Mother's Day

Today is a day for me to reflect on Mother. I now have five children and they are all so special to me. I am so overwhelmed at times of the responsibility I have to raise them and to give each one of them all they need. My husband, John has been gone this week for work. Not having him around has reminded me of how blessed I am to have him in my life. He is truly my rock. If he wasn't there to keep us on schedule, there wouldn't be a schedule. We have been living by the seat of our pants all week and I think we will all be glad when he returns.

                                    

My Mother
I want to start by sharing how grateful I am for my mother.  My mother had a trying life and she worked hard to provide me with life building opportunities. She taught piano for years so that I could be in activities at school. When I went on a mission she worked hard to pay for my service. I love her.

Recently I was taught a very powerful lesson from her on the principle of forgiveness. I have been holding on to hardships our family dealt with for years and blamed my mother for a lot of it. When she came to serve our family after the birth of my fifth child, I told her how I felt but it did not mend my relationship as I hoped it would. I came away from the conversation feeling dissatisfied.

A few weeks later I received a letter from my mother. I didn't want to read it but when I finally did, it changed me. She told me that she did her best as my mother and she reminded me that when her mother died at the very young age of 60, the only regret she had was not more fully enjoying the time she had spent with her. Now, looking back,  she only wanted to remember the good times she shared with her mother.

The letter was very short but it revealed the truth about me. I had spent so much time thinking about the bad  for so many years that I had missed the good. I also had lost some very valuable time with my mother who had loved me dearly and had been a great influence for good in my life. I held her to the standard of perfection and sorely paid the price. When she came to visit more recently, I asked my mother to forgive me. Now, in reflection, I see how my bitterness had hindered my ability to love. I am so grateful for my mother who had the wisdom and courage to teach me that I was capable of
improvement.

                                             

Motherhood
Since that time I have begun to look at life differently. I too am not a perfect mother. I recently discovered that I will never fullfill all the roles that are required to raise a family in this day and age. I will fall short and I only pray that my children will be more forgiving than I have been. I love them all so much. I want to cherish each day that I have with them .

My mother has opened my eyes and taught me that I need to spend my time being an influence for good in the lives of those around me because one day I too will pass and I would  like to be remembered as someone who did all in her power to love and serve. I know I will never be the ideal mother I want to be but I hope that at the end of my life I will be able to look back and say that I did the very best I could.

I am learning even now that to be a mother is to be gentle, kind, encouraging, strong, persistent, patient, wise and a joy to be around. Most importantly I am learning that my reaction to who my children are and what they do will determine the very thing that they become. I want that reaction to always be full of love and compassion.  So, today I am making a goal to improve and embrace these positive attributes.

All Mothers
To all mothers every where, I encourage you to stand and be proud for the work you are doing. Accept what we cannot do and focus on what we can. Cherish the moments you have and live with gratitude for  the angels who have been sent to bless your life and the knowledge that you are changing the world one moment at a time. I know that as we stand proud and work with faith, we will be influences for good in those who surround us.

Easy Ham and Cheese Rolls with Mustard Thyme Sauce

Ingredients: 

Dough Recipe:

3 cups flour

1/2 t salt

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 T yeast
1 T olive oil
1 T honey


Mustard Thyme Sauce:
3 T mayonnaise
1 T dijon mustard
1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt


5 slices ham
Chedder cheese
Greased cookie sheet

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. in a small bowl mix together water, yeast, oil, and honey. Combine flour and salt. (I did half whole wheat flour and half white four)  Slowly add in the water mixture until a ball forms. Roll out on to a floured surface. Roll into a pizza shape. With a pizza cutter, cut 16 wedges. 

Cut cheese and ham to desired shape.

 

Mix mustard, mayo, thyme, salt and pepper.  

Brush on dough. (You can make an extra batch for dipping if you like)

 

Add cheese and ham. I only did one small slice of cheese and 3 little pieces of ham, but you can put as much as you like inside. :)

Roll up and put on  cookie sheet. Brush with milk if desired. 

Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown. 

Easter Ideas

Thanks to all the fun Pinterest ideas, I found these bunnies at the thrift store.  They were painted all cute and real and I spray painted them white. 

Here are a few more pictures.

The picture frames I also got at the thrift store. I found a total of 6 small frames. I spray painted them all white and printed off the free printable pictures on Pinterest. I didn't have a ton of money this year but I wanted to decorate our new house and the kids loved it! 

I also made my own egg tree. I am thinking about spray painting all the branches white too. 

This was the cheapest project. I just cut some branches off a neighboring tree and found the plastic eggs at Walmart, a 12 pack for 2 dollars. They already have holes so I just put some ribbon through and hung them up. 

Need Help with Laundry?

1. Collect laundry everyday  

2. Do at least one or two loads a day and don't stop until you have put the loads away!

Who in this world feels like they spend at least half their time doing laundry? Or maybe you feel like me: that laundry is a monster that needs feeding just as much and as often as one of your children. This post is about my discovery of how to lasso the animal called laundry so it becomes a manageable task.

Before we moved into our new house, I was cleaning laundry the best I knew how. I would throw it all into a spot that was somewhat easy to hide until the pile became so bad that I was forced to start cleaning the clothes or go without a shirt.Sometimes I would plan one day and do it all. Monday was usually the plan and then I was doing laundry once a week, but we all know how that ends up. I would have lots of clean clothes that had not been folded in a giant basket or I spent the entire day doing laundry. Then, I don't even want to see it for another week. Besides me feeling like laundry was a monster hiding in my closet,  there seems to be trouble involved with waiting to do laundry until the pile is huge. I often overstuffed my loads to try and get it done faster. I broke the washer we had before stuffing in the loads. The clothes also don't really get clean when you do that.

Two months ago when we were moving, My mother-in-law came to visit. She is older and wiser and can run circles around me with her productivity. There isn't anything, it seems, she can't do. While she was visiting she had my clothes washed and put away before I had time to discover she even washed them at all. I was so amazed by the ease of how she stayed on top of everything that I began to take notes.

Everyday she would go to each room and collect the dirty clothes. She would take them to the laundry room, sort them into piles and put the largest pile with the most amount of clothes into the wash. Then, as soon as it was finished, she moved it to the dryer. Later, when she had time, she would fold up the load right there by the dryer and walk around the house and put them away. What a concept! Do a load of laundry everyday! Then your clothes don't devour you! Also, I found that I didn't need as many clothes in my closet because I had plenty of clean clothes to wear. She helped me get rid of half of them I never even wore.

Since then I have made a plan and am executing this plan:

1. Collect laundry everyday

2. Do at least one or two loads a day and don't stop until you have put the loads away!

It is incredible how different my life is now. I don't plan as many activities outside the home as I used to because I don't want to get behind on laundry, but I love knowing that if my children need a pair of underwear or a clean towel, it is there for the using.

Parsley Pesto Fish with Roasted Vegetables and Parmesan Couscous

Pesto Fish

Fish:

4 to 6 fish fillets of your choice (I used tilapia).

Pesto:

1 bunch flat leaf parsley

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 T Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

course salt and pepper to taste. 

Put all of this ingredients into a small food processor or blender and mix until a pesto is formed.

Place thawed fish fillets in a casserole dish. Mine overlap here and that is fine. If you want the fish to be separate  use a larger pan. Pour the pesto on top. 

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until the fish is firm when pressed. 

Usually, if I am making this side dish to go with my fish, I begin thawing my fish in some water and start on this recipe first.  I adapted this recipe from a Greek cookbook. I really love it because I can use whatever vegetables and herbs I have on hand. This would be excellent with eggplant, leeks, onion, yams, rosemary, and  marjoram. 

Roasted Vegetables

1 red potato, scrubbed and sliced thin 

1 large carrot, julienned

1/2 a red pepper, sliced

1/2 a zucchini, julienned

3 to 4 garlic cloves peeled and sliced thin

10 grape tomatoes, halved

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano 

1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

1-2 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley

course salt and pepper to taste

Aluminum foil or a casserole dish with a lid.  

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Put in your pan. I used a pie pan here but any casserole dish will work. cover the pan with foil or lid and cook in oven for 30 minutes. then, remove lid or foil and roast for ten more minutes. After 25 minutes of cooking, I add the fish to the oven. 

While the vegetables and fish are cooking, I make the couscous. Sorry to admit it here but I use a box. It takes less time to prepare. If you prefer making it yourself, I would saute a little garlic in some olive oil, then add about 1 1/4 cups water, some salt and pepper. once the water is boiling, take the pan off the stove then add 1 cup of couscous. let stand with lid on for five minutes and fluff with fork. Mix in your Parmesan cheese. 

Here is the finished product! I always add a salad but you definitely don't need one. I have a 6, 4 and 1 year old and they all eat this. It is amazing! Good luck and let me know how it turns out! 

It's About Time!!!!

For years, I have been working hard parenting, teaching, and cleaning,while gleaning off of thousands of blogs and other incredible websites. Now Pinterest has become one of my popular favorites as I spend at least an hour a day planning my copycat routine of crafts, recipes and home decor. I have been so grateful for those who have shared their fantastic ideas! Now here I am pregnant with my fourth child feeling that if I don't do something soon, I will miss out sharing my learning experiences and I will probably forget all I discover as a a stay-at-home, busy, busy mom. Therefore, I have decided it is about time I give back to those who have benefited me in so many ways. I need to be contributing to the world of cooking/ family learning. So, this blog is my first attempt. It will be slow at first since I have no idea what I am doing but I have high hopes for a well of knowledge to be placed here and enjoyed by others. I am so excited to get started and can't wait to see if anyone else is benefited by what I share.

Patience is a Virtue

My husband and I teach a parenting class at church. At the beginning of every series of classes, we ask the participants to write down what they would like to learn. As we read their responses later, we found that a large percentage wanted to learn more about patience. Mind you-many of the participants are new parents with tiny toddlers who can't communicate effectively. Patience is greatly required to understand how to help their children. As a result, this whole week I have spent time studying and practicing patient parenting. This is what I have discovered:

1. Impatience is the number one reason parents become abusive, which stems, of course, from selfishness.

2. Patience dissolves most minor problems while impatience aggravates them and makes them worse.

3. Most impatient parents are impatient with themselves.

Lets start with number one: Impatience is the number one reason parents become abusive, which stems, of course, from selfishness.. I come from an abusive home. When I asked my father years later what he wished he would have done different, his first response was he wished he would have been more patient. My husband commented that when parents are impatient with their children, it is mostly because they have a personal agenda that is repeatedly interrupted. Any parent out there can identify with the constant calls from mom or dad as they are trying to do the dishes, write a paper, do homework, talk on the telephone, or just take a break. In fact, as I am writing this, My 3 year-old daughter is yelling at me to come and help her in the bathroom. These repeated demands can be irritating. However, I have found that as I quickly take care of my children's needs first, even anticipating them, I have more time to do what I have on my personal agenda.

This goes into the second point:Patience dissolves most minor problems while impatience aggravates them and makes them worse. When we are patient with our children and put their needs before our own, their aggravated calls lesson and problems are resolved quickly. Our patient behavior also teaches our own children to be patient throwing less fits and recognizing that they will get what they need. As I have practiced patience this week, my relationship with my children has improved. They respect my wishes because I am respecting theirs.

Now lets talk about the final point: Most impatient parents are impatient with themselves. When I was studying about patience, it never occurred to me that I could be impatient with myself. However, at a closer examination, I realized I was. For example, I seldom finish the long lists I make for myself at the beginning of the day and I always come away disappointed. I am often pulled in many directions from friends, to children, to my husband. How to juggle it all can be difficult and my expectations of myself often cause me to become impatient. As I keep my priorities straight and have a positive outlook, instead of being impatient, I can come away from the day feeling like I have worked hard and been productive. I am in the process of working on weekly lists instead of daily lists so that if I don't get to everything in the first day, I have the next day to continue. When I am patient with myself I don't worry so much if it all gets done wich gives me more purpose in helping my children and making them a greater priority.

I have found that patience is a real virtue in parenting and an absolute necessity in successful parenting. I would encourage all parents to take the patient challenge and try hard for one week to be patient with their children and with themselves. I would love to know how it has worked for others and learn from others insights.