Pack-y Snow and My Hot-Cocoa-For-A-Crowd Recipe

When winter arrives the children look forward to the pack-y snow.  You know?  The kind you can make snowmen, snow forts and snowballs with.  This year we have only had one of those so far.  But it was a good one!

I've never been one for getting out there in the snow with the children, but with 11 brothers and sisters, I think mom isn't too much needed.  I much prefer watching from the window and having the hot cocoa ready when they come in.

My all time favorite hot cocoa recipe feeds a crowd of children and parents.  

1 1/2 cups cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups sugar (I like to use Turbinado, but any high quality natural sugar works)

a few pinches of cinnamon

6 quarts milk (I like to use raw milk, but if you can't get that, definitely DO NOT use lowfat or skim)

1.   In a large pot over medium-low heat, whisk together the first 3 ingredients.  

2.   Pour in a little milk and whisk to make a paste.  

3.   Then slowly add the remaining milk, stirring until hot and smooth.  Do not let it boil.

I like to make this up and keep it on the stove.  When they all come in from outside, I turn the heat back on just to warm it up.

And So It Begins

We've been officially homeschooling for 3 weeks now and I'm a happy to report that our days are going great! Learning has become easier for my straggling children and more challenging for my self-motivated child. The stragglers are allowed to go at their own pace so they can better grasp the concepts and the self-motivated one finds himself in the sixth week of school already.

I'm also learning a few things along the way.

First, it doesn't take nearly as long to teach one-on-one as it does to a classroom. This is both good and not so good. It's good because the boys are learning what they need to learn, it's bad because they are finishing before the school day ends. I haven't quite come up with a solution yet, but I'm leaning towards telling them to find creative hobbies that they would enjoy learning, such as woodworking. Maybe one of them would like to figure out how to fix cars. Wouldn't that be nice!

I'm also learning that my scheduling mania is paying off now. We have a workable schedule that allows one boy at a time to play with Thomas. They read to him, take him outside, play Play-doh or a phonics website. This keeps him busy and happy and I'm able to work with the other two for that period of time. Once Thomas is in nap we do the subjects that are combined. Right now, we're starting the Middle Ages and Physics.

Also, each boy is assigned a Jurisdiction that he needs to keep clean, so even the house is staying relatively in order. I'm still behind on laundry, but I've accepted the fact that I will always have a Mt. Washmore until the children are all grown.

So, we're off to a great start of the new school year. With all the major academic planning behind me, I'm hoping to focus on planning better for upcoming Feast Days and maybe sharing some of that on our blog.

Seizing the Moment

Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton


Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!

I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep

To Mothers of Young Children

I often get the question from mothers of young children, "How do you do it?" and I often wonder myself how I DID it. You see, my life now is very different from the way it was just 8 or so years ago. I don't really remember how I did it when I had so many little children and no big helpers, except that it wasn't perfect and, only by God's grace, did I make it through to the current season I'm in.

I think that particular season of mothering, when absolutely everything is on your shoulders, when life is nothing more than waking and serving others all day long, is the most difficult and the most bone-weary time. And as you totally give of yourself and die to yourself when they are so little, you grow personally and are then able to deal with patience as they enter young adulthood. God knows what He is doing and He is preparing you now for future battles.

The frustrations and constant interruptions of our daily rhythm during this season of life serves to break our will. Our entire life becomes a prayer and a penance. When St. Paul states that women will be saved by childbearing, he is talking about the whole package deal. Midnight prayers with nursing babies. Imposed fasting while helping young children eat instead of feeding yourself. All of it!

We enter this thing called Motherhood as very, very selfish people. And we very quickly realize that life is no longer all about us. And then we realize that we need to give much, much more than we have and that is when God steps in and makes up for what we humans lack.

And what you put in now is what will come back to you when they are adolescents and young adults. Your time and effort, your patience, your prayers, your suffering, will all be rewarded when those babies are just a little bit older and are laughing while washing all the dishes you used to have to wash. When they are folding the mountains of laundry that you had to do yourself. When they are taking the babies for a walk so that you can have a bit of quiet. It is a happy, close family when everyone realizes they play a part in making a house a home.

So, the point. HANG IN THERE! It gets easier. Really, it does. Pray hard. Laugh alot. Train the children.  Have patience with them. Have patience with yourself. And LOVE THEM every minute... because it goes fast.