Yesterday's main meal was Farmhouse Chicken... a delicious casserole that I hadn't made recently. Several people have mentioned Farmhouse Chicken in the past few days, and it reminded me that I should make it again! :)

We managed to make the Farmhouse Chicken last for 2 meals. I'm planning to make it again next week, because we just really enjoyed it! :)

I used a boxed stuffing mix from the grocery store, and used some cubed chicken from my freezer. For the past 8-10 weeks before Ruth's birth, I had made a roasted chicken once a week (it's one of Joshua's favorite meals!) and froze the leftover meat in 1-2 cup portions.

Vicky asked how my meal-planning was going, since making my new menus and all that. Well, I am not very good at sticking to menus, really. I love to make something spur-of-the-moment because it's what we feel like eating that day! I guess that's why I tend to keep my pantry/fridge/freezer stocked with ingredients to make most of our favorite foods at any time. :)

But, the menus have been a blessing because there have been days when I couldn't think of anything that sounded good... so I just picked something from my "easy menu" and made it... like the macaroni and cheese. :)

What has helped me the most has been all the goodies in my freezer! The pre-cooked chicken, meatballs, taco meat, pepperoni (because we love pizza!) and all the baked goods for Joshua's lunch... we have been enjoying the fruits of my labors over the past 2 months. :) The baked goods (cookies, banana bread, etc.) are dwindling, so I'll be back to doing some baking again in the next few days. I've also taken some "short cuts"... like making frozen garlic bread (something I didn't get made and frozen myself before Ruth arrived) or using boxed stuffing.

Another commenter asked how soon is too soon to start filling her freezer in anticipation for her new baby. :) Well, I think that depends on what you're making, and how it's packaged. I have had vacuum-sealed meatballs (cooked), taco meat, cubed chicken, etc. in my freezer for over a year with it still tasting GREAT. But, if your packaging wasn't air-tight, I would guess it would get freezer burn by that time.

Perhaps it might work better to start making menu plans now, and save the food-prep for the last couple of months before the birth. I started filling my freezer in late-November... I did meat items first, and then baked goods. I didn't do any ready-made casseroles, since I have a small freezer -- I just prepared the meat (etc.) so I could quickly assemble the casserole later. :)

And yet another reader asked if my boys get rowdy and wild... like boys do. ;) I know the picture of them so sweetly helping me make bread kinda makes it look like they are calm, peaceful little guys. ;) Well, they certainly have lots of wild, loud moments days where they run around the house, jump off the couch, and pull all my laundry off the clothes rack.

BUT, we do work on having quieter times, and one of those times is when they are helping me in the kitchen. In order to help cook, they have to at least try to be careful about spills, and follow instructions. My dishes-helper isn't allowed to spill water on the floor (if they accidentally do, they have to wipe it up themselves). :)

Ruth Patience is almost ten days old now. We are enjoying her so much! Yehoshua and Eliyahu love her lots, and haven't displayed even the tiniest bit of jealousy... even though our life has (obviously!) changed a lot with a newborn in the house. :)

Ruth is just soooo sweet and I am treasuring every moment we have with her! She is a sweet little thing, and not fussy -- though with constant attention, nursing, and holding, I'm not surprised. :) Things have gone very well since her birth... she's nursing lots, and is sleeping more at night. The first couple of nights, she was awake most of the night, but took lots of naps during the day, so I'm glad we got that switched around! ;)

(Co-sleeping, short labors, and doing "lots"...)

I wrote Ruth's birth story today, and thought I'd share it here for those interested! It's not too graphic, but it is about birth, so... :) I love reading others' birth stories -- birth is such an amazing miracle! :)

We're doing well. I am trying to rest amid the craziness that comes from having 2- and 3-yr-old boys plus a newborn. ;) We've had plenty of help from my mom and sisters, which has been a huge blessing. And dinner this evening was provided by some friends of ours... another great blessing. :)

Ruth is a sweetheart and I'm loving having a little nursling again, since Eliyahu weaned a number of months ago. :) Her hair is so long -- at least an inch long all over her head! Pretty neat that our little girl already has hair that's substantially longer than her brothers'. ;)

So, I'll stop rambling and get on to the birth story. :) (Read more...)

Yesterday evening, Yehoshua and I made a birth day cake for when the new baby is born! (For more pictures of this cake, check out the recipe link!)

I looked through my file of cake recipes, trying to decide which one to make, when I came across one of my favorite cakes: Deluxe Whole Wheat Strawberry Shortcake. Normally this is more of a summer time dessert, when we have fresh strawberries on hand. But last week at Aldi's, I got 4 pints of whipping cream (reduced to half price, since Aldi only carries whipping cream around the holidays). I figured all that whipping cream was a good excuse to have strawberry shortcake... right? :)

Yehoshua helped me make the cakes. We made a double batch, since I knew we would want to eat some now, as well as freezing one of the cakes (without cream or strawberries, of course). The cake is simple to make, but does require some mixing. Yehoshua does great at holding the mixer these days, so he got to use my electric mixer while I added ingredients and did everything else! :)

One of the projects on my "preparing for baby" list was to make some homemade thank you cards to have on hand. As I've mentioned before, I love making and sending homemade cards. They're fun to make, and (of course) a whole lot cheaper than purchasing thank you cards at the store. Since after having a new baby, I'll probably barely have time to write thank yous (much less make them, too!), I wanted to have some already made.

The cards in the photo above are all unique, and were made using picture cut-outs (from cards or papers I would have thrown away otherwise), some stickers which were a gift to me, various paper I had on hand, and a few stamps. I had fun finding cute ways to use the pictures I had saved for card-making. :)

I also made a number of cards like this one (instructions) because they're easy and cute. :)

Sometimes, at the end of a long day (or in the middle of it!) I wonder how in the world I will ever manage having three little ones. I know, I know... many people have more than three children and get along just fine. But a lot of days, my two are plenty for me to handle!!

I'm hoping to do a lot of preparation before the new baby arrives, but somehow my efforts don't last long these days.

The 14 dozen pumpkin cookies I made a few weeks ago (and froze) are just all too handy to pull back out of the freezer and pop into Joshua's lunch, or hand to the children for a quick snack. (Whole wheat flour makes them healthy cookies, right?) I haven't even taken a picture of the cookies (the one on the recipe needs replaced with something more... appetizing!) and we're down to half a bag. (read more...)

Red raspberry leaf tea is an excellent health supplement for women, especially during pregnancy. In the past, I had been given various herbal pregnancy teas, but I used the last of those a few months ago. I have been patiently impatiently wanting to order some herbs to mix up my own pregnancy tea. My herbs came this week, and I have been jumping for joy! Literally! Just ask Joshua how many times I've said "Honey, I know I already told you this, but thank you so much for the herbs!!!!!" :)

I ordered my herbs from BulkHerbStore.com. It's a family-owned Christian company with great service and great herbs... and great prices, as well! I had tried a few of their herbs before, but never purchased any myself. I ordered online, and my order came promptly. One of my items was marked as "backordered" on the receipt in the box, but, that item came in the mail the very next day!! That was amazingly fast. :)

I mixed my own pregnancy tea, based on the measurements given for the pre-mixed "Mama's Red Raspberry Brew".

8 parts red raspberry leaf
3 parts alfalfa
3 parts peppermint
2 parts nettle leaf

I whisked everything together, and then put it into a container in my tea drawer. I've already been really enjoying my "pregnancy tea"! :)

This handy little teapot makes it so easy to brew loose-leaf teas! (You can read my review and watch a video clip of me using it here!) I love it. Yehoshua does too (that's his hand in the picture). ;)

Melissa posted these questions in a comment last week:

I love reading about how you involve your children in your chores. This is something I'd like to read more of.

You have mentioned that you do your cleaning while your children are awake, which is just a mystery to me. When I have attempted this, we've ended up with more of a mess than we began with! I would like to hear a detailed description of how you work along-side your children. How do you get/keep them involved? How do you deal with them not even wanting to help you (or getting tired of it just as you've begun)?

Also - out of curiosity - do you follow a particular parenting "method"? If not, what standards to you use to discipline/bring up your boys?

First, I'd like to recommend my podcast from about 5 months ago: Cooking with Children. In that podcast, I try to explain and describe how I get my little ones involved in cooking. :) Now, about your questions... :) (Read the rest of this entry)

I wrote this post for my personal journal in March of 2006, back when Eliyahu was a newborn. :)

Have you ever heard of someone praying that they would enjoy cloth diapers? Well, I did, 2 days ago.

"Wait a minute," I know you're thinking, "isn't this the girl who raved about using cloth diapers just a year or so ago?!"

Well, let me tell you about why I prayed... and how Yahweh answered :)

(Read the entire post!)

Reader Julia asked for some meal ideas that are morning-sickness compatible. :)

I have been enjoying your blog and your great recipes for a while. Like you, I am also pregnant (9 weeks) so I have not had the interest in recipes that I usually do. Could you recommend some quick easy meals (hopefully without strong smells) that you make when you are struggling with intense morning sickness?

Since this is the first pregnancy where I have had significant nausea and sickness, I've been learning what works best for meal planning as the weeks pass. There were a couple months where I didn't do any cooking besides the absolutely essential things (which is why there weren't any new recipes here for a while! ;D). I do have a few tips and some helpful links for you, though! :)

(Click to read the rest...)