Why Your Children Annoy You and Homemaking is Boring

I think often about that woman in the Bible, the woman hanging out in Proverbs 31, the model for a godly woman. She does many things, wears many hats.
But one thing she does well, one thing is her priority: her home, husband and children. Her other pursuits fall around that...

 

"I LOVE YOU, JOHNNY!"

I love you, Johnny, said mother one day,
I love you more than I can say,
Then she answered his questions with,
Don't bother me now!"
And just didn't have time to show him how
To tie his truck to his tractor and plough,
But she washed her windows and scrubbed the floor
And baked and cooked and cleaned some more.

"Bring the boy next door in?" "Well, I should say not,
You'll mess up the floors and I don't want a spot."
"No, we don't have time for a story today,
Mother's too busy cooking, so run out and play,
Maybe tomorrow," she said with a sigh,
And Johnny went out almost ready to cry.

"I love you, Johnny," again she said,
As she washed his face and sent him to bed.
Now how do you think that Johnny guessed
Whether 'twas he or the house that
she really loved best? 

I found this while visiting a lovely blog called Seven Olive Plants.  She found it through the magazine Above Rubies.  

I started this blog June 30, 2006.  Oh how life has changed since then. 

Mr. U was in full time ministry for 20 years, we lived in a tiny parsonage in a town with NO traffic light, and had only our son, Joshua, living at home.  Now?  Joshua is grown and living in Colorado and working full time.  Mr. U is no longer pastoring, but is working for Apple (yes, I know WEIRD career change, but when God says "GO!", you go!!), we moved back to the same large city that we both grew up in, and we have added two sweet blessings to our family- Elizabeth (now 8 1/2) and Caroline (now 4 1/2). We've also added diabetes to our family as Mr. U was diagnosed last Spring with it.  Lots of change.  Lots to learn. 

In my very first blog post, I shared,

"Why the name Making a House a Home? Well, anyone can live in a house, but making it a home is quite another matter. A house is a building but a home is inhabited by family members that love and care for each other. As the wife of a wonderful man, I have been blessed to be able to turn our house into a home- a place where my family longs to be at the end of every day."

 I still that very same way. I sooo want to continue making this house that we've been in two years, into a warm, welcoming home where my family can't wait to be each day.  

I don't know about any of y'all, but I have been online WAY too much lately.  I feel like my brain is getting mushy.  Can anyone relate?  Between using the internet for homeschool, finding Trim Healthy Mama recipes, and just plain old web surfing, I've been online a lot.  So I've decided to start scheduling online time to limit myself and actually, hold on for this one, READING a REAL BOOK instead. 

Shocker, right?

I soooo love to read!!  But I've gotten out of the habit in the past few months.  I do read to my girls for homeschool.  We read a LOT out loud, but no "mommy books", ya know what I mean? So, starting today, I am going to read ONE book a month.  I realize many of y'all are laughing at ONE book a month, but I need to set a very small goal for myself.  And since I'm blogging about it, it definitely holds me accountable.

As of today, I am starting with Desperate, Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson. 

OOh.  Just realized this is the end of the month.  Hmm.  So I will have this done by the end of October.  Baby steps, y'all, baby steps. 

Anyone else have monthly reading goals?  Anyone else NEED to read real books instead of just reading online????  Let me know and let's encourage one another!!!

I just read this over at Country Living.  Hmmm I think I need to work on #2 and #3.  What about you??



 

9 Habits of People Who Never Have to Clean Their Homes

1. They put away their clothes every night.
When you're changing into your pajamas, it might be tempting to just toss your clothes on a chair or even on the floor, but don't fall prey to that lazy trap. It takes a couple of seconds to put them in your laundry hamper or return them to your closet. You'll be thankful that you won't have to spend extra time rounding up stray socks all over your room when it's laundry day. Same could be said when you're trying on an outfit or when you've just finished doing your laundry.

2. They don't own extras.
What are you going to do with a dozen sets of sheets or five cheese graters? If you don't need it: Edit, edit, edit. You'll be saving much more space.

3. They keep a paper trail to a minimum.
It's easy to leave stacks of junk mail, delivery menus, and old newspapers on every surface of your house. Create a good filing system to save the important documents and toss the rest.

4. They wipe down every surface after use.
Let's be real, the less grime build-up, the easier it is to clean. Mildew, grease, and food stains are not a good look for your house.

5. They don't have beds piled up with too much stuff.
Sure, it's nice to have some decorative pillows and throw blankets to maintain a perfectly styled bed, but let's keep it to a minimum. The fewer steps it takes to make your bed every morning, the more likely you'll actually do it.

6. They put their shoes and coats away.
It's common for an entryway to have a shoe pile-up or for coats to be haphazardly placed on the entry bench, but it sure doesn't look tidy. Put your shoes in your closet or place a shoe rack near the door. Make sure to hang your coat as soon as you take it off.

7. They never let dishes pile up.
This one's pretty much a no-brainer, but taking a few minutes to do three or five dishes is way better than doing 15 at the end of the week.

8. They put things back where they came from.
If you do this, you won't have a precarious stack of DVDs, magazines, books, and toys on your coffee table. This habit makes the panic-filled, 5-minute clean-up before guests arrive a little better.

9. They dust and vacuum on the regular.
A few minutes of dusting or vacuuming at least 2-3 times a week will save you from doing a deep clean on the weekend when you could be relaxing.

So hard to believe my girls are getting so big!!  Elizabeth is in 3rd grade this year and Caroline is in PreK.  And yes, we still homeschool and I still love it!! I am daily thankful that the dreams I dreamed (even as a little girl) of being a wife, mother, AND teacher have all come true. I am so blessed!!

We found out about a month ago that Mr. U has type 2 diabetes.  Not really a shock since his mother and his grandfather have both dealt with it.  Still, however, the "it will never happen to me" syndrome did come into play a bit.  :)

So armed with that news, we have set out to do research on the best way for our family to eat.  We have decided that we need to cut out as many "bad" carbs as possible in hopes of bringing his blood glucose numbers down (and especially the A1C for those of y'all that know what I'm talking about).  So far, so good!!!  Numbers are coming down!!  We just need to keep up the good work!!!

With this will come lots of new recipes to try, I am sure.  I made one tonight that the girls and I LOOOOVED!  Mr. U, who abhors cauliflower, said, "Well, if I HAVE to eat cauliflower, this is probably the best way".  Not a glowing testimony, I know, but coming from him about cauliflower, this is HUGE!!!! 

George Stella's "Mac" and Cheese

• Kosher salt, as needed, plus 1/2 teaspoon
• Vegetable oil spray
• 1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, plus 1/2 cup for topping the casserole
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese*
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder**

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, seasoning the water with salt. Spray an 8×8 baking dish with vegetable oil spray.
2. Cook the cut cauliflower in the boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Drain well and pat between several layers of paper towels to dry. Transfer the cauliflower to the baking dish and set aside.
4. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan and then whisk in the cream cheese and mustard, continuously whisking until smooth.
5. Stir in the 1 1/2 cups of cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and whisk just until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat, pour over the cauliflower, and stir all to combine.
6. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bake until browned and bubbly hot, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Let me say, our girls are not cutting out as many carbs as we are.  They ARE eating less of the"bad" carbs, however, and more of the good!!!!

 Any of y'all living with diabetes in your home?  If so, PLEASE share recipes!!!



 *My addition.  Not in original recipe.
** I doubled the garlic powder. Original recipe calls for only 1/8 tsp.

Dear fellow keeper of the home,


How many days a week are you gone from home? Where do you go?

Can you stay home 5 days a week (assuming you are at church one day and running errands and getting groceries a second day) or does it drive you crazy? Do you feel like you have to go somewhere and just get out??

I am saddened these days by so many stay at home wives/mothers that say how they hate to be at home and say they get bored. (Bored? Who has TIME to be bored????) I enjoy being here in our home taking care of my family. This is exactly what I've dreamed of doing my entire life.  Surely I'm not alone in this. :)

His,
Mrs. U

A Home Song

I read within a poet's book
A word that starred the page:
"Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage!"

Yes, that is true; and something more
You'll find, where'er you roam,
That marble floors and gilded walls
Can never make a home.

But every house where Love abides,
And Friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home-sweet-home:
For there the heart can rest.

Henry Van Dyke

I really enjoy reading blogs.  My favorites have always been about home keeping. 

When I first discovered blogs in 2006, I found many kindred spirits who loved to share their tips on making a house a home.  The blogs (and therefore, the bloggers themselves) felt quaint and familiar and I found myself wishing I could meet them, knowing we'd hit it off immediately.  These days, however, so many of my original favorites are gone.  I suppose I shouldn't complain, I mean, where is my blog?  Dead?  Not quite.  It's just been on pause. 

So many blogs now are BEAUTIFUL and show Pinterest perfect homes and so many "how to's".  I'm not like that.  While they ARE lovely, they aren't "me".  Does anyone else relate?  I do appreciate the things I've learned from them, but where are the blogs about old fashioned home keeping? If you, dear reader, happen to know of any, please share. 

In this day and age of HGTV and Pinterest, well, I cannot compete.  Any decorations in my home are only there because my sister or sister--in-law or sweet friends were kind enough to give me direction (two wonderful friends even took control of my mantle and decorated it FOR me!!!).  Other than that, I just go for "comfortable" for our style.  :) 

Happy home keeping!

His,
Mrs. U

Hi y'all!!  Long time no blog!!!  :)  I've been busy homeschooling and homekeeping and trying to learn more about essential oils!!!

I'd surely love to hear from anyone who uses essential oils by applying topically or by inhaling them or by capsule or in homemade cleaning products!!  Share tips and please share what particular brand you've found to be the best and WHY.

In January of 2011, I was feeling defeated in my walk with the Lord and just plain old exhausted.  The girls were 4 1/2 and 8 months at the time and I KNEW that what I needed was time in the Word each day to focus on the Lord.

Enter Good Morning Girls.

I learned about Good Morning Girls and immediately signed up to be a leader.  I had a friend in real life that was going to participate and then I had an invitation on my blog for anyone else to join with us.  How exciting it was to get to know each other in our group when a few others wanted to join in!!!

So here it is, January 2014, and GMG is getting ready to start a new session on the 20th!!!!  The theme this time is Intentionally Focused.  I would love to any of y'all to join with me for accountability to get in the Word each day.  If you are thinking about it, go to the GMG blog and read how it works.  If you are still interested, email me at theups1 at gmail dot com and I will get with you!!!

I sooo look forward to this next study and focusing on the Lord and His Word!!!!  Maybe you'll join me!!???

We moved into our new home a little over a year ago.  When we packed up and left our old house, many things were either give away or thrown away- including our cheap vacuum cleaner.  So when we moved in last December, we needed a new one.  In the middle of having to get a bazillion things for the house, the last thing we wanted to do was research a good vacuum cleaner. So off to Walmart we go and we buy the cheapest vacuum they had.  And BOY was it obvious!!!!  Did a horrible job of sucking up dirt, let out little puffs of dust as I vacuumed, and it was heavy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Y'all can imagine my joy when I finally got a new vacuum cleaner- a Dyson DC41 Animal Plus!!!!!  Mr. U pulled it out of the box and started assembling it for me.  He said it was easy to assemble.  Me?  Meh.  I don't do assembly very well. Once he finished, I plugged that baby in and WHEEEEEEEE started vacuuming.  (Amazing, isn't it, how a new cleaning product can suddenly get you into deep cleaning mode?? Or am I the only one?)

My first thoughts of the DC41 Animal Plus was that it was heavy!!!!  Yes, probably as heavy as the cheapo one I was getting rid of.  BUT the heaviness of the machine appears to mean better suction and FLUFFY carpet when I was done!  Yes, our carpet looked fluffy!!!  Even the stairs!!  I used the wand to finally vacuum all my stairs!!  I'm sure I will not win homemaker of the year for the fact that I never vacuumed my stairs before!! We used a Shark Swivel Sweeper for stairs before this Dyson.   Also, the chord, I discovered, is VERY long.  So long that I kept getting tripped up on it.  Oh and there's this little flap at the top of the vacuum......



... when you need to put the vacuum in upright position, this little flap turns into a suction machine!!!!  I'm not sure why it does that, but it sucked my hair into it the first time I stood the vacuum up and it was turned on!!!!  After that, I clearly avoided that!!!!  And lastly, I found the Dyson kind of awkward to get to stand up.  You have to push it in stand up position and push a little further than you think is necessary until you hear a "click" and then you know it's locked in place.  I wasn't careful a few times and thought I had it standing up properly and then BOOM it fell over backwards.  I learned quick. 




So what do I LOVE about the Dyson?  HOLY MOLY does this thing fluff up carpet!!  And you wouldn't believe the stuff I vacuumed up!!  And the vacuum gets sooooooo close to the edge where the carpet meets the wall.  LOVE THAT!!  With the old vacuum, I would have to sweep that section and then vacuum it up- no joke!!  I also LOVE that the hose extends far enough for me to leave the vacuum at the bottom of the stairs while I vacuum each stair.  Oh, and I also love the fact that the vacuum transitions from carpet to bare floor with zero effort.  I do nothing, no flip to switch at all!  I just keep on vacuuming carpets AND bare floors!!!  

Y'all be sure and tell me what you love/hate about your vacuum.  And, if you are interested, you can learn more about Dyson cleaner here at Argos

Happy vacuuming, y'all!! 

Yep, they are growing up.  Too quickly, I might add.  Elizabeth is 7 and Caroline is 3.  And they both insist that I add the "and a 1/2" to each of their ages.  It's been FOREVER since I added that 1/2 to MY age!!!!

It's another cold, very rainy day here in Georgia.  I'm wondering just how many days the Lord will give us rain???  A little sunshine would most certainly perk all of us up.  So what's a mother to do?  Why, bake something special, of course!!!  

Today the girls and I decided to make Schoolhouse Gingerbread from Pleasant View Schoolhouse.  Her recipes never disappoint.  The link goes straight to Anna's recipe.  I didn't have enough sugar, so I had to substitute brown sugar instead.  Brown sugar has molasses in it, so I didn't need to use as much molasses as the original recipe. 

Happy baking!!!

I've so very much to be thankful for, but nothing compares to knowing Christ!! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Mrs. U

Cursive handwriting is apparently an issue with this new Common Core.   Are you teaching your children to read and write cursive?  Or if they are in public school or private school, are they learning it at school? 

Not only is cursive a beautiful art, but it is necessary to know in order to read many of our historical documents in our country.  This article shares about a school girl that could not read a letter from someone who had written in cursive. 

I have always loved writing in cursive.  I've always considered it like art.  You must take your take to make it beautiful.  Do I always write in cursive now?  No.  I find printing much faster these days.  But as a homeschool mother with a child in 2nd grade, I am currently brushing up on my strokes so that I may teach her how to write in cursive in January.  (Shhh. Don't tell her. It's a surprise!  She's been working very hard on writing very neatly so that she can learn cursive. She's been dying to learn for a year now!!!). 

So are you making sure that your children learn cursive? Why or why not?

From Nancy Leigh Demoss...


(noisy children in background)

“All right. We have five minutes for a Bible story, and then you kids are going to bed! (pages turning) Let’s see . . . ‘One day God told Jonah . . .' Franky! Get over here and sit down!”

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: You may be teaching your children the truths of the Bible . . .

“‘God told Jonah to go to Nineveh . . .' Sarah! I can’t wait till you kids are in bed!”

Nancy: . . . but are you doing it out of love? The apostle Paul says, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”
If I’m teaching others God’s Word, but I don't have love, what does Paul say? I'm just making noise.

“Uhhh! I’m trying to read here!”

Nancy: Are you serving from a heart of love? Ask God to fill you with His love. Ask Him to love others through you.