Handmade Christmas

What’s the best present you have ever received?  I bet it wasn’t something from a big box store?  Homemade, handmade gifts are always the ones I remember.  They are keepsakes. Our family has always made presents and cards: it is part of our identity as a family. This Christmas my daughter Liv, out did herself.  She created a series of gifts for her parents and in laws. Each package was collaboration with her husband, Rolf and daughter Vera.

The theme for this Christmas was “Family Dinner”. I am sure her Montessori training was responsible for the developmental pattern to the presents. Each gift fulfilled a step in enjoying a healthy, happy and holy dinner. We received a shopping bag, thanks to Cathedral Hill Montessori School; napkins decorated with sparkly Vera hand prints, a rosy decoupage box with 10 prayer cards put together by Rolf and Liv, and of course a cook book of Liv’s favourite recipe’s.

My husband & I will treasure these gifts forever. I plan on using them too.  Tonight I am making squash soup, setting the table with my Vera napkins and we will recite a prayer or two. This is my Family Dinner kit.  What more does one need in life but a bag full of great memories? Thanks Liv for the heartfelt Christmas presents. You are a creative, thoughtful & talented daughter, good mother & true friend too.

3 Ways to Save & Be Green at Home

In today’s world, we could all use a little extra in our pockets, especially those of us with families. Over at Whole Parenting, we focus on nurturing the child’s heart, mind, and spirit. But we also strive to help our readership have healthier environments. With so many pervasive chemicals in our food, air, and cleaning products, here are a few ways to save money and be green in your home lives.

1) Make your own cleaning products.

It’s easier than it sounds. You need vinegar, borax, baking power, vegetable glycerine, warm water, and empty bottles & buckets. If you like a certain essential oil scent, wrangle that in too. With so many websites & books on green cleaners and “do-it-yourself” products, I’ll just list a few recipes here and resources and encourage you to explore the wide world of non-toxic-non-lethal cleaning supplies.

Wood care: 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, 1/4 cup vinegar, splash of lemon juice

Toilet bowl: vinegar & baking soda–swirl & flush!

Mold killer: 2 teaspoons tea tree oil, 2 cups hot water

More recipes here: Planet Green, Oprah, & The Daily Green.

2) Stop using disposable plastics.

How many baggies do you go through in a week? Do you ever wash and reuse them? In my household, we actually counted for a week. It was ah insanely high number. So we’ve turned to plastic/glass containers instead. My husband’s daily lunch is a big bag with lots of containers. The best part is that he uses them again! Is it a pain to wash tupperware or glass jars? Not as much a pain as paying for single-use baggies! Re-use cottage cheese, yogurt, or hummus containers (if you’re not yet making your own). Save the bag your bread comes in (if you’re not a baker). Reuse!

3) Grow your own herb garden.

It’s so inexpensive to start from seed or even to buy seedlings at the coop or farmer’s market. And when you’ve had your own basil, thyme, parsley, or lavender, you won’t go back. Gardening in general is a great green activity and money-saver, but in particular herbs, as they can be outrageously expensive. Herbs also make a great give-away gift to a visiting friend or take-away gift when you’re going to visit relatives. Everyone loves fresh herbs! They require little room to grow, little nourishment, and if you do it right, you can transplant them indoors for the winter. I cook or bake with mine daily.

The little expenses in life add up. Making your own cleaning products, using reusable containers, and growing a simple herb garden are just a few ways to make little changes in your household lifestyle.

Enjoy!

Nell

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Moving Into the Unknown…

By Amy D.

Let me introduce myself, I’m Amy. Some call me crazy, but I firmly believe that good things will come from my husband and my decision to pick up and move our family of four across the country from Duluth, MN to the Washington DC metro area. Almost all of our family and friends reside in Minnesota and it is where we have always lived within hour from where we spent our childhoods, teen mischief, college years, etc.  The opportunity came up for us to move to DC and we jumped at it. Although we had spent 3 months in the area a couple years back, we knew no one.

We got the chance to come out for a week to check out the area we would want to live in, do a little sight seeing, check out a few schools, and meet my husband’s future co-workers. With snow on the ground yet in Duluth, we set out for DC to check out what we were getting ourselves into (and see how beautiful the cherry blossoms are). We didn’t get too much accomplished during that week with 2 small children, Ari was 2 ½ and Quentin was 13 months and hated our rental car with a passion.

All Hands on Deck!

When we got home I frantically updated my resume (I have been at home with my children for 3 years now) and sent it out to the school I hoped to become a part of and got the ball rolling with Ari’s application there as well. I kept telling Ari we were moving soon and he was going to go to school and meet new friends and he seemed so excited about his journey as well.

We finished up any and all loose end projects we thought would help to sell our house in this awful market. This was no easy feat with 2 small children, so we had them help. They were so thrilled to mud, sand and ‘paint’ (with water instead of actual paint, it goes on dark and dried fairly quickly).  We had a large circle of wonderful friends who helped us whenever we needed it. We fed them and put every one of them to work painting our garage and both decks one weekend. I have never felt so loved, but seeing our friends come to our house in their grubby clothes, carrying any paint gear they could contribute to our project made me understand what and who we were leaving behind.  It made me wonder why we’d leave? Our house was now better than ever and our friends cared for and about us tremendously.

We sold our house faster than we’d ever imagine; I got a job, we found a great daycare for Quentin (who was too young to go to the school I’d be working at), and we set off on our adventure in a couple weeks. We saw as many people as we could before leaving town, ate at our favorite places with our favorite people and as we drove over the high bridge into Wisconsin and out of Minnesota, we wondered if we’d ever be headed back.

Amy and her family enjoying the D.C. spring weather after years in Duluth, MN

Lawn Be Gone!

My husband just made a new friend mostly over their similar hatred for grass.  I stand with both of them and have refused to increase our already high water bill by watering our lawn.  What’s the point?  What does grass offer us?  Yes, we have some to give the dog a place to run (and do other things).  And would like an area for our daughter to play outside.  But other than those small needs, we don’t see the point.  Watering a garden that gives back with fresh, organic, and loved vegetables makes more sense to me.

Michael Pollan wrote an article on called Why Mow?  The Case Against Lawns.  My favorite line from that article is :

For if lawn mowing feels like copying the same sentence over and over, gardening is like writing out new ones, an infinitely variable process of invention and discovery.

I couldn’t agree more.  Mowing the lawn is a pain every time.  But gardening is a constant learning experience.  We’ve built beautiful raised beds, are excited to build more!  We’ve learned that you need to tie cauliflower to keep it white.  We have tomato plants that have grown into huge bushes, spilling over the edges and squishing the basil.  We loved our beets so much, next year we’ll plant two, maybe three rows!  We’re even giving artichokes a try.

Michael Pollan also notes the environmental impact of pesticides and fertilizers, so often used on lawns.  I’ve always found it a little strange, walking my dog and avoiding the lawns that have warning signs for pets.  If your dog can’t walk on it, why would you want it by your house?

I sympathize with those out are intimidated by gardening.  Like I said in Raised Bed Gardening, I was never very interested in gardening growing up.  But, above are pictures of my roses.  So when I say that anyone can do this, I really mean it.  My mom suggested we plant roses on the side of our house that gets lots of sun.  I thought, “Roses are pretty. That sounds good!”  With a little rose food, some googling on care, and lots of water, I grew these! You can too!

P.S.  I actually read that in a Connecticut neighborhood, a woman was FINED for planting vegetables in her front lawn.  The neighbors preferred a mowed lawn, considered more beautiful…

Raised Bed Gardening

Garden. Beginning. Now!

Gardening has been a newfound love of mine.  I grew up amongst incredible gardens, but for whatever reason, never got too involved in my parent’s masterpieces.  Now that I have a house of my own, a yard of my own, and a family of my own I’ve been inspired.  It helps that my husband grew up on a small farm and has his skills to share.

One of the first house projects we took on was to convert our little yard into a lush vegetable garden.  For two years we had a small, but extremely fruitful corner garden.  This year, we’ve done some rearranging.  A 6 foot privacy fence now blocks much of the sun we once had in the southwest corner.  So, we built a raised bed in the middle of our backyard, and one in the front.  Since you can walk around them, all the vegetables are very easy to access.  An infestation of grass and weeds is kept at bay since they are above ground.  Fencing is easy to add to keep hungry animals out.  You can make them any size to fit your space (we also converted 2 large, square planter boxes to raised beds by our deck).  They’re attractive and great to show off!

A raised bed is very easy to build.  Here’s how you do it:

Materials for 10’X4′ Raised Bed:

4 10’X6″ untreated wood

2 8’X6″ untreated wood, cut in half (4 4’X6″)

some type of metal bracket to hold and brace the ends at a 90 degree angle

wood screws

3′ metal stakes

chicken wire

Building the Bed

How-To

1. Measure out the rectangle.  We used twine to mark the edges.
2. Dig up dirt at least 6″ down, turning over sod.
3. Attach two 10’X6″ to two 4’X6″, making an L shape, 12″ high.  Screw the boards together, in addition to using brackets on the inside corner.
4. Using the remaining 4 boards, make another L shape.
5. Attach both Ls to make a rectangle.
6. Place structure around prepared soil.
7. Fill bed with black soil, compost, and any other good organic matter.
8. Wrap chicken wire around bed, using metal posts to secure.
9. Plant your favorite vegetables!