Finding a Rhythm

So much for getting back into the swing of blogging as my earlier post suggested! Lol. Now that we've moved past university life and into a steady job and a new city, I think I'm ready for blogging. :)

We're in a tiny two-bedroom apartment in Sioux Falls, hoping to move into a house next summer if all goes as planned. I'm trying to find my rhythm here at home with the kids, especially as we adjust (or not) to apartment living - sandwiched between noisy neighbors upstairs and grumpy neighbors downstairs. That house sounds better and better every day, even more so with baby number three coming at the end of February.

Part of my "rhythm" quest is trying to be more "Nourishing Traditiony" in my kitchen and with meal planning. I've finally started brewing kombucha in the last couple of weeks. Had my second batch turn out last night, and it was quite tasty! Now I've got six quart jars brewing that should be ready next Wednesday. So exciting! The kids love it, Jared loves it, and baby #3 and I love it, too.

We're also back into soaking our oatmeal for breakfast, and today I've made bread with leftover oatmeal. I did this last week, too, and oh my goodness, it is delicious! I got the recipe from The Sisters Dish blog, and it was actually the first time I've made bread with yeast! Of course I've made banana bread, pumpkin bread, pizza dough, etc., but never "for real" yeast bread. I'm pretty proud of my newly discovered bread-making abilities, and so happy to be getting more natural in the kitchen!

The kids seem to be pretty comfortable with our new life and city. They talk about missing people back in Kansas but they never break down about it, and they adjusted quickly to everything. I'm pretty sure that having the stress of school off Jared helped the whole family dynamic. Our crazy last semester in Kansas was just about too much for all of us, so even with moving away from all things familiar, life feels better. They had a tea party with their dolls today while I made bread - until they came to help knead it, or rather to throw flour around.

All in all, life. is. good.

Homemakin'

We are back online after our move over the Christmas/New Year break! The move was hectic, especially as it was over the holidays, and it was also challenging because we moved to a smaller place. We were, however, able to fit everything in. We left lots of books in boxes to be stored in closets, and stacked our closets to their limits with all our extra stuff. I've been amazed at the spaces I was able to come up with for storage. Our little two bedroom duplex is cozy, though, and has plenty of room for us. The kids and I are comfortable being here all day, and that's what matters the most. The kitchen has very little counter space, but it's large enough to hold our table and the hutch, which helps both with the lack of cabinet space, and the lack of counter top. It's a bit easier for me to get lots of cooking done because the kids can be right in the kitchen with me, doing their own things at the table while I work. All their drawing/painting/coloring things are kept in the hutch, so I can quickly pull things out for them to keep them occupied. We were fully adjusted to the new space by the time Jared had to start the semester - his FINAL semester (God willing). :)

Now that Jared's back to university, we have more of a routine going. Well, in theory we have a routine....we should be officially starting that tomorrow, at the very latest. :) One of my resolutions is more serious home cooking, and yesterday was a landmark for me. I made my first ever turkey, and my oh my, was it delicious! Jared and I both agreed it was one of the juiciest turkeys we've ever had, and the gravy was to die for, too.! I was so happy about it! And, now we have lots of meat left over for turkey pot pie, or enchiladas, or skillet turkey tettrazini -  whatever we want! Woohoo! What I also did, was make turkey broth. I picked all the meat off, then threw all the turkey bones (and carcass) into my slow cooker. I chopped up and tossed in carrots, celery, onions and garlic, and added some pepper and apple cider vinegar. I cooked it on low overnight, and oh my goodness, it's so yummy! It's taking a short stint in the freezer at the moment so I can easily take the fat off the top, and then I'll salt it and save it for soups and stews. I feel like quite the Susie Homemaker today! Lol. I wasn't really thinking last night as I was cleaning up, and I threw away all the left-over turkey bits I'd used to make the gravy. If I'd thrown that in the slow cooker as well, I can only imagine how much dreamier the broth would taste. *sigh* There's always a next time, I just gotta find some turkey on sale....

I know this is my first post in over a month, but I'm hoping to keep up several times a week now. I've just recently left facebook as a way to save my sanity, and also to cultivate my family time and be able to share it more fully here. As we enter this final stage of Jared's doctorate, I'm getting more and more excited about the adventures to come, as we really set sail with his career, our family and our life goals. So exciting!! In the mean time, I'll be writing about life on the home front, as we live it now.

St. John Bosco, pray for us!!