Our House in the Middle of Our Street

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One of my favorite things to do in high school art class and later as an adult, was to use lino blocks and stencils to print. Lotta Prints is a great place to start with this as she explains all of the most common ways to do it, and has big chunky graphics to entice even the most modest of creative souls. My kids often see me flip through my printing utensils when I'm looking for something else, or they see me making greeting cards, whatever, and they always ask to do it. * I am not always in the mood to generate crafts with my kids because in case you haven't noticed, it's a BIG mess for a little amount of time (or rather, time they are into it, time you put into it can also be in the BIG category). By reading amazing kid art blogs like The Artful Parent and The Crafty Crow , among others, I began to think about how much I loved crafts when I was little. Then I began observing the kids, they were so into painting/modeling/what have you that when doing these things they ...

Every year going to a local pumpkin patch has been a staple for our family. Hayrack rides, choosing a pumpkin, and the tiny petting zoo are all favorites of the kids (mine) and fortunately my husband is a good enough sport to come along. We almost always go with Stefan's family, as his sister now has two children, and the oldest one loves to tag along with our two. This year the kids played on a jungle gym, dug in the corn bus, went through a corn maze, down the largest slide ever, and cried because they couldn't jump on the massive jumpers (we just didn't have any time! They were closing!) at Roca Berry Farm. Here is Ani feeding a little goat. The petting area was a little scarce this year and because it was a really hot day for late October, a bit, ahem, smelly. The kids still enjoy it every year and thank goodness for Oma, who was paying attention to the kids and taking their pictures! The top three are from her. Here is a cute little reminder why we love to do things a...

About a year ago I purchased an antique dresser at an Estate Sale for about $10. I liked the style, the large drawers, the massive mirror, and the price. I can't believe it actually took a year to get this to where we wanted it. After the initial deep cleaning (all 10? 20? spider EGG SACKS) It sat for months at our in-laws storage unit, and then a long time it sat in our own room, unused, and still rife with age and nicks. * I have a half of a small closet to put all of my clothes--every season, too, in 3 of these things . It's not much, but I have minimal amounts of clothing so it worked for a year. I think, however, that Stefan was a little, ahem, crammed . He asked me what color of paint I wanted, and on a nice sunny day he and the kids set to work to painting. Here is the after, with new Anthropologie ( sale !) knobs attached. It's a nice sky-blue color, and goes well with the picture set on top. The other three items are a green bowl (made by a local Grace Chapel p...

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Source: google.ca via Jocelyn on Pinterest You may have already recognized the name, but Jaycee Dugard was the woman who was abducted in 1991, and recently found 18 years later. Her name has been all over the news, and this is her memoir of the time she lost. When I heard of the poise of this woman on a tv special, and heard she had a book out, I thought I might read it. I don't remember hearing much about her story last year, but that isn't strange since we don't have television (just internet and netflix), and I rarely read the news unless Stefan forwards something to me that he thinks I might like. This book is very hard to write a formal 'review' on, because of the story's nature. This girl went through unimaginable things, and it would seem she wrote this book to reclaim the past that was ripped from her, and to warrant freedom from her kidnappers. This book is devastatingly sad, filled with abuse (sexual and verbal, and even physical abandonment) and...

This past week was the last week our local zoo was going to be open until next year. I was really having a hard time fitting it in with our schedule, but the weather was beautiful all last week and I knew we'd really miss it if we didn't get out there. I nixed a bit of the afternoon nap, woke up the sleeping one, strapped on some shoes, packed a snack and we went! It was a good decision, as spontaneous kid-related ones usually are (and might I add, rare around here). Something I almost always have to say "no" is the train, because even though we're members and get free admission, it is NOT cheap to go on the train. This time I said "YES!" to a train ride and the kids loved it, beaming the whole two times around the track. We got to see a few animal favorites, dig in the sand for about an hour, saw some friends, and then waved good-bye to another zoo season. We had a great time and I'm so glad that my philosophy on this particular day was "ye...

Recently I watched a movie called " Forks Over Knives" , just another documentary about healthy food choices, our national food & obesity epidemic, and the S.A.D diet (yes, those are the acronyms for Standard American Diet, and they are not far off). This movie was more or less news and information I already knew, since I read The China Study years ago. This was the book in documentary form, from explaining the theories of Dr. Campbell and Dr. Esselstyn, who lament the american diet and encourage to eat a animal-product free diet (vegan) or what they call in the movie, "Plant based whole foods", which is also becoming a popular buzz phrase in itself. I would recommend this information to everyone because if their claims are true-- that diet and nutrition (plant based whole foods) can decrease and diminish cancers and disease --it could literally save this nation billions of money in health care (going from solution based to preventative), keep us all more heal...

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...this week as I rest, enjoy the weather, go camping, and glean some fresh ideas for posts. See you next week! Source: inspacesbetween.com via Evielyn on Pinterest

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Source: cookingforseven.com via Renae on Pinterest Recently I stretched my foodie limits to include Indian cuisine. Okay so I made a pot of soup. But really, the main fare in this household are things we know and love, like imitation Chipotle-style rice bowls, raw summer meals, and of course corn bread salad. Our community group eats a pot-luck style meal every other week together and we try to have a cohesive theme. Enter Indian. I should note, also, that just about everyone else in our group are foodies, too. Either they love to cook or they love to eat well or both. I needed something easy and healthy to put on my repertoire. My friend R's pinterest board included a title of 3 things I like: Coconut.Chicken.Curry .(soup...okay four). I went to the site it was originally snagged from, Cooking for Seven , and made it for our guests. Here's the recipe, and as usual, I did not follow it well. If you want the original, click on the last link. My differences: more onion, more ...

This past Friday to Saturday night was the first time we went camping with the kids. Stefan and I love to camp, but I admit I hadn't done it in years (I have a weird thing with being too hot, and nursing while without showers...). We thought the kids were now at a good age to show them what it's like, and they loved it. Of course, the free exploration of the outside and the camp-fire were just the peaks of their excitement. The sleeping bag and sharing the tent was the epitome of a good time to them. We went to Wagon-train and got a perfect little spot situated next to a creek and this wonderful old climbing tree. The kids could easily maneuver into and out of this little spot and they played there for about two hours. When the sun sets now in the Fall, it gets dark quickly and cold! Our children each had 3 layers on (one of them being wool!) and they were still cold. Of course I forgot hats for them since it was such a spur of the moment trip. I'll be better prepared nex...

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