You know how yesterday I was telling you I had at least 17 more presents to pull together for a bunch of really nice people?  Well, I had a food-gift in mind, which I then assigned my kids to pull together for me, complete with packaging, labels and ribbons.  I wasn’t sure how many could be made with the ingredients I had on hand, but told the kids to make as many as possible.  When I emerged from my writing stupor in the early afternoon yesterday, they had made– can you guess? — 17.

Not sure if that is really the number I need, but I was extremely tickled at the coincidence, and extremely grateful to the kids for pulling together 17 gifts for me.   They had fun doing it.  And since some of the gifts are designated as Sunday School teacher gifts, the kids will be able to give the gifts with more pride, knowing that they made them.

(Sorry, I can’t tell you what the gift is.   But I got the idea from someone on my blogroll recently!  Hunt if you wanna guess!)

I have decided that it was a raving lunatic, not me, who signed that book contract back in October and blithely promised that yes, she could write a whole 288 page, 200 recipe cookbook– with sidebars– in four months flat. While homeschooling eight children. And providing crucial life-coaching for two college-age daughters via Facebook at odd hours of the day and night. All smack dab over the Christmas holidays.

A sane person would not have promised such a thing. If y’all see that lunatic, smack her up-side the head, will you? Because she left me with a mess.

I currently have almost 5 chapters done. Which means there are 8 more to go, including about 130 recipes to test. All between now and January 30th, people.

As of December 1st, the kids are now on a mom is losing it modified school schedule.

• Normal school on Mondays and Fridays with dad– yeah for dad. Swimming in the afternoon– yeah for dad! Mom holes up in the bedroom to write all day, emerging only to cook dinner test recipes.
• ‘Self’ schooling on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Mom holes up in the bedroom to write from 10-1, emerging only to cook dinner test recipes.  Afternoon finds mom on the couch writing, reminding children not to hurt each other and occasionally sending the noisiest ones all of them outside to blow off steam.
• Hanging out with Dad on Saturdays– yeah for dad. Mom holes up in the bedroom to write, emerging only to cook dinner test recipes.

Thank the good Lord these kids have two parents, because Mom is nearly worthless these days.  (Except for arbitrating the occasional squabble and cranking out some REALLY good eats several times a day– and never the same meal twice).

Self schooling is a concept that you might find terrifying interesting.  It is not the ideal circumstance– summer break may start a TEENSY bit later this year to actually FINISH everything.  But it has been working since the start of December now.  And I think it is better than the children’s plan– to be hilbilly children who don’t go to school for 2 months.  (I did seriously consider their plan too, except bored children make such big messes!)

On Tues/Wed/Thurs I’ve put together a schedule of activities for the kids beginning at 10 AM and going 3 hours til lunchtime.  The teenagers are pretty much doing their regular routine still, since they are used to working independently.

The elementary aged kids are doing independent reading, math drills (multiplication and division), typing practice, and letter-writing (ie correspondence) each morning.  All these subjects are ones they can do without assistance (except for editing the letters, which I do in the afternoon).  I’ve assigned each child a specific time slot for each activity  (keeps kids from pulling out siblings’ hair in fights over the computer!)

In addition, each of the 6 kids ages 10-16 has a 30 minute time slot assigned to babysit the 6 and 4 year olds.  They rotate the younger two in sequence through: Legos, stories, doll play, crafts, outdoor play, and more stories– with each big kid in charge of one specific activity at a specific time.

This keeps the little kids very happily occupied, and it is also a break from work for the older kids.  So far this plan has been working really well.  I know that the kids aren’t wasting too much time.  They’re getting different school than usual, and I’m actually getting decent amounts of writing done.

If I crank out a new chapter every 5 days, I should be on track to complete this book in time.  Piece ‘o cake.

Now if only I can figure out how to finish my Christmas shopping.  And plan my son’s 17th birthday.  And make cookies.  And send Christmas cards out.  And wrap some more presents. And clean the house. And wrap eve more presents.  And DECIDE what to buy at least 17 very nice people.

And make a really cool craft that I found on my buddy’s blog but I can’t link to it because #1 I am exhausted and #2 it would spoil surprise for some very nice people.

Oh, and finish a top-secret sewing project that my raving lunatic alternate self impetuously began two days ago, when she got bored with more practical things — such as writing the BOOK already.  The girl has ADD, I tell you.

If this blog gets quiet for more than 3 days, send out a search party, OK?  My to-do list might have toppled and pinned me to my computer screen.

I started making this bread recipe years ago. It is a wonderful moist bread with a lovely color and flavor.

Dry Ingredients:
3-2/3 cups flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Wet Ingredients:
1 16-oz can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 16-oz can pumpkin
2/3 cup oil
4 eggs

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a second bowl mix together all remaining ingredients until well mixed. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and stir until all ingredients are well moistened. Pour into two well-greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degree for one hour, or until bread tests done with a toothpick. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pan.

Orange Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup undiluted orange juice concentrate
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In a small bowl mix together all glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over cooled bread.

Recently I read something– beats me where– suggesting that when a girl is visiting a young man’s apartment, she ought to scope out the type of toilet paper he buys. If the paper is the cheapo scratchy kind, she ought to run, the article suggested, because no guy worth having would stoop to buy cheap TP.

My mouth hung open at the idea of dismissing a potential mate on such a flimsy basis. Granted, I don’t happen to be picky about toilet paper. I know some people care a lot about TP, but I don’t. I’ve bought the most affordable brands for most of my adult life.

But to dismiss a person on the basis of his frugality? To my way of thinking, these gals should take the cheap toilet paper as a good sign…. here (possibly) is a guy who doesn’t overspend. Maybe he even has a savings account.

OK, I know. That is a lot to assume from a roll of toilet paper. But careful spending in the small things is just as important to careful money management as getting the best deal on a car. Maybe even more so. ‘Small’ spending happens nearly every day, and sometimes people forget how it can break them. They just wonder why they’re out of money all the time.

The story got me wondering, though. Is there a point at which frugal becomes TOO frugal? Obviously I don’t think cheap toilet paper is that point. But is there a line? Is it dependent on your circumstances?

For example, would it be okay for a family who is unemployed to turn the thermostat down to 55 and bundle up in the house to avoid a big power bill? What about if that same family is making $80,000 a year and simply trying to pay off the house quicker? Would it be okay for a single guy to set the thermostat at 55, but not okay for him to set the thermostat at that level if he was married with 3 kids?

Other possible examples of frugality:
–living with one vehicle (or none!)
–buying only used clothing
–eating beans 5 meals a week
–living in a small house, and having 3 or more children to share one bedroom.

Obviously the ‘line’ is going to be different for different people. Some of the things that we might think of as too frugal are probably just normal living for people in 3rd world countries. For example, many people all over the world eat rice and beans most of the time. Millions of people cram a large family into a single room home. Millions more go a lifetime without ever owning one car, let alone two or three.

I personally would have to live a very different life before I’d consider getting by on one vehicle. We live about 8 miles away from the nearest grocery store, and I’m not that into bike riding. However, we COULD probably get by with less than the (yikes) 3 vehicles we currently own. And that’s not even counting Eldest’s car that currently resides at our house along with her.

But other frugal choices are pretty natural to me. We keep our thermostat low and heat our house mainly with wood. The bedrooms furthest from the wood stove get a little chilly, but that’s what quilts are for. We’ve done cloth diapers and cloth napkins and we yard sale and thrift-shop for most of our clothes. (Incidentally, this winter Eldest is wearing a lovely full length black wool coat that she bought at a yard sale for $2 — you do NOT have to look frumpy to be a careful clothing shopper).

I’ve rambled long enough. Now I want to hear from you. Are you contemplating new ways to save money these days? Have you made a frugal choice that would seem crazy to some? Are there frugal choices out there they you wouldn’t consider in a million years? How frugal is too frugal..to you?

The winner of the $30 Children’s Place gift card is DealMamaBelle! Belle, if you’ll email me your address, I’ll get that card sent your way!

So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.
Luke 11:13 (NLT)

..but only in the most sympathetic sort of way, check out Kim’s description of her nightmare shopping trip yesterday. I can totally relate to her description of stashing things in odd places so siblings can go Christmas shopping for other siblings who are also there at the same time! And the soap….oh, the soap.

Go read.

Have been meaning to share a few pictures of my baby’s birthday. I probably shouldn’t really call her a baby anymore, because she’s FOUR. But she’s still the shortest one in the house. That’s close enough for me.

Posing with her cake before the guests arrived

Blowing out candles with Daddy, who was also having a birthday that week

Here she is back when she was really little!

Getting smooches from her daddy

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I’ll close the contest for the $30 Childrens’ Place gift card on Monday morning, so get your comments in before then to have a shot at winning!

This morning I am participating in the giveaway hosted over at Lysa’s blog. Click on the above button to visit her. My giveaway is soooooo much fun! It is a $30 gift card from Children’s Place. Just to give you an idea of the the cuteness to be found there, here’s a picture of my 6 yo in the Children’s Place jammies that they sent us. These jammies are the SOFTest things I’ve felt in quite awhile! To enter the drawing, comment below and tell me the softest thing you’ve felt lately. I will choose a winner randomly.

I am deep into recipe testing– I am hoping to test four recipes each of the next three days– whew!  I hope my kids are hungry!  I thought some of you might like trying this one.  It is a good affordable meal for a winter day.

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Shepherd’s Pie
Serves 4-6
Preparation time: 1 hour

Ingredients
5 potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup beef broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire
1 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon paprika

Potatoes
Boil potatoes in salted water for about 15 minutes or until they are soft. Drain off water. Add sour cream, egg yolk and milk into potatoes while they’re still in the pot.  Mash by hand or with an electric mixer until ingredients are blended and potatoes are mostly smooth.  A few lumps are fine!

Meat
While potatoes are boiling, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook hamburger til brown.  Salt and pepper to taste. Add chopped carrot and onion to the meat, and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Gravy
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until mixture thickens. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Stir in peas.

Preheat oven broiler to high. Grease an 8 inch square casserole dish. Pour meat and vegetable mixture into the casserole dish. Spoon mashed potatoes evenly over the meat mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Broil 6-8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned.