In an effort to help my oldest son I have instituted a no electronics rule until 7 pm in our house. Basically my kids are only allowed 1/2 of electronics and then by 8 they have to be ready for bed and we read a science or history book for an hour. My oldest claims that I am a horribly mean mommy, however, he has come home with A's on all his tests and papers for the last week and a half. Personally I view the fact that my kids sometimes think my rules are mean as evidence that I'm doing a good job. I have never claimed to want to be my kids best friends. What I do want is for my kids to be successful adults and part of that means not reacting when the rules that I institute result in one of my kids telling me that I'm ruining their lives. In reality I'm doing just the opposite. It would be easier for me if tonight I just let my kids play Minecraft for hours while I caught up on my favorite television shows. Their future wouldn't be as bright though and that's more important to me than taking the easy route.
I attempt to make everything I can from scratch. Having an herb garden helps tremendously since I can dry the fresh herbs and use them in spice mixes etc. Seasoning mixes are one of the easiest things to make at home and cost a fraction of the money of store bought. The following is a recipe for Homemade Italian Seasoning.
Adapted from Taste of Home.
Homemade Italian Seasoning
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons dried basil
- 3 tablespoons dried oregano
- 3 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
- Place all ingredients in a bowl, pestal, or spice grinder. Grind spices (with a back of a spoon if doing by hand) until the spice blend becomes coarse.