The days of this week have kind of blended into each other.
I have lettuces and onions in the dirt, in planters and greenhouse boxes, being moved in between the house and outside.
We have parent teacher conferences today, and then begins Spring Break. So not looking forward to the one, completely relishing the idea of the other. I love Spring Break. It's only a week, but we get extra cuddle time and plenty of outside time with the kids. Makes my heart happy.
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
Yesterday was full of awesomeness. Money spending awesomeness, but still awesomeness.
I got a sewing machine, which I have been wanting for a few years. I got promised one over a year ago but the person who promised it has never come up with it, so I went looking at a thrift store. Found a great one, that had all the manuals. So, then, of course, I had to buy fabric. I will be making some aprons next week.
I also got a scale, which I need for selling stuff on Etsy, so I was super excited to find that. I was not the only one excited. As i was carrying the scale out to the car, some lady stopped me and offered to buy it from me. It has a huge base so i wasn't willing to do that, but I did point her into the Thrift Store, where they had others.
While i was browsing at the thrift store, I found a Spiderman comforter. My youngest daughter's bedspread recently got mangled when Bellatrix the puppy got ahold of the edge while she was in her cage when we weren't home, so she definitely needed a new one. And, she loves Spiderman. She was so excited when she saw it. Best $3.00 I've spent in awhile.
At Walmart I picked up a set of those pans that turns tortillas into taco salad shells in the oven, marked down on clearance to $7.00. I've been wanting one of those for quite awhile as well. I'm wondering about baking bread in it.
When I got home I went looking for fabric online. I found some cute dark red and brown striped material that will make a great accent for the new curtains I desperately need for the living room. I ordered swatches, so I can get solid material to match at a cheaper price locally, then I'll order a few yards of the striped material, which is about $8/yard, to accent the curtains. I love the idea of having a little bit of color in the curtains. If I have enough left over, I may use the same fabric for my bedroom, with a different main color. I got a swatch with light blues and yellows for the bathroom and laundry room. I am thinking about doing a fabric shower curtain (with a regular liner) so I may use that there as well. Those rooms are both south facing and get a lot of sunlight year round, and in the winter, they are the brightest rooms, so I'm hoping using the bright colors in those rooms will keep them looking cheerful all year long.
Last night's dinner was taco salad. It's too bad that I didn't have time to make tortillas so we could use our pans. But with being gone for so long,
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| Photo Credit: Andie712b |
I also got a scale, which I need for selling stuff on Etsy, so I was super excited to find that. I was not the only one excited. As i was carrying the scale out to the car, some lady stopped me and offered to buy it from me. It has a huge base so i wasn't willing to do that, but I did point her into the Thrift Store, where they had others.
While i was browsing at the thrift store, I found a Spiderman comforter. My youngest daughter's bedspread recently got mangled when Bellatrix the puppy got ahold of the edge while she was in her cage when we weren't home, so she definitely needed a new one. And, she loves Spiderman. She was so excited when she saw it. Best $3.00 I've spent in awhile.
At Walmart I picked up a set of those pans that turns tortillas into taco salad shells in the oven, marked down on clearance to $7.00. I've been wanting one of those for quite awhile as well. I'm wondering about baking bread in it.
When I got home I went looking for fabric online. I found some cute dark red and brown striped material that will make a great accent for the new curtains I desperately need for the living room. I ordered swatches, so I can get solid material to match at a cheaper price locally, then I'll order a few yards of the striped material, which is about $8/yard, to accent the curtains. I love the idea of having a little bit of color in the curtains. If I have enough left over, I may use the same fabric for my bedroom, with a different main color. I got a swatch with light blues and yellows for the bathroom and laundry room. I am thinking about doing a fabric shower curtain (with a regular liner) so I may use that there as well. Those rooms are both south facing and get a lot of sunlight year round, and in the winter, they are the brightest rooms, so I'm hoping using the bright colors in those rooms will keep them looking cheerful all year long.
Last night's dinner was taco salad. It's too bad that I didn't have time to make tortillas so we could use our pans. But with being gone for so long,
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Finally.
No more children's birthdays until October. I can stop having mini nervous breakdowns about how old my children are getting, until then.
Yesterday I worked a lot in the house, and on my household notebook. With planting season coming soon and parent teacher conferences and baby chicks coming soon and kids working and volunteering for the summer and, well, you get the picture...I needed to be more organized, so I spent some hard core time working on the notebook.
I got five more pounds of apples into the dehydrator. I'll be making some granola with these and maybe rehydrating some for apple sauce. Once they are done, I have some spinach and green onions to do.
My order from herbalcom came in yesterday. I got part of it packaged up and into the herb shed, and I'll finish that today. The cats are going batshit crazy over the box-catnip was in there.
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| Photo Credit: Will Clayton |
Yesterday I worked a lot in the house, and on my household notebook. With planting season coming soon and parent teacher conferences and baby chicks coming soon and kids working and volunteering for the summer and, well, you get the picture...I needed to be more organized, so I spent some hard core time working on the notebook.
I got five more pounds of apples into the dehydrator. I'll be making some granola with these and maybe rehydrating some for apple sauce. Once they are done, I have some spinach and green onions to do.
My order from herbalcom came in yesterday. I got part of it packaged up and into the herb shed, and I'll finish that today. The cats are going batshit crazy over the box-catnip was in there.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
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| Photo Credit: Ken_Mayer |
Well, the lazy won't last for long. I'll enjoy it while it's here.
Our warm weather continues. High 50s today. I'm hoping to get dirty outside this afternoon, although, by the looks of things, it's still pretty chilly outside. It looks cold and gray right now. I'm hoping that improves quickly, as it's almost time to feed the chickens and take the dogs outside.
Yesterday the three youngest and I got a new bale of straw put into the chicken coop. The kids had a blast spreading the straw around, finding themselves covered in it. There was much giggling and grinning. Perfect way to spend a late winter afternoon, if you ask me. We threw some scratch down and let the chickens go at it, to get the straw a little more spread out.
We also got strawberries and apples into the dehydrator. I'll be checking the strawberries in a bit, they should be done at this point. I have about twelve more pounds of apples to do, so there will be lots of time spent in the kitchen today! I'm also planning on making granola, so it will be awesome to be able to do some batches with the dried fruit.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Twenty one years ago today I became a mother.
That's some scary shit right there.
Most days, I don't feel like I'm old enough to have a daughter who is 21. In my defense, I was only 19 when I had her.
Today, I'm feeling every second of my 40 years.
Happy Birthday, sweet baby! I'm so proud of you!
That's some scary shit right there.
Most days, I don't feel like I'm old enough to have a daughter who is 21. In my defense, I was only 19 when I had her.
Today, I'm feeling every second of my 40 years.
Happy Birthday, sweet baby! I'm so proud of you!
Friday, February 1, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
Yesterday was warmer still. We've gone from lots of snow in the yard to lots of mud. Still have sick kids home with a cough. I'm hoping it will be warm enough and not windy enough that we can go outside and let them get some warmth and sunlight to help.
Some days seem like I move in a circle from kitchen to laundry room to living room to outisde for something, and yesterday was one of those days. I do enjoy it, though. Some days, I'm in the kitchen for six hours or more a day. But it's all in the name of providing the healthiest food I can for my family.
This is radical homemaking. Perhaps we could even call it retro homemaking. Maybe our grandmothers did it. For sure, in most cases, our great grandmothers did it. For centuries, farmwives have been tending the garden, preserving the food, tending the livestock, at least those for home use. They have known animal husbandry, seasonal eating, planting by the signs of the moon, how to make lard, soap, and the best feed for their animals.
As technology advanced, women began to move out of the kitchen and off the homestead. Workplaces became open to them, either by choice or by necessity. And a few generations or so ago, women began actively fighting for their rights to do things like vote and own property of their own and work. Whatever you think of feminism, the be all end all of it is that women have a choice. A plethora of choices, if you will. You choices are based on your wants and needs, as are mine.
So I am proudly a radical homemaker.
We have better technology now, and can do more, faster. It's not that I want to undo any of that. It's that I want to know that I can do it. It's that I need that connection, that touchstone, to the past. It's that our food supply is full of artificial that and GMO'd this and frankly, I want to move away from that. But mostly, it's that I want to give my children a legacy, and past full of memories and skills they can hold on to as they grow. Sure, dance lessons or soccer would give them the same thing, but those things aren't available here, and if we lived in the city, we probably wouldn't be able to afford them. This love for the earth, respect for the food, knowledge of where their food comes from-that I can give them.
And some days, being a radical homemaker means I spend six hours in the kitchen. Yesterday's circuit went something like this
Dishes
Laundry
Check the fire
Clean in some room
Check the fire
Sprouts
Dishes
Check the fire
Sit for ten minutes
Lather, rinse, repeat
That's all in a normal day here.
We did go by our little local market. We don't shop there often because their prices are generally higher, but I found myself in dire need of something or other (yes, it was probably chocolate) so we went. I stumbled onto a bounty of fresh vegetables on sale. I bought some cucumbers, which I will pickle with onions in vinegar in the fridge for Mr. S., and some carrots that will go into the dehydrator. I found a package of marked down tomatoes that won't last long, but Mr. S. will enjoy them sliced with dinner for the next few days. He's the only one that will eat tomatoes like that.
Since we had carrots and cucumbers I decided to buy a head of lettuce, and made some ranch dressing mix when we got home. I used this recipe and while I'll have to agree that it made phenomenal ranch, the mix itself did not fit into a quart sized canning jar. I have it sitting in a baggie until I can use more and then I will move it into a jar.
Dinner last night was the aforementioned salad, and spaghetti and garlic bread. It was fantastic!
Some days seem like I move in a circle from kitchen to laundry room to living room to outisde for something, and yesterday was one of those days. I do enjoy it, though. Some days, I'm in the kitchen for six hours or more a day. But it's all in the name of providing the healthiest food I can for my family.
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| Photo Credit: La.Catholique |
As technology advanced, women began to move out of the kitchen and off the homestead. Workplaces became open to them, either by choice or by necessity. And a few generations or so ago, women began actively fighting for their rights to do things like vote and own property of their own and work. Whatever you think of feminism, the be all end all of it is that women have a choice. A plethora of choices, if you will. You choices are based on your wants and needs, as are mine.
So I am proudly a radical homemaker.
We have better technology now, and can do more, faster. It's not that I want to undo any of that. It's that I want to know that I can do it. It's that I need that connection, that touchstone, to the past. It's that our food supply is full of artificial that and GMO'd this and frankly, I want to move away from that. But mostly, it's that I want to give my children a legacy, and past full of memories and skills they can hold on to as they grow. Sure, dance lessons or soccer would give them the same thing, but those things aren't available here, and if we lived in the city, we probably wouldn't be able to afford them. This love for the earth, respect for the food, knowledge of where their food comes from-that I can give them.
And some days, being a radical homemaker means I spend six hours in the kitchen. Yesterday's circuit went something like this
Dishes
Laundry
Check the fire
Clean in some room
Check the fire
Sprouts
Dishes
Check the fire
Sit for ten minutes
Lather, rinse, repeat
That's all in a normal day here.
We did go by our little local market. We don't shop there often because their prices are generally higher, but I found myself in dire need of something or other (yes, it was probably chocolate) so we went. I stumbled onto a bounty of fresh vegetables on sale. I bought some cucumbers, which I will pickle with onions in vinegar in the fridge for Mr. S., and some carrots that will go into the dehydrator. I found a package of marked down tomatoes that won't last long, but Mr. S. will enjoy them sliced with dinner for the next few days. He's the only one that will eat tomatoes like that.
Since we had carrots and cucumbers I decided to buy a head of lettuce, and made some ranch dressing mix when we got home. I used this recipe and while I'll have to agree that it made phenomenal ranch, the mix itself did not fit into a quart sized canning jar. I have it sitting in a baggie until I can use more and then I will move it into a jar.
Dinner last night was the aforementioned salad, and spaghetti and garlic bread. It was fantastic!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Had three kiddoes home sick today. A pretty basic cold. I'm thankful it's not the flu.
Spent most of the day mourning the loss of our warm weather. It may snow tonight. Got clothes off the line, brought in a few days' worth of food from the freezer, some herbs and spices from the herb shed, and hooked the heated water bowl for the chickens back up.
Snows after it's been warm always worry me. They are usually wet and heavy. Broken trees, downed power lines, and all kinds of not so fun stuff.
The chickens have decided they don't like it when I don't bring them scraps from the house. I was feeding them their layer feed this afternoon and standing in there waiting for that one last rooster who didn't want to come in yet, and they started pecking at me.
Unless there is some miraculous wake up cure happening tomorrow, two of the kiddoes will be home again tomorrow. They feel fine and are running around like crazy, but the cough sounds horrible and neither of the littles have really mastered the whole "cover your mouth when you cough" thing. I know I get irate when other parents send sick kids to school to infect everyone else, so they will probably be home again.
Dinner tonight was pizza and salad. I did a quick shopping trip to get us through the next week with just the basics. The pizza was on sale, and it's good to indulge once in awhile.
I have to rinse sprouts and then I'm going to bed. I am wiped out. I have been super tired today. I know part of it is because I stayed up too late last night. I just hope I'm not getting sick. So much to get done!
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| Photo Credit: thisreidwrites |
Snows after it's been warm always worry me. They are usually wet and heavy. Broken trees, downed power lines, and all kinds of not so fun stuff.
The chickens have decided they don't like it when I don't bring them scraps from the house. I was feeding them their layer feed this afternoon and standing in there waiting for that one last rooster who didn't want to come in yet, and they started pecking at me.
Unless there is some miraculous wake up cure happening tomorrow, two of the kiddoes will be home again tomorrow. They feel fine and are running around like crazy, but the cough sounds horrible and neither of the littles have really mastered the whole "cover your mouth when you cough" thing. I know I get irate when other parents send sick kids to school to infect everyone else, so they will probably be home again.
Dinner tonight was pizza and salad. I did a quick shopping trip to get us through the next week with just the basics. The pizza was on sale, and it's good to indulge once in awhile.
I have to rinse sprouts and then I'm going to bed. I am wiped out. I have been super tired today. I know part of it is because I stayed up too late last night. I just hope I'm not getting sick. So much to get done!
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