization for homeschoolers - a timeless topic, as it is applicable to brand new homeschoolers as well as crusty veterans.  Listening to her tips and suggestions, as well as preparing for my mentor group meetings recently, has highlighted that there were a lot of things that I USED to do that I have somehow let slide as my children have grown up and life has changed in our household.  While it is natural that some things will change as we go through seasons of life, not all the things I have let slide have been good to let go!  I have found myself asking, "why don't I do that anymore?"

#1  Menu Planning
When I had 5 kids at home (and even 4, then 3), I planned our meals by the week, and sometimes by the month. It was a necessity, and eating out or even getting takeout pizza was a rarity.  I grocery shopped every week and made breakfast, lunch, and dinner for my family almost every day.  Now? I usually don't know what is for dinner until 5pm, when stomachs start to growl, and I realize I have to make a run to the grocery store. Way too often we eat out or get pizza, and I haven't made pancakes in a long time.  I have had a hard time adjusting from cooking for a large family to cooking for just 3 or 4, depending on who is home that night!  Not healthy. Not economical.  I need to start making a weekly menu again and shopping for the whole week at once! 

#2  Chore Schedule
We used to have chore charts. The kids had certain chores to do each day, before we started school.  I tried to follow the FlyLady plan somewhat, although never very successfully.  But at least the major things, like cleaning the bathroom, got done on a regular schedule.  Well, kids grew up and left home and their jobs had to be reassigned, or I just took them over.  And now.... it is kind of a "fly by the seat of my pants" instead of FlyLady approach.  I've never been great at structure and routine, to my detriment.  That definitely takes deliberate effort on my part, and sometimes I feel too worn out and overwhelmed to tackle it all.  Grr.  I KNOW that the solution is to simplify, both my belongings and my schedule.... but that is soooooo easier said than done.

#3  Community Service
Again, when my older kids were young, I placed a high priority on including community service in our schedule.  It wasn't a lot of hours, but we faithfully volunteered at the church food pantry one afternoon every month for many, many years.  We also visited the local nursing home with other families from our homeschool group a couple of times a year, both to bless the residents and also to help my children become comfortable  being around the elderly and infirm. But then schedules changed.  We started participating in a weekly co-op, which conflicts with the scheduled nursing home visits. The food pantry day conflicted with sports practices.  So those things fell by the wayside, and I now realize that my younger two have not had that same experience as their older siblings.  Yes, our family is very involved in serving the homeschool community through many, many hours devoted to  homeschool sports and support group leadership, but I'm not sure my children get the same impact from that.


How have you adjusted to changes in your family?
Are there things you have let slide that maybe should be embraced once again?

Favorite Blogs: There Is No Place Like Home

Another of my favorite blogs is Kelli's "There is no place like home". Get yourself a cup of tea or hot chocolate, and prepare to spend a while looking through her back posts. She has tutorials on paper crafts and other simple projects - these caramel apple cards are the cutest thing ever! Her seasonal decorating ideas don't require a fortune or a professional decorator to pull off! I was inspired by her Autumn Front Porch , and actually decorated my own entrances as a result!

I love the warm, inviting look of her home AND her blog! She posts great recipes. And her photography is just gorgeous! ( check it out, Sarah). She is a homeschooling mom ~ obviously much more organized, creative, and disciplined than I, judging by the amount of crafting, cooking, and decorating she gets done! Reminds me of my friend Lea.

Enjoy!

Apple Season & Cider Donuts

I grew up in Massachusetts, and I used to love stopping at the apple orchard in the fall. Taft Orchard was only a few miles from my house in Mendon, right in the center of town really. There was also an orchard on the road to my aunt & uncle's house in Oxford, and we would often make a stop there on our way home from one of our frequent visits. When Mark & I were newly married, we both worked 2nd shift for a couple of months, from Sept - Nov, on a circuit board assemby line at Digital Equip.Co. , and we stopped at an orchard on the way to work every afternoon to get a big, crisp Macintosh and some cider to eat at break time. Some of these orchards also had fresh apple cider donuts. Mmmmmm.
Well, I found a recipe for cider donuts so I tried them this morning. I'm not that great at deep frying, and a thermometer would have helped, but these came out really good, and taste just like I remember them! Yum!

Vermont Apple Cider Doughnuts

1 cup apple cider
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Crisco shortening
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk ( I used 1 tsp. cider vinegar added to 1/2 cup milk)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ( I used half white whole wheat flour )
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

vegetable oil for frying

1 cup sugar mixed with 2 tsp. cinnamon

Boil apple cider in a small saucepan for 8-10 minutes, until it is reduced to 1/4 cup. Let cool. In mixing bowl, beat sugar with shortening untll smooth. Add eggs and mix well; then add buttermilk and reduced cider. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Add to liquid ingredients; mix just enough to combine Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and pat to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with 3" doughnut cutter, or pinch off walnut-sized pieces and roll into slightly flattened balls for "holes".
Pour about 3" of oil into a deep saucepan or dutch oven. Heat to 375 degrees F. Fry several doughnuts or holes at a time, turning once or twice, until browned and cooked through. i made doughnut holes, and it only took about 2 minutes. Use slotted spoon to remove to paper towel lined platter . While still warm, shake a few at a time in a baggie containing the cinnamon -sugar mixture.

On a Mission

It must get worse before it gets better.

I have been on a mission to clean and declutter the main rooms and closets before next Saturday, when we'll be having a big Open House for Eric's high school graduation! There are 5 closets in the dining room ( pantry/craft closet), den (school & craft supplies, videos), front hall ( coats, hats & mittens, games, toys, misc), and bedroom hallway ( linens, first aid, toiletries, misc ). I have pulled EVERYTHING out and forced myself not to just "organize the clutter", as I am prone to do, but really scrutinize and get rid of things that we don't need, don't use, have outgrown.... and then try to find a neat and orderly way to store the remaining things in containers, bins, & baskets. I know that this seems 'oh so simple' to most of you reading this, but this really does NOT come naturally to me! I am a pack rat by nature - I hate to get rid of things that are perfectly good and that I MIGHT use someday! And it takes me a while to figure out ways to be "organized". I love looking at pictures of organized closets, shelves, and rooms, with rows of labeled bins and baskets and no piles of disorganized clutter... and think, "oh, if only someone could do that for me!" To top it off, I am very easily distracted and will get caught up in rabbit trails for hours - like sitting down to flip through a catalog I found in one of the stacks or sitting down at the computer to write on my blog - instead of staying focused on the task at hand.
I am making progress! I have thrown out about 4 Hefty tall kitchen trash bags of junk, and filled another 5-6 bags with stuff for Goodwill! I brought some outgrown toys over to my friend Eileen's house, for her little boys. I have breathed in a LOT of dust. Things still look a wreck, partly because I am doing 4 closets and a book shelf simultaneously! ( for some reason, doing one at a time just didn't seem to make sense at the time) My husband has commented that it looks like instead of "one step forward, two steps back", I've taken "five steps back". Hmmmm - he's very helpful.

I am trying to keep up my momentum, and not resort to just throwing everything that's left into a few boxes and stuffing them back into the closets until "later". I am longing to walk through my home and see that there is a place for everything, and everything is in its place!

I can dream....

Rising Food Costs

Anyone who has been to the grocery store recently knows that food costs have been climbing. Dairy prices jumped this past fall. Prices for fruits and vegetables rollercoaster up and down, depending on weather and gasoline prices, which affect shipping costs from farm to grocery. And now wheat prices are set to skyrocket. My sister owns a cafe for which she does all the baking, and she found that the cost of a 50 lb. bag of flour from her supplier doubled last week, and is expected to keep going up. I had read an article just this past week that said that wheat harvests have been bad here and abroad for a couple of years. Yikes. Our pocketbook has been taking a steady beating lately, and this news does not bode well. Bread, rolls, tortillas, pasta, cereals.... lots of dietary staples will be affected.

So I'm looking for ideas!

I'm already couponing, using sites like Money Saving Mom , The Coupon Mom, Savvy Dollar, and others to help shave $$ off my weekly grocery bill. I'm thinking that I'll have to pare down the food options at home. Right now, with 2 teens and a youngster in the house, they expect readily available snacks and mini-meals whenever they get hungry. And my husband likes a hearty meal - to quote, "soup is not a meal, it is something you eat before a meal". And I care about our health, so I want to provide high quality, and not just junk.

Now, beyond saving on food, I found a site today that gave a recipe for homemade laundry detergent, at a fraction of the price of the top brand and even cheaper than the store brands.

Leave a comment and tell me - how are you making ends meet?

Do The Next Thing

Does anyone else get overwhelmed by a "to do" list that is miles long, and seemingly unconquerable? I find myself flitting from one unfinished task to another, highly distractable and generally irritable! I read somewhere that as women get older, they start to lose the ability to multi-task because they produce less estrogen and more testosterone, thereby becoming more like men in their thinking processes! Oh, that is BAD NEWS! Author and teacher Elisabeth Elliot has a favorite saying that has become one of my favorites as well!

"Just do the next thing!"

This helps whether you are trying to declutter a hopelessly messy room, deal with a house full of sick children, get through an emotionally trying week, face a daunting challenge, or just get supper on the table.


Here is the poem that was her inspiration:

From an old English parsonage down by the sea
There came in the twilight a message to me;
Its quaint Saxon legend, deeply engraven,
Hath, it seems to me, teaching from Heaven.
And on through the doors the quiet words ring
Like a low inspiration: “DO THE NEXT THING.”

Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, and guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrows, child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, do the next thing.

Do it immediately, do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care;
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe 'neath His wing,
Leave all results, do the next thing.

Looking for Jesus, ever serener,
Working or suffering, be thy demeanor;
In His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
The light of His countenance be thy psalm,
Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing.
Then, as He beckons thee, do the next thing.

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Salute to Aprons!

APRONS have made a big comeback over the last several years. I suppose in some places they never were "out", but I definitely thought they were very... Ozzie & Harriet. I have been married for 25 years , and a full-time homemaker for most of that time, but I'm only now coming to appreciate the APRON! A cute or casual or sassy or sophisticated cover to keep my clothes neat and free from drips, splashes, and splatters ~ there are so many styles, and so many fabrics, to fit the mood of the day. My daughters also, appreciate an apron. I think because we are all somewhat nostalgic for simpler days, we all value the work of the home, and we all like craftsy, homemade things. So Grandma, hint, hint, hint.....
I just found this site with 50 free apron patterns found on the web:
http://tipnut.com/56-free-apron-patterns-you-can-make/
So run to Joann's and buy yourself a pretty print fabric, get the sewing machine out of the closet, and have a blast!

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My Quest for Organization!

I'm reading/rereading a couple of books this week in my seemingly endless quest to better organize my home and my life!

Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern
Organizing Plain and Simple by Donna Smallin

Currently there is far too much stuff in my home that does not have an "address" ~ that is, a place where it permanently resides and can be returned to after use. Big problem with 7 people living in 2000 sq. ft. I don't have a natural affinity for organization, but I do have a very strong desire to BE organized. I get very cranky when things are too cluttered and untidy. I spend hours trying to come up with a better system!
One tip that I read today is to look at whatever room you are trying to organize and think of it in zones, based on the activities that take place there. This is like a Kindergarten Classroom, which has the Book Corner, Painting Center, Block Center, Housekeeping Corner, etc. So my bedroom has a Sleeping Zone, Dressing Zone, Reading/Rest Zone, Home Office Zone, etc. The things I need for each of these activities should be stored and arranged close to the area where that activity takes place. In other words, don't store linens/ blankets for the bed in another part of the house. Or have everything needed for dressing in the morning conveniently located close together in or near the closet. This also made me think of some of the things I currently have in my bedroom that really shouldn't be there. For instance, I have a table full of photos and scrapbooking materials, which is a jumbled mess and which I haven't touched in months ( okay, years?) I also have my sewing machine and sewing kit in my bedroom, but fabric and boxes of other sewing supplies ( buttons, thread, etc ) in the closet in the family room. hmmmm
I don't do those activities in my bedroom because I'm away from the family, and because my husband tends to go to bed early, which is the time when I'm most likely to scrapbook or sew anyway!!! SO, I need to rethink the location of those items! I'm learning some useful things that I just need to APPLY!

I recently learned that there are quite a few others like me ~ those who make detailed plans and schedules and lists and systems.... but can't quite implement them. Part of the problem is that we are always looking for something better. We are great at coming up with ideas, but not so great at utilizing those ideas. Anyway, somebody started a Yahoogroups called "Schedulizers" just for people like that, and within 2 days there were over 100 people signed up.

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