For the first time this year, we tried out a Summer Bucket List. I wasn't sure if it would overwhelm me and make me feel pressured to get all of it finished. Instead, it ended up encouraging me to get to most the things I've been wanting to do for years. I thought it would be fun if we did a Fall list this year as well. There are things I have been wanting to do for a while, so I am hoping this will encourage me to do most of them. Some are for Preschool, Some are for the family, and some are for the adults.
5. Go Apple Picking and make Applesauce 6. Take Family Pictures 7. Make Homemade Root Beer 8. Make Caramel Apples 9. Bonfire or Fire Pit with S'mores 10. Jump and Play in a pile of Leaves 11. Watch Hocus Pocus 12. Hay Ride
13. Scenic Autumn Drive 14. Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread 15. School Carnival 16. Host a Murder Mystery Party
17. Pine Cone Experiment Get them to open up with heat (blow dryer)
18. Make Halloween Cupcakes
19. Go to a Haunted House or Make a Gingerbread Haunted House
20. Pumpkin Sensory 21. Go Costume Shopping at the Halloween Store 22. Make Pie
A few months back, my friend and I were talking about some of the bad advice that is given to new mothers. She mentioned that one of the ones she hated the most is when people tell her to enjoy every moment. I had to agree with her. I would even wager that it is a complete impossibility to enjoy every moment of parenthood. Being told to enjoy every moment ends up leaving you feeling like a terrible parent when you aren't enjoying the hard times. You feel even worse when you know some of your friends are infertile and want a baby so bad it hurts, yet you get caught up in a rough moment with your child and lose it. It has left me feeling guilty on many occasions and at the end of the night, once all the kids are sleeping peacefully, I am always wanting a redo. WHY didn't I enjoy every moment of today? My family is the greatest blessing I have so why did I just sit there and glare at them for half an hour when they were overwhelming me?
It's because I am human, and that means I am imperfect.
I've started getting small glimpses how quickly time is slipping away from me. My oldest just started middle school and my youngest is well on her way to 4 years old. The other day I was looking at their baby pictures I have hanging around the house. I stopped and had a small freak out when I realized, IT'S GONE. The baby years are gone from my house, most likely forever. The toddler years are gone. The preschool years are slipping faster than I imagined they would.
Despite all of that, sometimes life is just hard. It was hard trying to get my boys to sleep when they were babies, especially Zack. I don't miss the times I cried from exhaustion and the times he screamed just because I was holding him. I don't miss worrying if Connor would talk and the long process of helping him figure it out. I don't miss Quinn's years of food texture issues and the gagging and complete freak out moments. It was hard even just writing about it! I don't miss the times of worry and fear as we sought answers for Abby's medical questions. I don't miss holding her down to have blood draws and the years she only wanted Dad because of it. I don't miss the years of poopy underwear, Can I say that? I don't miss having to ask for help when our power was shut off.
I could list plenty more, but I think you get the point. I don't enjoy every moment of motherhood. We have to experience the pain in order to feel joy. We have to have hard times with our kids to truly understand that the sweet times are worth treasuring.
Elder Eldred G Smith said, "So it is with us today, we must also have the bitter in order to know the sweet. Sometimes some of us think we have the bitter and not enough of the sweet. This is normal. We all have our trials of life to strengthen us. Each thinks he has the hardest or most severe trials. It may be that they are the most difficult only because they are the hardest or most difficult for you. The diamond is enhanced and made more valuable with polishing. Steel is made harder and more valuable through tempering. So also opposition builds the character of man." Full Article
I want the hard times to polish me as a mother and as a person.
One thing we did, as a family, to enjoy the moments of our day, was to write them down. At dinner, we each share the high part and low part of our day. At one point, I used to write them down. This has become a treasure for our family to go back and read. When I was writing them down, Connor was talking minimally and Quinn was a year old, so he wasn't talking either. We asked them their high part, and then I wrote what they did. One day Connor would say his high part was "bun bowling" which was a phrase he said frequently that meant "fun bowling". For Quinn, one night I wrote, "He smiled and then stuck his finger in his nose". It was fun to go back and see which friend Abby liked at the time, and to even remember my high parts of the endless days, years ago. One of our treasured entries is when my mother in law ate dinner with us, who has since passed away.
I am setting out a spiral notebook again and we are going to start this again. It doesn't take much of my time, and the little time it does take, is worth the effort for all of us. This is one thing we have done to ENJOY A MOMENT. Take a few minutes each day to remember and enjoy something that happened that day.
Let me introduce you to the best tasting, most tender, golden, home canned Pineapple there is.
Don't fret, it's the easiest thing to can and is immensely worth it!
After canning Peaches, Pears, and Applesauce and realizing how much tastier they are than what you can buy at the Grocery Store, I got to thinking that canned Pineapple might taste better too. I asked my friends, who can, if they have ever canned Pineapple and they gave me strange looks and asked me why anyone would bother. This did not deter me. I googled to make sure it can be done. I wish I could find the source I originally found, but it is buried in Google somewhere. I waited until Pineapples went on sale and I got them for about $1.00 a piece.
The first time trying our home canned Pineapple, I was sold. The Pineapple not only tastes WAY better than what you can get at the Grocery store, but it is also more tender. My friends have since tried the pineapple and now they understand why I can it. If you get the pineapple on sale, it saves you a lot of money. I already had the jars, and the sugar. You do need new lids for your jars, and then the cost of the Pineapple. At Walmart, you can get an 8 oz jar of Pineapple tidbits for about .88. For 24 of them, it would cost you $21.12. The Pineapple and lids cost you about $12 total so it is half the price. Even if it cost more, I would still can it because it tastes so much better. The other nice thing, is it is the easiest thing I have canned so far. It is faster to prep the fruit and it takes less time to process it.
I've read online that the Pineapple is acidic enough that you don't need to add any sugar, but I used the same measurements that I do for my Pears and Peaches. The first time I did it, I used 6 Pineapples and it made me about 24 half pint jars with some left over. You can use it in desserts or with dinners like Stir Fry, Haystacks and Pizza nights.
For Canning, You will need a Canner. For Fruit you can use a Water Bath Canner. (This is a 9 piece set for a great price. It has all the utensils you need. If you have a Glass Top Stove, You have to can with a flat bottom pan. They are pricier, but I got mine at Winco. I still needed the kit with the basket and tools.
How to Can Pineapple
Gather all your supplies: Pineapples, Sugar, Water Bath Canner, Tool Kit, Wire Basket, Cutting Board, Long Serrated Knife, Cleaned and Sterilized Jars, New Lids, Separate Large Pot for Cooking the Pineapple in, and Pineapple Slicer and Corer (Optional. You can just use a knife too if you want)
Fill your water bath canner half full to 2/3 full with water and turn on high heat. In the pot you plan on cooking your pineapple in, add about 8 cups water and 3 1/2 cups sugar for about 6-7 pineapples. Leave the syrup water on medium heat. You want it hot, but not boiling. Cut the top, bottom, and sides off from the pineapple.
To remove the core, stand the pineapple up and cut down the pineapple in the middle. Turn and cut again, the opposite way, so there are 4 large wedges. Lay each piece down so the core is facing up, and cut lengthwise to remove the core.
Cut all the pineapple in chunks or tidbits. Once all the pineapples have been cut, put the pineapples in the hot syrup and stir occasionally for 10 minutes. In the meantime, simmer your lids (not rings) on medium heat.
Ladel the pineapple into your prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch space from the top. Remove the bubbles with a plastic knife, and wipe the tops of the jars with a clean, wet, rag or paper towel. Put on your simmered lids and screw on a ring. Add a little cold water to your canner to break the boil, to help prevent the jars from breaking. Use the jar grabber to place the jars into your water bath canner. If the jar does not feel hot on the bottom, temper your jars by dipping it in the water and removing it for a few seconds, and repeat.
Once the water in the canner has come to a rapid boil, process for 15-35 minutes depending on your altitude. Add 5 minutes to processing time if your jars are not sanitized and were hand washed.
Pint: 0-1,000= 15 min, 1,001-6,000=20 min, Above 6,000=25 min
Quart: 0-1,000= 20 min, 1,001-3,000= 25 min, 3,001-6,000= 30 min Above 6,000= 35 min
Make sure you have at least an inch of water above the rims of the jars during the whole process of canning. Once they are done, remove and place on a towel. Try and lift straight up when removing the jars from the canner. Let sit for 24 hours before moving or disturbing the jars. Remove the rings and wash the jars to get off the sticky syrup. Store without rings just in case the jars become unsealed and then reseal because of the pressure of the ring. That can let in botulism. Leaving the rings off will show if a jar has come unsealed.
