Tuesday's Tip

I just love to cook!!! It is almost 10pm and I realized I am supposed to have dessert for one of the preschool teachers tomorrow. The 2 vegetable dishes will have to be taken care of in the morning, but I pulled together my supplies and just made 2 chocolate chess pies. Thank goodness I had one can of evaporated milk!!!

When baking cakes and pies, you will sometimes fill the pan too full. As the pie cooks or the cake rises, sometimes batter will roll down the side and onto your oven. I have had this happen one too many times. Now I make my pies and place the pans on a cookie sheet and then slide the cookie sheet inside the oven. Any spills will now drip onto the cookie sheet, and not my clean oven! Happy Tuesday's Tip!

Helping Children are HAPPY Children!

As a mother of five children, I have a lot to manage. When everyone takes off their clothes for the day, I have 7 pairs of underwear, 12 pairs of socks, and too many pieces of clothing to count to wash. Our washing machine and dishwasher rarely take a break. In fact, most days I feel like I never leave the kitchen where both of those machines reside!
Therefore, I have been trying to think of ways to alleviate some of my workload. I just can't keep picking up the same puzzle or game board every day. Our children are now triplets who are almost 10, a 7-almost-8 year old, and a 4 year old. While it saddens me that they are no longer 5, 3, and newborn, life has marched on (right across my face!). Therefore, I expect the children to help me with daily tasks.

We do not have a chore chart at our house simply because I expect everyone to help whenever I ask. On certain days one child may carry the heaviest work load while having a lighter load or no load at all on another day. It's not ever going to be even, but we all must help.
If your children are age 2, then they can help you put away their toys and books. They can run and get a diaper for you for the new baby. They can even empty a trash can into the kitchen trash can. At around ages 3 and 4, a child can really help put away their toys in a neater manner. They can brush their teeth, go potty, flush the toilet, and fill a cup (or many buckets) full of water. They may be able to put away their underwear or socks if you direct them on how to do it.
A 5 and 6 year old can collect trash cans from around the house and empty them. They can make their bed, brush their teeth, and even begin to bathe themselves entirely! They can help you set the table or unload the dishwasher.
Seven and eight year olds are big helpers. Our big girls could take care of a young baby, feed a bottle, fold clothes, make their beds better than mine, and serve dinner plates at that age. Now that they are close to 10, they can make the water bottles for school, pack lunches, fill the dishwasher, fold clothes, put away clothes, vacuum, and mop. In fact, our 4 year old LOVES to mop!


Children of around age 7 or older should know how to clean a toilet. Buy the supplies and show them how to do it. We keep a pink sponge for the sink and a different sponge for the toilet and then I always microwave them to kill germs. Explain to your child that the cleaners are poisonous and that you want to wear gloves and old clothes when using chemicals. If your child is not trustworthy with chemicals, then you will need to oversee this chore.

Our friends just visited this weekend and her children loaded all of their dishes in our dishwasher once they were excused from the table. Guess what our children did tonight? They loaded the dishwasher! I am having to let go a little because I like my dishwasher loaded a certain way. I showed them how I like it loaded and explained why. They did a good job of doing it just that way!

What chores do your little ones do? Do you have any questions?

Oh Immersion Blender, how I love you

My sweet brother and sister-in-law heard me say that I would love an Immersion Blender. Well, guess what those sweet things gave me for Christmas?! I LOVE it! I was just making our Sunday dinner in advance and I tried it in our mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes have never been mashed so effortlessly!

Do you have an immersion blender? How do you love to use it? I think it is the greatest invention!

American Girl Dolls

American Girl Dolls are a right of passage for most little girls these days. Some families have whole rooms full of dolls, their dresses, and their gear. It is quite an overwhelming enterprise with the ability to buy your doll everything, and I do mean everything, from a wheel chair to a braces kit, to her very own horse with his very own saddle! At Mama Henley's house, American Girl dolls are IT. Our dolls have been the center of birthday parties, they have been to camp, and they've flown as much as our real live children have flown! They have had their nails "painted", had their hair professionally put in an up do, and have sat through the entire service at church. These girls live the life!

We have four girls. After our triplets turned 6, they were able to have their very first American girl doll. DH and I made a conscious decision that our girls would only be allowed to have one doll and that they could only have that doll if they were 6 years of age or older, in hopes that they would be able to take care of their doll. We think the dolls are wonderful, but we decided we wanted their one doll to be very special and we are amazed at how well it has worked. The girls chose their favorite doll and that year the two big girls received Emily Bennett and Rachael ( a just like me doll that D named after her soon-to-be-aunt) for their main Christmas gift. These dolls have delighted these girls ever since! The triplets will soon be 10 (I can't believe it!), and they love their dolls as much today as they did three years ago! Some of you may think it is silly for a 10 year old to play with dolls, but I love that our girls still enjoy their American girl dolls and take great care to dress them and play with them whenever possible. At 9 1/2, they each had one thing they really wanted for their doll for Christmas.


I believe that letting your daughter have one doll allows her to not be overwhelmed by having too many dolls to love. Having an abundance of the dolls seems to often (not always) make them less special. Our girls really treasure their dolls. Of course having a sister just 2 years younger created a problem. The Bug really wanted to be like her big sisters. She was 4 when they received their doll. We did not feel she was old enough to really care for the doll. Therefore, we bought her the mock American girl doll from Target. She loved dressing her and playing with her. However, the hair was cheap and became one big knot. She passed for 2 years, but she was not the real thing. A year and a half ago the Bug turned 6. We surprised her with a trip to the Atlanta store where she chose Kit as her birthday gift from her Mimi. Kit has been a delightful addition to our home and the Bug had a Kit themed party for her 7th birthday last summer. DH and I love to see our girls interact with each other and their dolls. As a matter of fact, Kit has Ray Ray and Emily Bennett spending the night in her room tonight!


The dolls are great fun. Yes, the store is considered cheesy and over-the-top by some. The NYC store is 3 stories and can be overwhelming. Nonetheless, it is great for girls to use their gift of nurture to love and care for a doll. We have kept this fascination in tow by not buying them everything they want when the catalog comes to our home. Of course they WANT everything, but we make them choose ONE thing. For Christmas, they each received just ONE American girl accessory or outfit. They pored over the catalog and truly chose carefully. They take care of what they have been given.


Now you know Hurricane lives here too and she was DYING for an "mercanguhldoll". She turned 4 this Christmas, which is not 6. So, she, too, received a mock American girl doll. Hers is a step up from the Target brand as it is a Madame Alexander copy which we found at Costco. She LOVES her doll and jumps right in to playing with her sisters. In two years, we'll have to make a trek to the store to let her choose her forever doll. Since she is my last little girl, we just may have to take all 4 girls to New York to the big store!

Blogger's Day of Silence

Tomorrow many bloggers will be participating in a Blogger's Day of Silence in honor of the country of Japan. It will also be a day to remember those who were killed in this awful earthquake and tsunami. Please consider donating to your church or the Red Cross in order to help with humanitarian efforts to restore food, water, and shelter to these people.

On Friday, March 18th, I will not post on my blog and hope that many other bloggers will consider doing the same. Above all, please pray that the nuclear plant issues will be saved and for the Lord's good guidance in all things!!!

I WON

I won! I won! I won!!! I won a $25 gift card to Firehouse Subs! That makes one HAPPY Mama Henley!!!! All I did was go online and enter their best sub contest! They are down to the final 2 subs. I can't believe I really won! The prize came in the mail yesterday. Guess where we're going to eat tomorrow night?!

Tuesday's Tip

Honey, do you remember when we talked about rotisserie chickens? Well, I have another tip for you! Not only is it easier to pick your chickens while they're hot, but you'll be even happier if you do it with GLOVES covering your pretty hands! My friend, Wendy, is so smart. She bought a box of surgical gloves. Whenever she is deboning a chicken, she puts on a pair of these gloves. At first it may seem wasteful, but it is so smart. Wearing the gloves protects your hands and it keeps it more sanitary. When you are finished deboning the chicken, you simply throw away the gloves! Don't you feel smart now?! I know I do!