Am I Late?

My mama said I was born several weeks late. All my babies are born late. This year, I’m ordering my Christmas cards late.
Except that I am not actually late. May I remind you that Catholics observe Advent for four weeks before Christmas, and our Christmas celebration doesn’t begin until the Christmas Eve vigil? It’s technically not appropriate for us to say “Merry Christmas” during Advent, and we will continue to say “Merry Christmas” after the rest of you have put away your decorations and moved on. Our Christmas celebration lasts for twelve days until the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. So there ya go. The way I see it, I’m not chronically late after all; it’s just that everyone else’s timetable is off.

All that to say…I’m working on Christmas cards. Our favorite shots have always been of the kids in their pajamas in front of the Christmas tree.
Our foreign exchange students have humored me by posing in their jammies.
Not everyone wants to cooperate, though.

Our niece has also joined in the fun… 
This year, I managed to get one of all the children looking at the camera and smiling. At the same time.


Just remember when you get your card from us somewhere around December 28…it’s not late. Christmas will have just begun.

Happy Anniversary To Us and Christmas on the Square

This year, for our 11th year anniversary, Greg and I decided to do a daytime outing instead of a date night. We went to eat at Creegan’s Irish pub and grill, which is now on our list of favorites. I was in the mood for shepherd’s pie and Greg had the chicken cottage pie, but next time I’m going to have the bangers and mash. Just to say I did because it sounds funny and makes me giggle. The boxty farthings looked very good, too.After our hearty-stick-to-your-ribs-comfort-food lunch (excellent choice, honey!), we walked around downtown. We spent a couple hours browsing art shops, antique shops, had some good coffee, and eventually did our traditional anniversary-date-Christmas shopping. Lovely, lovely day. 
 
When we got home, it was time for our small town’s annual Christmas on the Square. We take the children to this every year, where we walk around the shops visiting with our townsfolk, listening to Christmas carols, and partaking of cookies and hot chocolate. This year, we missed the parade. But the children who wanted to visit with Santa had the opportunity to do so.
I love December!

   

Don’t Throw Out Your Turkey Bones!

I should have written this before Thanksgiving, but Christmas is coming up, so it’s still timely. What to do with the leftover turkey? You can find recipes for turkey enchiladas, turkey chili, turkey stir-fry, turkey soups, turkey casseroles, and turkey whatever-you-can-think-of all over the internet, but I wanted to give a shout out to the bones. Don’t throw them bones out! They can make a very nourishing broth to be used for future recipes and illnesses. Here’s how it’s done…
After I’ve pulled all the meat off the turkey and stored it in the freezer for recipes, I put the bones in my large stock pot. I add an onion or two, a bulb of garlic, peppers, celery, herbs like rosemary or thyme, and whatever I have on hand that I think will be helpful. Add 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to help draw the minerals out of the bones. Sometimes I add astragalus root, sometimes I omit the astragalus. Fill the pot with water. Simmer all day. After it has cooled, skim some of the fat off, strain the liquid into containers, and store them in the freezer. Then when I need a recipe that calls for broth or we are ill, I pull this broth out of the freezer and heat it up.

Broth at the first sign of an illness helps keep us hydrated, and the protein, calcium, magnesium, and other minerals will help our bodies to repair themselves. The garlic, onions, and herbs strengthen our immune systems and help our bodies fight off whatever germs we’ve been exposed to. Adding cayenne and/or miso to our soup is also helpful to strengthen our immunity, but for the children’s sake, I add it to my own bowls later. This, along with plenty of rest and cutting out the sugar/processed foods, will help us get over whatever we've been exposed to more quickly.
When there are lots of illnesses going around our area, I make our recipes with the broth that contains the astragalus root, as it is an immune-strengthening herb. But because it is a tonic herb, which means that it can possibly drive illness deeper into the body, I use the broths that do not contain astragalus when we are already ill.
In addition to being hydrating, nourishing, and immune-boosting, homemade broth is more delicious and satisfying than the canned broths in the supermarket! Our Thanksgiving turkey yielded 5 quarts of delicious broth. We also use chicken, beef, or any other bones with marrow to make broth throughout the year. The same can be done with vegetables to make vegetable stock. When you are cutting up your onions, celery, broccoli, carrots, or whatever, save the parts that you would normally throw away, simmer them together, and strain for veggie broth.

This year, Greg had to work on Thanksgiving Day, so we had a nice dinner at home the day before. I’m so thankful for all our blessings!
 
 
The best thing about spending Thanksgiving at home is that nobody cares if the baby shows up for Thanksgiving dinner wearing nothing but a hot pink diaper! hehehe

Later that night, the girls and I went to see the Moscow Ballet perform The Nutcracker. It was Mojo’s and Gem’s first ballet.  Here they are waiting for it to start.
 

Happy Birthday, Sweet Little Gem!

   

Coffee Filter Disinfectant Wipes

I know I've mentioned homemade wipes before, but I've found an easier, cheaper way to make more durable wipes. Coffee filters.

Open a package of coffee filters. Put them in a plastic container with a lid. Pour a mixture of 1 cup white vinegar and 1 cup water over the filters. (I sometimes like to add essential oils to mine--tea tree, lavender/sweet orange, lemon/thyme, etc.) Put the lid on them. Voilà! You now have cheap, earth-friendly, kid-friendly disinfectant wipes.

A couple of notes...
* Reuse! Save a plastic Cool-Whip or deli container from the garbage.
* If you are crafty or have crafty kids, decorate the containers to match the decor in your kitchen or bathrooms.
* You'll notice my wipes are brown. When I use paper products, I use unbleached whenever possible. The bleached white ones are cheaper.

Road Trip Across America

Our Catholic homeschool group hosted a “Road Trip Across America”, in which the children chose different states to present to the group. The children presented their states in a variety of different ways. Mojo chose the state of Maryland and put together this backdrop of facts. She and I were both pleased with her work!
Did you know that the first Catholic Mass in the English speaking colonies was held in Maryland, on St. Clement’s Island? This is just one of the many interesting facts we learned.
We also each shared a recipe from our states. Mojo and I made crab cakes, our first ever attempt at such a recipe. I thought they turned out pretty good, although I’ve never tasted a true Maryland-made crab cake.

My Take On "The Mommy Wars"

My friend, Tanya, at Mamallamapalooza wrote a post this past week about the "Mommy Wars", and it reminded me of a message that I got from a friend not too long ago. My friend apologized for being judgmental of me in the past for working outside the home. That's one of the big battles in the Mommy Wars, you know...Stay-at-Home Moms vs. Working Moms. My reply to her went something like this...

It's OK, really. I get judgment from both sides, from women who think that I should be home with my children ALL the time and from women who think that I'm wasting my talents and "not pulling my weight" by only working one day a week when we are struggling financially. But I have no hard feelings, because I am secure that the decisions I make are right for *us*.

I will encourage my daughters to further their education and to have a backup plan, but I also will encourage their hearts to be in their homes and families. If they do have an outside job, I want them to search their hearts and ask themselves what is their motivation for working. Is it so that they can afford more stuff? Or is it because their family has true needs that can best be met by them contributing to the finances somehow? I want my daughters to look to the Proverbs 31 woman as an example.

I've looked at working from home, but I've heard so many WAHMs complain about putting in long hours for pennies. I just can't see how that would be better than me leaving the kids with their loving, capable daddy for 12 hours every week and then being able to give them my full attention the rest of the time. One 12-hour shift a week adds roughly $1400 a month to our family budget. The pros outweigh the cons.
The money I make has not gone to finance "stuff", but has gone toward eliminating debt, paying to keep our 10-year-old vehicles running, paying for educational needs, paying for dental expenses, paying for the midwife, etc. We live frugally.

And on the days when I do have to put on my scrubs and leave the house, I always ask myself what the mother/baby unit or ICU would be like if none of the nurses there were Christian mothers. ;-)

I'm sharing this here because I believe I have good reasons for choosing what I choose. It makes sense for our family. If my situation were different, if I had a different profession, if my family dynamics were different, I'm sure the pros and cons would be weighed differently. And because I have good reasons for choosing what I choose, I trust that other women also have good reasons for choosing what they choose. I refuse to fight in the Mommy Wars, and I have no hard feelings toward the women who judge me for doing things differently because I am at peace with what I do. When I share information on why we do what we do, I hope you realize that I do so because I appreciate folks sharing with me what works for them. It's an inspiration for me to try out different things. Sometimes I find a new way of doing things. Sometimes I say "hmmm, interesting" and stick with what we are already doing. But I appreciate hearing/reading about it anyway.

I had a conversation with friends at church last week, in which someone said I was a "real woman" because I had my last two babies without pain meds. Oh, no. I explained that I had epidurals with my first three. I wasn't very happy with those experiences, so I tried something different. I figured out along the way that it was easier on me to go without pain meds than with them. Same with breastfeeding; it's easier for me than bottle feeding. I've tried both public school and homeschooling, and I'd rather do it myself at home. Using herbal remedies on my children has prevented the headache of pediatrician visits. I'm all about what works, y'all.
So, you say you'd rather have an epidural during labor asap? I would encourage you to look into the benefits of birthing naturally, but I'd also say do whatever makes your birth comfortable and peaceful. Breastfeeding didn't work for you and your baby? Although I would encourage you to try again next time, as the benefits are great and each baby is different, I'd also say please don't feel guilty if you have to feed your baby a bottle. You don't think you can teach your children what they need to learn at home? I'd say you don't give yourself enough credit! But I'd also say give them what you believe they need. Taking your children to the pediatrician everytime they cough brings you greater peace of mind? Go get your peace of mind; you already have enough to worry about. Whatever you decide, I'm not judging you, mama.

Can we please just share with each other, support each other, and get along?