Homeschooling is Work!

And I sure do feel it at the end of the day. But things are so peaceful, and lessons are happening in such gentle ways that I can only attribute to the Holy Spirit at work.

And I am still managing to go for long walks regularly and keep up with the grass cutting (bushes still need trimming, though) and keep the house decent. The kids are a tremendous help in that regard and I'm glad to allow them to earn their allowance.

But at the end of the day I'm TIRED. And I hurt more than I had been. Part of that is the job hunt stress, which dh ways is getting on his nerves, and part of it is my new "job".

Today I made coffee cake for everyone's breakfast, including a separate low carb sugar free version for me, and homemade sugar free mayo and cooked up some chicken for chicken salad (hence the need for mayo) to have on hand. I'm thinking one factor in increased pain levels is all the bread I've been eating lately. Those carbs make a difference, or so they say. So, I'm trying to be good. Which means cooking double. Sigh.

But I gotta do what I've gotta do. And it's good.

Comments

Lauren S. said…
I love your blog! I just started reading it a couple of weeks ago, I'm new to blogging and have been researching orthodoxy. (I have an evangelical background.) My family and I went to our first orthodox church service this Sunday. Wow! It was different, beautiful, and mysterious.

Silly question, what is your recipe for coffee cake? Can it be made with all brown sugar? I try not to use granulated sugar, don't even have it in the house. I'm not a baker but I've been craving coffee cake the last couple of weeks. I looked for a recipe on various sites but they all called for something I didn't like or have.

Thanks! Have a wonderful day!
Alana said…
Hi Lauren, love your blog. Back when my oldest was the age yours is, my list of stuff and interests that you have on your profile was pretty much the same as yours.

Coffee Cake recipe:

p. 125 Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 1996

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 backed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter or shortening
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon (but I use more)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 beaten eggs
1 1/3 cups buttermilk or sour milk
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I leave out, no nuts in the house due to anaphylactic allergy)

Directions in my own words:

spray 9x13 pan, preheat oven to 350,

mix flour, sugar, salt and cut in shortening until coarse crumbs. Set aside 1/2 cup of it.

To the rest, add the rest of dry ingredients, mix well. In 2 cup sized measuring cup, pour a few tablesppons of vinegar or lemon juice, add milk to 1 1/3 cup line. Allow a few minutes for this to clabber. add the eggs and stir well. Add wet to dry, stir, pour in pan, sprinkle crumbs on top (I add extra cinnamon to the crumbs before I do this) and pop in oven. Bake about 30 minutes until knife inserted is clean. Baking time may vary according to your oven.
the womom said…
My thoughts are with your family while your dh hunts for work. I know everything will work the way that it is supposed to---but the witing game is so very hard.
xoxo
Congratulations on the homeschooling going well. My daughter starts kindergarten next week and the thoughts you shared years ago about schooling ring loudly in my ears.
I owe a lot of who I am as a mom to you.
Lauren S. said…
Thank you Alana, that sounds good. I'm going to try to sub yogurt for the buttermilk. I have everything else (Yay!) which is key for me since I absolutely cannont stand extra trips to the store. :)
Alana said…
You may want to add some vinegar or lemon juice to your yogurt so that you will get the same chemical reaction witht he leavening agents as you would otherwise. You know the whole baking soda and vinegar thing....
DebD said…
Ohhh, can I have the LC version of your coffee cake.

Delurking to say I've been enjoying your blog off and on for a while. I originally found you through Mimi. But started coming back more reguarly after you joined the Ortho homeschool group.

D
Alana said…
Hi Debd!

Low carb version is sort of "off the cuff" based loosely on the above recipe but using a low carb baking mix called carbquik (www.carbquik.com) that is like bisquick. So I leave out the leavening agents and salt, and shortening:

1 cup of carb quick
several big spoonfuls of Splenda and a packet of Steviaplus sweetener (sweeten to taste, I guess)
nutmeg and cinnamon

Remove some crumbs for topping.

something less than half the amount of the sour milk (if I were truly doing it really low carb I'd use low carb milk or watered down cream) and one egg. (I did half the amount and it was too watery so I added a heaping T. of carbquick in to thicken the batter back up.)

Put it together. Bake in a loaf pan (that's how much it makes). It's not loaf sized, and it's not super fluffy but tastes very good.
DebD said…
All I have to say is its SO nice to find another Orthodox lowcarber. I was winging it during last Lent.

I lost 35lbs 4 yrs ago and I'm trying not to gain it back. My sister is my inspriation. She lost a whole person (about 125lbs) LCing, but she's not Orthodox.

I don't have Carbquick. I was given some of the Atkins brand that someone didnt like. I'll have to try it out.

D