Artisan Bread

http://www.food.com/recipe/5-minute-artisan-bread-325571

This morning I woke up to a roaring fire and coffee already prepared and delivered to my bed. What a beautiful way to start a morning. It is 10 degrees of cold, dark winter outside. But, inside, I am sitting by my fire with a steaming cup of coffee and my babies playing at my feet. The only thing I need is some homemade bread, toasted and spread with apricot jelly. Over the weekend I tried my hand at Artisan bread. Oh my goodness. So easy and so delicious.

I used the recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day. It cost about 40 cents to make 2 loaves which would have been $5 a loaf at the bakery. Yummy deliciousness!

The rest of my day will be spent cleaning the house after a 3 day weekend. Throw in a ski trip, a Bronco game, a playdate, 2 haircuts in my shower and a baking lesson with my son..we made pies! and this house is a wreck. Have a blessed day!

Who moved my laundry?

Today did not start out on the right foot. You have had days like that, right? I didn't sleep well because I came down with a cold last night, a child kept waking me with a tummy ache, and then with my throbbing head, I had to wrestle a 5 year old into snow pants, boots, and mittens she did not want to wear. Then, I went to get my jeans from the dryer and one of my teens decided she needed the dryer this morning and stuffed all my clothes into a hamper where they lay all wrinkled and cold. I am kind of particular about my laundry...I like to fold hot clothes. Weird, I know. But, it kind of made me a little grumpy. Just ask my teen ;)

So, now my clothes are back in the dryer, fluffing and getting warm for me to fold, I have a cup of Emergen-C and am sitting down working on a new attitude for the day.

Some days are in need of salvaging before they go wrong all day long. I sort of reset the clock and start over when I am having a bad day. I sit down and grab an inspirational book or write in a journal, make a list of goals for the day, and focus on joy. It is easy to get in a downward spiral of grumpiness, so recognizing the spiral and stopping it is important. Salvage your day for joy.

“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.”
-Buddha

Now that is finding the smallest kernel of happiness and running with it. So, today, I am glad I didn't wake up dead! The sun just came up turning the sky a beautiful red color, the snow is crisp on the ground, and I have a warm home and I now have warm clothes to fold... that is joy. Go, salvage your day, fold some warm clothes and make it a great day.

Motivation for housework

Finding motivation for doing housework can sometimes be difficult.
It can seem like a thankless job, that just repeats itself over and over and over and...you get the drift. In fact, a wise man once said, "Housework is what a woman does that nobody notices unless she hasn't done it." Ain't that the truth?

We all love a clean, orderly home. But, we don't all love the getting there and as the mom, the job falls on us, whether we stay home or not. Here are some of my tips for finding joy in the chores...if you have to do them, you might as well enjoy the process.

Declutter~
Nothing makes a house seem messier and smaller than a lot of clutter. It also makes it harder to clean. So, the very first thing you need to do is get rid of the junk. I don't know about you, but just tossing stuff out makes me feel better and less frazzled. Make sure everything has a place..this makes it easier for kids to help.

Rearrange your furniture~
This makes your house and your furniture feel new. You can also move around your decorative objects in order to freshen the rooms without spending any money. Moving furniture also forces you to clean under and around things that haven't moved in a while.

Make an idea book~
I have a notebook for decorating ideas. When I see something I like in a magazine, I cut it out and glue it in the book for inspiration. Pinterest makes this so easy. There are some great decorating ideas on Pinterest.

Invite over some friends~
Nothing gives you motivation to clean up the place than people coming over! Invite a friend for coffee or tea. Have a playdate at your house. Host a book club. You will quickly get your house clean with that kind of motivation.

Make small goals for yourself~
Every week make a housekeeping goal. Goals are easier to meet if they are broken into small pieces and if they are measurable. So, don't make a resolution to keep your house clean this year. Make a weekly or monthly resolution to do certain jobs. For instance, this month my goal was to wash windows on Mondays. Once I do it for all of January, hopefully, it will be more of a habit and I will continue.

Treat staying home like a job~
I am so blessed to have the opportunity to stay home with my kids. Since this is my job in this season of my life, I try to treat it like a job. I get up and get ready. Staying in pj's all day makes you lazy. I make a list every morning of the things I need to do and get the satisfaction of crossing them off. There is joy in a job well done.

Play music~
Playing music makes me work faster. Music is a mood lifter.

Take pride in your home~
It might be small, it might be old, it might not be what you want at all. However, it is your family's home and if you take pride in its appearance that will filter down to you kids. I always admire my grandma for this. Her home is small and old, but it is always sparkling clean and she takes great pride in it.

Create a new attitude~
Make a goal to get up with a positive attitude. Enlist your kids in helping with the chores. The sooner you start, the sooner you finish and you can all go and play. Imagine the afternoon..a clean house and a good book. Reward yourself for all your hard work!

Daily Schedule

Here are 9 of the kids and Greg on New Year's Day. Every year we go out for a fancy dinner on New Years to celebrate our family. We write down our favorite memory of the year and our goals for the next one. It is so fun to hear everyone's favorites.

For the first time in 19 years, we were missing one child. He is in college and spent part of his vacation in California with his friends and girlfriend. It is so hard to see them grow up and move into their own lives..while at the same time, you feel so proud of who they have become.

Today, I promised you a daily schedule for keeping your house and your sanity with young children at home. When I was a young mom in my 20's with 4 kids 3 years old and younger, I really had no clue what I was doing. I couldn't cook to save my life. I mean I really could NOT cook. I didn't really have a plan for parenting. I was just winging it every day.

I could never find anything, my house looked like a tornado hit it by dinner, and I was frazzled and exhausted. I had to come up with a plan...there was no internet back then so I had to just figure it out on my own. So, in the winter of 1995 I taught myself to cook and keep house. This is the schedule that I have now had for 16 years and it works. I have joy every day and I do not go to bed crying from frustration and exhaustion.

Tip #1...this is so important! Get up before your kids! Get up, take a shower, have a few minutes of peace and prayer before you are bombarded by needs.

6:30 get up, shower, put on makeup, get dressed in nice looking clothes. Nurse a baby.
7:30 Breakfast and clean up
8:30 Bathe and dress kids. Help them make their beds.
9:00-10:00 or 10:30 Do my daily chores, start a load of laundry
10:30-12:00 Get outside with kids. Go to the park or the library. Play with friends.
12:00 lunch and cleanup
1:00 naps

During naptime I either work on some household project that I need to do,fold and put away laundry, craft, or nap (if I am pregnant).

3:30 Snacks, homework help, kids play outside, dinner prep, sports.
5:00 Prepare dinner
6:00 Dinner and cleanup, finish homework
7:00-8:30 playtime, baths, reading, staggered bedtimes by ages.
9:00 Mommy time. Read, blog, spend time with husband.
10:30 bedtime

So, this is just a sample of how to order your days so your little ones have some sort of routine and you have time to get stuff done and spend time with your kids. If you have school drop offs and sports, you will have to alter your times. But, if all your kids are little, this is a great schedule.

Weekly Cleaning Schedules

I get quite a few requests for samples of weekly cleaning schedules so I thought I would post mine for the new year. I usually kind of redo everything during Christmas break each year so my new calendars are full of fresh stuff.

I think a weekly schedule is so important if you want to keep your house clean and not feel like it gets out of control. Our grandmother's and great grandmother's had cleaning schedules because their job at home was their primary job and they took great pride in it. Many moms did not learn cleaning skills or how to do the job of homemaking because their own mother's went to work and because it kind of lost its importance to women.

Whether you are at home full time or work full or part time, it is still necessary to keep house. I believe if you take pride in the job, then it becomes so much easier. Since I have been home most of my child raising years, I have always looked at homemaking as my job and tried to treat it as such. The years I have been at work, a cleaning schedule has helped me not to get overwhelmed.

To make your weekly schedule, write down a list of all the chores that need to be done daily/weekly in your home. Then, figure out which days/times you are home to accomplish these things. I try to make one day my errand/grocery day so I don't clean on that day, I am out of the house. Also, write down things you do with your kids like the park, library, playdates.

Next, divide the chores among the days you are home. Don't forget to give your kids some of the chores as well. Kids need responsibility and chores. I do deep clean the littler kids rooms, although they pick up and make the bed.

Monday~ I try to use Monday to ensure that if someone comes by, it looks good.

Pick up living areas and entry
Dust living areas
Vacuum living areas
Clean guest bathroom
Clean little girls room

Tuesday

Baking day
Master bedroom and bathroom

Wednesday
Downstairs bathrooms
Mop all hardwood floors
Go to the library or moms group

Thursday
Grocery and errand day
Ironing

Friday

Wash sheets
Clean windows
Deep clean kitchen

These are my major chores each week. I do laundry every day. Two loads~~washed, folded and put away. My older kids each have a designated day to do their own laundry. They also do dishes, trash, dog feeding, yards and floors.

Every morning I do a pick up of all living areas and entry way. I vacuum those each day because we have a lot of people coming and going and it needs it. I also make sure all beds are made each morning. The school kids make theirs before school. My husband and boys are in charge of the yard.

Tomorrow I will show you my daily schedule so you can see when I get these chores done and how much time it leaves for playing with my little kids.

Have a blessed day.

Family Night

I had such high aspirations about kicking all my kids out of my house to play and then it rained… for forty days and forty nights. So much for that resolution. Instead, we were forced to batten down the hatches and play inside. Therefore, I am writing this while I play Settlers of Cataan. The reason I can write and play this game is that some people, who shall not be named, take forever on their turn. Can we please plan ahead, people? You know your turn is coming so be ready! It is Sunday night and Sunday night at our house is family night. Don't mess with it. Don't make plans. Don't invite anyone over. Sunday is just for our family. When our kids were younger it was an informal park night or pizza and movie night, but as they got older and involved in sports and dating, it became necessary to dedicate one night a week to the family. Family night shall not be confused with ice cream night which occurs on Tuesdays when Baskin-Robbins has dollar scoops. Tuesday is not mandatory, but strangely, most of our kids find time in their busy schedules to attend. Weird. This should also not be confused with Friday night which is pizza night. You know the night where we all relax and unwind after a long week—except mom who spends 3 hours making dough and assembling pizzas. Some family nights start with a meeting. We might go over important news stories, new family rules, or interesting articles we have read. We talk about a lot of different things. Sometimes we talk about why mom is annoyed. This is usually related to laundry, bathrooms or food. These things always find a way to be undone, dirty or eaten. Take your pick. Besides undone chores, this would be the time we talk about anything that we want our kids to know from drugs (avoid) to morals (learn them) to caution (exercise it). One thing I am certain of is that if you do not tell your kids that something is not okay, someone else will tell them it is. Your kids need to know what your family expects of them and what your family stands for. One way to do this is to have the whole family come together and write a mission statement. A mission statement will contain the rules and guidelines of your family and will also let them know the kind of person you expect them to be. Don't be afraid to be a parent. Kids need parents. In fact, I think it should be mandatory. This is a good time to establish the consequences for broken rules as well. That way there is never any doubt. Family night is not all about talking, in fact, it is mostly about fun. We usually just spend time together and play. Because we have such different age ranges, from two to seventeen years old, we try to do some activities that are about teamwork. That way the younger kids feel some success playing and the older kids learn patience---well, patience is the goal anyway, but most teens in my family could work on that particular trait. You know who you are! Some of the games are educational and some games are just fun. Teamwork building games include baseball, football, Pictionary and Cranium. Educational games are Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and the just for fun games are Settlers of Cataan, Karaoke, Hide and Seek, Apples to Apples, Skip Bo and Yahtzee. I stole this idea from a movie; you make a copy of a crossword puzzle and give one to each team. The first team to finish the puzzle wins. Another game I love is Scrabble but it is too long and slow for most kids and hard to play with a lot of people. To spice it up, a fun thing to play is speed scrabble where everyone plays at the same time without a board. When it is nice outside, we play baseball, football or hide and seek. While I am sure that these games are safe for the average family, I have to say that some of our best emergency room visits have occurred on family night. Usually it is dad who needs a trauma specialist. I am not sure if we are too rough or if possibly he plays harder and more seriously than anyone else in the family. Some people can be so competitive. Family night can be anything you want it to be. Use the time to talk to your kids, but also use it to play with them. It seems in this modern world we are so busy with all the running around we don’t have much time to just be. We don't even have time to eat together anymore. Isn't it ironic that kids are so busy playing that they don't have time to play? How are kids going to know what is really important if we don't spend some time telling and showing them. We spend so much time catering to kids individually that they need to know it is not all about them. It is also about their place and importance within our family. They are a part of the best team---the family.

Fashion

One of the downfalls of having a big family is that you are stuck wearing maternity clothes for most of your adult life. They aren't the most fashionable clothes in the world...although they are much better now than they were 20 years ago. My littlest babe just turned one and I felt like it was time to get something stylish and fun to wear for a change.

The problem is I don't know the first thing about clothes shopping anymore. Fashions have changed, I am in my mid 40's, and I needed help. When I do go shopping, I feel like those people on What Not to Wear with racks and racks of clothing before them and they wander around like lost sheep. I usually just look for a nicely dressed mannequin and buy whatever she is wearing. I am in trouble if there are no mannequins!

Enter Lori Wynne. Lori is a friend from high school that is now living in Atlanta and owner of Fashions With Flair. She helps you shop! Isn't that the greatest thing? If you are going back to work after years at home, or like me, and haven't shopped in 20 years, she is a God send.

She is reasonably priced and so knowledgeable. The money spent on her will save you so much in money wasted on clothing you won't wear, doesn't fit right, or doesn't look good on you. Give her a call, visit her website, email her and like her on facebook. She is a treasure trove of information!

Fashions With Flair
or like her on facebook for fashion updates
Lori Wynne