This Lovely Place | Homemaking | Home Atmosphere | Home Life

Best Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Charlotte — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:00:30 +0000

Best Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

by Charlotte Siems

Homemade ice cream is a warm-weather dessert that usually shows up for cookouts and Sunday School class parties. We made three freezers of homemade ice cream for a rehearsal dinner in a barn a few years ago and it was a big hit. We usually only make it 3-4 times a year, so it’s a special treat.

This recipe was given to me years ago by my husband’s aunt. I know that some people are squeamish about eating raw eggs and I understand that. They’ll probably want to search for another recipe.

Best Vanilla Homemade Ice Cream

1 pint whipping cream

6-7 eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla

4 ½ cups sugar

milk

rock salt

2 bags ice

Combine whipping cream, eggs, vanilla and sugar with an electric mixer. Mix until eggs are blended in. Pour mixture into a 6-quart ice cream freezer canister. Pour milk into mixture until it reaches the fill line on the canister.

Insert dasher, place lid on the canister. Put the canister in the ice cream freezer bucket (set in a dishpan in the sink or on the ground). Layer ice and rock salt generously. Pour a cup of hot water over the top.

Plug in to start the freezer motor. Check frequently and add more ice and rock salt. When freezer stops, unplug and remove the dasher (otherwise it will get frozen and stuck!). Replace the lid and put a folded towel on top. Let set for a few minutes to finish the freezing process. If you’re in a hurry, go ahead and serve.

This ice cream is not too sweet and we like it that way, but you can add up to 6 cups of sugar. We usually eat it plain, but occasionally we make a peanut butter and chocolate sauce by cooking no-bake cookies without the oats. Yummy!

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Easy Homemade Chocolate Pudding

Charlotte — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:00:41 +0000

Easy Homemade Chocolate Pudding

by Charlotte Siems

This is another stained and splattered recipe from the little notebook given to me by my mother-in-law the night before my wedding. Our extended family has eaten many a chocolate pie made with this recipe: just add a baked crust and meringue on top. It is an expected custom that she brings two chocolate pies to family gatherings, and the grandchildren have learned to hide a piece before dinner is over.

Here are my wonderful in-laws:

And here’s the recipe:

Easy Homemade Chocolate Pudding

Mix well in pan (with a whisk):

¾ cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

2 heaping tablespoons cocoa

Add:

2 cups milk

½ tsp. vanilla

2 tablespoons butter

2 egg yolks, beaten

Mix well and stir constantly with whisk while heating on medium-high heat. Cook until the mixture thickens. One of my sons has perfected the technique and he says it takes 14 minutes of stirring. We usually quadruple the recipe.

I used to think that homemade chocolate pudding meant a double boiler and adding egg yolks at a certain point and pouring back and forth. As long as you keep stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan as you cook, you’re good.

See? Told you it was easy.

Try it and let me know what you think in the comments below!

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Are You Okay? The Difference Between Being a Thermometer and a Thermostat

Charlotte — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:00:47 +0000

Are You Okay? The Difference Between Being a Thermometer and a Thermostat

by Charlotte Siems

When taking a sick child to the clinic, a common preliminary question is “has she had a fever?” Many times I’ve had to answer “Yes, but I don’t know what her temperature has been.” My practiced mother’s hand has assessed the fact that my child has a fever but it hasn’t been high enough for me to be worried. I know that a fever is the body’s way of fighting off infection or viruses so the low-to-mid-grade fever itself isn’t cause for concern.

In the same way, as women we are often sensitive to the emotional states of those around us—especially those closest to us. A tilt of the head, a sigh, a slight movement of the corner of a mouth gives us a clue to the thoughts or emotions of our loved ones. This can be a good thing. These signs can help us narrow down whether they need a hug or a re-direction of their thoughts and behavior.

To take it further, we mentally add up our spouse and children’s actions and try to decipher their motivation. Any time they do something that doesn’t please us or make us “feel” loved and appreciated, we do the math and come up with our own answers to the equation. There are two possible problems with this:

First, our amazing brains have a complicated memory system that strives to make associations and place our experiences in categories. Any time a new experience happens, our mind searches its database to see if anything similar has happened in the past. It will probably find something, and the emotions attached to that previous experience will come up, even if the previous experience happened thirty years ago. Think about the emotions you feel when something reminds you of a pleasant childhood memory.

When we choose to let that association stand, and feel the feelings all over again, the new experience is attached to the old experience. This doesn’t have to be a huge, traumatic event. It can be as simple as a stubborn child with whom you are frustrated. You will approach that child the next time with that emotion and attitude, even speaking words over them and about them that reinforce your association.

Second, it’s important to realize that when we constantly take everyone’s emotional temperature to make sure that they are okay with us, that is actually very self-centered. We tell ourselves that we’re concerned about their feelings but in reality we’re concerned about ourselves in the relationship. This can come up especially in marriage and in relationships with older children.

It can help tremendously just to be aware of these scenarios when analyzing our relationships.

When you feel emotions that are disproportionate to the present situation, that’s a pretty good indicator that past experiences are mixed in.

Take care that last week’s disagreement or discipline issue isn’t coloring today’s reaction to your loved ones.

Focus on loving and caring behaviors towards your family without the constant temperature-checking of “are they okay with me?” Be preoccupied with serving others rather than trying to make everything about you being right and being liked.

Rather than being a thermometer and registering what we think is going on around us, we can choose to be a thermostat and set the temperature. Just like setting the thermostat eventually changes the temperature in the house, the behavior that we choose eventually changes our feelings.

Please leave a comment below!

Think Before You Listen

Charlotte — Mon, 07 May 2012 09:00:48 +0000

Think Before You Listen

by Charlotte Siems

A short word to the wise: if you want advice about an area of life, find someone who has achieved what you are aiming for.

In general, don’t take marriage advice from people who complain about their spouse, parenting advice from people with unhappy, out-of-control children, and homeschooling advice from people who assure you that they are perfect and if you follow their system you can be perfect, too.

Get knowledge from people with experience and success, not theory. It takes time to gain experience—and it generally takes longer than a few months.

Check out the fruit of someone’s life before you listen. That’s not to say that you judge them—or put them on a pedestal, either. Sometimes we have seasons of time with people and then it’s time to move on as we grow personally.

Observe the effect of the advice-giver and/or mentor upon you. Are you a better person after spending time with them (whether that’s on the phone, in person or through a recording or book)? Are they controlling you through fear? Do they cause you to feel discontent and critical of others, or do they call you to a higher standard?

Just a friendly reminder to be careful whom you listen to, whom you allow to have input into your life and mind. And perhaps a reminder to evaluate the input you are pouring into the lives and minds of others.

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Can You See Them? Have Some Fun with Your Children

Charlotte — Thu, 03 May 2012 09:00:14 +0000

Can You See Them? Have Some Fun with Your Children

by Charlotte Siems

Life has been busy lately and I bet you can relate. Besides the usual grocery shopping, housekeeping, phonics and math, we were out of town for a few days for annual church meetings and that always throws me off. For at least a week.

Seriously, when the whole family takes a trip it usually takes about a week to recover. Laundry, regular bedtimes, getting back into the routine—you know the drill.

But we can get so focused on routine and order that we forget fun and taking a break.

Yesterday I realized that it was time to have some fun with my children. Do you ever get to that point?

Most of my life I haven’t been very good at having fun, but that’s who I used to be. I’m glad we can change and become who we are supposed to be, instead of remaining stuck in old patterns of living.

The girls have been interested in butterflies lately so we decided to visit a local bird sanctuary with lots of weeds and flowers. It has nice walkways and a gazebo, so we packed up sandwiches, fruit and nature identification books and headed out on an adventure.

The short trip across town didn’t exactly set the stage for a romantic, peaceful day. A certain little girl wept bitter tears during hair brushing on the way. We found that the books didn’t make it to the van. It was hot and very windy, and for a few moments I considered calling the whole thing off.

We pulled into the rocky parking lot and the girls were out the door, except for the one who wasn’t completely dressed yet. We buttoned her shirt, changed her shorts, installed flip flops and had a nice conversation about how to stop crying and have self-control (which worked quickly).

We walked along the sidewalk, pointing out various species of butterflies and birds. Then we took the boardwalk across the water to the gazebo, where we had lunch. The breeze was cool and lunch was delicious. We didn’t stay a long time, but the girls asked if we could come again soon and we agreed to visit on an early morning.

I don’t know what it is about an outing like that, but it can be a perspective-changer. Little kids look cuter, their questions sound sweeter and their growing-up more heart-wrenching in a place where we’re relaxed and focused on their pleasure. Seeing them in a different setting wakes us up to the fleeting nature of childhood. It's almost like time slows down and life moves in slow motion.

My question today is: Can you see them?

Do you really see who your children are and how quickly they will grow up? I promise, if you are so blessed to spend years and years raising them, they will grow up and leave home and life will never be the same. Your children will be adults most of their lives—and most of your life, too.

I know that’s hard to believe when you’re knee deep in diapers and math books, but it’s true.

Make sure that routines and grammar don’t steal your relationship with them. If you feel that dryness creeping in, take off and have some fun with your kids. It will help you see better.

Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Charlotte Siems is a home-maker, home manager, T-Tapp Trainer, teacher, speaker and author. Her story of losing over 100 pounds with T-Tapp has encouraged thousands of people all over the world. She specializes in making home management and T-Tapp "doable" for real people and real life. She is happy to be a wife and mother of twelve children whom she has successfully taught at home for 25 years.

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Prize-Winning German Cinnamon Swirl Kuchen

Charlotte — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:00:51 +0000

Prize-Winning German Cinnamon Swirl Kuchen

by Charlotte Siems

Several years ago three of our high school boys had the privilege of taking an online German class. They had an inside track because the university professor attended our church, so she met with them weekly for live tutoring sessions.

At the end of the school year they entered several categories in the annual high school German festival "Deutsch Fest." In the search for projects, one of them found a recipe for a delicious German cinnamon coffee cake. They also entered a Lego creation of a German castle and a cross-stitched bookmark, both of which won prizes. Their hilarious skit (in German) and prose reading also placed first. It was rather satisfying to hear "Siems Homeschool" named several times at the awards ceremony among the large state high schools.

Alas, the beautiful Cinnamon Swirl Kuchen didn't place.

But it got first place at the County Fair a couple of years later, thus earning the title of "Prize-Winning."

Cinnamon Swirl Kuchen

(Note: the original recipe called for 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup shortening–we substituted to avoid shortening)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 1/3 cups sugar, divided

4 eggs

1 cup milk

2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, cream the butter, coconut oil and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine milk and vanilla; set aside. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk mixture, beating just enough after each addition to keep batter smooth. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons into a greased bundt pan.

Pour one-third of batter into pan. Sprinkle half of remaining cinnamon/sugar; top with one-third of batter. Repeat with remaining cinnamon/sugar and batter. Smooth top with spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

We haven't had a perfect removal from the pan yet, but boy, it tastes great.

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Mommy, I Don’t Feel So Good: Keeping Up When Life Happens

Charlotte — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:00:42 +0000

Mommy, I Don’t Feel So Good: Keeping Up When Life Happens

by Charlotte Siems

Life is humming along smoothly and you’re feeling pretty efficient. The laundry is almost caught up and you’re finally getting the hang of meal planning. You’ve even managed to keep some semblance of order in your bedroom. Best of all, your schedule is helping you stay productive and still have some personal time.

As the old saying goes, “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

As much as we enjoy the times when efficiency is our middle name, life is bound to happen. Sometimes it’s a minor glitch like catching a cold, and sometimes it’s a major disruption like the whole family coming down with the stomach flu. And those are just the illnesses.

Factor in smaller events like sports tournaments, children’s practices and performances, and holidays. And don’t forget the bigger interruptions like car accidents, out of town funerals, hospitalizations, and the list goes on.

The fact is, we don’t live life in a vacuum. Anybody can do well when life is uneventful and the pantry is organized. It’s the unexpected detours that will test our resolve and attitude.

The first step in not only coping, but thriving, is to ask yourself what you want your life to look like. Know your purpose. Be aware of where you are and where you want to go. Believe it or not, having these things as a solid foundation will help you immensely when the stress of the unexpected hits.

Just because things aren’t perfect doesn’t mean that you throw in the towel. There are ways to adapt and push through and still get work done during a crisis, large or small:

Organize whatever you can. You should be doing this anyway, but it’s especially important during a disrupted schedule. It’s tempting to drop the whole routine, but your household thrives on consistency. Find some time early on to jot down easy meals and stock up on food and supplies. Gather supplies in one place for whatever sickness you’re dealing with. Start a load of laundry before breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Keep up with housekeeping. How, you may ask? First of all, decision goes a long way. Kathy Ireland said, “Excuses are undignified and they don’t absolve you anyway.” A champion rises to the occasion and pushes through difficulties. Maintaining the kitchen and picking up the main living areas is a lot easier if you do it in small bites throughout the day rather than waiting until it’s a federal disaster zone later.

Use a to-do list. Write it down. Your situation has probably brought new responsibilities and your brain needs some structure. But don’t push yourself unrealistically. Pare it down to the absolute necessities. Delegate, postpone, break it up into smaller pieces.

You can still have a schedule. It will just look different. Breathe. Keep in mind the end result and the purpose for what you’re doing. That will help you make the decisions about what comes next.

Figure out the simplest ways to do life. Use paper plates and disposable cups. Gather all the sick kids in one room where you can keep an eye on them while you work. Since family life is part of your vision, don’t resent the imposed restraint. Serve with a smile. Stay home and slow down.

Don’t underestimate the value of prayer and don’t be afraid to ask for the prayers of others. You don’t have to be fake and pretend to be perfect.

When illness or a difficult situation shows up, don’t get caught in the trap of making a sweeping statement like “Oh, great! I may as well give up!” or “Now I’ll NEVER get this work done!” or even “This ALWAYS happens to me!”

The next time you hear, “Mommy, I don’t feel so good,” shift gears and look for ways to adapt. Keep going, persevere, and stay focused. Take care of yourself and your family during this short season. Soon you’ll find that things have settled down and you will be all the better for it!

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Tell Me What You Think: Quick Survey For Your Family

Charlotte — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:00:27 +0000

Tell Me What You Think: Quick Survey For Your Family

by Charlotte Siems

There's a certain clothing store that makes shopping a fun experience. It has a bright, energetic and upbeat atmosphere. The displays are well-done and there's something new almost every time we visit. I've gotten many a bargain on the clearance rack and they often have sales. Best of all, you can get a coupon for a discount when you fill out a survey about your experience in the store.

You may not have thought about it, but you can do a survey at home to find out what everyone is thinking. Their answers will probably surprise you. Here are a few ideas for a casual survey you can conduct:

What one thing about our house makes it feel clean and comfortable? (Use the answers as a guide for when time is short. If a clean bathroom is a big deal to family members, skip the kitchen floor and clean the toilet!)

What's your favorite meal? (Use this list to plan your meals and special occasions like birthdays).

What do you wish our family could do together? (Try to make it happen, even on a smaller scale).

What are your top three favorite family memories? (How can you duplicate these experiences?)

This doesn't have to be a written quiz, although sometimes they'll be a little more honest on paper than speaking up. You can make a free survey at Survey Monkey dot com, and your kids might have some fun with that.

Your family will probably appreciate being asked for their opinion and you can use the information gained to make thoughtful decisions, then follow up with action. Like the clothing store, you might consider a little reward for the survey—a small prize or unusual family activity.

You may be surprised to find that one of their answers hurts your feelings, shocks you or makes you want to weep. Don't over-react or criticize them. We often misunderstand one another. This is an opportunity for new perspective and better relationships.

Have fun with your survey and use it as a tool to learn more about each other!

Have an idea for a survey question? Leave a comment below!

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To Multi-Task or Not to Multi-Task: Tips for When To and When Not To

Charlotte — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:00:11 +0000

To Multi-Task or Not to Multi-Task: Tips for When To and When Not To

by Charlotte Siems

Which is better: doing two things at once or focusing on a single task? Any mom knows that you have to do BOTH to run your household and manage your family.

Women can have a hard time shutting off distractions and other responsibilities when it’s time to focus somewhere else. Husbands can have a hard time understanding this because their brains are generally wired to have more of a single-minded focus.

When my husband learned this concept and realized that my mind is often like a computer desktop with open windows, he’ll pitch in to help with something and tell me he’s “helping me shut some windows on my desktop.”

Since busy women get so good at multi-tasking, it’s sometimes hard to figure out when focused effort would serve us better.

Here are some tips for when to do which:

DO multi-task when you:

· Fold laundry. Great time to drill kids on memory work or listen to a story. Even better, if the kids are folding laundry, you read aloud.

· Wash dishes. Listen to uplifting music or a training audio. Or carry on a conversation with an individual child.

· Dry your hair. I discovered that I could check email on my phone while blow-drying my hair.

· Brush your teeth. Brush with one hand, use the other hand to put away grooming supplies or wipe the counter.

· Cook dinner. Clean the kitchen as you cook—run a sinkful of hot soapy water and put pans in to soak. Wipe up, put away as you go.

· Talk on the phone. Clean out a drawer, pick up stray items and put them away, dust a tabletop.

DON’T multi-task when you:

· Teach your children. When you constantly check Facebook or email while they are reading to you or asking about a math problem, it can get discouraging for them as they feel put off and unimportant.

· Have private time with your husband. Obviously this would be mental multi-tasking but don’t go there.

· Talk on the phone. Wait a minute, I thought I could multi-task on this one? Only if it’s casual conversation. Not an important call, or one you’re paying for.

· Drive. It’s possible that you can listen to music or an audio, depending on your driving ability and level of multi-tasking skill. But don’t send text messages on your phone.

· Should be listening to a person, face-to-face. Look them in the eye, honor them with your attention. Even six-year-olds who are telling you about their ladybug collection.

· Need to focus on the task at hand. There are many times when you can get more done in less time if you take time to focus on one task at a time. Writing, banking, planning and more will benefit from single-minded attention rather than stops and starts while doing other things.

It’s a fact of life that women multi-task out of necessity. For many, single-tasking is more of a challenge.

Choose a task that gives you a feeling of being distracted and stressed. See if there is some part of the job that you can do in a focused way.

Multi-task vs. single-task: it depends on the situation. Think through how each way affects you and the results, then adjust if you need to. Sometimes just realizing how something affects you is a breakthrough to doing it differently. See if doing it in a new way will help you close some windows on your desktop.

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Sunday Dinner at This Lovely Place

Charlotte — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:00:46 +0000

Sunday Dinner at This Lovely Place

by Charlotte Siems

Sunday dinner isn't always fancy at our house. We often have spaghetti, because it's simple to make and everyone likes it. Occasionally we have frozen chimichangas. Very rarely we go out to eat. But every once in a while we have company for Sunday dinner and we enjoy setting a nice table and taking extra care with the menu and preparation.

Last Sunday we invited several college students to come to our home after church. On the menu? Slow-cooked brisket, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, salad, rolls, two kinds of cobbler and ice cream.

Since I was unusually well-prepared for this meal, I thought I better hurry up and blog about it—with photos—to document the occasion. Next week's frozen pizza won't be anything to write home about.

The night before, we put leaves in the big dining room table, cut flowers from the yard (including peppermint roses) and set the table:

Right after breakfast the red potatoes were peeled, the frozen rolls set out on a pan, the brisket that had cooked overnight was sliced and the honey butter mixed up:

I left church a little early to finish preparations since were having a large group for dinner. The rolls were baked, mashed potatoes made, ham and brisket warmed, corn cooked, gravy made and cobblers put in the oven to cook during dinner. Everything was covered and ready, waiting for our guests:

And then we ate! Twenty-one of us, so we used the table in the dining room and the kitchen, too:

One of these days I'll share the secrets of melt-in-your-mouth brisket and creamy mashed potatoes. And how to cook frozen pizza.

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