Heavenly Homemakers | Page 432 of 444 | Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

13 Things That Just Make Me Happy

March 12, 2008 by Laura 25 Comments

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1. A quilt and a good book.

2. Seeing my kids all sleeping. (not because they’re finally all quiet or anything like that…just because it’s so sweet to watch them sleeping…)

3. Seeing my kids first thing in the morning when they wake up. (See, I like it when they’re awake too.)

4. Seeing my husband walk in the door after he’s been working hard all day.

5. Chocolate Chip Brownies

6. Chocolate Pound Cake

7. Chocolate Chip Cookies

8. Alright, alright…chocolate makes me happy, okay?!

9. Cooking and baking for people. (Which I basically do all day for this household of hungry boys….I must be a REALLY happy person.)

10. Watching my boys do something just like their Daddy…it’s so sweet.

11. Having a perfectly clean house. (Well…I guess I’d better go eat some chocolate.)

12. Hearing my boys pray.

13. Reading your encouraging comments. :)

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Busted!

March 12, 2008 by Laura 2 Comments

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I am thankful to tell you that all of the snow that has fallen over the past many months…the snow that I was just sure wouldn’t melt and all go away until the year 2012…is finally almost gone. Almost.

And that, of course, is a result of some very beautiful days we’ve been having around here. (Hey, when you’re used to -3 degrees…40 degrees can feel like a heat wave…)

It even got up to 60 something yesterday.

Thank you God!!!

So now, what do you think we’ve alllll wanted to do lately since the sun is shining down some warmth on us for the first time in many days?

Go outside and play of course!!

The boys have been LOVING it.

I even let them dig a hole or two and create a golf course in the yard. Four Tiger Woodses out there…hollering things like, “Triple Birdie!” and “Double Bogie!” (It’s really cute coming out of the three year old Tiger.)

But, with months of accumulated snow…and all the meltage…what do you think their shoes are like when they come in the house?

Yep. Caked on mud messes.

I spent a LOT of time yesterday sweeping up mud clods off the hard wood, scrubbing out mud smears in the rugs, and freaking out when yet another boy would come running into the house to get a drink with his muddy shoes still on his feet.

So, after all the boys were un-shoed and cleaned up and in their jammies last night and I had swept and vacuumed one more time….

We were sitting down for prayer time in the living room.

And I looked down on the rug…and there was dirt and mud again!!!

My hands went to my hips and my eyebrows rose and my voice got high pitched and I said, “WHO got MORE mud all over the rug AGAIN?!?!?”

And everyone looked at each other and at each other’s feet…

And the only one still wearing shoes for the night was…

Me.

Ah, man. You’ve gotta be kidding me.

Yep, it was me alright.

What are you gonna do…but laugh with the family…

And go get out the vacuum.

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Kids in the Kitchen, Pt. 3: The Little Guys

March 12, 2008 by Laura 3 Comments

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As my kids have grown, I have been excited about what they can do in the kitchen! My two oldest (8 and 10) can do quite a bit…even carefully using knives, the stove and the oven. Over the next few days, I’ll talk more about some of the things I’m teaching them…

But today, I’m going to talk about the little guys in the kitchen.

(And little gals too of course…I just only have guys at my house…) :)

Everytime my husband is in the kitchen when our littlest guys (3 and 6) are helping me…he is amazed at what they know. He often says, “I didn’t even know the difference between flour and sugar when I was their age…I can’t believe they know what baking soda and arrowroot powder and salt and cinnamon and buttermilk and cocoa and…”

The boys have been pulling up chairs (and often hopping right onto the countertop) to help from the time they could push a chair.

Mostly at this age…they are just learning the basics of measuring and stirring…cracking eggs…

And making extra messes…

So in some ways…it feels like more work to have them help me (more on that tomorrow!)…

But the things they are learning are so valuable…and by the time they are 8 and 10…I can turn them loose!

In the meantime…I’ll just keep talking “kitchen lingo” to the little guys…so that they learn one ingredient from another…so that they learn a teaspoon from a tablespoon…so that they know where Mama keeps the mixing bowls…so that they appreciate the hard work it takes to prepare food.

They love being included…and for me to say at dinner, “Daddy…Elias whipped the cream for the fruit salad all by himself. And Malachi washed the apples.”

Remember…don’t underestimate your kids in the kitchen! It is amazing what these little guys can learn to do!

Here’s a list of some of the things my 3 and 6 year old do for me:

1. Set the table
2. Wash fruit
3. Crush graham crackers for a crust
4. Whip cream with beaters

5. Clean out the dishwasher
6. “Paint” butter onto bread with a pastry brush.

7. Stir, pour, measure, count cups of flour, crack eggs.
8. Roll out tortillas (sort of!)

My six year old can make sandwiches and tortilla wraps…but I didn’t add it to the list…because my three year old can’t do those quite yet!

Those are a few ideas of things that work for me with my little guys in the kitchen.

Tomorrow, I’ll cover the topic of how CRAZY it can be in the kitchen with lots of little hands helping… (Not that any of you struggle with that problem or anything…because it’s really probably only my kids who make lots of messes and make cooking take forever sometimes and who allllll want the same spoon at the same time…)

Maybe you could just come back and read it…just to humor me? :)

[tags]kids, kitchen[/tags]

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Gratituesday: So Much Stuff

March 11, 2008 by Laura 5 Comments

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When people are cleaning out their stuff….and they come across toys and such that little boys would like….who do you think they often think of to give it to?

Yep…our family is often the first to come to mind when folks think of little boys.

We have been the blessed recipients of many wonderful toys…and even more wonderful clothes! It’s always fun to be handed a box or a bag to go through.

Recently however…I feel like I have stuff coming out of the woodwork…bulging out of the cabinets….overflowing the drawers…rising like bread dough out of the toybox(es).

And the overflow has made it’s way onto my kitchen floor for me to trip over and kick when I’m trying to cook…and onto the living room furniture when I’m trying to read Geography to the boys….and onto my computer desk when I’m trying to blog!! Now that’s where I have to draw the line!

So last weekend we started to clean out stuff…keeping only the toys and books that we truly love and play with often. (And by “we” I’m talking about the “we” who play with light sabers and legos and action figures and balls every single moment that is available.)

Thankfully, the boys kind of got excited about this project and got into “clean out mode” like Mama was!

And clean out we did! I carted box after box to our basement for our next yard sale.

After box…after box…

Shew! It felt so good!

So this Gratituesday….

I’m very thankful to have more stuff cleared out of our lives so that we can more easily keep our house clean.

I’m thankful to be so blessed that we rarely have to buy a toy or piece of clothing because others are generous enough to share with us.

And I’m very thankful to be so blessed that I actually have to teach my boys to “pick and choose” their favorite toys to keep.

We truly live a life of abundance.

What are you grateful for this Gratituesday?

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Kids in the Kitchen, Pt. 2: Don’t Underestimate Your Kids!

March 11, 2008 by Laura 8 Comments

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My friend Anne has a husband, two daughters and a cow.

(The cow is relevant information…stay tuned.)

Anne is doing an excellent job teaching her kids in the kitchen. I am constantly amazed at what they are already capapble of.

One day, they were preparing dinner for company…and Anne realized that it was time to go milk the cow. (see?)

They had everything out and ready to put a lasagna together (including ingredients for homemade lasagna noodles)…

So she looked at her then eight year old and said, “Hannah…you’ll have to finish making this lasagna. Just put it into the oven when you’re done…and then turn on the oven so that you don’t burn yourself.”

And then Anne went out to milk the cow.

And when she came back into the house…she smelled lasagna baking.

Hannah knew how to put a lasagna together (using homemade noodles), all by herself… when she was eight!

So here is my point and my tip for today:

Don’t underestimate what your kids are capable of in the kitchen!

They can learn anything you teach them to do!

Get them in there and love your time together teaching and training!

For the next several days, I’ll continue to write about what to do with the kids in your kitchen!

I’ll cover topics like:

Little guys in the kitchen
Simple things for your kids to make
Teaching your kids about healthy eating
Kids cleaning up the kitchen
Kids helping with menu planning
More!

I’d love to hear your questions and ideas about your kids in the kitchen!

Kids in the Kitchen, Pt. 1

More Kitchen Tip Tuesday…

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Silliest Guy Ever

March 10, 2008 by Laura 6 Comments

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Today, when Malachi went out to play…he grabbed a fleece John Deere hat and stuck it on. No coat. No gloves. It’s not even really cold. But, he had to have that hat.

And I had to have that picture!

This is the guy who, when he flushes the potty and it doesn’t work ’cause he doesn’t hold the flusher down long enough…says, “Oh, I think it needs a new battery.”

This is the guy who, when he finishes his turn with prayer time and gets to tag someone else, says, “I pick Mommy! ‘Cause he’s my best friend!” (Poor kid…he rarely hears female pronouns around here…)

This is the guy who adds an extra “r” to most of his words…so he says things like, “Oh, gurd job Daddy! Can you read me a burk now?”

This is the guy who stands up on a chair with his microphone in his hands and sings “Jesus Loves Me” at the top of his lungs until his neck veins are bulging out. Then he gets down and reverently says, “Okay, now let’s prayer.”

This is the guy who, when he got up from his bed at naptime today when he wasn’t supposed to, gave this reason, “Mama! We forgot to do my reading lesson!” (Uh-huh…and of course I said, “No, remember, we did it right after we finished your Algebra…”)

Yes, this is the guy who makes us all laugh a lot…

The guy who, at the end of the day says to me, “Gurd night, Mama. You’re the best guy ever!”

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Kids In the Kitchen, Pt. 1

March 10, 2008 by Laura 3 Comments

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Almost everything I know about making my home a haven is from watching and doing and learning from my mom.

Especially in the kitchen.

I spent HOURS of my time growing up in the kitchen with my mom. I would pull up a chair and just watch. And stir. And help.

And when I went to my grandma’s…I would stand with her in her teeny tiny kitchen and just watch. And stir. And help.

By the time I was about eight or nine…my mom put me in charge of some of the cooking (usually the cookie baking part!).

We often had extra farm hands around in the summer time to feed, and I know that I was a big help to her. We would cook all day it seemed. I would bake about one batch of chocolate chip cookies per day during those summers. By the time I was ten, I could bake them in my sleep (and probably did sometimes!).

Now that I’m (10 x 3 + ?)…I love cooking!

And, my cooking styles are a lot like my mom’s…or my grandma’s..

My dad has told me from time to time when he’s here visiting…”These rolls taste just like your grandma’s did”…or “That dinner was just like what your Mom would have made.”

What an honor for my dad to rank my cooking up there with the two favorite women in my life.

Oh, how I miss them.

But, my memories are so clear and sweet.

My encouragement for all of us then…is to pull your kids into the kitchen and make some sweet memories.

Over the next several days, I’ll be writing about some fun things to do in the kitchen with your kids…and some fun ways to teach them. Be sure to check back in!

You’ll never regret the precious time spent alongside your children in the kitchen.

And the skills you will teach them will last them a lifetime.

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Healthy Treat For Today: Strawberry Jelly Roll

March 7, 2008 by Laura 4 Comments

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Today, I asked Elias what we should make for our healthy treat…

He said, “Something with strawberries!! Some kind of cake!!”

Since strawberries aren’t in season yet…and I couldn’t really come up with any good ideas for a cake using frozen strawberries…

We came up with the idea to make a Strawberry Jelly Roll.

I’ve actually never made a jelly roll before…

Um, because, they’ve intimidated me.

I admit it. I have Jellyrollaphobia.

I’m usually a mix-up-a-cake-and-throw-it -into-the-pan kind of a girl. The idea of whipping my egg whites and folding in my flour mixture…blah, blah, blah…

And then rolling the cake thingy and spreading the filling, and rolling it back up without the thing breaking apart all over the place really scared me…

Jellyrollaphobia.

But today, everyone…

Today, I have overcome my fear of the Jelly Roll.

I have learned that Jelly Rolls are nothing to be afraid of.

This was very easy to make…and not at all scary.

Strawberry Jelly RollYum

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 t. baking powder
4 eggs yolks
1/2 t. vanilla
1/3 cup rapadura
4 egg whites
1/2 cup rapadura
Strawberry Jelly – the kind made with only fruit, of course

Stir together flour and baking powder. Set aside. In another bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla and 1/3 cup rapadura. And in another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add 1/2 cup rapadura to the egg whites and beat some more until hard peaks form.

Then, fold the egg yolk/vanilla mixture into the egg whites. Next, fold the flour mixture into the egg whites.

Spread the batter onto a buttered piece of parchment paper lining a cookie sheet. Bake it for 12-15 minutes at 375 degrees. The cake should “spring back” if you gently touch it in the middle.

Immediately pull the cake off of the parchment paper and lay it onto a tea towel. Roll it up in the towel. Allow it to cool completely.

Unroll it, spread jelly all over it, and roll it back up.

Done.

Slice it, eat it, share it, exclaim over it, be amazed by it.

We all really liked this treat.

And I will definitely make it again sometime.

I’ll probably even play with it and make different fun variations to the Jelly Roll.

Pumpkin Roll, Chocolate Roll, Cream Cheese something or other Roll, Chocolate-Pumpkin-Cream Cheese-something or other Roll…

I am a Jellyrollaphobic no more.

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Email…and Kids

March 6, 2008 by Laura 2 Comments

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Recently, my two older boys got themselves each an email account…

They have had SO much fun emailing their buddies back and forth (and then calling each other on the phone right away to let each other know that they just sent an email…) :)

And sometimes they email our family members…

What aunt or uncle or grandparent doesn’t love that?!

We’ve decided it’s a super way for our big kids to learn more about computers and to learn to write…you know – complete sentences…equipped with capital letters and punctuation and everything. They don’t even complain about this kind of “writing” like they sometimes do about other writing assignments.

And, my most favorite way to use email with the kids?

Emailing back and forth with Mom and Dad!

I’ve had so much fun surprising them with an email letting them know how proud I am of their hard work that day, or how great they did on their math assignment, or whatever.

Here’s my email to my oldest son a couple of days ago…

Asa,

You are SO the best 10 year old boy EVER!!

Thanks for making lunch and helping with everything else while I didn’t feel well.

Love you,

Mom

And here’s his reply:

Hi Mom! You are SO the best 34 year old Mom EVER. HeHe Asa

Isn’t he “oh, so clever”?

I should get him started on a blog.

In the meantime…I’ll just enjoy this completely free way to send encouragement to my kids…and this great tool to get my kids writing more!