5 Things I'm Learning As A Homemaker

 I have been a homemaker for most of my adult life. For many of those years I looked at homemaking as a chore I had to do. I didn't call myself a homemaker I just called myself a stay home mom. I never considered homemaking to be anything significant. Two years ago something shifted when I came across a post talking about homemaking and the significance of being a homemaker. I wish I could remember where I found the post but that's besides the point. I want to share with you a few things I've learned over the years when I decided to be more intentional with my homemaking. Here we go!

5 Things I'm Learning As A Homemaker

 

Homemaking goes beyond having a clean and tidy home.

 As important as those two things are to homemaking I don't believe that it's the end all be all. You can have a picture perfect home with stylish furnishings and updated appliances but still have a home that feels cold and lonely. In my homemaking I want to create a welcoming environment. I want my husband to feel relaxed and for my children to feel safe. I want to make our home a place where we leave the outside world behind us and entire into a space that feels calm and beautiful. Will I have dirty dishes in the sink sometimes? Yes. Will I have kids running around and teenagers arguing with each other? Yes. That's all part of life but I strive to make the majority of our time at home a peaceful time. There's little tricks I've learned over the years on how to do this and I can share that in another post if you'd like. 

 

A routine is essential to homemaking.

Anything that is well ran often works within a routine. Routines are all around us and part of life. The sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening. When we close out of summer we begin to fall into autumn. After the clothes are washed we dry them and then we put them away. (eventually) Having a day to day homemaking routine for yourself will have your home running more smoothly. I have a very flexible routine and give myself a lot of grace but I try hard to keep my routines up. If you are looking for a routine to start go check out pintrest for some ideas.

My attitude sets the tone for the home

If I have a bad attitude it seems to pour into everything I do for that day. I'm less likely to get things done, I complain and get angry. This rolls over on to my kids who will feel the negativity I'm giving off. Usually on my bad days my kids are also having bad days and my husband is no exception either, he will also have a bad day. I need to work diligently to keep myself from having a bad attitude. I'm not perfect about keeping myself in check but I keep moving forward and try to make the following day better than the last. 

It's okay to want a beautiful home.

 I can take a long time deciding on what color table cloth to buy or what throw blanket will look best on my couch. I remember thinking once that the things I concerned myself with were insignificant and foolish. This was before I started to take my homemaking seriously. It was about that time when I came across a post about homemaking as mentioned above. I realized I have a heart of a homemaker and as I homemaker it's obvious that I would want my home to be beautiful. So the next time you think it's silly to concern yourself with throw pillows, just remember that it's okay to want things to be beautiful. 

It starts with a vision. 

I think when we have an image in our mind of what we want that it's easier for us to achieve those things. I imagine my home being clutter free with soft music playing and smelling nice from having a candle lit, essential oils diffusing, or bread cooling on the counter. I imagine my home being ran well with routines and good habits. When I think on these things I like to prioritize the most important things I want to accomplish and make a step by step plan on how I can create it in real life.



Thank you for taking the time to read the post. I hope you found value in this and ask any questions that you might have. Don't forget that you can find me on Instagram. Follow me here.

 

5 Easy Ways to Keep Kids Busy

With schools all over the US closing for the next few weeks, I thought I would share some things I do to keep my kids busy at home. If you are new here, hello! My name is Amanda and I homeschool my 5 kids. Over the last 4yrs, I have had to learn how to keep my kids busy and add in educational elements to their day. I am sharing those ideas with you in hopes that you will find these beneficial. After you read my ideas go visit Homework and Horseplay for more ideas!



This post contains affiliate links. This means if you purchase something I make some money and maybe I can buy myself some new books. (Because you can't ever have enough books)

Ideas To Keep Kids Busy

Poetry Tea Time:

This is an activity my kids love doing. We gather at the table and read poems. My kids especially love silly poems and riddles. We don't have tea since no one here likes it but we do eat treats. You can find lots of poems online for free. My kids are very fond of Shel Silverstein's poetry books.

Sensory Bins:

Sensory bins are a great way to keep kids busy with their hands. There are so many different ideas on Pinterest for sensory bins. You can make these as simple or as extravagant as you'd like. Fill a bin with rice and add in measuring cups and spoons. You can also fill a bin with some water and soap to make a little car wash or a bath for dinosaurs.

Library:

If your local library isn't closed I highly encourage you to check out some books. My local library allows you to request books online and they send an email when they are ready to be picked up. Grab up some books that interest your kids and you can also check out DVDs.

Plan a unit study:

This might sound like a lot of work but it isn't and it goes along with using the library. My kids are currently learning about the US Constitution. I checked out lots of different books for them as well as a DVD. We will read these books over a span of a few days and end it with watching the DVD. You can pick any topic for a unit study. Some ideas can be learning about germs, dinosaurs, trains, animals, weather, different countries or states, space, and anything else that you think would interest your child. You can also ask what they are currently learning about in school and check out books on those subjects. Our family especially love the What Was books. I will link some below.

Play Outside:

If the weather is nice where you are this will probably be a no brainer to play outside. If your kids are like mine they will also get bored being outside. Over the years I have found some ways to keep my kids entertained outside. One game we all love is the Go Find it game. Each kid picks a card and they have to find something in nature that goes with the card. On the cards will be words like soft, small, bumpy, or green. It's fun to see what the find. We also take little nature walks and the kids can search for something interesting. When we get back home I have them draw a picture of what they found and we look up information about whatever it is that they find. They really love doing this.

Here are some bonus ideas!!

• Write letters or color pictures for those in nursing homes
• Bake
• Spring Cleaning
• Hide and seek inside with lights off
• Watch old Disney favorite movies
• Dance Party to 90's music
• Build a fort
• Look through old pictures
• Make sock puppets
• Read chapter books aloud
  
  
  
  

  I hope you have found these ideas helpful. If you have more ideas add them in the comments below. Make sure to check out Homework and Horseplay for more ideas!
  
  

Morning Chore Madness

In the mornings after breakfast, the kids and I run around the house getting some chores done. I have the older 3 kids help in this so that things get done a little faster. We sweep, load the dishwasher, tidy up the living room, get a load of laundry in, and wipe down counters. During this madness yesterday I lost track of the baby (2yr old) and Haddy (6yr old) Typically Haddy doesn't help with morning chores because I find it easier for her not to. Anyway, I was searching through the house trying to find those two and I ended up finding them in my bathroom. Haddy had Raegan in her lap and she was brushing her hair. Haddy told me she wanted to help out so she decided to get Raegan's hair brushed out for me. She is such a sweet girl.

Missing The Picture

In the rush to get chores completed I'm missing out in other important things like allowing my 6yr old to help out. She desperately wants to be a helper and often finds her own little ways of helping. Sometimes she makes her bed and wants me to come look, she has even attempted to make my bed. I love her so much and don't have the heart to fix the bed after she made it. In my chaos of morning chores and trying to stick to a 9am sharp school start time, I am snuffing out Haddy's willingness to help out.

What Now

 We have a large family with 5 kids. It's essential to my survival that my kids help out with chores. I usually start them off at 9yrs old in doing chores when I should really be starting them so much sooner. The sense of accomplishment Haddy felt when helping out yesterday was so evident on her face when she smiled up at me to proudly tell me she was helping out with the baby. This really made me rethink everything. There really isn't any reason why I shouldn't be letting her help out. Haddy prides herself on being a big sister, she has ever since she found out she was going to be one. So, instead of worrying about a schedule I want to keep I now plan to include Haddy in the morning chore madness. Her new job is to brush out Raegan's hair and she couldn't possibly be more excited to do so.

What About You

At what age do your kids start doing chores and what do they do? I plan to add some evening chores for Haddy and even Raegan. Raegan loves to help get the laundry out of the dryer.

Why I Love Highway Noise

I wake up at 6am and tiptoe out of my bedroom as to not wake my sleeping toddler. I open up my bedroom door slowly as it squeaks pretty loudly. I'm holding my breath now just praying my toddler doesn't wake up. Once I cross the threshold into the hallway I sigh a breath of victory because she is still sleeping. I make my way to the kitchen to start making coffee. I don't know why I just don't set this up the night prior, I always ask myself this as I fumble around for the things I need.

Finally, the coffee is done brewing and I reach for my current favorite mug and coffee creamer. I pour everything into my mug and take in all the morning aroma. The fresh morning air coming in from the kitchen window and the coffee scent that reminds me of my childhood. I make my way to my living room and sit down while blowing on my coffee to cool it down.

As I begin to sip on my coffee I allow myself to enjoy the sweet stillness in my house. Everything is quiet, I can hear my son breathing and the birds outside chirping. 6:30am begins to roll around and the chirping birds are starting to get less noticeable as a new noise starts to emerge. The highway. The noise from the morning commuters as they all make their way to work or school. Now that school is back in session I also hear the buses on the highway. My husband hates the noise from the traffic, he finds it annoying. Myself, on the other hand, I love it.

The highway noise can sometimes resemble waves crashing on the beach but that's not why I love the sound. I love the sound because it reminds me of how blessed I am to have the opportunity to be home and enjoy the slow mornings. I'm not rushed to get myself ready for work or to get the kids packed up for school. I get to slowly sip down my coffee and check my emails. The traffic noise reminds me of this blessing every morning and I am thankful for that reminder every day

.

Why We Chose Baby Led Weaning

 

Co-sleeping, attachment parenting, and crunchy mom are just a few labels for different ways of parenting. I prefer not to use any of these but instead just do what works for our family and kids. This brings me to the topic of baby led weaning.

When I first heard about it I had no idea what it was. I assumed it just meant you let the baby decide when they are ready to eat food and wean from breastfeeding. I was kind of wrong. Baby led weaning is offering baby foods that they feed to themselves. You don't puree anything and you don't feed them baby food. You instead cut food into strips and let the baby feed themselves. Sound scary? Yeah, I thought so too.

I didn't plan to do baby led weaning. In fact, I bought everything I needed to make and store all my own homemade baby food. But when it came time for my baby to eat food, she refused it. She would smack the spoon away from her face and refuse to open her mouth. I figured she just wasn't ready for solid foods and decided that we would wait a little longer. A few weeks would pass and I would try it again, she still refused.

This battle went on for weeks. I finally decided to just give over and try baby led weaning. I read up on it as much as I could and even joined a great facebook group to learn more. After making myself more familiar with BLW, we gave it a try.

We started out with avocados and it was a huge success! She took a few bites of it and played a lot with it. She had fun! There was a learning curve for my baby on how to chew food and swallow it. She did gag a lot, but she never chocked. She was slow moving with BLW. Sometimes she just wanted to play with her food, but we kept offering it to her.

Eventually, Raegan started to eat without gagging and she learned how to chew her food. She is 10 months old and feeds herself very well. She likes all types of foods but loves anything that has carbs! (Girl after my own heart.)

All of that to say, we chose BLW because it is what worked best for our baby. There are so many benefits to BLW and if we have another baby we would probably do BLW again.

If you are interested in doing BLW with your baby, I highly recommend doing some research first. There are some things you do need to know before you start and some safety factors to consider. Here is the facebook group I joined that is full of very useful information, tips, recipes, and even encouragement. The group is named Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB)

Funny Things Parents Say To Their Kids

Have you ever said something to your child that made you shake your head? Have you said something that made you think that this is something you never thought you would have to say to another human being? I have done this so many times, especially when it comes to my son.

I asked parents what were some funny things they have said to their children and I got some great responses. I want to share them with you for a good laugh. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!



Don't lick snow off the handrail.

Don't lick your popsicle drips off the gas station floor.

Stop licking your sister!
 
What are you doing behind that tree?! Pull your pants up and get over here now! No, you cannot pee on the tree, you’re a girl for crying out loud!

The IRS does not kill people with *axes*! They require us to pay *TAXES*!

Stop touching your butt!

Don't sit on your baby sister's head.

Is everyone wearing underwear? 

I'll pay you to take a nap.

No, you can't drink toilet water.
 
No, you cant eat soup with a toilet seat around your neck.
 
Is that chocolate or poop? Actually, I really don’t want to know.
 
Don't pick your brother's nose and eat it.
 
Quit putting money in your undies.
 
Don't pee on a random car in Walmart parking lot.



This was a fun post to write up. I had so many people messaging and commenting on all sorts of funny things they have had to say.
What are some funny things you have said to your kids?

Large Family Grocery Shopping

One of the top questions I get asked is how I shop for our family. Many people are shocked when I tell them we feed our family of 7 on $400 a month. I don't use coupons and I stick to two stores, Wal-Mart and a day old bread store.

It's taken me a few years to figure all of this out. I tried couponing, driving to other stores for sales, using apps, and paying attention to flyers. None of those worked for me. I just need to get to the store and get out without having to mess with coupons or apps.

Here is how I do it.

Meal Plan

I start off by planning all our dinners. For our family dinner is the most expensive meal. I can easily plan breakfast and lunch, more on that later. I first figure out how many dinners I need to plan for. So for January, I will need 31 dinners. I grab a notebook and number the lines 1 to 31. I automatically give myself 4 "free" days as I like to call them. These are times we will eat leftovers or go out to dinner. After I do that I finish planning for the rest of the days. I add in my lunches and breakfasts by writing out all the things we will eat. Example: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, leftover dinner, etc. And for breakfast I know we eat oatmeal, eggs, toast, Cheerios, pancakes, yogurt, etc.

Grocery List

After I have my meal plan I go through the list and count up what I need to buy meat wise. I write all of that into my list and try to buy in bulk, if I can. I can later separate and freeze meat when I get home. Once I have all my dinner, lunch, and breakfast grocery list made out I add in snacks. 

Grocery Shopping

I shop at Wal-Mart for almost all of our food. I compare the prices and ingredients and try to make the best choice. After doing this for so many shopping trips you learn what brands to buy for your family. I will also buy things in bulk, like pancake mix. This way I can make up a bunch of pancakes and freeze them. I stick to my list the best I can. For bread, I shop at a local day old bread store. We buy 15 to 20 loafs of bread and freeze them in our deep freezer.

Home Cooking

Throughout the month I will check off the things I have made for my family. I try to plan out what I will make for dinner a week at a time so I stay on track. Of course, through the month we might need milk or other odds and ends we run out of. But the majority of my shopping is done on one day for that month.

Keep Your Lists

Keep your lists. For the following months, I look back at the previous month and plan out that month. I take a few meals out and add in new ones. I take the previous grocery list and work off that for what I need to get for the upcoming month. This saves me so much time.  


What you end up spending on your family on groceries will depend on what you buy and where you live. For our family, I choose to make simple meals and limit the number of processed foods we buy. Because of where we live fresh produce is hard to come by for decent prices, especially in the winter.

I hope you find this helpful. Just remember that what works for my family might not work for yours. It takes time to figure it all out and have a plan in place that works well for you and your family.

What are your tips and tricks for grocery shopping?