Ask The Helpful Housewife

An Ailing Refrigerator Has It's Benefits...

Our refrigerator died.  On the hottest day of the century.  Of course.  Thankfully we have an old 1950's Westinghouse model in the garage we use for extra gallons of milk, the odd soda, and other miscellaneous items.  (With four little kids, you tend to buy milk 6 gallons at a time!).  So what do you do when your frig goes out?  In this order:

1.  Curse KitchenAid.  (I can't stress enough at how miserable these appliances are... after 2 dishwashers, a microwave, a stove/oven, 2 coffee makers, a toaster, and now the frig, I am completely avoiding this brand as if it were the bubonic plague!)

2.  Call KitchenAid to schedule a repair visit.

3.  Curse KitchenAid while emptying said refrigerator.

4.  Clean it til it sparkles!!!!!

I know it's a pain to have to go through dealing with a dead refrigerator, but on the upside, it's a great opportunity to clean it out!  No condensation building up because it's still cool inside, no stuff in the way...  it's great!  Now I have the wonderfully clean appliance you see above!  Take note, those of you in Housekeeping 101 -- this is a valuable tidbit to file away for future reference!

Housekeeper Confessions

Forgive me housewives, for I have sinned.  It has been three weeks since I last cleaned my house!  I'm putting it out here in the open, no lies of omission from the Roman household will be condoned.  Molly Maids is now my housekeeper!  Once a month, they will be coming in to scrub my bathrooms, floors and kitchen, vacuum and dust my abode, and make it liveable in general.  So, HA to all of you who thought I was a superwoman and could do it all!  Turns out I can't.  As much as I want to, I just can't.  Many of you already know about my recent diagnosis of MS, and between opening the store this past Wednesday and researching and learning all about how I am now going to have to treat this disease I've been a bit too busy to do the things I love the most.  Today is Sunday, my one day of the week that I don't have to be at the shop.  So I am going to designate this my ironing day from now on.  When I get home in the evenings I can still do a load or two of laundry, run the vacuum, dust, and get the rest of the chores done.  But during naptime on Sunday, I am going to indulge in my favorite pasttime.  Ironing.  I'll turn on the tv and watch my Chicago Bears play, and press and steam my way through the weekly pile.  It will be relaxing and settling, not to mention heavenly with the scents of the linen spray! 

But now that the store is open, and I've found a way to get the household to continue to run smoothly from now on, I will be back to regularly posting on this site.  I am currently working on the next issue of Club House (which will be all about putting together a household manual, routine, and back up plan for household disruptions as well as a few other things.)  I am also working on a new format for HK 101. 

And if anyone is looking for me, they will find me here from now on!  Welcome back to the working world, right?  :)

Sound like your childhood at all?

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1930’s 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren’t overweight because……

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms……….WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good. and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn’t it?!

War Has Been Declared

In response to the comment received on the last post:

I am most definitely NOT lazy!  I'm quite the opposite, actually.  Most women who choose to be housewives are quite ambitious and active.  Taking care of a household and family is very physical work.  Laundry doesn't just float down to the washer by magical powers.   Dishes don't wash themselves (and don't even say the dishwasher takes care of it, because our backs get a workout bending over to load and unload); carpets don't clean themselves (even with a Roomba which most of us don't purchase); windows definitely don't wash themselves; meals don't just spontaneously appear out of nowhere.  Trips to the grocery store, errands to the cleaners and the bakery and post office and bank...  most of us actually do fit in a workout several times a week at least, and we still manage to have time to cater to our kids' every whim it seems.  Gee, take a look at my schedule posted here on my blog.  And then go back and take a look at all the comments I've received from other housewives who are looking for ways to streamline because they can't afford five minutes to sit down!  Try our life for one full week.  See what it's like.  The bon bons and soaps will never even make it into the schedule.  I promise.  There's just too much to do.  And I'm not the exception, I'm the rule.  I have four kids, ages 4, twins at 2, and a ten month old.  So I do all of this while carrying a 26 pound baby and keeping track of three very independent spirited girls when we do go out.  All the while making time to push them on the swing set, take them for walks in the wagon, and just playing tag in the yard.  Care to generalize us all as lazy, kept women any longer?

Well, ladies, it has indeed finally reached my doorstep.  I know poor Darla Shine has been through this over her book, and other bloggers have been degraded for this lifestyle of choosing to stay home.  The above response is the last I will ever say on this whole topic.  It's no longer an issue for me, as I have already stooped to the level of these narrow minded, uninformed members of humankind.  I am now going to behave myself and let any and all derogatory statements about housewives go in one ear and out the other.  They only say the things they do because we continue to give them an audience.  SOOOOO.... from now on, the proper, polite, and smart thing to do is to ignore it because we all know the choices that are best for ourselves, and we can proudly live our own lives in the way we choose.  And if that means to live life with a freshly pressed apron on your waist, a baby on your hip, and dinner in the oven, well then by all means, MORE POWER TO YOU!!!! I know that many of the readers who stop in regularly are working moms, and I commend them wholeheartedly!  I am just thrilled with the fact that more and more women are taking an interest in domestic undertakings for pure pleasure.  Not as a political statement, but simply because they WANT to!  And I'm just here to help make it easier and more fun is all.  So, this topic is now closed.  Thank you for letting me vent!

Retro and PROUD OF IT!!!

Want to know what really has me in an uproar today?  Well, for once I let a silly little stereotypical male upset me. The Retro Housewife had a link in bloglines today that I just had to check out.  OH MY GOODNESS!   I am all atwitter with frustration now!  So, if you would like to see just how frustrated, go check this out and I think you'll understand why so.  Consider yourself warned, though, if you are sensitive to the whole "you think you are so wonderful because you are a housewife but really you are lazy" accusations....  Time to go knead some bread dough and work out this fury!

Retro Bakeware

Miss Flossy tipped me off to a wonderful website called Rosanna that has so many different, gorgeous pieces of china and bakeware.  I fell so deeply in love with these that I just had to have them.  And not just because I am weak when it comes to cute retro stuff-- I really wanted to give it a test drive as I am considering putting this line in the shop. 

Isn't the inside of the pie dish adorable?  Each of them has their own recipe imprinted in/on it...

The brownie pan is currently in my oven with a batch of actual brownies in it!   I made regular fudge-y gooey brownies but stirred a handful each of butterscotch chips and mini marshmallows before pouring them into the pan to bake.  They smell heavenly and they will be a yummy dessert after dinner tonight.  On the table this evening:  grilled chicken breasts, salad, steamed veggies, and whole grain rolls...

"Club House"

Here's what has been floating through my mind the last couple of days...   A Housekeeping Club.  This wouldn't be related to the Housekeeping College at all, this is something different that I'm picturing in my head. 

If you participate in Amy Karol's "Mail Order" then you have some idea of where I'm going with this.  I love what she has done for a crafting club and it's absolutely amazing to get a package in the mail with the club-like goodies in it.  It has inspired me.  I don't want to copy her, or anyone else that has a similar thing, but I like the idea of a club.  For housekeepers.  Not a chat room club or a forum style club where we all post and talk and yada yada yada....  No, I want a CLUB where you get a membership card and other goodies and you have to know a secret pledge and all that good stuff!  Think back to when you were in second grade...that type of club!  But for housekeeping, not selling cookies and earning campfire badges.  I have more thoughts on this in my head.  And I want to have every little detail figured out before I would start one, but if I DID start one, would anyone be interested in joining?  I'm thinking membership cards, a member's only apron, a handbook and a few other things could be in the initiation packet?   Yeah, I'm going to do it.  It's just too fun not to!  Drop me a line and let me know if you would be interested.  I'm going to get to work on the details.  As soon as I have it all figured out, I'll send out the info!

New Address

The new official email address for this site is:  thehelpfulhousewife@hotmail.com

All future emails and questions should be sent to this address.  Since typepad won't allow me to change the previous email link to this address, I simply removed that link from the sidebar and will be sure to include this email link in the closing portion of each post.  That way it is always accessible to click on it!  Be sure to add it to your address book!

Housekeeping College

I know that when I was in high school, there was only 1 period where Home-Ec was offered, and now you can't even find it in most curriculums.  I wasn't able to take that class as it was offered at the same time as Physics, and, well, back then I was much more interested in getting into the Navy's Nuclear Program than getting into an apron.  How foolish I was!  I never did join the Navy, and now I find that I didn't even like working with the engineers I once collaborated with on highway designs.  Nope, now I am in love with wearing aprons and all things domestic!  Go figure...

So, my personal mission this week is to try and find out if there is a movement to save the Home-Ec instruction in our schools.  And if there isn't?  I think I'm going to start one!  And I don't want it to be exclusive to girls.  Many men are waiting longer and longer to marry and settle down.  They need to know how to take care of home as well, and when they do have a family, a little knowledge would be a good thing in order to get them to pitch in when the baby's been up all night with fever and mom needs a rest. 

Back to my original thought, it seems that very few of us have ever been taught the right way to "keep house".  Since I felt that this site needed a more definite plan and a path to follow, that's what is going to be found here at The Helpful Housewife.  I'm going to continue to put the little tidbits out here that have been characteristic of the site all along.  But as a concurrent theme, I will start posting about the way to keep house properly.  Not a strict, this-is-the-only-way methodology, but a general guideline of hygenic standards and pleasant added touches.  I hope you enjoy this new format.  I'm going to try to post daily, Monday through Friday, with a longer post on Friday to carry throughout the weekend.  (Hey, even I need a break!  I'm a little tired out suddenly between the three sites, the kids, the farmers market, the aprons, the husband, the laundry....shall I go on?!)

And, as another new item, I want you to utilize the "email me" link on the page.  If you have any question about a housekeeping issue (cooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening, pets, anything at all) please email me your question.  I will then post it with the answer on the site (no names mentioned unless you want it there!) so that all can benefit from it. 

Now, go get dinner started and freshen yourself up before hubby gets home!  Tomorrow will be the beginning of our new education!

I'm definitely not a JulieBean... (Nor am I Britney Spears, thank goodness!)

I'm no Julie, but I tried to be tonight!  I am not going to share the recipe for my chocolate minicakes until we taste them and see if they are any good, that way you aren't disappointed if they aren't.   The recipe came from my Encyclopedia of Chocolate and I modified it just a little bit.  And since I was making these rich, scrumptious, velvety, dense cakes for my girls, I did it in the mini-muffin pans instead of the larger cupcake/muffin tin, or the brioche tins that should have been used.  They are better with the smaller size.  I can control portions, and they can control their hand-to-mouth coordination!  I have found that filling the mini-muffin tins is very difficult to do with thinner batters such as cake batters and the like.  SO, I copied Julie somewhat.  In a recent post, she mentioned using a ziploc bag as a temporary pastry bag in order to properly fill her financier molds.  I used one as a "batter bag" tonight!  I was able to better control the amount of batter going into each paper cup, as well as have less mess around the edges.  Thanks for mentioning it, Julie!  That idea really helped a lot! As you can see, not as much mess on the pan, mostly batter in the cups:

(Like my red bowl?  Melamine at Williams-Sonoma! It was a Christmas gift, but would have been worth the purchase if I had gotten it myself.)

Here is how they turned out. They are still hot from the oven, but I will probably give them a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar to dress them up a little.  They don't have to be pretty, the girls will eat them no matter what.  I'm just wondering how they taste as far as the chocolate is concerned:  more bitter or more sweet?  We shall find out soon!  (Even though I should be sticking to my diet!)

 

On a totally different topic:  check out this link that Mirre posted on her blog, KissKus.   I must give a little background on why I thought it was humorous and why I am posting it here on a housewife blog...  When precious little Britney Spears announced to the free world that she was expecting her first child with K-Fed (aka: jobless slacking disrespectful  kept boy) she also decided to wax prolific on the way a woman should raise her child.  Hey, I am all for being a stay-at-home-mom (most of the time, but don't ask me on a day when the kids need a warden not a mother).  I think it is a noble and satisfying choice for those who decide to do it, and are stable enough to be responsible parents in the first place.  Other women who choose to work, I applaud you as well, as you do need to do what makes you happy, so your kids see a happy mom and grow up to be well-adjusted, etc....  OK, enough Mommy Wars.  I don't want to go there, because it's the stupidest argument on the face of the planet.  Women need to shut up and live-let-live.  We are our own worst enemy.

But then there is Britney Spears. At all of 22 years old, with a tiny bump of a tummy, married to a guy who doesn't have a reputation for sticking around for the birth of his kids, giving the rest of us child-rearing advice and opinions just because the EPT had two lines?  If I didn't already despise her effect on 8 year old girls and the sudden increase in belly baring toddler wear thanks to her style, I really had it in for her now.  I feel so sorry for her baby.  I really and truly do.  And the whole car seat incident?  Only cemented my opinion of her total inability to care for anyone else but herself and her own celebrity.

So, one of the contributors over at Go Fug Yourself has kindly added a nice little satirical essay to the Britney Spears category.  And Mirre was kind enough to give the link to it so we all could get a good laugh!  The post doesn't specifically address her mothering skills, but it does put her in an interesting light!   I try not to be vindictive, or petty, or catty, but one of my flaws is that I truly enjoy seeing Ms Spears humiliated an any way, shape or form.  Yes, I am a bad bad person for it.  But I have three daughters who will grow up listening to whatever is popular and wanting to wear whatever the styles are.  And I really hope that I can be victorious in my battle over the evil that is known as "inappropriate role modelling" by today's teenie bopper stars.  When I was in jr high, high school the big names were probably worse role models than now, but at least they covered their boobs, belly buttons, and behinds when they got dressed for the day!  Seriously, do you think June Cleaver or Donna Reed would have approved of this generation's total lack of self-respect?  Where has common decency gone to?

Have I ranted enough yet?!?!?!

The Retro Housewife Day

Not enough hours in your day?  Too busy to get everything done?  Do you need a schedule?  The Retro Housewife is here to rescue you!  I have been a big fan of the website Retro Housewife as well as the blog that goes with it, Retro Housewife and The Ladies Who Lunch.  There are some updates to the website that may be helpful to some of you out there.  I have gotten numerous requests from members of the Happy Housewives Club forum for my household routines and schedules, so I thought I would pass this along to everyone.  I'm getting the feeling that there is a real need out there for some type of template for us housewives to create our own systems.  I think that might have to be a priority item for the Helpful Housewife!  In the meantime, here are my files and this link for you to get started creating your own!

Cookies for School, Among Other Things...

It's almost 3 am, and I just finished packaging up cookies for Attie to bring to school tomorrow.  (Aren't I the dedicated Mommy?  June would be so proud!)  She wanted to bring a treat to celebrate her birthday with her class, even if it is two days later.  Of course, we couldn't say no! 

I haven't posted in two days because we were busy celebrating that birthday on Sunday, and also because I've been busy busy busy, working away at my sewing machine.  Here's what I've been up to:

I just have to say that I have the cutest model ever for my kid size creations!  Attie was a pretty good sport to pose for me.

Not bad for 2 days in my work area?  Plus, I spent some time boxing up my very first sale!  The first knitting bag and needle nanny set sold on Saturday!!!  Yay!!!  I just had a hard time getting it packaged, and that took up some of my morning.  But it's in the mail on it's way to San Francisco.  I feel pretty good about all this sewing now.  It's actually "paying off".  (Ha Ha!)

Go Get Your Reading...

As I was browsing through the usual suspects (blogs I read regularly), I came upon this in a post from Amy Mary (sorry, I was at angry chicken right before heading to my house is cuter than yours and had a total amnesia moment!  Forgive me Mary?!)  :

Go get a tarot card reading on all things housewife!  Too fun...

Modern Retro Housewives

"Her alarm clock chimes before the sun rises. She's not only up and at 'em, she's dressed to the nines in heels and a full face, wearing perfume. Her apron is starched and matches her outfit, and breakfast is on the table. Her husband and children come to the table dressed and pressed: they've been raised that way, and she's done the ironing."

"The year is not 1944, or even 1954...it's 2004, and the modern retro housewife is keeping house like Grandma did. She’s starting early and staying up late. Her day begins just after daybreak, when she gets up and gets dressed. No sweats or boxer shorts and t-shirts for her, she's wearing silk pajamas and pin curls. She bathes, dresses, combs out her hair and does her face. She's a modern-day Donna Reed, and she doesn't wear Donna Karan."

I just love this little article....

My Former Self in a Past Life!

"She not only ironed the pants in the family, she wore them too. The housewife of the 1940s and 1950s was a lean, mean, household machine. Armed with “amazing” new products and tools guaranteed to make her life easier and more efficient, she smiled her way through the day. A domestic goddess in ruffled apron and coiffed hair, she was the epitome of postwar perfection."

I love this book!  I swear, I was meant to live then.  I adore the entire culture of that era housewife!  Now, this is not the only book in the series, and I have several of them.  I especially like the cookbooks I own from the retro series.  Talk about wonderful comfort food!  Go to the retro series page at www.collectorspress.com to see the whole line.  Fun fun fun!!!!