Tag Archives: tidbit

20 interesting facts on sleep

I received a text from a friend, who had been working outside in the fresh air all day, and it said,

” I slept like a baby last night.”

 

I had to laugh for a moment and I quickly replied back,

“well, if you are one of my babies then you probably didn’t sleep very well last night.”

 

Lack of sleep

That has become my motto in life these past few years.  We have had 6 babies in the last 8 years and I admit, I am tired.  But I am still amazed at all that God enables me to do on so little sleep.  It is like it is inbred in my soul, to want to do, do do, and I just keep going and going.  I don’t understand it at times, I just chalk it up to God saying, “it is what He wants me to do right now in my life.”  that is all plain and simple.

So I thought it would be fun to look up interesting facts on sleep.

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 Here is a list of 20 interesting facts on sleep.

  1.   Man is the only mammal that willingly delays sleep.
  2. The world record for not sleeping was set by 17-year-old Randy Gardner in 1964 when he was awake for 264 hours and 12 minutes.
  3. The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska, the Challenger space shuttle disaster and the Chernobyl nuclear accident have all been attributed to human errors in which sleep-deprivation played a role.
  4. Humans sleep on average around three hours less than other primates like chimps, rhesus monkeys, squirrel monkeys and baboons, all of whom sleep for 10 hours.
  5. Ducks at risk of attack by predators are able to balance the need for sleep and survival, keeping one half of the brain awake while the other slips into sleep mode.—I so need to be able to do this.
  6. In general, most healthy adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night. However, some individuals are able to function without sleepiness or drowsiness after as little as six hours of sleep. Others can’t perform at their peak unless they’ve slept ten hours.
  7. Shift workers are at increased risk for a variety of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases.—The body never adjusts to shift work!
  8. When you die you will have slept about 1/3 of your life, which for the average person is approximately 25 years.
  9. The British military figured out a way to reset soldiers’ body clocks so they can go without sleep for up to 36 hours by simulating a sunrise on their retinas.
  10. Both whales and dolphins literally fall half asleep. Their brain hemispheres take turns so they can continue surfacing to breathe.
  11. If it takes you less than five minutes to fall asleep then very likely you are sleep deprived. The ideal amount of time is about 10 minutes.
  12. It’s impossible to tell if someone is really awake without close medical supervision. People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even being aware of it.
  13. Humans can survive longer without food than they can without sleep.
  14. During the first two years of a baby’s life, new parents will miss six months of sleep on average.
  15. Giraffes sleep only 1.9 hours a day in five- to 10-minute sessions. Koalas, however, are the longest-sleeping mammals, sleeping up to 22 hours a day.
  16. The average amount of time people sleep has dropped from nine hours in the pre-light bulb era to seven-and-a-half hours today.
  17. A snoring partner wakes his non-snoring partner an average of 20 times per night, with an average sleep loss of one hour a day.
  18. One in four married couples sleep in separate beds.
  19. Approximately 74% of stay-at-home moms report they have insomnia almost every night.
  20. Experts say one of the most alluring sleep distractions is the 24-hour accessibility of the internet.–anyone up for reading blogs tonight!!!


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sleep well……………………….

Breakfast for dinner?

DSCN0923I rarely have anything more than cold cereal or oatmeal for breakfast.  Yes, I know my poor deprived children:)  Getting breakfast in the morning for 6 under 7 years of age is no easy task, so I leave breakfast making to my husband on Sunday mornings or to a special meal night during the week.

DSCN0920We occasionally plan a breakfast for a dinner.  The children love it.  We might make smoothies, omelets, waffles, egg casserole, or turkey bacon and sausage.  It is a nice change for the normal routine.  DSCN0900

Try it with your family, your children will think it is fun to have breakfast for dinner.

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Potato bacon chowder soup and mess free crackers

 

We all need more hours in our day.   Preparing and serving meals takes up much of that time.  Soup is a great time saving meal, that is enjoyed by all.  I love having a big pot of soup simmering on the stove all day, served with a nice fresh loaf of homemade bread–unfortunately today was not a homemade bread making day, so we served it with crackers, still just as good.  You can modify this depending upon the size of family you are serving.  This makes one large pot, enough for our dinner plus lunch the next day.

 

Start by peeling and dicing  10 lbs of potatoes.
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When your hand has fallen off, from peeling and dicing all of those:)its time to move on.
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Add a package of bacon bits to your pot, you can also fry up a package of bacon, but I am looking at the ease right now.

 

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You can then add some diced onions, I didnt have any on hand, but did have some dehydrated ones that will do the trick.  We added 2 Tablespoons, or you can dice up a whole onion, depending upon what your likes are.

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Fill your pot almost up to the top with water and add some chicken bouillon to taste.  I added about 6 Tablespoons, but you can add however much your family enjoys.

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Cook on medium heat until all your potatoes are tender.
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Then it is time for your thickener.  I like to use instant potato flakes, baby rice cereal(yes if you have lots of leftovers from babies like we do) or today I am using leftover mashed potatoes that I have previously frozen.

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Place it in your pot and slowly stir away.   It should start to thicken in the next few minutes. Start by adding about 1/3 of the box of instant potato flakes, baby cereal or 2 cups of mashed potatoes.  Then as the soup thickens you can add more depending upon how your family likes it.

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After it is all heated and thickened, add a 16 oz container of sour cream and stir.  Don’t boil the soup any longer or the sour cream will separate.

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Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with green onions.

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Here are the “lower half” children’s soup

 

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Our children really like saltine crackers crushed into their soups.  But with 6 little ones all crushing crackers at the table, it can get very messy real quick.

 

Here is what we do to solve that.  Take a package of crackers.

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Let your children help crush the crackers inside the package.  Be careful not to break the wrapper.

 

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Pour on top of the soupImage00024

 

 

Is this cool enough to eat yet Mom?

 

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7 tips for the harried housewife

cropped-try-this1.jpg1. Keep things practical and simple.


When we live and work in the home, if we have a lot of stuff it feels cluttered. There is always something that needs cleaning, or straightening. Always something getting in the way. I find that if I don’t use something for a whole year, I get rid of it. I try and go through my house and weed out things that are unused at least 2 or 3 times per year. Give away to a friend, or sell online and pay off some debt. Make rooms as simple as possible. Ask yourself “Do I really need this? Or what purpose does this fill?” Work on a room every month, in a years time you should have made significant progress.

2. A place for everything, and everything in its place.

I can’t stress this enough…..organize…….organize…….organize. I could do this weekly. I’m always thinking of a better way to do things or to make them more efficient. Train your family to place items back where they got them from. Yes, it takes lots of time but eventually the 2 year old will get it!

3. Do 15 minutes of quick clean up.


Amazing what you can do in 15 short minutes of time. Set the timer and everyone work. Fill the sink with water and start cleaning up the counters, placing all stray cups in the sink, wipe down counters, backboards, and stoves while filling the sink. Wash a few dishes and let air dry, soak the crusted on pans while you sweep up the kitchen floor.

4. Keep odors under control.

Smelly homes are bad, they send a messages to unexpected guests that you are unclean. Keep bathroom trashes empty, wipe bathrooms down daily. Use a paper towel and cleaner in a spray bottle and do a quick wipe of sink, then toilet, then floors before you leave the bathroom in the morning.
For your diapers, keep your trash lid closed or throw diapers in an outside trash can. If you use cloth make sure to keep them in a closed in area preferable away from the normal household activities. Keep a few candles around to light in a quick pinch. My favorite is banana nut bread—-yummy.

5. Teach child preventative maintenance.

This takes time and patience but in the long run will yield good fruit. Train your children when coming into the home, take off your shoes and coats and put them away immediately. When done washing their hands and brushing their teeth, wipe up the mess in the bathroom. These little helps will go a long way.

6. Moms, get your sleep.

I know the one foolproof way for me to end up “losing it” is by not getting enough sleep. When we are not rested we will not be fit to take care of our children. The rule is if you are not blessed to have your babies sleep through the night then goto bed when they do. Its so easy to get wrapped up in reading blogs or by watching TV but it will take a toll on us in the morning. For myself, I have a nursing baby who eats every 3 hours, a 2 year old that has slept through the night maybe a handful of times since she was born, and a 3 year old who occasionally still gets up. Sleep is just not for me:-) I figured when I retire I’m gonna sleep till noon everyday:-)

7. Spend time in prayer.

When things look overwhelming, and you just don’t know what to do…goto the Lord. Ask him which things are most important for you to do right now and which can be put off till later. Or maybe you just need to vent and get some reassuring comfort.

As with everything know that to tomorrow is a new day and you can start out fresh again.

Modest no sew nursing tops

After nursing all ten of my babies, one thing I needed to purchase each year was nursing tops.  Most of the tops that were “in style” were immodest, extremely uncomfortable to nurse in, and shrank after being washed a few times.  It was a very frustrating thing at an already emotional time.  I had to find another alternative.

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First thing I did was I headed to our goodwill and purchased some plain t-shirts.  I tried to find ones that were form fitting, higher around the neck, and longer to hide those “after baby bellies.”

Next I put them on.  Stood in front of the mirror, grabbed my sewing scissors , and started to cut nursing slits.

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I made sure to cut more on the outer curve of the breast.  I did cut ones right across the front of my breast but those usually ended up showing through my outer top.  The cut needs to be about 3 inches wide.

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Now choose an outertop to cover your nursing holes.  You can wear most any kind, fitted, button- up,etc.  What’s great is that you don’t have to lift up the bottom shirt to nurse.  All that “after baby tummy” doesn’t get exposed:-)

 

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Simple and easy, wish I would’ve thought of this for my first babies.