Classical Homemaking

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Bonding with Your Spouse in the New Year

Please welcome my Mom, Christy, as my guest writer for today as she talks about a fun tradition she and her husband enjoy.

Do you have a tradition with your spouse? A game, a pet name, a special date spot, or something you share together---just the two of you?

I have been married to Bruce for twenty years. We love to play darts and have been keeping track of our wins every year since we were married. It is a fun way to bond and come together after a busy day.

Each New Years Eve we play our last games of the year and tally up our scores. We talk about how we have improved and share tips (no pun intended) and advice.

I believe having something in common to share keeps a marriage strong. It could be a special hook of pinkie fingers or a secret code word. These private moments can keep your relationship thriving while separating you as a couple from the world. This says, We Are One---as God intended. In my mind, the three darts represent me, Bruce and God in our marriage. "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." ~Ecc. 4:12

It is not too late to start your own tradition. Happy New Year and may love keep you together.

Linking with:
Sunday Showcase Party@Under the Table and Dreaming
Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper
One More Time
Link It Or Lump It
The Chicken Chick Blog Hop
Weekend Bloggy Reading
Sunday Funday
Bouquet of Talent
Submarine Sunday
It's Party Time
Creativity Unleashed
Sunday Showcase
Silver Pennies
Snickerdoodle Sunday
Sunday Linkup at ARWB
The Art of Homemaking
Good Morning Mondays
Inspiration Monday @ Your Homebased Mom
Motivate Me Monday
Modest Monday @ The Modest Mom
Living Proverbs 31
Inspire Me Monday @ Create With Joy
Masterpiece Monday @ BoogieBoard Cottage
A Round Tuit @ Creating My Way to Success
Monday Funday @ C.R.A.F.T.
Marriage Monday
Making Your Home Sing Monday
Salt & Light

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and Welcome to the Homemaking Party! It's been a year full of family, food, and fun! Here are some of our highlights. Make sure to link up at the end. I want to see what you've been up to, too!

We started off the year with a Kindness Party hosted by Avalon. This was our first introduction to Frozen, having never seen the movie. Ahhhh...those were the days!

Later in the spring, I hosted my first Spring Spoolie Swap! Lots of creativity there---maybe we should do it again!

This summer, I hosted a Mad Hatter Tea with a beautiful cake decorated by my husband. I want to do that again too!

In August, I introduced my literature blog, Belle's Library.

Then, in the fall, we made a trip to the one-room schoolhouse.

Now winter is on us and the new year has come and we're looking forward to lots of fun and blessings in 2015! What might your new year have in store?

Monday, December 29, 2014

Moms Need Lunch Too! #LoveLunchIn #Ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #LoveLunchIn #CollectiveBias

I know I've got a lot of readers who are stay at home moms. Do you all find yourself, like me, absolutely starving come lunch time? In my case, it's usually because I've skipped my breakfast in favor of diapers, dishes, and sometimes, drama. By the time I have a minute to eat something, it's almost lunch---so I wait. Then I end up throwing together pb&j and finding a quiet place to wolf it down---while the kids are occupied with theirs and not asking me questions.

As a homeschooling mom, there's not much down time around here during our school days. With our large family, nothing goes quickly, and I've got to take whatever open opportunities are available to get our goals done each day. I try to fill the few minutes between bottles, diapers, potty breaks, and never-ending questions with reading, discussion, lessons, and creativity. This doesn't leave me a whole lot of time for creativity in the kitchen---not at lunch time, anyway.

Recently it occurred to me that I've served my time with pb&j. If I have to resort to hiding in the closet to get a few bites of lunch, I'm going to make sure they're delicious and hearty bites! I need more than a sometimes-sandwich to get me through the afternoon.

Yesterday I sent Jamie and Cainan to Walmart for me after church and they found several varieties of Campbell's Slow Kettle Soup. I'd never seen this before and was really excited to try the two flavors Cainan chose for me: Tomato & Sweet Basil Bisque and Baked Potato Soup with Applewood Smoked Bacon.

I love that it just takes minutes to warm this up on the stove. There's no need to add any milk or water---just let it simmer in a pan until it's warmed through and then pour into a bowl (or even right back into the container) and enjoy. There are also microwave directions on the container if you'd prefer to warm it that way. It felt so good to have something warm and yummy to enjoy for lunch. Sometimes when things get chaotic---even good chaotic---I wish my mom was here to make me something homemade and pamper me a bit. With the Slow Kettle soups, I can give myself a bit of extra love---and, in the long run, that's good for everyone!

It's true that they'll always find me, no matter where I try to hide, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. It's amazing how much better I can enjoy the rest of our day when I've had something nourishing to eat.