The Thank You Loaf

I am a huge fan of the good old fashioned art of writing a thank you note.  Don't get me wrong, I still fail to keep up on writing my own, but I am going to ask for mercy because I have four young kids at home.  I try to keep up, I honestly do! I think it's a little courtesy that has been going out of style and that's a real shame.  It's always good to take a moment and thank those who have done something nice for us.  I have a stack of postcards that I ordered from VistaPrint ( 250 of them for FREE) that have "Thank You" printed across them and this has helped me for sure!  But the title is not a typo, it says loaf, not note...so here's my story.

We've recently adopted ( or been adopted by?) our neighbors.  They're about the right age to be "grand parents" to our kids and they are very sweet.  Last week, they gave our kids the most beautiful child sized garden bench I have ever seen!  Within minutes of seeing it, the kids decided it was a train station bench and played "waiting for the train" all morning.  I wanted to find a way to thank "Nannie" and "Poppa" for their thoughtful gift, and a post card just didn't seem like enough.

I had baked some banana bread that day, and decided to send a loaf over with the post card.  I realized, though, that I didn't know what to wrap the loaf in.  I didn't really want to just put it in tin foil, and I didn't have a ziplock bag the right size.  Then, this idea struck me.

I got a piece of the flour sack tea towel material and fabric markers and had the kids write "thank you" all over it.  Then, Baden and Colleena each wrote their names, Lily scribbled across it and I added Bremen's name as well.  We wrapped the loaf in the towel and carried it over next door. 


It turns out that "Nannie" used to embroider and decorate tea towels as well, so she appreciated the flour sack material.  I think it turned out to be a bit more personal and a nice way to show our gratitude.

It didn't cost me anything to make (because I am the strange sort of person who has flour sack material on hand), but it turned out to be a priceless gift idea I'll probably use again in the future.

Empty the Pantry Challenge

In the last couple of months, my brother and his family, my brother-in-law and his family, and our close family friends have moved away.  It has left us with a big hole in our lives, and and overflow of "pantry" items.  You know, those things that you might have used once or twice? Those big and bulky, unusual items? The ones you wouldn't want to pack up and take with you if you were to move?  We've all got 'em somewhere, whether it's a half empty bag of egg noodles you've forgotten about at the back of the cupboard, or that wheat bran you bought for something or other a year ago.

When they moved we inherited a motley assortment of interesting items from each of them.  While I was wondering why on earth they even had such items ( easy blend flour...what will I use that for?), it got me wondering just what was buried in my own pantry??  Turns out, I have just as many unusual things!  Most of the time, these items represent a waste of money.  Either I didn't know they were there, so I bought it again, or I used only a small amount of a large item, or I just didn't think of using them, leaving them to sit in the pantry and go to waste anyway.

So, I decided that it would be fun to challenge myself to use these items.  Some were easy. Baking items like icing sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and food coloring will all get used up with no extraordinary effort on my part.  Extra bag of egg noodles?  Just have a pasta dish for supper.

One of the inherited items I found most entertaining was sunflower seeds. You know, the ones you use for baking that are already shelled? From one household, we got three separate containers of them (clearly I am not the only one who does that haha!).  From the other household, I got a bulk bag the size of a four liter milk jug of them.  What's up with all the sunflower seeds?  I did find a neat sunflower seed bread recipe.  Shawn and I liked it, but the kids gave it mixed reviews.  Besides, using the one cup that the recipe calls for, I'd still be ages using them all up.

I was POSITIVE that I had seen three bags of poppy seeds in there, I must have thought I was out and bought them on some occasion.  I remembered a wonderful poppy seed cake that a friend of mine made recently, and called her for the recipe.  When I got out the ingredients to bake it, I realized they were sesame seeds! Haha!  When I told the friend about my mistake so we could share a good laugh, she suggested a recipe she has for granola bars that calls for both sesame seeds and sunflower seeds.. two for one!

I also inherited a bulk bag of slivered almonds that must weigh five pounds.  I can think of a few good ways to use them up, like putting them in beans,  baking them in cookies, and candying them.  I'm always open to new recipes, though, so if you have a neat one for almonds, let me know!

In my pantry, from a previous try at homemade granola bars, I had a bag of wheat bran.  I have no idea what I am going to do with it ( the old recipe was a bust, and it's not called for in the new one)!  Coupled with the wheat germ I inherited, and the wheat berries I always have in there, I have a lot of wheat parts!  Any good ideas out there?  Bread or something?

The partial bags of chocolate chips, raisins and dried cranberries will probably get tossed into the granola bars.  I might even toss in some of the random sprinkles and decorating sugars I have left over from previous baking projects.  The duplicate bags of cinnamon will get used up easily, but what about that bag of cinnamon sticks? Any suggestions?  The saskatoon jelly will get used up, but what about that jar of sauerkraut?  I must admit I have never ever tried the stuff, and didn't think I was missing out.  But, I'm willing to be adventurous if someone can tell me what I am supposed to do with it?

It turns out, easy blend flour is for things like cheese sauces and gravies, helps keep them from getting too lumpy. Huh! Cool, who knew?  So far, my empty the pantry challenge has been fun.  I'm thinking it might also be fun ( and just plain 'ol a good idea) to do an empty the freezer challenge, or an empty the cold storage room challenge!  I'm sure there are lots of items going to waste, and creating clutter in those areas too!

So, what would you do with these items? What's the most unusual thing buried back there in your pantry?  Dare you to try this challenge too!

No Fair!

No, I am not quoting two year old Lily, or that would be " No fair! Never!!" which is her newest thing... I'm talking about the summer fair.

Yup, it's that time of year again in our city, where the fair comes to town. As a kid, and a teenager, I loved the fair.  Shawn and I would go and enjoy the rides and games, the competitions and displays... all the fun stuff that goes along with the exhibition.  Sometimes, we went everyday the fair was in town! Now, as parents, we usually dig up the cash and take the kids.  They love it, and we grit our teeth and bear the mess, noise and crowds.  But, boy, does it cost!!

Last year, at this time, we were just returning from our big trip which included a stop at Calaway park.  We decided that in comparison, the local fair would not be worth it.  Calaway was so clean, and fun and had so many great age appropriate rides.  And, it cost less!

Gate admission this year is $13, and ride bracelets are $40, tally up the various pieces we'd need for our family of six, and you get a pretty steep hit... and that's not even counting the food and games that one always manages to spend money on.  I know the fair wasn't cheap even when we were teens, but, at risk of making myself sound like a crazy old lady, I swear it's waaaaaay more expensive now!

So, we sat down and discussed it.  We looked at the budget with it's narrow margin for extras.  We decided that this year, there would be " No Fair".  I just can't justify that cost.  As much as I know this decision makes sense, I still feel a little sorry about it.  My kids feel the loss.  When a friend phoned to invite Baden to join him at the fair, I had to tell Baden that we weren't planning on going this year.  He was sad, but we were able to plan a play day with the friend instead.  A day playing at the friend's farm will be more fun anyway ( and cheaper, for sure!).  Still, I can't quite shake the guilt of not taking the kids.  I wish I could afford to take them, but in the end, I know the things I am choosing to pay for instead (piano, ballet, a week at the campground with Grandma and Grandpa) will be enjoyed longer and are more valuable experiences anyway.

Are you taking your kids to your local fair this year?  Did you budget in the cost and plan for it?  If you don't plan on it, how do you handle your kids' disappointment ( if there is any) ?

Duvets: Dry Clean Only??

Yesterday, while Baden, Colleena and I were sitting at the table, enjoying some coloring time, Lily decided to curl up on Baden's bed.  She looked at some books, wrapped herself in Baden's blankets and fell asleep.  It was so sweet!  The only downside to Lily putting herself to bed for a nap was that she was not wearing a diaper... Yup, you might be able to guess where this is going!  She peed all over Baden's bed.  Now, I am no fool, and one thing I have learned for sure as a parent of young children is that every bed in the house, even ours, should have a waterproof covering.  The bed was fine.  The problem is that Baden's blanket is a queen size, white, duvet.

It used to be on our bed, before we bought a king sized bed, and I used to have it dry-cleaned on a regular(ish) basis.  A few months ago, Baden discovered it on the linen shelf and claimed it as his very own "marshmallow blanket".  But, I don't have the money to dry clean it this week, and I had to wash the pee out..soooo I headed to google to see what I could find.

I found several sites that say it's possible, though not advisable, to wash your duvet at home in the machine.  Basically they all said to check the tag, and wash it ONLY if the tag did not read "dry clean only".  Ok, I have to admit here that I have always been skeptical of dry clean only.  I mean, why is a garment dry clean only?  Is it so poorly constructed that it will fall apart in my machine?  Will it shrink? Whats up with that?  I generally avoid clothes marked dry clean only, or if I do have them, I have always washed them anyway. Gasp! I'm such a rebel! Well, I decided I would check the label, out of curiosity to see what it would say, only to see that I had already ripped it off at some point.  Oh well!

I decided to give it a try anyway.  After all, it's not like I could leave it unwashed, and I had nothing to lose.  I don't care that much about the duvet ( which is probably obvious given the fact that I gave a white duvet to my seven year old son!), and if it got wrecked, I could live with that fact.

So, after the necessary warnings, the next step in the instructions is to make sure you do not use regular laundry soap, but to use a gentle, no suds variety.  Haha! My homemade stuff will fit the bill nicely!

Next, make sure your washing machine will be able to handle the sheer bulk of a duvet.  Well, I have a ginormous machine I bought because we have a large family.  The queen sized puff fits very nicely, still with room to spare!

Then, wash on gentle and run an extra rinse if possible.  Check and check.

Now, according to numerous internet sites, drying is actually the main reason it's difficult to wash a duvet at home.  You have to make sure you dry it thoroughly so the feathers don't moulder, but you can't use too high a heat either.  Line drying is not advisable since the feathers can clump together and leave the blanket lumpy and hard.  "They" say you should put a tennis ball, or some such object, in the dryer to help fluff the duvet and dry it evenly.  Well, since we can't use dryer sheets at our house, I have always used those little spiky dryer balls anyway... suits the bill I'd say!

Ok, yes, I had to dry it for a loooooong time, and I had to keep taking it out and fluffing it, bunching it back into the dryer in different ways so that there wouldn't be any still wet spots in the middle of the blanket.  But you know what?  It worked.  There are no feathers flying around my laundry room, no terrible thing happened to the blanket, and it didn't cost me anything to wash it at home.  Just a nice clean, fluffy white blanket I can hand back to my son :)

Epic Grocery Shopping Trip

Now that we are going to be homeschooling, I have been trying to figure out just what life will look like, how I will make it all work, this fall.  I've been reading lots of blogs of other homeschooling moms, interested in how they juggle running their homes and homeschooling at the same time.  One area I know I need to re-do is grocery shopping.  I've been heading to the grocery store about once a week.  But, next year, I don't think I can dedicate an entire morning each week to a grocery trip, unless I squish all the homeschooling.  I've been looking around for some suggestions as to how other moms do it.

One of my favorite new blog finds is raising arrows.  Amy is a great, inspiring writer and I have been enjoying reading through posts while nursing.  I decided to give her system a go.  Basically, she figures out how many meals they will eat for an entire month ( number of days minus how many times you normally eat out, add how many times you normally invite others over etc. ) and then grocery shopping for every item you will need.  She keeps a huge master list and writes down how many of each item she'll need in stock to make it through a month.  I could go into all the detail she does, but instead, if you are interested, head on over to her blog to check it out :)

So, with this system in mind, I sat down to think up 30 meals for a month.  A couple will get used as lunches, when we don't have left overs, and the rest will make up suppers for a month.  I planned on cereal, pancakes,fruit and yogurt or toast for breakfast, so I made sure that we had the fixings for those items.  Coming up with 30 meals all at once is harder than it sounds! Go ahead try it!  Shawn laughed when I told him it was hard.  He started tossing out ideas, but I had them all already, and we were only at 15!!  Once we had all the meals picked out, I started making a grocery list.  I made sure we'd have fruit and veggies for about half the month, and, like Amy's system, will plan on a quick trip mid month to pick up whatever fruit veggies and milk I need to finish out the month.

With my enormous list in hand, our entire family headed to the grocery store.  I knew I would never be able to accomplish this trip with all four kids unless Shawn came with us!  I put Bremen in a wrap style carrier ( more on that in a future post) so I would have free hands.  I directed the kids which items to grab off the shelves, and Shawn pushed the cart.  By the time we were ready to check out, our cart was piled taller than Shawn!! I could not even move the cart!  It was crazy but we got it all in there somehow.  Passersby actually stopped to ask Shawn if he was " one of those crazy coupon people" hahah!  The tally felt huge even though it's less than I would have spent if I had spread the shopping out during the month.

It took over an hour to put it all away when we got home, even after Shawn carried it all up the stairs for me.  We had to stash some of the food out in the commercial cooler in his shop, because we couldn't fit it all in our fridge, even though it's huge.

I have the list of meals stuck on my fridge and each day, I can pick something off of it and know that I have what I need on hand to make it.  I like having the flexibility to chose from a selection, instead of a set meal each day as I was doing before.  It allows for me to change based on how we are feeling, what we plan on doing that day and even the weather.  If it's hot, I just pick something we can cook on the BBQ.

I'm not sure yet if I will be able to keep using this system or not.  I don't know if I can accomplish the epic shop if Shawn isn't able to come with us.  The problem I face is purely space related.  If I take my stroller so the two littles can sit in it, I can't fit the groceries in my van.  If I carry Bremen, and don't have help, I don't know if I can manage Lily without putting her in the cart.  If I put her in the cart, I don't know if I can fit all the food in.  If I carry Bremen, I don't know if I can get groceries in and out of the cart easily.  I might always have to make sure Shawn can come with me, so I can carry the baby, he can manage Lily and push the cart, and the back of the van is free for groceries.  Sheesh! I may need a bigger vehicle!

I like that it helps me stick to our budget, and I like not having to go to the store each week.  For now I'm going to keep using this new system, and I'll keep you posted.

I'd love to hear how you manage your groceries??

HomeSchool Curriculum

Ok, a reader asked me if I would share what curriculum we chose and why, so just in case anyone else is curious, here goes...

First off, I decided to choose subject by subject instead of a complete grade.  There are lots of companies that offer you all subjects for a grade in one kit, like Sonlight or Switched On Schoolhouse.  Some of them are all on the computer, some are all books, some are a mix.  We didn't want all computer based learning, but that is something you'd have to decide for yourself.  Some people are comforted by just buying a complete grade and knowing that everything is there for you.  I however, wanted a more customized approach :)

For "english" I chose to go with Learning Language Arts Through Literature ( usually abbreviated LLAL).  I did this for a few reasons. First, it incorporates real books, which you can buy or pick up at the library.  I didn't want a course that used only paragraphs and excerpts printed in the work book.  LLAL does have these too, but relies mainly on real books, and also includes passages from the Bible, which is important to our family.  Also, it's an all-in-one program.  Spelling, grammar, reading and penmanship is all in one work book and blended into each day's lesson.  This was my preference over a course that had separate books for each of these areas.  I figure if I run into an area where they need extra work, I will supplement as needed.  These books are very popular, and it was one of the books I was able to borrow from my friend to look inside.  I was very impressed with both the content and the quality of them.

For math, we chose products from ABeka.  You have to buy directly from them, you can check out their website.  This too was a book I was able to look at.  We chose it over the other programs we considered for one main reason, it includes both metric and imperial in the lessons.  This way I don't have to supplement with a "Canadian measurements" book.  I may still have to supplement when we do money units, but I think I'll just explain to the kids that this quarter looks different because it's an American one, but you know what a Canadian one looks like.  It seems to me that there are two main types of math course.  One approach is called "mastery" where a student stays on one concept until they've done it a million times and mastered it.  The other is "spiral". The student learns little bits from all areas, coming back around and reviewing things throughout the year until they build up mastery in the many concepts.  ABeka is a spiral method.  We thought this would work best for our kids, but you'd have to decide which would suit your daughter best. There are so many great math programs out there!

For Bible, we chose the Alpha Omega Lifepacs.  I don't have any in depth reasons why, but we are giving it a try over the summer.  We too are building up to full class load through the summer.  We chose to start the Bible course now, and the kids like it alot.

For Science, I have two things.  One is the Human Physiology set from Apologia.  They come with a notebook that is great.  Again, it's from a Christian perspective which is important to us.  This set I think would still work well for your daughter's age.  There is a whole line ( biology, astronomy etc) and I know so many people who love them.  The other book we chose would be way to young for your daughter, as its aimed at kids from K-3, but just for interest sake, its called Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space.

The hardest thing to find was a french program.  Since we speak french, we don't want what would be too basic for our kids. ( Think the difference between starting English as a second language or actually taking an English course in high school...there is a big difference)  I did finally find one I am excited about, it's called The Easy French.  You can find her website by googling that.  I chose the early ages set, but she does have them going all the way to a high school level.  I love that this set teaches french a lot like a french immersion school would.

My kids are too young for me to worry much about social studies, but I am looking forward to covering it later.  Mystery of History and The Story of the World are two which intrigue me, but I haven't seen either of them.

We also incorporate learning into everyday situations.  If someone runs into something they'd like to know more about, we often google topics or questions.  We look up topics of interest at the library.  My kids obviously are too young to do this alone, but they are always welcome to ask for help.  It's pretty normal around here to hear someone say " I dunno... let's google it and find out!".  We watch lots of educational shows.  Our PVR really is my best friend!  I record shows from the history channel, discovery channel or PBS. y kids love Wild Kratts and the Magic School Bus, both shows which teach science in a kid friendly way.  They like MythBusters, although I hate the commercials that are on during it, so I sit with them and make sure we fast forward through them.

Ok, all that being said, I can only make choices for my family, and obviously you might have different interests or considerations than me.  Also, I chose these now, but haven't gotten full scale into using them, so I may change my opinions after we do.

It was really scary to choose everything!  The resources I thought were the most helpful were Cathy Duffy's Book 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum.  She walks you through choosing what is important for you,what learning style your kids are, what teaching style you are, what method you would be ( Charlotte Mason, Classical, unschool, eclectic etc. When I first encountered these words, I was like Huh? What are those??  She explains them all and helps you think about what method would work for you. She's great at pointing out which course would work for your style.  Then all the reviews make waaaay more sense when you know.  Then you read that a book works well with Charlotte Mason, you'll know why they heck they are saying that!)  I highly suggest grabbing a copy of this, or checking it out of the library.  She then reviews tons of courses.  Also her website is great, with even more reviews and articles.  Another website I liked is www.homeschoolreviews.com  You can look up each course by name, or browse by subject area.

I bought most of my items from christianbook.com.  They also have tons of great reviews for their products.  I enjoyed reading through and seeing what other moms, and dads, had to say about their experiences with a product.  Of course, you'll find one person will love it, and the next will hate it, but at least most people include their reasons why and it gives you a good insight into the products.

Some books that I found helpful and encouraging were by Linda Dobson.  I'm sure you could search your local library and find lots of her titles.  One that was Helpful was specifically about your first year, and what to do to make it great instead of overwhelming.  There is a whole chapter on what to expect when you are bringing your child home in reaction to a negative school experience.


I have also loved reading and browsing through the blogs of other Christian homeschoolers.  I have found a whole list of blogs that I now follow and love the advice and experience of both other new homeschoolers and those more experienced moms.

Ok, well, if thats not the longest reply! Haha! Hopefully there was some helpful info in there for you!  Keep in touch, I'm looking forward to hearing how your search goes :)

Pay As You Go Or Lumpsum?

So many things in life now have the option to make monthly installments, and many times it makes life more convenient.  Car insurance, heating bills, property taxes, house insurance and many more can be equalized over the year so you can pay one same amount every month.  Shawn and I have opted for this so many times, but lately we've been rethinking the practice.  We're noticing all the little ways it costs us more to do it!

Kid's activities are the first area we're addressing.  Take dance for example.  Yes, you can pay a set amount for 9 months of the year, and figure it into your monthly budget.  But, if you pay the whole amount at the start of the year, our school gives you 10% off.  We've decided that next year, we'd like to pay for the things the kids would like to sign up for outright.  Why not save 10% if you can?

Not all the activities our kids would like to try offer discounts, but knowing that it's completely paid for means I don't have to figure them into our budget.  I can't end up with any fees or charges for being late either.  But, I do have to come up with a larger amount of money in one month, which will require some saving over the summer.  We're not 100% sure which things the kids will want to sign up for this fall, but we are bouncing around some ideas with them, trying to offer them some choices.  Piano and ballet are for sure already.  Scouts and certain sports are still being considered. 

Over the summer, any extra budget money, overtime or proceeds  from some of the things we are selling will go to the kids activity fund first.  When we reach the goal we've set, we'll resume paying off debts and saving for the home repairs that keep popping up. 

While we don't have the extra budget room to address all the other things we could move off of monthly payments, I did take a second to check into what fees we pay for the service.  We pay our auto insurance monthly, and yep, they charge a bit extra for that.  Did you know you can save a percentage off your city tax bill if you pay the whole amount yourself at the start of the year?  We pay ours along with our mortgage and the bank submits it for us.  Eventually, we'd like to be in a place where we have enough saved up to pay out the tax bill and move away from the installments.  The problem is, once you start paying monthly amounts, it's hard to switch.  The first year feels like paying twice! We need to save the same amount we pay that month so that when the year is over, we have an entire year's payment saved and free to use.

While we'd like to get there eventually, for now, we'll start with what we can do, the kid's activities, and go from there.  Do you prefer the monthly payments? Or do you tend to pay for those big things annually?

Flooring Dilemma Update

Thanks for your suggestions everyone!
In the end, we decided to live with the subfloor.  We ripped out the carpet one Saturday afternoon, and were pleasantly surprised to find the chip board underneath in great shape.  We decided to stain it to even out the multiple colors, and used a gift card we had at the home improvement store to buy the one small can we needed.  Shawn had a can of Verathane in the shop, which he used to seal the floor.  It actually looks pretty nice, I have to admit.  Several people have commented that it looks like flooring!  So for an actual out of pocket cost of nothing,  we are really happy with the floors.  I'm sure we'll be living with them for quite some time.
Before the clear coat was dried, I went into labor.  Good thing we got the floors done when we did!  While I was in the hospital, Shawn finished the floor and got the furniture out of the kitchen and back where it belongs! 
The above photo is of our newest little one, Bremen, with the rapscallion dog that caused the whole thing in the living room.


Wondering what dilemma I'm talking about?  Read the original post here (Does This Justify Raiding the Emergency Fund? ) 

New Uses for Homemade Laundry Soap

While reading another's blog about living frugally, I came across an idea that I loved.  Use laundry soap as general purpose cleaner, she said, it's cheaper then the specialty bathroom cleaners you buy, and does a great job.

Hmmm? But why not?  Now, she was talking about a store bought variety that she uses, and was also pondering attempting to make her own laundry detergent, but I immediately thought of my giant pail of laundry soap and decided to give it a try.

I only just finished up the first batch of laundry soap that I had made.  The couple of dollars I spent making 10 gallons of soap has lasted my family almost a year!  We're still loving it, and I was excited...have I discovered another use for it too??  I asked myself if it could work.  Why not? It's three ingredients are a water softener, washing soda and pure soap.  Why wouldn't that clean?  I normally use vinegar and water to clean my house, and it does a great job, but I'm always open to trying a new idea. 

Today I washed my kitchen floors using the laundry soap in a pail of hot water.  It did a really great job!  Tackled all the sticky food spills easily and left no residue!  I'm going to try the super dried on toothpaste spill on the bathroom counter next, but I'd say it makes a great, cheap cleaner!

There you have it, another cool use for homemade laundry soap!  And hey, even if you don't make your own, if you run out of cleaner, now you know, you could use laundry detergent instead!

Goin' On A Worm Hunt

Last week, the two oldest kids felt like they were on a grand adventure when Daddy got them out of bed at midnight, helped them get dressed and head out for a hunt.  A friend of ours had driven over to join them, and the four of them spent almost three hours out in the middle of the night, looking for worms.  Whenever we have a good rain, one question gets asked repeatedly at our house. " Daddy are we going hunting for nightcrawlers?".  I'm sure that of all the things we do that are weird, this one might be near the weirdest end of the scale, haha!

Around here, we have a large variety of nightcralwers that are excellent for fishing with.  When they come out during a good rain, our kids look forward to Daddy taking them for a walk.  They splash in puddles, get soaked and pick up all the nightcrawlers they can find along the way.  It's a big adventure for them.  The girls love to go too ( no squeamish sallys around here!) and Lily with her small two year old fingers tends to be the fastest worm picker-upper.

We put them in a large container, with dirt and miscellaneous stuffs, then keep them cool and use them throughout the year.  I've been doing some research on how to keep a "worm farm" with nightcrawlers instead of the usual red worms that one might use for a composter.  While we've always done this "just for fun", the kids think that it would be a fun "school" project to study the worms, and maybe even sell some of them.  Why not?  So... feeding the worms is now an item on our chores list... hahahahah!

This is completely free, and takes no real effort, but it's a fun little family activity.  I have kinda thought that we might be the only people who do this, but lately I have heard so many people telling stories about worm hunting when they were kids.  It's such a fond memory for so many people!  One friend tells of it being one of the funnest memories of being with his dad, another talked about how fun it was to sell the worms to local fishermen.  For some unexplainable reason, picking up these slimy little creatures is a very memorable childhood experience.  Remember that middle of the night adventure?  While they were out walking around, there were others out too!  One elderly gentleman they ran into talked about childhood memories of his own worm hunts and thought it was neat to see these guys taking the kids out. Talk about memories! One day they'll be sitting around laughing about the time Daddy took them worm hunting in the middle of the night and the ended up talking with some old guy!

It might be fun to try a worm farm of your own!  Why not?  If you're interested, here's a great link
Nightcrawler Worm Farm Info   from e-how.

Brands We Love

Lately I've been thinking about how many items in the grocery store I buy based completely on brand.  Sometimes there is a valid reason, and sometimes it's just habit.  I'm sure most of us have favorites, and I've become curious about what brands other people are loyal to.

In no particular order, here are a few brands I always reach for.

Aveeno products: Mainly because no one in my house is allergic to them, so they are my first choice for shampoo, body wash and soaps as well as sunscreen and lotions.

Campbell Soup: Because my husband refuses to eat the no name stuff.  He swears he can tell the difference.  I wait until there is a good sale and buy it by the flat.

Maxwell House Coffee: We started buying it because it was the cheapest when we were in our first house, and now we just like the taste of it. Ha! It was $4 a can then, and now $10 is a good price for it!

Huggies Diapers and Wipes : They have always fit my children well, and not bothered any of the allergies.  I guess they are more expensive than no name ones, but I really like these best.

Ketchup: No name.  Lol, that's right, I prefer the no name ketchup.  I don't know why!  My parents always bought heinz when I was growing up, but I actually like the taste of the no name stuff better!

Pop: I've always been a Pepsi drinker, but after I tried Superstore's blue label wave cola ( which is their president's choice version of Pepsi) I found I actually like it better.  Now, given the choice, I would choose the Superstore pop.

Toilet Paper: since I refuse to wipe with sandpaper, I have always paid more for toilet paper.  I have two brands that I like best, Royale and Purex, and will buy whichever is cheaper that week.

Kraft Dinner: no knock offs allowed in this house.  I wait for a good sale and buy the case.

Milk: I like Dairyland better than Foremost, though I can't describe what difference there is, haha!

Hotdogs: I buy the no name ones.  I can't taste any difference so I'm not willing to pay more for the brand name ones. 

Cleaners/Laundry Detergents: I make my own :)


So, that's all my brand quirks.  What are yours? Some of mine are based on preference, and some on price, and others on habit.  Did I miss any major ones in my poll?  Take a sec to answer the poll, I'm curious!

Sooooo...Homeschooling......

Alright, let me start off with stating that I have been very hesitant about broaching this topic on my blog.   As of this weekend, when school officially finishes for the year, we are going to be homeschoolers.  Bear with me as I try to put this decision into words.

I never thought I would homeschool, ever!  I have plenty of friends who homeschool, and to be honest, I thought they must be smarter, braver or more dedicated than me.  Or maybe they were just crazy?  But over the last little while, the idea of considering homeschooling began to grow in our home.

Our oldest is very smart, and has always loved to learn.  He could read at 3, write at 4, and started insisting we teach him his times tables for fun when he had just turned 5.  He picks up things at lightening speed, tell him once, and he knows it.  He can figure things out, imagining the inner workings of any machine.  Once, when he was 5, he came upstairs and said to us " Let me tell you why the basement is colder than the upstairs.  Heat rises, so all of the heat the furnace puts into the basement eventually makes it's way upstairs.  Also, the basement is part way in the ground, so the earth keeps it insulated and cools the floors and walls." Ahhhh, thermodynamics discovered all on his own.  So naturally, we assumed he'd do fabulously in school.  We put him in french immersion for two reasons: It's Shawn's family heritage ( I speak it as well) and it would offer him a challenge...hopefully. 

Baden also needs time to adjust to changes, especially big ones.  So, being a caring mom, I put him in pre-school so he would have a slow and smooth adjustment to school.  He hated it.  He cried before and after school.  Now, this is a fabulous school, and I have nothing negative to say about it.  But, he struggled with the stress all year. 

Surely, Kindergarten would go better!  By Christmas, Baden was fluent enough in french to understand pretty much anything you said to him, and he could say what he wanted, with atleast 75% of the words in french.  By all measurable standards, he was a stellar student.  Well liked by the teacher and his classmates, he did well in all subjects.  But still, he hated school.  Suddenly, he didn't find learning as fun.  The stress has been showing at home in his behavior and his thoughts.  We talked to the counselor, who assured us he would adjust and was doing just fine.  Both his teacher and his principal were shocked by our request to see the counselor because they knew nothing about the behaviors we were seeing at home.

Summer was a relief for us.  Surely, after a nice break, grade one would be better?  Baden was thrilled with his teacher, who had also taught him pre-school.  He continued to excel in all measurable ways at school, except maybe dance class, which he loathed, lol!  But, the stress continued to show at home.  He would melt down over silly things.  He felt left out of whatever we were doing during the day while he was gone, and would be extra demanding of our attention when he was home, as if trying to make up for the hours missed while at school.  Our son, who had always been gentle and caring to his sisters was becoming mean and often angry with them.  Small situations at school seemed to bother him for a long time, making him upset. He often felt helpless dealing with certain classmates.  He's picked up behaviors and language we don't agree with.  It's been a fight to get him on the bus everyday this year.



We've spent a lot of metal energy trying to figure out what is causing this stress.  To be honest, we still have no idea.  He goes to a great school.  His teacher is fabulous and has really gone the extra mile for him.  It's been so frustrating to have no idea why he is stressed, we were sure that if we could figure it out, we could at least improve or fix it.  However, we also began to think we may not be able to wait until we identified the reason, the stress was getting so bad.

Each time he had a school break, our whole family could breathe a sigh of relief.  The first day of a week off, he'd be a mess, but by the end of the week, he was himself again.  Often Shawn and I would say to each other " It's a shame we have to send him back!"  Well, after the spring break, Shawn said to me " Why do we have to send him back?"  It's a simple question, but a loaded one.  So began my research into homeschooling.

I have been very impressed by what I found.  It really is do-able, and there are lots of amazing curriculum choices out there. There are plenty of studies out there, and great books, all showing how you can offer your child a great education.  The more I read, the more I felt like God was telling me to be prepared.  That's all I could hear, so I kept reading, exhausting my homeschooling  friends with my endless questions.  One let me borrow her daughters books for a week, so I could read through them and see if they would suit my kids or not.  It's really hard to pick which math book you might like, if you can't see any of them!  We prayed and we considered, and still we felt we were being told to "be prepared and wait". 

Finally, on a day off, Shawn volunteered at the school.  He went to help kids read books.  As a guy who speaks french, his willingness to volunteer was a real help to the boys in Baden's class.  It was an average day.  Nothing terrible happened.  No lightening from the sky, no bullying, no problems.  Yet, he came home and declared " That's it, we're homeschooling."  I asked him what had happened to make him feel so sure, but it was nothing he could articulate.  All of our preparation was put to good use as I began to order the materials we had picked out.

We discussed the idea vaguely with Baden, but we didn't tell him flat out that he would not be returning to school.  It didn't seem smart, in the middle of a local teacher's strike, because the two were not related at all.  I knew what our provincial regulations were, and began filling out forms, and writing a formal education plan for the year.  Finally, after a particularly bad day at school, I finally told Baden that he only had to make it to the end of the year, and then he wouldn't have to go back.  It has relieved his stress visibly.  I registered with the school board, and informed his school.

We also had to decided what to do for Colleena.  While she may enjoy Kindergarten, the idea of going to school if Baden isn't going with her, scared her.  She had always imagined getting on the bus with Baden and playing with Baden during recess.  After a lot more talking and praying, we decided not to send her either.  One of the benefits of homeschooling is the lack of a school schedule, of being able to organize our days around Shawn's work schedule.  We'd lose out on that if we sent Colleena.

I have always enjoyed teaching my children things, and sharing those "Aha!" moments with them. In a way, we've always homeschooled our children without really calling it that.  We taught them as we went about our day, and let them explore interests and encouraged them to learn many things.  I've missed that while Baden has been at school, and I admit, I am looking forward to next year very much.  I know it won't all be smooth sailing, and there will be lots of hard days, but I think it is the right choice for our family.

The main reason I am choosing to share all this on my blog is that this choice is having a effect on so many areas of my life.  It definitely is a factor in my budget.  It's changing what I thought my life would look like at this point.  Having just brought home baby #4, our life will be quite busy this fall.  I'm not sure what life will look like for me, as I tackle the running of our home, tasks like doctor and dentist appointments, grocery shopping and housework and try to add a fourth child and homeschooling to it!  What will happen to my time? I'm still not sure.

Obviously, I believe I can do this well, or I wouldn't try it.  However, I still struggle with doubts and fears.  It's a big thing to take on total responsibility for their education.  I have to mourn the things I imagined enjoying about the school experience.  Like all parents, I imagined watching school plays, science fairs and first bus rides.  While I am in the process of making this change, I am allowing myself leeway to make mistakes, miss certain parts of the school experience, and change the experience to work for us.

Since this blog is about me, my family and our journey, I've decided to include our homeschooling experience, which has become so entwined with all the other aspects of our lives.

Does This Justify Raiding the Emergency Fund?

What makes an emergency worthy of a raid on our hard earned savings fund?

This is the question on my mind today, let me tell you why.  So, our dog is getting old and has been peeing on the floor more and more frequently.  We do own a carpet cleaner, and have been able to clean it time and time again.  I won't bother to go into how much I hate this, because you've all probably heard me rant about it already, and it's totally beside the point of this post.  The second last time Jinx peed on the floor, I followed my usual routine of cleaning it up immediately with our Bisell Little Green Machine, treating the carpet with pet stain and odor remover and then shampooing it again with the full size cleaner.  (ok, technically, Shawn does all of this, I played the sensitive pregnant nose card and got out of it).

The problem is, this time it didn't work.  I shampooed several more times, and still the whole house smelled like a combination of wet dog and dog pee. Niii-iiice huh?  I kept apologizing to the kids' piano teacher, since she had to be just feet from the odor that week.  A week of nice weather so I could keep windows open and air out the house, and a whole box of baking soda later, it finally smelled ... a bit less gross.


One week later, the morning of the next piano lesson, the dog peed again.  Now, I don't think the dog just has it in for the piano teacher, but I did feel bad for her again!  It had dried completely before we saw it in the morning, so Shawn poured a bit of cleaner and water on it before starting to suck it up.  The smell was so horrid, I almost threw up and had to run out of the room.  We followed our usual procedure again, and it did not work at all.  I covered the spot with an upside down bin so the kids wouldn't walk in it ( it was conveniently right in the middle of the main living area, thanks Jinx).  I cleaned again and again.  I dumped baking soda in it, and left it over night.  I tried odor removing sprays, desperate to at least cover it up.  Nothing has helped at all.  Over a week later, it still smells so strongly like ammonia that I don't even want to sit in my living room.  And there is no way any of us can sit on the floor to play!


Now, this carpet is not in the best shape anyway.  It's original to the house (1986) and a torturous shade of off-white.  It's sculptured-textured beauty has long faded, but at least I could always get it clean, if not completely stain free.  Having carpet bothers my allergies, but it was nice to have been able to sit on the floor to play with the kids. 

Shawn's theory is that the poor carpet is just too saturated to salvage anymore.  We suspect that the dog is getting old enough that she may not be around forever.  But we can't keep living with it until she is gone.  It's now so gross, that I wouldn't be able to let baby lay or sit on the floor.

So this is why, with only about 10 days until my due date, we are having to rip out our carpet.  But then what?  I have lived with bare floor boards before.  For many years, while we renovated our previous house, we had bare floors in one room or another..or all of them.  If we're going to have exposed floor boards, though, we will have to seal them with something, so that any future accidents aren't just going right into the floor itself.  If we're going to buy cheap paint, stain or sealer, would that be money well spent, or should we just suck it up and buy flooring?  If we buy flooring, what do we get?  Do I want to settle for just whatever I can find cheap enough by this weekend, Shawn's only day off before baby's arrival? How long will it take us to replenish the emergency fund if we do?  Do I want to spend more than that and look for something I like? Do I have time for that?  Should I just seal the floor and save for what I'd like? 

Of all the reno projects on my dream list, I really didn't want to deal with living room flooring first.  But, now that I don't have a choice, what should I do?  I feel so frustrated, because there are so many other things I'd rather have paid for first, like the bench we need in the kitchen, the activities the kids want to do next fall and at least one fishing trip this summer, to name a few!

So, to answer my own question, I don't think this is an emergency worthy of breaking open my piggy bank.  I may be living with bare floors for a while, but at least they won't smell like dog pee!

What would you do?

Here's how it turned out... (Flooring Dilemma Update)

Beating the Budget Busters: Spring

If the amount I spend on gardening every year was any indication, one would be sure I lived on an acreage.  I don’t know what size my imaginary acreage is, but it must be huge because boy is it costly to maintain!  Ok, all joking aside, every year I seem to manage to spend a small fortune on my postage stamp sized yard.  Something about spring makes me want to run out and buy a zillion plants. 

I head to a local garden center, or three or four, and load up on annuals, seeds, perennials and the odd bag of peat moss or compost.  Somehow I always manage to pick up enough to supply a hobby farm.  Last year I gave the extra annuals to neighbourhood kids to plant in their flower beds.  Even when I have enough plants for the few spaces I can plant them in, I inevitably find some beautiful little flower that I would love to have, which leads to me having to buy more pots.  Then, I can always squeeze another plant or two in…  You get the idea!

This year I determined to be more realistic about how much space and money I have.  I should have written this post a week ago, before I went to three local greenhouses…  Ok, yes, I went, and yes I bought a couple more things than I planned, but mostly I am on track for the year.

I decided to plan how many plants I could fit in the pots I already have, and only buy those.  This way, I know too that I will have the time to maintain them.  Besides spending too much, the problem with buying extra plants is that I always manage to kill most of them because I don’t have the time to water and maintain them all.  The girls want two hanging baskets on their playhouse, Baden wants two tomato plants, beans, peas, carrots and parsley in our children’s garden, and then I have three little window-box like containers that are hung on our fence.  That’s all, and this year I mean it! 

Buuuuuut, the previous owner of this house was an amazing gardener with no young children and therefore more time on her hands.  Front and back, this house has lots of perennial beds.  Over the last three years, I have changed and reduced them to a more manageable level for me, but every year, there is always more I’d like to do.  Just a few boards to make edging here… the odd plant to fill in where one died… and all those doggy spots on the lawn.  You get the idea.  I never seem to be able to leave well enough alone!

In this too, I resolved to do better this year!  I am 9 months pregnant, and cannot do a lot of the yard chores anyway.  Once I have the baby, the yard will be lucky if I remember to turn on the under ground sprinklers once a week!  Well, that determination lasted until my wonderful husband offered me a day of his labour.  All I had to do was sit in a lawn chair, and he would do whatever chores I asked him to.  Shawn got a lot done, and I got a nasty sunburn.  “ Hey hunney, you know, a few boards along here and this flower bed would look nice and tidy, it would really finish it well” he says… on his way to the garden center.  “ This old shrub is over grown and not too nice anymore, I’ll rip it out for you” was quickly followed by “ Hmmm, what should we buy to plant in it’s spot? Maybe some cedars?”  “ Would be nice to buy some boards and finish the walking path this year” had to be quashed, though.  “ You know, that edging in the back looks great, maybe I should grab some for the front yard too” is still in the negotiating phase.  I’d love to rip out the dead bushes in the front, change the shape of that bed and edge it, but I don’t really want to spend the money either.  I can’t decide, which is worse: the dead bush, or a huge bare hole?

Ok, there are some ways I’ve been frugal about my yard wish list.  Almost all of my perennials have needed dividing over the last few years.  I’ve used a lot of these cuttings to fill in spaces when needed.  I’ve also given away enough daylilies, irises,  and hostas to stock several friends’ yards.  This year, I’m mooching a few things from a friend who is cleaning up her yard.  There always seems to be someone dividing and cleaning out plants if you are looking around.  Also, because Shawn is always at construction sites as part of his job, he often finds odd scraps of sod.  Contractors order in enough for the project and then toss aside the one or two lengths that are inevitably left over.  He’ll grab them and use them to fix up the doggy spots in the lawn.

We’ve Frankenstein-ed together the sections of our fence that are the worst with scrap boards we had laying around, and determined to ignore how ugly it looked until we could afford to fix it.  But, in order to keep the neighbourhood kids out and the 70lb dog in, we really need to address the fence, or at least portions of it, and soon!  Several spans of the thing are rotted to pieces.  I am constantly hollering at the kids next door “ Get off the fence! You’re gonna get hurt!” and “ Don’t hit the fence, the boards are falling off!”  We had some wind this week, and the fence flaps like wind-chimes!  The back section is supported because our boat is behind it… classy, I know!  Several sections have been tied up with rope.  I don’t know how much longer we can ignore it!  I think we may have to pick the worst parts of it this year, and plan on replacing it section by section.  I remember from the last fence we built, fencing is a lot of work, and it’s expensive!

Alright, so if I was going to make myself a score card of how I’ve done so far this spring? I’d have to give myself koodos for improving, and tsk a little at how we did too.  Next on our plate this year is the job of finishing the playhouses.  Shawn built them the year Lily was born, two years ago, and has put time and money into them every year.  This year, we plan to finish the few details that remain, and stay on budget too!  Stay tuned!!

Book Review: Daddy Dates

Daddy Dates by Greg Wright is a must read book!  While reading, you feel as though he is sitting across the couch from you chatting about what it’s like to be a dad.  He approaches this important role in a man’s life with humour, charm and insight. 

Daddy Dates starts with his realization that he wanted to be a great dad to his four daughters, but just wasn’t sure exactly what that meant.  He sets off on a  journey committed to being intentional about getting to know his daughters as individuals, and being the strong male influence in their lives.  By teaching them how they should be treated with care, concern and genuine thoughtfulness, Wright is raising daughters who know their real value and worth.

The book is full of hilarious anecdotes, examples and ideas to help jump start each dad’s plan to treat his daughter well at every stage of their growing up years.   Wright shares insights into the female heart and mind that he has learned as the lone male in a house with five women.  He doesn’t leave anyone out, including plenty of ideas and encouragement for all dads, even those who may not live with their daughters due to divorce. 

Helpfully included are tools to let dads discern the different personality types individual daughters may have, and “date” ideas that may appeal to each style.  He even covers why it’s important to continue to invest time and energy in dating your spouse throughout your entire marriage.

Even though as a mother, I am not the intended audience for the book, I enjoyed it so much I cold barely put it down!!  A great read for moms and dads alike!  I received this book from Booksneeze in exchange for my honest review, and I know it’s going to be passed around to many of my friends!