Today we have a guest post from Naomi Ellis of the blog Seven Cherubs. Naomi is a fellow survivor of Post Natal Depression and I wanted to know about her journey to happiness as part of the week 8 challenge for simplify your life. The challenge this week included making a list of things that make you happy and then doing one thing every single day for at least the next 1-2 weeks (depends on when you blog about it). If you have thought about it, but not joined in yet or have been “playing along at home” you might want to link up a post next week as it will be in the running for a giveaway of Naomi’s e-book (details at the end of the post).
I have wanted to be a mother for as long as I could remember. From around the age of five, I constantly told anyone who would listen, that when I grew up I was going to have ten children. Well, I did not reach my goal of having ten children but I did end up having seven gorgeous cherubs. They fill my life with so much joy and I am at a stage where I adore being a stay at home mum. However, it was not always this way and I am thankful for the lessons I have learned to allow me to enjoy the place I am at now. Before you even think it – No, I am not having any more!
During this time of child bearing and child rearing I found myself on an amazing journey of happiness, depression and self discovery that has shaped me into who I am today. I was shocked after the birth of my second child to find myself in a battle for sanity and happiness as I discovered that I had
post natal depression. It crippled me in so many ways. I lived each day in a fog and had to fight hard to break free of the negative thoughts that consumed me every day.
I have said before that I am not a natural cook (although I bake a mean brownie) so don’t aim to spend heaps of time in the kitchen. Unfortunately (or fortunately – it is all about perspective) the rest of my household loves cooking. Since my husband is gone from 7:30am – 8pm most days it falls to me to let the kids explore cooking. Some would say blind leading the blind, but I figure this is my chance to change things. I think the number one reason I don’t like to cook is that I did not learn how to do it until I was married (and even then my husband has always been the primary and fabulous cook). So with a 7 and 8 1/2 year old in residence I thought I would share some tips to make cooking with kids fun or at the very least keep you all calm and sane.
Preparation is the key – before
Have a chat about safety in the kitchen – what they can and can’t touch, the oven is hot if being preheated and so on.
Clear off as much counter space as possible as it is likely to all get used.
Expect a big mess – counters, floors, clothes, kids faces, hair and hands will all somehow come in contact with your ingredients even if there are only three involved.
Teach kids to wash their hands before and after cooking.
If you can, get kid sized cooking and baking utensils – I have found inexpensive whisks, spatula, rolling pin etc and they cut down on frustrations.
If your children are not at a comfortable height provide a step stool.
Keep recipes simple, read through the entire recipe before you start and note in advance any steps that will require you to take over like needing to use a big knife or putting the pan in the oven (warn sensitive kids).
Unless you have patient kids avoid recipes that require hours of resting time (ie doughs) or plan them in two parts like make the dough in the morning and then bake the cookies in the afternoon.
Check and arrange all ingredients before you even start. You don’t want to turn your back to hunt down baking powder or start cooking a dish to find you are out of caster sugar.
[click to continue…]
