A Bargatze

I love Permies, and I, too, was stoked for a new look.

I do very much like the more picture emphasis, and the highlighting of the best of columns. At first I thought the buttons for posting on the bottom were way too hidden, and was going to suggest having them on the top as well. But then I reviewed, and they are at the top as well... which brings me to my biggest concern. I find the buttons very hard to read.

I hope its ok to attach a mockup. If it isn't, please feel free to dump my comment. But its easier to show than explain.

This is the biggest issue I have for the new look. Mostly, I like it a lot, and regardless of whether the wood look stays or doesn't stay... I do find the darker colors way easier on the eyes.

Thanks so much for asking for input!

I love a chammomile, calendula, mint, lemon balm base mix that i will add other things into based on my mood. I tend to fine tune cup by cup instead of batch by batch.

I love hibiscus, strong and plain, but only cold. To me, it tastes bitter hot, so if its not one of your flavors, try drinking it as an ice tea.

I love chammomile vanilla (i copied this from a store blend)

What a difference a mint makes. I, too, have been trying infusion strength teas as per Susan Weed, and oh, what a difference a mint makes. Oatstraw plain, to me, is dirty tasting and unpalatable, but with mint (about two tablespoons mint per cup of oatstraw) infused with it, it tastes slippery and light and kind of sweet. Go chemistry. I drink it cold as ice tea. Mint has been unable to transform nettles for me, though, which remain just too green for my palate.

One of the things I don't see very often is lemon leaf. I have a lemon tree and the leaves cut up make a delicious tea all by themselves, but i hardly, if ever, see it as an ingredient. I at one time did some internet research just to make sure I wasn't poisoning myself.. And it didn't seem to be the case. I know i came across 'edible' and 'non toxic' or I wouldn't have ever made my first cup. Does anyone else use lemon leaf?

If you can get easy grabs for breakfast and lunch, it makes dinner seem a lot easier to handle.

Some of my favorite do aheads for breakfast -
--French toast and pancakes (easy to big batch and they freeze like magic, reheat in the toaster, you can cut them up for finger food or spread things on them for breakfast sandwiches - my daughters favorite are buckwheat pancakes with chocolate chips)
--Steel cut oats (who has time to make that every day? Not me. But you can make a huge bowl of it and keep it in the fridge, and reheat in the mornings and add whatever your specific people like in it , you can even make a little 'add on' plate for the kids, so they can sprinkle in their own. Makes it seem fancy.)
--parfaits (since it sounds like you're a boss and even make your own yogurt, these will be even tastier. I like to get little bowls and put in plain yogurt, and some frozen or dried fruit, and some nuts. Whatever your family likes. That way you have something that you can grab and go with, and you can make them small enough for little appetites. If they are portioned out in the fridge, the older kids can even get them themselves. Makes it seem fancy.)
--Breakfast burritos. (This is where the magic comes in. Eggs, cheese, meat, no meat, vegg, beans, onions, no onions.. whatever combos your people love to eat can be slammed in a tortilla, in advance, and frozen for a quick breakfast or lunch. You can make them small or large... they heat in the microwave in minutes, or if you don't happen to be a microwavey kind of family.. in a nice hot oven in just a little longer. Either way, they didn't take morning prep, cause you 'so' have other things to do. The only things to remember when you are assembling is the fillings need to be cold, and the tortilla needs to be warm, then wrap them up and send them to the freezer.)

--My best hint for lunch, cause that's a hard one at our house, is a container of cut up vegg in the fridge to grab bits and pieces of as needed (celery, carrots, and cucumber are our finger foods of preference) and little bags or cups of snack mix portioned out (dried apricots, almonds, and shredded wheat is our go to)

--And lastly.. if you have the fridge space on a regular basis.. this is a variation on the whole no knead six minute bread thing... http://jezebel.com/5881847/how-to-make-easy-fast-foolproof-bread-from-scratch. Its the least hassle bread recipe I've found because it's the least timing dependent, and its really good bread.

--And even more lastly... take a deep breath. That's a ton of stuff you're juggling. There are days when I feel like if I got mine to school on time and not on fire, I deserve a medal. And I've certainly not got as many as you do. However, I suspect if you've got that many wee ones floating about there's a good chance there is a star chart in your house somewhere to show your kids the good job they're doing. Make yourself one, and give yourself stars for all the categories of things you take care of in a day. And then don't forget to give yourself a reward, cause 'that' is what will keep your batteries going to keep doing all the awesome stuff your doing.