Melissa asked, 

"I really appreciate your view of working alongside your children and I try to implement that sort of lifestyle with my own little ones.

"While my children truly seem to enjoy helping me and doing little chores, I also feel like I am constantly having them do things for me ('Will you throw this diaper in the pail, please?' 'Will you pull your chairs up and help me with dinner?' etc. - all day long).

"We set aside time where I play with them or read to them throughout the day, and most of the evening after dinner is spent just playing. But I still feel like a bit of a slave driver.

"Do you ever feel like that? Do you have any specific standards as to how much help you will require of your children? Do you feel like giving them time to just roam and explore are important?"

I've been thinking about this very thing recently, especially since my oldest child is 6 now and very capable of doing many things to help around the house, including cleaning, changing diapers, and "babysitting" (while I am home of course!).

I want to teach responsibility, and I want everyone in the family to work together so our home is peaceful not chaotic, but I don't want to pass things that should rightly be my responsibility as a mom on to my child.

One of the ways I balance that is by examining my motives. If I am giving a job to a child simply because I am too lazy, that is not good (in my opinion). It's not necessarily a question of what the task is, but why it is being given. :)

If we're all working together, including me, then it's usually okay. We all eat meals. There's nothing wrong with children helping clear the table or unload the dishwasher... every single day. :) I simply can not do everything! Most of their jobs take only a few minutes (like setting the table), yet it helps me get dinner ready on time and blesses the family.

The amount of help required, I think, depends on the family's needs. Growing up on a farm, some seasons required a lot more work of us children than other seasons did. In the summer, an extra hour was spent weeding or working in the garden. If it was time to butcher chickens, my whole morning was spent helping. Other days, I got away with just washing dishes and had lots of free time!

Our children have days with lots of free time, and other days (like Fridays) when they have to help with extra chores. Work is part of life, and since I know we do balance it with play, complaining is unacceptable! (I'll be re-reading this again in a few years when we have teenagers. :P)

I'd love to have reader input on this topic! What are your thoughts regarding the balance of work and play for children? Any tips for making chores more fun? We do things like setting the timer, having races, small rewards at the end (to motivate the kids AND me!), and music/audio while we work. Some days motivating myself is harder than motivating the kids, unfortunately!

Sarah asked,

"Where we live, it gets extremely HOT in the summer, plus thick and humid. I'm talking lows in the high 70's and highs in the 100's. My 4yo is a bursting ball of energy who is almost never quiet or still, except when watching TV. I really hate TV, but he has been watching a lot of it lately. HELP! What are some fun energy-burning activities that you do with your young children when they can't play outside?"

Oh, boy. Heat! I do NOT like the super hot days, and am so thankful that we get very few of them here in western Washington! Since we don't have a/c, if it does get really hot, the kids play in a cold bath tub of water, eat ice and frozen blueberries or frozen peas, we grill all our meals outside, and play in front of the fan!

We can't really do any indoor energy-burning activities since we're in an upper-floor apartment, but one thing I've found that kids like is running around things. Either through rooms in a circle, or just pulling the kitchen table into the living room or pulling out the couch -- my kids can not stop running around things! :)

I'm sure the kids would do exercise videos with me as well (I wonder if they make kids exercise videos?!), and since the winters here are cold and rainy, I want to do more of that sort of thing once we're not living above other people. :)

We've also tried going places, like to a (not-crowded) mall or big store (where running wouldn't disturb others) or to the racquet-ball room here at our apartments, and just letting the kids run around and around! They love it if I play tag with them.

We also play what we call "obedience game" which is similar to "Simon Says" except that they have to do everything. :) We give them things like "lay on your tummy", "go turn on the light", "go get your pillow", "come to Mommy", "give each other a hug", "sit Indian-style", "Okay, now stand up!".

They usually try to do everything as quickly as possible and get quite out of breath in the end! :) Ruth (2) likes to join in, and when she was younger, she would play along by copying the boys' actions since she wasn't quite old enough to understand the commands. :)

And of course this "game" is to give them practice at doing things immediately and without complaining. It really does help chase away the whines! :)

Anyone have any more indoor exercise ideas for Sarah (and me)? :)

The boys and I did a fun little "school" (science, right?) project today. We made edible robins' nests with little blue eggs! :)

We used these ingredients to make 3 nests:

3 small handfuls fresh spinach leaves
1 1/2 cups freshly grated carrots
2 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 drops blue food dye

Step 1: Mix the cream cheese, blue food dye, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Drop by teaspoons onto a little plate, making about 9 little "eggs". Place plate in the freezer to harden the balls of cream cheese. When balls are chilled (or when you can't wait any longer, if you're like me!) take them out of the freezer and smooth them into "eggs".

Step 2: Place a thin layer of spinach leaves on a plate, for the "tree" leaves.

Step 3: Put 1/2 cup of grated carrots on the bed of spinach leaves and form into a nest shape.

Step 4: Place 3 eggs into the nest. Top with salad dressing if desired and enjoy! :)

Our robin eggs weren't very smooth. I didn't chill them long enough. Oh well; they were the first things to be eaten off the top of the boys' "salads"! :)

And surprisingly, the cream cheese eggs actually tasted okay with the spinach and carrots. I topped with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It was good! Of course, this is coming from the girl who likes popcorn cereal, so take it for what it's worth... ;)

And if the birds nests weren't enough, later this morning I made popcorn. The boys filled some empty parmesan cheese containers with popped corn and had a picnic in their bedroom. They were eating out of the lids. This is normally NOT allowed in their bedroom (all food stays at the table!!) but I was feeling generous.

I regretted it later when Eliyahu thought it'd be fun to dump his popcorn on the carpet. Yehoshua, being the sweet boy he is, got the big vacuum cleaner out and cleaned it all up! But now the... uhhh, sweeper.... well, it kinda needs emptied. :)

Another fun kiddie project: Food Creatures. So cute!! :)

Originally published in 2009; Spring is here and we'll have to make these again! The boys still remind me about "the time we made robins' nests and ate them"! :)

One of Joshua's coworkers gave us this pumpkin last fall. I love using fresh pumpkin, and finally -- the very day I went into labor with Moshe! -- I found a quick moment to use it! (Good thing fresh pumpkins store well!)

Eliyahu (4, above) had a great time helping me scoop out the seeds. Standing on a stool next to the counter, the task kept him busy for quite a while!

I contemplated baking the pumpkin, since readers here have told me how easy that method is. But in the end I decided to stick with the familiar: cut the pumpkin into fourths and cook in a large pan (covered) with a couple inches of water until tender. I drain the water, remove pumpkin from the rind, and mash with a potato masher to make my "puree".

That same day, I made two pumpkin sheet cakes for Ruth's 2nd birthday. These cakes are really easy to make and always bring rave reviews!

I froze the extra pumpkin puree in Ziplock bags for future cakes and cookies. I never did get around to roasting the pumpkin seeds, but I figured that having a new baby excused me from trying to do "everything". :)

We thank Yahweh for a beautiful, peaceful birth of our little son Moshe exactly 4 weeks ago today!

I seem incapable of writing a short birth story. Although it's been weeks, I remember every detail. Most of those details make it into my story. Some do not. Use your imagination if you wish! ;)

Friday... the end of another work-filled week. Even though I'm tired, I give a hearty effort to have a productive day and be ready for a restful Sabbath.

This particular Friday, January 22, I am on my feet and busy about the house since our alarm went off at 4:50am. Our youngest child, Ruth, is turning 2 the next day, and Joshua's parents are coming for lunch at our house. Such excitement!

The children and I make a pumpkin sheet cake and a poppyseed chicken and asparagus casserole for tomorrow's birthday meal. We do our usual school work, laundry, cleaning... and everything else. By the time dinner is served and the kitchen cleaned up, I'm exhausted.

"I'm SO glad it's Sabbath!" I remark to Joshua, and he readily agrees. After playing with the kids for a while, we brush their teeth and send them off to bed. They were worn out, falling asleep quickly.

I drink several bottles of water. I must be dehydrated, because these Braxton Hicks contractions are rather strong...

I suddenly realize that I've been up for 14+ hours and haven't sat down, aside from dinnertime, a single time all day. I'm not surprised that my body feels so achey... a warm shower sounds like a good ending to the day.

As I comb my freshly-washed hair, I look at the clock. "Honey, what do you think about just heading to bed right now?"

"Well... it's only 7:15. I don't want to go to bed quite this early... How 'bout I read to you?"

Joshua and I snuggle close in our bed and he starts reading from The Promise-Plan of God by Walter Kaiser. His reading is interrupted with my questions, and I soak in explanations of systematic theology, covenant theology, and "promise plan".

But my mind is wandering. Another contraction? I really need to go drink some more water.

I go back to giving my full attention to the book, trying to comprehend what Kaiser is saying. Oy. I understand things much more quickly when I'm reading it with my own eyes!

And I'm so tired...

Hmm.

And if I am in labor, maybe I will be giving birth in the next couple hours! (Ha, ha. My previous labors have been 7 hours, 3 hours, and 85 minutes long.)

But... I'm probably not in labor.

"Tammy? Are you awake?" Joshua's voice pulls me from my fuzzy sleepyness.

"Ummm. I think... I fell asleep. Maybe we can read more tomorrow..."

I get up from the bed and head to the kitchen, drinking a bit more water.

Maybe I just need to walk around the house a little, and these silly Braxton Hicks contractions will subside. I wander between the kitchen and living room, tidying random objects and putting away the clean dishes I had washed earlier in the evening. But nothing subsides.

Rats. I am too tired to be in labor right now.

It's 9:30 pm, and Joshua puts aside his book. "Well, I'm going to bed."

It's 9:30 pm, and I'm feeling confident enough to break the news. "Ummm, Honey? I'm sorry, but I think I'm in labor right now."

Joshua's reaction is, of course, excitement! He suggests I call our midwife, and hops in the shower.

I call Charlotte, our midwife, at about 10 pm. My contractions are very regular (3-4 minutes) but not very long and I can still easily talk through them. I'm definitely in labor, but it's all so mild.

Maybe I'm one of those women who can dilate to an "8" without much pain! Wouldn't that be nice! Whee... what an easy labor.

I assure Charlotte that there's no immediate hurry to get here, but that I would like her to come soon since she lives an hour from our house. I convince Joshua to go to bed and get some sleep, telling him I will wake him when I need to.

I putter around... drinking my beloved pregnancy tea... pulling out the box of birth supplies... and getting more and more tired.

Read more...

I've been busy filling my freezer in anticipation of our new baby's arrival! :) We've been eating more fresh veggies for our meals, and the space that was previously occupied by 5-pound bags of Costco vegetables is filled with meals to lighten my load in future weeks. :)

I've already shared my breakfast menus and made-ahead mixes, so it's on to the rest: main dishes and easy meal ideas! :)

I've taken the plunge and frozen a number of fully made casseroles using the "mold technique" with my 8x8-inch glass dishes. Each dish should be one meal for our family, and I've made a variety of things in hopes that we can figure out what we do and don't like in a freezer meal! :)

For the past 4-6 weeks, I've made a double recipe of a dinner casserole a couple times a week (filling a 9x13-inch dish for dinner plus two 8x8-inch dishes for the freezer). This hasn't really been too much extra work (just extra ingredients!!). I use FoodSaver bags to seal all of my freezer food/meals since they are the BEST at preventing freezer burn and keeping food tasting its finest! :)

Main dishes completely assembled and frozen:

Easy Lasagna (unbaked)
Burritos with beans, rice, cheese, and beef filling (individually wrapped in foil, then sealed in a freezer Ziplock; will warm in the oven)
Creamy Macaroni and Cheese (unbaked)
Three-Cheese Baked Spaghetti (unbaked)
Beef and Spinach Quiche (fully cooked; will re-warm)
Saucy Broccoli Chicken Bake (unbaked, w/rice on the bottom)
Spinach Rice Casserole (unbaked)
My Mom's Meat Loaf (unbaked)

I've also prepared meal ingredients for the freezer. Due to limited freezer space and a preference for freshly-prepared meals, having pre-cooked meat, beans, etc. in the freezer is one of my favorite ways to make cooking "from scratch" so much easier! :)

Meal ingredients in the freezer:

Pre-cooked beef with diced onions (for lasagna, crockpot pizza, stuffed shells, and baked spaghetti)

Pre-cooked beef with onions, green peppers, and taco seasonings (for taco salad, spanish rice with beans, nachos, or burritos)

Pre-cooked pinto beans with Tapatio and salt

Pre-cooked beef with onions and spinach leaves (for quiche)

Leftover diced oven-roasted chicken meat (for cheesy chicken vermicelli, chicken lasagna, chicken pot pie, farmhouse chicken, poppy seed chicken and asparagus, chicken fried rice, or saucy broccoli chicken bake)

Having the meat or beans already cooked, seasoned, and/or diced makes all of the above recipes into "quick and easy" for me! :)

I also have a list of just plain easy meals. When my freezer is depleted of my fully-made freezer meals, I'll turn to this list for last-minute or not-planned-the-night-before dinners!

My list of easy dinners:

Baked chicken drumsticks
Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole
Grilled burgers
Easy pizza
Beans and rice
Baked beans
Meatloaf and baked potatoes
Rice lasagna
Baked cod or salmon 
Salmon potato casserole
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Italian Cream Cheese Chicken over Pasta

I had planned to freeze some soups, homemade bagels, pre-made garlic bread, etc. but my freezer space wouldn't accommodate all that. So, I tried to stick with main dishes and main dish ingredients, and will make soups or breads as time and ability allows when the time comes. :)

I feel so blessed to have food prepared ahead in the freezer -- much more food than I had with previous childrens' births. Cooking large amounts of ground beef, making a double batch of something, or just freezing the leftovers (like leftover chicken meat from a roasted chicken!) isn't double the work, with some extra effort and only a few extra dishes to wash. :)

I also tried to only make/plan things we really love to eat! :) I'll have to update after we've tried some of the casseroles, since most of those I have not frozen before. Freezing a casserole took some bravery on my part! :)

Update: I share our opinions on the casseroles we froze that were mentioned in this post

Do any of you have tips to share regarding post-birth meal ideas, freezer meals, or easy (from-scratch) meals? I'd love to have even more ideas! :)

Before our last child was born (nearly 2 years ago) I made extensive menu plans. These included 2 weeks of easy meals and 12 weeks of "regular" menus, rotating our favorites and including lots of meals that we prefer to enjoy on a more infrequent basis.

Even though I didn't follow the menus exactly as I had planned, it was so helpful to have already thought about our meals and have something on paper to turn to as needed! :)

This pregnancy, rather than making weekly menu plans, I have made lists of meal ideas. I've then set about preparing as much of these meals in advance as possible!

Here is my breakfasts list:

Breakfasts made ahead:

My mom's homemade granola (double batch!)
Cinnamon Crunch Granola (quadruple batch, already half eaten though!)
Breakfast Burritos (ran out of freezer space to make these)
Homemade waffles (no freezer space for these either...)
Homemade bagels (again... no freezer space left!)
Energy Bars (still need to make these)

Breakfasts partly made ahead:

Challah French Toast (our favorite; still need to make Challah and freeze the leftovers for this if possible!)

Easy breakfasts:

Scrambled eggs
Oatmeal
Cold or hot cereal
Whole wheat berry pancakes

Dry mixes made ahead:

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (done!)
Oatmeal Apple Raisin Muffins (done!)
Mocha Frappuccinos (for Joshua) (done but gone... need to do again!)
Hot cocoa mix (for me!) (done!)
Herbal pregnancy tea (on the list for tomorrow!)

Coming next: Lunches and Main Dishes for the freezer

When Joshua brought home M&Ms last week, we decided to make some sugar cookies to decorate. :) Eliyahu (almost 4) was my cookie helper! He borrowed Yehoshua's hot pepper apron and chef's hat for the occasion. :)

We made Old-Fashioned Cloves Cookies, a family favorite. As I mentioned in the recipe notes, the ingredients for this recipe were originally taken from the book Household Discoveries by Sidney Morse, c. 1903.

When I was a child, we found the book at a rummage sale and my brother Phillip decided to try this recipe from it. We liked the cookies and nicknamed them "Cloves Cookies" because of the strong clove flavor. :) The original recipe didn't even give a baking temperature or time. :)

My idea was to use the M&Ms to make smileys on the cookies.

Eliyahu, however, thought they should be doggie paw cookies, and made up some hilarious doggie stories as he worked on the "doggie paws". :) He had a LOT of fun decorating the cookies, spending quite a while intently hunched over the tray of cookies. :)

I must say, though, that I don't recommend using M&Ms (or any other chocolate) on these Old-Fashioned Cloves Cookies as they are rather spicy and the flavor doesn't go well with chocolate at all!! :)

I've been making a concentrated effort to remember to drink my herbal pregnancy tea daily, and it really does help me feel better! I've been more relaxed, less tired, and just felt better overall. Whether it's the extra fluids, the iron-rich alfalfa, the swelling-reducing nettles, the relaxing peppermint, or the uterus-toning red raspberry leaf -- I don't know, but I'm not complaining! ;)

I still have plenty of herbs left from when I ordered a couple years ago. I mix up the (dry) tea and then brew it using an IngenuiTEA tea pot.

I really love the IngenuiTEA pot for brewing loose leaf teas! It is so SO easy and in the 3 years I've had it, I've used it hundreds of times. Loose leaf teas almost always taste a lot better than the packaged pre-bagged teas, in my opinion. :)

Kathryn asked:

I am getting conflicting reports about whether raspberry leaf tea is safe for pregnant women to consume. Some say only during the 3rd trimester, some say all throughout the pregnancy. Any comments would be appreciated!

I have most commonly heard that red raspberry leaf tea is safe to consume in these quantities:

First trimester -- 1 cup per day
Second trimester -- 2 cups per day
Third trimester -- 3 cups per day

If you have a history of miscarriage, you may want to avoid red raspberry leaf in early pregnancy.

Herbs (like most things!) affect people in different ways so what worked for me may not be best for everyone. This is why I hesitate to get too specific! ;)

Frozen Blueberries are one of my childrens' favorite snacks during hot summer days. Blueberries are naturally so sweet that they taste like candy to us! :)

The boys (ages 5 and 3) sit at the table with a bowl of blueberries and a spoon, instructed not to get their hands all blue (and certainly not to wipe it all over their clothes!). ;)

I usually pop the blueberries one by one into Ruth's mouth. She's good about keeping her mouth closed while she eats and not making a mess. :)

We get frozen blueberries in 5-pound bags at Costco for about $2 a pound. Besides eating them plain, we make blueberry smoothies and put them in oatmeal for breakfast! :)

After reading my other post about preparing for a new baby, a number of people have asked for more information about what I would consider to be necessary baby things to own.

So get ready for a photo tutorial of our baby stuff! :) We're currently a family of 5 living in a 900-sq.ft. apartment. Even though I didn't consider myself a packrat, I pared down even more when we moved here 6 months ago. Read more...