This Vintage Chica

summer unschooling sign ups officially open

I know Spring has just arrived and most of the country is just starting to see the snow recede and budding trees and flowers again, but Im a planner.  You  know that by now, right?

I am already thinking about summer and how we will try to squeeze every drop out of it we can.  Some of you who have been reading here awhile, have followed my thoughts on education and how we (like so many other parents) are trying to make some difficult choices about how our children are educated. 

One of the things that I am most excited about is our summer unschooling project.  When reading about educational choices, I came across the concept of unschooling.  The concepts of making your world your classroom, learning by doing, learning through play, following up on a child's own interest all rang true for me.  Probably because, my parents had incorporated so many of those philosophies into my learning as a girl (in addition to public school).  I just didn't know it had a name. 

Just like last year that was deemed, summer of the caterpilars, the boys will be in charge of what we learn and where that learning takes us.  I am looking forward to the more relaxed schedule of summer where we can go to the library more, take little day trips, journal, draw and paint.

I decided to make it a bit more official and give it a name and offered it up to anyone else who would like to join.  And the unofficial response has been very positive.  I think there is great value in a group of us sharing ideas and thoughts through this concept.

I just ask one thing...please don't think I am an expert on the unschooling subject.  Remember, currently my boys attend public school.  But I will be learning right along with my boys and all of you.  I am open to sharing the ebb and flow of our days and what we are learning along the way, but for heavy philosophical questions, I will direct them elsewhere.

So, with that in mind.  Summer unschool signups are officially open!

And I know many of you will want to know "What do I do now?"  Stay tuned. More information will follow next week.  But for now...start making a list of things that you know your kiddos are already interested in. 

Our list includes:

birds
the beach
ice cream
Star Wars
Army guys and weapons...aaah, boys!
electricity
animals
construction
bicycles and making ramps

Oh, this is going to be a fun summer!

Want to join us?

For more information, check out the summer unschooling page. 

a sunny weekend afterall

After reading the weather report on Friday, we had expected the weather to be rainy, rainy, rainy.  And this mama was racking her brain to come up with yet more inside activities to keep the troops busy.

However, the weather man turned out to be wrong.  But we're not blaming him.  It was a nice surprise.

Instead of netflix movies and hangman, we had a lovely weekend full of...

:: an all boy sleepover (plus one sweet little girl) with home made pizza and good friends to play "army guys" ::

:: building beaver dams...still, one of our favorite past times ::

:: and target practice with the sling shots mama brought back from Nicaragua last summer ::

I've got lots of great things coming up on the blog this week including a giveaway, another great way to upcycle drop cloths and news on the summer unschooling project. 

So, how was your weekend?

upcycle a painter's drop cloth : a spill proof tablecloth

This project came about by happy accident. 

We usually eat in our kitchen for breakfast.  But in the evenings, we have been eating in our dining room more and more.  And I am really enjoying it.  One problem is that our dining table was my great grandmother's and is a treasured antique.  I have a few antique lace tablecloths that fit the table perfectly.  However, antique table + antique tablecloth + little boys who still spill their milk from time to time (like every meal) do not = a happy mama. 

I am not a huge fan of plastic table cloths, but was willing to suck it up to spare my table.  However, you see that rug peaking out from under the table.  It has some pretty bold colors (red, green and yellow) in it and the table cloth needed to be a bit subdued.  I was having a hard time finding a plastic table cloth without hybiscus flowers or monkeys with bananas in their hands.  So, I decided to lay a piece of plastic down on my table and make a cloth that could be popped easily into the waching machine. 

I have used painters drop cloths as yard goods before, purchased from the hardware store.  And after looking at how much I was going to spend on fabric from the fabric store, I decided to use drop cloths again.  I like how they have the "look" of linen but with a heavy canvas feel.  So for less than $12, I picked up two drop cloths last time I was at the hardware store getting mulch for the garden.  Anytime I can get fabric AND seeds in one stop is a good day for me.

However, this time, when I opened up the package I was almost disappointed to see that the cloth had a plastic backing. 

I say almost because immediately I realized this was even MORE perfect than I had planned.  I wouldn't have to lay an extra sheet of plastic down on my table afterall.

I sewed two of the cloth panels together, added a little "bird inspired" embroidery and hot-diggidy.  I have a new spill proof table cloth that is stylish, it will protect my antique table and can easily be laundered.

The embroidery is finished, but after seeing Melissa's pillows, I can't help but think that a silhouette of a little bird added to the cloth with a bit of rough edged applique wouldn't make it even sweeter.

**********

OK, I couldn't help it...I was up early, early this morning thinking about how this table cloth needed a few fabric birds added.

But I had to wait until the sun came out to get a decent picture of it.  Ahhh...that's better.

a bit of birdwatching

We are all about the birds these days.

Strangely many of the birds that we had overwinter in our area last year, were absent this year.

So we weren't sure what to expect come Spring.  But right on schedule, they have arrived again in full force.

One of our most favorites bird to watch from last summer were a pair ospreys and later their two young ones.  The houses across the street from us back up to a canal with brackish water (salt water and fresh water).  So, we can literally sit for hours on our front porch watching them fish in the canal.  Sometimes we hear them before we see them.  The ospreys glide up high, shifting their wings with the slightest movements.  Then all of a sudden, they fold their wings back, head turns down and like a bullet, dive into the water.  We figured last year they were batting about .500.  A pretty good average, if you were playing baseball.

We've been watching a pair of cardinals.  We always hear their tell tale call first too.  Then he comes to the feeder first to check things out.  Then she eventually comes into view.  They both sit at the feeder and he gently feeds her bits of seed...usually sunflower seeds.  So sweet.

We see Mr. Mockingbird every morning on our fence.

And this little sweetie, if you can see her, is a female purple finch...we think.  Anyone? 

She belongs to this dude.  And he sings about her all day long.  He must really have it bad for her.

We've also seen chickadees, mourning doves, and flocks and flocks of black birds - grackles with a few red winged black birds in the mix.   Being this close to the wter, we have a constant flow of gulls overhead, but I haven't learned to distinguish one species from another yet.  We've spotted several groups of geese flying North.   And there are always the ducks who are happy to clean up the bird seed that the black birds kick out of the feeders.

Unfortunately, the boys and I are not the only birdwatchers in the family.

Needless to say, with birds so much on our mind, the bird theme is working its way into lots of family projects these days.  Stay tuned, because tomorrow I'm excited about sharing a little project that goes along with bird theme.

And it involves one of our all time favorite songs.  The song was originally an old North Carolina folk song, but we discovered it when Elizabeth Mitchell re-recorded it on this album a few years ago.  

Until tomorrow, I give you the words to the song...I promise you, you'll be hearing them all night.

Little Bird, Little Bird fly through my window
Little Bird, Little Bird fly through my window
Little Bird, Little Bird fly through my window
Buy molasses candy. 

urban farming, our version

Here is a scene from our urban farm this morning.  Let me paint you a picture.

 

• 7 Muscovy ducks (the friendliest ducks in the world) on the porch waiting for Wyatt to feed them.  They really like cheerios.

• A pair of mallards who have started a nest on the side of the house

• Blackberry bushes leafing out all over the place with strawberry plants emerging beneath

• A vegetable garden set with spring peas, onions, spinach, cabbage, broccoli and various lettuces

• Winter quilts still on the beds with little people snuggled under them

• A mama up at 5:30 a.m. to make coffee

• Hang some wash on the line and ...

• Put biscuits in the oven

Sounds pretty farm-like to me.

But remember, its all in how you frame it.  Right. 

Here's the truth. 

We do not live on a farm...but oh, how I wish we did.  Oh, how I wished we had a few acres with a barn.  We'd have lots of chickens and a cow.  We'd have horses for the boys to ride whenever they wanted and a field full of spring wheat. Anyway...back to the truth.

Yes, the truth.  Our neighborhood is as cookie cutter as you get.  One of those "8 styles of houses, which side of the house do you want your garage on" kind of areas. 

But there are lots of positives to our little neck of the woods.  We have a great house, perfectly set up for the dozens of kiddos in and out of here on a weekly basis.  Our house is nestled in a great cul-de-sac that hosts 11 other children, which makes for lots of fun in the summer.  There is a great park 3 blocks down.  We can walk to our local elementary school.  We can ride our bikes to the beach.  It really is a great neighborhood.

But just for a moment this morning, I was a farmer.  I put my work boots on and headed out back to check if last night's freeze nipped our little garden seedlings. 

You can't blame a girl for having a dream, can you?

target hack

I m getting to be quite a Target hack these days. First the tablecloth turned glider cushion, now its a great little tote bag made even better with a bit of embellishment. 

I have a thing for navy blue right now.  Have you noticed?  Navy blue and green...navy blue and yellow...navy blue and (insert any obscure color you can think of here).  I've been wanting a big tote bag in navy for quite awhile, but hadn't gotten around to picking out the fabric.  So when I came across this canvas plastic lined tote in the $1 section at Target, I grabbed it and immediately began thinking about how I could dress it up a bit. 

A vintage yellow and white (with a touch of green) doily from my stash was the perfect thing. 

And with the plastic lining inside it is perfect for the beach or for toting snacks wherever we're headed for the day.  Sand brushes right off and spills are cleaned up with a sponge.

Hmmm...what's next?

real life :: its all in how you frame it

Last week, I was up late and reading through some of the posts on the Mothering Magazine message boards.  I came across a thread asking readers what they thought of the March edition of the magazine. There were many positive comments about this article and that one.  But then toward the end, I came across a post from a woman who said she liked the "crafty mama" article, but was saddened because the magazine had shown those of us who appeared in the article to be too perfect - our craft projects so neatly photographed, our children quietly coloring or sewing and our craft rooms and kitchens staged with just enough disheveledness that they looked lived in.

My heart sinks at the thought that someone would hold up their life in comparison to mine. 

Believe me, I have messes too.  If you really want to see what my craft room looks like, here you go.  Take a gander. 

But, here's the thing. 

Life is messy...sometimes, its really messy.  There is no getting around that fact.  No one escapes it.

However, I've learned a few things along the way.  Through writting and learning to take photographs, I've learned that for me, finding the beauty in life is all in how you frame it.  It's what you choose to focus on...whether it be your camera or your heart.

And I make a conscious choice to focus on the simple, the beautiful and the positive in my life.

So, when the boys are spinning around the kitchen while Im making dinner and Im doing my best not to post an advertisement on SELLYOUKIDSTOTHEGYPSIES.COM, I chose to stop.  Breath.  Breath again if need be.  And think about what this scene might look like if it were framed just right.

recipe: dueling doughnuts

You already know how much we love taste tests in this house.  Here's another one for you.  This time... doughnuts!

Every chance I get, I ask my grandmother about her family recipes and the memories that go along with those particular foods.  Its a funny thing how just a hint in the wind of an iron skillet heating up can take you back a decade or two. One of Grammer's favorites was her mother's doughnut recipe using leftover mashed potatoes.  

So, last fall when we were in Texas, Oma (my mother) got brave and opened her kitchen up to her five little grand children...all under the age of 6...to try out Grammer's leftover mashed potato doughnut recipe.  Here it is...

Mashed Potato Doughnut Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 c. sugar
• 3 c. mashed potatoes
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 8 c flour
• 5 T. baking powder

Directions:

• Mix sugar and mashed potatoes until consistency of paste.
• Add eggs and beat.
• Add vegetable oil, milk, flour and baking powder. 
• Add flour after that if necessary.
• Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll to 1/2-inch thickness.
• Cut out with floured doughnut cutter. A jar ring works too. 
• In an iron skillet, heat oil to about 350°.
• Drop doughnuts, 2 or 3 at a time, into the hot fat being careful not to splash the oil.
• Fry, turning once, for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
• Drain doughnuts on paper towels.

This recipe makes doughnuts similar to what we would call cake doughnuts.  It makes A LOT of doughnuts, so you could half the recipe for enough doughnuts for one sitting.  Once we got the heat of the oil down pat, they were perfectly brown on the outside and moist and cakey on the inside.  Yummy!

We covered half the batch in icing and some with powdered sugar.  Im not sure if we even declared a winner, they were all gone so fast.  But this was a great recipe and I am so happy to have it from my Grammer.

Well, my boys have not forgotten making doughnuts with their Oma and how much fun it was.  They have decided, that although the mashed potato doughnuts were extremely tasty, there might be some room for improvement. 

*Sorry Grammer, these little men are perfectionists when it comes to their cooking.*

On Wednesday, after the boys got off the bus I had everything laid out to try another doughnut recipe.  They couldn't get their sight word sorts done fast enough and get their aprons on.

Sour Cream Doughnuts

Ingredients:

• 1 c. granulated sugar

• 3/4 c. thick sour cream
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1 c. sour milk
• 3 eggs
• flour (enough to make soft dough)

Directions:

• Cream the sugar and sour cream together.
• Beat the eggs with a fork in a small bowl and add to the cream and sugar.
• Sift dry ingredients and add a small part at a time with the sour milk.
• Sift in three cups of flour and then add about one cup or the amount necessary to make a soft dough. (This dough is more easily handled if chilled a little.)
• Roll the dough out on a floured board and cut with floured cutter.
• Do not handle the dough more than necessary or it will become tough. Fry in shortening or oil at 350 degrees F.
• Drain on paper towels and roll in sugar or shake in a bag of sugar.

Oh, these were good!  The boys ate their weight in doughnuts and even shared with the neighbors on the front porch.  And for mamas, these doughnuts are just about perfect dipped in coffee.

The results...

Sour Cream Doughnuts ****(four stars)

Grammer's Mashed Potato Doughnuts *****(five stars)

Even though the second recipe was tasty, it still doesn't stand a chance next to Grammer's. 

The nostalgia factor weighs heavily in this house.

Looking for a fun weekend cooking activity...make doughnuts!

-------------------

Here are some good hints on making doughnuts.

And here is a great site I found with lots of tips and recipe variations on doughnuts.

new cushion for a vintage glider

If you follow my photos on flickr, you have seen a weeks worth of foggy, cloudy, rainy photos. 

Yesterday was the 6th straight day of rain.

Ugh!

It was starting to feel like we lived in Seattle.  Or at least what I am guessing it would feel like to live in Seattle.

But this morning, the fog is burning off and the clouds are parting.

I have had this old glider since I was first out of college.  I bought it from the First Monday Flea Market in Weatherford, TX (where my parents live) when I was about 22 and setting up my own little house up in Oklahoma.  I still remember the old man's face when I asked him how much he wanted for it.  "You want that old thing?" he questioned.  I think I paid all of $15 for it at the time and quietly screamed inside all the way home at what a bargain I had gotten.

And then I had to tell my Dad that we needed to make room in the already packed u-haul trailer for the huge glider.  Luckily my Dad is a reasonable man.  He understands not to come between a woman (even if it is his daughter) and her flea market find.  

Im thinking I need to sand it down again, prime it real good, and re-paint it this summer.

But for today, Im happy that it has a new cushion made out of a repurposed Target table cloth.  Even though I love the pring, the table cloth, as purchased, just wasn't working in our dining room.  My mom and I were just talking about how much we love mixing the old with the new. 

I am loving those big blocky pears against the chippy-pealy paint.

So, maybe we'll get outside some today and dry off and enjoy the new and improved flea market glider.

fresh flowers are like a shot in the arm

I was at the market the other day and saw this bunch of delphiniums looking a tad bit less than fresh.  They were marked $1.99 each...I guess someone else noticed they had passed their prime.  But their cornflower blue color was so pretty, I just couldn't resist.  I brought them home, gave them a good cut (3 inches) in water, added a tablespoon of lemon juice, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, and a cap full of bleach.

They were still blooming away pretty as ever when I got back home on Sunday afternoon.  I guess the magic potion was just the boost they needed.

And I am feeling like I got a big boost too.

It is amazing what a weekend away can do for your soul.  The last time I got away from home by myself (meaning without husband and kids in tow) was last summer.  On Friday afternoon, I was frantically putting together the information for my workshop on Mindful Mothering and ...  well, freaking out.  Just a little bit.  OK, a lot.

You see...I think I have found my voice here in this space.  When I sit down to write, it usually flows pretty easily.  Most of the time.  Here, I share bits of our day.  My thoughts on this or that.  A recipe or a kid craft once in awhile.

But standing up in front of a group of women, most of whom I know in my real everyday day-to-day life, and "teaching" them about mindful mothering is a whole different ball game.  Terrifying to say the least.

But I think all went pretty well.  There was much laughter, and a few tears.  I think that is always a good sign when a group of women get together.

The art of motherhood, and believe me it is in fact an art, is a tough one.

Im not sure if I'll share everything that I said on Saturday morning.  But who knows.  I never thought I would have been blogging this long either.

One thing I know for sure is a weekend away with good girlfriends, the time to finish sentences without being interrupted by little people, good food, lots of chocolate are pretty nice shots in the arm.

Delphiniums in the kitchen make me feel pretty good too.

in the garden: early spring

Its a magical thing to get all of your worries, frustrations, cares out of your head and onto paper.  Or in this case, out there for all of you to see.

My mother who should have bought stock in yellow legal pads a long time ago always says..."get your pad out and make a list".  In this case, the blog is my "yellow legal pad", but she is right.  It works.

Here is the gardening post that wasn't happening yesterday morning. 

The blackberry bushes (above) are beginning to leaf out.

Lettuces are really starting to take off.  And there to the right are pea seedlings that will be trained up some garden twine attached to the fence above.

Spinach seedlings are emerging.

Broccoli seedlings started indoors are transplanted.  And the chives survived the winter and are are looking good.

And so is the maple tree out front.  I love how the tiny little leaves look so feathery right now...almost like little peach blossoms.

Being able to watch our garden wake up from its winter nap literally right before our eyes has me thinking about hibernation.  And about growth.  How even when it is dark and cold outside, and we have retreated to the comfortableness of our cozy quilts and warm drinks, winter is still a time of growth.  Quiet, slow growth...reading, writing, thinking, surveying.  Almost not noticeable to the naked eye.  Collecting bits and pieces of knowlege, maybe a quote that has been bouncing around our brains.  Maybe a song or a thought that you just can't quite shake...more of a prompting. 

And when the time is right and the sun is at the perfect height, growth happens. Amazing growth that just takes your breath away.

This weekend Im headed North, to a little gathering of food friends.  Its going to be cold and rainy in this neck of the woods, which will be good for our little seedlings.  And perfect for a bit of good girl friend time in a nice hotel, late night chats and quiet morning breakfasts.  Hopefully a bit of reading.

While there, I am also welcoming (read that scared to death of) an opportunity to share a bit of my own winter growth journey into more mindful mothering with a few fellow mothers.  Here is a bit of a peak into what we will be talking about.

"Sometimes we actually choose the franticness of life, because it gives us an opt-out clause for not facing our own realities.  An excuse for not being the kind of mothers we should be."

"Motherhood is a calling.  Through our own personal journeys and through our children, God is trying to teach each of us something special."

Wish me luck!

Wishing you a weekend of mindful mothering yourself.  Happy Friday!

dear god, make me a bird...

mama cardinal, originally uploaded by eren | thisvintagechica.

Right now, I am sitting at the computer trying to write a wonderfully happy post about what is coming up in our garden. Either that or something about the many birds we’ve been watching visiting our front yard bird feeders.

But instead I am thinking about…

organizing the ever growing pile of school papers that are next to the phone into the notebooks sitting directly next to said pile of papers.

I haven’t mopped my floor in two weeks.

Breakfast dishes are still sitting in the sink.

Where did Wyatt’s snail Runner go? I should probably look for him.

I have three piles of laundry sitting next to me. I might be swallowed up by the underwear pile alone any minute.

Call SEARS to come look at the washing machine.

Its going to rain, I need to bring in the tablecloth from outside.

How many pairs of shoes do we REALLY need downstairs at once? Seriously!

I really want to try that foccacia bread recipe I saw the other day.

Oh geez, I just noticed the calendar in the kitchen is still on February.

Feeling bad that Zane went off to school unhappy after we had a …ahem, talk…about taking responsibility for our actions. Gosh, I hate that. Can you say mama guilt?

I think I need another cup of coffee.

"Dear God, Make me a bird, so I can fly far, far away." - Jenny, Forest Gump

mothering magazine article

Its an amazing thing when you are recognized by another person.  Especially for something like mothering in a way that grounds your children and brings focus to what is really important.

I had the honor of being interviewed by Jean Van't Hul for an article she wrote for the April issue of Mothering Magazine. The other crafty mamas included in the article are Amanda Blake Soule, Amy Karol, Sally Shim, and Stephanie Congdon Barnes. (Im still wondering how in the heck I was included in such talented company, pinch, pinch.)

Thank you Jean for writing such a wonderful article and for bringing attention to how so many of us are choosing a slightly different path in how we run our homes and raise our children.

You can read the article here if you sign up with Mothering or you can get the issue in bookstores now. (Thanks Catherine for the heads up on the password requirement)

out of the 1950's

I swear, it was like a movie from the 1950's - watching my boys that afternoon, as a timeless scene as old as boyhood itself unfolded before me.  Boys big enough to say "But mama, we can do it by ourselves."  And a mama not quite ready to let them go past eye-shot yet. 

A recent storm had blown down lots of pine tree branches in our neighborhood.  And one of them had seen several "big ones" down along the bus route.  "Can we go get them mama?  I have an idea." 

My industrious little boys saw this as a grand opportunity spread out before them.  The plan was this...ask people to pay them for the removal of the branches, drag them back to our yard where they would build a fort with said branches.  And buy candy (that mama won't let them have) with the money.  I know...industrious little ankle biters. 

So in the blink of an eye they were off, with Scout the wonder dog hitched to the wagon and a mama following 200 paces behind, camera in tow.  Close enough to warn them of cars at intersections.  Far enough behind to let their imaginations run where they might without interference.

Belive me, it took all I had in me to resist stepping in and helping them drag those huge branches back to our yard.

And I watched in amazement as they entered a world of their own creation.  They wrote a story where they were the generals.  And the heroes.  A world where pine cones were armed missiles and a few sticky pine branches protected from all that was bad in the world.  A world with its own language and its own rules.  A world without mamas telling you to pick up after yourself or wash the sap off of your hands.

I felt privileged to witness time stand still that afternoon. 

Thank you my sweet boys for letting me tag along.  For giving this mama a tiny glimpse of what your worlds really will look like someday...the valiant men you will become.  I hope you know you taught me a valuable lesson that day about how to stand back and let go a tiny bit.  To watch from afar...just close enough to be thankful of the little men before me.

**And yes, we now have $1.75 burning a hole in our pocket.  Swedish fish anyone?**

let there be weeds

“What would the world be, once bereft of wet and wildness? Let them be left. O let them be left, wildness and wet; Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.”

-Gerard Manley Hopkins quotes

Sorry all, I don't have much for you today.  Just some pretty pictures I took on Saturday while laying in the grass.

We are still a bit drunk from the most beautiful weekend in a long time. Feeling a bit sleepy, like a bear coming out of hibernation.  Our weekend consisted of lots of outside play, front yard birdwatching, bare feet, good friends over for a grilled outside Sunday dinner.  All of it has us moving slowly this morning.  That and the time change...it get's me every time.

The photo above is from some of the purple flowered weeds (henbit or dead nettle) that start to poke their heads up in our yard about this time every year. I was surprised to find it is edible and good mixed with dandelions as a salad.  Henbit always make me think of my friend Maggie who brings bunches and bunches of them in on her windowsill in tiny little glass bottles.

Yesterday S was going to give the grass its first haircut of the year, but Wyatt wouldn't let him. "Daddy, I need these flowers so I can pick them for my mama!". Oh, sweet boy! 

Let you always know that women love hand picked flowers...even if they are weeds out of the front yard.

:10 things: and green week

Thank you so much for your comments to the "stimulus package" post below.  If you haven't read the comments section and you are interested in how others are saving money and stretching their dollar, I invite you to do so.  There are lots of great little take away nuggets in the information shared by everyone. 

Thought I would share a few things that are making us smile these days. 

1.  I remember Blair posting about Boomerang! quite awhile back, describing it as NPR for kids.  But I must have not had time to follow the link because if I had I would have shared it with you all sooner. Boomerang! is having a little giveaway on their blog, so hop on over and check it out.  But promise to come back ... its easy to get lost in the gazillion episode titles.  We have several bookmarked for download this weekend.

2.  Birch Bark Soap's handmade chocolate bar soap...seriously good enough to eat.  I hadn't ordered the chocolate, but Sherrie was kind enough to include a bar of the chocolate and it was by far my favorite.  The best part is Sherrie donates a portion of her soapmaking profits to an entrepreneur in the developing world through Kiva.

3.  Watching S and the boys (re) discover vintage Speed Racer videos on youtube. 

4.  Baby Fiona has finally arrived!  Congratulations Grace!  Yes, new babies always make me happy.  How could this photo not bring a smile to your face?

5.  Rachel's pillows...oh, my!  I love how she has taken an image from the JCrew catalog and translated it into a pillow.  She has my mind thinking...as she always seems to do these days.

6.  The Write Start - great ideas for ways to help little ones learn to write.

7.  The realease of Molly's new book, A Homemade Life: Storied and Recipes from My Kitchen.  This weekend I'll be running to my local bookseller to purchase it heading to the library to put my request in.

8.  This belated Christmas package came from, the amazingly talented, Renee yesterday and talk about a stimulus package...woohoo!  Wyatt and I jumped right in and had the best time opening each of the carefully wrapped packages.  Of course the packaging is always a hit around here, but the thing I loved the most was this little identification notebook.  It is mine all mine!  Thanks Renee.  You made our day.  You can see more of Renee's work here.

9.  Americana...Jen you are amazing.

10.  This book by Mary Beth Hicks in which she reclaims the term "GEEK" by defining it as a "genuine, enthusiastic, empowered kid," and turns around several other concepts-"brainiac," "late bloomer," "sheltered," "homebody"-to find their true value. As a mama geek, I say sign me up!

11.  And one more for good measure, this post found via Amanda.

The photos are a mish mash of the bits of green we found this week.  Green also makes me happy.

Happy weekending to you all!

a stimulus package of our own

 

With much of our country (and in fact the world) debating over our new president's answer to the current economic situation, I have found myself in a bit of a downward slide.  We have friends whose jobs are in jeopardy.  And family members who are worried that their small businesses might not survive.  Blair (the the comments that followed) summed it pretty well here.

One afternoon last week, I was out in the front yard waiting for the bus to deliver my sweet boys home from school and was chatting with a few of the neighbors.  The talk eventually lead to how tough things are right now with the US economy. How food prices have gone up, jobs are being lost all around us, and homes aren't selling like they used to.  I swear, most of the ingredients for the perfect country western song were there.  One man even said, "I don't know what we'll do.  Just sit here and wait for the bank to take our house, I guess".  And I found myself actually start feeling bad for this guy. 

Until I was walking back into the house with my two little men and thinking...wait one dog-gone minute.  Not once did I hear a single person offer a solution to their predicament or ways they are going to buckle down to make it through this little rough spot.  The man who was talking about letting the bank take his house is the very same man who was visited by the friendly Lawn Doctor truck not three hours previously.  The same man who had proudly shown the group his new iphone.  The same man who leases not one but two vehicles. The very same man with the "What in the world are we to do?" attitude as he threw up his hands up. 

And I do not mean to say that a bunch of mere citizens can solve the world's problems standing out in the snow in 20 minutes.  Not in the slightest, but I refuse to adopt the poor me attitude I keep witnessing. 

Now, yes, my husband has a stable job.  And for that I am grateful.  But do not think that we are not feeling the pinch too.  That everything is rosy posy on our side of the world.

Our food costs have almost doubled in the past year.  Gas prices have come down again, but the increase in food prices due to a supposed increase in transportation costs have not come back down.  We still have a house in Wisconsin that we were unable to sell and are renting out for less than the mortgage.  Which means we are actually loosing hundreds of dollars a month on a house we do not even want to own. 

However...

• Most of us are still more wealthy than 90% of the people in the rest of the world.

• There are small things here and there that each of us as individuals can do.

• My Grandparents survived the Great Depression, and I think I owe it to them to "wear it out, make do, or do without".

So, I am making a choice right here, right now.  I am choosing to focus on the positive.  To use this time of uncertainty to re-evaluate our spending.  To find ways to re-focus on what is really into our lives.   To scale back.  To be more intentional.

Here are some of the ideas S and I thought up for our own stimulus package at home.

1.  We need to find ways to cut back on our consumption...again.  We do this from time to time anyway, but its time to do it again. 

2.  Get creative with ways to stretch our dollar further.

3.  I need to find a few ways to generate a bit of income here and there.  Pick up a few website design jobs where I can.

4.  We need to refocus on what is truly important.  Pour ourselves into those things that really fuel us and might give us the same sense of being spoiled as a night out at an expensive restaurant would.

5.  Take a new look at our food budget.  Buckle down.  Increase the size of the garden.  Grow potatoes this year.

6.  Make do with the cell phones that are out of date and (mine) missing the back.

7.  Be open to the idea of taking in a boarder for the guest room.  (This is a bit of a struggle for me.)

8.  Get back to the library.  I can spend $100 at the bookstore at the drop of a hat.

9.  Do not update my magazine subscriptions.  This one really hurts.  Let me tell you.

10.  Gather with good friends over cheap wine.

11.  Carpool when I can.

12.  Cut the cable.  We don't watch a lot of TV anyway, but we got sucked into a three month deal right before the olympics and never cancelled it again.  Good bye cable!  We'll watch our Star Wars episodes online a week later than the rest of the wold.

13.  Remember Nicaragua and the people I met there.  Talk about getting by.

14.  Hold on to my faith with both hands.  Find ways to dig deeper into my relationship with God.  Pray.  For my family.  For our friends.  For our leaders.  For those in the world that have it 10x harder than we do here.

So, with that in mind...over the next several weeks, I'll be following Rachel's lead and posting a few of our money saving ideas here.  I invite you to do the same.

What is your top money saving advice?  Because as they say, "We're all in this together".

P.S.  Thank you for indulging my husband on Monday.  He's a toughy on the outside, but right now he's making the longest hot wheels track EVER down our upstairs hallway with Wyatt...both of them hanging out in their underwear singing the theme song to Speed Racer.  Ssshhhh!  I didn't just tell you that.  Its our little secret.

hola: a guest post from S

Hello everyone.  Here, on Eren's blog I'm known as S. This is my first guest appearance. 

I was kidding Eren about being wrapped in a blanket, outside in the snow, taking pictures even before the boys got up.  After a bout of bantering Eren dared me to write something on her blog, so I accepted the challenge. I wish I could say I took the challenge by the tail and whooped its bee-hind.  But like most of the arguments we have, I'm wrong 99.5% of the time.  Once again after about 1000 edits and spell checks, Eren has once again proved herself victorious. Now, if I could only get her to provide for me economically.

I'm privileged to be writing here. I personally try to stay away from the computer as much as possible because of my addiction to video games like chess, mine sweeper and ink ball - among other things that get me into trouble.

I'm brutally honest about how I feel which is refreshing to some and annoying to others. But I like honesty and I hate it when people beat around the bush. Just tell me what you think you won't hurt my feelings and I guarantee you'll feel better at the end of the day. And if your still angry at me, you can tell me tomorrow while I buy you a cup of coffee or while we are hanging out on the beach together. I've been told I should be on talk radio and that I've missed my calling in life.

Winter is not my thing.  I despise the cold, but I like snow and snow boarding. It's unfortunate that the two have that kind of relationship - being dependent on each other and all. I personally hope never to live anywhere cold again especially after living in the frozen tundra for 2 years (Wisconsin). I wish Eren could have picked a better picture to express my sincere dislike of winter.  The cob webs on my surfboards or the snow this morning on the trampoline would have been a better photo.  But I can't complain too much. I don't even know how to post or take pictures with her camera.

I'm a conservative, so disagree with about 3/4 of the U.S. according to the gallop polls. So I won't go into politics or anything of that nature. I love movies - its my lava lamp for escaping the world. I'm basically a 10 year old trapped in a 37 year old body and I don't have a problem with that. Fortunately for me I have a great wife who is continually trying to help me grow up while I, in turn, try to keep her young forever.

I hope you enjoy all of her hard work. Please don't stop reading her blog because of this post.  She thinks the world of all of you and would not know what to do if I offended anyone.  She has her fingers double crossed at the moment that you all find me endearing and not a total butt head.

I hope I, or you, win the lottery today, but I know its just a pipe dream for me because I forget to play half of the time. Take care and once again have a great day.  Keep on dreaming, I know its the only thing that gets me through the day.  Today, I am dreaming of the day my boy and I are riding the waves of summer together.

What are you dreaming about today?

-S