I daresay it was a success. But then to call it that, one must look at the goal. For me, it was to have a fun family meal that was something out of the ordinary, which would help us celebrate Thanksgiving, and participate in "thanks-giving." And that without all the unrealistic expectations of a meal too big for even our crew to eat, and then the leftovers to deal with that nobody really wants. Without the exhaustion of preparing such a meal, and the crabbiness and shortness of temper that has tended to go with such an endeavor. Without the dread of cleaning it all up, the drowsiness with which one can't but spend the rest of the day lolling around with an uncomfortably full belly, digesting. Without the depressed feeling that comes from it all, leaving one with an emotional hangover the next days immediately following. That said, here's the story.
Several years ago, I decided it was silly to make a turkey when neither my husband nor I are particularly fond of it, and it was too dry for our little ones to chew anyway. :)
This is typical of us, as in similar fashion we have never done the 'gift thing' at Christmas time, and in fact I don't recall the last time we even put up a tree. We don't do trick-or-treating, and no Easter Bunny visits our house. (Santa Claus? We-ell, that's a given.)
Since then I have tended to make ham and with it, the fixin's we like. Again, why make sweet potatoes if we don't like them? So until this year, I have typically done mashed potatoes, stuffing, and green bean bake, and crescent rolls. And of course pie, pumpkin for myself and the kids, and cherry, because that's Dad's favorite.
Now, we have changed our diet dramatically in the last year or two, which is one reason for me to rethink things this year. (That whole process is for another post.) The other reason is that as our children read and read about history, I thought it appropriate that we try to have a feast more similar to what the Pilgrims and Indians may have had at the first Thanksgiving. My oldest son, our own Encyclopedia Brown, was all over that idea. No problem getting suggestions, such as lobster, crab, and eel, then we chose from that list a reasonable amount of menu items that would be feasible to do.
We ended up with a small turkey, fish, clam chowder, biscuits, cornbread, a variety of root vegetables, corn, cranberry sauce, and pie.
Instead of waiting till the day of to do the turkey, I cut the wings and drumsticks off and put it in my 7.5 quart crock pot, and cooked it on low overnight. In the morning, I turned it to warm. I cooked the heart, gizzard, and neck in the 5 quart crock pot with some water for the broth. (Our kitties get to fight over the liver.)
Starting sometime around 9 am, I diced up and layered in a 9 by 13 pan rutabaga, turnip, carrot, and potato, then put sliced rings of onion on top and basted it all with broth from the turkey and baked it for an hour or so, covered in foil. I mixed up the cornbread and biscuits from scratch, and got them ready for the oven. The rest was easy, two cans of clam chowder to warm up, which by the way we decided we don't care for, the corn was heated from frozen, the cranberry sauce was also from a can. As my oven allowed, I baked the biscuits and cornbread, and closer to the meal, I baked the Tilapia, which I laid in glass baking dishes and seasoned with sea salt and dill, dotted with butter, and topped with thinly sliced fresh lemon. (Never going to do the lemon that way again, as the fish picked up the bitterness of the rind! Ugh! Looked pretty though.)
The kids had wanted to help, but they were so busy making 'gold' from field corn missed by the combine in the field next door, I didn't have the heart to interrupt them. It was so beautiful outside, too. So I pretty much did it all myself, and it was a lot of work, but I didn't feel overwhelmed. I think we ended up eating around 12:45, but that's only because I took my time getting going in the morning instead of stressing out. I had made the three pies the day before, so all I had to do for them was whip up the cream right before we ate and stick it in the freezer to stay cold.
We enjoyed the meal, and while we didn't like everything new we tried, we also didn't overeat. We had room enough for my good deep dish pie, and after the meal the little ones took their naps and the rest went right back outside to play. Dad and I were tired, but not the way we have been in the past, and not because of an overstuffed belly. Later on we turned on the (prerecorded ) Thanksgiving special of Lawrence Welk, then watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, both while snacking on popcorn, nuts, and sliced cheese. It was so pleasant and relaxing.
Next year, we probably won't have turkey at all. Nor will we have clam chowder, and I doubt we'll have rutabagas. But in our taking turns telling about all our blessings for which we are thankful, I reminded everyone that I am thankful their father is paid enough money that we don't have to worry about whether we'll eat, and in fact we have been eating very well, from a health standpoint. As the 'success' of a Christmas celebration ought not be measured by whether the tree looks a certain way, if there is one to be had at all, or how many gifts are under the tree, if there are any to be exchanged, or whether the cookies turned out right or if we made enough of them, so Thanksgiving isn't 'successfully' celebrated in how close to a Rockwell portrait we make our own table look. If it is truly about thanking our gracious God for the Son He sent to save us, and the wonderful blessings which on us He bestows daily, turkey and dressing and pumpkin pie are really petty in comparison. And a bloated tummy is not exactly my idea of fun or good stewardship.
I say to each his own, fix whatever you like for your own Thanksgiving. That isn't what it's about anyhow. And for me, I prefer to tone down the expectations on the meal, so that everyone-- including she who prepares it --can take full part in the family fellowship and the real "thanks-giving."
28 November 2008
24 November 2008
Color my world "Organized!"
I have assigned each of my children a color; anytime they all have the same of something, I try to get it in their colors. My children's "colors" are, from the oldest to the youngest:
1- (B) blue
2- (G) purple
3- (B) red
4- (B) green
5- (G) pink
6- (B) orange
7- (G) yellow
8- (G) light blue
In answer to the obvious question, 'what do you do when you run out of colors?' you get creative. By that time you probably don't have exactly the same thing for every child anyway because they are different ages/stages. But it does help with a lot of things, like bath towels, for example. I bought them each one good bath towel and washcloth in that color, and we don't have extra towels getting dirtied. These get laundered once in a while, as they don't bathe every day, and when they do, the towel is (supposedly) used on a clean body, so they don't need to be laundered that often. Everyone knows who left his towel on the bed, or on the floor, so there's no argument there.
Toothbrushes are another example. When we go to the dentist.... well, they just can't find that many different colored toothbrushes in their supply. But when I buy them in betweendental visits, I look for the two-packs for 99 cents and stock up on as many of all the colors as I can so I have a new set when it's time. I refuse to pay more than a dollar for one child's toothbrush!
I have used this system for labeling snack bags and water bottles on trips, so that even pre-reading children know whose is whose. It's kind of funny, but our last several children have learned the colors by the siblings' names before the color name.
Child points to a green block, and says "Joel!" I point to a red block, and the child says "Marc!"
And yes, they do shortly learn the actual names of the colors. :)
1- (B) blue
2- (G) purple
3- (B) red
4- (B) green
5- (G) pink
6- (B) orange
7- (G) yellow
8- (G) light blue
In answer to the obvious question, 'what do you do when you run out of colors?' you get creative. By that time you probably don't have exactly the same thing for every child anyway because they are different ages/stages. But it does help with a lot of things, like bath towels, for example. I bought them each one good bath towel and washcloth in that color, and we don't have extra towels getting dirtied. These get laundered once in a while, as they don't bathe every day, and when they do, the towel is (supposedly) used on a clean body, so they don't need to be laundered that often. Everyone knows who left his towel on the bed, or on the floor, so there's no argument there.
Toothbrushes are another example. When we go to the dentist.... well, they just can't find that many different colored toothbrushes in their supply. But when I buy them in betweendental visits, I look for the two-packs for 99 cents and stock up on as many of all the colors as I can so I have a new set when it's time. I refuse to pay more than a dollar for one child's toothbrush!
I have used this system for labeling snack bags and water bottles on trips, so that even pre-reading children know whose is whose. It's kind of funny, but our last several children have learned the colors by the siblings' names before the color name.
Child points to a green block, and says "Joel!" I point to a red block, and the child says "Marc!"
And yes, they do shortly learn the actual names of the colors. :)
For Brighter Smiles-- Including Mom's!! :D
I don't have anything earthshaking on this topic, really. I used to have the nice little toothbrush holders with the four holes in the top. They didn't last long. First of all, how many can I put on one little countertop? Secondly, they are one more thing to clean, which I do NOT need, and a place for germs to grow. Thirdly, how often do the toothbrushes actually get put away and worse, do they even fit?!
I get the cheapest toothbrushes I can find in each child's color*, you know, the plain Jane handles-- like we used to have growing up! But the dentist office stocks the ones with Shrek, Dora, all the characters my kids really don't know because they don't watch contemporary tv and movies. And inevitably, they are the same ones with the thick handles that do not fit in organizers! Soooo following the example of a dear friend and mom to six, I have made it very simple.
In each of our two bathrooms, there is a small wide mouth glass jar on the countertop, and the kids who use that bathroom toss their toothbrushes in there at night. My current jars happen to be from natural peanut butter, but wide mouth canning pints are also fine, and in fact perhaps more sturdy. I keep one tube of toothpaste for each bathroom for the kids too. I am using Tom's natural strawberry toothpaste for them, and it fits in the jar too. Of course they each get one of those little samples from the dentist twice a year, and I let them use them as long as 1)they last, 2)no one is arguing over using each other's toothpaste, and 3)they are not in my way or a mess, whichever comes first. Then I pitch them, whether they are gone or not, because it is just not worth it!, and we go back to the community toothpaste tube. I know some might tell me it's not "clean" to keep toothbrushes together like that, but tell me, are they getting any of each other's germs that they don't get anyway? And it's cleaner than finding them on the floor all the time, near (or in) the toilet, etc.
Mom and Dad's toothbrushes/paste are kept in the medicine cabinet, by the way.
*see post on color-coding children
I get the cheapest toothbrushes I can find in each child's color*, you know, the plain Jane handles-- like we used to have growing up! But the dentist office stocks the ones with Shrek, Dora, all the characters my kids really don't know because they don't watch contemporary tv and movies. And inevitably, they are the same ones with the thick handles that do not fit in organizers! Soooo following the example of a dear friend and mom to six, I have made it very simple.
In each of our two bathrooms, there is a small wide mouth glass jar on the countertop, and the kids who use that bathroom toss their toothbrushes in there at night. My current jars happen to be from natural peanut butter, but wide mouth canning pints are also fine, and in fact perhaps more sturdy. I keep one tube of toothpaste for each bathroom for the kids too. I am using Tom's natural strawberry toothpaste for them, and it fits in the jar too. Of course they each get one of those little samples from the dentist twice a year, and I let them use them as long as 1)they last, 2)no one is arguing over using each other's toothpaste, and 3)they are not in my way or a mess, whichever comes first. Then I pitch them, whether they are gone or not, because it is just not worth it!, and we go back to the community toothpaste tube. I know some might tell me it's not "clean" to keep toothbrushes together like that, but tell me, are they getting any of each other's germs that they don't get anyway? And it's cleaner than finding them on the floor all the time, near (or in) the toilet, etc.
Mom and Dad's toothbrushes/paste are kept in the medicine cabinet, by the way.
*see post on color-coding children
The Patter of Little Feet
Question: What is your system for shoes?
Shoes... The best solution, don't wear any if at all possible. :)
I wear shoes in the house all the time, because I wear orthotics, but I'd rather be barefoot, so often I cheat. However, wearing shoes in the house DOES have its benefits: I don't step in puddles in my socks-- ew, worse than barefoot! I don't hurt myself on small hard objects, like LEGOs, for example, or unpopped pocorn kernels. (Yes, my house is really that untidy) And I can't feel the crumbs and crud on the floor when it needs to be swept, which is pretty much every five minutes, and is why I don't sweep it every five minutes, because , hey, it's just going to need it again in another five!
The kids, on the other hand, are _not allowed_ to wear shoes in the house. When they come in from playing, they stay in the porch. In fact, I almost have to forbid socks in the summertime, because I do have one child who prefers socks and shoes to sandals, likes to wear his socks to bed, and would keep them on, day and night, for five days straight before I would notice. This has happened more than once. And, while I don't want to feel crumbs, puddles, and LEGOs, I figure if the kids get sick of it, they'll be more motivated to clean it up. As I have told many, many people who have seen me tell a child pick something up off the floor rather than bend down myself, "It's easier for them, they are closer to the floor." So the shoes are to be worn outside only, and to make things much simpler ALL the kids' shoes of ALL types are kept in the back porch.
We have three or four sets of Rubbermaid organizers, each of which is two large bins with handles, one on top of the other, slid into a frame, so that it's like drawers, except you can easily take the whole thing out. Some of those bins hold potatoes, onions, and plastic grocery bags (aka trash can liners), but four of them hold shoes.
Right now, as it's still summer here in southern Indiana, one bin has what we call sandal-shoes. These are Lands' End HydroQuest shoes, which look like a cross between a sport sandal and a tennis shoe. They have elastic laces with toggles to adjust the fit, and have mesh and open areas for breathability. They boast anti-microbial materials which keep them from stinking as quickly, as they are worn barefoot (by all but my sock-lover), and when they get too ripe, I just toss them in the washing machine on cold, gentle cycle and air dry, and they are fresh again. Once summer hits, the kids are not to wear their usual tennis shoes anymore. By then, most of them are too small and/or worn out anyway; when fall comes, we buy new ones or dig up handmedowns from the basement. We have done this for two summers now, and it has worked great! I do not buy any sandals; this is their summer play shoe and sandal in one. (This summer, a few bought flip-flops with their own money, which are their responsibility.)
Another drawer holds mud boots, aka overshoes to some, I understand. Where we live, we don't have a winter, at least not my my definition, so snow boots are not economical. At the same time, when it's not summer, it rains a lot, so the ground is usually muddy. Faced with the choice between keeping the kids in the house and therefore clean, and letting them play outside, inevitably finding someone's shoes encrusted with dried mud when I'm trying to get them out the door to go to town. So I got smart and bought a set of mud boots, aka overshoes, at the local farm store for $15 a pair. I have gotten a good return out of that investment, and as with most things in a large family they will be handed down.
A third drawer hold the current set of play shoes. In the summer the drawer is hardly cracked, but I leave them there just in case... In case we have a chilly day, or an occasion that calls for real shoes.
A fourth drawer holds the children's dress shoes for Sunday. We tried keeping these in the bedrooms, but it got to be crazy trying to make sure they were all located in the midst of other Sunday morning preparations. Tried getting clothes out the night before, too, but while it was better it really just transferred that frantic search to an earlier time slot. The boys wear black dress shoes year-round. The girls wear black in the fall/winter, and white in the spring/summer. This hearkens back to my childhood, when I was told there was a rule that it was black from Labor day on, then White from Easter Sunday on. Don't know that I'm strict on that, as we wear what fits, even if it's not the right color, but it does look funny to see black mary janes in the summertime and white ones in the winter, so I try. I have waffled on the issue of girls wearing sandals to church. I do, but then there aren't four of me. I got tired of keeping track of both, so I went to just shoes, both out of fairness to the boys, who don't have that option, and to make it easier. That was when we had them in the rooms, though, so this year I found sandals for all the girls and it worked out okay. Whatever the case, I'm not giving up my freedom... my feet get HOT in the summer.
Shoes... The best solution, don't wear any if at all possible. :)
I wear shoes in the house all the time, because I wear orthotics, but I'd rather be barefoot, so often I cheat. However, wearing shoes in the house DOES have its benefits: I don't step in puddles in my socks-- ew, worse than barefoot! I don't hurt myself on small hard objects, like LEGOs, for example, or unpopped pocorn kernels. (Yes, my house is really that untidy) And I can't feel the crumbs and crud on the floor when it needs to be swept, which is pretty much every five minutes, and is why I don't sweep it every five minutes, because , hey, it's just going to need it again in another five!
The kids, on the other hand, are _not allowed_ to wear shoes in the house. When they come in from playing, they stay in the porch. In fact, I almost have to forbid socks in the summertime, because I do have one child who prefers socks and shoes to sandals, likes to wear his socks to bed, and would keep them on, day and night, for five days straight before I would notice. This has happened more than once. And, while I don't want to feel crumbs, puddles, and LEGOs, I figure if the kids get sick of it, they'll be more motivated to clean it up. As I have told many, many people who have seen me tell a child pick something up off the floor rather than bend down myself, "It's easier for them, they are closer to the floor." So the shoes are to be worn outside only, and to make things much simpler ALL the kids' shoes of ALL types are kept in the back porch.
We have three or four sets of Rubbermaid organizers, each of which is two large bins with handles, one on top of the other, slid into a frame, so that it's like drawers, except you can easily take the whole thing out. Some of those bins hold potatoes, onions, and plastic grocery bags (aka trash can liners), but four of them hold shoes.
Right now, as it's still summer here in southern Indiana, one bin has what we call sandal-shoes. These are Lands' End HydroQuest shoes, which look like a cross between a sport sandal and a tennis shoe. They have elastic laces with toggles to adjust the fit, and have mesh and open areas for breathability. They boast anti-microbial materials which keep them from stinking as quickly, as they are worn barefoot (by all but my sock-lover), and when they get too ripe, I just toss them in the washing machine on cold, gentle cycle and air dry, and they are fresh again. Once summer hits, the kids are not to wear their usual tennis shoes anymore. By then, most of them are too small and/or worn out anyway; when fall comes, we buy new ones or dig up handmedowns from the basement. We have done this for two summers now, and it has worked great! I do not buy any sandals; this is their summer play shoe and sandal in one. (This summer, a few bought flip-flops with their own money, which are their responsibility.)
Another drawer holds mud boots, aka overshoes to some, I understand. Where we live, we don't have a winter, at least not my my definition, so snow boots are not economical. At the same time, when it's not summer, it rains a lot, so the ground is usually muddy. Faced with the choice between keeping the kids in the house and therefore clean, and letting them play outside, inevitably finding someone's shoes encrusted with dried mud when I'm trying to get them out the door to go to town. So I got smart and bought a set of mud boots, aka overshoes, at the local farm store for $15 a pair. I have gotten a good return out of that investment, and as with most things in a large family they will be handed down.
A third drawer hold the current set of play shoes. In the summer the drawer is hardly cracked, but I leave them there just in case... In case we have a chilly day, or an occasion that calls for real shoes.
A fourth drawer holds the children's dress shoes for Sunday. We tried keeping these in the bedrooms, but it got to be crazy trying to make sure they were all located in the midst of other Sunday morning preparations. Tried getting clothes out the night before, too, but while it was better it really just transferred that frantic search to an earlier time slot. The boys wear black dress shoes year-round. The girls wear black in the fall/winter, and white in the spring/summer. This hearkens back to my childhood, when I was told there was a rule that it was black from Labor day on, then White from Easter Sunday on. Don't know that I'm strict on that, as we wear what fits, even if it's not the right color, but it does look funny to see black mary janes in the summertime and white ones in the winter, so I try. I have waffled on the issue of girls wearing sandals to church. I do, but then there aren't four of me. I got tired of keeping track of both, so I went to just shoes, both out of fairness to the boys, who don't have that option, and to make it easier. That was when we had them in the rooms, though, so this year I found sandals for all the girls and it worked out okay. Whatever the case, I'm not giving up my freedom... my feet get HOT in the summer.
22 November 2008
Let's Get the Ball Rolling
I have been too swamped by "life" to get to this, so I'm just going to open it up and see what some of you have to say first.
What is reasonable to expect of CSPP husbands, as far as helping out the dear wife at home? And spending time with the family? Particularly, how does this play out for those who are pastors' families? It is lonelier, because we are more likely to be far away from grandpa & grandmas, aunts & uncles, etc.
How do we ensure the Mom's sanity holding??
I say this as I am about to, after a typically exhausting Sunday, take all of my eight children to the city an hour's drive away, leaving at 7:30 am, to attend 3 hours of co-op, do the library, have two baby teeth pulled for one child and the ears of two more children cleaned out by an ENT. Oh, and we have to do grocery shopping too, plus we'll be gone over both lunch and supper. Yeah, like that's sanity. For the record, my husband was going to be along for at least part of that party, but of course now he has a funeral on Tuesday and will be meeting with family tomorrow. Just had to throw that in, lest you think I planned to do all this alone on PURPOSE.
I'm telling you, where is MY "grandma-helper?!"
SO please, tell me how you all balance things between Dad and Mom, so that everyone is cared for, including Mom.
What is reasonable to expect of CSPP husbands, as far as helping out the dear wife at home? And spending time with the family? Particularly, how does this play out for those who are pastors' families? It is lonelier, because we are more likely to be far away from grandpa & grandmas, aunts & uncles, etc.
How do we ensure the Mom's sanity holding??
I say this as I am about to, after a typically exhausting Sunday, take all of my eight children to the city an hour's drive away, leaving at 7:30 am, to attend 3 hours of co-op, do the library, have two baby teeth pulled for one child and the ears of two more children cleaned out by an ENT. Oh, and we have to do grocery shopping too, plus we'll be gone over both lunch and supper. Yeah, like that's sanity. For the record, my husband was going to be along for at least part of that party, but of course now he has a funeral on Tuesday and will be meeting with family tomorrow. Just had to throw that in, lest you think I planned to do all this alone on PURPOSE.
I'm telling you, where is MY "grandma-helper?!"
SO please, tell me how you all balance things between Dad and Mom, so that everyone is cared for, including Mom.
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