This Is What I've Made....So Eat It : )

Lately I've had quite a bit of murmuring when it comes to meals.  I guess having 10 of us in the house at the moment and all with differing taste buds I had gotten into "mommy guilt" and started to try and please everyone.  But, no longer!  I'm going back to...."eat it or make something else!  And yes, it better be healthy."  Here is a picture of my morning breakfast schedule with a little reminder at the bottom. 

 Lunch we are a little more free for all and then dinner it's what I've made and that's it!  I try to cook healthy, even though it's not always "Trim Healthy Mama" and I keep a dinner menu planner as well.  I just want to encourage all you young moms out there to not give in to picky eating or trying to cook things for different members of the family.  You will wear yourself out, not to mention raise self-centered picky kids.....just a warning here.  And below, a pouty picture of my little guy that did not like what I made him the other day for lunch.  He pouted, ate very little and got over it : )

Once Upon a Freezer

So, who does a blog post on a freezer? me
And who actually has a story behind their freezer? me
And who gets teary eyed when the freezer is taken away by a friend to its new home and has to be consoled by her 10 year old? me

The story begins over 13 years ago.  
Anyone who has read my blog over the last few years knows that we lost a full term baby boy back in March of 2000.  The story of Taylor is written in a previous blog post, so I won't go into that too much now.  But after having a stillborn son, our friends, family and church really rose to help.  One way was providing food and meals for our family of 6 at that time.  We received so many meals that we had no place to put all the food and our appetites weren't that great at the moment anyway.  My darling husband went with a family member over to Home Depot and quickly bought us a deep freezer.  It was rapidly filled.  That freezer lasted us well for 13 years and subsequently was filled with meals and treats through 6 pregnancies, a few miscarriages and the death of my father.  It was a great freezer, very well loved but I must admit not taken care of very well.  I think we only defrosted it and totally cleaned it out twice and that was due to a move and a hurricane.  Anyway, as you can tell from the picture below, it looks pretty bad.  But it still worked and I have a lovely friend that needed a freezer with her 3 children and we were in the market for a cow; not a live cow, but 1/4 of a local, grass fed, organic, pastured raised cow.  We ordered our cow with a group of friends and since this current freezer could in no way hold the cow plus all the usual things in our freezer, I got a new freezer for my birthday!  It holds almost double and is much easier to organize and retrieve things from.  Yes, this mom of many did not want anything else for my birthday but a new deep freezer.  I know many of you moms would want that too, right?  And the day before we drove out to the country to pick up our cow, we went strawberry picking and picked 30 pounds of berries!  So now my new freezer is full of 100 pounds of beef (just about every cut you can imagine) and strawberries, plus a few other things : )

Now the day before the new freezer was arriving and the old one going to our friends, we had to clean out the old freezer.  You would not believe some of the things we found.  Here is a partial list and I promise that I am not making any of this up.

4 bags of frozen shrimp
3 plastic containers of food that I have no idea what they were.
20 various Popsicles and Italian ices buried in mounds of ice.
1 dead mouse.
2 dead skinned squirrels in Ziploc bags (I had no idea my boys had put these last things in there!)
1 dead raccoon 

Here is a picture of the clean out.....lol

So, some tears were shed by me when the old freezer left.  I guess it was just the memories and remembering the time it was purchased.  God provides just what we need when we need it.  I was consoled by my 10 year old who looked at me and said, "At least it's going to our friends and not the dump!"  (Out of the mouth of babes.)  And even though my friend said it looked like it got run over or something, she is putting it to good use.  I wonder if she has any dead rodents in it yet : )

The new freezer, stuffed with grass fed, healthy beef.  Hopefully, this will last a year.

Grocery Shopping Gone Crazy

So, in the past 2 weeks, I have been to 7 different grocery stores.  Now this is more than usual, mostly because of Easter coming up and just being out many various things that come from various stores.  Now before you think this is crazy or without rhyme and reason, let me explain.  First of all I am blessed to live in an area where there are many different types of grocery stores not too far away.  I hate to waste gas driving far just to save money (just doesn't make sense to me) but if I'm in an area where there is a store I rarely frequent, then I will just run in for a few things.  Each store I visited these past 2 weeks, has it's plus and minuses, which I will explain. I know we are all feeling the pinch when it comes to grocery budgeting.  Prices have risen across the board, and if your family is like mine and your trying to eat healthier, then it really can be "sticker shock." Now, remember, I'm feeding a household of growing children and I like to cook most of our things from scratch. So, here is where I've been shopping lately.......

1. Harris Teeter-for those who don't have a HT near them, this store is similar to a Kroger or Publix.  It's my "go-to" neighborhood grocery store and my favorite.  They do double coupons up to $1 all the time and frequently do triple coupons. They have lots of samples for the kids and we know everyone that works there.  We like going there and seeing all our friends and getting free cookies. They also have small shopping carts for the little ones and race car shopping carts that can hold up to 3 kids! This store has great lighting, a smooth layout, pleasing decorations and is just such a nice shopping experience. Plus, this is where I use my grocery game membership that I've talked about in other grocery shopping posts.  I save a good bit of $ with their deals and using coupons on sale items.  But, without coupons or buying their name brand things, it is pricey, but over all such a nice experience.

2.  Walmart-We have a new Walmart that is just groceries.  It's nearby and great!  The prices can't be beat but they don't ever double coupons.  They have an aisle with many large and bulk size items, just like Sam's.  They also have a good bit of "southern" items that I can't find anywhere else around here.  They have great prices on school supplies and toiletries.  But they have no fresh deli or bakery and no free samples for the kids, or special grocery carts for the little ones.

3.  Aldi's-Many of my large family friends swear by Aldi's to save money. It really is a neat concept with no bags, baggers and shopping carts you put a quarter in to use.  The prices on produce are great and if you are OK with their name brand things, then it is even cheaper than Walmart.  They do have some "name brand" things, but they are not any cheaper than other stores.  I'm a little skeptical of their brand but so far what I've gotten there hasn't been bad.  It's not that close to my house so I don't go very much.  To be perfectly honest, I'm not crazy about the atmosphere, but it is cheap.

4.  Fresh Market- The ultimate grocery store, my family thinks.  This store is purely ambiance and decorating.  It's so nice to visit when you're having a bad day : )  But don't ever do a big shopping there or you will probably pass out in the cashier line (I almost did once!)  Two great things about this store are on Tuesdays the milk is $2.99 a gallon, their chicken dinners are a great deal all the time ($13 for a rotisserie chicken, 2 sides and cornbread) and their meat counter is awesome for special occasions.  Oh, and my teenagers absolutely love their pies.

5.  Whole Foods-I love this store.  It cheers me up, but one of my friends calls it "Whole Pay Check."  It is pricey and you have to know how to shop there to get good deals.  My local WF does a "saving money" workshop every few months.  I went to that once and it did help me. Basically, buy the bulk things and they also have bulk prices for everything.  I buy 4 milks when I go, for example, to get the bulk price.  They have things other stores just don't, like large bags of Swiss water decaf coffee beans.  They have a great deli, salad bar, bakery, cheese counter, etc.  Not to mention awesome produce and lots of free samples.  Also, I love being able to shop there and know that nothing there GMO, has high fructose corn syrup, or hydrogenated oils.  

6. Trader Joe's-There are some things you can only get at TJ's for the low price they offer.  They have great organic produce prices, if you don't mind all the packaging.  Most of the store is prepared goods from far away and really geared more to singles or small families.  I do love their sprouted bread (which is healthier due to being low carb and high protein), their soaps, nuts and random other things.  There flowers are a great price too.  I don't go here often, and if you've never been to one, it's a little hard to explain.  It's similar to Aldi's (actually owned by the same German company now) in that it's almost all their own brand name.  My kids don't think there food is very good.  I guess they are spoiled : )

7. Target- My neighborhood Target does have groceries, but I rarely go there for food items.  They have good coupons and good sales, but I find that I spend money on toys, clothes, jewelery, home goods, etc, that I just don't need.  So, I like to limit how much I go to Target because I like it so much.  But it is nice to grab some groceries that you may desperately need if you are in there already. 

This picture was taken this summer at BJ's. I've found that with the gas I spend to get there, the membership cost, the fact that they are picky about using coupons (except their own) that I don't really save money and probably buy things we don't need.  I've let my Sam's and BJ's memberships expire and I'm not missing them at all.

I just love the free kid wagon at Whole Foods.  Each kid can pick out one thing from the wagon to eat : )

Check Please.....Tips for Eating Out

Dad and Matthew got their own table at the Ikea restaurant "Swedish Meatballs" where kids eat free on Tuesdays, with no catch.

You should of seen my table with the other 6 kids.  We didn't look quite so together!

Anyway, we took a little vacation this past week and of course with traveling comes way too much eating out.  So I thought I'd do a post on some tips for eating out with large family or even just eating out with kids.  We do eat out, probably more then we should, even when we are not on vacation.  My kids are a little spoiled that way, but here it goes with some things I've learned over the years.

1. Avoid pricey restaurants, if you have the kids with you.  That take a long time and cost way too much for what you are getting. (I know, this is probably a given, but I thought I'd start with something pretty obvious cause you never know : )

2.  "Kids eat free" nights can be great, but be sure to read the fine print.  Many times they can only eat free with every adult meal purchased.  Yes, that can still be a good deal but when your kids out number the adults 3:1, then it's not that great of a money saver.  Ikea and Jersey Mike's are two places that don't require this on their "kids eat free" days.

3.  Divide and conquer if you have to.  Don't feel bad about splitting up the toddlers or letting the teenagers eat by themselves.  This especially works if you're eating out with another family that has kids as well.  Let the adults eat at a table right next to the kids (keeping very small ones with you of course) and then you actually get to visit!

4. Try to avoid the drive-thru trap.  Yes, we do go through drive-thrus but only a very few restaurants and then we bring it home to eat or take it to a park.  

5.  If you are eating out, have some food in your purse for the little ones to eat while waiting on your order.  Kids smell the food and then get even hungrier and that time waiting for the meal can seem endless.

6.  We have a schedule to our eating out so that we are more disciplined and not eating out more than we should.  I know, I'm a schedule queen, but this really helps.  We eat out 2 lunches max a week and one family dinner (usually ordering pizza.)  I do make exceptions to this if we have a lot of sickness or my husband is out of town (kind of cheers us all up : )

7.  Bagels and pizza, I have found, are definitely the cheapest for a large crowd.  This is especially true if you bring it home and don't order drinks.

8.  Speaking of drinks, if it doesn't come with the kid meal (if you are getting a kid meal) then we all order water.  Soda, juice and even tea can set you back over a dollar a person.  It's ridiculous!

9.  And speaking of kid meals, many times at sit down restaurants they are a trap as well.  I have found that it's cheaper to give my kids part of my meal or have them split a normal meal (many times between 3 kids) and have water.  Check the prices.  Never assume it's cheaper.

10.  And finally, save the money eating out for date night with your hubby.  I would rather not eat out and wait to eat out with my honey at a nice place alone then all of us going to Olive Garden or Waffle House : )

Many times, this is what we really look like at a restaurant (with a friend in tow too)!

Family Dinners......So Important

Family birthday meals.......just about one a month in this large household : )

It's amazing how in the last year or so I hear about another secular study done showing the importance of family dinners.  We know that having regular family dinners is really just a sign of an intact, caring family.  But it's interesting to note what the "world" is saying about it.  

Here's a clip from a CNN article:

Healthy meals mean healthy kids

Studies have shown that kids who eat with their families frequently are less likely to get depressed, consider suicide, and develop an eating disorder. They are also more likely to delay sex and to report that their parents are proud of them. When a child is feeling down or depressed, family dinner can act as an intervention.

This is especially true of eating disorders, says Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health, who has studied the impact of family meal patterns on adolescents. "If a child eats with his or her parents on a regular basis, problems will be identified earlier on," she says.

Family dinners help kids "just say no"

Eating family dinners at least five times a week drastically lowers a teen's chance of smoking, drinking, and using drugs. Teens who have fewer than three family dinners a week are 3.5 times more likely to have abused prescription drugs and to have used illegal drugs other than marijuana, three times more likely to have used marijuana, more than 2.5 times more likely to have smoked cigarettes, and 1.5 times more likely to have tried alcohol, according to the CASA report.

"While substance abuse can strike any family, regardless of ethnicity, affluence, age, or gender, the parental engagement fostered at the dinner table can be a simple, effective tool to help prevent [it]," says Elizabeth Planet, one of the report's researchers, and the center's vice president and director of special projects.

Better food, better report card

Of teens who eat with their family fewer than three times a week, 20% get C's or lower on their report cards, according to the CASA report. Only 9% of teens who eat frequently with their families do this poorly in school.

Family meals give children an opportunity to have conversations with adults, as well as to pick up on how adults are using words with each other, which may explain why family dinnertime is also thought to build a child's vocabulary.

So, how do you get this done with 

many children, a working husband, 

extracurriculars, etc.

Years ago we set a time for dinner 

and have stuck to it.  I based this 

on when my husband arrived home

from work.  All my children know, 

dinner begins somewhere between

6:15pm and 6:30pm, depending on

when my husband gets home and

when the food is ready.  There are 

nights that maybe one child is still

at a sports practice or music 

practice, but we go ahead and 

start eating.  They usually arrive

sometime during the meal and if 

not, then I save them a plate.  I'm

OK if this happens a time or even

2 nights a week as the children get

to be teenagers.  We miss them

at the dinner table, but it's kind of a

weaning away before they leave for

college.  Dinner is loud at our 

house and at least once a week 

there is someone extra at the 

dinner table, but we engage in 

"stimulating" conversations and 

talk about our day.  This year my 

husband is doing a great family

devotional called, "Training Hearts

and Teaching Minds" by Starr 

Meade.   He doesn't take

long with this (attention spans are 

short this time of day) but it's a 

great way to bring the Lord into our

dinner time.  We cherish this time

as a family and guard it (meaning 

we try not to plan things during the

dinner hour.)  Also, I know 

sometimes it might seem easier to

feed the children before Dad gets 

home and then have a quiet meal 

with just him or even feed the 

babies in advance, but we have 

rarely done this.  I things it's better

as a regular thing to have all the 

family eat together.  They grow

so fast and need to learn table 

manners early.  So, I encourage

y'all to make a healthy meal (it 

doesn't have to be elaborate), set

the table nicely, light a candle, and

enjoy your precious family. 

Nursing 10 Babies...Well Not All at Once

A recent picture of Patrick, my #10, at a Chinese restaurant in a small NC town (and no, he didn't eat Chinese food....he's this chubby at 6 months and has only breastfed : )

I realized recently that I've written very little about breastfeeding, which is kind of funny since I've been breastfeeding on and off since the end of 1990.  Actually if you tally it up, I've breastfed for 133 months (that's 11 years) and I'm still going!  So I thought I would do a quick post on some things I've learned in this journey and some things I recommend.  So here are some "becca bullet points":

1. Breastfeeding is by far the better and of course natural, normal "green" way to feed your baby.  It is healthier for the baby and for the mom.  It's is simpler, cleaner and of course cheaper.  I won't get into debating this, I'm just going to assume we're all on the same page here.

2.  Now I know somethings happen and there are reasons you can't breastfeed. I've been there and had this problem with Matthew, my son with Down Syndrome.  I finally had to realize that it wasn't all about ME being able to nurse him, but about HIM growing and being healthy.  I was able to nurse him, but he had to have a high calorie formula 50% of the time.  But if you are having problems, don't give-up!  At least nurse as much as you can and give it a good "college try!" Lactation consultants are everywhere nowadays and can really help.  

3. I always nurse on demand.  I think this is how God created it.  You can loosely schedule if you need to or just want to feel more organized, but really the baby will tell you when he or she needs to eat.  The baby is always growing and his needs change daily.  Also, the constitution of the milk changes constantly, so what works one day, as far as scheduling, may not work the next.

4.  Introduce a bottle of pumped milk somewhere between when the baby is 2 and 3 weeks old.  This way if you need to leave the baby for a short time or just want your husband or an older child to feed the baby, then they can.  I did this with 5 of mine and it worked great.  I didn't do this with 5 and they would never take a bottle.

5.  Buy those great nursing tanks.  I love the Glamourmom ones, but Target has great ones too.  You also need at least 3 nursing bras.  Get or borrow a good pump too.  I used nursing pads for the first few babies, but really you don't have to have those.  A Boppy is great to have too, but not a necessity.

6.  Don't introduce solids until at least 6 months.  I usually wait until 7 or so. It's not worth the mess and it's healthier for them just to have breast milk.

7.  When I nurse, I let them empty one side and then switch if need to.  You want them to get the hind milk.  Most of my babies where pretty efficient and your milk lets down faster with each subsequent baby (isn't that great how God did that?  He knew we'd have less time to nurse with each baby : )so it only takes me 15-20 minutes to get them full and then they go 2-3 hours.

8.  When you are ready to get more sleep, move them out of your room.  I know babies can smell their moms and all of mine have slept better when I moved them away from me.

9.  I nursed all of mine for about a year, some longer.  It seems like when they started walking they lost interest and really got into food.  I usually was pregnant by that point as well and feeling pretty bad.  But do try to nurse for at least a year.  It is so good for them!

10.  I've never tandem nursed.  I've seen friends do it and it just never appealed to me.  I always wanted to have good quiet bonding time with my newborn and it seemed like the toddler would be all over the mom when they saw them nursing.  Just too crazy for me : ) but go for it if your so inclined.

Well these are just some things off the top of my head....if you have any questions, let me know!

Short Order Cook

Does anyone else out there with a good many small children feel like a short order cook?  I even find myself yelling, "Order up!"  I figured that on most days I make 3 meals and feed approximately 10 people each meal, so I feed about 30 people a day.  That's about as many as a small restaurant serves in a day!  And since most of my meals are made pretty fast and not too complicated, I think maybe I am a short order cook!  I don't make different things for each child, but they do have preferences and each has slightly different taste.....so my morning sounds like, "order up....scrambled eggs, grits, no toast."  Or "order up... grits only with butter and salt."  Then my lunches sound like, "turkey with cheese sandwich, extra mustard and no mayo."  Or "turkey and cheese sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, mayo."  Then with dinner, I've started putting everything on the island, we say grace and then everyone (unless your under 6) makes their own plate.  This is my new thing and seems to take the stress out of making all the plates. I just have to watch and make sure certain children don't avoid all the veggies : )

Christian is my real helper in the kitchen.  He just helped me make homemade guacamole and in this picture is making yummy omelets.  He makes them better than I do.  He has gourmet taste buds so it's a good thing he likes to cook.  Everything has to be "fresh."  He keeps me motivated to make things homemade and with healthy, fresh ingredients.....well, off to finish the black bean soup to go with the guac!

Dinner Meals

My Four Little Chefs in Training

It seems most days that I spend a large portion of my day in the kitchen.  I cook for  around 30 people (that's all my gang for 3 meals a day), so I feel like I run a small restaurant.  I like to have a dinner schedule so I'm not too unsure of what our big meal for the day will be.  What I did was I wrote down all the meals we like and that I cook regularly.  Then I put them into categories.  Then I designated each day of the week to a category.  One day of the week is for left overs or take-out pizza. Below is a list of my meals in their categories.  Hope this makes sense and can help someone out.  I posted this mostly for me so I can stay on track : )

Roasts           Italian            Mexican        Soups            Seafood        Chicken

Beef                 Spaghetti      Black Bean  Veg. Beef        Salmon          Grilled chicken

                                                 Soup

Chicken            Baked Ziti    Fajitas           Chicken           Shrimp           Chicken and Broccoli                                                             

                                                                         Noodle           Ettoufee

Ham                  Lasagna       Burritos          Red Beans     Gumbo           Chicken Pot Pie

                                                                          & Rice

Meatloaf           Stuffed Bell   Quesadillas  Spilt Pea         Tuna              Chicken and Dumplings

                           Peppers                                                        Casserole

Beef Tips          Tortellini          Chili                 Lentil            Shrimp          Chicken and Rice

                                                                                                   & Corn Soup