It's easy to complain about what we don't have isn't it?

I often find that in the fall and winter, as the stores are absolutely bursting at the seams with all sorts of gifts and goodies for eager Christmas shoppers, I notice a whole lot of things that I think I need. Suddenly my wardrobe seems more lacking than it did before, my home decor more sparse, my kitchen needing a few more additions, and on and on.

Discontentment is a sneaky thing. Just when we think that we've learned to be grateful for all of the abundant blessings in our lives, a quick trip to the mall brings out that ugly green jealousy monster in us (otherwise known as sin) and we start looking around with eyes that see only what we don't have.

God has been so faithfully working away at this area of my life, chipping away the rough edges of greed and materialism and envy. Though I found that it did rise up again somewhat this Christmas season, I was so blessed to realize that (at least for the moment) the contentment side is starting to win out over discontentment.

I think that one of the main things that has changed in my heart and in my way of thinking is this... I realize now more than ever that I am rich. I'm not just saying that in the spiritual and relational sense (though that would also be true- I have a Savior who has met my greatest need, and I have been blessed with an amazing husband and children, and many, many other significant and beautiful relationships in my life).

What I mean is that I am really, truly materially rich. And most likely, so are you. I'm quite sure that most people in our North American culture would disagree with me. We don't own multiple vehicles and the one we do own isn't luxurious or new. We don't live in a fancy house, and for that matter, we don't own the one we do live in. I don't wear designer clothes. The only purse I own is from a garage sale.

So exactly how do I define being "rich"? Well, for starters, I live in a house. With heat. And running water. It's clean and sanitary (ok, except maybe the bathroom once in a while), with no insects or rodents to speak of. Our home has more than 1 or 2 rooms (in fact, it has 10 if you count laundry and bathrooms). Our furniture is not ratty or ugly (and for that matter, we actually have furniture). I have a closet full of clothing and much of it was purchased new. By my doorway sits 5 or 6 pairs of shoes. Even when our budget is tight, we don't worry that we won't eat. It might not be our favorite foods, but we have never come even close to experiencing hunger.

I live in a country where I can vote in a fair and democratic system. For the most part, the police and justice system is generally just and certainly not corrupt to the same degree as in many nations. I do not live in a war-torn nation, fearing midnight bomb raids or hearing random gunshots throughout the day. I go to sleep each night feeling safe. I do not experience the terror of fearing for the safety of my precious children. We have the freedom of attending church in public each and every Sunday, with no concern of persecution. We own more Bibles than I can count.

It is so easy to begin to swallow the messages that our culture wants to feed us... you need more, you deserve more, you should have everything you want, it's ok to treat yourself, bigger and newer is always better. What we forget is that beyond the place that we call home are desperate nations full of desperate people. People who would consider the clothes in my closet beautiful and plentiful. People who would consider my home a palace. People who would wonder that I could ever possibly feel stressed about my grocery budget and the foods I feed my family. People who are hurting and needing so much that even the simplest of human comforts (a comfortable bed, a bowl of rice, a bath, a hug) would feel luxurious to them.

Whenever I start to look around and feel that I am somehow lacking something, I remind myself of these things. It doesn't take long before that want or "need" dissipates and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all that we have been blessed with and asking God how we can give of ourselves more to those who are without.

Do you struggle with feelings of discontentment? How do you deal with them? And am I the only one who finds that the holiday season makes it harder?

Want to remind yourself of all that we have to be grateful for? Check out the other Gratituesday posts at Heavenly Homemakers!

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Image by PhotoVandal

There's something about fall and winter that makes me want to shift gears. To cozy up in my home and just slow down a little in general. Much as I absolutely adore summertime and warmth and sunshine, the change of pace can sometimes be a welcome thing to me.

After what has been a particularly busy summer and early fall for our family, I am anticipating this slower season even more than usual. Some years I am so loathe to say good-bye to summer, that happy, bright and cheerful time of year. I live on the Westcoast, where the weather can often be dreary, gray, wet and cold in the fall and winter months.

Yet this year, this slower season holds the promise of more time to do some things I've been eager to do. Quality time with my husband and children. More time to pour into my nutrition and herbology studies, and into my blog in particular. And lots of projects around the house I'm anxious to get to.

Here are some of the things on my to-do list:

• Sewing- I bought material for several projects, including new bedroom and living room throw pillows, just before I the stick turned pink last December. Once the morning sickness hit, the pillows and other projects were history. Thankfully, they're still waiting for me right where I left them!
• Holidays- I haven't always put a whole lot of effort into finding ways to make the holiday season especially meaningful. I'd like to change that this year!
• Recipes- Every few years I like to really sort through my recipe cards and reorganize my recipe binder. I want to update my list of our favorite recipes and make things easier for simple meal planning.
• Knitting/Crocheting- A few weeks ago at a family gathering, my husband's cousin started teaching me to knit. I'm hooked! This winter I really want to develop my knitting and crocheting skills, and once I've got the hang of it, start working on it more with my oldest daughter.
• Reading- When the sun is shining, the kids want to go out and play, the tomatoes need harvesting( and the garden weeds are beating me), there's precious little time to sit down and read. Winter is the perfect time to cozy up on the couch with a warm blanket, a hot drink and a really good book. Or three really sweet, squirmy kiddos and a handful of picture books.
• Bigger homeschool projects- In the midst of adjusting to a new baby, finishing up the garden and summer preserving, health issues, etc. our learning times have been a bit bare bones. We're still covering the basics, but I just haven't had the time or energy to really get into any of the more interesting projects I'd like to do with Abbie, like making a cardboard model of the human body (complete with balloon lungs!) or putting together an album of zoo animals we've taken pictures of and labeling where each of them lives on our large world map.
• Family photos- I'm 2 1/2 years behind in our family photo albums. Yikes! That is one big project right there!
• Decorating- Along with going through our photos, I'm eager to start printing off some of my favorites and finding unique frames for them. I want to create photos displays for the top of our piano and one wall in our hallway.

I know, it's still busy and ambitious, but I've come to recognize that's just my personality! I won't get all of it done, but I'm looking forward to tackling my list anyways!

Do you enjoy the slower pace of fall and winter? What are some of your plans and projects for this season?

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I am all about simplicity in the kitchen. If there is a way that I can make my meals work together and save myself time, effort and dishes, I am all over it!

One of my favorite ways to do this lately has been to coordinate the meals within my weekly meal plan. By this, I mean that I try to think of dishes that will work together to create leftovers and/or other elements that will lend themselves to different dishes that same week. The easiest way to accomplish this is to choose a protein type (eg. beef, chicken, fish, vegetarian) and then come up with a combination of meals all using that same protein.

Here are some examples of how I do it:

Beef

Start with a roast in the crockpot and eat it with potatoes, veggies and gravy. The next night the leftover beef turns into fajitas, with added onions, peppers, sour cream and guacamole. A day or two later, the extra gravy/juices from the crockpot are added to the last bits of (now diced) beef with some beef bone broth, carrots, celery, onions, garlic and potatoes and become a delicious crockpot stew.

Chicken

Roast a whole chicken in the crockpot in the morning. That afternoon, remove all chicken from the bones, dice it and put it into meal sized portions. Put the bones back into crockpot for another day, along with water, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, and veggies to make broth. That first night, use some of the chicken along with broth, veggies and your topping of choice to make a savory potpie. The next night that chicken can be tossed with pasta, along with some olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, or whatever strikes your fancy. Later that week, the remaining chicken gets added the lovely bone broth you've made and becomes your favorite type of chicken soup (chicken noodle, chicken rice, gumbo, spicy Thai, etc.).

Fish

Bake a whole salmon, with some lemon slices, butter and dill. Eat it that first night with a side of brown rice and steamed broccoli. A couple nights later you can use some of the leftover salmon and make a spinach and salmon quiche. For lunch the next day, finish off the fish by serving up some salmon melts with raw veggies or a green salad on the side.

Beans

Soak overnight and then cook up a big pot of beans (maybe pinto or black or a combination of 2 favorite types of beans). Simmer the beans with some taco seasoning and use them to top a fresh taco salad or as a filler for soft tacos. Next toss them into the crockpot along with diced tomatoes, other veggies, maybe some ground beef, and seasonings to make a chili served alongside soaked cornbread. Finish them off by making a batch of refried beans, perfect for using in quesadillas or burritos, or to simply eat with rice and veggies.

For a great twist on this idea, check out FishMama's excellent post on cooking once and eating three times!

For more on meal planning, see my previous posts:

Healthy Homemaking: Meal Planning Primer

Healthy and Frugal Meal Planning Help Part 1 and Part 2

How do you make your meals and menu plans work together for easier meals and greater simplicity?

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Lately, though, this blessed mama is finding herself with very full days! My tasks at present feel like all (and some days more than) I can handle: caring for three little ones aged 4 and under including a somewhat colicky (but still lovely!) newborn, maintaining the home in some semblance of order and cleanliness, making meals, scaling mountains of laundry, harvesting the garden (ignoring the weeds), doing my regular fall preserving (or attempting to, as you can see in the picture of me shushing a fussy baby while canning tomatoes), starting the new school year of home educating, supporting my husband as he starts a new business, and still having any degree of time and energy for relationships.

Though I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things, I'm also just plain old exhausted from lack of sleep, and thus time spent blogging is often just a bit much for me. There doesn't seem to be enough time in the day, and seriously, my brain isn't fully functioning! I would be wrong in my priorities to spend time focusing on my blog on many of these days when I am just needed in so many other ways, and honestly, my kids (and husband) need a much more pleasant and cheerful woman than I've been of late.

I've decided that I'm going to do some "play it again" posts (idea and title inspired by the lovely Amy @ MomAdvice, who occasionally re-posts previous but excellent posts from her archives). I'm going to bring back some oldies but goodies, interspersed with what I have time and energy to write fresh until I get things on the home front back under control and myself back to being a bit more rested and sane.

Thanks for understanding, y'all! Hope you enjoy them and can't wait to be more fully back ASAP! (Any requests?)

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
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• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

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*******

Guest Post by Amber

Continuing on from Part 1...

#1
– Start small.

Yes,
I know; do I have to spoil the fun? “Start small” is
really hard to remember when you're pouring over seed catalogs in
January! Those 400 feet of corn don't seem so long, and surely you'll
need at least 5 zucchini plants, right? Perhaps if you lived
away from all contact with civilization, or grew vegetables as a
business, you could handle that garden you're dreaming of, but most
of us have other things to do with our lives. We can't spend 4 hours
a day on garden maintenance.

So
be realistic. Of course, if you've never gardened before, it will be
hard to judge what's realistic. For example, unless you've heard from
gardening friends, you won't know any better than to plant those 5
zucchini plants to feed your family of 4. (You'll have zucchini
coming out your ears!) I suggest finding some gardening friends.
They'll warn you about those crops which are more difficult to grow,
and give you a good idea of how much you'll need to plant. It's
always better to get a pleasant experience this year, and increase
your gardening next year, than to be overwhelmed this year and never
garden again.

Container
gardens are also a good way to get a taste of gardening. Go for a pot
with a tomato plant in it (make sure it's deep enough!) or a
rubber-maid tub full of dirt and a crop of bush beans. Here's my tub
of butter crunch lettuce – it fed us April-June of this year: 

There's
nothing like going out and picking your salad five minutes before you
eat it!

#2
– Go Organic

Let
me contradict one very important myth; that organic gardening is the
hardest kind to try. Nothing could be further from the truth. Organic
gardening is a lot like eating healthy. It may require a little more
work in the beginning, but in the end it will save you hours and
hours of time in the doctor's office or on the sidelines when you
could be living a more vibrant life. Organic gardening takes a little
more “oomph” when you're starting out, but eventually it will
save you endless work and frustration.

The
trick to organic, labor-reduced gardening is letting God's nature do
more and more work for you.
You will waste hours and hours of work trying to go against what God
built into a plant naturally

“Feed
your soil, and your soil will feed the plants, and your plants will
feed you.”

You
thought I was going to say something about taking care of the plants,
didn't you? Really, God made the soil to naturally take care of the
plants. Good soil makes plants resistant to disease, bugs, and
drought. If you have good soil, basically all you'll have to take
care of is pruning, tying, and picking, with a little weeding and
watering here and there.

This
concept is probably the most important thing my Dad has taught me
about gardening. Pouring chemicals onto plants will give you sick
soil, and eventually make you more work, but using organic methods to
build up the soil will give you better and better plants each year.
When you can get your brain geared into thinking about soil care
instead of plant care, your work load will decrease like bathtub
water going down the drain. It's so simple it's almost funny!

Good
soil isn't common in my part of the country. We have red clay here!
But you'd never know it, looking at the “brownie mix” in our
beds. That soil was built up over a 20-year period. Surprisingly,
though, most of the change has happened in the last couple years, as
Dad has started focusing more and more on soil improvement instead of
plant care. You can improve your soil too, and you may start seeing
results in as little as one year. There's hope for any
soil!

Don't
just avoid harmful
sprays – learn to feed
your soil beneficial things. Get into the mindset of thinking
of your soil as living. It
should be living; it
should be packed with beneficial organisms that break down organic
matter and help plants absorb nutrients. That topic is much too vast
to get into in this post, but if you'll take the time to research how
to feed your soil, you'll have a garden that practically takes care
of most problems for you.

#3
– Use cover crops.

For
this tip, I'd love to use neon lights and make a big flashing sign
that says “TIMESAVER!” This is the secret to almost eliminating
the hours you spend weeding.

Cover
crops are plants you sow “underneath” your main crop, to add
nutrients to the soil, and to cover up bare soil. Bare soil is
against nature! Have you ever noticed how weeds love to grow in bare
spots? If you leave the space underneath and between your plants
empty, guess what's going to fill in those bare space? That's right;
weeds.

You
don't want that – weeds steal nutrients and look awful. But don't
try to maintain that bare soil; you'll be fighting against the whole
of nature, and will waste a lot of time. Instead, plant something
beneficial there. Crops such as clover, buckwheat, winter rye, and
alfalfa all add
nutrients to the soil, and prevent the weeds from taking over.

Right
now we have a lovely thick carpet of clover about a foot high growing
under our tomato plants. It's soft and pretty, and I can count on one
hand the number of weeds I've had to pull from those beds this year.
When the growing season is over, we'll till the clover into the soil,
and let it compost there.

Mulch
made from grass clippings or leaves also works on the same principle
as cover crops. An added benefit of these is that they are feeding
the soil as they slowly decompose. It's a steady feeding that –
unlike powdered fertilizers – won't be washed away deep into the
soil where plants can't reach it.

#4
– Choose your plants wisely.

Some
plants are just easier to maintain than others. Lettuce is super easy
– just plant it and pick it. Bush beans require little or no
maintenance when they're growing, but they do take a lot of time to
pick. Cucumbers are easy to pick, but they produce best if they're up
on a trellis, and that takes a little time to put together. Tomatoes
are the most popular plant among American home gardeners, and are
known for being heavy yielders, but you'll have to spend some time
tying them to poles, or making cages for them. That can get
time-consuming, especially if you have 8+foot-plants like ours! But
to us it's worth it because of the tremendous yield (and the dropped
jaws of folks who see our plants).

Sit
down and figure out just how much effort you're willing to spend on
your garden, and be sure to match plants accordingly. Looking through
a few gardening books (look for “organic” and “intensive
planting” gardening books) should give you an idea of how much time
you'll have to spend on each kind of plant. Don't plant potatoes if
you don't have time to hill them up, or asparagus if you can't pick
it quickly enough to keep it from going to seed!

#5
– Schedule Time

Don't
just hope you'll get around to gardening when you have a free moment.
Free moments don't happen very often – certainly not often enough
to upkeep a garden! Having a garden is a little bit like buying a
dog; don't just “get” one, then stick it in the backyard kennel
all day. Schedule times to work in the garden, just like
walking the dog or making dinner. Habit makes everything go smoother.

If
you let your garden go for two weeks, and then
try to do all that work in one day, you will have more than you can
handle. You'll become frustrated and wonder why you ever planted a
single seed. If you set aside just thirty minutes – or even ten
minutes – every day, that's probably all the time you'll need to
spend out there, except for when you're planting seeds or picking
produce. Garden maintenance
shouldn't have to take up all your time.

I
like just about everything about gardening but, like most of you, I
don't have all day to spend in the garden – even though I'd enjoy
it. I find that I usually get out there to work every other day, for
20-40 minutes. That's all. It's enough time to turn the compost, pull
a handful of weeds, prune and tie the tomato plants, check to see
what needs to be picked, and do some watering. Some days I don't even
do all that.

Of
course, our garden is a fair size (not in mere physical size, but in
the amount of vegetation contained in it). Many of you could start on
a much smaller scale and only spend 10 minutes a day on upkeep.
Gardening in containers is even simpler. Having easy access to your
plants will encourage you to be consistent in taking care of them.
Keep that in mind if you're selecting a garden space.

#6
– Get the whole family involved.

I
feel like snickering as I write this. I could say this is the whole
secret to our beautiful garden – not cover crops, or raised beds,
or plant selection, but family involvement! If I was the only
one gardening, that place would not look the way it does now.
Many hands truly makes lighter work.

Dad
is definitely the garden manager, and we wouldn't get far without
him. But he has to go to work every morning and, even with all the
free time he spends in the garden, I know the help the rest of us
give is important too. I have a mother and five siblings, and we all
help in the garden in some sort of way. We all spend different
amounts of time out there, because some of us are more passionate
about gardening than others, but everybody does something.

Our
garden is a family thing. Our garden is a relaxed thing – we're not
stressed about everything being perfect. We want it to be
nice, but not at the expense of stressful relationships. Gardening
should be a beautiful thing. I find that being among plants makes me
feel extremely close to the Lord. His hand print is everywhere.

I
think everyone should have the opportunity to garden; it does
something for your soul. If you've taken the first steps, or have
been gardening a long time, I commend you. If you want to garden, but
are nervous about starting, let me encourage you. Get out there and
try it! The world isn't going to fall apart if you fail. And nothing
is really a failure – you're working with living things, and
everything that happens to them will teach you a lesson.

So
give it a try! But be warned...

...You
may fall in love with it.

Which tip most resounds with you? Do any experienced gardeners out there want to second any of Amber's suggestions?

~
Amber is the second oldest in a family with six children, and is
serving the Lord at home through various ministries and
entrepreneurial adventures. Besides gardening, she also enjoys
writing, sewing, cooking, baking, music, and reading, and blogs about
using skills for the Lord at www.fruit-of-her-hands.blogspot.com.

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

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• 5 Steps to Being a Lazy Gardener | Keeper of the Home
• The Makings of a Frugal Garden | Keeper of the Home

*******

Guest Post by Amber

“I would love
to garden, but I just don't have the time.”

Sound familiar?
It's certainly a phrase I've heard before. Having grown up with a
garden in the backyard almost every year, I have a tendency to shrug
off this little phrase. “Just get out there are do it!” I want to
say. “It's not that hard!”

Today, I had an
eye-opener.

This afternoon,
my father, my two brothers, and I were out working in a garden, in
the humid Virginia air. The soil was red and clumpy – and heavy.
Gnats buzzed around our heads as we moved heavy piles of clay here
and there, and bent over to plant eight fifty-foot rows of corn,
twenty-five hills of zucchini and yellow squash, one row of
cucumbers, and one bed of string beans. We began our work sometime
around 3:15 that afternoon. We didn't finish until 5:30.

A little while
ago, I sat down next to this computer and pulled my shoes off, ready
to relax. I looked at my white socks, now turned red from clay that
seeped into my shoes. Every muscle in my arms aches with each
movement, and my back is stiff and sore. I am ready to sit still for
a good long while, and ready to snort at anyone who calls gardening
easy.

That, perhaps,
is what many people imagine gardening to be like; back-breaking,
time-consuming, hot, never-ending work that leaves you exhausted. But
let me tell you about another garden.

This garden is
divided into ten beds, each neatly edged in cement blocks or wood.
The pathways are strewn with straw or leaves, and within the beds
dark soil is fluffy and rich, like brownie mix. The plants are tall
and close together, shading the soil so that you can hardly see it.
Produce hangs heavy and shiny on vines.

This garden is
a pleasure to enter – even if you're coming there to work. Weeds
come out of the soil easily, roots and all. The dirt holds moisture
like a sponge, and requires little watering. Produce is within reach
and easy to pick; in fact, picking is likely what you'll spend the
most time doing in this garden.

Sound like a
magazine garden? Does it sound too good to be real? Too...easy?

It is a real
garden. It's my family's garden.

It's not a
magazine garden. If you walked through it right now, you'd see one
zucchini plant dead from squash bores, and two or three bean plants
with a bit of fungus growing on them. But it's still a beautiful
place. And we're not exhausted every time we work in it.

But what about
the first garden I mentioned? That is also real. It is a garden we
are making on the land of a couple who lives less than an hour away
from us. The owner tilled the land briefly with a tractor the day
before we planted, and from there on we did all the work.

While there, I
realized how easy we have it at home. This
was a lot of work! No wonder so many people turn away from gardening
after the first try! If I hadn't been so excited about having so much
land to plant things on, I think I could have sat down and cried with
exhaustion when I finished raking that 400 feet of clay soil.

What
made the difference? Why was that
garden so time-consuming and hard, while gardening at home is so
enjoyable and an integral part of life? What's the secret?

Let's
admit it – most people would like
to garden. I think it's something God put in us from the moment He
placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Growing your own food –
what a freeing thought! But the obstacles are many for some people.
How can you fit gardening into your life, without it taking over
your life? I hope to give you some tips that will answer that
question.

First
a disclaimer; if you want a garden, you do have to garden.
There is no magic fairy dust you can sprinkle on that bare patch to
make things grow. These tips I'll share are not designed to encourage
a couch potato. I'm not aiming for effortless gardening – just
less-effort gardening.

I'm
not a gardening expert at all, but I've listened to many gardeners –
'specially my Dad – talk about gardening, and I've worked alongside
my Dad so much, that I believe some of it has worn off on me. From
him, I have learned all sorts of information that I could share with
you on time-saving gardening. I can't possibly include it all
in one blog post.

So let's try to keep it simple – here are my top
6 suggestions for fitting gardening into your life...

To
be continued next week... Aren't you curious and excited to read Amber's
tips? Do you wish that you could garden, or garden more or bigger than you do, but feel that
you just don't have the time that it takes?

~
Amber is the second oldest in a family with six children, and is
serving the Lord at home through various ministries and
entrepreneurial adventures. Besides gardening, she also enjoys
writing, sewing, cooking, baking, music, and reading, and blogs about
using skills for the Lord at www.fruit-of-her-hands.blogspot.com.

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
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• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

More from Keeper of the Home

• A Tale of Two Gardens- Part 2 | Keeper of the Home
• A Tale of Rhubarb | Keeper of the Home
• The Makings of a Frugal Garden | Keeper of the Home
• A Peaceful House | Keeper of the Home

*******

Guest Post by Nola

Lately I have been trying to use my slow cooker (also known as a crock pot) more. I had a basic one that broke right before my second child was born, and my husband decided to replace it with a nice 7 quart model. It even has a “keep warm” and “buffet” setting. I’ve been coming up with more and more ways to use it, so I thought I would share some ideas about getting more out of your slow cooker. Maybe you have some ideas to share too!

1.    Why Use a Slow Cooker?

•    Slow cookers cook all day with no or minimal attention. Perfect for busy moms!
•    With a slow cooker, you can go out and come home to the delicious aroma of home-cooked food…and thus also avoid having to throw something together at the last minute, which means you may avoid unhealthy or expensive options, due to hunger and no time.
•    You can make supper in the morning and then avoid the rush in the late afternoon, which usually coincides with the time children need the most attention.
•    Having supper on time can be easier since it was all put together in the morning. This is much appreciated by hungry husbands and kids!  Sometimes life gets crazy and supper is late due to unforeseen things that happen with the kids or whatever.
•    You can use it on tougher cuts of meat and they come out tender. I no longer even cook a roast in the oven.
•    If it’s a hot day, you can cook things without turning on the oven. Its not just a winter time appliance!
•    You can cook big batches of something without attention and then (depending on family size and size of the slow cooker) freeze some for later use.
•    You can cook in your slow cooker when the stove is occupied with other pots and pans. For me, during canning season the stove is often occupied (and I don’t want the kitchen any hotter by using the oven) and I am too tired to think about what is for supper if I have to make it late in the day. It’s a perfect option to use my slow cooker!
•    You can cook great food for having company or house guests. I often use mine when I am having family stay for a few days, since that way we can be out and about doing things and come home to supper. I have also served supper guests from my slow cooker. Its so simple and easy, and then you can have all the clean up done in the morning, and relax and enjoy your guests before and after supper. After all, having company isn’t about the food, its about the people! The slow cooker makes time for what really matters. This is my favorite way to have supper guests.

2.    What Slow Cookers Cook:

Slow cookers seem to cook certain types of food best. The types of foods that cook best are those that can cook slowly all day, not things that would need very little cooking time. I have found slow cooking to be best with roasts, chicken parts, spaghetti sauce, soups and stews.  I’ve also done beans, and breakfast cooked cereals. I’ve even seen recipes for desserts and hot drinks, but have yet to find healthy recipes for those. You can even adapt many recipes to the slow cooker!

Do you have a slow cooker? Are there any ways you can think of that you aren’t using your slow cooker to its full advantage? Any other ideas, favorite recipe sources, or other ideas on how to make better use of this handy kitchen appliance?

Nola is a homemaker and mother to two girls: 6 months and 3 years. She enjoys finding healthy ways to serve her family better.

Image by lindyireland

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**Yes, this is baby Johanna in the kid's little doll carriage, lovingly wrapped up and given a little piggy to keep her company.

I think one of the most wonderful things about having a 3rd baby is that the actual work of caring for a newborn becomes so much more natural. I remember feeling fairly overwhelmed when I had my first child, a lot less when I had my second, and now this third time around feels even that much simpler and easier.

The longer I am a mother, the more that I realize there are very few things that I need as I nurture my new little one. Her needs are not complex, and neither are the tools that I need to meet them.

There have been a few things, however, that I have been considering quite indispensable in these early days with my sweet little girl:

1) God's grace. Abundant, undeserved, unfailing, sufficient. Along with the daily strength that He offers me, comes deep and pervasive joy. I am overwhelmed, but mostly by His goodness and the rich blessings in my life. 

2) My husband. More than I can ever remember before, I have been cared for and coddled and treated like a queen. In the first few days, if I even tried to so much as put a dish in the dishwasher, I was told in no uncertain terms to sit myself back down! He has been so understanding of my need to rest, and so helpful with the children and around the house. I don't know what I would have done without him!

3) Our Co-Sleeper. If there is one thing that I would recommend for every new mother, I think this would have to be it. Having my baby right beside me allows me to nurse so easily throughout the night, without getting up, without turning on lights. And having her in her own bed (and not actually in mine) allows me to sleep comfortably, without worrying about baby, without feeling squished. Ahhh... nighttime nursing at it's finest. 

4) My Shower Hug. Back when I reviewed this, I had a feeling that I was really going to like it. Boy, was I ever right! It's like a hot compress in the shower, and much more comfortable than a nursing bra at night. Oh yes, I like it very much.

5) Our washer and drier. Between stuff from the homebirth, all of my non-pregnancy clothes that were musty from storage (yep, should have thought to do that pre-baby), regular family laundry and now the usual deluge of laundry that comes along with having a newborn, those machines have been doing double duty, I tell ya!

6) Meals I don't have to cook. Between my MIL here for a few days, a week of dinners from our church caregroup (standard for every baby born- I think this is such a good thing!), and my after-baby freezer stash of meals and simple meal-makings (nitrate-free turkey hotdogs, anyone?), we have been set around here. What a blessing to not have to be doing much fussing around in the kitchen at this point! Every time I try to get more active again since the birth, it starts to obviously affect my recovery, and so I am grateful to know that even if the house gets messy or all that laundry doesn't get caught up on yet, at least we will eat!

7) My nursing canopy and sling (oops, that's 2 things, isn't it?). These are a couple of items that I decided to splurge on this time around (if splurge is the right term for someone who buys things only on sale or places like Craigslist). I got through two previous babies without them, but decided that they sure would be nice to have, and I'm so glad I did. My nursing canopy is not only adorable (a boldly colored morning-glory pattern by Amy Butler), but it really does make nursing in public so much easier as it is completely hands-free and more covering than any blanket. My new-to-me Hotsling
has also been a huge improvement over using a Snugli type carrier, a bad ringsling, and an Ergo infant insert. It folds up small, goes on and off quickly, keeps baby snug and happy, and so far isn't bugging my back. I'm a happy camper.

What things do you consider indispensable after the birth of a baby?

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
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• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
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• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

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Though the title of this post is a bit tongue in cheek, I really haven't been a terribly conscientious or hardworking gardener so far this spring. Just feeling all-around busier this year than last, and having to contend with a 5, 6 and now 7 months pregnant belly, has quite simply cut down on time, energy and motivation to really get out there and get the hard work done.

And so here are my "tips", from a truly "lazy" gardener, and how it's been working out for me so far!

1) Keep Fertilizing and Soil Care Simple.

Unless you're just starting out with really poor quality soil (as I was somewhat last year- it had lots of worms but definitely needed some TLC), you can get by with doing less if you have to. I simply didn't have the energy this year to source out a whole bunch of compost or manure (and my compost last year had some issues, some of my own doing and some because someone tinkered with my bin, so I haven't had a whole lot of usable compost).

Instead, after I hand-tilled each of my raised beds, I simply sprinkled in a good amount of a store-bought fertilizer that I found last year and mixed it in well before planting. The fertilizer I'm using is called Nutri-Rich and it is a 100% natural, organic fertilizer containing no synthetic ingredients. I bought it from Azure Standard food coop. It is a 4-3-3 fertilizer mix and also contains calcium.

As some crops get nearer to harvest and need a bit of a boost, I am just adding another sprinkle around the plants and then watering well to release the nutrients into the soil. I also picked up a bag of composted cow manure, just to change things up a bit, and I'll add a bit of that to my plants as well. Though there is much more that I could be doing in terms of really feeding my soil, this is what I have energy for right now, and therefore this works for me!

2) Plant Wide and Thick.

This is a technique that I am just trying out for the first time this year. I got the idea from a book called Joy of Gardening. Basically, rather than doing square foot style planting or row planting, you sow blocks of soil (mine are about 2-3 ft by 2-3 ft, depending on the block) with a thick covering of seeds. This works with crops like turnips, radishes, beets, lettuce and other greens, carrots, peas, etc. Depending on the size of plant, you do it a bit more thickly or thinly as needed (carrots a bit more thickly than peas, for example).

Although this has it's downsides, namely some uneven germination and spacing and the need to do some thinning, it also has several benefits. One is ease of planting. No digging holes or making lines to follow, no trying to separate individual seeds or carefully measuring out your plot. My method was to prepare the block of soil, grab the packet of seeds, try to distribute them evenly over the area, then cover with a bit of soil. So easy!

More recently, the second benefit I see is that even though I have done basically zero weeding, the blocks are so full of plants that there isn't a whole lot of room for weeds to grow. This has been especially true with my turnips, peas and lettuce. Carrots take longer to get big and leafy tops, so that patch is certainly a bit weedier, as is my spinach patch where I had poor seed germination and therefore very few plants. Overall, though, this technique definitely has it's perks!

3) Let Your Plants Get Their Own Water.

I think this is a lesson that you learn increasingly the longer you garden. It's simply not necessary to get out there and water every two days or so. I think that I have only purposefully watered my entire garden 3 times in 2 months, and that was simply because I didn't want my seeds to dry out while germinating (because then they would die), and once before going away on a weekend that I thought would be quite warm and not likely to rain at all.

When plants are left to fend for themselves without being fed by the sprinkler or hose, they learn to develop long and strong roots that are capable of reaching deep down into the soil to get the necessary moisture for growth. In the long run, this produces stronger plants overall. The major added benefit of doing this is that you don't have to spend your time and energy watering, as well as needing to rely less on unfiltered city water (which contains chlorine and other such lovely chemicals), but rather on rain and groundwater (which in theory should be a bit cleaner of a source when you're trying to grow organically).

4) Lighten Up About Looks.

My garden isn't the prettiest it's ever been. There are a lot of weeds around the edges, in the pathways (though my hubby cleaned those out a bit yesterday- thanks sweetie!) and yes, in with the veggies. Some spots look a bit random because of how the seeds happened to spread out and germinate, without careful planting.

I've decided to not care this year. I'll do my best to keep up with it, and I do have more weeding and tending to the garden in my future plans (this afternoon, even). But, I have happily discovered that even with weeds as their neighbors, my plants are still growing and yes, producing! Here's a clip from a gardening ebook I like (Mama's Guide to Growing your Groceries) that encouraged me in this:

5) Pick, Eat and Be Merry!

If you have followed all of my steps above, within 1-2 months of planting you should be able to begin my recent late afternoon ritual: walk barefoot out to the garden, overlook the weeds, revel in all that it growing and gloriously green, then fill a bowl with choice baby greens and radishes, and mosey on back inside to make us a salad.

Next, we look forward to the peas that began to flower this past week. And the baby turnips just about ripe for the plucking. The carrots and onions that could start to be consumed in a couple of weeks time. The spinach and kale that are nearly pickable. The cauliflower and broccoli that should start to produce heads any time!

Really, truly, it's easier than you might think. You, too, can be a lazy gardener and enjoy a bounty of fresh, organic veggies straight from your backyard!

Any other tips from my "lazy" gardening buddies out there? How do you keep the work in your garden minimal? What has worked for you in particularly busy or tiring seasons of life?

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
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• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
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• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

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So many thoughts come to mind, but I'll try to keep it coherent:

1) First of all, blogging can be so artificial, in what it shows us of somebody's life.

Sometimes I scan over the posts from a week or two of blogging and think "Gosh, my life looks more impressive than it is!". You only have the privilege of seeing the topics that I managed to write on that week: perhaps my Quiet Time bins, some yummy recipes, my grocery budget breakdown, a garden update and some things the Lord has been teaching me.

What you don't see is that the Quiet Time bins took me 6 weeks to complete after I purchased the bins, that I undercooked my pumpkin bread last week, that I went over budget on groceries this month, that I have barely been out to my garden this last little while and it's getting a bit weedy, that I didn't manage to have time with the Lord today, that I was really tired and somewhat snappy with my kids this morning, and that my house desperately needs to be vacuumed and I'm behind on laundry.

The bottom line: I am a real person. I mess things up daily. I do NOT have it all together. I am the biggest sinner I know, and utterly dependent on the grace and mercy of God. I can be grumpy and selfish with my husband and kids. Not every meal I make turns out well. I don't always balance my time efficiently or effectively or wisely. I have lazy days where I struggle with motivation. I sometimes have to run around to make my house presentable for guests. I sleep in some days when I should have gotten up earlier. I don't always make time in the Word and in prayer the priority that I should. Some days I would prefer to just avoid the kitchen. Sometimes I don't feel like blogging (gasp!).

2) We can only do as much as we can do, with what God has given us, through His grace.

I am definitely still working on learning this lesson. I, too, can look around at other women and think that I ought to be doing this or that, or read other blogs or books and feel that I am somehow missing the mark of all that a godly wife, mother and homemaker should be accomplishing.

What I need to continually remind myself of is that I am not those women. I am me. In the circumstances that God has placed me in, with the talents and gifts He has given me, with the struggles and weaknesses He has allowed for my sanctification.

One of the best things that I got out of the book Shopping for Time
, which I've mentioned before, is that I can't do it all, and I am not supposed to. What I can do is conscientiously seek God on my time and priorities and schedule, asking what He would have for me in each new season of life. As He leads me to focus on particular priorities, relationships, and tasks, I have to learn to give up my need to "do it all" and be content in doing what He has actually asked of me. It's so easy to place expectations on myself that He doesn't burden me with, but not only is that unwise, it's also unfruitful.

3) Do I ever feel worn out? Yes. Do I get overwhelmed sometimes? Of course. Do I sometimes wonder how I can add new things to my plate as our family grows, life gets busier, I learn more about health and nutrition, etc? Absolutely!

I have a tendency to want to do it all. I add things faster to my own schedule than anyone else ever could. I often have to force myself to sit back and really evaluate all that I am doing, and whether it's wise and even feasible.

One thing that has helped is learning to streamline things over the years, and just becoming more comfortable in my roles and duties. I continue to try new scheduling methods, cleaning routines and techniques, implementing systems of organization, and trying to declutter more. I've learned to keep things like breakfast and lunch simple, to bathe my kids only a couple times a week, to find ways to multitask better, to use recipes with less ingredients and hands on time, and all of these things help me to accomplish more without going crazy.

I've also given things up. I don't do scrapbooking or cardmaking anymore. I very rarely read fiction. I've worked to cut my grocery shopping trips down to every second week. I spend much less time on the phone than I used to and make use of my call display. We don't watch tv, and keep the movies to a minimum. My kids aren't in a bunch of activities, and we don't do very many playdates or get togethers with friends during the week. My husband and I often use our free evenings to sit at our respective computers and do business stuff (though we still make time for fun and just being together). We work to maintain and nurture the relationships in our life that seem to be the highest priority in a given season, and try not to spread ourselves too thin.

4) I constantly have to try to remind myself of what really matters.

Is it that my house was spotless or that I played with my kids? Is it that our children were academically advanced or that we spent time instilling godly character, discipline and teaching them the Word of God? Is it that every meal I make is balanced nutritionally, completely organic and perfectly prepared or that I have sought to be a good steward with what I have been given, and that my motivations are to glorify God and to love and serve my family?

I can easily forget these things, but they're true! So often, the things that I burden myself with are not ultimately important. Sometimes I get lost in the peripherals, and I need to take a step back and re-evaluate.

I hope this somewhat rambling post gives a little more insight into who I am, and how my days and weeks really play out in the real world, not just the blogosphere. I so desire to present myself as a regular woman, with struggles and challenges, who is just doing her best and sharing the journey with you!

I would love to hear from the rest of you, and how you deal with feeling overwhelmed, with the expectations you have for yourself, and on maintaining balance and focus! Do you relate to these questions and issues?

Images by Hamed

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

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