The Dark Side of Progress: Why We Want To Live Life Differently

I have friends, as I'm sure you do as well, that boycott Facebook in an attempt to protect their mental space from the negatively charged climate we are battling on a daily basis.  If you are tapped into early childhood education, you have heard the battle between higher test score advocates and the call for play-dominated education.  Are you struggling with chronic health problems?  There is a lot of discussion about the dangers of our modern agricultural approaches undermining the God-given nutrients and immunity my grandparents received from their food and microbiome.  While modern conveniences are amazing in their own right, there is troubling evidence that suggests a blind-following of current trends in the name of keeping up is rapidly eating away at our quality of life.

About a mile from our house, we have experienced an oil site construction that has finally come to its maintenance state.  It was only a matter of weeks when another began just down the way from it.  No one in the area has been pleased with it and my animal loving kids were disgusted at all the animal homes they were destroying (in the tree clearing) just for the sake of money!  I had to calm my little activists down and explain how we do benefit from the oil even if we don't like the process and location.  I'm not in denial about some real benefits of progress and technology advancements, but this current wave of technology and internet-dominated living comes with side effects we do not generally consider.

My upbringing was extremely health-conscious and certainly not the norm of my culture usually.  To her credit, my mom was advocating for health and wellness choices that would become mainstream years later.  So, I remember how certain the 'experts' were about the evils of butter and all manner of fats.  Turns out they were off-base and there are quite a few good fats that are vital for overall health.  Let's not even talk about the smoking and the tobacco industry.  My point is, just because something is new and popular never means it is safe, wise or a place to set up camp.

I always hated the 'back in the good old days' talks or the resistance of progress simply because it is new, but I'm starting to understand their motivation.  There are some things in this world that do not change and our incessant need to upgrade or revolutionize what already works is getting us into trouble in some cases.  Spending time outdoors in nature is good for you - mind, body and spirit.  Eating a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables is important for mind and body function.  Being creative and keeping a slow pace is a mandatory part of life in order to sustain the times of necessary work and fast pace.  These are things that do not change no matter how fast your computer is or what new gadget comes on the market.

It is clear that our mental and physical health as a country is failing.  From suicide to cancers to chronic illness - all of our technological advancements aren't enough to truly change the direction of our health nationally.  I am so thankful for surgeries and procedures being more precise and revolutionized in many areas.  Like the oil that is being harvested down the street, there are good, even life-saving elements that come from progress.  But my hope is that we don't walk into the future blindly as if there are never any dangerous costs or side effects from all this progress.   A big reason why we choose the lifestyle we do - homeschool, hiking, gardening, cooking, etc. - is to protect and preserve a healthy way of life for our children.  I cannot control what dangers may arise from modern advancements, but I can invest more heavily in the decidedly good parts of life in order to side step or in some cases prevent the negative fallout of our march to the more, the better and the new.  

Average Over Time: Never Say Never

When Mr. Butler and I got married, I knew how to cook.  I could follow a recipe. I had fried things and baked things.  I knew the difference between T and tsp and why that mattered a whole lot.  So, I knew things. My family cooked at home a lot and being the oldest I, of course, helped a lot.  Still, when I cooked for Mr. Butler and I - or especially for other people - I got nervous.  Thankfully, my husband will try anything and usually clean his plate without complaint other than the constant suggestion that it would be better with bacon.  My nervousness led to hesitance in the kitchen which resulted in mental exhaustion.  I never wanted to try anything too hard or time consuming because I was afraid of messing it up.  It wasn't a huge thing, but I endured cooking more than enjoyed cooking.

During the Race Car's pregnancy, I was a mess.  Sick, exhausted, and exhausted of being sick.  It got so bad that I couldn't eat anything but a chicken dinner from Braum's some days.  So, Mr. Butler was on cooking duty for a few months, which of course you might remember from this post that he excelled at it.  After the Race Car was born and we recovered to a new normal, I returned to the kitchen full time.  It still wasn't a joy, but I managed.  Thankfully, Mr. Butler is willing to whip up dinner when I ask, provided he has a menu and appropriate ingredients. 

Over the last year, something interesting has happened.  Deciding on a menu is still work.  Not forgetting ingredients is still challenging, but cooking a full meal for 5 gradually started morphing into this automatic thing I could do now without flinching.  The burden it was before shifted somewhere and now it's a skill.  I'm not a fantastic cook, but I was raised by two people who are.  My kids don't love everything I make, but I get a lot of "thank you for dinner, mom" that never gets old.  I'm still not in love with cooking - it certainly isn't a stress reliever to me.  But like a kid finally riding that bike and screaming, "Look mom! I'm doing it!" I have experienced a tolerance for it I never thought would happen.

As a young adult, newlywed or young parent, you often have opinions about things you know nothing about.  I would never do this and my kids will never do that.  Yeah, yeah.  I get it.  I think it's a right of passage somehow to say really arrogant and stupid things only to be 'educated' by life.  Whether it is perfectly behaved children, a marriage to be envied or questioning standards you thought immovable, we all have areas we just know will go a certain way and then they don't.  What I'm learning is that it is wise to look at the average over time.  Have patience with the struggles and never say never! We just don't know where the road will take us.

A New Dinnertime Approach: The Pioneer Woman and My Engineer

Learning to build a life with someone else seems so fantastic and simple in the movies or in the midst of planning a wedding.  The signs of what kind of work it is going to take are certainly all around, but they are easy to miss when you're just so excited about everything.  As you know, I married a great man who experiences the world vastly different than me which is not so great sometimes and creates some interesting discussions.  Like everything else, my engineer has opinions about the most efficient and effective approach to dinnertime!

Early on in our marriage he trained me to grocery shop twice a month and meal plan like a pro.  It was never intuitive to me (because what if I didn't want that for dinner when it came down to it?!), but after getting the hang of it, it helped the budget and meals run a lot smoother.  Adding children to the mix, however, has certainly decreased my brain power and motivation for things like this and being pregnant all the more.  This guy, who lives for check lists and assigned tasks, decided to engineer our dinner plans last month and as a result has given me one of the best gifts I've ever received.  He discovered Ree Drummond, known around here as The Pioneer Woman, and has tasked himself with planning our month with meals from her cook books.  So far, so incredibly good!

Honestly, when he suggested it I was afraid that he would resent me not cooking pretty quickly (because I know I would in his position!), but it's been this beautiful thing.   He loves having something to do when he gets home and I love the freedom of a little more mental breathing room.  I will usually assist or clean up after him and get his undivided attention when I talk.  The kids now know the routine and don't bother us much and it has been WONDERFUL!

Benefits So Far:
-'Couch Time' or Dad and Mom's talk about the day time has almost instantly been better respected by the kids and marriage benefits from it.
-Pregnant, homeschooling busy mom has more energy and emotional stamina.
-Dad feels accomplished for making dinner and taking a load off mom.
-Dinner is planned, yummy and good for the budget.
-Eating out isn't as much of a temptation which is good for our health and budget.

I won't always be pregnant and he probably won't always be on a cooking kick, but there is a reason I wanted to share this with you.  In marriage (or any relationship really) it's easy to jump in and fight for your rights or preferred way of doing things without looking for compromises that might look funny but actually benefit everyone.  It's taken us over 10 years to start really embracing our differences for good and I pray you can be more successful than us and do it sooner!  In doing a little inventory of our needs, this alternative approach to dinner time is producing more benefits than initially expected.  And, it is certainly old news, but the Pioneer Woman's recipes are hard to beat for yummy and easy dinners.  Everybody jumps for leftovers!

MyFreezEasy: A Meal Plan Review

The majority of companies and products I've gotten to review this year have been education and homeschooling related.  Today, while this absolutely fits in with a homeschooling lifestyle, my review is for any person in need of a quick meal and a better plan for those days with NO time!  MyFreezEasy has combined the art of meal planning with freezer meals to create custom meal options for your family.  They offer multiple membership options, but what I'm reviewing today is the MyFreezEasy.com Freezer Meal Plan Membership - the Premium Annual option.

As you can see in the graphic below, right from the start you have several different options to choose from in the various meal plans that changes every month. Freezer meals aren't exactly a new idea, but sometimes the meal prep can take a huge chunk out of your week, even if it is on Sunday night.  One of MyFreezEasy's goals is to provide something easier than spending an hour preparing food each night because some nights that is just an impossibility!  All of their recipes are family tested and require minimal preparation time.  Just today I prepared tonight's dinner for the crock pot as well as a full meal for the freezer in about 15 minutes.

With your membership you receive access to more than just a simple meal plan, but step by step help throughout the entire process.  Included are things like:

-Well-organized shopping lists

-Assembly instructions including how to prep and in what order.

-Printable labels for each meal

-Highlight and how-to videos for meals and techniques

-Dairy-free and Gluten-free modifications on all recipes

This past couple of months I've struggled with morning sickness and my house manager role really suffered.  One of the biggest areas was cooking.  The most efficient way to tackle MyFreezEasy is to purchase all the necessary ingredients and then spend an hour combining several different meals to put in the freezer.  Over the next month, you'll have plenty of options when time is just not on your side!  An alternative to that, and what I ended up doing, was pick a meal for dinner first thing in the morning and then create two meals, one for the freezer and one for dinner that night.  This method stocked my freezer too, just at a slower pace.  There are also options with how you physically plan meals like what meals are included, different printing options of recipes, labels, assembly instructions, and shopping lists.  You can use all or none of these.  You can spend a day and then not think about it again until next month or spread it out as you have time. That's the best selling point for me is that there are options and no one way to do it!

 Like any new plan or program, at first sight there are quite a few papers you could print out and finding what you want can take a little bit at first.  Once you are familiar with the layout and your needs verses what is available, MyFreezEasy is a slam dunk.  There are plenty of recipes to choose from each month and I've already gathered a couple of favorites to use again next month.  The time invested is not that much, but provides a great dividend of doable and yummy dinners that you didn't have to slave over!  And then when you consider cost - less than $10 a month (when you buy a year's subscription) - I can confidently say this is a great idea to consider for your family!

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