Boys, Literally. Part One "Rise and Shine"

We have five boys. One.Two..Three...Four....Five.....that's alotta boys. I know, I know. There are those of you with twenty-four kids, twenty-three of which are boys. But still. Five is alot of boys.

And I am learning that boys are literal. This means that, whether it really is what you mean and if they know full well what you mean, they are gonna do and respond to exactly what you say -- even if that is not really what you are saying.

Last year my hubby was in Europe for work and I was holding down the fort here at home.I had been noticing that, by the time chores were done and school began (we homeschool around here), it was getting later than I'd like. So we had several conversations about getting up earlier, discussing what time is reasonable,how they'd wake up and if some needed to use the new alarm clocks they received for Christmas, or if they should just use the cell phone etc.

Please do view the video below to see the brilliance of the alarm clock! Such a loving and thoughtful gift.




Then, one day, this conversation:

Mom (that's me): "Remember you guys, everyone needs to get up earlier tomorrow. I want you all up by, (I don't remember what time I said so I'll just pick the number) 7:00, okay?"

Some Boys: "Unintelligible then gasp, deep sigh, rolling eyes, defeated posture, "Okay, I Guess" "Okay, no problem. I will be up bright and early and look forward to facing a new and sunny day with you Beautiful Mother."

Other boys and One Girl (not really smiling, but open and trying to have good attitudes): "Yes Mom."

Next morning everyone was up earlier. Not necessarily exactly at the specified time, but close. And, of course, I just KNOW the first day is hardest and the next day everyone is going to be punctual. So I don't nag or make a big deal of it. We just go about our day.

Next morning Mimmy (that's one of my names for The Girl) is up at 7. And a couple boys. Baby doesn't count. I want him to sleep in a little.

Two are strangely missing.

Knowing they must be sick unto death to not show up, I go down and wake them up. They are as healthy as can be. I patiently, no, tersely, aw... who cares how I said it? tell them to come up right away. They make a bleary-eyed entrance a few minutes later, sweat pants crooked, hands smoothing down Big Bird hair as they stumble along.

Mom (me again): "Boys, why didn't you get up at 7?"

Boys in unison:"I didn't know we were supposed to be up at 7."

Mom: "What are you talking about? I told you the other day we were going to start getting up earlier."

Boy In Question One: " No, you didn't".

Mom: "WHAT????!!!"

Boy In Question Two:" You just said we needed to be up earlier the next day. We didn't know you wanted us up early again today."

Mom:"Unintelligible then gasp, deep sigh, rolling eyes, defeated posture,"You little poops. Obviously, we have been talking about this all week and obviously you weren't listening or you'd have obviously understood what I said and known I obviously meant just starting that day and continuing on. Duh. Obviously!" "Oh, okay boys. I understand now (pat on head, smile). What I really meant was to start getting up earlier that day and to continue from then on, getting up by 7 each new and glorious day with the possible exception of weekends -- but I will communicate that to you more clearly, and explain in a way you'll understand better next time. I'm sorry for not being very clear."

We've got to S-P-E-L-L it out Moms.

But, wait. I am confused. "They" say males only hear a certain percentage of what we say. So we are supposed to be succinct and not too wordy.

Don't explain enough= not understood. Explain too much= Tuned Out.

Hmmm, I think I am starting to see a plot here.

Literally.

Tents R Us

Irony.

When I was pregnant with my older kids, the maternity styles were pretty much either Tents 'R Us or Dress Like A Little Girl. I was a young, thin girl then, and had a cute figure. Really, it was a figure that would have looked good in today's maternity fashions. A figure before it's time. But, oh, how I scored some beautiful frocks. Well, I thought so at the time. It was 1989 okay? I was 8 years old.

One of my best outfits was a navy and white striped sailor top with a sailor bib and matching stretch capris, only then they were called crop pants (ya know, back in the day...when I was 8). They had brass button accents with an embossed anchor, and the top was a real maternity top. Nothing snug about it. My sister loved it and wore it for her pregnancy too. In fact, I think it was worn for at least four pregnancies between us. I think I still have it up in our attic. I'll have to check in case any of you want to borrow it.

I also had a paisley top and skirt set with purple and green on a black background. And a stretchy periwinkle swimsuit with a metal circle in between my ribs. Denim with embroidered flowers. Stretch pants in every color, many with stirrups. Oh, the vast and fashionable wardrobe in my closet. But never, ever tight. That was tacky and without taste for a woman in my condition.

I was especially thrilled to get the velvet dress pictured below. It was victorian in style and velvet with crocheted lace trim with pleats and a drop waist. You hear me? VELVET. We must have been rich. Rich I tell you. V.E.L.V.E.T. And how miraculous was it that I had shoes of the exact same color? Wearing white tights with everything was simply cutting edge. I was the picture of f-a-s-h-i-o-n. I almost forgot to mention the pearl brooch at my throat. And do you see my little belly? I had my baby 31 days later. I was not large.



Fast forward. A couple of years later. Okay. More than a couple years later. I was now 24. It was almost two years ago when I had my last baby. Styles have changed. Cute, close fitting tops and dresses are now in. Alas, I am no longer small. I needed large and it was not there for me. Tight and form fitting are not a good look for a woman of larger stature, if you know whaddi mean.

I wished I could have gone back to my Coleman Tent dresses and days of The Good Ship Lollipop. Isn't it ironic?

P.S. You can view that baby today, a grown up young man, as the feature in this post.

Simple Steps: Nourishing Food: An Easy Food Switch

If you are low on funds, don't want to go to alot of extra effort, and want to make some changes to your family diet, here is my vote for an easy switch that can make alot of difference...

!!!!!!RICE!!!!!!!

Eat it for any meal. Make it sweet or salty or savory. Eat it plain, or mix it with milk or veggies or meats. Boil it. Fry it. Bake it. Stew it. Sprinkle it with cheese. Substitute it for pasta, bread or potatoes. Make it your own!

"Yippeee!!! We already eat rice", you say. But alas, all rice is not created equal.

Brown Vs White Rice: When rice is harvested, it is run through a machine that removes it's outer hull. To get white rice, you must remove many more parts of the rice, thus removing the best and most nutritious parts, which are the germ and the bran. In order to get the white color, they sometimes also add things you might not want to eat such as talc and glucose. Many times they then also add back in some fake nutrients, therefore making it "fortified" rice. You've probably seen the word "fortified" on cereal boxes and also in bread. This usually means they took the natural nutrition out, then added some synthetic products back in. I guess at some point people (westerners) began to show a preference for softer, lighter foods rather than dense, chewy ones, so the manufacturers capitalized on this.

Economical:Rice is one of the most economical health foods you can buy. If you are willing to buy in bulk, you can find it for less than a dollar per pound, and organic for not too much more. If you figure that there are about 2.5 cups per pound, that is 62.5 cups of dried rice per bag. I usually use about 1.5-2 times the amount of water as I do rice. 1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water cooks into almost 3 cups of rice. That's over 185 cups of rice for your 25 pound bag! Even in my family of 8, where I cook rice several times per week, that goes a long way.

How To Switch: White rice can be a yummy treat sometimes. Many Americans eat it quite often and are not used to the more chewy brown rice. I would suggest starting to switch your family over by mixing the two types of rice, initially using more white rice but slowly changing the proportions so eventually you have no white rice in the mixture. I use a rice cooker so get perfect results every time I make rice.

Instructions For Stove Top: If you do not have a rice cooker and want to experiment with brown rice before you invest in one (you can find inexpensive ones, but I hate using precious storage space for items I buy when I am "in a stage") it is not very difficult. Use 1 cup rice to every 1.5-2 cups water (you will have to experiment with how your family likes theirs. Too little can be dry and crunchy and too much can be mushy, although mushiness is less of a problem with brown rice than it is with white rice). Put together in pot and bring to boil. Add lid and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit. If I am using it in something else such as Taco Salad (which is a great intro recipe to eating brown rice!), I just make it in the morning and let it sit on the stove all day. If I am serving it warm, either plain or as a bed for something else, I'd let it sit for 20-30 minutes.

Recipe Ideas: You can try substituting brown rice for the white rice in most of your favorite recipes. I substitute it in all of ours (except sushi rolls!). Here is one of our family favorites, Sausage Skillet Supper, which I adapted from a Taste of Home recipe. Here is a Rice and Zucchini Casserole that I am making this week in an effort to use up a bunch of the fresh zucchini-a-plenty that is piled up in our kitchen. And here is a yummy breakfast recipe for Rice and Raisin Breakfast Pudding (only I never use soy, and my family prefers dried cranberries or other fruit rather than raisins).

I am sure that once you start using brown rice, you will find more and more ways to incorporate it into your daily diet -- and easily incorporate it into your budget!!!


Rice Related Tidbits:

~Rice is arguably the world’s most important food. It is the second most widely cultivated cereal in the world, after wheat, and is a staple food of over half the world’s population. In much of Asia, rice is so central to the culture that the word is almost synonymous with food. In Chinese the line in the Lord’s Prayer is translated as "give us this day our daily rice," and a Japanese proverb states that "A meal without rice is no meal." (Taken from an article called "Let's Eat Rice")

~ Here is another very informative article with nutritional information, charts etc. too.

~ If you soak your rice for 24 hours before cooking it, it is even better for you as it is more easily digestible. Many people who can't seem to tolerate whole grains are able to eat them using this method as it helps to break down the hard outer shell of many grains.

~ There is a strict diet called The Rice Diet and it has purportedly helped many people regain their health.

~ I hear there is a kids book called "Everybody Cooks Rice" (the same author, Norah Dooley, also wrote "Everybody Bakes Bread").

~ And, of course, good old Wikipedia has a very informative article about rice.

Menu Plan Monday

If you are coming over here from Menu Plan Monday this week at Organizing Junkie, welcome and thanks for visiting! If you are interested in living in a fast paced world and still making healthy diet changes, eventually switching over to "real" and whole foods, you might want to also check back for my Simple Steps: Nourishing Food posts.

In addition to below, I will be baking some kind of banana bread ( we have black bananas) and some kind of zucchini bread. Maybe this one for Zucchini Yogurt Muffins or this one for a Zucchini Bread recipe using whole wheat flour -- but it uses so much sugar! Anyone have any suggestions for me using whole wheat flour, no-little sugar (using honey?) that is still moist and tasty?


Monday:Chile Rellenos Burgers -- This is what happens when you have received free leftover burgers from church BBQ a couple weeks in a row. You have to start decorating the burgers to be something totally different. Last night someone who knows we have a "large" family also handed us a bag of leftover and stuck together slices of cheddar cheese, so I'll throw those on top instead of the jack cheese it calls for. Free is a very good price and worth making changes for!

Making Raspberry Ice Cream with the berries we are picking today. I also get to use milk and cream from our very own cow, Violet:)

Tuesday: Zucchini Bake -- We are blessed to have our own chickens who produce farm fresh, bright orange yolked eggs. Put that with the abundance of zucchini our CSA has had the past couple of weeks and you'll understand why I have to come up with a recipe to use it. It will include zucchini, eggs, cheese (free), basil from my garden, sweet onion from CSA, and a cornbread crust. I'll post what I invent next week and let you know if it was good or not.

Wednesday: Baked Steelhead basted with coconut oil, sea salt, lemon, basil and onion, wrapped in foil and cooked on Traeger BBQ. Served with -- you guessed it --- some form of zucchini!

Thursday:Zucchini and Rice Casserole with some meat thrown in. Yes, that's zucchini a couple times this week. We try to eat what is local and in season. So we'll be eating zucchini in many forms right now...over and over again!!!

Friday: Layered Basil Salad Fresh greens, ham, pasta and basil are combined with other ingredients to create this old favorite of mine -- and I have a hankering for it!(See picture at top of post)

Saturday:Leftover RoundUp

Sunday: The Burger Thing at church

Simple Steps: Nourishing Food: The COGBB Scale

People ask "Where do I start?" alot when it comes to healthy eating. After all, we are all busy and most of us are on a budget. There are lots of books and blogs out there that talk about eating healthy. But often the ideas seem too complicated to be attainable. I am here to help you take some Simple Steps, like I have had to do (and always will).

Just educating yourself about healthy eating can be a daunting task. Realizing that you need to totally overhaul your entire diet and the food you feed your family can be nothing short of overwhelming. I tend to be an All-Or-Nothing type-o-gal so it is important for me to stop, breathe, take stock - then realize that some changes cannot be made in one day. Yes, I have been there.

At the same time, I am a mother of six, a homeschool mom, and married to a man who has a (more than) full time job in hi-tech but likes to pretend that we are full time farmers. And I do not choose to look the part (at least I try! not to!). I am out to conquer stereotypes. This takes added energy (Just writing it all out like that makes me tired. Please hold while I go pour myself an Earl Grey).

I have read and researched healthy eating for years. From the time we started our family, I have been pretty conscious of good eating habits. But it was about six or seven years ago that I really made it a hobby. I guess you can tidy up my feelings about food by saying "If it wasn't around a couple hundred years ago, don't eat it". However... I live amongst the human race,with a family to feed, in a culture of fast and processed food, and I'm on a budget. So, frequently, I don't follow my own rule. I am very busy and don't always have make the time to do everything perfectly every time. So I have my very own nutritional scale.

Crud (trying not to use the other word anymore)
Okay
Good
Better
Best

We try to eat from the bottom up. You know, like the food pyramid. Heavy on Best, light on Crud. Though we tend to be heaviest on Good and Better.

I don't often remember to soak my grains and I don't frequently roast my own nuts. But hey, at least most often we eat whole grains rather than processed flour, and snack on fruit or nuts rather than chips.

Getting raw nuts, soaking them, then salting them with sea salt and roasting them myself is Best.

I am not that organized.

Store bought, processed nuts, loaded with salt, are Good-Better, while regular potato chips are Crud.

See what I am getting at here? Make small changes where you can.

Your first Simple Step is to think about what meals you prepare and what snacks you have on hand, then rate them on my COGBB Scale. This takes no money out of your financial budget. But it does take some exertion out of your energy and thought budget!

I gave you one idea above. Can you think of one idea of something that would be easy to upgrade -- even one level? Leave a comment for others to think about if you wish.

(Stay tuned for an easy and economical food switch.)

Simple Steps

I am taking Dave Ramsay's Financial Peace University class with my two older boys. In it, he has something called Baby Steps.

My blog friend, Rachel Anne, at her blog Home Sanctuary posts a "Small Thing" every day that I can do around my house to make it be more of a sanctuary. (BTW, she posted a hilarious story on her "Small Thing" post today. You should go read it.)

Our family has been through some painful changes this past year. I am a goal oriented person, so I like to see the end result and work toward it. This situation has not been all wrapped up in a tidy package like that. I have finally figured out that I cannot see the end result in this case. I thought I could, but it just keeps changing. So I have faltered along the way, so many times. I am learning to have FAITH and to just keep moving my trying-to-be-trusting heart along one step at a time.

Motivated by all of these and more, I will be writing some posts about simple steps I am taking on my journey and hopefully some that will encourage and motivate you too!

Purposeful Parenting: The Great Debate

How many times have you read, overheard, or engaged in a conversation about different methods of child-training, including spanking, and whether they are right or wrong? As much as we desire to raise children who want to do what is right, discipline no longer comes naturally. There is just too much debate about each method of discipline. We have conflicting opinions on every side, each giver explaining themselves in a way that seems right. And we so dearly want to do what is right with our children. Alot of things make sense at the time, but when we hear another - and conflicting- opinion, we again become confused. We become The Flip-Flopper Parent (and we thought that was up to the politicians!).

While I do not wish to engage in any debate about which way is right, I do know a few things we have to do to successfully raise our children:

1) Study what the Bible says about raising kids.

2) Be Purposeful in following what it teaches you. We can't just kind of "go with the flow" in raising our kids, taking each situation as it comes, and expect that we will be successful.We must know what our purpose is in having kids, and what end result we want. Then we must purpose to work toward that goal with a plan.

3) We must discuss these together with our spouse so we know we are on the same page. United in purpose and in method, we must immediately implement what we discuss.

I have been perplexed at this, what seems to be The Great Divide between people of the same faith, when it comes to raising up the next generation. As Christians, is this not THE MOST IMPORTANT issue of our generation, raising up the next generation to honor and serve God?

In my ponderings, study and discussion with many, many people, I have come to realize that often it is either semantics or tradition that separate us. In another post, to come soon, I will write what I feel is one of the greatest reasons why we are divided in "Purposeful Parenting: Spanking, American Style".