Life With The Crew

Thankful Tuesday - 12.31.13

On this last day of 2013, I am thankful for...

-My sweet little babe who is thrilled with a post-Christmas thrift store toy for $3.99.  She has been having a ton of fun on this toy with her Dad, who now needs a pair of knee pads.

-The low key, relaxed days that we have had this past week since Christmas.  There was even time for some serious squirrel watching.

-A good dinner made entirely from scratch - rosemary olive oil bread, savory pumpkin fritters with rosemary from An Edible Mosaic, and homemade yogurt.  I even had some of my homemade applesauce with it.  What a great feeling.

-I am very thankful that at this time last year, I made the decision to quit my job and be a stay-at-home mom.  I wanted my little babe to be the priority in my life and luckily for us, we are able to make it work financially.  We are still learning how to be a single income family, so throughout this year I will be sharing our journey as we live more frugally.  Stay tuned!  

Starting with next week's post, the first one in the New Year, I would like to welcome other bloggers to share a Thankful Tuesday post.  If you're interested in sharing what you are thankful for, please leave a link to your post in the comment section.  (I would be thankful if you would share the blog love and put a text link to my blog somewhere in your post.)  And of course non-bloggers are more than welcome to join in also!  I think the world would be a better place if people reminded themselves what they DO have to be thankful for instead of what they are still waiting for.

We Like To Read - 12.30.13

A book that I have really been enjoying reading to my little babe is The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett.  It is the classic story of Goldilocks and Three Bears, but with an Arctic twist.  The illustrations are beautiful.  They have a grown-up feel about them, which at first I did not really like for a children's book, but after looking at them many times, I have come to appreciate them.  The main reason I like this book is because I can read it in the different voices of Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear - which makes it more fun and holds the little babe's attention.

The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett

The story begins with Aloo-ki's sled dogs floating away on a piece of ice.  She goes to find help and discovers a very big igloo, which belongs to the three bears.  They are not at home, so she proceeds to help herself to their soup, boots, and bed.

While Aloo-ki has been sleeping in their igloo, the three bears have brought her dogs to safety.  When they discover Aloo-ki in their home, she wakes up and runs outside, where her dogs are waiting.

Only after reading the book several times did I pay attention to the illustrations on the sides of the pages.  They are very detailed and they show what is happening in the story "behind the scenes".  For example, while Aloo-ki is sleeping in the bear's beds, they have found her dogs and are pushing them to safety.

The last page of the book is my little babe's favorite.  All of the bears wave goodbye, which I say in their deep loud voice, soft voice, and squeaky voice.  My little babe then waves bye-bye too.

Linking up with Tigerlily Quinn for We Like To Read.

 

 

Sunday Morning Silliness

I knew this was going to happen!  My little babe got this fun chair from her grandparents for Christmas and she loves to drag it all around the woodstove room, but Molokai loves sitting in it even more!

Recipe for the Weekend - Spinach Artichoke Dip

We needed to take an appetizer to my parent's house for Christmas dinner and were running out of time.  I told my husband to just pick up some spinach artichoke dip from the grocery store pre-made bar, but he said he could make it to save us some money.  It is much cheaper to make it yourself - you get so much more for the money you spend!  Here is my husband's recipe. 

Spinach Artichoke Dip

1.  Mince 3 cloves of garlic.  Mince  one 8.5 oz can of artichoke hearts, about 5-7 hearts.  

2.  If you are using fresh spinach, chop into small pieces.  We used frozen, chopped spinach.

3.  Saute garlic until fragrant.  Add artichoke hearts and 1 teaspoon thyme.

4.  When the artichoke hearts are softened, basically just heated through, add the spinach.  Saute until the spinach has cooked down into manageable pieces.

5.  In a oven safe casserole dish, add 16 oz sour cream (one pint) and 16 oz cream cheese (two blocks).  Add the sauted mixture.  Season with salt and pepper to your liking.  Mix all together.

6.  Spread around in casserole dish and top with 1 cup grated parmesan or pecorino.  

7.  Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes until heated throughout.  Nothing has to really cook, just so the flavors blend a little and the cheese on top melts.

8.  We served ours with Stacy's Multigrain Bagel Chips, but you could use toasted bread slices.  I love the chunky texture of the bagel chips.

The only healthy part of it is the spinach, but it tastes really good!  

(Thanks Mom and Dad for the totally awesome pottery plates.  We love them!)

Thoughts About "Things"

Having just celebrated a holiday that is largely based on materialism, my husband and I have been thinking a lot lately about the "things" that we have and need.  It turns out that we have a lot and don't need as much as we have.  I have been on a simplification track for the past year.  Part of it started with having a baby and I didn't want to get caught up in the new parent trap of thinking that our child needs a new gizmo for everything she does.  The other part of it is become I became a stay at home mom, and so we have less money to buy the things we thought we needed before (or just plain wanted).   

With the New Year approaching, people tend to go through their possessions, getting rid of the old things to make room for the new. My bet is that most people have a lot of "old things" to get rid of that probably don't need replaced with brand new ones.  I go on a "stuff purge" every couple of months, clearing out things that we haven't used for a while.  The common thinking is that if you haven't used it in a year, you most likey aren't going to and so should get rid of it.  We took three bags to Goodwill yesterday and will have more stuff after we clean out the attic this weekend.  (my husband's idea - amazing!)  Keep in mind the ways to discard of your stuff without throwing it in the trash.  This post lists some of your options.  

I'll be talking more this year about our decision to live a simpler, less materialistic life and the ways that we are trying to do that.  Of course, it is much easier said than done, but we have found that once you get started down that path, it is easier to keep moving in that direction.  I have been drawing inspiration from the bloggers out there who strive to live more frugal, simple, less materialistic lives, but that are full in love, family, creativity, and fun.  Having less "stuff" doesn't mean having less fun.

I'll leave you with some images from the ongoing conflict in Sudan.  Most of these people are carrying all that they own.  That is a quick sentence to read, so pause a moment to actually think about it.  I'm not asking you to "live like a refugee" (to quote the Tom Petty song, though I don't know what context he uses it in).  I am simply posing the thought that maybe what you want isn't what you really need and what you really need to live a fulfiling life is less than what you think.

http://mombloggersforsocialgood.com/2013/12/26/photos-of-the-south-sudanese-crisis-you-may-not-have-seen/

 

Crafty Calendar Re-use

Way back in 2010, we bought this calendar at a sustainable farming conference.  It contains watercolor prints by a  local artist and I unfortunately do not know her name.  The prints are beautiful; each month a different seasonal scene painted in a location around our county.  

When the year was over, I couldn't bear to throw it out, it was way too beautiful.  I wanted to frame some of the pictures and had good intentions on doing so.  However, spending the money on picture frames was never a priority and so the calendar sat and sat.  It kept getting moved around the office and I always thought, "Oh, I have to get those framed."  Well, now is the time.  

I received this picture frame as a gift and it is just the right size!  A little bit of the month lettering is visible on some of the months, but that's okay.  So I took the glass piece and placed it over each month to trace the pattern, then cut them out.  

The best part of the project is that all twelve of the months fit in the back of the picture frame, so I don't have to store them somewhere else.  Each month it will just take me less than a minute to switch to the currrent month and I'll have a brand new framed picture!  

 

 

Light

Even the smallest light in the world makes it a better place.

 

(I don't know how to stop that weird extra "flame" in the picture.  A similar thing showed up when I tried to photograph the full moon earlier this week.  Ideas?)

Our Tree Tradition

Since tomorrow is the big day for the tree, I thought I'd share how we do it in our home.  Some people get their tree the day after Thanksgiving and take it down the day after Christmas.  Some people put it up on Christmas Eve and the kids wake up to a magical surprise.  Some people opt for the plastic or metal fake tree, pulled out of the basment or attic and dusted off.  For the first couple years of our marriage, my husband and I went to a local tree farm and picked out the tree together, normally stopping for peppermint ice cream at the local dairy on the way home.  We are lucky to have three Christmas tree farms within a half hour drive, so we have our pick.

One year we decided, or I decided maybe, that I didn't want a tree.  Either we didn't have the money, or I didn't want to deal with the mess, or our house was under construction, I don't remember.  (I know, all of those reasons just make me sound like a scrooge.)  But when I came home from work one day, there it was - the symbol of secular Christmas, shining in the corner of my living room with one string of lights hastily strung on it.  My husband, great guy that he is, decided we should have one and so he surprised me.  Now, several years later, that has become our tradition.  This year he surprised both me AND the little babe with the tree and it will become more fun as she gets old enough to enjoy the surprise element of it.  

It is my job to decorate the tree.  I normally decorate it with ornaments from my childhood, but since I couldn't find the box of decorations this year, I started with a blank slate.  So this is what we've got.

 

Simple and toddler friendly ornaments.  

(Sorry for the poor quality photos  - our tree is in a very low light area in the house.)

Linking up with Little Green Shed for Nature In The Home.  

 

 

Christmas Day Tunic

This is for all you newbie seamstresses out there.  (I wanted to say "sewers" as in "people who sew", but apparently it becomes "sewers" as in, the yucky places under ground.  Sewers - my made up version - just seems like it should be a word!) 

I bought this soft flannel fabric back in the beginning of December when picking up some festive fabric for bunting.  I thought it looked wintry cheerful and intended to whip up a simple dress for my little babe to wear on Christmas Day.  Well, the dress is finally done, with a little more than 24 hours to spare, and "simple" it was not!  

I wanted it to be long sleeve and kind of boxy and swingy, to allow for all the movement my little babe is doing right now.  I will state now that I am not a pattern kind of girl.  And this caused problems.  I now understand why people use patterns, but I still don't think I will use one.  To many instructions to get hung up on; I would rather just go with the flow and do it my way, even if "the flow" stagnates for almost a month.

It took me forever to pin together, like two hours probably.  The problem was the arms - how do I attach them under the armpit?  And how do I know that she will even be able to MOVE her arms while wearing this?  After sewing 3/4 of the tunic, I tried it on my wriggly babe.  The body was too tight.  No big deal, I thought, I'll just insert the extra red panel in the back.  But then I realized that I would have to remove the stitches that sewed on both arms, which seemed like A LOT of stitches to this beginner "sewer".  So I put it on top of my sewing basket, intending to work on it the next day, and it sat there for 3 more weeks.  I had to move it every time I opened the sewing basket lid, but I could not bring myself to work on it.  It was just too overwhelmingly confusing by this point.  I had stitches everywhere and it still wasn't done yet.  

So last evening, just one day to go, I got down to business.  I removed the bum stitches, sewed some of the arms again, but then had to figure out what to do about the back.  When I tried it on my little babe again, it somehow seemed too big now.  I thought putting a button on the back would do the trick, but I just could not wrap my head around the actual mechanics.  I have done absolutely no reading about sewing and do not come from a family of people who sew, so I am doing this on the fly.  Finally I figured out how it should work, sort of, and ta-da!  The three week, easy Christmas tunic is complete!  It is not a work of beauty and it really isn't even that functional - neck line is too wide and slides off her shoulder - but I made it and gosh darn she is going to wear it on Christmas Day.

It is sort of like an operation gone bad - it has WAY too many visible stitches, but I couldn't figure out how to sew parts of it inside out.  My little babe won't know though, she will struggle when I put it on her, admire it in the mirror, and then just keep on cruising.  Looking totally cute.

(Sorry for the totally out of focus picture.  My husband was making toffee on the stovetop and was yelling at the little babe to stay away, the dogs were going crazy because it was dinner time, and I just wanted one good picture of my work of art that I FINALLY finished!)

Mom Bloggers For Social Good Partner - Maternity Worldwide

This week people around the world will celebrate the birth of a child long ago.  What better way to celebrate that birth in the true spirit of the season, than to save the life of a mother?  Each day, 800 mothers will die during childbirth.  The organization Maternity Worldwide works to prevent these unnecessary deaths through maternal health education, safe birth training, and providing medical equipment to hospitals and health centres.  Instead of shopping the after holiday sales and spending money on something that you probably don't really need, consider sponsoring a safe birth.