Weekly Mothering Challenge: Try Batch Cooking

I have been endeavoring recently to perfect the art and skill of batch cooking, making lots of food at once to eat and then freeze for later. With Daddy taking some time off from work this week and Thanksgiving festivities happily drawing me closer to the kitchen, this is a good time to work on batch cooking. I am trying, as best I can, to *simply* double (or triple) everything I am making these days. We eat some now and save some for later to maximize time and effort.

Once I become more skilled at batch cooking, I am thinking we may purchase a separate freezer for our basement storage area for extra food that won't fit in our small pantry refrigerator. So far it's been helpful to have extra bowls of lentils, and lasagna, and pasta sauce waiting in the wings for days when I don't want to cook or know what to serve.

In this month's issue of Natural Life Magazine there is a great article about using batch cooking to promote community and convenience, suggesting strategies for forming small batch cooking groups that work together to make large meal portions to serve several families throughout a month. Such a fabulous idea!

In addition to preparing quarts of spiced squash and apple soup, mounds of biscuits, and many other goodies this week, I am also using farm-fresh cranberries to make several batches of this very yummy cranberry bread recipe that my aunt graciously passed along to me:

Auntie's Homemade Cranberry Bread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C chopped fresh cranberries
4 tsp grated orange peel
3 T sugar
(mix these three ingredients and set aside)

3 C sifted flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
3/4 C sifted sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 C orange juice
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1 C chopped nuts (optional)
3/4 C water
1/2 C melted butter

Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 350-degrees. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, add eggs to orange juice, water, and melted butter and mix. Add to dry ingredients and stir enough to blend and moisten. Add cranberry mixture and optional nuts and mix, being careful not to over-mix.

Add to greased 9x5x3 loaf pan (or separate into two pans), bake for approximately 1 hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Eat immediately, or for best results, cool completely, wrap in tin foil, and refrigerate for 24 hours. Enjoy!

Weekly Mothering Challenge: Find Your Rhythm

Every family has its own rhythm, its own pattern of getting through each day, week, and season. And rhythms change, sometimes frequently, based on the ever-changing needs of little ones and the natural cycles of the seasons and of family life.

Sometimes it takes experimenting with different rhythms and routines to determine one that best suits your family; and sometimes it takes more closely analyzing current schedules to unravel the best rhythm. Are there some days that seem calmer, happier, simpler? Are there other days that seem more chaotic and stressful? Take a look at the calmer days and figure out what is happening--or not happening--on those days and try to create a family rhythm around it.

Perhaps some days are more stressful because of too many outside activities and commitments and you might want to incorporate more home time. Or maybe the opposite is true: maybe you are spending too much time at home and need scenery changes each day. Maybe your stress comes from too many homemaking tasks, like laundry and cleaning, food shopping and cooking. If that is the case, perhaps you can tap into a support network of family and friends for help; devote certain days to laundry or batch cooking/freezing while Daddy or Grandma take the kids; outsource some of these tasks if possible; or just let go of some things. For example, neatly ironed (or folded for that matter) clothes are not a priority for me, so my kids and I wear wrinkles and Daddy's work clothes are dry-cleaned.

Our rhythm is characterized by mornings spent reading and playing, often baking then eating followed by an outside activity (park meet-up, homeschool playgroup, museum visit, nature walk, library visit, class, etc.). We then return home for a mid-day nap/quiet period where I can *sometimes* get a leg-up on laundry or dinner. Afternoons are usually spent outside with friends or at a class, followed by dinnertime, then bath, books, bed. Our rhythms have hiccups as well. Toddlers who choose not to nap, chores that pile up, cantankerous little ones who are difficult to motivate--all of these things can disrupt daily rhythms.

The key is to find a simple, sustainable rhythm to your day, try to let it guide your actions and the choices you make on how to spend your time, expect interruptions and "off" days, and be open to change your family rhythms as needed.

Below is a sample grid that may help you to get started with plotting your daily and weekly rhythms. I encourage you to avoid timestamps and instead use this worksheet as a helpful daily guide rather than a set planner. (Click on the image to enlarge and print and adapt.)

Weekly Mothering Challenge: Simplify Playspaces

I hate clutter. Luckily, living in a city condo provides the motivation to keep our space as clutter-free as possible, but still toys and objects can sometimes accumulate and invade our limited space.

As birthdays and holidays near, I thought now was a good time to do a major de-cluttering of our playspaces. I am drawn to the idea of "less is more" for kids--and adults too. With too many toys, it seems kids can get easily overloaded and not have the freedom to play more fully and creatively with the toys they have. So yesterday, I packed up four trash bags worth of toys to donate, and retained the high-quality, often-used, multi-purpose toys that are now more prominently displayed and easily accessible.

There is still more simplifying and streamlining to be done this week. I love reading stories of "radical minimalists," like those who live with only 100 total possessions. I don't aspire to be that radical, but I do think the idea of living with fewer, more valued possessions makes a lot of sense--both to create a calmer, more creative home and also to maximize small city spaces. In addition to the toys that are already bagged and ready to donate, I think I can probably fill at least two or three additional bags with toys or items that we could stow away in the basement and see how much we miss them.

Join me this week to simplify our playspaces! I'd love to hear your tips on de-cluttering and any results you discover from a simpler space.

Weekly Mothering Challenge: Managing Interruptions

If there is one certainty in my day, it's that it will be sprinkled with interruptions. With little ones, someone always needs something while something else is getting done. Getting sidetracked while trying not to let the tea kettle burn down the house, or cautiously observing a nine-month-old's imperfect aptitude for climbing and cruising in between changing or washing diapers, create a steady stream of interruptions during the course of my day.

For this week's Mothering Challenge, I am working on accepting interruptions as an essential and expected part of the daily rhythm of my home. I am working on appreciating these interruptions, this multi-tasking, as the natural pace of life with three little ones. And I am hoping that among all of the interruptions this week, there are lots of books being read, lots of hugs being given, lots of laughter, lots of patience, lots of love.

Weekly Mothering Challenge: Embrace the East

As cold and flu season nears, I wanted to be as prepared as possible to naturally and holistically treat my children's wintertime illnesses if and when they occur. As such, I met today with a neighborhood friend, who has a local practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and acupuncture, to gather information about holistic ways to prevent and treat sickness.

We talked a lot about how TCM helps to empower families to regain control over their health and well-being by trusting in the body's powerful ability to heal itself, and to prevent illness through good nutrition and lifestyle choices. To learn more about the idea of "food as medicine," take a look at the book, Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition, by Paul Pitchford.

I left today's meeting with a greater appreciation for holistic healthcare and its role in returning health and wellness to the domain of family and home. I also left with a simple homemade remedy for nagging coughs and colds that I am happy to share:

Homemade Fever-Reducer/Cold-Alleviator/Cough-Soother Recipe
Boil one whole piece of fresh ginger cut into slices in four cups of water for 20 minutes. In the last minute of boiling add about one cup of sliced fresh green onion or scallions. Honey can be added as desired. Drink the strained fluid. The desired outcome is to induce a sweat.

So this week's Mothering Challenge is to embrace the East and identify natural ways to boost our families' health.

Mothering Challenge: Celebrate Babywearing Week!

Today marks the start of International Babywearing Week, and in cities everywhere local organizations are sponsoring an array of activities to celebrate the joy and utility of babywearing.

Here in Boston, the week-long celebration includes "carrier speed dating" to try-out various slings, and a festival with music and games and raffles.

I have used several carriers over the course of three babies and the Ergo remains my favorite for its ease, comfort, and practicality. With each successive child, it seems, babywearing becomes even more essential for me. How else could I possibly get things done or go anywhere in the city if my little one wasn't attached to me while I chase after a toddler and preschooler? My nine-month-old spends a lot of her time in the Ergo, happily nursing or napping or taking in her world from the comfort of mommy's perch while I cook or clean or walk or play.

We are lucky to have many babywearing choices these days, from snazzy new designs to basic cloth wraps, to help us perform the many tasks of motherhood while holding our babies close.

What is your favorite baby carrier and why?

Weekly Mothering Challenge: Blog

Motherhood is busy. With days consumed by all-things-kids in addition to daily homemaking tasks, blogging can help us step back, take a breath, and reveal the gifts of motherhood among all of the messes.

Whether a mom's blog is public, private, or semi-private, it can be both an empowering and peaceful space to reflect on the joys and frustrations of this important role, and to highlight those cherished moments of childhood that we wish to capture and cork.

Beyond the personal reward of blogging is the possibility of communicating our shared experience with other moms. I value the insights and reflections of the mom-bloggers I follow and eagerly await the latest snapshots of their lives. What are their current motherhood triumphs and challenges? What new tidbit can I gather from their mothering experience? What similar situations have I encountered? How do they approach the dailyness of motherhood? From these blogs, I gather countless insights to enhance my own mothering and am deeply grateful to their authors for publicly sharing their personal thoughts.

What about you? Do you write a blog you would like to share with us, or have a blog to recommend? How does blogging contribute to your mothering experience?

Weekly Mothering Challenge: Stop and Smell the Roses

There are some beautiful roses in bloom around our neighborhood and it got me to thinking that I should really aim to stop and smell the roses more -- both literally and figuratively.

I find I can easily get caught up in the everyday *dailyness* of mothering and sometimes forget to stop and savor the moment...a beautiful, simple, magical moment to cherish with my children.

So this week's challenge is to seek out these beautiful moments among the busyness of our days, sniff them in, and find joy in the simple.

Celebrate Autumn and a Giveaway!

With the Autumnal Equinox only a few days away, I thought it would be nice to focus this week's Mothering Challenge on finding ways to celebrate autumn with the kids.

We are planning a backyard camp-out to welcome Friday's first day of autumn, including pumpkin-carving, storytelling and drawing, and eating a yummy harvest meal followed by roasted S'mores.

Share your ideas for celebrating autumn with your family by posting in the comments section and gain a chance to win one of my favorite Fall children's books, We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season, by Wendy Pfeffer.

I will be giving away TWO books, so submit your comment by Friday to be eligible for the giveaway. (Make sure your comment gets posted, as sometimes Blogger's comment submission form can be finicky!)

Weekly Mothering Challenge #6 - Seek Moments of Still

Personal mom time is important. It keeps us invigorated, calm, and able to avoid the burn-out that could otherwise so easily occur with homeschooling.

I am learning to seek quiet moments of still throughout my days. Moments like this one when the littles are napping and my preschooler is reading quietly to herself. Moments when the kids are playing and engaged, and I can read a couple of pages of a book, or check my e-mail, or write, or knit a couple of rows...or just shut my eyes and take a breath. It's these moments, as short and sporadic as they are, that help me to recharge and re-engage with the important work of mothering.

So this week, let's seek more moments of still. Weave in some personal time during your busy days, encouraging the kids to entertain themselves while you focus a few moments on yourself. As brief as these still moments may be, they can make all the difference in maintaining our mothering stamina.

Weekly Mothering Challenge #5 - Get Inspired

Mothers need inspiration. At least I do. It is easy to fall into ruts and routines, which is why I continually search for sources of mothering inspiration.

I have discovered some lovely blogs and websites that keep me thinking about ways to improve my mothering habits and perspectives. They affirm what I value and challenge me to dream bigger.

Some of my favorite sources of mothering inspiration are listed in the sidebar. In particular, the fall edition of Rhythm of the Home is now online and brimming with inspirational ideas.

But I am seeking more! Will you share some of your favorite blogs and websites to help all of us get inspired this week?

Weekly Mothering Challenge #4

How did you do with smiling more last week?

I reminded myself of this goal frequently throughout the week and it really helped me to be more mindful of my daily mothering tasks. And when a big mess spilled on the kitchen floor last week, remembering to smile made the whole clean-up process much more positive. It's amazing what a simple smile can do for all of us.

Here is this week's mothering challenge. Will you join me?

Weekly Mothering Challenge #4: Double the hugs.

Just because.

Weekly Mothering Challenge #3

So, I failed miserably at last week's mothering challenge. I tried, really I did, to let the messes pile up and not worry about them while I focused on the kids. But I failed.

There is a lesson here though. I've realized that, for me, I need my house to be neat and orderly to have a happy disposition, and we all know that "if mama ain't happy..." Still, I am more mindful of when my focus on a neat home might cause me to miss a special moment with my children and I will keep trying to leave the dirty dishes when I can, as long as it doesn't make me too cranky...

Let's aim for an "easier" goal this week, shall we?

Weekly Mothering Challenge #3 - Smile more.

Prior to motherhood when I taught corporate workshops on effective leadership and communication skills, I would over-emphasize the importance of smiling. I would talk about its role in helping the leader have more confidence, be more approachable, more persuasive, more enthusiastic, more "real." But the true benefit of smiling is that it helps all of us feel happier.

While there are the bursts of hilarity throughout a day with small children, I find much of my day to be expressionless. It just doesn't always occur to me to smile while I am making peanut butter sandwiches or wiping bottoms.

I have begun, however, to remind myself to smile more. And you know what? It's helping me to stop and savor the moment. By smiling, I can't help but be happier with and more mindful of whatever mothering task I am undertaking.

When I was teaching professionals about the importance of a simple smile, I would often quote philosopher William James, who said:

"Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not."

So this week, how about if we all take action to smile more and see how many more feel-good mothering moments it creates?

Weekly Mothering Challenge #2

Last week's mothering challenge to make "yes" my default response was certainly a challenge! I realized just how easy and often "no" can be. I felt like I made decent progress toward saying "yes" more frequently, but also noticed how quickly I fell back to "no," particularly if I was tired or frustrated. This is definitely a mothering challenge to keep tackling!

I hope you will join me again for this week's challenge, and share your thoughts and wisdom:

Mothering Challenge #2 - Leave the Dirty Dishes...

...or the laundry...or the crumbs on the floor...or the toys in the playroom... you get the idea. This is VERY challenging for me, as I really like a clean and organized home and find I can get easily irritated if the house gets too messy and there are too many chores piling up.

But I am realizing just how much I miss when I am overly focused on housekeeping. For example, the other night J was taking a long time to go to sleep, tossing and turning and chatting and stalling. As I lay in bed with him and the girls, I kept watching the clock, thinking about the dirty dishes in the sink, the laundry that needed to be put in the dryer, the floor that needed to be swept, and I could feel myself getting aggravated at this long, drawn-out bedtime.

Then I paused.

I recognized how lucky I was to be lying in bed, cuddling with my three sweet little people. I realized that when I look back at these early years, when I miss them and yearn for them, my memories won't be of dishes that didn't get done, but of the chance to stop and sing and snuggle.

So this week, I am going to make every effort to focus less on housekeeping and more on capturing these special moments with my children. And for inspiration, I am referring to this lovely poem as a reminder of what's truly important...

Weekly Mothering Challenge

I like goal-setting. It keeps me focused, helps me improve, and it led to much success in my earlier professional life, so I thought I would give weekly goal-setting a try with motherhood.

My plan is to establish a weekly mothering challenge each Monday. If the goal is something you would like to work on too, then it would be great if you would join me! And if you've already mastered the goal, or are making good progress, then it would be great if you could share your wisdom with the rest of us.

I have a few goals that I'm thinking of tackling for the coming weeks, but I'd love to hear your suggestions too!

Let me know what you think of this week's goal:

Weekly Mothering Challenge #1 - Make "Yes" My Default Response

I find it's easy to get in a rut with saying no. It occurs to me at times that I say no to the kids without really thinking about it and when I stop to more closely consider my response, a yes answer will do just fine.

So for this week, I am going to try to make "yes" my default response. This does not mean, yes, you can eat all the chocolate you want, and, yes, you can play in traffic, but it does mean being more watchful of my responses and trying to say "yes" more than "no." I reserve the right to say, "yes, if" -- as in, "yes we can do that if we do this first"-- which I think will help to shift many previous "no" responses into "yes" responses that we can all feel good about.

I'm committing to this goal and hope that some of you may join me and share your thoughts and experiences on this first weekly mothering challenge!