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Hello. 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.