Being Productive or at least trying to be...

This month's issue of Countryside magazine features a collection of several articles on homeschooling and homesteading with children in tow. I actually laughed out loud while reading one of these articles, so I thought I would share. This lady Kristie writes " Avoid comparing yourself to the Jones'- This is still an area I struggle with the most. My challenge is to avoid comparing myself with the "COUNTRYSIDE Jones'" or the "blogging world Jones'." When I read about a mom who homeschools her 10children, grows and preserves all her own food, milks goats daily, runs a craft business on the side, cooks amazing dinners (which she manages to blog about), and spends time each day doing craft projects with her children- from a solar and wind power home which she built herself- I'm tempted to think "what am I doing wrong?" We had scrambled eggs for dinner (again), the kids watched too many videos today (again) while I mowed the grass, and the only thing growing in a big section of my garden is red pigweed. What am I doing wrong?"
Anyways, I got a good chuckle out of it. She goes on to explain that one thing she is doing wrong is comparing herself to others and she comes to realize that each family situation is different. I don't really find that I spend a lot of time or energy comparing myself to others, but I do find myself wondering how other people can get so much more accomplished in a day than I can. We are all working with the same number of hours...so, what makes other people more productive? If there are any productive people out there reading this post then please offer your insight:) Most days I just feel lucky if I get the bare essentials accomplished...taking a shower, feeding my kids 3 healthy meals, washing the dishes and folding this giant, perpetual pile of laundry.



Everyday Elijah reads to me out of the McGuffey Readers (which I absolutely adore for their pictures, poetry, and moral stories). Well, the other day Elijah read a story called The Money Amy Didn't Earn and it reminded me of myself. It starts out, "Amy was a dear little girl, but she was too apt to waste time in getting ready to do her tasks, instead of doing them at once as she ought." Amy doesn't come from a wealthy family and one day the town storekeeper asks her if she would like to earn money picking berries- he offers her 13 cents a quart for all she can pick. She was very excited about earning some money so she runs home to get her basket with the intention of returning immediately to pick berries; however, when she arrives home she becomes curious about how much money she would earn if she picks 5 quarts. She sits down to do the math and allows herself to become distracted by wondering how much money she would earn if she picked 10 quarts, then a dozen, then 50, then 100, then 200 and by the time she was done doing all these sums it was time to eat dinner. After dinner she rushes to get to the berry patch only to discover that some boys had already come and picked it over. She hardly finds enough for 1 quart worth. The moral of the story is "one doer is worth a hundred dreamers".
I am so much like poor Amy! I spend so much of my time making elaborate lists and schedules- dreaming of being organized; and the ironic thing is that all my planning actually ends up hindering my productivity. I don't mind being a dreamer, but what is the point of a dream or a plan if it never gets put into action? Sally Clarkson's advice for when you are feeling overwhelmed with your house or homeschool is: stop complaining, stop trying to come up with a perfect system, stop feeling sorry for yourself and just DO something. This is good, simple advice, right? If you want something done, just do it. However, if you have a perfectionistic, type A personality like mine, then this is easier said than done. But we all have to start somewhere...and if you are like me, you just need to start:)

A note of encouragement

Have you ever had days where you feel like you are having to discipline your children all day? I was having one of those days recently and I picked up Season's Of A Mother's Heart by Sally Clarkson (whom I turn to when I need mom to mom encouragement). I opened up the book only to stumble across these words:

"It is so easy for me, as a parent, to become overly concerned with every jot and tittle of my children's behavior. I can spend so much time correcting them and teaching them all the right rules, that I forget the real goal of my instruction- to win their hearts for the Lord. Training and instruction alone cannot guarantee a heart for God. If you really desire to reach your children's hearts for Christ, you cannot do so until you build a deep and trusting relationship with each child. They must feel that they can find no better confidant, no more loyal friend, no greater encourager, no one who better understands their thoughts and dreams, fears and doubts, joys and hurts. And even though they understand that you want to help them grow to maturity in Christ, they must also sense that you accept them just as they are, and love them no matter what they do."

Then I was flipping back looking through other chapters in the book looking at passages that I had underlined and these words jumped out at me:

"It's not enough for my children just to hear me talk to them about loving God and loving people, they also must see me doing it. God will be real to them only if He is real to me... children imitate and become what they see in their parents. In the same way, my children will not grow to maturity because I have taught them the right things, read them the best books, or used the right curriculum. They will mature because I have shaped their hearts to love God and to love people."

Sally always has a way of speaking directly to my heart and giving me gentle reminders of the real goal and purpose of motherhood, which is to turn the hearts of my children to God and to be a living example for them, so they can be a living example for their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren... a multi-generational vision, so to speak.

For more encouragement from Sally Clarkson, I strongly suggest visiting her website here or purchasing one of her many books (I recommend all of them!) or try to attend a Mom Heart Conference- it will be an inspiring and edifying weekend with other lovely mothers and worth every single penny:)

Charlotte Mason Homeschool Group

I have been a part of a wonderful Charlotte Mason co-op the past 2 years, but this year I decided to break away from the larger group and form my own little co-op that meets in my home. Six very sweet families (including mine) make up our group. All together we have 15 children under the age of 8:) and this is what we studied this fall term:

Nature Study: Fall crops- apples, corn, pumpkin, squash etc.
Composer: Beethoven
Folk Song: Waltzing Matilda
Picture Study: Norman Rockwell
Habit: Attentiveness
Bible Song/Hymn: Books of the Old Testament
Poetry Recitation

I think our first term together went really well. My kids had a lot of fun and enjoyed learning alongside the other children. Even the little ones (under 3) are listening and absorbing so much. Waltzing Matilda was a BIG hit with all the kids. I even found myself singing it all the time...it kind of gets stuck in your head.
We also really enjoyed Norman Rockwell. His artwork is very kid friendly. Our group went on a really awesome field trip to the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh to view a touring exhibit of Norman Rockwell. It was FABULOUS. The kids and I loved it. You can find out more about the exhibit here.
I am very excited about next term. I have a lot of fun things planned that I can't wait to share!


This is about half the group drawing in their nature journals.

The "Me Time" Myth

I want to preface this post by saying that I do think it is important to have time alone to think, pray, and reflect. I also think time spent with dear friends can be life-giving and encouraging. The point of this post is to speak to the mentality of selfishness and escapism.

"Me time is a myth. It is an unattainable, always interruptible, never satisfying piece of junk psychology. Me Time, by its very name, suggests that who we are during the daily grind is not who we truly are. It begs us to search for fulfillment outside of the titles of “wife” and “mother.” It accuses precious little ones and God-given spouses for suppressing us. It reduces motherhood to a disease in which little dirty faces and endless monotonous tasks slowly suck the life out of us. It says we can never be refreshed by spending time in the presence of those we care for day in and day out. It points out a perceived hole in our world that needs to be filled, a tank that must be refueled, a monster that will swallow us if we neglect to feed it Me Time.

The more we indulge the thought that we are somehow owed this time away, the more we will seek after it. The more we seek after it, the more every little opportunity afforded us to take a break will seemingly end too quickly. The everyday life of being a mother will become drudgery. We will dread every aspect of this role. We will snap at our children any time they try to draw us out of our precious time alone. Not getting this time will ruin our day, and if we do manage some time away, we will despise the re-entry."

This is part of a blog post by Amy over here please visit her site to read more about the me time myth. It is definitely worth the read.

Caleb is 5!!!!

It is hard to believe that my children are getting older and growing bigger. For some reason Caleb has always seemed older to me than he really is...maybe because he has spent most of his short life trying to be like Elijah...trying to be bigger. The good thing is that I feel he is finally starting to become his own person and make his own decisions. He is coming out of Elijah's shadow and I LOVE the person he is becoming. He is very unique, spirited, and artistic. He was our latest talker, but I am almost convinced that he could talk, but just chose not to:) He has never been one to "perform" for others. He has always been kind of a lone ranger- very reserved, a home body, always loyal, very intuitive, humble and tender hearted. He finds meaning in the little things. He notices details. He is also extremely comical- the one always making silly faces and keeping things light-hearted. I am so thankful for my sweet Caleb.

Giving Thanks

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting."
-Psalm 136:1-3









Little arms reaching up to me, little hand in my hand, warm breath on my chest. Touch. Isn't this what we all need? To be close to someone.
Big eyes looking at the world with awe and wonder. All things new and exciting. God, open my eyes so I can see.
Lots of laughter- giggling, joyous sounds. Isn't this what we all seek? Lightness of heart.
100 times a day of look at what I made, look at what I drew, look at what I can do, look, look, look at me...isn't that what we all want? To be noticed.

My heart is full of thanksgiving for all these sweet moments. They are life-giving. They remind me of what is important, what is beautiful, what is good.

The journey from pumpkin to pie

This year I decided to ditch the canned pumpkin and try my hand at making a pumpkin pie from scratch.
The first step is picking the right pumpkin. There's a great pumpkin site here to research all the different varieties. There are several pumpkins that are good for making pumpkin pie, but I chose to go with the Jarrahdale.



The kids were so excited when we cut open the pumpkin. At first they were a little hesitant to get their hands in the goo, but before long they were digging for seeds like they were gold.




We put the seeds aside to roast and placed the pumpkin in the oven.



The pumpkins produce a lot of water while baking so it is important to place them in a baking dish instead of a pan otherwise there will be a real mess in the bottom of your oven. Place the pumpkin skin up, poke skin with a fork several times, place in the oven at 350 for 1.5 hours (a little less or more depending on size).



When it is done a fork should be able to easily pierce through the skin.



Then scoop out the flesh and drain in a mesh colander until most of the water has been removed and then puree with a hand blender or food processor.





When it has a nice, smooth consistency then you can start to assemble your pie. This is the recipe that I used:

2 c. pumpkin
2 eggs
1.5 c. heavy cream
1 T. flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ginger
1/8 t. cloves

beat eggs in a mixing bowl, add pumpkin and mix well. Mix in all other ingredients one at a time stirring well and then pour into your pie crust.

Crust recipe:
1/2 c. butter or shortening (whichever you prefer)
1.5 c. whole wheat pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour (which you can purchase in bulk from here if you live in the Triad. Their flour is the organic King Arthur flour that you would buy in the store, but it is MUCH cheaper to buy it directly from the mill.)
1/2 t. salt
2 t. sugar
1/2 c. ice cold water

Combine flour and salt. Cut in butter or shortening, then crumble with fingers until very fine. Add water a little bit at a time stirring rapidly with a fork until it forms a big clump. Form into a disk and refrigerate for an hour. Roll out dough about 2 inches wider than your pie dish, fold it gently in half to transfer, then unfold and pinch the outside.

....back to the pie...Place aluminum foil over crust to prevent from burning and bake at 425 for 15 minutes then turn down to 350 and cook for an additional hour. Remove when a toothpick comes out clean when placed an inch from the crust. Don't worry if the center is still a little jiggly- it will set as it cools. Place in refrigerator overnight. The flavors will be enhanced and it helps the texture as well (just my opinion).



Then get a plate, fork and some whipped cream and enjoy some homemade goodness! We had so much fun making this pie and even though it is time consuming, it is actually quite easy to make. This is definitely going to be a new Thanksgiving tradition for the Vaughn family:)