Becoming "Susie Homemaker"!

I feel like now that I have established this blog and group, "Home EricaNomics", I have some talking to do. Do you know me? Talking has never been a problem! If you do know me, I'm sure you know I am a teacher with the gift of gab. However, the basis for this blog and page started a long time ago when I was just a little girl.

You see, I was the second mom growing up. As the oldest sibling with two younger brothers, I was called upon and depended on to help out. I did so cheerfully most of the time too! My bedroom was spotless and I couldn't stand my brothers' disgusting pit (I am fairly certain my mom actually paid me to go in there and clean because she didn't like it either). I still love the feeling of a clean room and going through and organizing a messy room is a satisfying accomplishment. Perhaps that's why I was blessed with three boys! It's never ending!

My mom certainly taught me the most, but I also credit my grandmothers with teaching me a lot of different things that mom didn't do. Although my time with my mom's mom was short, I have distinct memories of her. Grandma Evelyn taught me how to snap green beans fresh out of the garden. I have such a vivid memory of walking in her garden barefoot and the black soil being so hot on the bottom of my feet. She had a flour sifter that I loved playing with and she made the best gingerbread men, even though I hated the cinnamon buttons! I remember the smell of her kitchen and I still know where she kept her baking stuff. I have all of her cookie cutters and still use them! (Photo Left: My tea set at Grandma Evelyn's)

My years with Grandma Pauline were much longer and she also influenced me, but in many different ways. Grandma could whip up chicken nuggets in the microwave in a snap, and deep fry anything (including turtle, which we once cleaned and prepared together). My best memories with Grandma were in her basement sewing room. She had a room stuffed with just about anything you could imagine sewing related-fabrics, zippers, a dress mannequin. Even my brother Andy tried his hand at sewing down in the basement. My biggest accomplishment in Grandma's sewing room was making my own senior prom dress. I stopped over for weeks after school and we put that thing together one piece at a time. It was beautiful and I loved it. Grandma taught me how to golf and passed along so much family history and genealogy.  (Photo Right: Prom Dress)

But back to my days growing up at home. We have always been a family that appreciated good food. Heck, we owned a restaurant from the time I was about 3 years old until well into my adult life. Mom always made good dinner, but we all especially loved the sweet foods. For me, it all started with baking. I remember my mom keeping her distressed set of Betty Crocker cookbooks in the bottom drawer in the bathroom. Yep, we kept cookbooks in a drawer in the bathroom. Now that I think about it, that's really
weird. I think there was an atlas in there too. Maybe I need to ask my mom about that sometime....

That Betty Crocker book would never stay open. It was like small paperback romance novel, but with 300+ pages (what a terrible design) and I'm pretty sure I finally ripped out the page to the recipe for pancakes. I loved making pancakes. I made them all the time and constantly practiced making the perfect pancake! That's when I remember my mom calling me a little Susie Homemaker. Of course, my brothers never minded having pancakes all the time! There was also a recipe for cream puffs that I struggled with for a while. I baked and baked and baked. That was my favorite thing to do-cookies, cakes, pies and quick breads. As an adult newly married, I recall having to call my mom several times to ask how to cook pork chops or a pot roast. Cookies and pancakes? Got it! Stroganoff and meatloaf? Ugh, there was a learning curve there!

So, I've really had a love for all things home for a long time. Gardening, cooking, baking, sewing, cleaning and organization are all things I've been doing and trying to learn more about well into my adult years. It really started when I was very young! I am thankful for the influence of my mom, grandmas and other family members. Really, I have stories about more people in my life who have had some bearing on my love for the kitchen and home (good thing I started a blog). I do love teaching, but I could have easily been a homemaker. I didn't take a Home Economics class. By high school, I had a pretty good idea of what made a house run! I am still learning though, and the teacher in me wants to tell you all about it and thus, this blog/page was born! (Photo Left: Helping at Home)

We are still in the beginning stages here, so a follow, comment, like or share really helps! Thanks!