All I wanted was a nice picture of the kids in front of the Christmas tree when they were done decorating it.
This is what I got....
At least they are keeping it real.
Merry Christmas!
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Sunday, December 22
Tuesday, April 30
We Are Still Here!
I just wanted to touch base and let you know we are still here. We have been having connectivity issues with our internet. Our desktop computer hasn't been online for a week. I'm anxious to post pictures from Josh's birthday, our garden plot and Josh with his new longboard. I will catch up as soon as we fix our computer problems.
We had a weird couple of weeks this month. We had our lawnmower stolen from our backyard a few weeks ago. Last week, apparently I left my van unlocked overnight and my stereo faceplate, CDs and nearly everything from my glovebox were stolen. Our coffeemaker stopped working. The stove is on the fritz. Carley lost her retainer. My iPhone screen cracked. I know there is something else I'm missing. I feel like we're bleeding money at the moment.
At first I was letting all of these things get me down, especially the thieves, but I realized that even while we have a lot of unexpected spending, we have it pretty good. We are financially able to replace these things, and they're just that: replaceable. The weather is good. (It's actually a little too warm.) We have a garden at home and a garden plot we share with friends, which are sprouting and growing. Walt has a great job and will be moving back to a day shift soon. And most importantly, the people we love are healthy and happy. We have a lot to be grateful for.
To hold you over for a little while longer, check out the prank that Walt pulled on his retiring assistant chief at work.
Walt didn't even have to clean up! He wasn't there when John came in for work so one of the guys set up a video camera in the locker room to capture the fun.
We had a weird couple of weeks this month. We had our lawnmower stolen from our backyard a few weeks ago. Last week, apparently I left my van unlocked overnight and my stereo faceplate, CDs and nearly everything from my glovebox were stolen. Our coffeemaker stopped working. The stove is on the fritz. Carley lost her retainer. My iPhone screen cracked. I know there is something else I'm missing. I feel like we're bleeding money at the moment.
At first I was letting all of these things get me down, especially the thieves, but I realized that even while we have a lot of unexpected spending, we have it pretty good. We are financially able to replace these things, and they're just that: replaceable. The weather is good. (It's actually a little too warm.) We have a garden at home and a garden plot we share with friends, which are sprouting and growing. Walt has a great job and will be moving back to a day shift soon. And most importantly, the people we love are healthy and happy. We have a lot to be grateful for.
To hold you over for a little while longer, check out the prank that Walt pulled on his retiring assistant chief at work.
Walt didn't even have to clean up! He wasn't there when John came in for work so one of the guys set up a video camera in the locker room to capture the fun.
Thursday, March 3
Tuesday, February 22
Lesson Learned
Do not tightly screw your oven door handle back onto your glass oven door while the oven is still hot. Because minutes later you get BOOM-crash.
Uh-oh. But hey, the handle is still tightly attached!
Glass was everywhere. Including on the window sill above my sink and in the living room in front of the entry way.
Thankfully it's tempered and only blew sideways rather than out. The kids and I, including Kiele, were playing a game at the table. Quite a shock!
Check out the oven door without the glass.
Needless to say, we have another project on our hands.
Until then... I'm getting the duct tape.
Wednesday, January 5
Randomness
Day 4 of 7 Daily Posts: don't forget to check back tomorrow!
Only day 4 and I'm running out of things to say.
I haven't been about to think of anything specific to post about today so as I browsed recent photos I decided to just post about small random things going on around here.
********************
First off, there is very important news!
When my sister, Shelly, visited me last August she had a bun in the oven.
That beautiful "bun" was born December 7th. Congratulations to Shelly and her husband, Nick, on the birth of their first baby.
Madeleine Ryan Jones. I'm so happy to have another niece!
********************
I want you to know I do NOT have time to do everything. Especially during finals. My house got a little crazy cluttered during the couple weeks I studied and took my semester finals.
It wasn't only my stuff laying around either.
And Walt definitely doesn't want me to share this with the internet world but I figure you all have this happen in your house sometimes, right? We just don't like to show it off. Well I'm showing you, baby.
********************
Speaking of Walt, how great is he? He hand-stitched elastic to a ribbon to make a headband for Carley. Since I was busy or gave Carley the "maybe later" routine, she asked her dad. And he did it.
Look how great this headband fits!
So does that photo remind you of The Shining at all? It sort of reminds me of The Shining.
Well?
********************
Remember I said the kids, especially Carley, likes to play with the Christmas tree ornaments like toys in this post? Here's proof.
I used to be worried about the ornaments getting broken. I just don't worry about it much anymore. She really enjoys playing with them. And none of the ornaments mean more to me than she does. So why not?
********************
Josh isn't much of a reader. He views it like a chore or awful homework. Unless he gets the right book. Lately there have been a few books that he's really gotten into. Of course the latest editions of Diary of a Whimpy Kid was a big hit.
Right now he's reading Gulliver's Travels. I told him I'll take him to the movie when he's done. He's pretty excited about that. And at the rate he's getting through the book, we'll see the movie this weekend.
********************
Well that's it for today folks. Come back tomorrow. It may be randomness all over again.
Only day 4 and I'm running out of things to say.
I haven't been about to think of anything specific to post about today so as I browsed recent photos I decided to just post about small random things going on around here.
********************
First off, there is very important news!
When my sister, Shelly, visited me last August she had a bun in the oven.
That beautiful "bun" was born December 7th. Congratulations to Shelly and her husband, Nick, on the birth of their first baby.
Madeleine Ryan Jones. I'm so happy to have another niece!
********************
I want you to know I do NOT have time to do everything. Especially during finals. My house got a little crazy cluttered during the couple weeks I studied and took my semester finals.
It wasn't only my stuff laying around either.
And Walt definitely doesn't want me to share this with the internet world but I figure you all have this happen in your house sometimes, right? We just don't like to show it off. Well I'm showing you, baby.
********************
Speaking of Walt, how great is he? He hand-stitched elastic to a ribbon to make a headband for Carley. Since I was busy or gave Carley the "maybe later" routine, she asked her dad. And he did it.
Look how great this headband fits!
So does that photo remind you of The Shining at all? It sort of reminds me of The Shining.
Well?
********************
Remember I said the kids, especially Carley, likes to play with the Christmas tree ornaments like toys in this post? Here's proof.
I used to be worried about the ornaments getting broken. I just don't worry about it much anymore. She really enjoys playing with them. And none of the ornaments mean more to me than she does. So why not?
********************
Josh isn't much of a reader. He views it like a chore or awful homework. Unless he gets the right book. Lately there have been a few books that he's really gotten into. Of course the latest editions of Diary of a Whimpy Kid was a big hit.
Right now he's reading Gulliver's Travels. I told him I'll take him to the movie when he's done. He's pretty excited about that. And at the rate he's getting through the book, we'll see the movie this weekend.
********************
Well that's it for today folks. Come back tomorrow. It may be randomness all over again.
Monday, November 29
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
We trimmed our Christmas tree this weekend. Seems almost too early to set it up but with finals quickly approaching, I won't have the time or patience to do it later. This year has gone by so quickly that it seems we just trimmed the tree six months ago.
The kids love going through the ornaments to remember and play. Most of the ornaments are toy-like and they play with the ornaments like toys.
"Vrroooom"
"BrrRRrrrmm"
They even picked four ornaments each and started a game of War to see who'd win them.
All in all, the ornaments finally made it to the tree.
And I made the goofballs pose for a picture.
The kids love going through the ornaments to remember and play. Most of the ornaments are toy-like and they play with the ornaments like toys.
"Vrroooom"
"BrrRRrrrmm"
They even picked four ornaments each and started a game of War to see who'd win them.
All in all, the ornaments finally made it to the tree.
And I made the goofballs pose for a picture.
Wednesday, May 26
Decorations
(Day 4 of my 7 daily posts)
Carley loves to decorate. And she does it with drawings or random pieces of something taped to the wall.
Here's a look into what's been taped around the house the past few months.
"Happy Brthday Daddy"
"Happy Bth day Josh"
Sometimes I get tired of all the stuff randomly taped up. Then I remind myself that she won't be young like this for long.
And once she's outgrown this stage I won't have drawings taped around the house to show a happy girl lives here. Unless I did them myself. But that would be weird.
Carley loves to decorate. And she does it with drawings or random pieces of something taped to the wall.
Here's a look into what's been taped around the house the past few months.
"Happy Brthday Daddy"
"Happy Bth day Josh"
Sometimes I get tired of all the stuff randomly taped up. Then I remind myself that she won't be young like this for long.
And once she's outgrown this stage I won't have drawings taped around the house to show a happy girl lives here. Unless I did them myself. But that would be weird.
Tuesday, May 25
How My Garden Grows
(Day 3 of my 7 daily posts)
This year we did it… we started a raised bed garden! The corner of the yard, next to the patio gets the most sun.
Walt was great putting it together for me. The kids helped a bit too, including Josh’s friend who was over for the day.
I’m sort of doing a modified version of the square foot gardening since we have such little space. You can learn more about square foot gardening HERE.
We started some plants from seeds and some we purchased at the local farmers market.
So far we’re growing tomatoes, bell peppers, radish, cucumbers, Japanese eggplant, pumpkin, spaghetti squash, yellow squash, green onions, Thai basil, mint, dill and rosemary. Plus I just bought a six-pack of lettuce at SOIL BORN FARMS on Sunday, which still needs to be planted.
Some of the herbs may need to be moved and some plants may need to be pulled. For now everything seems to be doing well enough. Although I really don’t know what I’m doing, I just think they’re doing well.
So far we've harvested two radishes. Josh and Carley each got a turn pulling one up and both kids tried the radishes. Carley said "yum" and Josh was indifferent.
It was so much fun to pull up a veggie, wash it, slice it and eat it. Hopefully there is much, much more to come over the summer.
This year we did it… we started a raised bed garden! The corner of the yard, next to the patio gets the most sun.
Walt was great putting it together for me. The kids helped a bit too, including Josh’s friend who was over for the day.
I’m sort of doing a modified version of the square foot gardening since we have such little space. You can learn more about square foot gardening HERE.
We started some plants from seeds and some we purchased at the local farmers market.
So far we’re growing tomatoes, bell peppers, radish, cucumbers, Japanese eggplant, pumpkin, spaghetti squash, yellow squash, green onions, Thai basil, mint, dill and rosemary. Plus I just bought a six-pack of lettuce at SOIL BORN FARMS on Sunday, which still needs to be planted.
Some of the herbs may need to be moved and some plants may need to be pulled. For now everything seems to be doing well enough. Although I really don’t know what I’m doing, I just think they’re doing well.
So far we've harvested two radishes. Josh and Carley each got a turn pulling one up and both kids tried the radishes. Carley said "yum" and Josh was indifferent.
It was so much fun to pull up a veggie, wash it, slice it and eat it. Hopefully there is much, much more to come over the summer.
Friday, November 20
Clean is Clean
Last summer I caught commercial promoting the upcoming newscast; they plugged a segment on a mom who made her own laundry soap.
What!? I'd never heard of such a thing! I didn't actually see the newscast that day but I looked into homemade laundry soap recipes over the following week. I decided to give it a try and see how easy it was to make, how cheap it could be, and how well it worked.
I've made three batches now. It takes about 10 minutes to make and lasts this family of four about 1 1/2 months.
The last time I made it I calculated what I paid for each portion of the recipe and approximately how many loads it lasted. I figured out that the laundry soap costs me about $0.02 a load! That's it. Well worth my 10 minutes a month.
This is a quick post about the process of making homemade laundry soap. The recipe I've followed lately is this one but really I just google 'homemade laundry soap' and make what I come across. Maybe it's about time I add the recipe to the recipe book.
I'm not going to post the entire recipe here because you can just go to www.thefamilyhomestead.com and follow her directions.
Start with Borax, A&H Washing Soda and Fels Naptha laundry bar soap. All these items can be found in laundry sections of larger grocery stores or most drug stores.
Grate 1/3 the Fels Naptha bar into a pot.
Cook the Fels Naptha shavings in water until melted down.
Add in the Washing Soda and Borax.
Stir until all incorporated.
Pour soap mix into a bucket already containing water. Add more water and stir.
Cover and let sit 24 hours.
It comes out looking like egg soup. The first two batches I made were runnier than this batch but it all washes the same.
Use 1/2 cup per load. I keep my 5 gallon bucket of soap (only half full) and scoop on the washer. Badda-boom, badda-bing.
The clothes I wash seem just as clean as when I use the expensive, scented name brand detergents. And I'm happy I'm saving money.
What!? I'd never heard of such a thing! I didn't actually see the newscast that day but I looked into homemade laundry soap recipes over the following week. I decided to give it a try and see how easy it was to make, how cheap it could be, and how well it worked.
I've made three batches now. It takes about 10 minutes to make and lasts this family of four about 1 1/2 months.
The last time I made it I calculated what I paid for each portion of the recipe and approximately how many loads it lasted. I figured out that the laundry soap costs me about $0.02 a load! That's it. Well worth my 10 minutes a month.
This is a quick post about the process of making homemade laundry soap. The recipe I've followed lately is this one but really I just google 'homemade laundry soap' and make what I come across. Maybe it's about time I add the recipe to the recipe book.
I'm not going to post the entire recipe here because you can just go to www.thefamilyhomestead.com and follow her directions.
Start with Borax, A&H Washing Soda and Fels Naptha laundry bar soap. All these items can be found in laundry sections of larger grocery stores or most drug stores.
Grate 1/3 the Fels Naptha bar into a pot.
Cook the Fels Naptha shavings in water until melted down.
Add in the Washing Soda and Borax.
Stir until all incorporated.
Pour soap mix into a bucket already containing water. Add more water and stir.
Cover and let sit 24 hours.
It comes out looking like egg soup. The first two batches I made were runnier than this batch but it all washes the same.
Use 1/2 cup per load. I keep my 5 gallon bucket of soap (only half full) and scoop on the washer. Badda-boom, badda-bing.
The clothes I wash seem just as clean as when I use the expensive, scented name brand detergents. And I'm happy I'm saving money.
Tuesday, June 23
Summer Fun
The kids have been out of school for just over two weeks now. We try to get out of the house every day, even if it's just a trip to the gym. Here are just a couple things that have been going on.
Last week, my friend, Christy, took the week off. She and her son hung with us for a picnic at the playground and then a couple hours of $1 bowling.
(Sorry Christy, it's not the best picture of us but all I got.)
After two years of not finishing our kitchen project, there was more progress made. Walt installed the new pulls on the cabinet doors. Soon he'll do it on the drawers too. (Right honey?)
Father's Day was a nice, mellow day at home. Carley insisted on making her daddy brownies from her favorite cookbook. She sure enjoyed licking the bowl clean.
We splurged and bought a small insta-pool. Even though it was not yet full, Carley got in to enjoy it. Hopefully it will provide hours of outdoor fun for the kids.
Last week, my friend, Christy, took the week off. She and her son hung with us for a picnic at the playground and then a couple hours of $1 bowling.
(Sorry Christy, it's not the best picture of us but all I got.)
After two years of not finishing our kitchen project, there was more progress made. Walt installed the new pulls on the cabinet doors. Soon he'll do it on the drawers too. (Right honey?)
Father's Day was a nice, mellow day at home. Carley insisted on making her daddy brownies from her favorite cookbook. She sure enjoyed licking the bowl clean.
We splurged and bought a small insta-pool. Even though it was not yet full, Carley got in to enjoy it. Hopefully it will provide hours of outdoor fun for the kids.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)