Homemade Mothering

Now, I know that I don't normally post anything but about the kids, but I thought I might start sharing a bit about things that I have been doing that make me proud of myself!  Selfish, I know! 

I have been reading the Homemade Mothering blog for a few years now and have used several recipes for both cooking, and making my own cleaning solutions.  Just in the last few weeks, I made these yummy homemade cherry muffins with some of the oodles of cherries we have canned or frozen in our basement.  They were so tasty!  I especially liked the topping!  Of course in my typical fashion, I substituted at least half whole wheat flour and probably added some ground flax.

Earlier this week, I tried our Homemade Mothering's Chicken Pot Pie.  Though he had cautioned me many times before that he was not a fan of any kind of pot pie, Eric tried it anyway.  Just the thought of pot pie, he said, made him feel sick to his stomach.  I think he must have tried a bad frozen pot pie or something, because not only did he like this, but I'm sure I've made several venison pot pies for him in the past, and he liked those, too!  I made my own whole wheat crust from an old school Betty Crocker cookbook, and added our own canned carrots later than the recipe suggests since they were already fully cooked.  I just ate the last of the leftovers today! 

I've also used cleaning tips on this blog as a springboard to transforming the products I use:

I now regularly use a vinegar and water mixture to clean just about everything, but that didn't come solely from this blog.  I made Homemade Mothering's Dusting Spray, and really have found that it is just as easy to use, and doesn't leave such a heavy fog in the house after use! 

I've even made her homemade laundry soap! I've since modified the recipe, and Eric helped me to make it last time. Using a stick hand blender truly helped to get any rogue chunks out of the mixture.  We reuse old detergent bottles over and over again, and the cost to make the homemade stuff is just pennies!

Above and beyond these last couple of items being "green," they are safe for my kids and are soooo much less expensive than buying each of these items at the store!  I now buy vinegar by the gallon, and don't have to worry about the kids being around when I'm cleaning (not that I clean that frequently, anyway)!  I just love the treasure trove of information you can find on the internet to support your own agenda!  Homemade Mothering certainly keeps spurring my on to make better choices for my family and I.