When Living the Simple Life Makes Life Complicated!
I have not been around and able to write anything recently. Between a visit from my mother-in-law, our internet being out for a week, sick kids and life in general, this little corner of my life had to go into hiding for a while. But now, my MIL is gone back to Alaska, our internet is working, life is a little slower today, and although the kids are sick, I have a few minutes, so I dusted the cobwebs away and wanted to say hello again!
In our home we try to lead a simplistic life. I try to cook simply, deal with the children simply, live simply... I cloth diaper (most of the time), I like to use as little cleaning agents as possible, making my own out of non-toxic ingredients for the health of my family is more important than convenience.
My concern is this: How much can you take upon yourself to do the natural way before it becomes more complicated?
Take cloth diapering: I love it! I love knowing that I am doing a huge part to save our family money. The cost of disposable diapers is unreal, even buying the store brands. By using cloth diapers I free up room in the monthly budget for other things,they are healthier for the kids, not to mention I am taking steps to take care of the Earth that God has given us. But as I sit here and type this I have a full hamper of clean diapers waiting to be stuffed, folded and put away. I just can't keep up with the mountain of laundry. As of late, Tiger has been in sposies because with Buddy and Baby having the high fevers I just decided that I didn't need to add one more task to my days.
Next on the list: I had begun making all of our bread. I enjoy baking, it is healthier because I know what goes in it, and the outcome is happy kids and full bellies! Since having Tiger, I have had to give up dairy because he has a dairy protein allergy, and every bread recipe that I like has some sort of dairy in it. I have yet to find a replacement recipe that I like well enough. I have wasted so much time searching for the perfect recipe. I have decided to buy our bread for a while, but now I am on a quest to find options for lunch that my kids will eat that don't involve bread since the cost of healthy bread is high.
As the kids get older and become more involved in things and more active and able to experience life, some things are going to have to give, but what do you sacrifice and when do you take the easy way out? I wish I could be the Proverbs 31 woman: plant a vineyard, reap from it, run my own business, do it all on my own, be completely self sufficient, but I am not, nor will I ever be.
Question of the day: What, if any, strides are you taking to lead a simple life, and why? At what point is enough, enough?
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Letter A says aaa!
How are you doing today? Here we are moving along in our day. All three kids are down for a nap, and I have a moment to breathe.
Picking up where I left off yesterday, we have started a new routine in our house. After my husband gets off to work, the big kids are fed and the baby is fed and either playing happily or napping, the big kids and I are doing what we call "Mornings with Mommy". Basically it all began when my oldest, Buddy, asked me why I never wanted him to do anything fun. It seems that since Tiger was born, I have not been able to get my feet on the ground and my head in the game again. I have felt swamped and constantly drowning. I never had time to really play with my kids, or let them go down and play in the basement where the big fun toys are, and the art easel. I was talking to my husband about it, and we came up with this idea. After bellies are filled and baby is otherwise entertained, the big kids and I spend the whole morning together. We are playing in the basement, cooking, going on scavenger hunts, digging in the dirt. Once I get a car again we will go to the park, the zoo, the mall...basically, I have set aside that time, barring any intruders such as doctor's appointments and unavoidables, to spend solely with my kids. It is turning out to be quite effective, though we have only been at it since Monday. I don't feel so pulled between what I need to do for the health and well-being of our household, and what I need to do for the emotional and physical needs of my children.
Buddy will be 4 at the end of May, so we are starting Preschool. I am using the curriculum Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve, and Buddy is really taking to it! I am only loosely following the curriculum, since I am doing it with my 2 year old daughter in tow. We are having fun! Even Baby Girl is singing the songs! Today was a fun day in the cycle. we made Apple Brownies, and watched Alligator Pie. I got so much more accomplished over the last two days, so I hope that this continues to work for us.
So my question for today is this: What are you doing to invest in your children today? How are you trying to improve, or what have you done in the past that has helped the flow of your life?
Picking up where I left off yesterday, we have started a new routine in our house. After my husband gets off to work, the big kids are fed and the baby is fed and either playing happily or napping, the big kids and I are doing what we call "Mornings with Mommy". Basically it all began when my oldest, Buddy, asked me why I never wanted him to do anything fun. It seems that since Tiger was born, I have not been able to get my feet on the ground and my head in the game again. I have felt swamped and constantly drowning. I never had time to really play with my kids, or let them go down and play in the basement where the big fun toys are, and the art easel. I was talking to my husband about it, and we came up with this idea. After bellies are filled and baby is otherwise entertained, the big kids and I spend the whole morning together. We are playing in the basement, cooking, going on scavenger hunts, digging in the dirt. Once I get a car again we will go to the park, the zoo, the mall...basically, I have set aside that time, barring any intruders such as doctor's appointments and unavoidables, to spend solely with my kids. It is turning out to be quite effective, though we have only been at it since Monday. I don't feel so pulled between what I need to do for the health and well-being of our household, and what I need to do for the emotional and physical needs of my children.
Buddy will be 4 at the end of May, so we are starting Preschool. I am using the curriculum Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve, and Buddy is really taking to it! I am only loosely following the curriculum, since I am doing it with my 2 year old daughter in tow. We are having fun! Even Baby Girl is singing the songs! Today was a fun day in the cycle. we made Apple Brownies, and watched Alligator Pie. I got so much more accomplished over the last two days, so I hope that this continues to work for us.
So my question for today is this: What are you doing to invest in your children today? How are you trying to improve, or what have you done in the past that has helped the flow of your life?
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Welcome to my Cozy Corner
So for those of you who may stumble upon this , or *gasp* purposely come and see what I have to say, Welcome to my cozy corner! I am going to try my hand at this blogging thing. I am not sure what I am doing, nor how to really provide anything that is different than what is already out there in this tangled web we all weave, but I will try.
I guess I should tell you a bit about myself. I am a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, and a child of God. I am blessed beyond measure to have a husband that works hard so that I can stay at home with the children that God has given us the huge responsibility to raise and train up to follow Him. We currently have 3 kids here on earth, and one waiting for us in eternity. Our oldest, we call him Buddy, is an active soon to be 4 year old. He is a handful and a blessing, stubborn like both his daddy and I. After Buddy, we had our miscarriage, and look forward to meeting our Angel Baby. This child remains in our hearts and is honored on our Christmas tree by a special ornament each year. Shortly after our loss, we found out we were expecting again, and lost our hearts once more to Baby Girl. (Yes, I know that our nicknames are less than unique.) She is a sweet 2 year old and is so full of spunk! Finally we have Tiger. He is our 4 month old baby and while I am still not sure what his personality is going to end up being, I feel he will be sneaky and a trickster, but only time will tell.
What are my plans for this blog, and what might you gain from it? Well, really, that is still in the works. I would love to take my love for crunchy things (natural living, cloth diapers, whole foods, homemade cleaners, etc.), crafting (sewing, crochet), culinary (cooking of all sorts:baking, main dishes, sides, methods, etc) children (entertaining, teaching) and Christian beliefs, and wrap it up in a cohesive package and make it something that someone can take and use. But, as I said, I am still trying to decide.
As for right now, I will leave you with this thought: At the end of the day, at the year, at the end of your life, what do you wish to have accomplished? My husband asked me this the other evening when I was in the middle of an emotional train wreck. I thought about it. My answer had my kids in mind, as that was what started the train wreck--but honestly, the answer would probably be the same if he asked me in a clear headed moment. At the end of each day, each year, the end of my life, I would want to be able to say that I did my best to show the love of God to my children. For them to look back and say, that they know, without a doubt in their minds, that they were loved by me and by God. To know that I did the best I could to train them to do what is good, honest, pure, lovely, true. To know, without hesitation, that I didn't neglect the needs of my children, my most important job and possession, to manage the things in this world that don't matter in the end. This led to a new way of starting our days in our home. I will talk about this next time.
I guess I should tell you a bit about myself. I am a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, and a child of God. I am blessed beyond measure to have a husband that works hard so that I can stay at home with the children that God has given us the huge responsibility to raise and train up to follow Him. We currently have 3 kids here on earth, and one waiting for us in eternity. Our oldest, we call him Buddy, is an active soon to be 4 year old. He is a handful and a blessing, stubborn like both his daddy and I. After Buddy, we had our miscarriage, and look forward to meeting our Angel Baby. This child remains in our hearts and is honored on our Christmas tree by a special ornament each year. Shortly after our loss, we found out we were expecting again, and lost our hearts once more to Baby Girl. (Yes, I know that our nicknames are less than unique.) She is a sweet 2 year old and is so full of spunk! Finally we have Tiger. He is our 4 month old baby and while I am still not sure what his personality is going to end up being, I feel he will be sneaky and a trickster, but only time will tell.
What are my plans for this blog, and what might you gain from it? Well, really, that is still in the works. I would love to take my love for crunchy things (natural living, cloth diapers, whole foods, homemade cleaners, etc.), crafting (sewing, crochet), culinary (cooking of all sorts:baking, main dishes, sides, methods, etc) children (entertaining, teaching) and Christian beliefs, and wrap it up in a cohesive package and make it something that someone can take and use. But, as I said, I am still trying to decide.
As for right now, I will leave you with this thought: At the end of the day, at the year, at the end of your life, what do you wish to have accomplished? My husband asked me this the other evening when I was in the middle of an emotional train wreck. I thought about it. My answer had my kids in mind, as that was what started the train wreck--but honestly, the answer would probably be the same if he asked me in a clear headed moment. At the end of each day, each year, the end of my life, I would want to be able to say that I did my best to show the love of God to my children. For them to look back and say, that they know, without a doubt in their minds, that they were loved by me and by God. To know that I did the best I could to train them to do what is good, honest, pure, lovely, true. To know, without hesitation, that I didn't neglect the needs of my children, my most important job and possession, to manage the things in this world that don't matter in the end. This led to a new way of starting our days in our home. I will talk about this next time.
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