10 Posts I Didn’t Write in 2010
Tonight I’ve been sipping on tea and taking a leisurely stroll through my gorgeous new heirloom seed catalogue… hard to believe that this year is already drawing to a close and that I am beginning to think forward to next spring and summer.
It is also stunning to me that another year has flown by here at Keeper of the Home and I am now onto my 4th Christmas of blogging.
As you have read posts day in and day out over these past several years, surely at times you must wonder, “What does she not do?”. Surely there is an end to the things that she is studying and learning, trying out in her home, and eager to share with us.
Yes, indeedy. Blogging offers a highly skewed perspective, as you continually see what I am doing, but you might not necessarily get a glimpse into the many things that I am not doing.
Just for fun, I thought I would go out in style this year by writing up a post full of the posts that I didn’t write, couldn’t have written, am certainly not qualified to write, or you truly would not have wanted to read coming from me!
In no particular order, here are 10 posts that I didn’t write in 2010:
1. Keeping Up With Mt. Neverest: How to Stay On Top of Your Laundry Pile
They say a picture is worth a 1000 words. This picture is actually from my laundry room this very weekend. I have nothing to say in my defense. Yes, I’m tired this week and I was out of town and I’m a bit sick… but seriously, it looks like this rather frequently, so what’s my excuse all those other weeks?
2. How to Move Without Losing Your Mind (and Have Your House Unpacked in Less Than 6 Months)
We moved into our current house at the very end of June. As we approach the 6 month mark, I am sorry to say that I still have cupboards and closets in need of organization, and we have recently dubbed our extra office room as the “weird/messy room”. It is the place where things that lack a home find one. Then we close the door and walk away.
3. Three Simple Steps for Getting Your Garbage to the Curb in Time
I’m pretty sure we get hung up on step #1. Remember that garbage day is Friday. The same day that it has been since we moved to this area 3 1/2 years ago. Once of these days, we’ll get it figured out.
Image by Balancing Bedlam and Beauty
4. Green and Frugal Ideas for Decorating Your Home Beautifully
Ha. I may be able to sprout and grind my own flour then bake bread with it, and grow enough organic garlic in my garden to eat for the next year and use for medicinal purposes… but decorating? Not my forte. I love watching how someone like my friend Jen wander around a thrift store and pick up all sorts of inexpensive lovelies that she can re-purpose to add charm and beauty to her home.
Sadly, not a skill that I possess. I’ve tried and all I see are piles of junk. Every so often I get inspired and come up with an idea for using some such item and inevitably it makes its way back into our garage sale boxes by the following year.
5. How to Grow a Great Garden in the Shade and Rain
I really miss my last garden. A large rectangle in a wide open, sunny spot. I gave it my best shot at this new house as we moved in this summer, but quickly realized just how much shade I was working with. Add in a wussy summer with not nearly enough heat and too much rain, and it was a bit sad.
There’s no one good place for a central garden bed, and I was just not satisfied with really anything that I grew last year. This year I’m getting creative, building garden boxes from scratch to put over a sunny, gravelly area, using the side of the house, containers on the porch, etc. I’m determined that when there’s a will, there’s a way!
6. Sneaky Tricks for Getting Your Husband and Children to Eat Clay (but I’m working on it for 2011)
I’m sure you’ve read other bloggers talking about ways to sneak organ meats like liver into food without anyone noticing. My latest adventures have been in adding clay to our diet. Yes, you read that right. I’m now feeding my family dirt.
We’re beginning to use Azomite clay to address some mineral deficiencies and hopefully help in the fight against tooth decay, and now we’ve just added in Bentonite clay for a gentle way to detoxify and draw heavy metals and other dangerous toxins out of my husband and two youngest kids (but hey, we’ll all join in the fun). So far chocolate peanut butter banana smoothies seem to hide clay the best, but the jury is still out.
7. Handmade Christmas Gifts to Give to Anyone on Your List
Did anyone notice that I shared gifts that could be purchased, instead of gifts that could be made? There’s no hint of homemade in our holiday celebrations this year. Mama is tired and there just wasn’t the time to do it. For everyone else who looked at homemade gift ideas this year and thought “Hmmm, what a nice idea… maybe next year“, you’re not alone.
8. Meal Planning: Do As I Say, Not As I Do
If you’ve been reading here for long, you probably know that I’m a huge advocate for meal planning. For the past several months, however, I’ve been practicing the “wing it” method of meal planning. Oh, you’re not familiar with that method? It’s the one where each morning (or late afternoon, even) you suddenly panic and think “What am I going to make for breakfast/lunch/supper today?”.
Granted, I have been doing careful planning long enough that I have a lot of simple meals tucked away in my brain, and I know the regular types of things to buy so that I have what I need to put together meals. I have been doing somewhat of a less-organized version of this type of planning, along with a whole lot of this type of cooking.
Image by familymwr
9. Conserve Water and Save the Earth by Bathing Your Kids Less
This is one is a bit tongue in cheek. 🙂 I do think that there’s some truth to us North Americans not needing to bathe nearly as often as we do, and that we could all certainly conserve water by lightening up on our washing habits.
That’s not really why I’ve been bathing my kids less, though. I was spending some time with an older, wiser friend of mine recently and I confessed to her that one of the things that I drop when I simply get overwhelmed with life is baths for the kids. I figure they’re fed, they’re in clean clothes, we have washcloths for hands, face and bottoms. Surely they can go a week without a bath, yes? (Tell me I’m not the only mom who does this!)
10. How to Be Superwoman, Do it All and Never Get Tired
If there would be one statement about this past year that is absolutely NOT true, this one might be it. In truth, I did try to be superwoman and do it all, and guess what happened? I got tired. Really tired. And I couldn’t do it.
I’ll actually be sharing my own story coming up this January, as we delve into some really important topics for women like trying to do too much, adrenal fatigue, depression, and the bigger picture of what good health really looks like!
For all the things that I didn’t write this past year, I have absolutely loved having the privilege of writing so many other things. I continue to enjoy running this blog and wonder at the kindness of God to allow me to do something I love so much from within my home, fellowshipping with the likes of women like you.
Love love love this post!!!!
Ha, I love this post. I do believe these are ten posts this mama could have written also. Fear not, I was not the mama that bathed my kids every night without fail either (although most of my friends did). The children have all survived and at some point taken over their own bathroom habits. Thank you for keeping it real. Merry Christmas.
@Lisa, Merry Christmas to you, too!
Great post. I am (recently) thrilled with my Franklin Covey planner. There are pages I added for weekly goal-setting and meal prep. One side of the meal page is weekly menus for each meal; the other side is grocery shopping lists, separated out by category.
We shop monthly from our local food coop, and weekly for fresh foods. And, I’ve even found a way to stop throwing out old produce.
It’s become my BEST TIP EVER. Tupperwares Fridge Smart storage set. They have a venting system, based on the type of produce you are storing. It’s like kryptonite for your fresh veggies and fruits.
@Cheryl Jazzar, OH, I want to try that fridge storage set. I only shop for produce once every two weeks to streamline my errands and time spent out of the house, and there are some things that just don’t last well for that long. I’ll have to look into it!
@Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home,
Hi Stephanie,
I am consistently blown away by how fresh my produce is. It actually seems to work best for organic produce, which typically doesn’t last as long as conventional.
My (homeschooling) friend’s mom (the art teacher!) sells it at http://www.my2.tupperware.com/choward1115
I tried one small Fridge Smart, and ended up buying the whole set soon after.
I don’t usually get excited about things like Tupperware, but it has honestly revolutionized the way I run my kitchen.
\
Cheers! BTW, thanks so much for your recent posts on the advent. You have enriched our family’s Christmas tradition immensely.
@Cheryl Jazzar, Awesome, I’ll look into them.
And you’re so welcome. I’m glad your family has been blessed by it!
Love this post. It made me laugh, too.
So true, we all fall short. So glad we have Him to give us permission to release us from that anxiety. I once had a pastor tell us (a mom’s group), “I release you from your mediocrity!” So funny, and so true!
Have a great holiday season!
Sarah M
@Sarah M, I love that, being released from mediocrity!
I absolutely love this post, Stephanie! You have no idea. I am so relieved by some of this! I am totally lacking the decorating gene, too.
I’m really looking forward to reading more about gardening from you. You are such a trusted, accessible resource. I would also love more insights in your family life, just because I love behind-the-scenes stuff (like this!).
@Megan@SortaCrunchy, Thanks, friend. I definitely want to talk more about gardening this spring, and I will probably share a bit more of our family life as well, in the early months of the New Year. Have a blessed holiday season!
Totally with you on the baths.
I love this post! But seriously, your piled high laundry room is still so neat. My piled high laundry room does not look so nice! Not to mention all the baskets of clean laundry that take a special occasion to get folded. Ha!
@Marie, But that’s just because you only saw the bags of dirty laundry, not the two full baskets of piled up clean laundry that were out in the hall!
lol — one bath a week is normal for the Teal kids too!
I concur on the baths! When my oldest was a baby, I bathed him nearly every night because all the books said we should have a bedtime routine. (Blech!) Each new baby seems to have made baths more and more infrequent. Now I aim for twice a week but settle for Saturday nights.
We “save” lots of water around here by not bathing the kids very often! It just isn’t needed. I think it actually builds up a great network of good skin bacteria. My son’s eczema is so much better too!
@Carla, I have a similar theory! 🙂 We wash off all the oils, so we need lotion. We wash off all the beneficial bacteria, so the bad stuff takes hold and we need deodorant! Tongue in cheek, I have wondered whether the Middle Ages folks who bathed annually were not nearly as stinky as we imagine them to have been….
However, I have not been brave enough to bath less frequently, myself. My son, though, gets a weekly bath. 🙂
I was just telling my husband that I was feeling like a bad mama because our son hadn’t had a bath in 5 or 6 days, then I remembered that is what my mama did, and she was a good mom. I like the thought that it is saving water….I will have to add that to my list of why we don’t have our son bathe every night. Mostly, it is because I don’t want him to go to bed with a wet head, since our house is a little drafty.
@Tiffany, Remember in Little House on the Prairie, Ma (as well as Mrs. Wilder in Farmer Boy) only bathed her kids once a week, on Saturday nights. I tend to think Ma Ingalls was amazing, so if bathing her kids once a week was good enough for her, it’s good enough for me.
@Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home, LOL Stephanie I was just thinking the same thing! I’m with you on loving those books…
We just read the chapter aloud about baths from Farmer Boy the other day!
Our toddler gets also gets a bath once a week (or if he’s having a sleepover at Grandma’s). Not to conserve water, not for the good skin bacteria, but because it’s one less thing to do and as long as his hair doesn’t look greasy no one will know the difference. Yep, I’m that mom. But at least he eats nourishing real food and plays outside for hours a day.
@Heather, I also tend to think that kids who aren’t bathed really often probably have stronger immune systems. It’s just my theory, but my kids do tend to get sick less than other kids (taking into account the fact that we eat well and don’t use anti-bacterial anything). So that’s interesting to note the good skin bacteria.
Great post! I’m sending you a particular hug for #7. You’re not alone, girl!
@Hannah, Thanks, Hannah!
Oh I am so with you on the baths thing! Sometimes, especially in the winter, my daughter only gets one bath a week. It is easy to skip…it isn’t my favorite thing :). Also, my daughter has really dry skin and our ped recommended bathing her no more than twice a week in the winter, barring major messes, or if she is sick. If she has a cold, I tend to give her a bath every day. The warm water seems to help her.
I know there are lots of people who bath their children every single night as part of their bedtime routine, but really it just doesn’t work for us. And my kid isn’t stinky or gross. We do a good face and hand washing, as well as um…the undercarriage.
@Kelly, Love that… the undercarriage! LOL!
What a delightful post to end the year on! It made me laugh. Thank you!
When I was a new mom (four years ago next month), I dilegently bathed my sweet baby each day. Now? I aim to bathe them twice a week. Saturday night and one other night.
I was talking to someone the other day who still bathes her children almost daily and I didn’t say a word. I’m glad to hear there is someone else out there…
{part of it is water conservation=$ conservation but the other part is just that it’s a lot of work and I’m tired! LOL}
@Jenn @ Beautiful Calling, We like Saturdays or Sunday mornings for their weekly bath/shower, because at least they smell good for church. 🙂
I’ve been parenting for 26 years now and have 8 children ranging in age from 26 down to 2. The teens tend to shower every other day because of the oil overdrive, but the littles are bathed 1x per week on average and they stay smelling and looking just fine!
This was a very cute post Stephanie. It’s nice to see what things high achieving moms don’t have totally worked out! There are only so many hours in the day afterall!
I applaud you for your openness and honesty. I have made life-altering changes this year, and have blogged (it seems) about every one. What I haven’t mentioned are the numerous daily chores that get forsaken in my quest to learn something new. 🙂 Laundry being enemy #1 here too…
God bless, and Merry Christmas!
Darlene
are we living some sort of parallel lives?! i LOVED this post! it was just the right kind-of honesty and humor that i needed to start my day!!
and i’m so grateful to know that i’m not the only one who still isn’t unpacked or organized from a move that took place months ago, who can only manage to bathe the kids once a week (hopefully), is having a totally store bought christmas this year, etc., etc., etc.,
merry christmas!
@stacey, I think if we were all real with each other more often, we would realize just how similar of places we are really in. Thanks, Stacey! Merry Christmas!
thank you for your honesty.
bathing – I am trying to bathe my son three times a week, we’re lucky if I get two. we are living with family and only have a shower. he had a few swimming scares this summer so is suddenly terrified of all water and showers and baths are filled with crying and screaming and hysterics toward the end of which I start to add my own. we had another family visit at thanksgiving and she bathes her kids everyday. every.day. her son has horrible excema and everyday she’s stripping his natural oils…I would never do that. kids just don’t get that dirty. even when I bathed him more often I only washed his hair once a week.
hmmm for the new year – not sure. fun things to do with kids in the doldrums of winter?
@Nina, Oh, fun winter things is my current challenge, too. I’m working on figuring out the answer to that question myself!
Such a fun post! Thanks for being real 🙂
Oh Stephanie…have you seen my laundry?? There are three CLEAN baskets in my room right now, half waiting to be folded, all needing put away. Plus a few more baskets that could use washed. That’s about how it goes here. People have clean clothes when they need them, but I can’t promise anything more! Garbage — they change our day every time there’s a holiday so I am always forgetting what day it is. Luckily my husband leaves for work really early, before they come, so if everyone else’s cans are out, he takes ours out too!
I have no time for decorating. It’s more stuff to dust and for me to stop the children from playing with. Because my kids like the pretty stuff and they climb. A lot. High. I don’t have time for that!
Bathing? Meh. If they happen to get in the shower with me once or twice a week, we call it good. Even if they just get wet. That’s clean, right? Especially when they are babies they might go a week or two without a bath. Like you said, we wash faces, hands, and bottoms. Good enough.
Super woman? Please. Who can do it all? Right now I’m having a hard enough time just feeding my family. I still meal plan but I rarely want to eat what I’ve planned. (Just for a few more weeks, I hope!!) Today’s breakfast is soaked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and sausage. Umm…it could be worse, right? My husband tried to tell me that I CANNOT feed the children cheese cubes, fruit, and leftover meat instead of meals if I don’t feel well. Really? I’m pretty sure I can! They’re eating a lot of that, a lot of yogurt, a lot of sprouted bread right now. They’ll live. 🙂
@Kate, You didn’t get to see the two full baskets of clean laundry in my hallway either, LOL!
I think your meals sound perfectly adequate in a challenging season. We’ve been known to eat organic popcorn with butter and brewer’s yeast, plus a fruit smoothie, and call that a balanced dinner.
@Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home, We eat similar in those types of seasons too! You’re not alone.
@Kate,
Oh my goodness! First the post and now this response! I’m in tears (from laughter… and relief). I’m a fairly new mother with a two year old son and I never really learned how to “properly” keep a home. My house is a disgrace most of the time, but I’m learning to get over it. My son is a quality time type of kid and I choose to spend my time playing, reading, and teaching. I love my life!
And baths……I don’t even shower every day! I prefer to keep my natural oils and not strip my skin of them. I’ve always been fond of, what my family calls, “bird baths” (just washing up). I don’t use as much lotion as most people I know. And I certainly don’t want to dry my son’s skin out either! Wash cloths are just fine for lightly cleaning.
Thank you for a great evening reading!
I’ve got to tell you… of all the educational, inspirational, and encouraging posts I’ve read from you over the last few years, I am most encouraged by this one! Thank you for both sharing your bathing secret and for drawing so many other woman out as well. I always feel like a terrible mother for not getting to bath time more often!
@Babychaser, Oh, I’m so glad this encouraged you. You’re a wonderful mother, just like all the rest of us doing the best we can. 🙂
Oh- I am so glad I am not the only mother who is lucky to get the kids bathed once a week 🙂
Love this post! I am learning to accept that certain things are just not going to happen in this house. I had to laugh about bathing the kids once a week. That’s what I do and I have no problem with it at all. As long as they’re not rolling around in the dirt or some other activity that makes an all-over mess, washing hands and faces is good enough for me…and them. I simply cannot imagine giving my kids a a bath every single night. Wow.
I love this too!
I personally bathe my kids too often when life gets crazy- they’re contained, happy, and I get to clean the bathroom!
@Cara, IMO Baths as playtime are a whole different animal! I’d guess that the joy of playing with water, bubbles etc. builds the immune system.
you mean one bath a week isn’t normal? lol And thanks for all that you share with us; it’s refreshing. Looking forward to 2011…
Once a week baths are perfect!!! Little ones don’t need more often. My 10 year old has now discovered how delightful a shower can be and insists on a nightly shower.
You are NOT alone on the bath thing! My kids hate baths….. my girls are 3.5 and 14 months, and they both scream through baths, so I pick my battles. I wipe dirt from their hands and faces and bottoms, and if their feet get dirty, I wipe them off too…… and if their hair gets yucky, I have a spray bottle full of water I use on that. They scream through that too, but only mildly, and only for a few minutes. With a bath they throw FITS and scream until they lose their little voices!! Not something I enjoy dealing with, so I just figure if there’s no visible dirt on them, they’re not not dirty enough to take a bath. 🙂
@Audrey, Oh good, my daughter hates baths too. I have rarely bathed her since she was born. All those natural oils just seemed too precious to wash away. She has beautiful skin, although we are all really dry right now due to the low humidity and freezing temperatures (I am NOT about to bathe her MORE often right now). She also is very timid around water and baths and it is a battle to get her to take a bath. I blame myself for not giving her more experiences with it, but she smells sweet and clean, her hair is softly shiny, and she gets cleaned up when she eats and when I change her plus occasional wash cloth baths. My mother thinks I’m harming her for life because I don’t expose her to water more often and that I’m creating a life long phobia. I really don’t believe I am. She’s 22 months. Surely she has plenty of time to learn to enjoy water hygiene!
Ha! I can totally relate on the baths! My kids love baths but baths make them wound up instead of relaxed…and subsequently I end up worn out & yelling at naked, giggling children who really just need to go to bed. 🙂 Not to mention, sometimes I simply run out of time in the evenings & I figure their sleep is more important. They seem to be ok. 🙂
We also moved 6 months ago and have the same “messy room” situation. Our new place is smaller so I’m still trying to figure out where to put/hide things. My goal for this year is to get more organized so we can add a little one and at least have our own mess figured out.
Thanks for this post!
I’m with you on the bath issue. Growing up (until teen oil’s hit) we took baths Tues, Thurs, and Sat. My little one got freaked out in the bath and now showers with me approx every other day (finally after 50 the excess oil stopped! ;-)) but if she misses now and then she’s still fine.
The reason my laundry is caught up is that my 13yo does it for me! lol I’m working on training her for more things – I did too much for too long and now am recovering from adrenal fatigue. I’m focusing on the most important things right now and trying to not be too concerned about what has to be let go of for this season of my life. Thanks again for your post.
Great post, Stephanie. 🙂 If it’s one thing the Internet community is great for, it’s that you never have to feel alone! 😉
I’m with Cara, though… some days my kids get two baths a day so they can be in one spot, happy, and I can do some tea sipping while watching them. 😉 Plus, MAN, I wish my kids were really clean enough to bathe once a week… does no one else out there let their kids play in mud?! 😉 Washcloths alone to clean?! Eeek! 😀
@Meg, Mine aren’t big mud splashers, so I’m sure that makes a difference! 🙂
@Meg, If you wait for the mud to dry, it flakes off and a wet washcloth works perfectly. Not that we do anything of the sort on a regular basis. LOL.
@Heather, Love that. LOL!
@Heather, Haha – I guess I did forget about that. 😉
Beautiful post!
As far as the baths, I think kids who take nightly baths are the ones who usually end up sick. Once or twice a week was always perfect for my kids…unless they had way too much fun!
Decorating is fun but since you recently moved, you know it can be over-rated. Too much to deal with…too much to dust! LOL
I would love to know how you solve the shade problem. That’s a biggie for me too.
Love that you keep it real!
I would join you on the wet and shady garden…mine was a massive flop this year!
@Kait Palmer, Oh, sorry about your garden. We’ll definitely talk more about creative garden solutions this spring!
So I see that you’re pregnant- congrats! And yes, you will have energy again, and you will want to cook again… soon, I hope. 🙂 And I think after you have the baby you somewhat conveniently forget about most of it again because they’re so precious. But you also just learn to cope with it better the next time around. You learn strategies that work, you learn to let go of your own expectations, you learn what you can and can’t eat, etc. It doesn’t necessarily make it easier, it’s just that you know what you’re getting into, you have some ideas of how to make it go more smoothly, and you know that it’s a short season with a wonderful end in sight!
I’m with you on the bath. It is not uncommon for me to bathe my oldest (3 1/2) once a week. I have to bathe my 1 year old a little more regularly as she has a habit of putting her food covered hands in her hair. We lived in Colorado until recently, and the air is so dry there that bathing them too often would really dry thier skin.
I still feel bad because I don’t do much of what you do do and now I don’t do much of what you don’t do either 🙂
I had to comment on the bath situation . . . I sometimes go much longer than a week . . . there I admit it. I blame it on my children having dry skin though 🙂 I am the worst with new babies. I have gone a few months with nothing more than a quick wipe with a washcloth. Shhhhh! Please don’t tell 🙂
@Sheri, I didn’t mention house cleanliness, did I? That might make you feel better. 🙂
My laundry room is also my kitchen storage room…and with a new third child, I have to say my laundry room looks worse than yours does! I spent ALL WEEK last week trying to get around to folding the laundry that I had washed. Until Thursday, we just picked stuff out of the dryer/clean hamper. It happens.
And I don’t bathe my kids until they smell bad or get greasy hair either. There just isn’t enough time in the day, and I’ve gotten so used to it that I don’t even worry about it any more. I did realize recently that my 12 week old has had maybe 3 baths. Oops. Maybe we should pick up the pace a bit :).
@Terri, Thank goodness my laundry room is small and it’s also the entrance to my husband’s office/music studio where he works. If I was allowed to completely clutter it up, I probably would!
Thank you for this post!!! I think we all fall into these problem areas! It’s reassuring to hear you do too! 😉
For Christmas, I am giving up stress. I will do my best to clean, cook, etc, but I am refusing to stress if something falls by the wayside. 🙂
@Susan Alexander, Yep, me too!
@Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home, I’ve decided to give it up too…but this is really hard! I’ve been doing it for a few weeks and really had no idea the thoughts that would go through my mind…maybe some posts on how to give up stress will be a good idea LOL
I love this post too! I often come away from your blog with so much awe of you that I am tempted to think *I* could never do that. *She* has got it all together and that certainly isn’t me! This post made me smile and laugh and realize that we’re all human. I’ve struggled in every one of the areas you mentioned (if I’m not struggling now, it probably means I haven’t attempted it or I gave up!).
I had a woman in my kitchen last night who I consider to have it all together, talking about how she can’t think of one area of her house where she is organized and she is struggling being a mother, keeping her home, and running her small photography business. It felt so good to be open and real! We need to do that more often! My mother has a talent in home making, hospitality, mothering, dressing well (from the thrift store) etc. She runs circles around me organizationally and cooks delicious, healthy food without recipes. Sometimes I just despair that I will ever “get there”. I just try my best to take things one step at a time, one day at a time, and focus on what is important. Raising my daughter, providing the needs of my husband (thankfully, his desires are simple! Clean socks (doesn’t matter if he has to get them out of a laundry basket), a happy wife, and a healthy daughter), and a living a life that honors God. I’m still working on it! But I don’t need to be the next (Christian) Martha Stewart or anyone else to do those things.
Sorry, I’m preaching to myself. Just thanks for being real. 🙂
@Andrea, I think the more real we all are with each other, the more that we can actually help and encourage one another. Preach away! 🙂
HI! Just started following your blog. There were a couple blogs you didn’t write about that jumped out at me that I have blogged about. If you want to check them out, you can find me at… 1plus1equals7.wordpress.com
I have blogged about our “dumb room” with lots of pictures. We have been at our current home for 4 years but there is always one room out of control.
I’m also big on meal plans. I have a blog on that too. It’s was a totally thrown together plan but it worked for awhile. I am now in the works of planning out next years meals. Yep, I’m aiming for the whole year. I’ve heard of a few people that do this and it helps them tons. I’m up for the challenge! I’m hoping to write more on this one in the near future. As a mother of 7, soon to be 8 kids, organizing and plans of every kind are needed 😀
Enjoying your blog,
Elizabeth
@Elizabeth, Wow, a year! That is awesome if it works for you. My favorite has been doing it monthly, with just small weekly changes/evaluations.
But yes, streamlining and organizing is definitely important, especially with a large family! The more children we have, I’m sure it will become even more crucial for me, too!
Thank you Stephanie for being brave enough to show the not so good moments along with the awesome ones. You are a wonderful encouragement and friend and source of information 🙂 I wish you and your family a very merry CHRISTmas and the peace that comes from having that relationship 🙂
@Christina, Thank you, Christina. May you also have a blessed celebration of the birth of our Lord!
I had to LOL at #9. Our daughter, who is almost 5, has never had daily baths. Every time I start to feel uneasy about it, I remind myself that many older moms I know never bathed their kids on a daily basis–and my daughter’s extremely sensitive skin is much happier without frequent baths. Good for you for letting that one go!
Just so you know, I’ve lived in my house for 3 years now (this summer it was 3 years) and I am NOT unpacked. Having a flood did help some with those “miscalleneous” boxes in the basement (they are so much easier to toss once all those might-need-someday papers are soaked!) but I’m also not fully cleaned up the dry stuff from the flood…
and my laundry room looks like that all the time too. My oldest often comes downstairs “mommy I have no shirts to wear!” and I do really try…
You asked what I’d like to read about: I’d LOVE to hear more posts about what you said at the end: “important topics for women like trying to do too much, adrenal fatigue, depression, and the bigger picture of what good health really looks like!”
I’d also like to read posts about ideas on how other moms cope with doing the basics…I guess I mean sort of shortcuts…eg. cleaning enough that it looks tidy but not deep cleaning, what to have on hand to throw together last minute meals when you didn’t plan ahead, etc. I remember specific things in the past like this for example when you did the post on your family closet and confessed to not folding underwear and PJs and I think diapers…or the post by another mom about the 8 things she does for preventative house cleaning…I’ve gleaned a lot of useful things from posts like that. It sort of ties into the idea above about doing too much and keeping things simple.
What a great post!
I don’t have kids yet, but when I was growing up, my brother and I only took baths once a week and it was fine! I’ve marveled over that these last few years, thinking about the daily-bathers, but we certainly didn’t have a reputation for being the stinky kids. I doubt anyone knew or cared!
I am with you on the baths! I just realized the other day that I could probably bathe everyone in less time if I didn’t feel like I have to wash their hair every time they take a bath. Nevertheless, it is true that the baths are the first thing to go often when life gets chaotic…unless everyone jumps in a mudpile the night before church…then I have my pride to contend with and everyone promptly gets washed and polished! 🙂
My kids for the most part are every other day bathers. When my oldest was younger I let him go for 5-6 days a couple of times and hubby just didn’t like that!
I don’t think they need them everyday, now that it’s cold they don’t go out much so they are not dirty! They look and smell clean anyway!
Loved your post and love following your blog (I have it sent to email so I don’t miss a thing!) I’m thrilled to hear that I’m not the only one that lets bath time slide. It’s not like my 3 yr old does heavy lifting or needs deodorant, right? 🙂
@Aubrey R, LOL, exactly!
I’d like to learn more about the clay thing. I’ve never heard of that before.
heheh… very funny.
i can’t wait to hear about the clay.
and i grew up with bath night being every Saturday night… unless of course we puked all over ourselves or something similarly disastrously nasty. i’m following suit with Eowyn and so far everyone who finds out has been shocked. i guess that’s a good sign? apparently she smells & looks normal enough…
I also have not been the mom who bathes her kids every day. I’m just too tired..um..I mean, I’m trying to conserve water.
I”d love to hear how you handle been tired and overwhelmed. For the first time in years, Ive had to prioritize all the things I want to do for Christmas. Had to tell myself that it’s okay not to make 10 different kinds of cookies and give them to everyone I know. I actually feel better now.
Totally need you to write the clay one! I’ve had some Bentonite Clay sitting here for months and I can’t figure out how to get the hubby an kids to eat it! 🙂 Great post! Thanks for showing us your real life! Have a wonderful Christmas!
Oh good!! I’m not the only one who sometimes only give my kids a bath once a week. They are scheduled in my house to have a bath twice a week (we live in a cold climate, and any more than that dries out their skin. Not that I have the energy by the end of the day to do any more anyway!) but some of the time, they only get it once a week. I figure, as long as they don’t smell and they look clean, they’re fine!
omg glad i’m not the only one that lets bath time slide and sit on the back burner when life gets busy!
So with you. Especially with the laundry and baths. This is my one complaint with the cartoon Boz. He sings “Take a bath once a day, not once a week.” Ack! My children would be all to willing to do so and leave me with an even bigger laundry problem. My pediatrician told us that it’s not good for their skin to bathe every day. Unless they have been out getting muddy, Saturday night is bath night at our house.
That one about baths made me smile! When I only bathed my son once a week, his hair started smelling like a dog….
I was raised bathing once a week. My husband bathed AT LEAST once a day. Granted, I grew up in the north and he in the Caribbean… But it made for some interesting conversations and near arguments…