About: The Author, The Name, The Logo, The Mission, and Our legacy.

The Author

Hi! I’m Katelyn Garwood! I’m a full time stay at home mom of one beautiful baby boy. I love to cook, bake, and create! I come from a long line of great Balabustas! I am passionate about homemaking and believe it is a lost art that our world desperately needs! In our home, we serve God, honor family and respect our country. I believe that homemaking should be simple, affordable, and self-sustainable.

The Mission:

My Mission is to equip fellow homemakers with the tips I have gained on how to cook delicious food for your family and how to maintain a cozy and functional home. Here you can also learn DIY baby care tips, hygiene DIYS, cleaning DIYS, decor inspiration and much more! Join me on my Balabusta journey and let’s learn from each other! I am glad you are here!

The Definition of Balabusta: The Name

A Balabusta (pronounced Ba-lah-bust-ah): is an iconic Yiddish word that describes an excellent Homemaker (What is a Balabusta? – chabad.org). Yiddish is a lighthearted and at times comical language that was first spoken by Jewish Europeans in Germany and Poland starting in the 10th century (Walfish, 2017). As someone who has Jewish family and heritage, this endearing language is near to my heart.

A true Balabusta is one who gives their all at tidying their house, taking care of their children, and preparing wonderful and nutritious meals for their loved ones. So many tasks come to mind when managing your home. Budgeting, cleaning, cooking, baking, prepping, grocery shopping, and child rearing (which has a million jobs in itself) to name a few. These tasks often need to be done daily and truly have no time limit to them.

Since a home is always constantly in use- it always requires maintenance therefore, a Balabusta’s work is never done. A Balabusta must wear many hats and work tirelessly- in order to maintain their home and to prosper their family. Sadly, today’s society has overlooked the role of a homemaker as insignificant and often as lack luster in contrast to corporate work culture. This is grave mistake, because families are the foundations of our society and homes are the best environment in which healthy families thrive.

Home does not exist if there is no one who cares and puts effort into maintaining it. Without a homemaker a home thus cannot be created and renewed from the chaos that is daily life. It is for these reasons that I come to realize the following claim as truth; “A Balabusta is more than just someone who is good at homemaking- a Balabusta is an unsung, crucial hero.”

Join me on my journey and learn the tips and tricks I’ve attained and am working on, as I become a better Balabusta for my family. Discover homemade affordable delicious meals for your family, grocery budgeting tips, sustainable DIY’s for baby care cleaning, and hygiene, decor inspiration, and much more! Welcome to a community where fellow homemakers encourage and inspire each other in prospering their family’s homes! I am glad you are here!

The Name and Logo

So why did I choose such an interesting name like Balabusta Mom for my blog? It all started when I gave birth to my first son. I was amazed about how much work it was in taking care of a new baby and still trying to take care of my household. During this time, I’d often vent to my mom about all the things I had to do; food prepping, diaper changing, pumping, doing dishes and etc. She then called me something that I will never forget. She said,” My Daughter is a true Balabusta!” I joked halfheartedly and said,” I am Balabustin my butt all day around here!”

Jokes aside, I really liked this word. I liked that it was a Yiddish word because it connected me to my Jewish heritage. It also gave a title to the daily chaos and hard work I was now committing to. I then became fascinated in the role of homemaking and everything it encompasses. I decided from then on I wanted to give it my best effort and be the best Balabusta I can be.

Join me in my journey and let’s learn from each other!

In creating the logo for Balabusta Mom, I decided to go with the letters “B & M” to represent the title. I also formed the letters in a Superhero Symbol because I wanted to convey that being a homemaker/stay at home mom is very heroic! I then added a cape to further this point. Lastly, in the superhero crest, I included the symbols of a baby bottle, a broom, and a whisk to represent all the tasks my family depends on me for; cleaning, childcare, and cooking to name a few. I hope you like it!

Balabusta Mom: A Three Generation Legacy

It is important to note that I come from a legacy of 3 generations of Balabustas.

The first is my grandmother. As a Jewish/English Immigrant herself, my grandmother’s home and cooking has her own unique cultural flare. Grandma always kept her home tidy and inviting. Her house was decorated with family heirlooms- like her grandmother’s silver candlesticks (they are over a hundred years old!). Grandma also kept knickknacks all over her house that came from grandpa’s Telecommunications business trips. Most notable were her felt forest scene throw pillows from St. Petersburg, Russia. In her paperweight display case, she also proudly displayed her Royal Albert Old Country Roses fine China tea set.

Her favorite hobby is doing puzzles. My late grandpa would make a frame for each of her favorite puzzles, and he would hang them up all over her home. Some of her jig saws even had up to 10,000 pieces! Apart from keeping a nice home, Grandma is an excellent cook!

Growing up, she would always host the most amazing dinners to celebrate Passover, Thanksgiving, Shabbos, Rosh Hashanah (The Jewish New Year), and Hanukkah. Grandma was famous for dishing out 4 course meals almost every celebration. Her feasts often included an appetizer; chopped Liver Patte on Matzos (a type of unleavened bread which tastes like a giant cracker), a soup; homemade chicken soup with Lokshen (Jewish egg noodles) and Matzos Balls (a dumpling made from Matzos and margarine), an entree; brisket in a rich gravy or chicken Coq Au Vin, sides; many vegetable dishes and potatoes, and a dessert; chocolate mousse cake or a boiled pudding. She made so much food, that my grandfather would often joke around after dinner and would say, “Make sure you save room, this is just the appetizer!”

My Mom (My Mum)

My Mum (my Mom) is also an English Immigrant like my grandma, and has Jewish heritage. Her home wasn’t perfect (who’s is am I right?), but it was still very cozy and inviting. My mum always enjoyed picking out new color palettes for the rooms of her 1920’s small home. She picked warm colors like light pink, beige, and mauve to complement the antique wooden molding of her home. She also enjoyed making my little sister and I’s rooms vibrant and playful. When I was 12, she redesigned my room with light pink and purple walls to compliment a border with dancing monkeys.

My mom was also famous for planning the most extravagant and fun birthday parties for my sister and I. Growing up, I can always remember all my peers wanting to come to my house for a sleepover birthday party because my mom made them that memorable. She would plan parties based on themes like SpongeBob SquarePants, Luaus, and for my sweet 16th birthday, she held an authentic English tea!

Not to mention my mom and I singlehandedly planned my wedding in 3 months! God bless her soul!

My mom would often handmake my birthday cakes and for the past 5 years she would make me my favorite cake: a black forest cake with coffee buttercream and chocolate curls! (see photo below)

My mum is also an amazing cook who is known for improvising and making delicious homemade easy meals! She makes the most amazing soups, sauces, pasta dishes, pot roasts, and burritos! She is also very good at cooking many different cuisines like Mexican food, Italian, and Indian food!

My Mum is also known for her baking, and she makes several amazing Christmas cookies every year. My sister and I would deliver them to our neighbors. Her most famous Christmas cookies are her Swedish Sugar Cut out cookies, her Lemon Bars, and her Cranberry Citrus Cookies. I’ll be sure to include future posts about these great recipes as well :).

My mum always made Christmas dinners extravagant. She would cook a deliciously moist and flavorful Ham or Prime Rib Roast and a huge turkey! For sides, she made sweet Potatoe casserole, roasted vegetables, homemade stuffing and gravies, and green bean casserole. For dessert she would make homemade apple pie or White chocolate raspberry cake.

My mom is also known as the cheesecake queen as she can make many types and flavors of this delicious treat! Her Hershey’s chocolate fudge brownies with homemade chocolate frosting were always a favorite growing up as well.

Apart from how amazing of a cook and baker my mom is, more importantly, she is one of the most loving and caring people I know. Despite her ongoing battle with Multiple Sclerosis, she always works tirelessly to care for, feed, and nurture her family. For this I will be forever grateful!

Needless to say, she is quite the Balabusta that I still have a lot to learn from!

3rd Generation Balabusta- Me :)!

The third generation is of course me. As you can see I have a wonderful legacy of Balabustas in my family to life up to! Join me on this endeavor to do so!

References

Walfish, M. (2017, August 14). The history of Yiddish. My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/yiddish/

What is a Balabusta? – chabad.org. (n.d.). https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4153406/jewish/What-Is-a-Balabusta.htm