Large Family Logistics - 6 Steps to Chemical Free Manicure / Pedicure for Kids

Down here in the Southern Hemisphere, February is Back To School time.  I've dealt with school supplies, uniforms, and school fees.  Now its time to clean these kids up!  They brought a lot of beach home with them under their nails, so I've got my work cut out for me.

Here are 6 Steps for a Chemical Free Mani/Pedi for Kids

1.  Trim their nails with a nail clipper.  Leave a little white nail remaining; if you cut too low they can get an ingrown nail or hurt them.  There are flat and small nail clippers for babies and toddlers you can get, or you can even cut them with a scissors.  Wait for the baby to fall asleep before cutting.

2.  Use a nail file to smooth out the edges.  Soften the edges so they don't snag on anything, making a rounded box look. If you have a buffer, you can use this on the flat side of the nail to remove ridges, but this is an optional step for when you plan on painting the nails. 

3.  Soak their hands. Use the following mixture to soften their cuticles and remove stubborn dirt under the nails:

Fingernail Soak

 2 cups warm water
1 TBSP baking soda
1 drop dish soap (I use Earthwise brand)
3 drops essential oil of choice, optional (Eucalyptus was LOVELY)

Put in a cereal - sized bowl and have kids soak for 5 minutes.  This is a great time to talk about taking care of their bodies and remind them that keeping their hands clean is the best way to avoid getting sick.

4.  Push back their cuticles with an orange stick.  Be gentle, as their little nail beds are very tiny.  This is when to remove stubborn dirt under the nails.

5.  Scrub their hands with Homemade Coconut Sugar Scrub.  Take the time to give them a gentle massage, working in circular motions in the palm, and gently pulling the fingers away from the hand feels great.  You can push their wrists up, locking your fingers with theirs.  There are some great ways to give a baby a massage, but that's another post entirely.  I've caught my kids giving each other hand massages, and that warms my heart.

Homemade Lemon Sugar Scrub

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 TBSP lemon juice

Mix together an small bowl.  Apply to skin and massage.  Rinse clean.  Pat skin dry.

6.  Moisturize.  To keep it chemical free, a little coconut or olive oil is all the moisturizer your kiddos needs, but there are some great lotions on the market for babies and kids.  Burt's Bees Milk and Honey Lotion is my all-time favorite!

Pull all your tools/recipes in a kit.  I found this cool container that doubles as a hand-soaking bowl, so its all together for next time. 

Lasagna - Loaded with Beef and Vegetables

This is the only pasta dish you will find on our website.  My family simply doesn't do pasta (okay, okay...exception... macaroni and cheese but that really is a stretch for us).  I have some texture-sensitive people who can't stand the stuff.  This recipe is tolerable and liked by even the pickiest eaters. 

 

Beef and Vegetable Lasagna

 

 

WARNING:  Serves 10-12, recipe can be halved

You will need:

3 bags of  tiny lasagna - style pasta, prepared according to package directions

Drain the water from the pasta.  Put into a bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Stir.  Set aside.

For the Beef and Veggie Tomato Sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 yellow onions, diced
1-2 carrots, shredded
2 bell peppers, diced
4-6 cups of fresh spinach, chopped
1-2 kg beef mince
2 bottles tomato sauce ( I use Benedict's Passata Cooking Sauce)
salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste

 

For the Cheese Sauce:

 

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cup flour

8 cups milk (to cut costs, use 2 cups milk, 6 cups water)

2 cups shredded cheese like Tasty

salt, pepper to taste

 

Start by creating a cheese sauce.  I do this in lieu of cottage cheese or ricotta to cut costs (great tip given to me by a dear friend here in New Zealand).  This is going to be a cheese layer later on.  Set the cheese sauce aside in a bowl until ready to assemble.  You will want a little extra shredded cheese for the top, so save some.

Next you're going to start the Beef, Veggie, and Tomato Sauce.  In a large skillet, on medium high heat, cook the onions, garlic, and peppers.  Once they're soft, add the spinach.

After the spinach has cooked down and shrunk in size, you can add your ground beef.  Add salt, pepper, and cayenne and stir until the beef is completely browned. 

 

Now you can add your tomato sauce and heat through.  Some people simmer this all day like this to really bring out the flavors.  It can get really rich and tasty, but I don't have time for that!  I've got cheeping baby birds that need to eat now.

Time to assemble the casseroles.  You will need 2 9X13 casserole dishes.  Start with lasagna on the bottom, then cheese sauce, then tomato sauce.  Repeat until you run out.

Sprinkle any remaining cheese on the top layer, then bake in a preheated oven at 375 F or 200 C for 35-45 minutes.  Let cool slightly before serving so it stays solid as you cut and serve.

Ingredients:

You will need:

3 bags of  tiny lasagna - style pasta, prepared according to package directions.  Drain the water from the pasta.  Put into a bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Stir.  Set aside.


For the Beef and Veggie Tomato Sauce:

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 yellow onions, diced
1-2 carrots, shredded
2 bell peppers, diced
4-6 cups of fresh spinach, chopped
1-2 kg beef mince
2 bottles tomato sauce ( I use Benedict's Passata Cooking Sauce)
salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste

In a large skillet, on medium high heat, cook the onions, garlic, and peppers.  Once they're soft, add the spinach.  After the spinach has cooked down and shrunk in size, you can add your ground beef.  Add salt, pepper, and cayenne and stir until the beef is completely browned.  Now you can add your tomato sauce and heat through.  Some people simmer this all day like this to really bring out the flavors, but heating it through is good enough.  Set aside.

For the Cheese Sauce:

 

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cup flour

8 cups milk (to cut costs, use 2 cups milk, 6 cups water)

2 cups shredded cheese like Tasty

salt, pepper to taste

 

In a large skillet, heat the butter until melted on medium high heat.  Add the flour and stir.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add the milk/water.  Let it bubble and get thick, stirring often.  Add salt, pepper, and cayenne if desired.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.  Add shredded cheese and stir until smooth.  Set aside.

 

To Assemble the Lasagna:

 

In 2 9X13 casserole dishes, start by placing pasta in a layer to cover the entire bottom of the pans.  Add about 2 cups of your cheese sauce to create a layer.  Next add about 3 cups of the beef tomato sauce.  Repeat and layer until completely used up.  Sprinkle cheese on top and bake at 375 F or 200 C for 35-45 minutes.

 

Large Family Logistics - Kid Chore Rotation that Works

For the last 8 years, we've had a system for assigning chores that is both successful and fair.

This picture has nothing to do with Chore Rotation, I just thought it was great art.

BASIC RULES:

1.  Children age 8 and older are included in the Chore Rotation.  Kids 7 and under are given age-appropriate assignments that they are always responsible for.   (Example: Simon, 7, is All-Time Porch and Hallway Duty.)

2.  There are 5 children who are over age 8, so we created 5 Zones or Stations.

• Dishes
• Kitchen (includes pantry, trash removal, refrigerator, appliances, sweep and mop floor)
• Dining Room (includes before and after meal prep as well as general upkeep)
• Living Room
• Bathrooms (includes taking dirty laundry to the garage)

3.  Starting on Sundays, each child has their Zone for the full week.  If everyone has done their chore properly and with a good attitude all week, they move on in the rotation.  If compliance is a problem, they take on their new week Zone AND have to continue doing their last week's Zone.  2 Zones!  Giving the kid behind them in the rotation a week long vacation.  In all our years of doing this, this only happened 2 times that I can think of.

4.  Anytime Mom or Dad announce that "Its Chore Time" is how often the Zones are done, which is on an As Needed Basis, but generally Chore Time is twice a day - before Dinner and before Bed.

5.  Chores have to be done before going to friend's houses, playing outside, computer or video game time.

WHY IT WORKS:
*Its easy to remember what your assignment is when you have it for an entire week.
*Mom and Dad don't have to constantly figure out who is supposed to be doing what.
*Its easy to hold someone accountable for a messy Zone because everyone knows what everyone's assignments are.
*Everyone tries to make the burden lighter for each other because we all know what every Zone is like.
*Everyone is motivated to do a good job so they can continue on in the rotation.
*No one does more work than another.  Its a fair system, you only have to do dishes (1) out of (5) weeks, everyone's hated chore.


What are your ideas for getting kids to help around the house?   How do you hold them accountable if they aren't helpful?

Large Family Logistics - Clean Dinners under $12 - Arizona Chili

Arizona Chili - Serves 12

WARNING:  Serves 10-12, recipe can be halved

2 TBSP real butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 yellow onions, diced
2 capsicum any color, diced
2-3 serranos or jalepenos, diced
600g fresh, local ground beef mince
4 cups dried red/black/ or pinto beans, reconstituted overnight OR 8 cans of red beans
680g tomato sauce (I use Bella Napoli) PLUS an equal amount of water or beef stock
2 TBSP chili powder
Salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper to taste

In a large stock/soup pot, heat oil on medium/high heat and add the onions, garlic, and peppers and capsicum.  Saute until golden brown.  Add mince and cook until brown.  Add the beans, tomato sauce, water, and spices.  Heat to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese and corn chips OR corn bread OR baked potatoes.

Taco Salad



There are a million ways to do Taco Salad, but this version is adapted for simplicity in New Zealand to keep our costs low.  Tomatoes and peppers from our garden make this salad really special and bring the costs down even more.

 

Taco Salad

 

INGREDIENTS:

1-2 kilograms ground beef mince
5 cups black beans, optional (I cook 2 cups of dry beans from the Asian market overnight in the crockpot to save $$)
1/2 cup homemade taco seasoning, optional

In a large skillet, brown the beef on medium high heat.  Add the beans and seasonings, heat thoroughly.  Meanwhile, prepare the following items:

2 heads romaine lettuce, cut into bite sized pieces
1 family sized bag tortilla chips or Doritos
1-2 cups shredded cheese
1 red onion, diced
sour cream
salsa

Easy!  Serve this in a buffet style so people can have fun building their own plate.

Waipawa Kayaking Trip - Duncan and Talon

 

Sunset Ward Young Men's Kayaking Trip

 Brother Marsh is instructing the boys

Large Family Logistics - Stretching Your Dollar for Kids' Clothing

Kids clothing can break the bank if you let them.  Here are some ways I've saved money on clothing over the years.



The total price for all the clothing in this picture was $17.82.

1.  Less Is More - Kids don't need as much clothing as you might think.  In the past, I have fallen prey to spontaneous clothing purchases while window shopping because something was too cute to pass up.  This can lead to a closet full of stuff they don't need.  Now I limit my kids to 6 outfits each plus 1 church outfit, and its a calculated, pre-meditated purchase when I've already taken inventory of what they need.

2.  Fair Trade Agreement - Buddy up with a friend/cousin who you can mutually benefit from each other's hand-me-downs.  I love dropping off a huge package (or finding one!) on the doorstep for my trading partner, especially when we have the same taste in clothes.

3.  Buy Used from Local Trading Sites/Boards - If you can't find a buddy to trade with, often you can find someone locally who's trying to make a few dollars off their recently out-grown clothing.  Once I got an entire layette in near new condition, absolutely everything I needed for my baby sizes 0-12 months for $50. And, I made a new friend.  I asked her if she'd let me know when she was ready to part with next year's stuff.  She loved the idea of getting paid for it :)

4.  Buy Clearance for Next Year - Retail stores have a seasonal cycle.  You can predict when to buy if you shop often and exercise patience.  I consider myself a Helicopter Shopper.  I watch the kids clothes go down to 30% off, then get marked Clearance, then some stores even have a Buy1Get1Free among the Clearance to get them out of the store to bring in the next season's merchandise.  The problem is if you wait too long, it will be picked over and you'll get nothing good.  So prime time is Day 1 of the B1G1 Sale. 

Predict what size the kids will be about 9 months in the future when they'll begin to need that season and pick the best 6 outfits. (Make a list if you must.)  The picture above is Toddler tops and bottom shorts/leggings that were all $2.97, but they were MIX AND MATCH- BUY ONE GET ONE FREE.  So all of the clothing in the picture came to a total of less than $20. 

A similar deal was going on for shoes ... it was All Clearance Items with an ADDITIONAL 50% OFF. 

The combined total cost for all 5 pairs of shoes was $23.50, the price of one pair of shoes.

 

 

Next year's stash is going into a storage bin at the top of their closet, or that emergency moment when someone's lost their shoes!

 



Perfectly Baked Potatoes

Some people butter and salt their potatoes, some oil them.  Some poke with a fork, some wrap their baked potatoes in foil.  All these methods are blasphemous! And completely sabotage the only pure, truly correct way to bake potatoes.  Do not fall for deceptive recipes. 

The only way to make perfectly crispy- on- the- outside, tender- on -the -inside, puffed -up -light- and- fluffy is the following method....

Perfectly Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:

5 kg (10 lbs.) baking potatoes


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 250C or 400F.  Scrub the potatoes well.  Place potatoes directly on oven rack on the middle shelf of your oven.  Bake for 1 hour.  No more, no less.  Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Spoon Rolls - Quick Rolls to go with dinner

The girls and I like this recipe because there's no touching the dough or kneading it in any way.  They're great to start before dinner and pop in the oven as people are starting a first course.

 

Spoon Rolls

Author: Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker (from Pillsbury’s 2nd Bake Off)

 

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp yeast
• ¼ cup warm water
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 5 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt
• ¾ cup milk, scalded (see instructions below for my cheat)
• ½ cup cold water
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 4 cups flour

Instructions

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a small bowl.
2. Put the butter, milk, salt and sugar in a pyrex bowl and microwave 2 or so minutes or until the butter melts and the milk boils rapidly…watch it, it may spill all over your microwave.
3. Cool the milk mixture by adding the cold water.
4. Let sit a bit longer….you don’t want to kill your yeast.
5. Add the egg to the milk mixture.
6. Place flour in a large bowl.
7. Add the yeast/water and the milk mixture.
8. Stir until well blended. (Did you notice there is no kneading?)
9. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk…about 1 hour.
10. Punch down the dough and spoon into greased muffin tins (this makes 18).
11. Cover and let rise about 45 minutes.
12. Bake 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
13. Brush the tops with butter or oil when they come out to keep them soft.

Large Family Logistics - Getting 9 Kids Ready for Church

For our large family, getting ready for church MUST start on Saturday.  You could actually say it begins on laundry day, when the clean church clothes come in I set them aside in my closet (to protect them from being lost around the house).  There it remains on hangers until Ironing day, and hung in order from youngest to oldest.  The kids 12 and up do their own laundering and ironing, so I'm only concerned with age 11 and down...5 kids. 

 

A Basic Rundown of My Weekly Chore Schedule



Monday - Laundry Day/Clean Garage/Front and Backyards (easy to do since I'm outside hanging clothes on the line all day long)  Pray for dry weather!
Tuesday - Ironing/Master Bedroom/Girl's Bedroom
Wednesday - Church Assignments/Big Boy's Bedroom/Master and Kids Bathrooms
Thursday - Living Room/Little Boy's Room/Porches
Friday - Bills/Errands/Groceries/Kitchen/Dining Room
Saturday - Clean the Van/Church Preparation/Baking Day
Sunday - Church/Cooking Day/Planning Ahead (Menus, Vacations, parties)


HOW TO PREPARE FOR CHURCH - THE SATURDAY TO DO LIST


1.  Hunt down all my make up, razors, toothbrushes, hair brushes, hair dryer, hot rollers and set them out (yes, I have to do this every single night...its called naughty toddlers and teenage girls)
2.  Set out my clothes, shoes, and bath towel
3.  Prepare my church bag to include:

• Diapers
• Wipes
• Formula for baby (extra bottle)
• Snacks for toddlers
• Quiet books
• Soft Toys
• Church calling binder and needed materials
• Scriptures
• Extra clothing for babies and toddlers (if you don't pack it, you will need it)

4.  Clean out the van and fill up with gasoline
5.  Set out the children's clothing, shoes, and socks.  Hunt them down and clean shoes.
6.  Prepare breakfast NOW.  Blueberry Lemon Muffins makes life easy (no clean up) or setting out the cereals
7.  Go to the store.  We don't shop on Sundays, so you've got to have every needed thing on hand.
8.  Does anyone have a talk/scripture they need to prepare?  Chances are...YES


HOW TO PREPARE FOR CHURCH - THE SUNDAY TO DO LIST


1.  Get dressed to the shoes, with hair, make up, and everything.  Once I wore my flip flops to church because I had forgotten to change.
2.  Start dinner in the crockpot / oven / rice cooker
3.  Eat breakfast
4.  Bathe the babies and have the Big Buddies dress their Little Buddy
5.  Brush everybody's teeth and comb hair with hair gel
6.  Have kiddos stand in line for Mom's examination before leaving the house

7.  Turn off all the lights and lock up the house
8.  Have a prayer in the van before leaving to leave the rushing at home and enjoy a peaceful church service

Dad's Fluffy Pancakes and Homemade Pancake Syrup

Saturday mornings Ryan gets up early to make pancakes with this recipe.  We've tried making extra but there are never leftovers.  If you don't have Maple Syrup, don't worry you can make the Homemade Pancake Syrup instead.  I often make these the night before so kids can reheat before school.

 

Ingredients:

6 cups all-purpose flour
14 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoon white sugar
5 cups milk (to cut costs, use 4 cups water and 1 cup milk)
4 eggs
12 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions: 1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, eggs and melted butter; mix until smooth. 2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.


HOMEMADE PANCAKE SYRUP

1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

In a large saucepan, bring milk, sugars, and butter to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and whisk  in soda and vanilla.  The mixture is going to get lots of bubbles and frothy, then once cooled it will be exactly what you are looking for.

 

*For Coconut Syrup use coconut milk instead of regular

*For Praline Syrup add chopped pecans

*For Cinnamon flavored add 1 tsp ground cinnamon

 

How to Freeze Strawberries

 We have 10 kilos (22 lbs.) of strawberries that are completely ripe and need to be dealt with before Canon gets into it all.  Here's a step by step guide to freezing strawberries, or any type of berry for that matter. 

1.  First, remove the stems and any soft or brown spots
2.  Wash them.  Put berries in a colander and pour cold water over them to rinse.  If you are concerned about mold or bacteria, you can soak them in a sink of  10 parts water, 1 part vinegar.

I remove the stems before washing them, otherwise you end up washing them a second time to remove stubborn green leaves. 

3.  Lay them flat on a baking sheet.  Don't overcrowd or they will freeze together.
4.  Place in the freezer for a minimum of 1 hour.
5.  Remove from the freezer and place in freezer bags.  Return to the bag of strawberries to the freezer.  Stores well for up to 1 year. 

We freeze them individually first.  Otherwise you end up with a huge frozen block o' berries that isn't very nice.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

 Start with a large stainless steel pot and add 4-6 liters of water and a pinch of salt.  On medium high heat, bring the water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook stirring occasionally for 7-9 minutes or until soft, al dente.  Pour the noodles into a strainer in the sink to remove the water, then place macaroni in a large bowl.

You will need these ingredients for the sauce....Butter, flour, milk, cheese, cayenne, salt and pepper.

In the same large stainless steel pot, on medium heat, add the butter.  Once the butter is completely melted, add the flour and stir for 1-2 minutes to make a roux.  Stir in the milk and as it heats up, it will bubble and the roux will become thick as you stir.  You can add more milk or water if its too thick.  Make the consistency you like. 

 Add your cayenne, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.  This is called a White Sauce and can be used for may dishes or be the base of a cream soup.  Today we are adding cheese.

 When the sauce has cooled slightly, add the cheese.  If you add it too early while its too hot, you get gloppy nasty chunks.  If its TOO cold, you won't melt the cheese, but always error on the side of cold.

 This is what it should look like.  Smooth, creamy.  Now you should taste it to see if it needs any more seasonings.  Pour over the macaroni and stir in. 

INGREDIENTS
2 packages (1kg) macaroni or other noodles
4-6 liters of water
salt

Start with a large stainless steel pot and add 4-6 liters of water and a pinch of salt.  On medium high heat, bring the water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook stirring occasionally for 7-9 minutes or until soft, al dente.  Pour the noodles into a strainer in the sink to remove the water, then place macaroni in a large bowl.

FOR THE SAUCE
1/2 cup butter (oil will work in a pinch or to cut costs)
2 cups flour
3 cups milk (to cut costs, 1 cup milk and 2 cups water)
cayenne, cracked black pepper, and salt to taste
2 cups shredded cheese (sharper cheeses work best in this dish)

In a large stainless steel pot, on medium heat, add the butter.  Once the butter is completely melted, add the flour and stir for 1-2 minutes to make a roux.  Stir in the milk, and as it heats up, it will bubble and the roux will become thick as you stir.  You can add more milk or water if its too thick.  Make the consistency you like. 

Add your cayenne, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.  This is called a White Sauce and can be used for may dishes or be the base of a cream soup.  Once its slightly cooled, add the cheese and stir until smooth.  Pour over the macaroni noodles.  Serve while hot.

Goat Cheese Farm Tour



 On Taupaki Road near Bethell's Beach there is a small Dairy Goat Farm where we met the owners of this tiny cheese factory.  Their farm shop is totally worth a drive out here by itself, but it is surrounded by vineyards, markets, and farms.  We found fresh eggs, tomatoes, berries, beetroot, and kumara for sale all along this road. We simply couldn't stop at all of them.





I'd never heard of most of the goat cheeses, but I went with the familiar Ricotta and chose a plain Parvenu by recommendation.  Wow, amazing.  There is no cracker worthy of this cheese.

Simon and Gavin made new friends.  These are the goats who's milk was used to make the cheese. 

 

Simon was freaking out but Gavin was having the time of his life.  These two are so predictable.

Strawberry Picking - Taupaki

 The weather was so beautiful today so we skipped kindies and drove out to Taupaki Road for strawberries.  Penelope was timid at first, acting like she was shopping for only perfect berries.

 Canon was completely the opposite.  He ran into the patches and made himself at home.

 The best berries are inside the plant.

 We couldn't help but notice this lively henhouse.  The rooster's crow scared Ryan so terribly I had to leave the area.

 "This is better than video games!"  - Gavin, 10
"This is my kind of family outing." - Elizabeth, 16
"Um nom nom berries." - Canon, 2