Christmas tree acquisition

Superguy and Messy Bessy have almost always, except for one regrettable year, gone out into somebody's woods to chop the Christmas tree down. This year, despite our financial circumstances, we were blessed by so many people's generosity that we were able to do the same thing we always do. If you are one of those generous people, please look at the photos below and think about how much happiness you have given. We had a wonderful time and the kids about died they were so thrilled to be out getting a tree (finally!):

Oh yeah? Well, this is MY life...

Our beautiful new mum AMM wrote a post below that far exceeds any of the posts I've written. Please read it to see how wise she is for one not yet 30. I fully agree with everything she says. But I could not resist entering a slightly smirky set of photos to show where she is going to be, eleven years and five more children from now:


Welcome to my world.

This is My Life Now

Sometimes it seems humdrum, with lots of laundry, making meals, picking up the house, running after baby. I spend most of my time at home and outings usually consist of trips to the public library. We have 4 rooms in our house (not counting bathrooms and closets), where I spend 90% of my time. Sometimes I remember what it was like to be out among other adults (or college students, not quite the same thing) all day; what it was like to go out late at night or hang out with friends every other evening; what it was like to be in school and studying and meeting new people and working...

And then I remember, it wasn't that great. It had its attractions obviously, and looking back it is easy to remember the fun parts, but it wasn't what I wanted. I had the freedom of a single twenty-something and, you know, it was often pretty lonely and unfulfilling. Why? Because this was what I wanted:

And so, I remember these things and then I remember how amazingly blessed I am. I am honestly so lucky to have a wonderful husband to cook for and a sweet daughter to run after. I am blessed to have a nice house to try to keep clean and a nice library where I can take baby. This is my life and this is the life I always wanted. Lucky me!

Honeybee goes to bed

At long last! Order now!

You have been thinking hard about a suitable present for that special someone on your Christmas list. You considered a bottle of whiskey, a set of silk pajamas, and theater tickets. But you rejected those options as entirely mediocre. What could you give that would really make an impression?

We here at Guilt No More have the answer! It's the Guilt No More Completely Furnished Kitchen! Already used, and so messy that your loved one will not feel bad spilling hamburger fat on the (already filthy) floor! Behold.

One of the nicest features is that this kitchen is Green. Note the recycled bread bags dripping dry over the desk lamp, which was itself recycled from a different location.
Yes, Auntie Loretta will definitely go for this one.
Another nice feature is that since there is no counter space -- AT ALL -- the happy gift recipient doesn' t have to feel guilty that she isn't cooking dinner tonight. She can't! Our Lady of Guadalupe looks down, presumably praying for the owner of this kitchen. Order now!

Simple pleasures here at Casa Almond

For a late Thanksgiving post, I'm going to offer to the three of you who feel obliged to check this blog a partial list of simple pleasures for which I am grateful. No matter how little disposable income a person has, these are things that make her feel rich.

A tablecloth and cloth napkins. Note the Guilt No More candle -- you could have it too! Just send $7.99.
New curtains, using beautiful fabric that my lovely sister-in-law gave me years ago. Bonus: they actually block out sight, unlike the sheers we'd been limping along with.
A crock pot full of homemade chili using the cheapest of ingredients: dried beans, ground turkey, canned tomatoes, bulk spices. It was good, but even better, it was ready to eat when we needed it, almost no work for me.
Banana muffins. Why bake 12 when you can bake 24?
A happy, healthy, loving family. The richest of riches.

This is Guilt No more blogging!

No worries -- there's no theme here. Just plain old photos, for your viewing pleasure, if it is that.


Here below, meet the extraordinary lump of dough which ultimately became seven (7) (siete) loaves of bread. It was fun to make. It lasted us about a week.Kewpie and Honeybee, enjoying the bath.

These three good-looking people are in the children's choir at Our Lady of Many Big Families. We went through some difficulties trying to find clothes to suit the daughters.
Truckster is a Cub Scout!
I should have posted this when it happened, but here are Buster and Fifi on the first day of school at O.L.M.B.F. Note that Buster's sweatshirt already had a stain on it.

Be serious

He wants you to know that he's in the Breadwinner Protection Program. Do not attempt to contact him. He is Incognito.

Fruit from our garden

If I had rotated this picture, it would be perfect. Of course, I don't know how to rotate it. So tip your head, and you can see that we actually grew all these things this year! The pumpkin is still on our porch, looking autumnal. The grapes we didn't eat, because the one kitchen tool that I need to de-seed them I no longer own (a food mill, totally necessary item that Target does not stock.). And the pepper and tomato -- yum!

Absurdly proud.

Where have we been?

OK, it's been kind of a while. Sorry. So, to make up for it, here are some All Hallows' Eve pictures.

From the left, St. Gianna Molla, St. Helena (of the True Cross), Pope John Paul II, St. Margaret of Scotland (pictured before she was married to Malcolm, and still an English princess), and St. Juan Diego.

(True to form, Juan Diego chose his own saint but then got irritated by the costume and refused to look happy for the photo. However, there was another Juan Diego at the All Saints' party and he was nowhere as Mexicano as this dude. Although, we were hoping he would let us paint a mustache on him, but he put his foot down. "No way, Jose!" were the words he would have spoken, if he had expressed his displeasure verbally than otherwise.)

Mohawk boy

Can you even handle it?

Fifi's Sophie Doll

Hello, every family member out there! my mom made the suggestion that I put my creation
on the blog, so I guess I will!

anyway, a long time ago, my grandma gave me an extremely complicated ( well, I thought it was complicated .) pattern for a doll. this pattern, this six page nightmare for sewing beginners, made me more than a little intimidated.

At first glance, I had a brief suspicion that It was printed in some sort of Egyptian Hieroglyphs,
but i then saw that it was upside down. the cutting out alone took so long that i hoped I'd be done before I was twenty.

but it went fairly well after that, up until the hair. I did the best i could, but Sophie still has a
bald spot on top of her head.

so that is how i made Sophie, the learning doll.

God Bless, Fifi

Perspective

"Barring obstacles that God Himself may permit, ordinarily, when a couple marries, they should desire and gladly accept a large family."

This quote is from The Catholic Family Handbook by Fr. Lawrence Lovasik, published by Sophia Institute Press, in 1962. When I read this, I realized how much of the world's attitudes have crept into my thinking of late -- the attitude that one must, in some sense, apologize for having so many children. That the presumption should be towards a small family, and then with proof of "ability" or "good circumstances" or something, one could very cautiously and with a great deal of trepidation open one's marriage to another baby.

Fr. Lovasik goes on: "Beware of false arguments against having a large family: A large family costs too much ... Having many children wears a woman out before she reaches middle age ... You cannot give all your children an expensive education when you have a large family ... You cannot keep a neat, orderly home with many children." Each of these falsehoods he counters neatly and succinctly -- you have to read the book to find out what he says.

But notice -- he says nothing about inability to love so many, or to have time to yourself, or that many children would put a strain on marriage. These are the lies of the present day. I'd like to answer them, succinctly if possible:

Ordinary parents find it difficult to spread around their love to many children. This is such a juvenile objection and yet so present even in Catholic circles. Obviously, God doesn't dole out a certain amount of parental love to each person, like blood cells or number of teeth. Love is mystical; it increases through the exercise of itself -- each time a new baby comes, a parent's heart finds itself bigger, more tender, not only able but eager to love actively, and without taking from any other child. In fact, having a new baby in the house often increases everyone's love for everyone else!

Having many children prevents you from having time to yourself, without which you will go crazy or lose your personality. Fr. Lovasik actually answers this objection really well in the book, so do read it, but here's my two cents. Most of us in the U.S. have had a spoiled upbringing in this regard. We get used to having hours each day to "unwind," to "relax," to "veg." That isn't by itself sinful, except that it gets us thinking that this is our right. But we are Christians -- our time is not our own but is given to us to build His kingdom and serve Him. And we can only serve Him by serving others. To be "poured out as an offering." Now, every person does need to have a little bit of time alone, to pray and think and pursue personal interests. But you can do that with a lot of children. Witness me blogging -- bathrobe and all. And as to losing your personality, this is cowardice before God's providence; He gave us our selves and He alone will perfect our selves. "Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it," etc etc.

A large family puts a strain on a marriage. Again, Fr. Lovasik answers this perfectly. He says, "The responsibilities of the family develop your God-given powers and help you to mature spiritually, mentally, and physically ... A person who has never surrendered whole-heartedly to any purpose outside himself remains immature all his life." I fully agree.

However, I do think that the world of the 21st century is different than when Lovasik was writing -- it's far more inimical to marriage and duty. Thus, in a way this objection is somewhat truer today. Nothing in American culture today is geared toward a family with more than two children. Everything -- housing costs, housing sizes, school and sports obligations, even the size of hotel rooms and serving amounts listed in recipes -- is aimed at the two-child and two-income family. Trying to raise a large family on one income is today something sort of like being the only immigrant in the neighborhood -- everyone stares, nothing is set up for your way of life, no one understands your language -- and it is wearing at times. And this can certainly put a strain on a marriage. The key, of course, is prayer, Mass, and a healthy dose of surrender. Which is what we're called to as Catholics anyway. In an atmosphere of prayer and solidarity, a large family cannot help but pull a husband and wife closer together. A large family provides a great many more opportunities to love. Love is the only thing worth anything in this world. It's the only thing worth pouring yourself out for, and it's the only thing that returns to you, a thousand-fold, fresher and stronger than it left you.

Earth mama

This is not the only thing I do with my days, despite how it feels sometimes. (One of the many enjoyable things about nursing is that it allows you to take little snatches of time and read your book. I've read probably ten thousand books in this manner since I first became a nursing mother 12 years ago.)

Another thing I do is bake, and since AMM my venerable sister asked for the recipe for Peasant Bread, mentioned in an earlier post, I here oblige. She's an earth mama in training, so she needs this recipe.

This is Peasant Bread, from a small book called A Family Journal: A Homeschooling Mother's Companion, by Rita Munn. You can order it from the Catholic Heritage Curricula website, www.chcweb.com. And while it isn't something that will set the world on fire, it's quite a nice little book, and very reassuring and fun to read when you are new to homeschooling.

In a mixing bowl, stir together 2 cups of very warm water (approx. 110 degrees F) and 3 teaspoons of active dry yeast (or one of those little overpriced packets). Let stand about five minutes until yeast begins to "proof," or foam.

In a larger bowl, combine 2 cups white bread flour with 2 teaspoons salt (ground sea salt is what is recommended, but I'm not into fancy salt. Yet.) Then add the proofed yeast/water mixture and 1 tablespoon good olive oil, and stir vigorously for 2 minutes.

Gradually add up to 3 cups of flour, whole wheat or white, until it is too stiff to stir. Turn out and knead until smooth and elastic, or only until it forms a ball. Munn says, "Kneading the dough is not essential to this rustic loaf. Remember, this is peasant bread made for everyday eating."

Let dough ball rise, covered, until it doubles in bulk (1-2 hours). (I personally do this by plopping it onto the floury counter where I kneaded it, rub a bit of olive oil over the top, and turn the mixing bowl upside down over it. Also, I've never let this rise for a full 2 hours, since I never have that sort of time.

When it's risen, preheat your oven to 425. Punch down the dough and on a floured counter divide it in half. Press each into a round disk and loosely shape the dough into a flat loaf -- you could slash the tops of the loaves now, but I never do. Place each onto a greased pan or baking stone. Munn says to let it rise again until doubled (which would probably take about 45 minutes to an hour) but I never do. It would definitely make them taste good and have a better texture.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes. You might want to reduce the temperature to 375 if you find the tops getting to dark. Do your ordinary test to make sure the loaves are done.

Let cool on a rack until ready to serve. Munn says, "We like to serve this bread by passing the loaf around the table so everyone can tear off small pieces." We do the same thing, and the kids really love it.

Thanks be to God!

I have to take a minute to thank God for 2 wonderful blessings of this past weekend! First and foremost, our little daughter has now passed 2 nights without any noticeable seizures - the first time in months! This is such a gift, a light of hope to a very concerned mama. She had a hard night in other ways last night, but no seizures, so my heart is glad!!

And to add to the joy of a seizure free night, yesterday afternoon we got to see our little girl giggle and laugh with delight in a way I have only seen once before. Mama was dancing around and singing silly music while daddy held her, and baby smiled the biggest, sweetest grin and then giggled and giggled. Both mommy and daddy laughed too and almost cried at such a gift from God.

I am so thankful, and praise God for his Mercy and compassion. I am also so grateful for all the prayers of others for our little girl. I hope that we will have many more days and nights like these!!

More Simple Summer Soup Suppers...

Yes, nothing gets amm inspired quite like talking about food, so I am now allowing my little one to be crazy in her little "exer-saucer" (a fabulous containerizing toy) whilst I contribute my two new favorite dinners, which tie in perfectly with messybessy's lovely homemade supper. The summer soup, i.e. the incredibly easy vegetable based soup, is one of the best things for the "mom-on-the-go" or the "mom-not-going-anywhere-but-still-not-feeling-like-slaving-over-the stove". My two new faves are a SUPER easy (but delish!) tomato soup and a similarly idiot-proof corn chowder.

The tomato soup came about when my lovely husband and I ate at Panera once. Panera is a good place for a sandwich and cup of soup, and we partook of their "Creamy Tomato Bisque" or some such fancy name. The soup was tasty, but I just KNEW that this chain restaurant wasn't smashing up fresh tomatoes for this, and if they weren't, how hard is it to open a can of tomatoes myself? And how much cheaper? Sure enough, I picked up a large can of diced tomatoes (actually truth be told I picked up the basil, herb diced tomatoes, even easier) added it to some sauteed onions, poured in chicken broth (no, not homemade - though homemade would be delicious), warmed it through, put it into the blender and whirred it until the "desired consistency" then poured it back into the pot and added a smidgeon of heavy cream. My darling husband had the brilliant suggestion of adding crushed red pepper (really a must) and that was that! Served with cheese crostadas, or simply good old grilled cheese it can't be beat.

The awesome corn chowder is possibly even easier. This one started with an actualy recipe I had for southwestern corn chowder, but hit its final simplicity when I couldn't even be bothered to make that recipe fully. This simple corn chowder is utterly basic: sautee your mirapoix (a fancier way of saying carrots, onion, and celery - i.e. your standard fridge veggies) and you can do potato too, but I actually forgot it last time and it was still great after all corn has plenty of starch in it. Next add some chicken stock (again not homemade in my case) and some thyme, cook until desired consistency. Add LOTS of corn (either leftovers from corn on the cob, or frozen works great) and a dollop of heavy cream (doesn't havy cream make everything better?). THE ONLY SECRET: jalapeno. Yes, a diced jalapeno added in with your mirapoix at the beginning is what makes this soup lip smacking delicious. Jalapenos are a new ingredient in my life, and I must just say my life is better for having them. Now, to be sure, most chowders, including the original recipe I learned, includes bacon in the chowder. This is yummy, but I have to admit, I actually prefer it without. For one thing, I can't be bothered to stink up the kitchen frying bacon (our range hood is pretty much worthless) just to add a little smokiness to some easy vegetable soup, but also I honestly feel that bacon, although DELICIOUS on its own, tends to overpower other ingredients, especially in a summer soup like this one. Anyway, I served this chowder with some yummy and very easy beer-thyme biscuits (even easier than normal biscuits, because you add melted butter instead of cutting in cold butter - plus there's beer in them) - hurrah for more simple suppers!!

p.s. messybessy, I would love a recipe for that peasant bread -done in 2 hours?!
p.p.s. I know that the corn chowder also lacks a little something which is extremely important to all Pease women - that is protein. What can I say... have a slice of cheese with it or a ham sandwich or something...

Evolution of motherhood

When our oldest, Fifi, was this age and doing this, (and wearing the same little yellow track suit!), I used to get mad. All those books, spread out all over the floor for me to pick up -- again. Dang!

Now, I'm just really glad she's not eating the marbles, pennies, Legos, hairballs, dried cherries, dice, Tylenol tablets, and rusty nails that are lying around.

A homemade meal

Meatless Fridays all through the year have been a hard thing for me to do. This is silly, since I love a great many kinds of vegetarian dishes, and have made many since learning to cook. However, meat is definitely the easiest to eat since you just bake it and serve...

Here's the dinner I made tonight though: What I'm calling "Spirit of Minnesota Soup" and Peasant Bread that I started at 4:30 and put on the table, still warm, at 6:30.

The soup is actually leftover soup. I took chicken broth that I needed to use up, added frozen cooked wild rice, frozen diced tomatoes, a few carrots and potatoes, a can of white beans, and the leftover yellow peppers out of a salad from yesterday. Oh, and some oregano from the garden. With salt, pepper, and a little thyme it was completely delicious.

The bread is so good. The recipe is from something called the Homeschooling Journal (or similar title) and it is little reflections on homeschooling a large family, and included are some recipes and ideas for various dinners. The key with this bread is that you don't need to be careful about it. It should get eaten the day it's baked, and you tear it up instead of slicing it. Yum!

Summer love

You thought this was going to be about something else, didn't you? No no no, my little friend. This is about my love for this bedraggled, bespattered appliance. With this baby, I can make this:
That's homemade pesto, ma cherie, made from home-grown basil, and it is accompanied by home-grown tomatoes, as you see. Those did not come from hydroponic pods. They grew next to our garage, which if you squint real hard looks sort of like an Italian peasant's humble cottage.

Oh, do I love pesto. Here's the recipe, which if you use my summer love shown above, you can make in five minutes.

2 cups packed basil leaves, washed and dried
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts, but I used chopped walnuts
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

Put all this in the processor and blend until smooth and your knees start to get weak. Then, mix in:
1/2 cup parmesan cheese -- must be real, not the canned stuff
3 tablespoons romano cheese, or more of the parm
3-4 tablespoons very soft butter (I used 3 because I am timid)

Ladle on top of 1.5 pounds of noodles, dilute with a bit of the noodle cooking water, mix, and eat.

Keel over with love!

Some great photos of our vacation -- plus...

Here's the defining moment of our lovely little family vacation: this black bear, who came right out onto the dock hoping to find leftover bratwurst, or chips, or maybe blueberry cobbler. All he found was a used diaper (not pictured) which he played with in an adorable way. At least, it was adorable if one didn't consider that he could easily remove any little child's face with those paws.


Sweetums and Truckster. They never left the cabin without life jackets, which made for a relaxing time for us.
Can you even stand it? Kewpie went out with Superguy and her brother to sample the delights of canoeing on the lake. Here is how they delivered her. When we got her up to the cabin, we discovered that while she was sleeping, the horse flies had just about severed her poor little ankle -- it was completely swollen with bites.
Here's yours truly with the sweetest fat little lump of baby Honeybee ever.
I'd like to say that they are this happy all the time! Perhaps inwardly!

Guilt No More Vacation

We have a busload of pictures to post here, or on Picasa as that seems to be everyone's weapon of choice in this family, but since it's late I will simply scrawl here a few rules for GNoM vacationing.

1. When you are preparing to leave the house for six days, be sure to take out the garbage. But that bowl of leftover chicken stew? That one that you put in the microwave to heat up for an easy lunch before leaving? Go ahead and leave that there. Its unique odor met us at the door.

2. Make sure you bring lots of books, but don't expect anyone to read them. Honeybee will chew on them, though, so it won't be a complete waste of time and gas mileage.

3. When luxuriating in someone's beautiful lake, and you want to dip Honeybee into the refreshing water -- take off her regular diaper and replace it with a swim diaper. Then, throw the used diaper onto the beach, and forget that it is there, because later, just as you are about to send Truckster down to the dock to get some other item, A BEAR WILL BE PLAYING WITH THE USED DIAPER. Photos to follow.

4. Bring two pounds of bacon. Wimp out on cooking it because it takes too much cleanup. Bring two pounds of bacon home.

5. Wash that canvas tote bag before leaving, throw in dryer, and then go on vacation. Make sure the dry-erase marker is in it, so that your dryer can be full of ink upon your return. Don't forget this step, because otherwise your vacation will be like everyone else's.

6. Check for ticks. Tomorrow.

Summer legs

I wanted to capture the bruises, dirt, scratches, and bug bites. My camera skills don't extend that far, unfortunately. Try to imagine, though.

Bike ride

It's tiring!

Watch out for Fifi

She's a pitcher!

New! New! New!

Do you ever feel guilty because you know you should be line-drying your linens in the summer? Who hasn't looked out at the clothes line and thought to herself, "Gee, think of all the money we could save if only I were using that clothes line!" But you can't use clothes line because you have lost all the clothes pins!


Have we got a product for you.


The Guilt No More (TM) Clothes Line. The pins are already lost, so you can drape your sheets and dish towels right over in a very haphazard fashion and NOT FEEL BAD about it.

This new exciting product is the companion to our Guilt No More (TM) Clothes Dryer, which tumbles your wet laundry indefinitely but does not add any heat.

My family is currently testing a model of this one.

Best. Husband. Ever.

Yes, Superguy is out right now with ALL SIX, count them, six (6) of our offspring, running errands, and I am at home in the refrigerated glory of our silent home.

I am making chocolate chip cookies, eating chocolate chips, blogging, doing laundry, and listening to talk radio. All at once. Multitasking.

Been reading a lot about the bad state of the world these last couple of days. But here in the domestic church presided over by Superguy, life is peaceful. He's about to be unemployed, and yet he is out with children, who love to just be with him, even if it is only a trip to the grocery store.

I'd live in a cardboard box on the side of the freeway with this man.