Hello.
I'm Melissa.
Welcome back to CloudMom.com.
Talking today about food in your family.
Does food, and in particular homemade food, do they make for a happier family?
And I just wanted to share some of my experiences with growing up and talk about some of the
struggles I face as a mom, as a busy mom, and trying to balance taking care of my kids,
trying to work, and having some good family traditions when it comes to food.
So when I grew up my mother, who did a lot of amazing things in her life, but she did
work at many different points, but she also spent a lot of time at home and she really
was a domestic goddess.
She cooked mostly all home-cooked meals and she also was a great baker.
She is Swedish and she makes wonderful baked goods, especially at the holidays, but also
all year round.
Baking a pie on a Sunday or even during the week would not be something out of the ordinary
for my mom at all.
She also sewed and she knit, so she'd knit us a lot of sweaters and whatever.
So I'm like, whoa!
And I hate to say this 'cause it is really intimidating I'm sure some of you moms managed
to do all of these things but I certainly don't, and when I think about it, sometimes
it makes me really sad.
Because I remember being a kid and we lived in a very rural area by the way, but I remember
that incredibly special feeling I had when my mom would make some of her unique and special
treats.
They were just things that were special to our family and it was almost a bonding experience
amongst us kids to come home and know there were Swedish Almond Cookies or Chocolate Roll
Cake or whatever else were the special things that you couldn't buy at the supermarket and
they were also extremely delicious.
So, when it comes to my kids, I know I'm no where near being that way and I want to be
that way.
I am at Christmas time, I really go all out and I spend a week or two just baking, because
I'm determined that I'm gonna make all those things for my kids that I had.
But what I've tried to settle on now is basically Sundays and Sunday dinner.
So, what I'm trying to do is we definitely cook home-cooked meals during the week, but
they're very simple and it's not baked goods.
But on Sunday, I kind of do something a little more elaborate, having roasted pork or last
week I actually made a big lasagna and trying to do a baked dessert and have my kids participate
in making it.
So, it was brownies last weekend and I used a recipe that we've had up on the site, but
I did use even organic sugar and organic eggs to try to make it even a little more healthy.
So, that was our little tradition.
And I'm trying to sort of get used to the idea that I can't replicate my upbringing
when it comes to these special homemade foods, but I can have a few of them.
And trying to get comfortable with that because I do think it's all a balance and you can
try to find your own way.
It doesn't have to be everyday and maybe it's not every week, maybe it's once a month that
you've spend time making something special with your kids that's unique and special to
your family.
So anyway, in my view, food or special and unique foods that are part of your family
tradition can play a role in the happiness of a family.
Because I remember that so strongly from growing up, but it doesn't have to be something that
causes pressure and it doesn't have to be everyday.
Anyway, so that's where I am on the whole thing and I'd love to hear from other moms
do you bake, do you cook, do you sew, do you knit and how do you find time to do it, and
how often do you do it, and how do you make it work?
Please weigh in on my site.
Thank you so much for watching my videos.
I really, really appreciate it.
And I will see you next time on CloudMom.com.