Susie Homemaker I am Not

But, I sort of want to be.  I love the idea of home cooked meals for my kids and the idea of clothes made by my hand with a creative flair and a frugal concept of living on one salary.  Making ends meet with what we have, being content with little and teaching the kids that less is more.

So, today I made bread from scratch.  It did not rise.  I made beef (venison) stew from scratch.  Remains to be seen how tender it is.  I made a dress for Annie for Halloween.  It looks ok, but far from any contest winner.

Here's the problem.  I am self-taught in most areas of homemaking.  My mother worked when I was a kid and didn't have time to teach me the ins and outs of sewing and cooking.  I did learn from her how to stretch money and how to cross-stitch.  How to love my kids and husband and to be joyful with the little we had.  But, this leaves me to learn how to do these other mom things.  I am not a great teacher of myself.  Books and the Internet can only get you so far. I need a class on how to bake, how to sew, would love to learn to crochet.  My mother-in-law taught me how to knit, but I would love to learn more than the basic stitches.

The bottom line: I would love to be better at being Susie Homemaker.  Would love for all of my meals to turn out picture perfect - would love to sew beautifully, the first time.  But, it isn't happening - mainly because I have no time to devote to these endeavors right now.  Four little munchkins keeps me busy during the daylight hours, and exhausted after they go to bed.

But, I am grateful that we are well fed (even if it's not made from scratch) and clothed (thank you hand-me-downs!) and happy.