On-Purpose Living

New Beginnings

2014-07-04T20:33:00.000-03:00

Hello! Well I am certain that no one is reading here anymore. It has been nearly 4 years since my last blog post. My life has changed so drastically since my last post, and I had given a lot of thought to starting a new blog. I love documenting our little adventures and missed blogging. While trying to come up with a new blog name, I realized that this one is still so very fitting - no matter how many changes have occurred in my life, I still strive to live intentionally. It seems to be the overarching theme in my life, On Purpose Living. Each day I choose an intentional life. I try to make choices that reflect our values and priorities. So I have decided that, for now, I will come back to this little blog. The archives on here shall remain as a reminder of my history; the path that got us here. Posts from here on will reflect my new life: As a single, homeschooling mom striving for simplicity and strength. An urban homesteading adventure if you will; my three wonderful children and I, living one day at a time, putting one foot in front of the other, on our journey to our very best life. Thanks for following along. :)

Long time no post!

2010-11-04T15:19:00.000-03:00

Oh my goodness, I can't believe it's been nearly 4 months since I've last posted on this blog. What a whirlwind life has been for the past while ~ I commend all your bloggers who find the time and energy to post daily, in addition to living life!

To be honest, I have been contemplating shutting the blog down... I just can't seem to post consistently enough to maintain a blog, which suggests to me that it's not high on my priority list. Plus it seems like all of the things I write about are easily found elsewhere on the internet... there are tons of blogs out there that speak to simple living, homeschooling, living consciously and lightly. I have grown in leaps and bounds since first starting this blog, and in many ways I feel it has fulfilled its purpose... documenting my journey to living an on-purpose life. Of course, I will never fully feel that I have "arrived"... part of living intentionally is in the constant striving, the constant evaluating and re-evaluating, and of course, in the doing, the living in the present moment. These will all be life-long pursuits. But I know now that I have chosen the right path, and it's just a matter of following it and seeing where it leads.

If I decide to continue with this blog, I will have to give some thought to what direction I want to take it in, and how it will differ from what already exists out there. I also need to give some thought to whether blogging has a place in my life right now, and how much of a commitment I am willing to make. I would love to hear from anyone who is still checking in here - let me know you're still around, and if you're interested in an On-Purpose Living revival. :) It would also be helpful to know what you're interested in reading about!

Alissa

Our Square Foot Gardens

2010-06-23T15:10:00.000-03:00

I've been meaning to post about this since we first started Square Foot Gardening last year, but haven't quite gotten around to it! If you've never heard of Square Foot Gardening, it really is an amazing thing. You can likely find the book through your local library (that's where we found it, before purchasing our own copy), or you can buy your very own copy through my Amazon link above or in the sidebar to the left (full disclosure: I might make about 20 cents from the purchase. And I promise to use the proceeds to buy more plants. lol). Anyway, Square Foot Gardening is awesome, because of how much food you can grow in such a small space. Instead of using the traditional row gardening that we're all familiar with (which is really a waste of space), instead you build small raised beds, with enough space to walk around them, eliminating the need for rows. What I love about this method is how easy it is. We have almost no gardening experience. Bruce's family gardened when he was younger, but he really doesn't remember much about it. I've never grown anything resembling food in my life (okay, maybe a few herbs on a windowsill), and this book lays it out in such a way that anyone can do this. You build your 4ft x 4ft, 6 inch deep beds, make your gridlines, fill with soil (the book outlines exactly what soil mix to use, so you don't have to guess... just do what he tells you and it will be perfect, loose soil), and start planting. The book tells you exactly how many of each plant you can put in each of those little grid boxes. Some things, like corn, you get one plant per square foot. Other things, like carrots, you can actually plant 16 per square foot. We started last year with just 3 beds (we intended to start with two, but got carried away with our seed starting and needed a third bed). This year we added a fourth. We'd love to add two more, but we've used up pretty much all of the sunny spots in our yard! That bench was sitting on our front verandah, unused, so we added it to the garden and planted in it. We were also able to pick up a couple of planters for a good price, so we filled those up, too. We eventually plan to build a small fence around it to keep the neighbourhood cats out (who seem to think this is their own personal litter box), and maybe pretty it up a little. We'd love to add something in the walkway other than grass, maybe some nice stones or mulch. Anyway, here are a few more pictures for a closer look:

Above is Norah's own little garden that she takes care of. She planted a potato to see what would happen, and in the middle you'll see her potato plant.

The book also gives great ideas for ways to grow food even if you don't have a yard. Just one little balcony box or pot can really grow a substantial amount of food! I think it's so important that we all learn to grow something. Even if it's just herbs on a windowsill, or a pot of Tiny Tim's. We've all become far too dependent on our oil-based food industry, and expect that those trucks will always deliver food to our grocery stores, just in the nick of time. It's time we took back some of our food independence. Plus, nothing beats eating a salad from fresh lettuce and other veggies that were picked only moments before... soooo nutritious and delicious!

So what's in your garden? Do you have one? How long have you been gardening? Have you thought about it, but just not gotten around to acting on it? Can you grow one thing, anything? I'd love to hear about it and see your pictures!

Do you wash your face?

2010-06-21T09:36:00.000-03:00

In my ongoing quest to simplify our lives, and to reduce our dependence on commercial products, I've been assessing our need for various bathroom items. We've already made great strides in this area; our bathroom actually contains very few products. In the shower you will only find a bar of natural soap, and one bottle each of natural shampoo and conditioner. (As an aside, it's SO much easier to clean the tub when I only have to take 3 things out of there to do it!). My bathroom drawer is very nearly empty. Just a brush, a comb, some facial moisturizer, dental floss, and a small zippered pouch for Norah's barrettes and elastics. On the counter lives a mason jar containing toothbrushes, and another small jar with our homemade toothpaste. I also keep my deodorant and my natural hair mousse on the counter because they tend to leak if laying on their side in my drawer (I actually prefer to keep the counters as clear as possible; makes cleaning SO much easier!). Oh, and a bottle of body lotion. Another topic I'd like to discuss! Although we've made great progress in terms of how many products we're using, I still feel like I can challenge myself to go further. What I normally do is, as I run out of something (whether it's a food item, a toiletry, a cleaning product, etc.), is ask myself if I really need to replace it. Instead of immediately adding it to the grocery list, I try to assess whether it is truly a need. Can I make it myself? Do I need it at all?

Recently I noticed that my facial moisturizer (all natural) was getting low, and I was going to add it to my list. But then I was wondering if there was an alternative that was even more natural. I had read about using olive oil as a facial moisturizer, and thought that sounded interesting. But then I thought, what's even more natural than olive oil? Doesn't it seem strange that we have to put oil on our face, when our face already produces oil of its own?? Doesn't it seem silly to spend money on a product to wash our face, and then spend more money on moisturizer to replace the oils we just stripped off? Awhile ago I decided not to replace my Burt's Bees face wash when it ran out. Although I loved it (it smelled wonderful, and made my face feel tingly and fresh), we have decided to stop supporting Burt's Bees since they were bought out by Clorox. I didn't feel like going on another hunt for a face wash that I would like just as much, so I decided to just start using the same natural soap that I use on the rest of my body. Every morning when I get out of the shower, I apply moisturizer to my dry, freshly washed face. Until this morning. This morning I decided I would see what happened if I didn't wash my face. I just rinsed it in warm water while I was in the shower, and didn't moisturize when I got out. It still feels a little on the dry side, but I'm wondering if it will take a little while for my face to figure out what I'm doing, and to start regulating its oil production.

It always feels a little uncomfortable when we first make a change. Some habits are just so ingrained that it causes discomfort when we try to break those habits. A couple of years ago I stopped wearing make-up altogether. The organic stuff was so expensive, and it just seemed like such a frivolous thing to spend so much money on. I wasn't about to keep using the chemical-laden stuff. So I just stopped using it. And not one person has noticed (that I know of!). My husband even confessed to me that he hated make-up, and he always thought it was stupid that girls wore it. My face feels clean and fresh, like it can breathe! No more goop around my eyes. No clogged pores from cover-up. And when I made that change, I also realized that I no longer had to wash my face twice a day. My evening face washing was really just because I had make-up on. So it was another small step toward simplifying. Using less face wash, because I was only using it once a day instead of twice. It took time to adjust to that, but over time it didn't bother me to not wash my face at night. I'm sure this transition will be similar; it's such a habit to wash my face while I'm in the shower that it will take a little time to resist the urge! That's why I'm such a huge advocate of babysteps. One small change at a time. When you get used to that change, and you no longer have to think about it, you can make one more small change.

Now back to the body lotion I mentioned above! I shave my legs daily (yes, something else I need to work on... but babysteps, remember???), so after I shave I find my legs are really dry. So part of my morning routine is to apply moisturizer to my legs. I've read on several blogs that coconut oil makes a great moisturizer. So I tried it yesterday, and it was wonderful! It wasn't greasy like I thought it would be, just nice and soft. So until I can kick the shaving habit (help!!!), I think I'll make the switch to coconut oil. One less thing to have to buy, since I buy coconut oil anyway for cooking. And I'm all about buying less. :)

I also have plans to try no-'pooing so that we can eventually give up our shampoo. I tried it briefly before, but didn't do it long enough to give it a fair chance.

How about you? Do you wash your face every day? Wear make-up because it's what you've always done? What things do you do out of habit, without thinking about them, that you could possibly change or do without? I challenge you to give it some thought. :) Can you make one small change today?

Alissa

A VitaMix, and a New Homemaking Schedule

2010-06-08T20:07:00.001-03:00

Hello! Long time no blog. :)

In case you haven't noticed, I've been rather absent from blogging lately. Too many things to actually do, and not enough time to write about it. :) But I have some news to share, so I thought I'd post about it! Our local health food store (Charlene's), was having a draw for a new VitaMix TurboBlend 4500. Each week for the past few weeks, I've been diligently filling out a ballot every time I went in. When I was in on Saturday, I joked with the staff that I was glad to see my VitaMix was still there, and informed them all that I would be winning it! They all laughed and went about their work. The ballot box was stuffed as full as could be, but I still intensely felt that I might win. I even told my husband, who told me not to get my hopes up! Well, this morning I got a phone call, and they were as shocked as I was that I actually won!! The power of positive thinking pays off. :) Oh, and I'm sure there was a little, tiny bit of luck involved, too. In any case, I'll be going in in the next couple of days to have my picture taken with the blender (fun!), and to take it home and test it out! I can hardly wait. I've been watching VitaMix videos on YouTube all day today. That thing is a beast!! Anyway, I never win anything (EVER!), so to win something that I've actually wanted for ages was practically a miracle. I plan to Freecycle our current blender and bless someone else, since I have been so blessed to win this one.

In other news (okay, maybe not so news-worthy for some of you), I've decided to switch up my homemaking schedule a bit. I've blogged about my Weekly Schedule before. I've been using this method for a few years now, and frankly, had been getting bored with it! Plus, the trouble with focussing on a different room each day is that a lot of bigger projects get ignored (like cleaning out the pantry, or switching out outgrown clothing, because usually those jobs take more than one day). I felt like I was cleaning things that were already clean, and ignoring things that actually needed my attention. So I decided to give FlyLady another try. Basically, you divide your house into 5 different "zones" (which I was already doing with my weekly schedule), only instead of doing a different zone each day, you focus on one zone for a whole week. You do all of your decluttering/detail cleaning during that week (just 15 minutes/day!), and then the next week you move onto the next zone. And once a week you do what's called her Weekly Home Blessing, which is basically a 1-hour, quick-clean of your whole house. I'm a little scared of this part, because it's very doubtful that I'd actually be able to clean my house in an hour. Even quickly. But so many people swear by her methods, that I'm willing to give it a shot. Any other FlyLady followers out there? :) She also follows a basic weekly plan, which I've adjusted to fit my own needs. The way I was doing it before, I had great intentions of getting everything done that needed doing, but never quite got there. My poor husband would sometimes realize in a panic at 8:20 am (when he's supposed to be at work at 8:30!) that he had nothing to wear, because all of his clothes were hanging on the ironing board, still wrinkled. My mending pile has been toppling over for months, because I've just never gotten around to it. I have great intentions of working on my food binder, and my household notebook, but can't quite figure out where to fit that in. I have exactly ZERO pictures printed of my last two children. Ahem. Obviously what I was doing wasn't working. My house was sorta clean, but there's so much more to homemaking than just cleaning! So I decided to try a method that women had followed for probably a hundred years. A chore for each day. It was such a prevalent system that tea towels were even embroidered with each day's task. It went something like this:

Wash on Monday

Iron on Tuesday

Mend on Wednesday

Market on Thursday

Clean on Friday

Bake on Saturday

Rest on Sunday

It's so simple, it's almost brilliant. No more trying to accomplish 50 different tasks in one day. Just the daily stuff daily, and then each day has its own weekly task. Except I don't want a wash day. I think I'd rather die than wash 6 or 7 loads of laundry in one day. Not to mention there's no way I could hang all that laundry on the clothes line. I can usually fit exactly one load of laundry on my clothes line, so I'll stick to my one-load-per-day philosophy here. I assign a different type of laundry to each day, and by the end of the week it all gets done. That's been working well, so I'm not changing that! Oh, and we go to the Market on Saturday, for two reasons: One, it's the only day it's open, and two: it's the only day I have a vehicle. And since baking day should logically follow Market Day, I'll continue to do my baking on Sundays. It's what I've always done, and it's pretty ingrained in my weekly routine. Iron on Tuesday, Mend on Wednesday, and Clean on Friday will work just fine. And I was thinking that instead of Wash Day, I should have an Office Day, or a Desk Day. A day to tackle all those little projects that I never quite get to. Like typing up my regular recipes and putting them in my food binder, updating my household notebook, working on photo albums, all that kind of stuff. I'm thinking Monday would be a good day to do that, as I usually dread Mondays, so this would give me something fun to look forward to. :) My goal is to have the day's chore completed by noon, which leaves us the afternoon to do whatever the heck we want. We'll see how this fits in with homeschooling, but for now I'm loving the simplicity of it. Anyone else have a weekly rhythm they want to share? I always love hearing what works for everyone else!

Extending the Life of Clothing

2010-05-15T14:14:00.001-03:00

It's a nice, quiet afternoon at my house! Bruce and Norah (my chattiest child!) are outside doing yard work, and it's just Owen, Gavin and I in the house. My mending pile is out of control these days, so I've been trying to chip away at it here and there when I get a few peaceful minutes. I had made these pajamas for Norah a couple of years ago, and she's stretched a few inches since then. The top had become a bit of a belly top... not cool. :) But she loves these pajamas and I couldn't convince her to give them up. Originally they didn't have any banding on the bottom, they were just hemmed, with small slits on each side. I unpicked the slits, sewed up the side seams, and added banding to the bottom. And voila, a pajama top that is approximately 3 inches longer. :) This should buy her another year with these pajamas. I love extending the life of clothing and other household objects by doing things like this. What a great sense of satisfaction it brings, not to mention it saves us money, and reduces our overall consumption. Have you extended the life of anything lately? Can you think of anything that you can extend the life of by doing something similar? Adding an extra flounce to a skirt? Some ribbon and lace at the bottom of pants? Turning pants with the knees blown out into some summer shorts?

Happy Earth Day, All!!

2010-04-22T19:32:00.000-03:00

Well although I haven't posted in awhile, I thought it only fitting that I do at least a quick post in honour of Earth Day. The funny thing is, I wracked my brain trying to think of something special we could do to celebrate Earth Day, but couldn't think of anything! Every day is Earth Day around here. Every day we make a conscious effort to do what we can for our planet, so really, today was no different for us. The kids did draw pictures of the earth, put them in envelopes and placed them in the mailbox (to be mailed to the Earth... how cute!) to say thank-you for all that the Earth gives us. I had a lovely visit with an old friend this afternoon whom I haven't seen since university. I bumped into her at the Farmer's Market a couple of weeks ago, and found out she was pregnant and was interested in cloth diapering. She was looking for some tips, so I invited her over to show her what it was all about. And then of course we chatted about just about everything OTHER than diapers. Then after she left it was such a nice day today, that instead of cleaning up we all went out for a walk. Being outdoors is really the best way to celebrate Earth Day, isn't it? Just enjoying what we are so lucky to have. Hope you all had a nice Earth Day today! Did you do anything special to celebrate?

My First Bulk Food Order!

2010-03-20T17:50:00.008-03:00

We got to pick up our very first bulk food order today! I never thought I'd be this excited about food. :) This is going to be such a huge savings for us, compared to buying small packages of organic food at the grocery store. And a nice perk is the fact that our grocery shopping is going to be far less of a hassle! We'll just put in a bulk order every few months, and pick it up when it comes in... we'll actually have very little to get at the grocery store! Between buying dry goods through the co-op, and shopping at the farmer's market, I hope to avoid the grocery store altogether.

We got:

22 pound bag of organic whole wheat flour

17 pound bag of organic rolled oats

25 pound bag of organic green lentils

11 pound bag of coarse grey sea salt

There were a couple of things that didn't come in, such as our basmati rice, white unbleached flour (she just forgot to bring it, so we'll pick that up next week), and a 2 pound bag of organic, fair-trade, locally roasted coffee. This order was basically just to get the ball rolling in terms of buying things in bulk; I imagine our next order will include several other things. The savings is quite substantial; overall about 50% less than what we'd pay at the grocery store. Not to mention it's local, and there is far less packaging than buying multiple small packages of things, making it much healthier for the planet.

Where have I been????

2010-03-17T15:01:00.003-03:00

I just thought I'd do a quick post to let you all know that I am still alive and well. :) Things are busy with 3 little ones, and blogging has taken a back seat lately. I hope to be able to get back to some regular posting soon! Gavin will be a year old next week... can you believe that??? Where has the past year gone? Life with three has been an adjustment, but a wonderful one. I've also completely thrown myself into the world of homeschooling research, which has more or less devoured any amount of free time I might have otherwise had. I've become enamoured with Waldorf, and spend most evenings reading and learning as much as I can about it. Although Norah will be "officially" registered for homeschool in the fall, the nice thing about Waldorf is that real academics don't begin until Grade One, so we still have plenty of time! Christopherus has been our curriculum of choice, and we've been trying to incorporate many of the ideas from Kindergarten with your Three-to-Six Year Old into our days. Sewing is still not happening around here (Gavin is still happily nursing on the couch all evening, and then comes to bed with us), so my machine is collecting much dust... although we did make some new shamrock napkins for our St. Patrick's Day feast tonight. :) I've taken up knitting instead, which I'm really enjoying! I'm working on another diaper soaker as we speak (have I mentioned my new love affair with wool????). I'm going to try to find a way to squeeze a few minutes of sewing in during the day though; my mending basket is getting out of control. :) Otherwise we are just enjoying the nice spring weather, and enjoying each other's company! Soon it will be time for seed-starting and planting, and then we will have plenty to keep us busy. I guess that's it in a nutshell! I promise to be back soon with some regular posts!!

Garbage Update

2010-01-27T14:15:00.003-04:00

Oh, what a lovely title for a post. :)

If you'll recall, awhile back I posted about wanting to reduce/eliminate the amount of garbage we create. We posted a log above the garbage can, and for a couple of months tracked everything we put in there. (Yes, we actually did!). Notably, we used the same kitchen garbage bag during that entire time... thanks to cloth diapering, composting, and recycling, we create very little garbage. As a side note, Frugal Babe (awesome as she is) has started re-using her kitchen garbage bag, by simply dumping the contents into their outdoor garbage can. How ingenious! I'm going to start doing this as well. In any case, we really wanted to know what kind of stuff we were shipping off to the landfill. What we discovered was that the vast majority of our garbage was non-recyclable packaging waste. Things like the little styrofoam tops from new ketchup bottles, peanut butter jars, etc. Also butter wrappers (the butter I buy comes in four individually-wrapped sticks, which makes measuring for baking a cinch, but creates more waste than I had realized). Odd crafts that the kids have done that make use of non-recyclable, non-compostable craft supplies - think pom poms, little foam shapes, glitter, etc. (for the record I don't buy this stuff, it's stuff that others have given us). Stickers (again, given to us). Hallowe'en was a big contributor to our garbage, mainly in the form of chip bags. Chip bags are not recyclable nor compostable thanks to the foil lining. Lids from jars/bottles that are not recyclable. New clothes that were received as gifts often have size stickers on them, and those security labels sewn to the inside that you're supposed to cut out before washing or wearing. Over Christmas we received gifts that were wrapped in wrapping paper, which is not recyclable.

What I learned mostly from this experiment is that I believe living garbage-free is attainable, at least for the things that are within our control. We're slowly working our way up to making everything from scratch, which will eliminate the packaging waste. We're joining an organic bulk-buying co-0p which will allow us to purchase our staples in bulk quantities at a much reduced cost, as well as reduced packaging. I also figure that I will spend less time shopping, which means I can spend more time making things from scratch. We rarely throw clothing away; we try to mend clothing that needs repair whenever possible. If it's beyond repair, it usually turns into a rag for cleaning. Old holey socks (provided they are wool or cotton) can be cut into small pieces and composted. When purchased new, durable goods come with a lot of wasteful packaging, so buying durable goods second-hand would eliminate that waste.

However, what was most apparent was that a large portion of our garbage is actually created as a result of other people giving us stuff. While we are always grateful for what others give us, it is a little frustrating when it creates waste. Since we wouldn't have very many friends or family left if we commented on this, we of course don't say anything! Instead we just try to lead by example, and hope that others will catch on. I was thinking that for next Christmas I'd get creative with my wrapping that we give to others. I've been saving the kids' paintings to use as wrapping paper(they paint on those big rolls of brown kraft paper). I also thought of buying a few meters of pretty Christmas fabric, finishing the edges, and using it as gift wrap, tying it with a pretty, reusable ribbon. Hopefully the recipient of the gift will pay it forward the next year, using that fabric to wrap a gift they're giving to someone, and so on. This would work for birthday gifts, etc. as well.

I also think that we can greatly reduce the amount of recycling we put out each week, just by being more conscious of packaging. (Many people think that recycling = green, but the reality is that recycling takes energy, uses resources, and creates its own waste. The green motto is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - in that order! So reducing and reusing are always better than recycling). Buying in bulk will hugely reduce our recycling output, as will making things from scratch. I've started buying maple syrup in glass bottles from a local supplier, and I'm saving the bottles to return to them when I buy new syrup. The farmer whom we buy our eggs from takes his egg cartons back and re-uses them. We buy Allen's Naturally laundry soap in the gallon-sized bottle, and when used with our high-efficiency washing machine lasts us a whole YEAR. We used to go through a bottle of laundry soap a month when we used the regular grocery store stuff. Ultimately I'd like to start making our own personal care products from scratch - toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, etc., which would eliminate the packaging waste that goes along with all that stuff. I'm trying to shift from buying ready-made products, to raw materials that can be made into many things. It's a slow process, but we're getting there, one baby step at a time.

I'd love to hear any tips you have on how you've managed to reduce the amount of waste your family creates, or if you have any ideas for me!

Mvelopes Referral Update!

2010-01-12T15:17:00.002-04:00

Just a quick update... Mvelopes has sweetened the pot! If you sign up for the free trial of Mvelopes through my referral link, I will get $20 (up from $15), and you'll save 25% (up from 20%) off your subscription fee should you choose to subscribe. And, of course, if you do sign up for Mvelopes you can get your own referral code, and start earning money. This offer is good until the end of January, so if you're interested, don't delay! I've already had one sign-up! I hope she enjoys using Mvelopes as much as I do. :)

Mvelopes

2009-12-22T14:44:00.006-04:00

I know it's been awhile since I've posted! 'Tis

the season, and like many of you, I'm sure, we've been busy getting ready and enjoying all of the

good things that this time of year brings. :)

Unfortunately for many, this time of year can also be financially stressful. I've talked before about how we use the Envelope Method to manage our finances. Using this method has completely changed our lives. No longer do we stress about money, because we plan for everything, and have relatively few financial surprises. This method allows us to spread our expenses out evenly all throughout the year, so there are no financial ups and downs. We budget for Christmas every single month, so there is no particular financial stress at Christmastime. We just spend the money that's been allocated in the "Christmas" envelope, and then in January we keep on contributing to it for next year.

Until recently, I was using Quicken, and "hacked in" an envelope method. However, it was clumsy, required some work-arounds that made reconciling bank statements a little annoying, and I hated that Bruce was always asking me if we could afford to get such-and-such. I was tired of being the budget gatekeeper, I wanted him to have equal access to our envelope balances. Also, we both recently got iPhones, which meant I was getting rid of my Palm Pilot (and Pocket Quicken was going with it!). I wanted something that we could check our balances on our iPhones, anytime, anywhere (since usually you're not making purchasing decisions while sitting in front of your computer!) I did some searching around online and discovered some web-based software called Mvelopes.

It's basically an online version of the envelope method. What I LOVE about it is that it incorporates ALL of your accounts, and automatically downloads your transactions. You then assign your transactions to the appropriate envelope, and the envelope balance is immediately updated. And because it's web-based, Bruce and I can check our envelope balances anytime, anywhere. (When you use the envelope method, your bank account balance becomes irrelevant... all that matters is whether there is money in the envelope to make your purchase. If there's not enough money, you either don't make the purchase, or make a conscious decision to move money from another envelope). This way, if Bruce wants to know how much money is left in his allowance envelope, or in the home maintenance envelope (really, the only two categories he cares about!), he just has to log on and check for himself. :) No longer do I have to feel like his mother and say yes/no to purchases. And THAT in itself is worth the subscription fee! I used the free trial for 2 weeks, and then decided to go ahead and pay the subscription fee. Normally I wouldn't pay a monthly fee for something like this, but I really do believe that we will more than save that amount of money by having ready access to our budget information, and thus not going over budget.

I love the envelope method because it helps us to spend within our income, eliminate debt, and achieve our financial goals. It allows us to make conscious decisions about how to spend our money. WE tell our money where to go, instead of wondering where it went. Envelope Budgeting is the best way to manage our money and Mvelopes is the only system I have found that allows us to effectively use the envelope method while also using electronic, non-cash transactions. As I've mentioned before, we use our credit card for as many purchases as possible and then pay the balance off each month. Within Mvelopes there is an envelope called "Money for Credit Card", and whenever you make a purchase with your credit card, it automatically moves that amount of money into this envelope. Then when the bill comes, the money is there to pay it. This ensures that the money to pay the credit card bill has already been set aside, and we can continue to happily collect our Air Miles. :)

As a bonus, just the other day, Mvelopes announced a new Refer-a-Friend program. You can sign up for a risk-free trial (you have to give them your credit card info up front, but as long as you cancel before your trial period runs out, your card will not be charged). If you decide to go ahead and subscribe (I highly recommend it!!), you will get a 20% discount off the subscription fee, and I'll get $15.00 for the referral. Even one referral a month would MORE than cover the subscription fee. :) And then if you sign up, you could sign up for the Refer-a-Friend program as well! You could theoretically use this fabulous service for free. :)

Click below to sign up for the free trial with my personal referral link.

Hope you have a merry, debt-free Christmas. :)

Alissa

Diaper Woes...

2009-11-18T09:12:00.008-04:00

So poor Gavin has been squeezing into his infant prefolds for WAY too long. I've been meaning to sew him up some diapers, but getting to the sewing machine has been a bit of a challenge, to say the least! But now that he weighs nearly 20 pounds, and his prefolds are only meant for up to 15 pounds, the situation was getting a little critical. My original "plan" (HA!) was that Owen would be POTTY TRAINED by the time Gavin outgrew his infant prefolds, and Gavin could wear Owen's Fuzzi Bunz. But alas, Owen is on his own timeline, and potty training is probably still a way off in the future. Not to mention the elastic has gone in them AGAIN, and I just don't have it in me to replace it all again right now.

I went to the Cape Breton Baby Company on the week-end and I picked up some beautiful wool Stacinator diaper covers at a steal. She wanted to get rid of them because she'd had them forever and no one was buying them, so she gave them to me at cost! I got 3 of them, one in a size medium and 2 in toddler size. The toddler size is a bit big yet, but he will grow into them eventually. They're SO nice and soft, and so much better than the PUL covers I was using with the prefolds. Now I just needed some diapers to go with them. I didn't want to invest in a whole new set of diapers, so I thought I'd make some pocket fitteds, and I could use his infant prefolds as inserts. It seemed like the cheapest, least wasteful option.

I sewed this one pretty quickly, (fast sewing is the only kind of sewing I can do these days!), so the quality is less than stellar... don't look too closely! You'll also have to forgive the photo quality; it was 10:00 last night, and Gavin was just waking up, needing a boob and a diaper change so the photography was a little hasty! Anyway, you'll get the gist.

I used the Mama Bird pattern again... it's a really simple, quick pattern.

I used some leftover t-shirt knit that I had used to make Owen some pants. It's nice to be able to use up leftover fabric!

I had some leftover microfleece that I used for the inner. It's nice because it wicks the moisture away from the baby.

The diaper looks wonky in this picture, but it's really not... just the way it was sitting. Like I said, I was in a rush!

And here is the pocket, showing the prefold, folded into thirds as an insert.

Now I just need to make about a dozen or so more. :)

A full and busy week!

2009-11-13T19:23:00.003-04:00

Sorry I haven't been around this week. Things have been a bit busy around here (well, busier than usual!). My husband took the week off to work on the basement (hooray!), building and installing lots of shelving in the furnace room (hooray for storage!!), and also working on making a playroom for the kids! They have no idea that they're getting it, and we're hoping to have it done as a surprise for them for Christmas. It's a pretty small space, with very low ceilings (my poor husband's head almost touches the ceiling while he's working down there), but it will be a great playspace for the kids. And perhaps I'll regain a tiny bit of sanity, knowing that I can simply avoid going down there if I don't want to see the mess! Right now our living room doubles as a play room, and the kids can destroy it in about five minutes flat. Also, Gavin will be mobile pretty soon (he can already scoot around on his tummy!), and in spite of my hypervigilance, there are always little tiny toys on the floor. So it will be nice to have the bigger kids' toys downstairs, so Gavin can safely play up here. I promise to post plenty of pictures when it's all done! :)

Boosting Immunity

2009-11-02T15:07:00.005-04:00

As a family, we are trying to protect ourselves as best we can against H1N1 (and viruses in general), by boosting our immunity naturally. We have decided against the vaccine, for numerous reasons, so we need to be proactive in protecting our health. A friend and I researched and collaborated on various ways of boosting our immune systems. I wrote them out, and posted them on our fridge (complete with nice magnets!). :) I've been meal-planning around the foods on this list to ensure that we stay as healthy as possible this flu season.

Is anyone else taking a proactive approach? Any other suggestions for anything I might have missed?

Cleaning out the medicine cabinet

2009-10-29T20:04:00.006-03:00

My weekly cleaning routine entails cleaning a different part of the house each day of the week. And whatever part of the house I'm cleaning, I try to tackle one extra chore in that room, in addition to the regular weekly cleaning. So on my last kitchen cleaning day, I decided it was time to tackle the medicine cupboard. It had been long-since neglected, and it had become more of a junk cupboard - a place to stick things when we didn't know where else to put them. (Sorry I didn't take any before pictures - just trust me when I say it was bad!!). One thing I've figured out is that the best way to avoid sticking things where they don't belong is by labeling!! Once there's a label on something, I'm far less likely to put something there that doesn't really go there.

(I know that's a funny place for our keys to go - it looked more normal when it was our "junk" cupboard!)

We're also gradually moving away from traditional, over-the-counter medications to more herbal remedies, so I wanted a shelf just for the herbal remedies that would continue to grow as we eliminated the other stuff. Being able to see them there, separately, makes it easier to see how we're doing in that regard.

There were lots of expired medications in there, as well as some medications that were recently deemed unsafe to give children under the age of 6 (according to Health Canada). That list that you see on the cupboard door lists all of the ingredients that kids under 6 should not be given. I figured by the time my kids were 6 those meds would be expired anyway, so I might as well go ahead and pull them out of there now. I bagged up those meds, plus the expired ones, to take to the pharmacy for disposal (so that they wouldn't end up in a landfill).

I love how great it feels to organize just one tiny area of my home. It seems so insignificant - just one little cupboard - but every time I open it, it's like a choir of angels is singing to me. :) And doing one little cupboard here and one little drawer there adds up to a lot of organization over time. And brings just a little more peace into my day.

Pumpkin-Fetching

2009-10-26T08:49:00.006-03:00

We have an annual Hallowe'en tradition of going to Flemming's Farm to pick out our pumpkins each year, and this year was no exception.

Norah seems to have found the perfect pumpkin.

Owen, of course, picks the furthest one he can find!

See just how far he was...

The pumpkins were all looking a little green this year. Not sure what that's about. Mrs. Flemming said it had something to do with the weather. Everyone's pumpkins were green this year. Any ideas for some green Jack - o - Lanterns??

One more gander... just in case she missed one...

...a view of the pumpkin field. I was sitting, cozy, in the van... nursing my hungry babe and watching the action, while Bruce wielded the camera and the children.

Happy Hallowe'en week, everyone!

Off to the Eco Expo

2009-10-23T20:13:00.003-03:00

One of our favourite events to attend each year is the Cape Breton Eco Expo. I don't know that the kids fully understand what it's about, but we take them anyway! There are some great kids' exhibits (like a constellation tent!), so they definitely get some entertainment value out of it. Last year there were some really great booths, and I'm hoping that it has expanded this year. There was a booth of handcrafted items made from recycled materials, which I loved. And someone was selling handmade cleaners, and someone else was selling handmade personal care products. I think there was a candlemaker there too, if I recall correctly. And lots of information booths from various organizations. Nova Scotia Power was there, talking about their renewable energy goals. There will be a presentation from the Cape Breton Vegetarian Society, talking about the benefits of a plant-based diet for both us and the planet, which I will definitely be attending. No matter how far we've come, we still have so much to learn, and I love any and all opportunities to do so! And it's fun to meet with like-minded people, or those who are just beginning their journey.

Have a great week-end! See you next week.

Project: Garbage-Free

2009-10-19T09:25:00.005-03:00

Yesterday's post made me realize that we are inching closer to our goal of being garbage-free. There was a time when I would never have thought that this was achievable. The days when our garbage was overflowing with disposables of all kinds. The days before we began composting, when all of our food scraps, shamefully, landed in the landfill, instead of being returned back to the earth where they belong. The whole idea of a landfill rubs me the wrong way. The fact that, as human beings, we are so incredibly wasteful that we actually had to create an entire industry around collecting people's garbage, week after week, and dumping it into a big pile. When the pile gets too big, we cover it up with some nice grass, and start a new pile. It's completely appalling. If you haven't already, I encourage you to watch this video: The Story of Stuff. It's one that I watched in the early days of our journey, and it's very eye-opening and inspiring.

I recall reading awhile ago about a culture (for the life of me I can't remember what it was) that doesn't even have a word in their language for garbage. Everything they have and use either continues to be used, or gets returned to the earth in some manner. That just goes to show how completely unnecessary it is. With just a little more effort and consciousness, I think being garbage-free is completely attainable.

I know that we've come a long way. When we first started this journey, over two years ago now (wow, has it been that long??) we took out a kitchen-can sized bag of garbage every single day. That was just part of my evening kitchen clean-up, was to empty the garbage. And it was full. Now I would say that, on average, we empty the kitchen garbage once a month. How have we done it?

As I mentioned, we've ditched the disposables
Our community started a curbside compost pick-up (if your community does not yet have one available, I strongly encourage you to lobby your municipal government to start one), but soon we will be starting our own backyard composter
Just generally become more conscious of what we purchased, so that we don't have much crap to throw away
Started buying flushable, biodegradable kitty litter
Stopped buying processed foods, which are often packaged in non-recyclable packaging
Started repurposing things that would otherwise have been garbage
As of yesterday, started buying recycled and recyclable toothbrushes. :)

Really, those were the major things. And yet, we're still managing to produce a bag (albeit a small one) of garbage a month. I'm more determined than ever to stop producing garbage. :)

So how are we going to do it? Well, when we first started budgeting our money in a purposeful way, the very first step was to track our spending. Every penny. You can't possibly know where you're going unless you know where you've been. In order to know what you're wasting money on, you must first write down every itty bitty expenditure. At the end of the month, you add them all up, categorize them, and stand, with your mouth gaping open, at all the waste. Well, I've decided to track our garbage production in the same way. Enter, the Garbage Log:

I tacked a piece of paper above the garbage can, and anyone who throws something in the garbage must write down what it is. I figure this will achieve two things: One, we'll think twice about what we put in there. Is it really garbage? Is it compostable? Recyclable? Are we just not sure? Do we need to call the recycling hotline (yes, we have one of those!) to find out? Can it be re-used? Freecycled? Re-purposed? The remaining things, the things that we determine are, in fact, garbage, will require more thought. How did we acquire them? Why? Is there a garbage-free alternative? Was it something that someone else gave to us? (Which, admittedly, happens often... packaging, etc. from things other people give us, that we have to dispose of - things that come from the Dollar Store, etc.). Can we find a way to tactfully refuse such things, or request garbage-free alternatives?

Just this morning, it occurred to me that one of things we throw away are the rubber bands that hold our broccoli together. We just have so many of them, that I really couldn't justify keeping them any more, so I started throwing them out. (I guess that's a testament to how much broccoli we go through around here. lol). Well, it occurred to me, that Hank's, the place we go to get our produce, would likely be very happy to have these back! I'm going to start saving them up in a ziplock bag, and returning them there.

It also occurred to me that if we only bought clothing made from natural fibers, it could eventually be composted when it was completely worn out. (After being used as rags, and whatever other use we can get out of it). So no more polyester purchases.

These two things occurred to me just from putting up that Garbage Log - before I had actually written anything on it!

Anyway, that's the plan! I'm on a mission to be garbage-free. I also think this is going to be a very cool homeschool project! Environmental Science, anyone? :) I'll update periodically with our progress, and I'll post what things are on the Garbage Log so that you all can help me eliminate those things. Does anyone care to join me in this?? I'd love some company in this so we can challenge and encourage each other!

Preserve Toothbrushes

2009-10-18T16:37:00.005-03:00

I just discovered the coolest thing. I had toothbrushes on our shopping list this week-end, because all of ours are getting a little ratty. I walked down the toothbrush aisle at the grocery store and just couldn't bring myself to do it. EVERY kids' toothbrush is plastered with TV characters. I dare you to try to find one that isn't! And they were $3.49. Each. And totally environmentally irresponsible. They're made with new plastic, and as far as I know, aren't recyclable. We use them as long as we can, but ultimately, they land in the garbage. So I did what every concerned toothbrusher would do. :) I came home and hopped online, determined to find a more eco-friendly alternative. And lo and behold, I found these. Preserve toothbrushes are made from 100% recycled plastic, including Stonyfield Farm yogurt cups. Each package features a different endangered species. How cool is that?? I'll take that over a TV character any day! Oh, but wait. That's not all! Each toothbrush comes with a stamped return envelope, so that you can return your toothbrush to Preserve to be further recycled into other products!! Oh, and did I mention that a portion of each sale goes to support the National Wildlife Federation? It just keeps getting better. But are they available in Canada, I wondered? Indeed they are! You can find them at www.homedepot.ca. For, get this: $2.99. Yep, cheaper than the grocery store variety. But what about the carbon footprint of having something shipped to me, you ask? Well, Home Depot offsets the carbon footprint of everything they ship. Yaay, Home Depot! And I figured I might as well make the shipping worthwhile, so I bought 15 of them. Yep. 6 adult ones and 9 kids ones. Then we'll just save 'em all up and send them back all at once for recycling.

Basic Weekly Plan

2009-10-14T15:00:00.002-03:00

Something I've been working on lately is my Basic Weekly Plan. It's easy to let each day and week slip away from us, without having a clear vision of what it is we hope/need to accomplish. I find it often leads to frustration, as I figure out it has been weeks (months??) since I've done things like update the baby books, or work on photo albums. In general, it seems that if I don't have a plan for things to get done... they simply don't get done. There are no magic cleaning fairies or photo album fairies. :) (Much to my dismay...).

Included in my basic weekly plan are all of the things I hope to accomplish over the week, and includes my cleaning focus area, laundry, focus task, meal type (so we don't eat the same kinds of dishes too often, and also makes meal planning MUCH easier), and an evening task. Next year I will include homeschooling activities in this plan as well. Of course, no plan is perfect, nor do I expect to follow it perfectly. It is simply a guide, one that I do my best to follow, a roadmap of sorts. But it's okay to take a detour once in awhile. Bumps in the road are inevitable, but I always love having a smooth highway to return to when things get back to normal. (I'll stop with the driving metaphors now!!).

You can find more detailed information on my cleaning schedule here.

More detailed information on my simple meal planning technique here.

And how I fit it all into my day here.

Also, diaper laundry is done every 2nd night after the kids go to bed... I found that much easier than trying to fit it into my regular laundry routine.

As is the nature of my life, things have changed and evolved a bit even since writing those posts, but the general idea is the same.

So here is what I've come up with so far:

Monday

Cleaning Focus Area: Bedrooms (do an extra-thorough cleaning on a different bedroom each week)

Laundry: Colours & Sheets

Supper: Stir-Fry

Task: Memories (baby books, photo albums, etc.)

Tuesday

Cleaning Focus Area: Bathroom

Laundry: Whites & Towels

Supper: Beans & Rice

Task: Ironing

Wednesday

Cleaning Focus Area: Upstairs Hall/Stairs/Entryway

Laundry: Darks

Supper: Casserole

Task: Mending

Thursday

Cleaning Focus Area: Living Room/Dining Room

Laundry: Colours

Supper: Pasta

Task: Library

Friday

Cleaning Focus Area: Kitchen/Laundry Room

Laundry: Whites

Task: Meal Plan & Grocery List

Supper: Burgers/Potatoes/Steamed veg.

Evening: Date Night

Saturday:

Focus Area: Yard/Van

Laundry: None

Task: Shopping & Errands

Supper: Homemade pizza

Evening: Family Fun Night

Sunday

Cleaning Focus Area: None

Laundry: None

Task: Food prep for the week (I'd love to get this done on Saturdays but it just doesn't happen)

Supper: Soup/Salad/Bread

I would also like to add in some personal fulfillment goals at some point. It seems that meeting and fulfilling my own personal goals is the easiest thing to neglect, so I should definitely be penciling those in. Wouldn't it be lovely to have a scheduled bubble bath? Or pedicure? :) Will we really give those things to ourselves if we don't plan for them? This is definitely an area I need to work on.

I love how laying things out and writing things down brings me such clarity. In the same way that budgeting allows us to spend purposefully, planning our time allows us to spend our time in a purposeful way. This is really just a rough draft, and I'm sure it will evolve and change as time goes on.

Do any of you follow a simple plan like this? Has it helped you to establish rhythms to your days and weeks? Has it evolved and changed during different periods of your life?

Taking up knitting...

2009-10-13T13:42:00.004-03:00

As I've mentioned before, sewing is pretty much a no-go these days. My sewing time used to be in the evenings, when the house was tidy and quiet, I would sip my tea and work on whatever project I had on the go. I loved sitting at the machine, the quiet hum had such a calming effect. It was my time to unwind and process the day, and think ahead to tomorrow.

And then there was Gavin. :) There is so much hustle and bustle to our days, that Gavin would rather be part of the action than to settle down and nurse. Oh, he has a little nip (HA! No pun intended...) here and there... but no serious nursing. So now, in the quiet of the evening, my time is spent laying on the couch with my nursing babe. I needed a new "unwind" activity that could be done while laying down on the couch. (Gavin is definitely a lay-down nurser). I've had my fill of dishcloth crocheting. I do believe there is a point at which we have enough dishcloths. :) So I decided to take up knitting. I think knitting and crocheting both have their merits, and are each good for different things, so I would love to become somewhat proficient at both. Since I'm also striving to hand-make as many of our things as possible, I believe this Christmas will be mostly a knitted handmade Christmas. (Knitted pajamas, anyone??).

So here is my first real knitting project, almost complete. A wool diaper soaker. I've been wanting to use wool for a long time now, as I love the thought of using all natural fibers on my baby's bum. I've met a lovely new friend by the name of Katrina, who has been kindly putting up with all of my silly knitting questions and helping me through this new venture. I'm still debating whether or not to add a cuff to those legholes. Part of me just wants to be done, and I'm admittedly intimidated by the whole picking up stitches thing... but I think I would be more pleased with it if it had cuffs. I also think I'll felt it a wee bit, since it goes almost up to Gavin's armpits.

I think the other reason I feel the need to craft, is to have something to show for my day that doesn't get "undone". As moms, particularly those of us who stay home with our kids, our days are filled to the brim with seemingly endless chores that have to be done over and over again. We clean, it gets dirty. We put something away, turn around, and someone has gotten it out again. We change a diaper, it gets peed in. We wash, dry, and put away clothes, only to do it all again the next day. We spend hours cooking meals that get eaten (or worse, not eaten). For me, crafting means actually making forward progress on something that won't get undone. It's my saving grace on a day when I feel I've gotten nothing "accomplished". Even one row of knitting is one row more than I had done yesterday. It allows me to meditate and think of my children, who are typically the recipients of my crafting endeavours. I love that what I create, even with its imperfections, is stitched with love, and I hope that my children feel the love that is present in those things. Try getting all THAT from something you bought at WalMart.

Making a Nature Table

2009-09-30T15:12:00.004-03:00

First off, sorry for my absenteeism! I've been quite busy researching and marveling over this whole homeschooling thing. In my research, I've discovered the wonder and beauty of Waldorf-inspired homeschooling, and I think this is the direction we are going to take with our little ones. I love how it is so grounded in nature and in the arts, and helps to create such a beautiful and rich life experience for children. I've bought a couple of books to help get me started. One is Kindergarten with your Three to Six Year Old, by Donna Simmons. The other is Heaven on Earth by Sharifa Oppenheimer. I've been devouring both of them, and working on putting in place some of the many wonderful suggestions they have to offer. One of my favourite suggestions has been the Nature Table! A Nature Table is basically a place for you and your children to celebrate the beauty of each season. When you go on your daily walks, you can find things in nature that represent the season, and bring them home and place them on the Nature Table. It helps the children get a strong sense of the yearly rhythm of the seasons by helping them to appreciate and celebrate them. Some people also add various other things to their tables, like handmade seasonal accessories. I was even thinking of making seasonal curtains for the window above the shelf (yes, our table is actually a shelf - our shoe shelf, actually!). Our table will evolve as we add things to it and change it around. On there now is a tart burner, burning a beeswax candle with apple peels and cinnamon sticks in the top (which makes the house smell wonderfully of fall), some pinecones (that we painted!), some acorns and rocks that we found on our walks, and some gourds and Indian corn we got at the farm where we get our produce. The kids are really enjoying it, and I love that I don't just have a boring ol' shoe shelf in our entryway!

So much to do, so little time...

2009-09-10T20:27:00.002-03:00

It seems that as we plunge further into this lifestyle, the work that needs doing just continues to expand... yet the number of hours in a day stays the same! I'm in awe of those of you who can juggle all of your responsibilities successfully, and not drop any balls. (And if you're reading, feel free to leave me some tips!!).

My husband and I have had some further discussion about homeschooling, and have decided that since legally, we are not required to register our daughter for school until the year she turns six, we're going to hold off on becoming official homeschoolers until next year. That gives us a year to feel our way through this, and figure out what the heck we are doing. :) That definitely eases some of the burden on me, as it gives me plenty of time to research and gather curriculum (as much as is needed for a kindergartener). We're still going to do some unofficial homeschooling, but definitely a very relaxed approach. I just feel like four-going-on-five year olds should still just get to be kids. Thank goodness, because that leaves a little more time for everything else!

My dear husband is working on fixing up the basement to make it habitable... and creating a playroom/schoolroom for the kids. I am counting the days until there is no longer a train table and a sea of toys in my living room. :) The only downside is that whatever precious free time he has will be spent holed up in the basement for the foreseeable future, which means he has less time to help me with the regular household stuff. But I'm quite happy to grin and bear it if it means we finally get a play room!

Last week-end we had a lovely visit with my husband's family in the beautiful Annapolis valley. The Valley is a beautiful agricultural community, and is best known for its apples! I was determined to come home with as many apples as we could fit in the van. We picked some of our own, and bought some, and all told, we have 30 pounds of apples. They weren't certified organic, but they were pesticide-free, which is good enough for me! Do you know how much we paid for 30 pounds of pesticide-free, practically organic apples? $14.00. At the grocery store we would have paid five times that much. And what am I going to DO with all of those apples? Make pies, of course! Lots and lots of pies. And freeze them for winter. With all my spare time. And here's the kicker. I have never actually made a pie. Ever. Not even with a store-bought crust. Even if I wanted to, I'm not sure I could find time to make ONE pie. But somehow I am going to make like 30 of them. If I manage to pull this off, I promise to take a picture. :)

Also, our little Square Foot Garden is producing like mad! We have already harvested all of our radishes, eaten some crisp, perfect sugar snap peas, steamed some beautiful yellow beans, and today, my husband appeared at the back door with two perfect (albeit small) green peppers. We had them in a stir-fry tonight, and they were crisp and green and as flavourful as you could imagine! And there are lots more to come. But I am afraid... very, very afraid... as we planted 16 square feet of tomatoes. And they are all going to ripen at pretty much the exact same time. That is a LOT of tomatoes. So what are we going to DO with all of those tomatoes and peppers? Make salsa, of course! Lots and lots of salsa. (We are big salsa eaters!). So if all goes well, we will never have to buy another pie or jar of salsa again. Well, for a few months, anyway.

So far we have picked (at a U-Pick) and frozen several pounds of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries for smoothies all winter. And made strawberry jam, strawberry rhubarb jam, and blueberry jelly. I want to freeze some peaches while they're fresh and in season as well (peaches in a smoothie are YUMMY!). It's so much cheaper to freeze fresh fruit in season than to try to buy it in the winter. Our goal is eventually to be able to grow and/or freeze/preserve almost all of our food. Luckily I won't have a four-year-old, a two-year-old, and a five-month-old forever. :) Just when I think I can't possibly find room on my plate for one more thing, I somehow manage to squeeze something else in there.

And soon it will be time to get our wood delivered and stacked and then we'll be all set for winter. I love the cozy feeling it brings when all of your hard work pays off, and you finally get to enjoy the fruits of your labour. I look forward to cozying up by the fire and doing some crocheting, and maybe munching on some nachos and homemade salsa. :)

Holy crap, we're homeschoolers! :)

2009-09-03T19:29:00.003-03:00

Well, today would have been the first day of Kindergarten. Our daughter was registered, school supplies bought, and we had been singing the praises of "Big Girl School" for weeks. However, this nagging, gnawing feeling in my gut just would not go away. The feeling that I needed to look deeper into homeschooling. I had toyed with the idea of homeschooling in the past, but never really thought I could do that, and certainly didn't for a minute think that my husband would agree to it. But as the countdown to "Big Girl School" began, I found myself devouring more and more information about homeschooling, and ultimately I knew that this was the path I wanted to choose for our family. But I was also scared to death. How would I tell people we weren't sending our kids to school? Could I really be responsible for my childrens' education? Weren't those public school teachers professionally trained? How could I possibly rival what they did? What the heck did I know about teaching?? Well then I realized, I had been teaching them all along. Through our day-to-day interactions, through answering her bazillion questions a day, through exploring, by helping her learn the names of all the bugs she was catching in her bug cage, by planting and tending our garden, by baking muffins, by reading together. I never deliberately taught her to crawl or walk or talk, but somehow, she managed to figure that out without any professional guidance. Could it be true that learning could happen in the real world, and not just inside the four walls of a classroom? Is it possible that being inside the four walls of a classroom could actually inhibit learning instead of fostering it? As my mind raced with all of these thoughts, my greatest concern was my husband's reaction. After all, I had been gently (or perhaps not so gently) making changes to our lifestyle over the past couple of years. Would this be the one thing that would put him over the edge and think I had finally lost it? I carefully compiled a list of pros and cons for homeschooling, the list of pros being 7 pages long, and only 3 little cons (none of which couldn't be overcome with a little creativity). I presented him with my list, and he read it over, and said "Sure. I think she's too young for school anyway". I nearly fell to the floor. Have I mentioned that I have the best husband ever?? :)

So instead of shipping my little almost-five-year-old off to school today, we attended a "Not-Back-to-School" pool party with a local homeschool group. I felt like we were playing hookie, and I loved every minute of it. :) I'm so excited to learn and grow with my children, and to see this big wide world of ours through their eyes. To continue to be as close as we have been thus far, and to not yet have to experience the heartache of sending them away. We're planning to take it year by year and see how it goes. Yesterday I called the school to tell them she wouldn't be attending, which made it all very official and real. Holy crap, we're homeschoolers. :)