Learning To Say No

If there is one thing I need to work on more than anything else, it's learning to say no--  No to things that take me out of the house, no to having more kids in the house, and no to things that take the kids out of the house any more than they already are.

I'm tired.  I'm tired of running the kids places and having them come home and act like completely different children.   Lately that issue has become serious.  O12 has a friend that really brings out the worst in her and we've had to sever the ties.  Even talking on the phone with this friend would change her entire demeanor.  Since we cut off their communication I've noticed that she's more loving with us and more open and communicative.  I know that we made the right decision.

The hardest thing for me is wondering if those kind of decisions are right.  I'm working really hard on not second guessing- especially when we really feel the Lord's calling.  I'm such a worrier and I really like happy.  Happy kids, happy husband, happy family- those make me happy. 

Help me learn to say no!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

This morning we had a LLL meeting at our house.  We ended up with 6 moms and over 15 kids, most of them under the age of 7.  It was a lot of fun.  I made these delicious muffins to share!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

* 4 Eggs
* 1-½ cups Sugar
* 1 cup Coconut Oil
* 1-¾ cup Pureed Pumpkin
* 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
* 1 cup Whole What Flour
* 1 teaspoon Salt
* 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
* 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
* 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
* 2 teapoons Nutmeg
* 1 package Cream Cheese (8 Oz.)
* ⅓ cups Sugar
* 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar (optional)


Makes 18-24 muffins. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or put paper liners in 24 muffin wells.

Cream together the cream cheese and 1/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs lightly with a stand mixer on medium speed (you could also do this with a hand mixer or by hand). Add 1 1/2 cups of sugar, the oil, and the pumpkin puree. Beat well on medium speed (1-2 minutes). Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture, and blend well.

To assemble the muffins, fill muffin tins halfway with the batter. Add a dollop of the cream cheese filling (about a teaspoon) and top with remaining batter. Sprinkle brown sugar lightly over top of muffins.

Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and muffins are springy to the touch.

I found this recipe originally at Tasty Kitchen, but I made some modifications. It still has a lot more sugar than I would like but I didn't want to experiment too much when I was having guests over. 

Rain, Rain

Today the kids have been confined to the house.  It's dark and windy outside and the skies open up quite often so the sidewalk and yard are wet and quite muddy.  This morning all they wanted to do was play video games or watch tv.  They were fighting, talking back, and just generally not behaving. 

In the not so distant past, I would have lost it at that point.  But I didn't.  I calmly and firmly told them that there would be no television or video games this morning.   It was like a light bulb went off over their heads and they stopped arguing with me.  They didn't stop arguing with each other right away, but that ended fairly quickly as well.

After that point we really had a productive day.  The girls finished their math lessons and read.  L7 read for me in the back room and did some work with the math manipulatives.  The baby went down for her nap on time and slept for 2 hours, too! 

I was able to keep up with day 2 of the Get Dressed Challenge.  I'm not dressed super nicely- I have jeans on, but I'm wearing a nice top and did my hair again.  The kids kept asking where we were going this morning because I was dressed "up".  :)

Get Dressed Challange: Day 1

So here I am at day one of Sarah Mae's Get Dressed challenge. I managed to get a late shower in while the kids were eating breakfast and got dressed in a nice tshirt and a skirt.  I don't wear makeup, but I did do my hair.  I have earrings in and my cross necklace on.  I need to put my watch on still. I'm hoping to get my toe nails painted at nap time, before my husband gets home from school.

I feel better already- more accomplished.  I'm hoping that it will give me the motivation to get the kids up and dressed quicker than usual- especially O12.  I end up having to remind her so many times to get dressed that I'm angry and yelling before she finally does it.

Now I'm off to make apple cinnamon muffins for our play date this afternoon!

Keeping Busy

One of the biggest issues we've had recently in our house is keeping busy.  I always have plenty to do, but the kids don't want to always be helping me with the wash or housework.  We're going to be starting our winter garden soon, but they're still looking for other things to do-  the older girls especially.

Sweet M10 has been doing a lot of baking and she made dinner all by herself the other night.  O12 is not as interested in anything.  She's my tough one.  The other day we were on Pinterest and looking at fall/winter crafts and found these beautiful garlands.  We found out that they were made by finger knitting so we sat down and taught ourselves via YouTube last night.  It's such a wonderful thing to do.  We have about 4 feet of red garland already done!  We can easily do it when we're sitting together in the evening and even L7 wants to get in on the action.

I realize what a time sucker media has been in our lives.  I really don't mind a movie here or there, but the tv is full of senseless cr*p and there are so many worthless things online as well.  But it's been hard to find things for the kids to do instead.  We've been playing a lot of board games, doing arts and crafts, and reading.  I know it's going to take some time though.  It's taking me time, too.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13

Mothering is My Sacred Calling

What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. 

Martin Luther