In the last while I have been reading various blogs written by busy moms. Their posts have made me laugh with the memories they brought back. They have also made me remember how very tired and discouraged a woman could be as a mom and particularly a stay at home mom.
I just want to give a word of encouragement to those who are feeling like they will never again get to use the bathroom without an audience. Someday will come and you will be able to once again lock the door, get in the tub and sit in there till the water gets cold.
Yes…..You will be able to use the toilet without an audience and a 2 foot tall person handing you your toilet paper. You will also be able put your makeup on, fix your hair and even get your teeth brushed before you go out.
I will never forget the Sunday morning when my husband and I were sitting in the “baby benches” (benches reserved for those with small children) in our church. I looked down and could have cried. I had put my sweater on backwards that morning and in the rush to get everyone ready, out the door and alive to church …. I had not noticed till it was too late. (You may wonder about the alive part – we had three small sons and a 10 mile drive – enough said.)
Once I realized I had not gotten my sweater on correctly; I grabbed a child, took him to the restroom, prayed people would think the kid needed to go, and put my sweater on the right way. In looking back, I am very sure that I am the only person who even remembers that I did that. Now if only I could forget.
Raising children can make even the most capable of people feel totally inadequate. For those of you in those busy years please know that the time will go faster than you know. Know that children are very good at forgetting and forgiving and remembering the good things.
They probably won’t remember how many meals of mac and cheese they had. They will remember that they loved mac and cheese. They will remember the craziest things. Our boys recall (a little too fondly) that their dad would do “kitty-butts” on the farmyard when it had snowed and become icy. They also remember their mom getting dizzy from all the spinning around.
Our sons also recall quite clearly “the Meatball Incident”. (For some reason they and their dad’s version are different than mine.) The incident occurred one Sunday as we were going to my sister for a potluck dinner. I had made a crockpot full of meatballs and I also had along a decorated cake for my Grandma’s birthday.
We had plugged the meatballs in by my folks house in town while we were at church. After church we stopped to pick them up and I put them in the trunk next to the cake. As we left my folk’s driveway our three sons started encouraging their dad to “peel out” and lay some rubber. I reminded them of the cake in the trunk.
We drove about half way down the block when the whiff of meatballs started wafting through the car. My husband stopped and we all piled out to take a look. It was not pretty. The meatballs had flopped over onto the cake. Hot tomatoey meatball sauce on top of a white decorated cake tends to melt decorator frosting.
I think I would have been fine, had they been apologetic. They started to snicker, it turned to snorts and then full blown laughter. Someone commented it now looked like potatoes and gravy…….it was a quiet ride to my sister.
We salvaged the cake, no one went hungry, a good time was had by all and no one died due to a slight taste of meatball sauce with their cake. Looking back, I should have laughed with them……I do now.
I am going to share the meatball recipe with you. Just a hint – They are better when they stay in the crockpot till you are ready to eat them…..but if they do land on a cake, it is not the end of the world.
Crockpot Meatballs
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups oatmeal
chopped onion (to taste)
2eggs
dash salt
dash pepper
Roll into balls and place in Crockpot
Cover with Sauce
Sauce:
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pour over meatballs
Cook on high for 4 hours.
NOTE: I tend to make 2 ounce meatballs and get approximately 20 – 21 per recipe.
With this recipe I cook them all and then freeze what we do not eat for a quick reheated meal later. This works great as it doesn’t really take any extra time to cook all of them at the same time. You can also make mass quantities of these and freeze them to be cooked later.
I love this recipe because it gives me time to spend with my family. I can make it ahead, toss them in the crockpot and forget them till they are done. I have not tried it but I think they would also be good with a cream soup over them instead of the tomato type sauce.
Extend grace to yourself this weekend. Give yourself the gift of spending time with your family and enjoying those times. If it doesn’t turn out to be a Norman Rockwell moment; it will still be okay and still turn out to be a great memory.
“A family is a place where principles are hammered
and honed on the anvil of everyday living.”
~ Chuck Swindoll
“A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian…
and most of all, his family ought to know.”
~ D. L. Moody
Sometimes it is hard to see the funny side at the time, isn’t it? Years ago my partner and I had a mean in a restaurant we often visited. He was careless and spilled quite a bit of the various Indian foods onto the tablecloth in his eagerness to load up his plate. The lovely white cloth was an oily orange stained mess on his side, but mine was pristine. I moaned at him for making such a mess, said it was embarrassing etc etc. Then I went to use the bathroom and when I came back he had turned the tablecloth around, so the curry carnage was where I had been sitting! I should have laughed, but I was furious!
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I don’t know what I would have done if someone switched the table cloth around on me!
I am glad that time takes some of the sting out of things and makes them funny memories. It also seems like the best memories are of things that did not go right at all.
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You are completely right!
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Ah, the good old days with young children. The meatball accident is sure to remind all of us how hard it is to transport food in a car. Ha Cute story Faye. I get to go to the bathroom alone these days – so nice! Lol
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I have learned from the meatball incident. I now put my decorated cakes in tubs to protect them and crockpots of food are in secure boxes…..well braced in the trunk.
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Takes all of us time to figure out how to transport food. Lol
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A wonderful feel good post to read first thing in the morning. 🙂 I will also try those meatballs Faye. You know how I love freezable food. 😉
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I really like them for their handiness. I have made triple recipes and frozen them before cooking.
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Thank you for reminding me that I should treasure my alone bathroom time.
I have found that a story sometimes has to age before it gets funny to the writer. The time mice nibbled on two cranberry-mince pies on Thanksgiving morning was my supreme challenge. I didn’t have time to get angry. We ate breakfast, and I threw together two more pies, these not as fancy as the originals. One daughter stayed home to take the new pies out of the oven while I went to play for the service at church. I have photos.
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Time does indeed take the sting out of certain memories.
I love the pie story. I bet those mice were so happy with their dessert.
I also treasure the alone time in the bathroom. Though the last time we visited the kids and grandkids I had company when using the restroom. My three year old granddaughter followed me right in, perched herself on the little step stool and kept me company. I just had to laugh about that one.
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Faye,
A great heart felt and I don’t know why I want to say it but the word keeps coming to my mind- a natural post- what I perhaps mean is that it resonated with honesty.
I have never had a private moment in the bath tub or in the toilet, even though my youngest is 17. It seems she gets all her questions just when I am using the bathroom. I thought I was the only one with these bathroom issues. And as you say, time passes, – fast. There are some mothers who lock the doors to the bathrooms before going inside to use them- some of them find themselves locked in and they have to wait until the husband or some other person gets back from work to get out of the bathroom. Both the mother and the baby are in tears by then.
The meatball and ice cream story was great reading but I wouldn’t find it funny even after all these years. I am not a great cook and neither do I carry my food to other places- so I haven’t gotten into that trap yet.
Susie
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I did have company in the bathroom the last time we visited our kids and grandkids. The three year old granddaughter thought she needed to accompany me while in there. I had to laugh about that as it brought back a lot of memories.
I don’t think I would have gotten so angry about the cake…..but they laughed and that set me off! Looking back the cake really wasn’t a huge deal breaker in the scheme of life. I did tell them just don’t laugh next time something runs amuck.
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You measure out the meatballs? How about a small scoop as in cookie or ice cream scoop. So funny a story is what makes a family. At least for those on the other side. Some of mine aren’t funny to me …still…but the boys really enjoy. Like the time we ate sweet potatoes for a week . That’s all we had…farm life can be a challenge. We survived!
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I do measure them. My kids got me a wonderful food scale a couple years ago and it s just too fun using it. I should try the ice cream scoop and see how many I get.
Surviving is the right word for farm life and boys.
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I have a scale too but use it to weigh out bread dough. Well…I have done that but not lately. I really need to bake some bread. Give me a slice of fresh bread and real butter and I am a happy camper. Now they tell me bread is bad for us. Ugh!
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Fresh bread hot out of the oven with real butter is amazing! I think moderation is the key?
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Love it! I think I’ll make this recipe next week… thanks for the idea ;)!
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Let me know how you like them. I bet you did like this story as you know those boys involved!
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Parents are always in a hurry until the nest becomes empty. Thanks for the reminder to enjoy the moments while they last.
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You are so right on the hurry thing! I encourage my children to slow down and enjoy the time with their kids. Hopefully they listen better than I did at that time.
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I love this SO much. I can just see you all staring into the trunk! It’s like a movie. Ha. This is a great post. I’ve spent several months stuck in busy. In those moments, it’s like a whirlwind. I’m glad things have slowed down. Childhood goes so quick. Love that you included your recipe. I think I’ll get some pretty recipe cards to write your recipes on.
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These used to be one of our Sunday dinners when the kids were home. Put them in before church and when you get home, pop the potatoes and veggies on the stove. Easy dinner and time to enjoy family.
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You’ve got the right idea there- enjoying family!
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PS did you get the ice?
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Not yet…..I hope it misses us!
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Mom said the ice is just starting there. They’re south of you on Iowa/ MO line.
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They are supposed to get a lot more than we do. Our should start around 6 tomorrow morning and then turn to snow. Hopefully it gets cold enough and just starts out as snow. I can’t believe I hope it gets colder!
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I’ll be sure to follow your advise and keep my meatballs (love your recipe) in the crock pot! Will make these soon. Many thanks. Sorry about the “meatball relocation.”
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I like that “meatball relocation” LOL. I have learned from that to put my cakes in plastic tub with lids and my crockpot of food into a box. Life is a constant learning isn’t it?
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The box is what I do as well. Have a nice stash of 📦 in the garage👍🐾
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I can eat meatballs for breakfast and be a happy man..:)
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I kind of like to slice them up and put them on sandwiches! My husband has not yet seen the goodness of that one.
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I have no idea how I missed this post!! And we love meatballs!!! So sorry to be so slow on reading such a funny story and a good recipe! I have never seen this recipe for meatballs and I will try it next time we are at the farm. I happen to have a gigantic bag of frozen meatballs in the freezer down there! I bought them to make during Thanksgiving week and we made other things instead! I have a recipe that uses grape jelly and bbq sauce…do you have that recipe? I don’t know how you all saved that cake!!! Did you take a picture of the whole messy situation?
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No pictures of the cake. No one had cell phones at that time and for some reason no one had a camera either. We just scraped the melted frosting off and kind of scraped frosting back over from the sides of the cake.
I do have a recipe for those little cocktail wieners that uses grape jelly and bbq sauce. it is awesome!
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Ha! I forgot that we would not have had cell phones back then! I can just see that cake! Yes…that is the recipe. I have used it with the little sausages and also with meatballs. Actually, I think that your recipe sounds better!!!
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Faye it seems I missed this post too! Funny you should mention the freedom to go to the bathroom. Some days I feel sorry for my three year old–he has a mom in her 40s who needs to go to the bathroom very often! Not convenient when we’re out in public! Lol. And thank you for the meatball recipe, sounds like the perfect idea for the frigid weather we’re having. I wonder if it would turn out okay in the InstantPot. 🙂
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I wouldn’t know why they would not work in the Instant Pot. I know they can be put in the oven also at 350 for 1 hour. I just always found the crock pot handy so they cooked while we were at church. I have a niece and a good friend who each have an Instant Pot. They love it. I do not have one…….yet. Have you had yours long and how do you like it?
Look on the bright side….you are teaching your son patience :).
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I will have to try your recipe and let you know. Recently I made meatballs in the InstantPot and they were very moist. I’ve had mine for a few months. If I have time the crockpot is great, but some times speed in cooking is much needed–that’s when I use the Instantpot. And I never thought my son was learning patience…I’m too worried if I’ll get to the restroom! But that’s a nice thought. I’m going to let him know our frequent trips to the restroom are a lesson on patience. 🙂
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I know exactly what you mean about getting to the restroom on time. My husband tells me that I know where every restroom is located in the mall…..he is right.
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Sounds all too familiar! What about when you became a grandma? Instead of five young bodies to care for, we have 18 grands plus 6 g-grands.
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That sounds like so much fun!! I have w grands and am waiting for more.
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