Every day Luxuries

 Today I am grateful that I have several sets of sheets and don't have to wake to toddler after she has wet my bed so they can get washed right away- because if they don't get dry in time for bed, it's ok, because I have another set of sheets.

Harvest Season

 I really worked my garden this year and learned more about canning and preserving. I consider it important to know how to do those things before the economy/ supply chain/global warming gets the better of us.

I started working outside the home this fall, picking up 20 hours a week to buy groceries and keep my sanity in yet another homeschooling year. It is amazing what a few consistent hours away from the constant demands for Mommyhood will do.

And the weather has allowed my garden to continue to give for an additional 6 weeks, which really helped this year because the summer was so hot and dry that even with constant watering nothing wanted to bloom.

So finally, this week with a serious threat of frost, I harvested and tucked it all in for a good winter's rest. That was 12 hours of work, after homeschooling and work hours every day. It was also a great way to get out in the beautiful fall weather and exercise in a most useful way.

 I planned to start some serious canning this year when my mother and her friend, an old experienced canner, ordered us a bunch of peaches to put up for the winter. Then she explained that she couldn't do the work anymore, so I volunteered to. So I bought my supplies early ( canning supplies have been a little harder to find since covid), and started studying up on it. The 4 dozen + peaches I canned are awesome, totally worth the work.

Then some tomatoes, pickled stuffed peppers, and just this week 12 pounds of red spiced cabbage. I have also been drying things like herbs and dried leeks (highly recommend) and trying out some jams. I do recommend the ground cherry jam. Ground cherries are easy to grow, are prodigious producers, and are quite tasty. I enjoyed harvesting some flowers and making bouquets, and drying some types for teas. 

I still have Brussels sprouts out in the garden, then are pretty hardy and like frost, and a dozen pumpkins. I will probably end up canning pumpkins. I love cooking with the sweet, healthy veggie. I also still want to plant more tulips for spring.

Pumpkin Biscuits

2 cups pumpkin (More or less 1 can)

6 cups whole wheat flour

1/4-1/2 cup baking powder

milk to consistency

salt- optional

Mix flour with baking powder. Add pumpkin and blend with hands (kinda like one does with regular fat in a biscuit), then add milk to desired constancy. If you make the dough soft, the biscuit will be soft. Pat into biscuits, bake on oiled cookie tray.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until center is done.

 What Does Homemaking mean in the 21st Century?

 This I am stealing from FaceBook may help answer that:

Work as a chef, own a bakery: Way to go!

Cook for your family: You poor kitchen slave.

Work in fashion or own a clothing store: Slay, Queen!

Mend or make your family's clothes: Are you Amish?

Teach 35 children in a classroom: Such a servant and a gem!

Teach your own child: Backwards weirdo!

Fold men's and children's clothes in a department store: Way to go earning your own money!

Fold your husband's clothes: You poor oppressed woman!

Run a lunch truck: Support women businesses!!

Hand your husband his lovingly packed lunch before he heads out the door: 1950's patriarchy!

Getting paid to push papers isn't better than managing your home budget.

Wiping down counters in your own shop isn't more valuable then quietly cleaning your own bathroom sink.

A paycheck doesn't equal worth.

The world's praises aren't the ones that matter. Achieving personal success isn't the way to glorify God.

Pretty sure the verse doesn't say, "Whatever you do, do it for a paycheck and high esteem in the eyes of the world."

Your work matters.

It is valuable.

It is sacred.

It is important.

It is God honoring.

Go ahead and study how to slice and dice even if you'll only use the skills within the walls of your home. Go ahead and learn the science behind sourdough, even if you don't plan to start a side hustle.

Learn, grow, serve, give, sweep, teach, love, submit . . .

And do it cheerfully.

Do it to the glory of God.

~ Bloom Wild Schoolhouse

Kids' Clothing talk

 I just read an article on creating a capsule wardrobe for your children. The funny thing is, I have been doing this for 15 years before capsule wardrobes ever became a thing. Why? Because it saved my sanity. Imagine how much easier mornings are when your kids have to choose from items that all match. And then it also reduced the amount of clothing they had, so there was less to wash and less laying all over their bedroom floors.

I took it a bit simpler and put shelves in the laundry room to store their clothes- it gets it permanently off their bedroom floors (except the stray sock or two), and get it so all you have to do to "put it away" is find their tote on the shelf and put it in it (often times I don't even fold it first).

We made space in the house we built so they could change right in the laundry room, or the bathroom next to it, most of the time to make it even easier.

I just had my 9th kid, but I'm buying less clothing than ever, how did that work? Well, I'm a sucker for well-built clothing and will often store anything I think will be useful upstairs in totes (by size and gender) to use on the next kid. 

So how do you build one for your child/children? First of all, go through their clothes and pick out their favorite pieces- the ones they wear all the time. If they are in good condition, put them in the keep pile. Take these favorite pieces and find several more pants/bottoms that match and they like to wear (a total of perhaps 6-7 or maybe as few as 3-4 depending on how often you wash and how many changes they need in those days. Usually 10 is max in my book). Then do the same with tops and jackets. Underwear and socks are a little simpler as they don't have to be seen. I still find if I buy 6-10 pairs of identical or nearly identical socks then when we lose one or wear one it, its only one and not a pair we lose. Now you have a capsule wardrobe. 

So there are probably a few pieces that are good quality and would match into the wardrobe- keep a couple of these and put them in a "back up" tote- out of the normal flow of laundry options, and pull the one or two out when a piece is needed to be replaced due to stains or rips. The rest simply rehome. 

Now, what about wardrobe extras? 

Swimsuits- how many do you need? I need 1-2 per child in the summer. As my parents have a lake cabin and a pool in their other house. We can live with 1 if we always bring it home after a swim.

Karate/dance/exercise clothes- we use a different tote or store these in the bags we will grab as we run out the door (haven't done much of that this year :))

Dress Clothing: We do not put this in the normal tote, nor do these have to match anything in the normal tote. They are on hangers, waiting for the special occasion. My boys have 1-2 suits each (we use them every week) my girls' vary more because Grandma buys too many dresses and I have a harder time paring them down. I often hang the tights and sweaters right with the dresses so it's a one-hanger grab and dress.

Seasonal clothing: We live in Minnesota and to handle the weather, I do change the kids' clothing from summer to winter each year (and back again).

Now teenagers are fun, as they come with their own ideas. Luckily, mine have been willing to keep their clothes in the totes in the laundry room. My teens each have their own idea of what they like to wear. I have one who wears golf pants (has 4 all in the same color) and Hawaiian shirts (these obviously all match the golf pants). Besides that, he has 2 hoodie jackets, under and socks that are different from his brothers so they don't get mixed up. Another teen has chosen to wear all black. Makes shopping simple. He still only has 4 pants and several shirts and pjs. Another teen wears nothing but Duluth Trading 2XLTs same tan pants and 4 t-shirts in different colors. This kid doesn't wear the hoodies the others have but has a jacket instead. My 12-year-old daughter is growing so fast that I buy her a longer pair of pants every few weeks. Her tote right now is very minimal when we remove all that doesn't fit.

Shoes: My kids only have 1 pair of shoes in each category. Some skip entire categories altogether. Tennie/daily shoes, dress shoes, winter boots, sandals. my girls who do horse lessons have their horse boots.

Tote maintenance: Every month or so, I pull out a kid's tote and go through it. I pull out anything too small, anything too stained or ripped, and replace what is needed. I look for anything that doesn't match. or if there are too many of 1 thing in a tote. The first place I check for replacement is the backup tote, then I go upstairs to the big storage with all the totes. If I still can't find what is needed I will order from a good quality supplier (or see if a garage sale or second-hand store has it, but usually I have to buy tall sizes and that is harder to find at garage sales). I also check that everything is still matching. 

Sometimes due to growth spurts or seasonal changes a complete wardrobe change is required. This is where you hope your need and a sale at a good children's brand matches. Usually, good brands come out with lines of clothing that all or mostly match, making buying a capsule wardrobe easy.

What this pregnant mom of 9 really grooves on now

 Facebook is really good at advertising, not a surprise, so I have been seeing articles on what supplies new moms can not live without ( I assume most of these lists are all about selling things, but my list is not) and I thought I would make my own list, as I have less consumerism and a little more experience than most moms.

So here is my current grooves list:

1. Support belt- I need both my support belt and my chiropractor to keep my hips functioning this pregnancy.

2. Extra pillows on the bed- to keep stomach contents in their proper place at night and prop up legs

3. Good bras- I have searched high and low and the best I have found come from Target ( And they are the cheapest) https://www.target.com/p/women-s-nursing-seamless-bra-auden-153/-/A-54236901?preselect=54173405#lnk=sametab the sizes on both playtex and leading lady have been very inconsistent this year. And I have never found a $70 bra to live up to the cost. I actually like the padding this pregnancy because my nipples are extra sensitive and it protects them against the toddlers who crawl on me and bump them. This bra support a 38DDD pretty well, and even though it soft, I still get tired of it by the end of the day.

4. Skimpy dress- a knee-length mumu style that covers me enough to be allowed in public but keeps heat-trapping down to one layer of cotton. This is of course only because it is summer here. What you need will depend on your location and temps.

5. Heartburn meds- again about sleep

6. Hemroid cream- this is truly a life saver, and it doesn't take much. I am still using the same tube I bought with baby #5.

7. nursing pads- not needed now but very useful after birth, along with menstrual pads (I use cloth) and a few disposable supplies to make new motherhood slightly easier.

Next list: things I am preparing for baby.

I got rid of all my baby stuff 2 years ago, when I turned 40 and my youngest was over 2. I thought we were done (cue laughter).

1. A place to sleep. I like a bassinet next to the bed. A porta-crib also fits there and will be used when she outgrows the bassinet. Nothing fancy, as she will be spending most of time cuddled next to my breasts.

2. A place to change her in the family room. For many of my kids the ottoman became the defacto changing table. This time we are out of ottomans, so I turned a tote into a changing table/ottoman by attaching a changing pad onto the lid (thanks velcro), and inside I am storing her diaper supplies. We are cloth diapering, with prefolds and snappy, size-changing covers. We also use old towels cut up as diaper wipes (these can be tossed if I don't want to wash them). I used cardboard boxes inside the tote to separate and organize the supplies.

3. Clothing, as guessed at for sizing and seasons- bought mostly second hand at garage sales this summer. I have 8 children as guides on growth and timing for sizing. But basics like onsies and footies are almost always needed in all sizes and temps, and garage sales sell them for a quarter each verses anywhere from $2-14 each in the stores.

4. Receiving blankets- my mother-in-law makes the best ones, 45" square double flannel with cute designs. I have saved everyone she has made each of my 8 children and feel sorry for anyone that has to survive on store-bought versions. 8-12 of them I would recommend. (you could get by with 6 if you are on top of laundry).

5. An extra place to set the baby when she is not in my arms. At a garage sale I found the perfect fit- a little bouncy seat and a little swing, for $5/each. Do not buy new, they will only be used for a few months top.

6. Car seats- we splurged, bought new with an additional base so we can use the same seat across both cars. (after note, didn't work. The bases didn't fit in either the van or the car). 

7. A place to wash baby- a sink with a towel on the bottom works for the youngest. Once they can sit the sink is still a great place, although the towel on the bottom isn't needed anymore. I find plain water is the best to bathe baby with. If something is extra sticky or stinky a little bit of soap can be used.

Things we will eventually need for baby- but don't need yet.

1. A highchair. I like to $20 from Ikea. They are small, cheap and have a washable cover. The child will only use one from about 8-16 months, so not worth spending lots of money on. Perhaps a nice garage sale find, but I find in our kitchen size means so much that Ikeas might just be the right choice again.

2. Baby dishes. She will need sippy cups, as we go from breast to cup without ever using bottles. I like having all matching pieces so everything fits everything else. 2-4 cups would probably be enough. Baby spoon can be useful, although I prefer the finger feeding stage, and when they come out of that they are usually big enough that regular spoons and forks will work. At most one set of silverware in baby/toddler size.  I have never found a "Spill proof" bowl or plate to be of any value. (But bibs that cover any cute clothing would be a requirement).

3. Toys. Someday- don't rush, people love to give toys as gifts.

4. Stroller. Someday when covid-19 is no longer a major threat to baby we will be going out (also needs to be snowless outside to be useful), and an umbrella stroller is so worth having around- often kept in the car, for when its time to go and do things. I don't recommend a fancy thing, just a basic $40 (I ran over mine and found out new ones are now $70. Luckily I could replace the wheels for only $30) stroller that folds small and sets up quickly. If baby was born early in a normal summer we might have gotten a stroller that fits the car seat on top, but by the time we will need one this time she will be old enough to use the umbrella style with no problems.

5. Baby proofing supplies. maybe a few outlet covers, but for everything else just move the dangerous stuff out of her reach for the next 10 years (or get rid of them entirely). Rubber bands can lock cabinets together for stuff you can not move, but I do recommend high shelves for most things.

6. More clothing. Every healthy baby keeps growing, and garage sales are a great place to stock up on future sizes. Some people organize them by size in totes or paper bags, so they are ready when your baby is.

Homesteading...

When you are going to school, summers off are kinda nice and summer trips are often the only time available. I have used those things as excuses to avoid gardens and yard work.

This year I have no excuse. So we bought 9 fruit trees and 6 blueberries to start our orchard. The raspberries we planted 10 years ago finally took root and the grapevines seem to like it here.

Then we decided to put in a sandbox around the playground for my littlest kids. Nothing like awesome sand and water play to keep kids outside. I'm excited. Excited to build a future and stay put.

Good Bye Wrapping Paper, I'll never buy you again.

I have literally tossed the wrapping paper that has been plaguing my storage space under my stairs. It was too ripped up to use anyways. My cousin has an esty site and this week she has been selling cloth wrapping bag sets- complete with ribbons. So I was happy to replace my paper for something more sustainable. All my wrapping supplies now fit in a single gallon zip lock (specifically the ones they arrived in). For presents going out of the house there are lots of other options- papers from packaging/newspaper, cloth that is part of a present, ect.