stream of consciousness (with hot chocolate mix)
I don't think I've ever done a stream of consciousness post before, but there's a first time for everything, right? Although this might be more like a miscellany post than a stream of consciousness post. Miscellany posts are usually on topic, though, and this one will be more rambling.
We could call it a stream of miscellany. 😉
First, a lot of you asked for the hot chocolate mix recipe that I use, so I'm sharing it today. It's not a fancy version, and if you like the deluxe Land O Lakes hot chocolate mixes, this might not be rich enough for you (add a splash of cream to your mug if you want more decadence). My kids like it, though, and it IS cheaper than buying a mix.
Plus, if you use this instead of the packets, you'll certainly be reducing your trash output.
Not to mention that you can top homemade hot chocolate with soft, squishy marshmallows instead of those hard ones that come in the mixes.
Marshmallows should be squishy. The end.
Hot Chocolate Mix (I got this from my mom, and I have no idea where she procured the recipe!)
10 ⅔ cups powdered milk
1 pound Quik chocolate milk mix
3 oz. coffee creamer
2 cups sugar
Mix all the ingredients together. If you want to give this as a gift, I highly recommend running the mix through your food processor. Otherwise, the powdered milk gives it sort of an unappetizing look.
Combine ⅓ cup of mix with 6-8 ounces hot water. Add a splash of cream or half and half if you wish, and top with (squishy) marshmallows.
If you want to try a more gourmet mix, check out this one from Annie's Eats. One of these days, I'm going to give it a try myself because it looks super delicious!
On to more random stuff.
I've been looking through old photos and thinking about how amazing it is that a body can go from this: (15 weeks pregnant with Zoe)
to this and this: (2.5 months before Zoe was born, and 10 days before Zoe was born)
please do notice the 2 year old adorableness that is Sonia in the mirror!
and then go back to anything even remotely resembling its previous self. Women's bodies are amazing.
There are about 50 pounds between the first and last pictures there (in the first picture I was just coming out of the worst weeks of my pregnancy and was below my pre-pregnancy weight). I think the difference is all over, but especially in my face.
Looking at those first pictures reminds me of how incredibly, horribly awful I felt prior to that time and makes me so happy to be done with that stage of my life...happy to not have to be sick for weeks and months on end, happy to not have to be on anti-nausea drugs for months on end, and happy to feel well enough to serve my family.
Being able to eat is a blessing you don't quite appreciate fully until it's taken away for a time.
I am so, so grateful that I was born in 1978 and not in 1878. Had I lived back then before the advent of anti-nausea drugs and IVs, I am quite sure that pregnancy would have killed me. Anti-nausea drugs weren't exactly a magic pill for me, but they mostly kept me out of the hospital and able to keep some food in my system. Back in 1878, eithout those drugs and without IV options, I would not have been able to eat or drink enough to sustain me, and I would have died, just like Charlotte Bronte, who wrote my very favorite novel of all time, Jane Eyre.
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Speaking of favorite novels, it was so fun to hear yesterday that some of you have read Louise May Alcott's lesser-known books. And having talked about her Old-Fashioned Girl book, I now feel quite inclined to reserve it at my library. I'm pretty sure I need to read it for a 5th or 6th time, you know?
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I'll close this out with two old photos I came across the other day from April 2005...it's my little 4-year-old Lisey, and my thumb-sucking 1-year-old Sonia. I LOVE this picture of Lisey...she just looks so sweet and cute!
And here's one of all 3 kids from 2005 (because Zoe wasn't born yet!). Sonia used to like to do a quasi-headstand like this, and her siblings thought it was so funny, they joined in.
See you tomorrow for Food Waste Friday, plus a post about an eco-friendly Christmas tree I was sent.
Louisa May Alcott is my favorite author! My personal favorites are Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom. But then again, I also love Little Men and Jo's Boys. And Jack and Jill. Hmmmm...the more I think about it, I think they're ALL my favorites!
Ohh, Jack and Jill! That's the name I couldn't remember yesterday.
My daughter read Old Fashioned Girl last year (at 12) and really enjoyed it! I enjoyed that we could talk about it together as a shared love of a marvelous book!
She's read almost all of LMA's books and loves all of them.... just like here mama.
Blessings on the journey~
I have that hot chocolate mix recipe too. I think I found it in The Tightwad Gazette. I've also seen revisions that add 1 large box of chocolate pudding to the mix. It gives it a little more creamy texture, but still keeps the cost low - especially if you buy the pudding on sale with a coupon ;-). Also, one review I saw *somewhere* suggested using confectioner's sugar instead of granulated sugar. Granulated sugar tends to collect at the bottom over time and the confectioner's sugar stays distributed better. Of course this can also be solved by giving the jar a good shake before opening.
I love slightly random, miscellany posts!
Yes, the Tightwad Gazette version is pretty close to the recipe I use. I know my mom had this recipe before that came out, though, so it had to have come from somewhere else. Maybe my grandmother?
I bet running the mix through the food processor helps with the granulated sugar problem...it probably powders it a bit!
I love this kind of post! You should do them more often! Thanks for the hot chocolate recipe. When you mentioned it the other day, I was hoping you would tell us how to make it!
I'm so glad...putting it together was a fun change of pace. 🙂
Love your stream of miscellany post! I will have to give the hot chocolate recipe a try. Looks like it's going to be a long, cold winter around here and I have a feeling we will be going through alot of hot chocolate!
I really appreciated the way you shared about the "bump" in your relationship the other day. You kept it real without bashing your husband which women (I include myself here) often end up doing. It was very nicely presented!
Ha, loved hearing and seeing some frugal girl history! I have pretty rough pregnancies too, so I sympathise with you on that one. That last preggie pic of you just can't be true -- I'm sure you stuck a watermelon under your shirt! 🙂
Lisey at 3 looks a lot like Zoe does now!
I looked like that all 4 times! lol I gained weight all over, of course, but I had a very pronounced bump.
When Zoe was a baby, she looked so, so, SO much like Lisey. She's not quite such a carbon copy now, but I think the two of them definitely look like sisters.
Ah, when I was little, I was a big fan of both Laura Ingalls Wilder (I read all of her books multiple times) and Alcott! My freshman year of high school, I had to do a Greek/Roman mythology project, and one component involved noting references to Greek/Roman gods and demigods in pop culture. Most people did the obvious, including cutouts of ads for Ajax soap and so on. But my 14-year-old self had Little Women memorized, and I knew where to find every page where characters alluded to Greek gods (which they often did to emphasize points, if I recall correctly; guess that was the style then). So I quoted those passages. I wowed my teacher, who also happened to be an Alcott fan. 😉
Two-year-old Sonia and 4-year-old Lisey are super cute. I would have missed Baby Sonia in that photo if you hadn't pointed her out!
Gosh, I would not have remembered that from those books. The Greek gods references must have fallen right out of my brain.
A question if you don't mind me asking and you answering: Were you very nauseated the entire length of each of your pregnancies?
I have kind of a gut feeling that if and when I have a kid growing in me, I would be the type to get nauseated and have a sudden I-hate-food sentiment.
It got worse with each one.
With Joshua, I managed to stay off of meds, was regularly sick up until about 12 weeks, and vomited intermittently up until 20 weeks.
With Lisey, I got so sick and weak, I couldn't even function at a basic level. I was vomiting every time I sat up. So, I got on Zofran, and that mostly kept me from vomiting, though I still had nausea. I managed to get off of the Zofran at 25 weeks, so that was my best pregnancy after I got on the meds.
With Sonia, I was horribly ill even on the Zofran for the first 13-14 weeks. After that, I didn't vomit as much, and the vomiting eventually stopped by around 20 weeks. The nausea never went entirely away, though, and every time I tried to get off the Zofran, I felt sick again. I was able to cut back my dose, but I took it right up until I delivered her.
My Zoe pregnancy was the worst. I was on the highest allowable dose of Zofran and still was very sick. I felt desperate, and miserable and hardly functioned for the first 13-14 weeks. After that, the sickness tapered off, and I stopped vomiting, but again, the nausea never completely went away and I couldn't come off of the Zofran without feeling sick again. I took my last Zofran dose shortly before Zoe was born.
Considering how dreadful I felt even when heavily drugged up with Zofran, I can't even begin to imagine how sick I would have been without it. And without the Zofran, I think I would probably have vomited all the way through my pregnancies.
Be of good cheer, though! Most women do not have hyperemesis like I did, so you probably will have a better time of it than I did.
However did you & Mr. FG manage?!
Uh, barely? My pregnancies were pretty tough on both of us, and the timing of my last pregnancy coincided with a move to our fixer-upper house which smelled of dogs and smoke. I still have no idea how I managed to get pregnant with Zoe (aside from the obvious lack of celibacy!) because we were trying so hard NOT to get pregnant at that time.
Anyway, Mr. FG was exhausted from working and trying to pick up my slack at home, I was a hormonal, sick, exhausted, and somewhat depressed mess (life seemed so dark during those times), and it was just kind of a mess around here. Hyperemesis is really hard on a marriage and family.
As you can imagine, I hated not being able to do my usual work. A relative commented that I must be making this all up so that I could have the luxury of laying on the couch and making Mr. FG do all the work, and I just started sobbing because that idea was so off base. I would have given so much to just be able to get up off the couch and do something.
Did the nausea keep you from going out of the house? The feeling must have been awful.
No worries, I think I would be willing to brave it at least one nine-month period, even if I got that nauseated, too. 😉
I didn't go much of anywhere when it was really bad...I was too tired and too nauseated. I missed church for weeks on end and I really, really struggled to go to the grocery store. The smells and sights of all the food were too much!
Can I just say that I LOVE all these pics today?
I understand. You look like a very normal, happy couple. 🙂
I just love your piano. I so would love to have one!
Wow, 10 2/3 cups of powdered milk? That must make A LOT of hot chocolate mix! I guess your family drinks a lot more hot chocolate than we do. LOL.
PS: Great photos! And stream-of-consciousness miscellany posts might have to become a regular feature. So fun to read.
Sometimes I halve the recipe, depending on how much powdered milk I have. But when there are 6 people in your family, it doesn't take a lot of hot chocolate occasions to use up a big batch
and of course, it keeps pretty nicely, given that it's a dry mix.
I'm so glad you had fun reading my brain spillage. 😉
This was so fun! I'd love to see more retro pics of you and your kiddies.
I am 12.5 weeks pregnant with my first and (I think) I am finally coming to the end of pretty horrible, non-stop nausea. Homeopathic remedies have worked decently to keep me from vomiting, except on occasion, so I haven't had to go on meds (though I have been tempted). However, I've had to lie down constantly, and I've been afraid to leave the house too often, for fear of getting sick in the car. You are always so darn productive so it was nice to read that even YOU were out of commission during your first trimester! 😉
How did you care for your older children when you were pregnant with the younger ones?
Also, if that is what gaining 50 pounds looks like, wow! I guess I am set for gaining at least 100! 😀 You look teeny tiny to me. Pregnancy suits you.
Well, the 50 pounds was from my lowest weight...I always go down, down, down, and then up weightwise!
I was definitely not productive during a lot of my pregnant months. Even on the meds, I still vomited regularly, and when that stopped, I still felt nauseous a lot. Blech.
My parents and my brother helped out some with childcare, and my mother in law took the kids on a weekend too.
I first went on meds when I was pregnant with Lisey because I was so weak I couldn't even manage to change Joshua's diapers (he was 12 months old). I was vomiting every time I got at all upright and couldn't keep anything down at all. I tried every non-drug method in the book and then some, but none of those did anything for me. So, Zofran it was. I took it for about 100 weeks altogether during my last 3 pregnancies.
Wow that really stinks! You were so brave to put yourself through it four times. 😯
If I ever have hyperemesis in the future, I know who to come to for advice and commiseration!
Ah, don't give me too much credit. The only time I was brave enough to try this on purpose was after Lisey...my pregnancy with her wasn't SO bad, and I thought I could manage to get through another one of those. But unfortunately my pregnancy with Sonia turned out to be my worst yet, so that didn't work out quite how I wanted it to. =P
I'm just glad my kids are all here safe and sound and that I'm done with the baby production days.
You know, you've said so many times that you're done with your baby-days now that you're going to jinx yourself soon and have a little 'surprise' or something! 🙂
She already did!
Yeah...we'd just decided for sure that my body/our marriage/family couldn't handle any more pregnancies, and then I got pregnant with Zoe at one of the most inopportune times imaginable. lol
We've since taken more permanent steps to ensure that doesn't happen again. Before I ever had kids I swore I wouldn't do that, but after going through what I've gone through now, I do not not not not want another accident. I love my Zoe to pieces, of course, but I'm not interested in going through the process again.
Re: Louisa May Alcott - I've never read her books (I've had a patchy reading history though I read a lot) but I wanted to make a suggestion a lot of others have given in regards to her works. A modern author Geraldine Brooks has written a book called March about the father in Little Women and what is happening to him during their story, it's evidently quite good if you like that sort of "speculation" writing from another author.
<3 your stretch marks.
Mwah, mwah!
Katy
Oh yeah...I got them all across the lower part of my bump and I've also got them on my sides by my hip bones. I got most of them with my first pregnancy and they've faded quite a bit since then.
Not many people see my stomach besides Mr. FG, so they don't bother me much. 🙂
love the flash back into the past! Thank goodness I didn't have that totally sickness threw my pg. (none with my first, but my second a little bit,) I could not imagine being sick for months on end! Just the little bit I was sick with my second, drove me crazy, thank goodness it happen at night, not when I had to be at work!
Love the picture of your 3 yogis! Soo cute!
Oh man, I have been having baby fever lately. Now it's through the roof! 🙂 My first is at an age where I feel I could finally be able to handle being pregnant. Thank you for sharing your pics!
I suffered with HG too. It was horrible. And the worst part was the people that would say "if you would just eat a little saltine before you get up it will help". Except they dont understand that I can't even keep down WATER. We only have our daughter who was born in June and we want more children some day but I will have to think long and hard about it. My daughter was totally worth it in the end but I just don't know that i could go through 9 more months of being an involuntary bulemic.
Oh my goodness! I so hear you.
Sometimes, I really wanted to say something sarcastic like, "No, I really like upchucking, and I thought it was just too much work to eat a cracker before I got out of bed."
Of COURSE I tried eating a cracker before I got up...I tried that and a bazillion other things that work for regular morning sickness but don't touch HG. It's a whole 'nother animal.
I think your letting us know there was a bump was courageous.Not many share the fact that our lives are not perfect... It is how we navigate that matters.I agree there is a fine line in sharing info and keeping private family info and I think you did just fine! I have been married to the same great guy for 33 almost 34 years 1977 to be exact,our marriage is great but each and every day is a gift that we work on together.It is not perfect,it is not without bumps but it is ours.As we age,as we change as individuals and as a unit,as we are facing different issues in life we navigate together....sometimes it goes well sometimes less optimal but all and all it is what we make it.And it is HARD work sometimes,confusing other times making me wish there was an instruction manual LOL
We just found out that we're expecting our 4th child and I have to say that after reading your HG stories, I suddenly feel *almost* thankful for plain old nausea and migraines. Glad You made it through all that - it sounds dreadful.
Thanks for a fun & random post!
Congratulations! I hope you make it through again with just plain old nausea. Or better yet, no nausea or migraines. 🙂
Okay, here's my stream of consciousness, or whatever. 🙂 Firstly, red is a fantastic color on you. Secondly, you do look adorable in your pregnancies even though you felt so rotten. I was blessed with good pregnancies. So good, that I'm still battling pregnancy weight, and my "baby" is a just turned five. Ahem...who am I kidding? I've been fighting weight gain since before my eldest came around! You love Jane Eyre? I was in a production of Jane Eyre, the musical, when I was pregnant with my youngest. It had a purposely very short rehearsal period and then the run was several weeks. Even though the whole thing was maybe five-six weeks long in total, my stomach really popped out at the end of it. Luckily the costume covered it-audiences probably just thought that I was a little um, big in the tummy. Regarding women and their sometime tendency to complain about their spouses, I think that it is because they are unhappy themselves. Not saying that all husbands are as grand as mine, (which he is), but I think that some people don't choose well, they don't choose people who are suited for them. Which is unfortunate and which helps to explain the high divorce rate. Okay, I'm done. Hope that I don't offend anyone with that last comment.
It does seem like a lot of people make bad choices when they marry people. but on the other hand, a large part of a good marriage is focusing on BEING the right person rather than on finding the right person.
I think our dating culture may be part of the problem...people don't do enough real life, everyday stuff with the person they want to marry. Too much of the movies, dinner out stuff and not enough talking and engaging in mundane, everyday tasks with the person. When you're out to dinner and watching a movie, it's waaay too easy for people to act like someone they're not.
I think also there is the tendency to expect perfection in both the spouse and the relationship. Relationships are hard work and involve compromise, and a lifelong relationship also has to accommodate the fact that people change over time. The person you married ten years ago isn't necessarily the person you're married to now.
Absolutely. Hopefully we change for the better as we age, but sometimes we don't.
When people have more of a serve-me attitude than a "how can I serve you?" attitude, it's usually a marital disaster. But when both partners are striving to serve the other, it's a whole different story.
AMEN!!
About your "Bump" of a different kind, the one in your relationship with Mr. FG. I'm so glad you said that you do not have the perfect marriage, (although is it possible that anyone truly believes anybody can?) I know I have a great marriage but perfect? Hardly! Many of my friends think it must be perfect because I don't say much of the struggles. I have them, believe me, but that surely doesn't mean I have to bash Tommy for all the world to see and I am so glad you agree with that course of action. Not all of us feel comfortable about airing dirty laundry and I don't particularly like others doing the same. It simply can't help a relationship to do so and usually it hurts it worse. Thanks so much!
Thank you for reminding me that I am so NOT ready for kids yet. I definitely want to get through my wedding first. 😉 And I'm not even the one who'd be birthin' the babies.
Also, Joshua looks more like he's imitating a frog.
For L.M. Alcott, the only book of hers I attempted to read was Hospital Sketches as it involves my interest in the Civil War.
Well, we've discovered that getting into Sonia's position gets harder and harder the older you get, because your torso/head to leg proportions start to be very different! Sonia herself can't do that anymore. =P
And I should add that yes, you should get through your wedding first, but please know that I'm not sure you ever feel completely ready to have kids. At least, we didn't, and a lot of people I talk to didn't.
and I hear sometimes from people who waited and waited and waited to have kids until they had all their ducks in a row and by then, it was too late fertility-wise.
Not that you should have kids if you don't want them...but just don't hold out for this "our ducks are all in a row and we should now procreate" feeling because it might not feel quite like that.
A great addition to any hot chocolate mix is to add some crushed peppermint candies, 8-10 candies per 3 cups powdered milk.
Ooh yes, I must try this. You know how I adore mint.
I have been enjoying my homemade chai mix lately. I was so thrilled when I discovered a recipe that tasted almost exactly like the Oregon Chai I had been treating myself to.. Love the pics of the children. I must dig some out of my college kids.. It makes me wat a baby though!! I could do it again, if I knew I would not have to miss out on sleep. It wasn't hard back then, but somehow this 55 year old seems to need her sleep more now! Sigh,,, i will just have to wait for the grandbabies to come along..
Jane Eyre is my favorite novel ever, too (and I almost always read exclusively non-fiction) and I was born in 1978! I was happy when I saw you were born in 78, but downright giggly when I saw that Jane Eyre was your fave. Fun!
It's a '78 thing, I guess. 😉
love the shot of the kiddos heads down and love that you share you life with us here, discreetly, bumps and all.
Thank you for being funny. Thank you for being honest and transparent. Thank you for your whole blog, which I just adore and look forward to reading every day. You manage to be one of the few blogs of this kind (frugal, SAHM, Christian, etc.) that isn't preachy or sugar-coated or holier-than-thou. You do what you do very well!
What Emily said. 🙂
Aww, thank you. That means a lot to me.
Mwah!
I have a two different friends whose marriages have fallen apart. I remember in the beginning of both of their relationships saying something along the lines of "we never fight". Me and my guy never fight as in yelling, but we definitely get frustrated and have disagreements. We are different people and super close, so sometimes we don't get exactly where the other person is coming from. Its normally, and in my mind, healthy. I don't think dragging anyone through the mud is good, definitely not your soulmate. 🙂
Love all the photos. Its fun to look back at old pictures. I don't know about you, but whenever I look at pictures of Cami and now Noah from a few years ago, I get all teary. Sweet, but can't believe how quickly time flies.
Love your past two posts Kristen, thanks for sharing real life from the heart. 🙂
Yes, it's definitely better to have a disagreement than to let a problem just simmer below the surface. I'm prone to doing that just to keep the temporary peace, but I think I'm getting a little bit better about speaking my mind, even if it does cause some discomfort in the moment.
If you never "fight" how do you know you can work through problems?
Indeed, ignoring problems isn't exactly working through them!
I wouldn't say that Mr. FG and I fight per se, (I tend to associate yelling and such with fighting), but we've definitely had our fair share of disagreements and bumps over the years. Mercifully, we've always been able to work through the problem and oftentimes we come out on the other end closer than we were before.
Ohhhh -- Is is sad that I had to get to comment #40 before making the connection between the bumps, BABY and RELATIONSHIP 🙂 ?? Loved your S.O.C., filled with humor and good will. And pix!! Jane Eyre ROCKS, as does LMA. Don't foget Jane Austen! So, so wonderful, and not a little snarky!! I defy anyone to read the final scene where Knightley confesses his real love (in "Emma") without tearing up and vowing to be a better, humbler, more grateful spousal unit/significant other.
Oh yes, I love me some Jane Austen. Her books are just so entertaining.
I've read your blog for a little while now, but this is my first comment lol!
I totally agree with you on the nausea part of pregnancy! With my first son I was sick all the way up till the day I delivered!! Luckily with my second pregnancy I didn't have much!!! Also, I LOVE Jane Eyre too!! It's been my favorite book since I was a little girl! Have you ever read Wide Sargasso Sea? It's supposed to be a prequel to Jane Eyre and gives a interesting twist to how we view Bertha and Mr. Rochester. It's a little rough though... I had to read it in my high school A.P. English class senior year.
Oh, lucky you! My pregnancies just got worse and worse until I had no hope left for future pregnancies. Mr. FG and I decided we weren't interested in seeing just how horrible a fifth pregnancy could get.
I have not read Sargasso Sea...is it written by the same author?
Yes! I feel so beyond lucky and blessed not to have had a repeat pregnancy! After our son was born I wasn't sure I could handle another pregnancy, but 3 months later I got pregnant again! I guess that answered my question lol! I can totally understand not wanting to see what a 5th would do to you! Being pregnant and having other children is hard enough as it is, but then adding extreme sickness makes it, I imagine, unbearable!
It's actually written by Jean Rhys. It's interesting because it shows a more sympathetic side to Bertha, but kinda shows Mr. Rochester in a SUPER negative light!!! It's interesting none the less though...
Oh, I think that would bum me out. I liked Mr. Rochester!
I've been looking for a make-it-yourself hot chocolate mix mostly because the store bought ones are too sweet for our taste. Is this mix really sweet? Do you ever use less sugar than 2 cups? Is there sugar already in the Quik mix?
Yep, Quik does already have sugar. You could always try starting out with a small amount of sugar and adding more to taste.
Well, I always wondered who wore size small maternity clothes! You are so tiny even when you're huge. lol
My baby is 2 and it is bittersweet. I understand where you are coming from with missing those baby years. It's exciting having babies but it's like a honeymoon. That phase just wears you out.
As far as marital bumps go. I had to laugh. In the past few weeks, dh and I have had very public bumps at Ikea, WalMart, the middle school parking lot, etc. I am so grateful to be home with the kids but being at the mercy of everyone else's schedule can really get to me.
I just have to say that you guys are fun to chat with. 🙂
HI Kristen,
I want to thank you for your honesty a when you share the not-so-lovely aspects of your life. I appreciate the fact that you are brave enough to let us in on the other side.
Regards and Merry Christmas!
Great photos. I was sick as a dog with my first. The others were not so bad. Don't worry about normal fights. Everyone has them and they are healthy. If you let it all build up until you explode it will ruin you. Good luck.
I think you shared just about the right amount of information about your relationship bump: you let us know you guys aren't inhumanly perfect but kept the details to yourself.
It's fun to read all the comments. Here's my question (for anyone with expertise!!) - how does one homeschool while miserably pregnant??? Or was your oldest not to that age yet when you were expecting for the last time? I'm finding it to be quite challenging to get through the few subjects we're working on - in the mornings the toddler tries to eat our curriculum, and during naptime I need a nap too! Fortunately it doesn't take all day to cover first grade materials, but I'd love to hear how others have made it work.
Fortunately for me, my last 3 pregnancies all started in June/July. So my most miserable days were in the summertime and we weren't trying to do school then anyway.
I don't know what I'd have done if I'd gotten pregnant during the school year. I imagine I'd have directed as much as possible from the couch/bed and then made up any missed work when I was feeling better.
Joshua was only 6 when Zoe was born and Lisey wasn't even 5 yet, so my homeschooling days were pretty simple back then.
I'm sorry that you had such rough times with your tummy while you were pregnant. Isn't it amazing that a time in your life when you're all aglow and blossoming with the beauty of motherhood, you feel like absolute dog poo? I didn't have any issues with my tummy, but I had some serious problems moving around. I ended up with several nerves being pinched in my back and legs. They hurt so bad, it eventually started to throw me into labor 8 weeks early. (I went on early maternity leave so I could sit more {I worked retail} and he was born a day after his due date.)
That hot chocolate recipe sounds good. I'll have to try it sometime when I'm out of my store bought hot chocolate mix.
As far as the "bump" in your marriage. I think you handled it well. It was mentioned, but no one knows the subject nor the situation. If you aired your dirty laundry, I would consider it in poor taste. It just goes to show that you have a very real life. I'm sure that to many of your readers, though you protest to the contrary, you seem like "wonder woman". My ex-boyfriend's mother was like that. She worked full time in a factory, could come home cook an AMAZING meal down to home made bread, etc, kept a very clean house, raised horses and chickens, as well as could build lawn furniture. OH and she sewed most of her grand childrens' clothes. I dated that man for almost 8 years, and I had no idea that she was even "human" until year 6 of our relationship. So no worries about showing just how real and human your life is. You handle it all in such a classy fashion. I wished more people would think about what they say to others before they talked. (I used to be one of those people. 🙁 I wished I could eat each word now.)
Yeah...I think the only glowing I did was of a green sort. lol
kristen,
while i don't have kids or even a husband, i certainly enjoy your blog. i got your web address from 700 club and while i hoped for more frugal money saving ideas like in shopping for everyday items, i certainly haven't been disappointed in reading of the food savings you incure. i admire the way, particularly, you keep your menus within reason and don't cram them full of excessive food. both me and my family are overweight and we do just that. while i spend roughly 80.00 for three adult for two weeks for the primary food stuff, it certainly lacks the fresh produce that your diets have.
i also used to enjoy seeing your display of colorful food after your shopping trip...reminds me of Christmas morning! you are sure an early riser too, i might add. keep up the good work and Merry Christmas
Kristen I think this was my all time favourite post of yours! It's so cool that you have such an awesome record of your lives, and because we get to share in all of your beautiful pics, seeing adorable pics of Lisey and Sonia (and Josua and of course Zoe) as munchkins was really cool!
I think if you ever had a day when you didn't feel like posting or were busy with life, an all vintage picture post would be such a treat! You really have a beautiful family 🙂
The hot chocolate mix is very similar to the one in the "Make-A-Mix" cookbook. A frugal, out-of print classic, but worth tracking down. As to the rest, since I'm posting at the #82 position, a resounding: WHAT THEY SAID!!! Thanks for being there for all of us, Kristen.
Merry Christmas to you and everyone you love.
I know we prefer soft marshmallows....but you can use the dried ones in your cocoa mix... 🙂