A little more on hollering; English muffins; links!
Back in July we talked about how to cut down on the hollering, remember?
I remembered something about it!
Last weekend I had six of my grandchildren here (ages almost 2 to 11!) while Deirdre and John went to California for a quick getaway.
Of course, occasionally I had to get them all to come to me so I could tell them something. At one point I called, “Front and center!” and got very little response… so I remembered how the Chief and I used to use that phrase to call our kids and they would indeed appear.
So I rounded up this younger crew and told them about it.
“When your mom was a little girl, and I needed everyone to come to me, I would call ‘Front and center!' and they would come running! We taught them to pretend they were in the Army and line up in front of us at attention. [Standing straight with feet together, arms by your sides, and then saluting!]
“They would wait for me to say what I had to say, and then they would say, ‘Yes Sir Ma'am Sir!' and go do it!”
Of course this cracked my grandchildren up totally! I gave them instructions (after making them practice standing at attention saluting, and then — “At ease!” which means being more relaxed with feet apart while listening) and then demanded a “Yes Sir Ma'am Sir” from them as they rolled off, having received their “Dismissed!” — laughing hysterically, to do whatever it was I had requested.
Used sparingly, this works so well — the more children you have, the better it works! We found that in general, kids love to play military roles, like being the XO or radio man, saying Aye-aye and “you have the con,” and requesting “permission to speak freely SIR” — watching a movie like Hunt for Red October with the older ones can set off a great trend in the family.
By the way, the weekend reminded me that there always will be a lot of shouting in a big, busy family. I think I said that in my previous post. These little ideas are just a way to make it a little less so, and a little more tolerable for our poor nerves. Basically, great reductions will be realized if we train them to come to us.
We've had so much rain and so I don't have much to show for my garden. I have a feeling I'm about to be busy with tomatoes! But who knows — no one can get out there.
The worst part about having had all those kids here and it having been super hot and then super rainy is that just as they left, just at maximum, peak laundry, just as my attention turned to my housekeeping, my washer broke.
Still waiting on a part… so things are not super photogenic around here! And there are a lot of towels that are feeling very neglected right now…
Bread Corner
I made a batch of English muffins. I think I made about 14, which I did not take a picture of. Supper was upon me, so I actually put the last four into the fridge to do later. So this photo is my comparison of one muffin (bottom) that had the extra fridge rest and the other that did not (top).
Before we get into it, I just want to say that in general, I think supermarket bread is just awful. While our kitchen was out of commission, and since it's just the two of us, I bought the tippety-toppest bread from the supermarket. We don't eat a ton of it and I don't have access to any sort of artisan bakery, so that's what I bought.
And it was okay, but it was very expensive and certainly not as good as homemade sourdough (and it really was sourdough, unlike most boughten bread that says it is but does have yeast).
The mother who is trying to give good, homemade food to her family is going to work very hard at it. (One thing that makes me a wee bit skeptical about some online moms offering big-family content is that it just doesn't look like enough food to me!)
I have lots of ways to make this easier — most notably my “Save a Step” methods that get you ahead, keep everything homemade, and don't leave you shattered (the way, in my opinion, the once-a-month cooking methods or the spend-all-day-making-everything-right-at-that-moment ones do).
Growing children eat a lot! I think it's worth it to bake your own bread, for their health and also for your budget, but you have to prioritize the efficiency side of it.
My eyes roll so hard at the videos of people demonstrating making one measly loaf of bread. Seriously?? You are wasting your time if you don't make as much as you, your mixer or your hands and your oversize bowl, your oven, and your freezer can handle.
Three huge or four regular loaves are the minimum per batch. And if everything is out and getting messy, make more than one batch. Once you get into the rhythm of it, you can have a couple of big baking days a week and put a few loaves into the freezer each time.
When all my kids were here, I tried making bagels on occasion, because we went through quite a number of them every week. While they were tasty, it was exhausting, because it's a two-step process to bake them — you have to boil them first. I decided that I would focus on loaves of bread and dinner rolls and compromise on buying bagels with the least additives.
When I make bagels or English muffins now, I always think about how you would do it if you had your platoon there, ready to demolish whatever you carefully shaped and painstakingly made with all those steps. So I don't know.
As I survey my dozen English muffins, knowing what I know — that they would all disappear in one breakfast's time — I am not sure it scales to the point that it would be doable. Maybe with the two griddles I can now deploy on my 36″ range? But they have to be cooked well in the middle, which I think requires a bit of time under a lid.
Anyway, I will tell you how I do it.
You can use any English muffin recipe. Here's a highlight on my Instagram that shows my whole process! (Don't forget to follow me and share with your friends!)
The main thing is to have the dough quite hydrated, looser than if you were making a loaf of bread. Shape each little ball of dough very gently so as not to de-gas after the dough has risen.
Let them all rise very well. Don't rush this part. They need to be pillowy so you get the nice nooks and crannies and are not left with a sort of dinner roll texture.
They freeze just fine.
There is a sort of purgation that has to happen before children can have their imaginations restored or formed, if they are used to being entertained, especially by digital devices. This post explains it very well. Here on LMLD, I try to explain how the environment you make, with its peaceful order and liturgical rhythms as well as all the books, musical instruments, board games, bikes, balls, and normal non-digital childhood paraphernalia, will eventually call to them. Make no mistake: they will be bored and cranky until the process has its way!
If you are wondering about AI (Artificial Intelligence) from a philosophical perspective, I recommend this essay (and the ones preceding it).
A good graphic on the difference between the vaccine schedule when my kids were little, and now. Remember, the people telling you everything is normal remember the former and haven't quite wrapped their minds around the latter.
The Eternal Root of Homelife — John Cuddeback
Sometimes we really need antibiotics, and we can be very grateful they are there when we do. It's important not to overuse them! They have side effects, some of which are quite severe, and of course, it's disastrous when a resistance is built up. There are ways to treat many infections besides antibiotics. I remember a nurse telling me I could cure an infected toe with three warm soaks a day and a little antibacterial salve. This is, believe me, a better choice than Cipro, which is what the doctor wanted to prescribe. It takes some effort, of course. But it's worth it. Many of the more dangerous antibiotics are prescribed for UTIs, which is why I researched, tested, and shared with you a protocol for curing and preventing them without such a drastic course of action.
from the archives
You don't have to play with your children (one reason parents are dependent on devices — they think they will have to be their child's sole source of diversion otherwise)An honest look at IVF (podcast with Fr. McTeigue)Tips for a calm, practical pregnancy, from Deirdre
liturgical living
Thursday is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin! As a holy day of obligation, it takes a little preparation and an extra scoop of ice cream!
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My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available from Sophia Press! Also in paperback now! All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them has moved over to Substack! — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing! The old one is still up if you want to look at the comments on past posts. It will take me a while to get things organized, but you'll be patient, I know!
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