Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Not so wordless Wednesday

Not that this has much to do with being a 50's housewife, other than "they" say to put your husband first, and to always think of him. I think in this day and age we get so busy and so distracted that we lose sight of stopping and taking a moment to say I love you and I apprecitate you and everything you do for our family.

 I know all too well that in an instant it can be taken away from you. My sister in law had her world taken away in a blink of an eye, so I think that maybe I know what I have to lose, and I make sure to tell my husband I love him every night and that I do appreciate what he does for us. And what he does to give me the life I have, I am able to stay home and raise our children, when so many moms are not able to do that.

So I pass on to you a request to take the time to put him first once in a while, what is the worst thing that will happen? He will feel loved? Your children will see how to treat their future spouse? You will know that if anything ever happened to him that he knew he was special to you?

So once a day at least, be a 50's house wife!

This was the family back in 2006

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

less than 6 hours

So some of you have read that me and my west coast counter part are doing a tandem experiment of being a 50's housewife for the next 2 weeks. At first it sounded easy peasy but as I have looked into it more I am beginning to become scared....very very scared.  Here is a peek of what I have to do...

 This last one has me perplexed.... my place is by my husband's side, as his equal, as the one who makes his house a home. So now that I know this I am going to strive to keep my home picture perfect. This is always some thing I have struggled with. I find it much too appealing to go outside and play with my children, or go on a trip to the country and explore with them.
So since I said I am going to tweak the rules a bit I figured I would first post them. So here they are in all their glory!

From a 1950's high school home economics textbook, teaching girls how to prepare for married life.

1950 housewife
1. Have dinner ready: Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal on time.

This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him, and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.


2. Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking.
He has just been with a lot of work- weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.


3. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables.
Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.


4. Prepare the children: Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces if they are small, comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes.
They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.


5. Minimize the noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.
Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.


6. Things to avoid: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he's late for dinner.
Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day.


7. Make him comfortable: Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes.
Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.


8. Listen to him: You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

9. Make the evening his: Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment; instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.

10. The goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can relax.

Tomorrow I will post the "rules" according to my tweaking!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Lite Green Mommy: 50's 60's and beyond...

Lite Green Mommy: 50's 60's and beyond...: "Hey all, so I was given the idea and the challenge of being a 50's house wife for 2 weeks, and I graciuosly accepted. My Friend and fello..."

50's 60's and beyond...

Hey all, so I was given the idea and the challenge of being a 50's house wife for 2 weeks, and I graciuosly accepted.

 My Friend and fellow blogger Crystal Piccolo of  http://mylifeasmom-oregon.blogspot.com/2011/04/two-weeks-as-50s-housewife.html is doing the experiment and I am going to follow suit....I think. I am going to have her guest post on my blog of her experiences good and bad. So then I got to thinking why not have her be the 50's house wife, while I try my hand at a house wife of the later years? Maybe the 60's or 70's? And then I got to thinking that it wouldn't be too much different thatn what I do day to day here at the house.

So here is my brain storm, or should I say my take on the 50's house wife experiment. I am going to do all the things a 50's house wife was expected to do, but with a green and crunchy twist! I am going to make my own cleaners, and post the recipes, I am going to recycle, reduce, and reuse as much as possible. I am going to buy organic, and make as much as possible. I am going to see how to be a "better wife" while being a "better person" at the same time.

So this experiment is going to start on the morning of August 17th so I have enough time to do all my research and get a game plan down!  Do you all have tips or words of advice for me?

Friday, July 22, 2011

To do lists

Ok so as a child summer seemed to last forever and now as an adult it flies by. I figured out a couple of years ago, ok ahem, probably closer to 7 years ago that if me and the kids sat down on a cold winter night and made out summer to do list that we got alot more done during the summer. So sometime back when the snow was flying we sat as a family and put together our summer to do list.

It included things like camping, fishing, catching fireflies, going out for an ice cream cone, hiking to a waterfall, riding in Grandpa's boat, going to the beach, build a sandcastle, have a bonfire, eat s'more and go berry picking. We I have to admit as we head into the middle of July we have completed that and much much more.

We have done all of that and I got a bunch of thing done off of my personal summer to do list. So far I have heard my kids squeal in delight as we pull up to the lake for a surprise trip to the beach. I got to see their eyes light up when I say you can get as big an ice cream cone as you want. I have heard them whispering in their beds as we camp about all the fun adventures they went on during that day. I have smelled sweaty and sandy sunscreen covered kids as they bend in for a hug. I have tasted my share of half eaten berries that the baby has deemed good enough to share and feed me.

Seeing as we are almost half way through this summer I can honestly not wait to see what the next half brings for me and my family. But I know if it is only half as good as the first half it will still be pretty amazing!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

updates

Ok so here is the low down on the crazy busy hot summer we have had. We have gone on 2 camping trips so far and both were a blast. One was at the end of June on the St Lawrence River with my extended family, and the second was 4th of July weekend on Ontario lake with friends, who I would consider family.

The garden is planted, and growing and we are already harvesting items like yellow squash, and today will be green and yellow wax beans, that will be canned as dill beans- a HUGE family favorite. We have been strawberry picking and ate them all...no jam made booooo but we still have 2 jars left from last year so we are good, kind of. We went and picked sour cherries at Grisamore Farms in Locke NY. I HIGHLY recommend them! You can pick strawberries, blueberries, cherries- sweet and sour kinds, raspberries, apples and pumpkins. So the cherries were canned and a cherry brandy started, but the brandy failed due to fruit flies ewwwww! I made my first round of crock pickles and they are gone already so I am waiting for the second round of cucumbers to make the canned dill and sweet pickles for the year.  I also have a huge desire to make pickles watermelon rinds.

So we are loving the summer, the kids have gone fishing, caught ton of lightening bug, had many many s'mores, gone on a bunch of day trip to places like Treetops in Ithaca NY, the beach at Oneida shores, and been to parks all over Syracuse.

I got the itch to move so assuming we didn't buy too much camper and we can still swing a loan we are going to put the house on the market in the next couple of weeks and move to the country!! Super excited and scared all at once. We need room to move and to breath and the suburbs are not it!

The kids are growing as fast as the weeds in my gardens, the baby is already 1, but has yet to have his birthday party- weekends in the summer are PACKED! Lily is an avid swimmer and Killian is an expert fisherboy! Hmmm I think that is is for now... off to the garden to pick my beans in the 100 degree weather.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

BIG STEPS

Ok so I have been crazy busy. Home school is coming to an end, thanks goodness seeing as I have one that is great at it and the other has no ability to control himself and would do much better in a traditional school setting. I am surprised because I thought they would both thrive on less structure, but that is not the case.

I am ok with this. The gardens are about 90% in. They were in 100% but then we got 2 weeks of strait rain and I do believe it rotted out some of my seeds. So later today I am going to get out and get dirty and replant things like zucchinis, and green beans, radishes and broccoli.

SO the BIG STEP is this.... I have 2 very rude and disrespectful children who are under the impression that they deserve anything the want or ask for. Yes in part this is my fault, in part it is the commercials on cable tv, and part is their own fault.

To remedy this we are gutting the house of all toys- except books. The cable is going bye-bye, and they are getting daily chores. They will be able to earn some of the stuff back by good behavior and respect for myself, their father and each other. The only item I cannot really take away per-say is the trampoline, but it is outside so if they want to spend their time out there then so be it.

This is going to be a month long, if not summer long experiment. So I will post regularly as to how it goes. I am curious to see if there are going to be some unseen bonus benefits that will show themselves after this summer is over.....hmmmm. Can't wait! I am expecting to be able to donate a lot of toys that are forgotten about until they are uncovered and then they all of a sudden they go from dusty junk to prized most loved toy, so that will be great for recycling. And less time picking up this junk means more time doing something that will better our furture and family!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

home school

As many of you know I started to homeschool my children about 2 months ago. We have good days and bad days. Mostly good days. We have days that are totally off the chart nuts and others that are calm am scheduled.

I have found that doing the basics like spelling and math are easiest if we do that in the mornings, via worksheets or workbooks. Things like science are really a lets see what is out in the world and what strikes up a conversation. Like this weekend my hubby ws being a super sweetheart and took the kids hiking while giving mommy a break.... ok I really had stuff to do that did not invlove the big kids.

Well on the hike they found a flodded out road and in the gianormous puddle were all these swimming crawly things. Well my son jumped in being full of unharnessed exploration and grabbd up one of these slimy crawly things. put it in his drinking water bottle and they proceded to bring the prize home for mom to identify. This is what I saw.....
MOM look what I found dod doesn't know what it is... what is it? SO the home schooling teacher inside of me thinks. AHAAHA! science for the next week. So we google it and it is the Eastern Red Spotted Newt. Easy enough! So then I send my kids on the task of resreaching it and what kind of habitat it needs, food, and life cycle.  Seeing as they found it in the puddle I figured it had to be a baby and then as a teen it turns into this really cool thing.....
red-spotted newt

Now could that be anymore exciting!? As the research goes on it turns out they have already gone through that phase and are full grown adults. BUt they are wonderful for homeschooling, and heck they even seem to like the school work itself!
See he is on the path to higher learning.....

Monday, April 25, 2011

Where I have been and what is coming up!

Ok, so I have been MIA for a while. I was sorting through my life and cleaning many things out. Hey it is time for spring cleaning right? SO - the quick update, the kids are now being home schooled, and most days go well...today not being one of them. It was an uphill battle seeing as I had CPS at my door thanks to the school district. We managed a few camping trips that are paid for and just waiting for the days to go. Easter came and went, the mud season has arrived, and the dog has become a master of escaping the backyard.

So that is what I have been doing for the most part. I will go more into the how's and whys we are homeschooling but not today, and eventually I will tell you all about CPS...fun stuff. I will also in the future show you my seedlings and my growing setup.

A lot of you know I am semi-crafty, I make baby leggs, ring slings, taggy blankets, and nursing necklaces. I can also do other sewing when I find the time. So I was thinking that I want to get readership up on my blog, and I was thinking of a contest....I am thinking when I can get 50 readers I will do my first give away! What do you all think?

So here it is I need to hit 50 followers and I will be giving away a set of baby leggs, and they will be sex appropriate. So come on readers lets pimp out the blog!
Here are some of the baby leggs



Monday, March 7, 2011

crazy dancer

Have you ever seen that person out somewhere, like a concert in the park or even at a dance club that is dancing with their entire body, they look out of control and absolutely nuts? Well if you stop judging and look closer you will notice something in their faces, it is pure joy. Well that person who is dancing with no holds barred, is living in my mind. Or at least that is what I feel like. I go to bed with my mind racing, brimming with ideas or problems that need to be solved. And when I wake up in the morning there times when I have these amazing answer or ideas to try.

Today was one of those days. As some of you know I have been considering homeschooling my children. And I have some support, I have some doubters and I have some people saying it is wrong. I have thought it all through and have decided that it is right for us, for now. I am not going to use a strict curriculum, but I am going to take bits and pieces of what they are doing in school and go deeper with that. I am going to institute D.E.A.R. (thanks Linds for the name) time, through out the day. I am going to make learning fun again for them. I am going to see what THEY want to learn about and run with it! I know who would think that kids could actually let us know what they want to know more about huh?

Another idea that is not really popular in our house right now is to get rid of the cable. We lived for years without it, but we have all gotten so used to it that I think we have forgotten how to live without it. Summer will be here someday.... and we will be outside so much more. We will be in the garden that I dream about, as a family side by side working on our food supply- and at the same time we will really be working on being a family.

That little person in my mind is also working on making thing simpler for us. I have not quiet figured out where to start, but I am thinking if all else fails start on the left? So I am going to embrace my crazy dancer and find the bliss that is in their eyes.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

I think I have a problem

Ok time for a confession..... ready here it goes....

I am not perfect- shocker I know! I actually am feeling like a total slacker these days. Which is odd because the house is only a little messy- think lived in, with 3 kids. I have been tweaking our diet to include much more organic produce, and I have even gotten into raw milk. But I feel like I am hanging on by a thread.

I have made, eaten and survived 2 lacto- fermented foods....ie sauerkraut, and kombucha. And both were a ton of fun to make and tasted fantastic! With the raw milk I have learned how to make yogurt, and it too is fantastic. Even the kids like it! I have also tackled green smoothies, which I am currently looking for a support group for because I would live on them if I could.... which I think I could. Laundry detergent is green and 100% homemade, and hand soap well I have a gallon so it will last until at least mid-summer. And I figure mid-summer because gardening season will start eventually- so I've heard. But as I look outside I do not really believe this snow will ever go away!

So I have gotten those thing off my life to do list what now? Where do I go from here? This is the problem that I think I have. It is the middle of winter, and I don't know what to do. I can day dream about my garden, and how organic I want it to be. I can also sit with my cup of organic tea and think of the memories of the farmers market. Both of which depress me. I am out of inspiration....how do I green a family when all I see is white....as in snow...lots and lots of snow.

Ok I think I will make a list of things I can do...
1. There are ALWAYS diapers that need to be washed, seeing as cloth diapers are always getting dirty.
2. I can sew some more slings, seeing as I have a craft fair coming up and my Etsy store is kinda sparse.
3. I can get baking.
4. I can figure out how to garden by the square foot, and in raised beds.
5. I will start to plan out how to home school my children next year.
6. I will start to plan on how to become a doula.

Those are good places to start. What are your ideas? Do you have an adventure you are not brave enough to try and would like to see me be the guinea pig for?

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Super Bowl Sunday =?

Ok it is super bowl Sunday, and in our house that mean at best we are going to eat junk food, and possibly watch some of the commercials. I was blessed enough to marry a man that could care less about sports, so much so, that a week ago he couldn't have told you who was in the Super bowl.

That being said it is a quiet day here.... well as quiet as a house with 3 kids, 1 dog 2 cats and assorted other critters can be. So While hubby is outside unburing us form the snow and ice we got last night I am sitting in here hiding.

From what you ask? Well many things... one bing the umpteen loads of laundry that either need to be washed, dried or folded....or all of the above. I am hiding from the fact I have no clue what is going to be for dinner....we have a ham ready to go, but I am not really feeling it. But most of all I am hiding from bottling the first batch of Kombucha I made.

Yup I am skeered of it! First it means I have to go through the bags of bottles and cans I have to find enough to wash and fill with the kombucha. Then I have to find storage for said kombucha. And then I have to drink it all. And there is a lot... like a gallons worth. What if it blows up? What if it tastes bad? What if it tastes good but kills me?! OMG the possibilities. What I should do is go fish the mother out, see if she had babies and then go from there. Try a glass, and if it is worth keeping, bottle it up and have a bottle everyday or so. And I should start a new batch....because if it is good....well then it will be another 3 weeks till this next batch will be ready.

Oh how I wish I had been a drinker in my college years, at least then I would have a funnel to help make this bottling part easier. Ok going to snap some pictures of my stuff and the process of bottling it  up. And maybe get that laundry going just in case it is my last load ever.... you know in case the kombucha kills me. At least my kids will have clean undies for school this week!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Don't know if this is a quickie or a nooner?

Either way I got you reading! I really only have a few precious moments left until my charges wake up from their morning naps...that are quickly turning into afternoon naps.

So I figured out that I never posted the recipe for the 12 gallons of hand soap I made ( ok it was more like 1 gallon). So here it is!

1 bar of soap of your choice- I had Ivory on hand for my detergents.
3-4 cups boiling water.
Essential oils (optional)
Honey (optional)

grated soap, careful not to add too much knuckles, and then pour the boiling water over the soap flakes and stir until mixed. At this time add EE oils or honey or what ever it is you like in your hand soap. For mine I added 2 Tbs honey and about 6 drops of sweet orange oil. I mixed and mixed and mixed some more. I added water until it got to the right thickness for me and then I let it sit out overnight and poof it was like jello. SO I re-heated it added more water and then let it cool. At that point I was good to go to bottle it up. I filled my pumps and then filled an entire empty Downy container to the top. I am still on my first pump bottle in the kitchen and it works great, other than lacking a lather. Besides who needs lather? It is just full of air anyway!

Ok so this turned out to be a nooner. Seeing as I am done and it is barely past noon!

Monday, January 31, 2011

One more for January

Ok month one of January is down, done and over....well in less than 12 hours it will be. Now did I stick to becoming more green as a family. Maybe kinda in some ways. I have not had to buy hand soap yet this year...and I am thinking that I will not have to until some time in ohhhh 2020. Ok not really but having made so much from 1 bar of soap makes me feel a little greener. If nothing else it makes my wallet a little greener.

As for the homemade kombucha, it is about 2 days away from needing to be bottled, which I might add is green because of the natural carbonation in it you have to bottle it in bottles that were once used for soda bottles....yippy for re-using! This again add some green to my wallet!

And the kraut....yup it is done and perfect! I am going to start my next batch in a day or so, and in 2 days we are going to eat what I made on kraut dogs.....yummmo! No green unless you count the looks on my kiddos faces when I inform them of dinner that night hehehehehe.

I am now going to tackle the job of recycling. We are pretty good here, but I do admit that I am one to throw out the junk mail once in a while instead of walking into the garage to but it in the blue bins. I am going to figure out a way that makes it easier when it is sub zero temps to recycle the junk mail. I am thinking a box and use it to start the firs in the wood burning stove. Hmmmmm I'll figure that one out soon enough.

Oh! How could I forget? I think I have perfected my recipe for homemade laundry detergent. I found the right balance of soap and cleaners, and it is about 3 cents a load. My next big idea is going to figure out natural or at least homemade fabric softener....that does not smell like pickles....aka white vinegar. I will keep you posted when I find the time and energy to do that.

I scavenged the garage this past weekend and we found all the supplies to put the trim up around the front door.... good Lord it only took 3 years to get that up and I also found enough paint to give my bathroom a face lift! Both projects cost a grand total of 1 dollar! Yup 1 dollar spent on a new paint roller. Woohoo! I wish I had taken before pictures of the bathroom, but it is clean, and freshly painted and feels new!

So as for being green I am thinking January only held the promise of a greener wallet....not a bad thing at all. It makes us inch one inch closer to getting out to the country where I can cloth dipaer, homeschool, organically sustain our family the way my heart really really wants to.

So for February my goals to aim for are....
1- fabric softener
2- brew own beer? The kombucha and kraut were a success why not right?
3- Get my sling business up and going full force
4- learn to make my own wool and fleece soakers- I'll tell you more about this later too!
5- Map out my garden for 2011

Sunday, January 16, 2011

you want me to eat what?

You want me to eat whaaaaat? Said in my best minon voice. I have been researching the benefits on eating lacto fermented foods. What is that you ask.....think rotten but still safe to eat pretty much. Ok, ok not really but kinda.

I got into this book called Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz. My fist adventure is going to be making sauerkraut. Amazingly enough all you do in theory is shred cabbage sprinkle with salt cram it into a jar cover the kraut inside the jar and cover the whole thing with a cloth and wait.... a while.

On that note I am also going to try my hand at kombucha. I hate hate hate paying $3.50 a bottle for it, and I could honestly drink a bottle a day. So there is a process of fermenting your own tea, adding a scoby...aka the stuff that makes it ferment, and sugar and you wait... again with the waiting. I am beginning to wonder if there is something to this way of life. That it takes time to grow and can and ferment your own food, with that time you actually get to know your life and the people in it. Seems pretty simple to me.

So I will post pics of my kraut journey and my kombucha journey and let you know how it all turns out.....in a while. But I recommend that book for cool ways to make your own stuff...and by stuff I mean fermented food that will help aid in digestion- think pro-biotics.

I'm off to shred the cabbage, the wonderful cabbage I'll rot...hehehe Wizard of OZ.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

green smoothies?

So I got a book out from the library on how to make green smoothies and how good they are for you. So today I took the plunge and tried one. I went with spinach, mango and apple juice. In the blender it went. Round and round it went and all of a sudden it looked like pond scum...only a littler brighter.

Good God what have I gotten myself into!? It looks like something from a science fiction movie...or at least a horror movie. So here I stand in the kitchen all alone cup in hand. And I might add it was a big 16 oz cup full of pond scum. I ponder this...do I plug my nose and chug.. like jumping into an ice cold pool with my nose plugged. Or do I take a micro sip...kinda like sticking a toe into said pool?

I am not a toe sticker, nor am I a nose plugger. So up to the lips it goes...once... twice...ok third time is the charm and I take a big ole swig! Swallow...breath...gag? NOPE! It turns out to be good, and not taste like pond scum, grass or even spinach for that matter! I will totally do it again.

Wait let me correct that, I will do it again and again, IF and see how BIG that if is... if it is not too much fiber for my poor body to handle. And a few hours later so far so good.

Now this health kick goes hand in hand with getting rid of my baby weight. So today I also zumba-ed and I tam thinking tomorrow I will be walking funny.....and hopefully it is just from the work out and not the green smoothie!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

2011.... the new green leaf

OK so I have been slacking on my blog, or maybe I have just been trying not to bore you to death. So it is a new year and I am turning over a new green leaf.

As you know I am a cloth diapering momma, and have actually drug a couple of my near and dear friends down the road with me. And on this journey I have discovered a whole new world of like minded friends, that are just a crunchy and green as me. And that there are a lot more people out there that are WAY more green than me.

So on that note I have decided that I am going to continue making my own cleaning supplies. I am going to continue to make my own laundry detergents. I am going to continue to buy organic when I can, and local even more. I am going to join a CSA and plant a huge garden to can and freeze my own stuff. I am also going to work on getting on a tight budget, and start chipping away at our debt...and we have a lot but that is another blog post all together. I am also down sizing the amount of stuff we have. I am aiming for a less is more kind of year.

That last one is going to be hard to convince my family to go for but fingers crossed it will work. And we will find our way back to the simple pleasures in life. And simple really is green!