A New Way Of Thinking

This isn't working.  That is the thought about home schooling that has been running over and over in my mind.  My first inclination was to dream of sending off a couple of the kids to school next year.  A list of reasons/excuses came to mind. Like, I need a break or  the house is falling apart with a to do list I never have time for!  The younger kids are being cheated of my time, and no one seems to be learning anything.  All these reasons swirled through my mind, and for a brief moment I had myself convinced that it could be a good thing.  Then a small still voice came though loud and clear.  God reminded me why He had called Mick and I to home school in the first place.  It is our job to train the kids not the schools.  Okay God, I thought, but what is up?  Why is this SO hard, and why am I failing?  I have cried, I have prayed, and this morning durning my bible time I got some answers.  I have created the perfect storm.  I went into survival mode for way too long, and training has been slack.  I've let good habit training go to the wayside, both in myself and the kids, and now I am reaping the consequences.  So no begins the long journey back to good habits and attitudes.  I wrote out a list of family rules, modified from the Duggar family, and the first step is to work on getting everyone back on the path of politeness and obedience.  "delayed obedience is disobedience!" and J.O.Y. - Put Jesus first, others second, and yourself last.  It takes 6-8 weeks to form a habit, so hopefully in 6 months this will be a much more peaceful and productive house. We shall see how good this mama is at creating a new and good habit in herself by the fruit of the children's attitudes and behaviors!

No Fast Food and De-Cluttering: The First Two Weeks

No fast food is going really well!  I've only been tempted to drive thru once, and boy was it a big one.  I took the younger 6 kids to the zoo, and on the way home we hit traffic, the snacks were gone, it was almost dinner time, and Lia was crying she was hungry, Levi had to go potty for the third time in less than 30 minutes, and Luke was screaming to be out of his chair and fed.  Luckily Kroger was around the corner, so we hit the bathroom and then I picked up some lunchables.  Not the best or healthiest option but way better than fried food.  After that day, everything has been easier :)  Having a set menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is so freeing!  It makes my life so much easier.  I have only had to run to the store for milk and bread, since I had a full list of what I needed for all of our meals.  Much better for our budget, which is nice since I am a homebody at heart.  As my bimonthly shopping trip is coming up, I am really happy with my menu options and food choices for breakfasts and lunches overall, so I need only tweak a few of the meals I am rotating.  I am testing out my own granola recipe today, and I am super excited about that.  The kids love granola bars, so I am trying my own version of granola bites as well as bars.  I also decided to put a yogurt maker on my Christmas list.  The kids love it, and with Lia and Levi's food allergies I need to find a way to make yogurt they can eat.  I can not in good conscience buy coconut yogurt for over two dollars for a small container! 

We've amended our no eating out policy to include Subway and Chipotle.  Mick's work schedule and the kids busy soccer season drove this decision.  When we had only PB & J left after we finished the lunch meat, we knew we needed a healthy not fried option, so we chose those two places.  Also, Mick and I have started a breakfast date with one or two of the kids on Wednesday mornings.  It's nice to have some special one on one time, and since we cut out fast food the extra money means we can splurge.  Not to mention, I can make sure that the kids all get restaurant manners. Let's face it, eating out is expensive, especially with a family of ten, but I don't want the kids to be unable to sit nicely and have good manners on those rare occasions when we do have go out to someplace nice.  I love these time eating out with the kids in smaller groups too.  It is so fun to watch them get excited about the special treat of eating out,  and the excited chatter and laughter spending special time with Mick and I.  Precious moments that this mama will treasure as they grow older!  My organizing project is in full swing, and so far I have 3 bags to donate, 2 trash bags, and 2 of my 7 rooms done.  I am saving the basement for last, because it scares me a little bit lol. 

So Far So Good!

I finally got my menus completed for our 30 day challenge of no fast food and making homemade meals.  I want grocery shopping yesterday, and it is amazing how little of my time was spent in the middle isles of the store!  My cart was pretty full, but the Koshi cereal was on clearance!  $2.01 for a box of cereal that I can feel good about the kids eating is a must buy, especially for the days when we have to be out the door early or when someone sleeps past 7:30AM.  The kids know breakfast time ends at 8:00AM sharp, one time of missing breakfast because of sleeping in, and they make sure to be up and ready. 

So, today I started off the day at 5:00AM, fed little man, and came down to make muffins.  I realized had all the ingredients for the perfect muffin, but lacked the recipe to make said muffins.  I searched and found something good, but I had to tweak.  No more refined sugar and cutting the amount in half, adding in whole oat flour, and using butter and coconut oil in place of vegetable oil.  It was close to bakery style, and I can't imagine adding all the sugar plus using a crumb topping!  I did sprinkle raw sugar crystals on the tops and it gave the muffins a pretty shine.  I think next time they'll be even better!  I also plan to try baked oatmeal cups.  Muffin shaped oatmeal will make for tasty snacks and quick breakfast on the go.  I love how my whole way of thinking about food is changing.  I can see the lost art of cooking good wholesome meals being found, and I really love it!  I think Satan has done a serious number on our culture.  The joy of home cooked food brings a warmth to the house, it smells divine in here!  Not to mention the added health benefits.  I was going to wait until tomorrow to start the 30 day challenge, but we are off and running today!  More potato canning, sorting through clothes, and soccer games are on the agenda. It looks to be a beautiful day.

Preperation and Purging

Well, my good intentions of menu planning are going slowly.  Life keeps happening, but I will be ready by Sunday to go "old school" with all the cooking.  Keeping my focus on the health benefits makes planning easier.  Why is that the "simple" in simple meals keeps hanging me up?  We already eat pretty simply, I just need to get some new recipes to spice things up.  I broke the news to the kids this week that all fast food is gone and that we are going to be simplifying our lifestyle.  They took the no fast food much better than the simplifying part.  Honestly, that is the part I have the hardest time with too!

Before Mick got out of the Army, we moved around quite a bit.  We would change bases, living off base until housing opened and then moving on to base as soon as we could, then packing again and moving on to the next place.  All that packing meant purging naturally happened.  When you have to box up all the things you own and then unpack it all, it is amazing what you consider fodder and purge.  I am a pack rat by nature.  I had every paper I ever did or turned in in high school when Mick and I married, and I moved them all to Fort Polk, LA, our first home.  When it came time to move to Fort Carson, CO those pages were pitched.  With two small children, packing was a chore, even though all I had to do was get things organized since the Army had movers come in and pack everything up.  I knew I would be the one unpacking all of this stuff when we hit Colorado, and our 600 sq ft apartment after a luxurious 800 sq ft living space for the last 3 years!  Downsizing became a habit.  It was purge or be overrun! Fast forward to today. 

We have been living in our own home here in Ohio for about 7 1/2 years.  I have kept way too much!  With out the threat of having to box and unbox, I have left the "stuff" pile up.  So, tomorrow after I drop the kids off for their school time, Alyssa, Justin, and I are officially purging.  We have a basement full of stuff, and much of it has been sitting there for the last 7 years.  I am also a frugal person, so getting rid of things when I may need them again is hard.  That I think is from my sin nature, no matter how cute I try to make it sound by calling it practical, economical, or frugal.  Where is my faith that God will provide if I hold tightly on to things that would bless someone right now?  Yes, the 8 tubs of clothes for the kids in the basement are great for hand me downs, but do I trust God to provide clothing for our children in a year or two if I take them all to the Volunteers of America so that they can give them to someone in need right now?  The lines between being wise with what we have been given and becoming self reliant instead of God reliant are blurred in our society.  That fact hit me soundly this week, that I am putting my trust in storing up stuff instead of in God.  Don't get me wrong, things aren't bad, it is the reliance on them in place of faith that God is going to provide that is the sin.  I need to be needy!  I need to be a little less comfortable, and a lot less proud that I will provide for our family all that they need.  Everything is God's and from God.  It's time to give and bless others, knowing and trusting that God will provide for all of our needs.  Come Monday morning, I pray that our basement is mostly empty, and our closets seriously downsized. 

Healthier Eating Heading Into The Holiday Season

There is a really great, albeit intimidating, challenge going on this month called The October Challenge.  The idea is to get back to raw and unprocessed foods, and eating organic when possible.  I love the sound of it, but as I considered it and read the blogs of those who are sponsoring the challenge, I started to waver on whether I could really do it.  Over the last year, we have been making changes to our diet to make it more healthy.  I try to by organic when possible and economical. I've also started buying our meat from local meat markets, and buying only grass fed or organic beef when possible.  With 10 people to feed, and a husband who will not eat most vegetables or bean and legumes it is a serious challenge to our budget and my creativity in the kitchen to come up with nutritious and delicious meals that everyone will eat!  I think we are going to bypass The October Challenge, but I'm making a 30 day challenge for our family, that I hope to stretch out to a 90 day challenge through the holiday season. 

First off, I'm cutting out the fast food.  We don't eat it often, but it is terrible for all of us, and I would rather start planning so that I can have quick meals that travel for the days that I normally would just run through the drive thru.  Giving up the weekly pizza from the local pizza place will hurt, but I can make my own for a lot less and it's better for us. Secondly, I'm going to get rid of most of the boxed cereal, and start making heartier healthier breakfasts.  Overall, I'd say we're going back to homemade, the way food should be and the way it tastes the best.  I plan to blog our progress, including menu ideas.  It should be a fun!  Our start day is in one week.  That gives me plenty of time to plan and get menus ready for all meals and snacks for the next two weeks.  We are having Josh's birthday party next Sunday, so that menu will be my first big hurdle!  I'm off to search out recipes and plan menus.