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In Part 3 of this series, I emphasized the importance of keeping our priorities aligned as God desires (God, Spouse, Children, House) and listed 15 Good Things I DON'T Do so I can give them adequate attention.

You cannot schedule long, lingering hugs with your husband, heart-to-heart's with your children, or circumstances that bring you to your knees and compel you to worship your Creator; but you can learn how to manage your secondary duties efficiently. This does three things:

1. It affords you more time to invest in the souls entrusted to your care.
2. It keeps your home "company-ready," and open for hospitality, whereby some have entertained angels, unaware. (Hebrews 13:2)
3. It teaches your daughters, by your own example, how to care for their own homes one day.

There are thousands of books available to help learn how to organize your home (I'll list my favorites at the end of this post), so I'll keep it short and simply list a few small, but meaningful things that have been a great asset in helping me manage our own home:

Meals for the freezer. 1. Double up when you cook or bake. Get into the habit of cooking extra so you have one meal for dinner and one to put in the freezer or give away. It takes almost no extra time or energy to double (or triple) a recipe and having a healthy "heat-and-serve" meal available on busy days is a great stress reliever! Some of our favorite things to freeze are soups, chili, casseroles, muffins, cookies, and brownies.

Making granola and sweet potato fries in the kitchen while the kids do school at the table. 2. Make supper at breakfast. I try to make my meals in the morning, or at least get some of the prep work done while the kids are doing their independent work at the kitchen table. That way, if school takes longer than normal or we have swimming lessons in the afternoon, 5 o'clock isn't as rushed as it could be.

3. Learn to use the kitchen wonder-tool: your crock-pot! You don't even need to use a recipe. Throw in a frozen cut of meat, a few vegetables and some spices in the morning, cover and set to 'Low,' and you'll have a tender, flavorful meal ready by dinner.

Our "school" cabinet across from the kitchen. The small drawers contain our pencils, markers, crayons, glue sticks, erasers, etc., and the four larger drawers contain our workbooks (one for each child, and one for Mommy). 4. Manage your space efficiently. Don't make yourself walk across the kitchen to retrieve the pepper grinder while you're simmering soup. Keep your baking essentials in a cupboard above the area where your blender is stored; your plates and silverware in closest proximity to your table (or dishwasher, if you have one); the schoolbooks on a shelf or drawer near to where you normally do your lessons (for us, that's the kitchen); the toys where the children play.

An uncluttered house is easier to clean up! 5. Clear the clutter. Get rid of the stuff you wouldn't know was missing if it suddenly disappeared. Donate, re-gift, recycle, or throw out. You'll spend less time trying to organize and clean what you don't need and your home will feel bigger and brighter. Cleaning up their toys will also be less daunting for your children when they have fewer of them to put away (you can read more about the toy storage system for our small house here).

A typical wash day: Charity (4) helps me fold (she's better than I am!), Judah (2) mountain climbs the unfolded pile, and Anna (7 months) watches us for entertainment. 6. Devote specific days to specific tasks. This is not a new idea. For Ma Ingalls and other pioneer women, each day had its own chore:
Wash on Monday. Iron on Tuesday, Mend on Wednesday, Churn on Thursday, Clean on Friday, Bake on Saturday, Rest on Sunday. Nowadays, with machines that speed up a great deal of these things and imported products that are cheaper to buy than make, my list looks a little different but the principle is the same. In addition to homeschooling everyday, I typically do laundry on Monday, groceries on Tuesdays, freezer cooking and baking on Wednesdays, swimming lessons and the bulk of my writing/blog business on Thursdays, housework on Fridays, outside work on Saturdays, rest on Sundays.

7. Multitask. I make dinner while the kids are doing their schoolwork at the kitchen table, check my emails or read aloud when I'm nursing, dust when I have a phone call to make, and review memory work while we're folding laundry.

What I aim to have our kitchen look like before going to bed at night. 8. Clean up the night before. I'm much more excited and motivated to start my day when I wake up to a clean kitchen and a tidy house. Every evening after supper, Brad and I wash and dry the dishes while the kids clean up their toys. They are rewarded with a bedtime story if they get the living room (also our play area) neatly organized before we're finished.

9. Ensure you're are being spiritually fed. You can read the scriptures out loud to your children while you are nursing, sing Psalms at the kitchen sink with your two-year-old, or pray while you're driving. I keep my Bible on my nightstand so it's the first thing I see every morning before starting my day.
"He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:29-31

When I remember to wear one, a pretty apron makes me feel like a real homemaker! My favorite ones come from Flirty Aprons. 10. Dress for the job. There's a reason the corporate world abides by a professional dress code. Dressing for success often leads to success. Your clothes make a strong visual statement about how you view your job. Comfort aids productivity and your personal, creative, feminine style tells the world your role is freeing, not stifling. Decide what you're going to wear the night before and put it next to your bed. Commit to not leaving the bedroom until you're dressed!

If you struggle with the temptation to stay in your robe like I do, I highly recommend reading Frumps to Pumps: Your 1-Month Motivotional to Getting Dressed and Staying That Way by Sarah Mae.

11. Take care of yourself physically. Eat healthy, take your vitamins, get fresh air, shower, go to bed on time, and adopt an attitude of joy that will energize you for the tasks at hand.

My very simple meal plan on a magnetic menu pad I found at Wal-Mart. 12. Meal plan. I'm not a rigid meal-planner, but I like to have a week's worth of dinners written down so I have a general idea of what I can prepare in the morning. It also saves me time and money at the grocery store.

13. Unplug. Turn off your distractions. Consider getting rid of the TV if it keeps you from going to bed on time and get an emergency only plan for your cell phone. Unplug the computer if you won't be needing it for several hours and keep it in an inconvenient location so it's a pain to check Facebook when you're supposed to be homeschooling.

Before and after the kids have cleaned up the living room/play area. 14. Involve the whole family. Managing a home doesn't mean you have to do all the work; it means you are responsible for seeing that the work gets done. Don't assume your children are going to learn how to run a home by osmosis. Let them take responsibility by giving them their own chores, and in the process of teaching them life skills, you will find more time to engage in fun, memorable family activities like hiking, tobogganing, or traveling together.

15. Stay home. Novel concept, isn't it? If too many trips out are keeping you from fulfilling your duties at home, it's time to cut back. I try to set aside one morning a week to do all of my grocery shopping and limit our extra-curricular activities. Currently, we're involved in swimming lessons and leave one other afternoon open for visits to the library, a friend's house, or a field trip. I don't go to Ladies Bible Study at Church and rarely go shopping "just for the fun of it."

My to-do list, decorated by someone who found a pen. 16. Make lists. Remember all of those careers being a homemaker encompasses? Making bite-size lists can do wonders when you're feeling overwhelmed. You can see exactly what needs to be done and get the satisfaction of crossing off a task when it has been completed.
17. Just do the next thing. When your kitchen sink is overflowing with dirty dishes, the floor is sticky, and dinner still needs to be made, just do the next thing. Don't look over your whole list or get side-tracked by thirteen other things that are calling for your attention. Just pick up the dish-brush, fill your sink with hot, soapy water, and do the next thing.

18. Accept help when it is offered and ask for it when it's not. Accepting help is not a sign of weakness or failure; it means you're a human who understands that no one can do it all. Asking for help humbles a person and opens their eyes to the community of believers that God has arranged to encourage and support each other (1 Thessalonians 5:11-13).

If you could recommend one life-altering home management tip, what would it be?

Recommended Resources
These are affiliate links for books I love, which means I make a small commission if you choose to purchase through them, but please don't feel obligated to do so!

• Large Family Logistics by Kim Breneman
• More Hours In My Day by Emilie Barnes
• Saving Dinner Basics by Leanne Ely
• Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley (The FlyLady)
• The Christian Homemaker's Handbook by Pat Ennis
• The Family Manager Takes Charge by Kathy Peel
• The House That Cleans Itself by Mindy Starns Clark

Part 1: Keeping A Growing Home | A Management Series for Moms Part 2: Keeping A Growing Home | Know Your Role! Part 3: Keeping A Growing Home | Making Priorities & 15 Good Things I Don't Do Part 4: Keeping A Growing Home | Time-Saving Home Management Tips Part 5: Keeping A Growing Home | My Daily Schedule

If you enjoyed this post, you may wish to follow Growing Home for updates via Google Friend Connect, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, or have them emailed directly to your inbox.
Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, A Wise Woman.,Walking Redeemed, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, We ARE That Family, Raising Mighty Arrows, Hearts For Home, Frugal Homeschool Family,

The Round-up:

• Food - 3.5 out of 5
• Service - 2.5 out of 5
• Decor - 3 out of 5
• Total - 9 out of 15

1009 Albert St., Regina, SK.
Phone: 306-543-1000

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Location, location, location.

It's the single-most important factor for many places of business.

In fact, there wouldn't be half as many Starbucks in the world if the company's executives weren't so incredibly good at sourcing hot locations in major cities.

So, if location is everything then Regina's Spices of Punjab Indian restaurant should be a massive, embarrassing flop.

Located on the main floor of the Inntowner Motel on Albert Street (yes, that motel) and tucked behind a random clothing store, Spices of Punjab should have died a slow and painful death mere months into its lifetime.

In fact, popular wisdom says that any new restaurant will go under within a year (probably sooner) if it doesn't have things right. Spices of Punjab is going on two years old. That means something -- something good.

It helps that owner Darren Singh is a member of the family that opened India House on Victoria Avenue a decade ago. India House has changed hands now, and sadly gone downhill. Still, the place was wildly popular when it first opened.

Singh continues the tradition of a tasty and reasonably priced lunch buffet from Monday to Saturday for just $10. Spices of Punjab was packed when I went a few months ago at lunch, so the food on the buffet line was fresh and hot.

Buffet choices include rice, naan, a few curries (usually one chicken, one lamb, one veggie) along with delicious bright-red Tandoori Chicken brought to your table by the servers. All said, the buffet definitely hits the spot. Even more so if you're on a short lunch.

Dinner time is quieter but more relaxing. The dining room is decorated in reds and greens with plenty of Indian artwork. As a bonus, it's bright and clean, something you wouldn't guess by looking at the motel's exterior.

On the other hand, service can be less friendly at night. Our waitress on a Thursday seemed irritated when we asked for a booth after she tried taking us to a table. It was 7 p.m. and only two other tables were seated. We didn't think getting a booth for two was such a huge deal. (The waitress later warmed up to us, for the record).

My dining companion, the World Traveller, and I placed a massive order. We'd both been craving Indian for weeks.

We started with Pakoras (deep-fried chopped vegetables with chutney) and Samosas. Then we went on to ask for Butter Chicken, Aloo Gobi (a cauliflower and potato curry), Chicken Biryani (a mixed rice dish), and Garlic Naan Bread.

The World Traveller used to live in England, where curry is as popular as submarine sandwich shops are here. She has also been practically everywhere on the planet (what gave that away?). She knows her stuff and was mostly impressed with the food, all of which got to the table in very good time.

The only disappointment for me was the Chicken Biryani. It's much smaller in size than what India House used to serve and didn't have the same flavour that I remember from years ago. Spices of Punjab has also done away with the Biryani's cashew nuts as an ingredient. Yes, cashews are expensive but they were the best part of the India House version.

I said to the World Traveller that I felt slightly guilty turning into the parking lot in front of the motel when we first arrived.

She laughed at me. Seriously though, sometimes certain people visit certain motels for certain reasons. Certainly you know what I mean?

That's OK, I will be back. Location be damned.

Spices of Punjab is worth an awkward moment or two in front of a shady motel.

spicesofpunjab.com
FYI: Website was out of date and incomplete at time of writing. Double check any information on the site by calling directly.

I had the brilliant idea of reporting the happenings on Regina's restaurant scene for Valentine's Day this year. After all, Valentine's Day is one of the busiest nights of the year for most restaurants. It's a time when people are actually looking to splurge a little.

As Valentine's falls on a Sunday this year, I thought that many restaurants would have planned something special. So far, the results have been a little disappointing.

Nonetheless, if you are planning a special night out it would be wise to make reservations soon.

Here's what I know so far. Please leave a comment if you know something that's not on this list:

The Abbey
2124 Albert Street
545-8811
Two-course dinner for two, $59; Two-course dinner for two with wine, $79. (This might be the best special I've found yet).

Beer Bros Bakery & Cuisine 1801 Scarth Street 586-2337 Feb. 8-14: celebrate Valentine's Day all week long with a special menu. The four-course "ex-beer-ience" is $40.00 plus tax and tip. Not too bad, methinks.
Bitten
1822 Broad Street
586-BITE
Open for Valentine's (normally closed on Sundays).
Otherwise, I was told it will be a "normal night" with a new fresh sheet coming out on V-day for the rest of the month of February.

Crave
1925 Victoria Avenue
525-8777
Closed on Sundays -- no Valentine's specials here.

Hotel Saskatchewan - Cortlandt Hall Dining Room 2125 Victoria Avenue 337-4311 A three-course menu with your choice of starter, entree, and dessert for $69.00 As Valentine's falls on a Sunday, morning brunch will be served for $32.00 with a few special items in honour of the day.
La Bodega
2228 Albert Street
546-3660
Two seatings are planned, one at 5:30 p.m., the other at 8 p.m.
Dinner special plus the usual menu are on offer here.

Memories
1717 Victoria Avenue
522-1999
Two seating times: The first for reservations between 5-6 p.m.; the second for reservations between 7-8:30
p.m.
Regular menu with a four-course special for two people (price not known at time of calling)

Willow on Wascana
3000 Wascana Drive 585-3663 Two seatings: one at 4:30 p.m.; the other at 7:30 p.m. The 4:30 seating offers a six-course meal; the 7:30 seating is an eight-course meal. Both meals are served with wine flights. $100/$125 respectively. Both seatings were full as of Feb. 4, but a cancellation list is available. (As a former waiter, I know that a number of people always cancel on Valentine's Day, especially on a Sunday. Give the list a try).
Zest
2903 Powerhouse Drive
522-5250
A couple's menu will be featured for $75.00 per couple (a four-course meal).

The Round-up:

• Food - 3.5 out of 5
• Service - 2 out of 5
• Decor - 3.5 out of 5
• Total - 9 out of 15

1950 Broad St., Regina, SK.
Phone: 306-585-8880
_____________________________________________________

I wish this Japanese restaurant earned a higher score -- I really do. Not only is Hanabi close to a number of downtown offices and hotels, its bland storefront hides a warm and inviting dining room that puts you immediately at ease. The lanterns, curtains, sushi bar, and large number of semi-private booths could almost -- just for a second -- make you believe you were in Japan.

Hanabi's menu is full of Japanese favourites: Sushi, Tempura, Bento Boxes, Teriyaki and Edamame (whole soy beans) are all there. For the more adventurous, there's Soft Shell Crab, Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake), and Seaweed Salad. There are also a a few Korean dishes on the menu.

When visiting for lunch last week, my friend (let's call her Ms. Thang) and I ordered a number of our favourites. It was her birthday and we have sushi on her birthday almost every year.

We asked for Miso Soup to start, followed by Gyoza (pork dumplings), Salmon Rolls, the Cream Cheese Roll (a house specialty), and two Inari (tofu pockets).

Things started reasonably well. The Gyoza arrived in about 10 minutes. They were OK, but I am almost certain they were store-bought -- a bit of a disappointment.

After another 10 minutes or so, we got the Inari, which usually come at the end of a meal, like a dessert item. At least they tasted good.

Then came the Cream Cheese Roll. Crisp seaweed wrapped itself around salmon, cream cheese, cucumber, avocado and a "Special Sauce" (our waitress told us it was warm apple sauce). This roll was a new one for both of us, and it was delicious.

Next up, and after another noticeable delay, we got one of the Salmon Rolls. The other was mysteriously absent. We split the eight tasty morsels of soft sushi rice and tender pink salmon. And then we waited.

Finally, the next Salmon Roll landed on the table. We devoured it quickly. Lunch hour was basically over at this point. It was at about that moment that Ms. Thang, who was getting testy, had a realization. "Umm, we never got our Miso," she said, usually the first item to arrive within minutes of ordering.

"No, we sure didn't," I said, and rolled my eyes. At that point we had no further time to waste.

I asked for the bill. It came two or three minutes later, so I put my money in the billfold and waited for the waitress to come get it. She didn't.

Ms. Thang and I gathered our things and headed to the till, by this point grumbling to each other about the service.

"How was everything?" asked the sweet and smiling hostess.

We diplomatically told her that the food was great, but holy jeepers, could it have come any slower? At lunch?

Perhaps the secret to success at Hanabi is to visit their website and pre-order items off the online menu. It couldn't hurt, anyway. Or, just go in at supper hour when you have a couple of hours to kill.

www.hanabi.ca

The Round-up:

• Food - 4 out of 5
• Service - 3.5 out of 5
• Decor - 3.5 out of 5
• Total - 11 out of 15

1946 Hamilton Street, Regina, SK
306-352-8424

_______________________________________

When I first heard there was a Thai restaurant on Hamilton Street downtown, I have to admit I was a little skeptical.

I pictured a little hole-in-the-wall place that would see a lot of foot traffic during the day (but few actual customers) and almost no one at night (when Regina's downtown transforms into a semi-deserted ghost town).

Boy, was I wrong.

First of all, Hamilton Street is undergoing a huge makeover. Over the last couple of years, new shops and eateries are popping up and filling in the holes left by vacant storefronts. There are still a few gaps, but given time they'll fill in too.

Second of all, Regina's downtown office crowd loves the place. Pay a visit almost any weekday at lunch and you'll be lucky to get a table if you're not there right at noon.

If you're new to Thai food, Siam's lunch buffet is an excellent place to start. There's always a good selection of meat, vegetable, and noodle dishes (Pad Thai is a sure bet), along with a couple of appetizer and dessert items.

Best of all, you can be in and out of the place with a full belly in 30 minutes or less. And get this, the grand total for the lunch buffet comes to less than $10 per person, tax included. I know, shocking.

Hold on now, before you drop the laptop and run down to Hamilton Street I need to talk more about the food.

On a recent Saturday morning, a group of us paid a visit to Siam for a not-so-traditional brunch (there's no buffet on Saturdays, FYI). We got off to a rocky start when we showed up at 11 a.m. (opening time) and the doors were still locked for another 15 minutes.

This didn't sit well with me -- unlike my usual Saturday morning of sleep and relaxation, I'd already done two loads of laundry, shopped for groceries, and ran a couple of other errands. I was hung-ree.

Once we were seated, things went more smoothly. Our gracious waiter was patient with us as we waited for others to arrive and took our time figuring out what to eat.

We ordered a ton of food, by the way. Siam makes this relatively easy by including pictures in the menu and on nifty digital photo frames hung on the walls next to tables.

These are my top three picks, for the first-timer:

- Appetizer: Mieng Kham (Leaf Wraps): This dish is a pleasure to behold and to eat. Crispy fresh coconut, fresh ginger, red onion, Thai chili, lime, cashews, and plum sugar sauce, served on top of bok choy leaves that you roll up yourself, then pop in your mouth.

- Entrees: Larb Moo: This item technically falls under the Salad category on the menu, but its size and filling portion makes it more like a meal. Spicy ground pork is mixed with roasted rice, red onions, green onions, cilantro, and lime juice. It's got some heat but not so much as to scare the beginner away.

Pad Thai: You haven't truly lived until you've had this Thai classic. A bed of warm rice noodles is covered in fried tofu, bean sprouts, and shrimp, then layered with sauce. Practically everyone likes Pad Thai. If you're completely unsure of what to order, start here.

On the whole, Siam is one of downtown's best restaurants with a huge menu, good service, reasonable prices and decent opening hours.

OK, you're dismissed. Eat much and prosper.

www.siamrestaurant.ca

Carrying Anna outside to pick some beans from our garden for supper, I sighed.

The patio was more green than grey with all the weeds coming up through the cracks. The hose lay in a tangled mess off to the side and toys from the sandbox littered the yard. The flower beds looked like they were in need of a good drink and weeds had begun to crowd out the herbs I had planted in the vegetable garden.

The kiddie pool in serious need of a good cleaning, and our weedy patio. The lawn showed serious signs of neglect too. Not having been cut in two weeks, the grass had reached that unpleasant length where your ankles get tickled by the blades and bit by mosquitoes that had found a home near the roots.

I picked a bowl full of beans and returned to the house. Weeds were poking through the pavement in the driveway too. I opened the door and felt a hot tear trickle down my cheek. I quickly brushed it away. The kids were laughing hysterically together and I didn't want to rain on their parade.

Charity's dolls from Aunt Connie, all swaddled up and sleeping on the couch. Notice the pillows so they don't roll off? Toys strewn all over the living room showed signs of active imaginations and serious creativity. I like to have things neat and tidy for my dear husband when he gets home from work, but that clearly wasn't going to happen this day..not if I was going to have a nice dinner ready and Anna fed by the time he walked in the door too.

I felt deflated, hypocritical, and way behind on everything. I write about the joys of motherhood and being a homemaker, but today I just wasn't feeling it as I stared a sink full of unwashed dishes, enough food underneath the table to add an egg and make a casserole, and a long to-do list of things that still needed to be done: laundry, bath the kids, make supper, clean out the van, etc., etc.

It's not that my husband doesn't pitch in. He does, more than any other husband I know. He works hard all day and then comes home is a SuperDad to our kids and a loving husband to me. He washes, dries, and puts away the dishes after dinner, gives the kids piggy-back rides around the house while they shriek with delight, brushes their teeth, reads them stories before bed, and tucks them in at night. Then he pays our bills, runs errands I didn't get to during the day, and often brings me back a little surprise like Reese's or ice cream. He's a champion in every way so this feeling of "way behindishness" I get doesn't come from him.

Our tiny kitchen, looking well-used. :-) The unreasonable standard I had set for myself was self-imposed and largely influenced by staged photos on Pinterest and the comparison game I played with other homemakers. No one was telling me I had to serve gourmet meals every night, keep a spotless, well-organized home, and dress my children in trendy clothes that matched. But somehow I had gotten the idea that doing all these things would mean I was being successful in my role as a wife, mother, and homemaker.

Brad walked in the door and I didn't greet him like I normally do. I knew I'd probably have a melt down so I kept washing dishes. Silly of me really, because he knows his wife well and immediately knew something was up. He kissed my on my cheek and asked, "Hi Sweetheart. How was your day?"

I lost it. His kind gesture was no match for the frustrations I had pent up inside and the tears started flowing while I rattled off my list of failures. "I didn't get anything done today. The grass still needs to be cut, supper's not ready and we've already had cereal or take-out twice this week, Anna needs to be fed again, Charity's out of clean underwear, and I can't remember the last time I gave the kids a proper bath!" For emphasis, I added, "I just can't do it any more. Sometimes I think I'd just be better off at work."

Brad knew I didn't mean that. He put his hands on my waist and looked me in the eye. "The reason you feel like you didn't get anything done today, is because you were busy doing more important things." He glanced over at our three busy kids and continued. "I don't care if we have to eat take-out every night, or use paper plates for a while, or if the wash doesn't get folded. If you get nothing done all day but the kids are happy, then I'm happy too!"

I thought back on our day. It started with me crawling into Charity's bed for our morning snuggle. She told me all about how her stuffed animals had behaved at night. Judah had peed through his diaper, so I washed him up before breakfast and started a load of laundry. We had our usual smoothies, read the story of Jonah for devotions, and prayed that God would keep Daddy safe at Opa's shop and give us clean hearts that love Him above all and our neighbors as ourselves.

Judah's raspberries. Then I read Charity a chapter from Little House in the Big Woods while I nursed Anna. Judah can't sit that long, so he played "excavators" on the coffee table. After making sure everyone had gone to the bathroom, and the diaper bag was packed, we went to my aunt's farm to pick raspberries.

"See Mom? If you just squish them like this, then we don't have to make jam when we get home!"

"I'm picking all the tiny little hard ones 'cause they're SOOOO cute!"

"Look, Mom! I picked all the white ones! We can just pick off the green prickles after."

Anna had decided she was finished before we started, so I discovered how fast I can pick with one hand while rocking a screaming baby: 2 quarts in half an hour.

We made it home in time for lunch. I had some leftover chocolate drizzle from a cheesecake so I made happy faces on their peanut-butter sandwiches. They were over the moon with delight.

After nap-time, we took a walk across the road to the park and cooled off for a few minutes at the splash pad. Back home, Charity wanted to do "school," so she found her books and pencils and I showed her how to make the number three. "Around a tree and around a tree. This is how to make a three!" we sang together.

Throughout the day there were squabbles to break up, attitudes to adjust, meltdowns to clean up, time-outs for tempers, kisses for boo-boos, apologies given and accepted, and hugs for the emotionally distraught.

Brad was right. I may not have gotten much done by way of housework, but alongside me had been three little sidekicks whose minds and hearts, for better or for worse, were being shaped, molded, and influenced by their Mom.

The weight of my responsibility struck me. I wasn't raising children here, I was raising adults. I was forming the next generation of fathers and mothers. I was shaping the characters of those who would raise our grandchildren. There was so much I needed to teach them, so much discipling that needed to happen in their tender hearts as well as mine.

The laundry, dirty house, and weeds in the patio will still be there one day when I have time to play catch up. But I'll never be able to play catch up with my kids. My time with them is slipping away like hourglass sand and I can't stop it.

So, while I'd like to maintain an immaculate house, keep our patio weed-free, and cut out the take-out, I've only got one chance at this Mom thing. Charity is three years old - almost four. If she marries at the same age I did, I have just 14 short years left before she leaves the nest. The first three have come and gone in a blink of an eye. Five more blinks and it's over.
"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 6:7 Truth is, if you're way behind on everything except time spent with your kids, you're way ahead.

Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, We Are That Family, Raising Arrows, A Wise Woman., Walking Redeemed, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story

Bonjour y'all! Welcome once again to Flea Market Finds!
This week I had the special honor and pleasure of doing some tiquin' with one of my long time blogging buddies, my friend Mary Ellen from the wonderful blog Mary's Meanderings. Talk about a sparkling fun loving gal! Mary is all that and a bag of chips! *winks* I also met her equally wonderful and warm hearted husband Bill. Mary and Bill came up from Colorado to visit some friends and she managed to fit me in for a day of shopercising in the rain!*winks*
Mary and I (I'm the blond no surprise lol!) under the barbola swags at a favorite antique booth. Love that bed!

I'd like to say I found all kinds of amazing things... but alas it was not to be *sighs* Mary came away with a few sweet little treasures light enough to take home on the plane. My shopping finds happened in the first store we visited and having spent my limit it was all over for me kaboom! Oh well I really love what I found. It's a leather bound set of encyclopedias from 1892.

I can't resist a beautiful set of antique leather books if they're anywhere near affordable and this set of 15 was only $80. I love the old illustrations like these...

I also found a small set of 7 leather books in the same sellers booth for $40. Great to read AND vignette with! Now I just need to find me some twine!

Love the worn leather spines!

I do have a really special surprise (to me anyhoo) that I mentioned in last weeks post... I'm saving it till the very end... so please don't leave just yet OK? *winks*
I wanted to share a few of the cuties that Mary picked up. That girl does have an eye for the deal!

A sweet little pitcher

A chintz cup and saucer set

And some jello molds and a little tole tray.

Here are a few things I liked but passed on due to price. This bust is really cute but NOT at $99.

This roasted coffee tin display had ME at Cof... LOL!, but again at $299 I couldn't do it.

I thought this was interesting and at 3' wide not too bad at $28? However it fell into the cool (but what would I do with it?) category.

OK are you ready for my favorite find? It was an ebay score... I'd like to introduce you to Percy my new peacock. Isn't he a gorgeous boy?!!

He's joining his new brother Narci on top of my french art nouveau armoire. You can read the post on Narci HERE

When I purchased Narci I was really looking for a standing peacock just like Percy, but Narci was at a bargain basement price so I purchased him with visions (delusions) of using him as a centerpiece on a raised pedestal for a dinner party. What the heck was I thinkin'? My dinner table is only about 6' long and Narci's tail alone is 5'. Do y'all ever do that? Get caught up in some fantasy to convince yourself that you need something? Well I'd woven myself a tapestry of beautiful visions for this one!*winks* However I couldn't be more pleased with them both on top the armoire! I've been sitting in my living room just staring at them... You know you did good when... Right? *winks*
Well that's it for this weeks flea market finds. I hope you'll come back next week for some more.
Mary and Bill I can't tell you how much we enjoyed meeting and spending time with you! Lets do it again soon. *winks* Vanna
I'm joining my friend Sherry at No Minimalist Here for:

And Tales From Blogaritaville for:

French Cupboard for:

Courtney at French Country Cottage for:

Cindy at My Romantic Home for:

And my dear friend Laurie for:

Most women, myself included, get overwhelmed when they read Proverbs 31. There is no way in this world I could get done in one day what she got done in one chapter. That's why it's important to understand that her picture is a portrait of a lifetime, not a summary of Super Woman's day.

We go through seasons of life where we are able to engage in different things; right now I'm mothering through the little years where all the kids are still in car seats, they all need their shoes tied by an adult, and someone else to give them a bath. They aren't quite big enough to make their own beds, make dinner, or watch younger siblings when Mommy needs a nap.

It's busy, exhausting, and rewarding. I have to remind myself not to compare my Chapter 1 to someone else's Chapter 100. I'm not Martha Stewart. She can keep an immaculate home, tend glorious gardens, and grow every vegetable perfectly because she is at a different stage of life and her priorities are different than mine. She does not have three small children, nor does she homeschool. Of course she isn't any less of a person for that, but it would be silly of me to measure myself against her.

I'm responsible for using 24 hours wisely everyday. I use 7-8 of them for sleeping. That leaves me with 16 to manage well. Managing them well means learning how to prioritize and giving the most important things the most attention. In our house, that order looks like this:

1. God
2. Spouse
3. Children
4. House

My husband prefers a good meal to a clean house or an empty laundry basket, so if I have to choose between making dinner or cleaning the shower, the former takes priority.

We believe our primary purpose as parents is to raise our children in the fear of the Lord. It's a hard exhortation to remember when there are crumbs under the table and sticky fingerprints on the window, but if it seems the only thing I accomplish in a day is giving instruction, administering correction, breaking up squabbles, reminding our children of the necessity of their salvation, and teaching them to pray for a clean heart that hates evil and wants to do good, then the most important things have been given the most attention.

I'm told by seasoned mothers whose children have flown the nest that one day you will have time to bake, and sew, sell handmade goodies and keep a spotless house, but you'll probably wish you still had the company of several little people who think you're the world.

To help keep my priorities aligned properly, there are several good things that I just don't do. One day I'd like to do them, but right now I don't have enough time or attention to give them.

1. I don't cloth diaper. I know it's more eco-friendly, and I've heard it's no more work than disposables, but I haven't taken the time to build up a stash. My washing machine doesn't get much of a break as it is and I'm not sure how I'd find the time to keep a clean supply of diapers on hand or the stomach to slosh around poopy diapers in the toilet (or is that not required anymore?) When a pack of 136 diapers goes on sale for $17.99, I stock up.

2. I don't bake my own bread; partly because Brad eats gluten-free and I cannot seem to make a loaf that doesn't taste like a hockey puck, and partly because homemade bread isn't very high on our priority list. I don't eat much bread either. The kids eat store-bought sourdough bread at lunch time. One loaf lasts us a whole week, so the time and effort it takes to make my own doesn't save me any serious coin in the long run.

3. I don't iron. I recently pulled it out for the first time in three years to iron a blazer. Marveling at this new invention, our two-year-old son asked, "Why are you vacuuming your shirt, Mom?" Wrinkle-prone items get pulled from the dryer as soon as the cycle is finished. Sometimes they get hung up on hangers and hung neatly in the closet. Sometimes they lay on top of the dryer until I need to wear them.

4. I don't bath our kids every day. I don't even bath them every other day. We (usually Daddy) bath them when they're dirty (at least once a week, I assure you).

5. I don't use natural remedies for everything. I'm a vaccinated, formula fed kid and grew up taking Tylenol for headaches. I have a long way to go before I'm comfortable knowing what herb to give for what ailment, what homeopathic drops to pour into my baby's mouth when she's teething, and what essential oil to rub into my temples when my head is pounding. I want to though, and I'm slowly learning how, but you'll still find Tylenol in our medicine cupboard.

6. I don't grind my own flours. In fact, my electric grain mill is for sale if anyone is interested.

7. I don't have a large garden. There's not a great deal of room on our city lot. We grow tomatoes, peppers, onions, cucumbers, a few herbs, and whatever happens to seed itself through our compost. It's more of a teaching tool for the kids and it satisfies my gardening itch. I enjoy making Tomato Spice Soup from our produce, but I buy and preserve nearly everything else from local farms.

8. I don't can. I don't know how. It's on my list of things I want to learn. Thankfully, my friend Jill is a great teacher and my Mom is willing to hold my hand and walk me through the process. I'm terrified of things exploding in my face. For the past five summers, I've simply cleaned, cut, bagged, and thrown seasonal produce in the freezer. Gently, of course, so it doesn't get bruised. That much I understand about preserving.

9. I don't dust every week. It's really just a country accent anyway and we're honored when folks take the time to autograph our bookshelves. Kidding. Sort of. I make an effort to dust every Friday on "Housework Day," but sometimes it goes two weeks before it gets done. The kids each get a rag too, which means our carpet is probably due for an interesting homeschool science experiment...

10. I don't sew, knit, or scrapbook. At night, when the kids are in bed and I've got some time to relax, I write. Keeping a blog is the therapy that works for me. It's a fun way to interact and learn from a community of like-minded moms and a bonus to be able to contribute to our family income.

11. I don't coupon. I don't even look at flyers. They go from the mailbox to the recycle bin. I can purchase everything I need from three stores and they're all within 5 minutes of each other. It's quick, convenient, and just one afternoon in town (if you have three children in car seats, you get me).

12. I don't go to the Ladies Bible Study at church. We homeschool.

13. I don't have a phone. I don't want one either. I'm not sure I'd have the self-discipline necessary to give it the same amount of attention I give the non-existent one now. I'm sure it'd be handy one day if I were in a car accident or stranded on the side of the road. I'm relying on the generosity of those passing by and assuming they probably have one I could borrow.

14. I don't exercise. Not deliberately, at least. I've been blessed with a good metabolism and consider giving under-doggies to thirty-five pound toddlers on the swing for half an hour, and chasing our one-speed (fast) son around all day good enough.

15. I don't serve fancy meals. I like to cook a mainly whole food diet, but I don't go all Jacques Pepin on my family. Every morning we have the same smoothie for breakfast. Every afternoon we have the same sandwich for lunch. Snack-wise, I serve simple things I know our kids love. In the evenings, we typically enjoy healthy, low-fuss dinners like Cheeseburger Pie, Taco Salad, or Coconut Curried Chicken. Sometimes we have grilled cheese, or order pizza.

How 'bout you? Are there good things that you don't engage in because you simply don't have the time? What are they? What or who gets the bulk of your attention and what gets the leftovers?

Part 1: Keeping A Growing Home | A Management Series for Moms Part 2: Keeping A Growing Home | Know Your Role! Part 3: Keeping A Growing Home | Making Priorities & 15 Good Things I Don't Do Part 4: Keeping A Growing Home | Time-Saving Home Management Tips Part 5: Keeping A Growing Home | My Daily Schedule

If you enjoyed this post, you may wish to follow Growing Home for updates via Google Friend Connect, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, or have them emailed directly to your inbox.

Beer Bros' bustling brewpub hosts a five-course wild game dinner on May 18. Wildlife writer/photographer Duane Radford will join diners as research for an article on the joys of pairing food with beer... a tough job but somebody has to do it.

Tickets are $55 plus taxes and tip. Dinner gets underway at 7 p.m.

Kudos to Beer Bros for yet another unique concept.

The amount of actual living space in our house is quite small, and since our kids prefer to play near Mommy (and I prefer to keep them within ear shot so I can break up squabbles), storing our toys in the main living area, adjacent to the kitchen, proved to be both wise and aesthetically pleasing! It's hard to tell at first glance, but between the baker's table and our bookshelf, 90% of the toys in our home are stored away.

My favorite feature of the baker's table (which doubles as an end table for the couch), is the swooping drawer. Designed to store large bags of flour and sugar, the deep sections are perfect for storing bulkier toys like trucks, teddies, and balls. Above the deep drawer is a smaller pull-out which we use to store puzzles and flat-laying games.

Inside our bookshelf cupboards are four bins I picked up from the Dollar Store. They keep the smaller, most used toys organized. One bin is for dolls and their accessories, the second is for toy food and play kitchen utensils, the third bin stores Mr. Potato Head parts, and the fourth stores Mega blocks.

The bin solution has been an excellent tool for teaching our two-year-old to clean up after herself. When she's tired of playing with dolls and wants to build a tower out of Mega Blocks instead, she first has to put away all of her dolly things and slide the bin back onto the shelf. She's learning that "When we take something out, we put it back."

The great thing about using small bins for storage is that it makes the cleaning-up process seem less daunting to a child. Even our 1 year-old can hold his attention long enough to finish putting all the Mega Blocks into a bin! A few of the bigger toys (a plastic shopping cart, doll carrier, and a ride-on toy) are stored in their bedroom closets and can be pulled out upon request.

Once in a while someone will comment on how few toys we have in our home. I like to think that we have enough. Space issues aside, our children really don't care for playing with "real" toys all that much. They prefer to play in the sandbox, or with everyday items like spoons, boxes, canning jar rings, blankets, and hats. Keeping toys to a minimum does several good things:

1. It increases our children's imagination and creativity. Do you know how many different ways you can use a box?!
2. It minimizes their entitlement mentality. We have never taken our children toy shopping or picked one up while they were with us. Hence, I can easily go shopping at Wal-mart without them begging for another teddy bear or a new ball. The more we have, the more we want.
3. It reduces the clutter in our home. Less cleaning, more room to play with the toys they already have.
4. Slim picking with toys creates many opportunities to teach sharing, as a wise Mom said on our Facebook page.
5. Fewer toys teaches our children that work can be fun! With less toys to distract them, we can spend more time doing constructive things together like making dinner, washing the car, or weeding the garden.

How's the toy situation in your home? Have you found a good method for keeping it all organized? I'd love to hear your solutions and advice!

... continued from yesterday. Read Part 1 here.
Currently, we're teaching our 2-year-old to memorize the Proverbs. Proverbs for Parenting | A Topical Guide for Child Raising From The Book of Proverbs compiled by Barbara Decker has proved to be a handy tool as each of the proverbs are organized into their respective categories.

If Charity is having a particularly difficult week with anger and temper-tantrums, we can flip to the anger section and choose a few verses from there to work on. If she's habitually stalling when we ask her to do something, we'll turn to the chapter on obedience. If she's having a hard time finding something nice to say to her brother, we'll memorize a verse on kindness.

There's nothing difficult or scientific about our method for memorization. For the most part, it's a simple process of "repeat after me." This past week, we memorized Proverbs 16:6: "By mercy and truth, iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil."
1. First, I'll read the verse through and explain any words she might not understand: iniquity, purged, depart.
2. Then I'll say the first phrase and ask her to repeat it back to me. I do this several times over with each section of the verse. That way, it gets ingrained in my memory as well as hers!
Mommy: "By mercy and truth... "
Charity: "By mercy and truth... "
Mommy: "Iniquity is purged... "
Charity: "Iniquity is purged... "
3. Once I think she's familiar with the phrases, we start combining them, two at a time:
Mommy: "By mercy and truth, iniquity is purged... "
Charity: "By mercy and truth, iniquity is purged... "
Mommy: "..and by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil."
Charity: "... and by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil."
4. Next, I leave out key words, and give her the opportunity to fill them in:
"By ________ and _______, _________ is ________: and _____ the _________ of the _______, men __________ from ______. Proverbs ____ : ____."
5. Once she's done the above a few time, we're down to just a few prompts until she can say it on her own:
"By _____________, iniqu... _______________; and ________________, men ____________________. _________ ___ : ___."
The whole process takes less than 15 minutes. I'll randomly review the verse with her several times throughout each day of the week until she can rattle it off and we move onto the next one. A few other things we've found helpful to aid in Scripture memorization are:

• Music. We sing a Psalm from our Church's Psalter with her before bed time. It's so fun when she picks it up and is able to sing along with us or recognizes it in a Church service!
• Regular Review. We try not to forget about a verse once we've moved on to a new one. To keep it fresh in her memory, we'll say the first word of a verse she knows when we're in the car or at dinner, and she'll finish the rest.
• Consistency. I find this to be the hardest part of all, especially if my morning is rushed by a tight schedule. However, if Charity's kept in the memorizing mode, it becomes easier for her to catch on. Once she recognizes it as part of our daily routine, she becomes the one who reminds me: "Mommy? Can we do the 'merry heart is good like medicine' one?"

BONJOUR Y'ALL!!
I'm back to my regular FLEA MARKET FINDS!!
I don't have a lot of things to share this week (Christmas and all) but I do have a few goodies for ya. (I hope? *winks*)
Starting as always with my favorites first.
This was my "wow" find this week, a 1950's prom dress in pale blue that's just so darn pretty! I'd hoped to display it on my painted white dress form but alas the dress was wayyyy too small. It must be what would be considered a size zero today?The waist measures 21"... Oh how I miss those days *winks* Layers of tulle with ruffles along with a shelf bust. Isn't it fab? And all for $32! I think it was a steal! I set it up at the front counter to do some more shopping and a couple of ladies tried to buy it out from under me! You know it's good when... right?... lol! I overheard the clerk telling them "sorry it's already sold" and I muttered to myself "darn skippy it is!" I think I would've gone on the war path over that dress! *winks*

It has a pretty flowered bodice with rhinestones. It's a keeper for sure!

Next up is this set of 1890's purple transferware that I found at a favorite local junque store. I paid a goodly sum of $100 for service for 6 (minus 1 cup and saucer) I knew that the purple/mulberry color (What actually is the difference?) is a harder color to find, so I went ahead despite the high cost (at least for me) and brought them home.

I guess I did ok because I found the platter by itself going for $90 (Found HERE )

There are seven of these dinner plates.

Even Replacements LTD only had a very few of these pieces. I have my fingers crossed that they'll be able to find me one more cup and saucer. If you happen to come across one let me know K? *winks*

Then I found this really cool frenchy clock at the Value Village for $3.99. I couldn't believe it was so cheap! It was love at first sight! I also purchased another cute little spelter frenchy clock for the same price at the same time... SCORE time! Lol!

Then at a the same antique mall as the prom dress I found this old silk petticoat for $22. It had such beautiful details... little tiny tucked lace pleats... along with pleated silk... Did I mention lace galore?... And it actually fits me too. *winks* I'm brainstorming all the different things I could do with it. Maybe a lampshade? Or a bed crown? Do you have any ideas? I'd love to hear them.

Here's a shot of my clock and petticoat together.

And via ebay another lovely boudoir lady for my collection ($39) This one a 1920's German munzerlite. Somebody took the time to crochet her some lacy finery. They even made her a little hat. Isn't she sweet? I hope I look this good when I'm 90ish!

At the Value Village I found a bowl for $3.99 that's almost a match for the platter I found a few weeks ago... I guess I'm consistent *winks*

Here's the other little frenchy clock. Tells good time too!

And on a completely different note I found myself a couple neat pairs of brand new shoes (also at the Value Village) I just love that place! Some jeweled sandals by Apepazza for $6.99

And this pair of black naughty but nice Guess platforms for $12.99. At least my feet are feeling fashionable *winks*

Well that's it for this week. Thanks for stopping by! Please leave me a comment and I'll do the same for you. I just LOVE hearing from you!
And if you found some great (Or even not so great) bargains please come get me K?
I'll add some envy green to your blog page! *winks* Vanna
P.S. I saw Hugo last weekend and found it enchanting! Has anyone else seen it? What did you think?

I'm joining my girls Patti and Paula of Ivy and Elephants for:

Kathleen at Charm Bracelet Diva for:

And Cindy at My Romantic Home for:

Bonjour mes amis!
I thought I would take a little break from the regular Flea Market posts this week and share one of my little cabinets-o-stuff with you.
Really it's just another Flea Market Finds, but with stuff I've had a lot longer *winks*

AND I have another GIVEAWAY for this week so keep reading! One more week to go!
But first let me share the WINNER of last weeks little blanc de chine heart... It's...

CYNTHIA!!!
(Cynthia please email me with your mailing address OK?)

Moving on to my little cabinet.
It's choc a block full of little this-n-thats. I'd love to share a few of my favorites with you. And I'd love your opinion on a few of them too *winks*
Warning if an abundance of crap stuff makes you crazy?
This is NOT the post for you!
There is no rhyme or reason to how anything is placed in this cupboard, I pretty much shove things around until I can sneak in one more piece... Yes hoarders cabinet... quelle surprise lol!

This is the top shelf full of many things I've already shared and more I haven't.

The second shelf

The third... Remember my blue opaline urns? They're hiding out in here.

And the bottom which isn't visible through glass.

This little nude is one of my favorite pieces. She's 18th century German by the Hochst factory. I found her at an auction and paid $75 (Which was a lot for me at the time) because I loved her so much! I found her HERE on Ruby Lane for $1750! So I guess she was a pretty good deal after all! She's dated 1771. Isn't she cool?

And this Victorian brass and mother of pearl dinner bell is another one of my favorite thrifty finds.

This is my favorite perfume bottle by the Apollo company from somewhere around 1912 -1920. It was part of an auction lot that I paid $25 for. I've been looking for years for another without any luck... but I adore the hunt! Don't you? And the perfume still smells pretty good too! *winks*

This little art deco flower frog was a thrift store find, as are most of the items in here.

I don't know what this little silver cherub mount/applique was originally used on? But it's another love thang It's so detailed for something so small!

I also love this miniature painting on ivory that I purchased from an art dealer friend. Sorry the photo isn't very good, it's so hard to get a good shot through the glass, but again it's very detailed for such a cute little thing.

I also love to collect antique tortoise shell items. This calling card case with an inlaid bird (in ivory or bone) and mother of pearl is Victorian. I found it at an antique store for $25.

The interior.

I also love this little Victorian mourning brooch. It came with a note stating that it's the hair of Edmund Brown 1772-1859 and Mabel Norton Brown 1775-1840. Grandparents of Dr Plumb Brown. Why would a family member have given it up? Too creepy maybe?

Another thing I love to collect are antique perfume caddys. This blue purse shaped Victorian velvet one is shown closed...

And open.

And a slightly newer celluloid single bottle case closed...

And open.

I also pick up these vintage ornate metal perfume bottles whenever I can find them for less that $30... Which is getting to be very difficult. But again the hunt is most of the fun! *winks*

They have cool little things hidden inside. This one features a lady bust... And you know how I feel about those! Lol!

I found this set of antique French pump perfume bottles at an estate sale for $10.

Do you see where the brass is scraped? That's where the bottle moves when you pump (by pushing down on) the bottle. Have you seen others like this?

And this french bottle has painted flowers found for $4 at the thrift. You unscrew the little piece you see on the side and then the top depresses to activate the pump to spray the perfume. I don't really know exactly what time frame this is from? I'd guess the 20's or 30's? But it's only a guess. If you happen to know please share OK?

I also wanted to share this pretty little vanity tray with etched flowers and ribbon detailed handles. Hard to see I know... Sorry.

And lastly in the background of the top shelf is this reproduction painting of the coronation of empress Josephine... It's something of a mystery...

Napoleon

And Josephine...

Lots of people watching... The two holding the train are Napoleon's sisters, who if I remember correctly did not like Josephine in the least as she made them feel awkward and unsophisticated. Way to go Jo! They seem to be behaving themselves here.*winks*

Napoleon's mother who wasn't actually at the coronation (Due to a quarrel between Napoleon and his brother) but was painted in as a guest of honor, as was his brother... Boys!

Doesn't the man next to the cardinal below resemble Jesus? Hmmmmmm.

And here is a close up of the original painting found in the Louvre Titled " Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon 1 and Coronation of the Empress Josephine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on 2 December 1804. By the artist Jaques-Louis David. The painting is quite large at about 33'x20' tall. My little painting measures 11"x10". And the mystery of my painting is that it's painted over another much older painting which can be seen under a few small areas of flaking paint. Hmmm I know it isn't uncommon for painters to reuse canvases but I'm so curious as to what's underneath? Perhaps a hidden old master? Yeah more likely NOT. But I can dream right? Little mysteries make life more fun *winks*

So those are a few of the things I love to hoard collect. What kind of things do you collect? Are you a highly organized neat collector? Or perhaps a bit of a mess like me about it? I'd love to know... So I don't feel alone lol!
OK on to this weeks followers giveaway. I'm offering this Cath Kidston style wallet. It's brand spanking new and in the most charming blue red and pink rose print. So leave me a comment telling me you would like it to be yours... Or just leave me a comment anyway! I LOVE hearing from you! Vanna

Interior

I'm joining Sherry at No Minimalist Here for:

And that wonderful pair Paula and Patti at Ivy & Elephants for:

Courtney at French Country Cottage for:

Honey at 2805 for:

And Cindy at My Romantic Home for:

Who would've thought there'd come a time in my life where I'd wonder where my next breath would come from when I'd be able to squeeze in my next shower? Not me! But here I am with 3 kids in three years, wondering some days when I'm going to find the time to do things I used to take for granted.

"When do I take a shower?" If Brad is home, then I have it after the oldest two have gone to bed while he watches our newborn, Anna. If I'm away in the evening, then I attempt to have one before the kids wake up in the morning. If that doesn't work out, then I wait until Anna's morning nap - place her in the bassinet, Judah (2) in his crib or a playpen with several toys to keep him occupied, and trust our 3-year-old to keep herself occupied and out of trouble. So far, so good (famous last words)! Worst case scenario, I look like a slime ball when someone unexpectedly pops in for a visit.

"When do I have my devotions?" My friend Anna, from Feminine Adventures, covered this question in beautiful detail. Go and read her post if you haven't already!

I try to have them while I'm nursing in the early morning or late evening. It never hurts to involve the kids either should they wake up earlier than expected. If I'm not too sleepy, I go through my prayer list when I'm nursing in the middle of the night.

"When do I make supper?" Raise your hand if 5 o'clock seems to be the most hectic time of the day. Okay, you can put it down now. Someone is guaranteed to be nursing, crying, needing to use the potty, discovering (and spilling) things in the pantry (like flour) while the rest of the house sits in disarray. Plus, the kiddlets are starting to get cranky from hungry tummies and you're expecting your husband home from work any minute.

This is why I try to make dinner first thing in the morning. I love using the recipes from Trim Healthy Mama (you can read my entire review here). They are easy, healthy, whole-food dishes that can be prepared quickly and made ahead of time. That way, even if the rest of the day is chaotic, there will still be a nutritious meal on the table, and hopefully, an atmosphere of relative peace and calm for my husband to come home too. He deserves it after a long day at work!

"When do I clean my house?" I used to reserve one day a week to do all the major housework like cleaning the bathrooms, scrubbing floors, vacuuming, and dusting, etc. Now with 3 kids, 3 and under, I spread it over two days.

The biggest jobs I try to finish on Thursdays, leaving Friday and Saturday morning to wrap it all up. Brad has Saturday afternoons off from work and we like to spend it relaxing with the kids, visiting our grandparents, or having friends over.

"When do I fit in exercise?" Normally I like to take a brisk 1/2 hour walk in the early evening after the kids have gone to bed while Brad stays home with Anna. We've been having so much rain lately though, that I've resorted to torturing myself with Jillian Michael's 6-week six pack during the first 35 minutes of the kids afternoon nap time.

I've joined the Redeemed Health and Fitness Facebook group for accountability purposes and encouragement. All the ladies in this group are mothers (most with larger than average families) who are seeking to shed unwanted pounds on a tight schedule. We share our highs and lows, praise each lost pound, steal each other's great ideas, and kept accountable with a daily check-in.
"When do I nap?" HA HA HA HA HA! Good one.

***For further reading, I recommendLarge Family Logistics: my favorite resource for learning how to build household routines within a larger-than-average families. Brad bought me this book for my birthday a few years ago, and I've been giving it out as gifts to other young moms ever since then. It's filled with step-by-step procedures, organizational advice, and a myriad of tips for efficiently managing a home in a way that honors God and builds up family relationships.

In the interest of full disclosure, some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive an affiliate commission. I only recommend products I use personally. Your purchases through these links help support Growing Home. I humbly thank you for your support! Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Modest Monday, A Mama's Story, Raising Arrows, Homestead Revival, Time Warp Wife, Far Above Rubies

The Round-up:

• Food - 3 out of 5
• Decor - 3.5 out of 5
• Service - 3 out of 5
• Overall - 9.5 out of 15

________________________________________________

Several months ago a food-loving group was created on Facebook. Its name was the "Cathedral Village Needs a Cheap Breakfast Place", or something like that. It seems that the Village just hadn't been the same since the Quality Tea Room shut down several years back.

I quickly joined the group, as did several hundred other Regina folks (What did we ever do before Facebook groups became the new face of activism, by the way?).
The Facebook fan page continued to grow, many of its members calling for a cheap plate of hash browns and bacon... like now.

Well, some wishes do come true.

The Mercury Cafe and Grill opened its doors in April. The place seemed to spring up overnight on the corner of 13th and Robinson streets in a spot that has housed numerous other restaurants.

The Mercury is a diner, no doubt about that. From the bright red vinyl booths to the formica and chrome tables, stepping into The Mercury is like stepping back 50 or 60 years in time. The Mercury is also under the same ownership as Regina's well-loved Novia Cafe, another all-out diner. This is a good thing -- who better to start a new diner than the folks who run one of the city's oldest and best?

I've been to The Mercury twice now, once for breakfast and once for supper. It's hard to find the right word to describe both experiences. It wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't horrible either. Perhaps satisfactory is the right word.

Weekend breakfast bustles and hustles in The Mercury. If you're not there by 11 on a Sunday, you're going to wait in line for awhile. Granted, The Mercury could easily jam a few more tables into the dining room in order to shave some time off the waiting game.

Your choices for breakfast are classic standbys: bacon and eggs; hash browns; pancakes; an omelette. You get the picture. Now, is it cheap? That depends on your definition of cheap. Most items run around the $8-9 mark, plus the cost of coffee and/or juice. I've had cheaper, but I've also had more expensive.

Service can be a little disorganized, but hopefully the servers work that out amongst themselves as the restaurant irons out the operating wrinkles. We had to wait 30 minutes for any food to hit the table at breakfast, almost enough to push us to the breaking point, but not quite. Fortunately, our waitress took good care of us in the meantime.

Now let's talk about supper for a moment. Once again, there are few surprises on the evening menu. Nachos; chicken wings; chicken fingers; burgers; clubhouse sandwiches; and grilled cheese are a few of the choices.

We ordered up a plate of nachos to get things started. With a $10 price tag, we pictured a nice platter of cheesy chips and veggies. We couldn't have been more wrong. A dinner plate with a puny pile of nachos on it was what we got. Even worse: the scarce bits of cheese on the chips were overcooked and rubbery. Epic fail, my friends. Epic fail.

Next up: the burgers. Now this is where the action is at. Tender homemade beef patties are smooshed between fresh buns with all the fixins. I went for the Mushroom Swiss. Big Willie had The Mercury Burger (two patties with fried onions, mushrooms, shaved ham, Swiss and cheddar cheese). All burgers come with a side. We went for the french fries and they were done to perfection.

Big Poppa (my dad) went for the open-faced Hot Turkey Sandwich... which came with hot chicken, oddly enough. But he got past that.

All in all, The Mercury offers up decent food in a comfortable room. The motto seems to be: come as you are, eat what you will. Now if they'd only fine-tune the nachos and up the portion size for most of the breakfast menu, we might have a sure-fire winner on our hands.

(no website)

Dear Brad,
I can hardly believe it has been five years since you slipped a ring on my finger and I slipped one on yours.

Five years since we promised to love and cherish each other as husband and wife until death separates us.

Five years since I was sure I had just lived the best day of my life.

But five years later, I know it was just the beginning of a love story that only gets better with time.

We added the roles of "father and mother" to "husband and wife" eleven months after saying "I do." You said you were nervous about holding a baby since you had little to no experience with newborns. But as soon as Charity Sofia entered the world at home in our bedroom, you embraced her like it was the most natural thing in the world. You were born to be a Dad.

19 months later, God gave us Judah Paul. I'm so glad you have a son. There's just something about watching you with our boy that takes my breath away. He is your shadow, your copy-cat, your biggest fan. The way he claps his chubby hands together and jumps up and down, races to find his shoes, and grins from ear to ear when I say, "We're going to see Daddy at work!" tells me you're his hero. I hope he grows up to be just like you and treats his future bride just like you treat me.

One year later, our third child was born to Heaven at 11 weeks gestation, shortly after we had excitedly announced to everyone that we were expecting again. By God's grace, we made it through that physically and emotionally painful week in the hospital. You knew Jesus could comfort me in a way that you couldn't so we cried over His Word together when I didn't have the courage to read it myself. I can't wait until we can see our Baby together for the first time when the Lord calls us to trade this life for the next.

Half a year later, we found ourselves expecting again but our joy quickly turned to sadness when we rushed to the hospital, convinced I was miscarrying again at 9 weeks. "I see a heart-beat!" Those words of life and hope would be repeated to us dozens of times by an ultrasound technician throughout the rocky pregnancy that included 20 weeks of bed-rest and moving in with your parents. At 34 weeks, I went into labor and our dear Anna Grace was born healthy and strong at 5 pounds, 2 ounces! We had been the objects of God's undeserved mercy and grace and were absolutely overwhelmed with joy by our precious miracle.

Our lives are busy and our days are full, but somehow you always manage to make me feel like the center of your world. Every day, in a thousand ways, you tell me how much you love me and though I often take it for granted, I couldn't imagine life without your sweet gestures and affection:

... "I love you," whispered in my ear each morning before you head to work,

... washing dishes in the evening together and putting off getting our dishwasher fixed because we enjoy the bonding time too much,

... curling up to you after the kids are in bed and hearing your deep voice read out loud to me,

... watching the kids shriek with delight when you run around the house with them on your shoulders,

... kisses planted on my cheek in the kitchen when you set your lunch box on the counter,

... witnessing the births of our children, and rejoicing over the blessings that God has entrusted into our care,

... driving into town when I'm pregnant to pick up a specific flavor of pizza from a specific franchise because it's the only thing I crave even though it's full of gluten and you won't be able to eat a slice yourself,

... coming home with my favorite coffee when you've "just gone to get gas,"

... forgetting and forgiving all the times I'm grumpy, whiny, and discontent,

... giving 110% at work all day and coming home to lovingly greet your wife and patiently listen to three excited children who have a hundred and one things they want to tell you as soon as you step inside the door,

... even though I find mowing the lawn therapeutic, you always beat me to it because you're a true gentleman. Same goes for shoveling the driveway, taking out the garbage, and emptying the compost,

... praying with and for me, leading family worship, long talks involving our deep, mutual interests: homeschooling, politics, entrepreneurship, and economics,

... you excel where I shy away, especially in positions that require leadership and efficiency,

... how you always call and ask, "Can I bring supper home?" exactly when I'm feeling overwhelmed and way behind on everything,

... how you send me an email every day from work asking how my day's going and and never forgetting to end it with: "Love you!"

... how you pat your stomach after dinner and say, "Honey, that was a meal fit for a king," even if it was one of my experiments gone wrong,

... I love how I fit perfectly inside your embrace when you wrap your arms around me and say, "Let's just hug for a few minutes," while I'm cooking dinner...

... the interest you take in this little blogging hobby of mine and how you happily take the time to edit my posts and compile my eBooks even though you could be doing so many other things,

... the way you put your family first, the way you mean what you say and say what you mean, the way you have never once raised your voice at me in anger, the way you make us feel safe, secure, cherished, and treasured.

How does that saying go?

You're the peanut to my butter, water to my ocean, glaze on my doughnut, spring in my step, twinkle in my eye, blue in my sky, cherry to my sundae, flip to my flop, milk to my cookie, sweet in my dreams, beat of my heart, cheese to my macaroni, best to my friend, love of my life.

Sweetheart, if the Lord tarries, I hope to spend dozens and dozens and dozens of half-decades with you. Each day, I'm more in love with you than the last and these past five years have been the best ones of my life. I would say "I do" all over again in a heartbeat.

5 years ago, I had no idea marriage could be this glorious... I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us for the rest of together.

I love you.

Your wifey,

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Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, Time Warp Wife, A Wise Woman.,Walking Redeemed, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, We ARE That Family, Raising Mighty Arrows, Hearts For Home, Frugal Homeschool Family, Moms The Word, Hip Homeschool Moms, Trivium Tuesdays

The Round-up:

• Food - 4 out of 5
• Service - 3 out of 5
• Decor - 4 out of 5
• Total - 11 out of 15

3000 Wascana Drive, Regina, SK.
306-585-3663

________________________________________________
January has been full of calm nights and above-average temperatures. 2010, I like you already.

It makes a person want to get out a bit more often. So, The Mom and I decided to take our appetites to The Willow on Wascana the other day.
OK, it wasn't just the warm weather that lured us to the shores of Wascana Lake. It was the $20 off lunch or dinner promo that The Willow ran for just two days this month.
The Willow opened in August 2004 and has carved out a niche for itself ever since. It's almost definitely the only menu in town that sources all of its meat, fish and poultry from Saskatchewan sources.
It wasn't too busy for a Wednesday night so we chose a corner table in the warm and cozy dining room. As far as atmosphere goes, The Willow has it made. In winter, the wood ceiling and earthy tones make you forget the sub-zero chill outside. On the other hand, summer is all about the great outdoors as you dine on The Willow's gigantic patio overlooking Wascana Lake.
Now what about the food? It's safe to say that The Willow doesn't shy away from taking risks. The new winter menu features Free-Range Elk Tartare, Coffee-Infused Short Ribs, and a Wild Boar Ragout.
The Mom was feeling adventurous so she went with the wild boar.
Boar sounded a little too Lord of the Flies for me, on the other hand, and I can rarely say no to a good homemade sausage. So, I chose the Chorizo Chicken Roulade.
Our plates arrived in no time and I was in love with the chicken dish at first sight. The juicy morsels of chicken wrapped around a chicken chorizo sausage disappeared from my plate quickly, as did the southwest-style corn salsa served on the side.
Now you're probably wondering what on earth wild boar tastes like? So were we. Our waiter told us it was like pork with a bit more fat. He didn't lie about that last part, for sure.
The tender slab of boar was served on top of homemade pappardelle noodles with a tiny Saskatchewan-grown tomato on top. The noodles were great. The boar was... well, it was kind of like eating sushi for the first time. You're a little bit curious and a little bit scared, especially when a few bites of the meat were more fat than flesh.
As for the service, it was good but not great. Our friendly waiter took the time to joke with us a little, but had trouble recommending dishes and explaining some of the ingredients. For a fine-dining restaurant that charges top dollar that just doesn't cut it. Servers should know each menu item inside and out.
That being said, The Willow scores big points for showing Regina that the food we grow and harvest right in our own backyards is as good or better than anything we truck in from a thousand miles away.
www.willowonwascana.ca

Several years ago, Andrew Pudewa spoke at our homeschooling conference and he said something I'll never forget:
"The problem with trying to cover all the bases is that you end up going a mile wide and an inch deep. In other words, you know virtually nothing about everything." He suggested delving deeply into one particular topic of interest, and in so doing, touch on everything else.

Thematic concepts jive with the vision for our children's education and so far, learning together has been fun, organic, and life-integrated. There are few things more wonderful than seeing your children more eager to start "school" than they are to eat breakfast!

This week we are studying "Fall." Besides learning to write her numbers and letters each day using the Rod and Staff Pre-K Series, we are also learning about God's Word, government, science, math, art, English, home economics, and Phys Ed. We don't use a curriculum to teach these things, or categorize them as such, but it's happening whether she realizes it or not.

Here's a peak into our week:

Bible

After breakfast, we read the story of Naomi and Ruth. I chose this story as part of our theme because it takes place during harvest time. Our memory verse is Leviticus 23: 22:
"And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God."We discussed what kind of principles God is trying to teach us through this verse and how we can apply them to our lives:

• Why should we share from the bounty that God has given us?
• Should poor people still work to get their food or should they rely on rich people to collect their grain and bake their bread? (the role of government, socialism) Read Proverbs 10:5; 6:6-8; 13:11; 19:15
• What things has the Lord blessed us with that we can give to someone else? Read Proverbs 11:25; 19:17; 22:9; 28:27
• Who can we bless this week and how? (Make plans to visit a nursing home, invite someone over for dinner, or drop off toys or clothes to someone that could use them)

• Count, add and subtract with leaves.
• Discover fractions while making pumpkin puree for our 7-month old (quarter, half, and whole pumpkin).

• Use as many adjectives as you can think of to describe various "Fall" objects (i.e. leaf: big, red, thin, pretty, maple, broken, wide, etc.)
• Read "Autumn Fires" poem by Robert Louis Stevenson (Included in 1 Week of Fall Activities and Printables for Preschoolers)

• Read Animals in the Fall Preparing for Winter by Martha Rustad, Why Do Leaves Change Color by Betsy Maestro and Seasons by Robin Nelson. (More reading suggestions in 1 Week of Fall Activities and Printables for Preschoolers)
• Go on Treasure Hunt (Alphabetical list of objects in 1 Week of Fall Activities and Printables for Preschoolers). Identify and collect items on the list using a field guide.

• What is it called when animals go South in the Fall? Can you name some animals that do this?
• How many seasons are in a year? What are they called?
• What is a "cycle"?
• Who made the Earth so that it is tilted?
• What happens inside a leaf to make it change color?

Art

• Make a "Thankful Tree." (Instructions in 1 Week of Fall Activities and Printables for Preschoolers)
• Create a Corn Husk Doll. (Instructions in 1 Week of Fall Activities and Printables for Preschoolers)
• Paint a Pumpkin. (Instructions in 1 Week of Fall Activities and Printables for Preschoolers)

• Bake leaf-shaped sugar cookies and decorate them (Instructions in 1 Week of Fall Activities and Printables for Preschoolers).
• Dehydrate apple peelings to make Apple Twigs ((Instructions in 1 Week of Fall Activities and Printables for Preschoolers).
• Make and freeze sweet potato and squash puree for Anna.

Phys Ed.

• Rake leaves!
• Hike through the woods for our Treasure Hunt.
• Pick apples at an orchard.

FREE! Download and print your copy here.

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Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, Time Warp Wife, A Wise Woman.,Walking Redeemed, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, We ARE That Family, Raising Mighty Arrows, Hearts For Home, Frugal Homeschool Family, Moms The Word, Hip Homeschool Moms, Trivium Tuesdays

Get your tickets now for the PEAK OF THE MARKET gala dinner on August 15 at Cultivate restaurant in Saskatoon.
Top local chefs will pair wines by Saskatchewan's own Living Sky Winery with a seven-course meal using the freshest food that Saskatoon Farmers' Market has to offer. There's no time like summer for a meal like this. Where: Saskatoon Farmers' Market When: August 15, 2010 Cost: $95/person Reservations: Call 306-881-1933

Is it possible to get too much pumpkin flavor this time of the year? I wouldn't know; I haven't reached that point yet! If there's still room in your tummy for more pumpkin, this is a good variation to try. I brought it to my family's Thanksgiving dinner and it was inhaled in seconds and the recipe was requested by several. Since it's a sheet cake, it's the perfect recipe for those with large families, anyone who enjoys squirreling away food in the freezer, or those who are expecting lots of company.

• Ingredients:
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1 cup canola oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 
  
• 1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• Directions:
• In a large bowl, beat the sugar, pumpkin, oil and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and cloves; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
• 
  
• Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
• 
  
• For frosting, in a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Spread over cake. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Yield: 24+ servings.