Homesteading

We had the opportunity this month to visit family in Iowa. I never lived in the Midwest city where both my parents grew up, but trips there always feel like I am going back home.

(Henry and family, circa 1880)

We made this trip mainly to attend a wedding, but were able to fit in a few other activities as well, such as tracking down caramels made by nuns, playing mini golf, and visiting the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin.

(Three generations of Henry's descendants, including his great-great-great grandson, John Henry, 2011)

We also made a trip to the family farm. This isn't what most people would think of as a Midwest farm. It isn't a sprawling piece of flatland that can be planted with acres and acres of corn. It is down in a hollow, along a "crick," and set on a slab of eroding limestone. Our relatives, one of whom is the great-great-great grandfather Hank is named after, probably had a very hard time working this land.

What could you do here on a few acres (and sorta make a living)? Well, if we were so inclined to set up our home on this plot of land today, we discussed doing the following:

~ Growing organic hops (hops grow vertically, so you can pack in a lot of vines)
~ Making organic beer (naturally)
~ Chickens!
~ Harvesting morels which grow abundantly in the surrounding forest
~ Growing berries to make jam (homemade jam was being sold in the local tourist stores for $8/jar!)
~ Baking pies and bread for a local restaurant to serve
~ Letting a little boy run free to make leaf boats, look for fossils, and do whatever boys do in an open space dozens of miles from the nearest McDonalds.

BT and I are dreamers, and we had fun playing the "what if" game imagining life on a farm. The farm house itself looks straight out of the Blair Witch Project* at the moment, so that would be a major investment. Oh, and the winters, and all the work, and being subject to the seasons, pests, and the unexpected to determine if you were going to make it by that year.

But, it is fun to pretend :)

* So we made no mention of the family names to Hank as we explored the farm. Inside the house, he asked what something was, and somebody must have said it was Henry's so-and-so. He then pointed and said excitedly - There's Henry! I want to touch him. Then, as we headed down towards the creek, there is an old shed. Hank said he wanted to see "Mama Harry" in there. Now, who knows why he said mama, and he may have meant Henry, but doesn't it give you chills to hear that Henry's wife was named Harriet? I was seriously creeped out.

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Favorite of the day: Cute idea, and cute bag

Working on: Oh, I don't know where I am at with projects.

Up themed party

It all started with a link...

and before we could second guess ourselves, my friend, her husband, and I were planning an Up themed birthday for 3-year-old Maddie -- in about a week's time!

After a whirlwind shopping trip (7 stores, I think?), we got to work. My parts were easy, like this wreath (tutorial here -- I added painted chipboard letters strung on a piece of baker's twine)

Their tasks were much more difficult, like building and painting a dollhouse kit.

This is the kind of project most dads take years to complete, and gets ditched when the daughter turns 13 and states that she doesn't want a stupid dollhouse anymore (not that I'm talking from experience or anything). Maddie will have a lovely dollhouse to decorate as she grows older, and it was built in record time.

Conversely, BT and I assembled a cardboard dollhouse as a birthday gift and for the kids to color at the party

Maddie's mom was a busy bee as well, making these cute adventure books

They were so lucky to have access to a binding machine! Many elements were borrowed for the party, and you never know what somebody has lurking in a closet or a side yard.

The parents purchased these Ellie badges off etsy, and I packaged them up cute in cello bags adorned with a thank you tag from the birthday girl's professional photo shoot with the same photographer we used, Jen Disney.

Maddie seemed a much more willing participant than Hank to get dozens of cute as can be shots. We used additional pictures from the photo shoot for centerpieces

We borrowed liberally from the linked party, as they did such a wonderful job putting together whimsical elements representing the movie. So, we also had

Chocolate dipped marshmallows adorned with flags

Vintage-looking sodas

and Tootsie Roll Pops displayed like balloons.

One unique element we put together for our party was a photo booth. I used a blue tablecloth as a background and pinned on two felt clouds. I then put together several elements to represent Carl (the old man) and Russell (the Wilderness Explorer) from the movie. Initially I had a sports coat, black frame glasses, bowties, a rainbow-y bird to represent Kevin, a Wilderness Explorer sash, bandana, yellow hat, and pennant. As people came to the party, the prop bin grew to include several old man hats, a vintage boy scout hat (so awesome!), and a boy scout canteen somebody picked up for 50 cents at a rummage sale located near the party.

The photo booth was fun for old and young alike! Oh, and did I mention that we watched the movie alfresco, and had both cotton candy and popcorn for snacks? It was so much fun to help plan this whirlwind party, and the couple is already scoping out ideas for next year's party.

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Favorite of the day: Probably something work related

Working on: Procrastinating

Full of snark

Once I became a supervisor at my office several years ago, I had to learn how to manage people with different points of view, most of whom are older than me. Admittedly I lost a 25+ year employee, part of the "traditionalist" generation, once I became her boss in part because I did not communicate with her in the way she wanted (She worked off site. I relied on email, and she would have preferred phone calls).

The Happy Hocky Family, by Lane Smith. Written in 1996 - coincidence? It just doesn't get any snarkier than this.

After this event, I am mildly obsessed with understanding the differences between workers from the four different generations (Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials) working in our office. Here is a good synopsis of what each generation represents. For our office family, these are some of our general working principles -- The traditionalists are going to demand respect from those around them, but cannot self-assess when their own behavior is disrespectful. Our Baby Boomers love having access to new technology, but you'd also better give them the phone number to the computer help center. Our Gen-Xers will want to debate the necessity of every new assignment, need productive assignments (no busy work), and don't want to be micromanaged. Our Millennials seem like they are farting around all day with texting, email, etc., but if you give them proper guidance and space, they will produce great things.

Bagel's Lucky Hat, by Hector Mumbly. It's more the illustrations than the text that give this one its edge. It's ok for kids to be a little creeped out -- right?

At work, I have become neutral by necessity. In my personal life, I am a typical Gen-Xer. Stereotypical, I would say. I bawled walking through the Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center, which chronicles the Challenger disaster, and feel this event gave me (if not our generation) my "why bother - everything is going to turn out crap" attitude. I feel deeply moved by the lyrics of 90s grunge bands. And, I am well versed in sarcasm, snark, and wit.

Who Needs Donuts?, by Alan Stamaty. The young ones will be looking for donuts on each page, and the parents will be discussing what kind of drugs the artist was on when he designed human-pigeon hybrids and drew hundreds of thousands of donuts in a warehouse, and how not Kosher many parents would be reading a book with a kid that wanders away from home AND befriends a creepy donut collecting weird-o long after the kids have gone to sleep.

My son will be part of his own generation, and doesn't need the baggage of mine. I try to put on a happy face and express optimism first when we are working through an issue (what a novel idea!) His music play list is more on the adult side, admittedly, but it has not felt appropriate to infuse his collection with any songs from Nirvana, Pearl Jam, or Alice in Chains (maybe when he is in high school we will introduce him to "real" music). I don't know what he picks up from my husband and I when we are bantering, though these exchanges are probably something we should try to curtail as Hank gets older lest he become a verbal fencer like his parents (side note: sarcasm does not seem to go over well with the younger generations).

Little Fur Family, by Margaret Wise Brown. Many MWB books seem a little bit off. Recall the page in Goodnight Moon that says Goodnight, nobody -- what's up with that?? Little Fur Family is also a little unsettling, perhaps because they look like bears, but apparently are not, plus the fur baby chases a mini version of himself around. Trippy.

Although we don't infuse the kid with Gen-X culture (oh, just a few reproduction toys, and some nostalgic movies and TV shows), we do appreciate when we come across a book that is a little edgy, and is entertaining for the adult reading it as well. Here are a few books that are in heavy rotation at our house, showing their appeal to both old(ish) and young. If you have them or end up checking them out from your local library, let me know what you think!

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Favorite of the day: Next party we go to, this is what the birthday boy/girl is receiving!

Working on: Lists and worrying

Teacher Appreciation Week

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Hank's day care made it easy to know how to show our teachers how much we appreciate them, as they sent home a letter with suggestions as to what to do each day. Today was easy -- it was a teacher enrichment day, so no kids at school. That was probably the best gift of all! On other days, we have been asked to bring a card, a gift, and help with hosting a lunch for the teachers.

For the gifts, I was initially just going to make the little bags shown above. They contain

the little grow pots from the Target dollar section (my mom gave us these for Easter, but not feeling the gardening vibe just yet), some snacks from Cost Plus, and Lindt bug chocolates from Target. The bags were tied with raffia, and the ladybug adorned clothespins are from the Japanese dollar store.

But, on a recent trip to Fresh & Easy, I saw these cute as can be animal crackers in a box designed by Lilly Pulitzer and knew I had to make them into teacher gifts as well! I squealed with delight, and started throwing boxes in the cart (just the boxes are cute - crackers are the regular animal crackers). I don't know how rare a million boxes of a grocery item are, but they are touting these as "rare," and have a "cracker tracker" to aid in finding them in your area. Good luck!

Showing appreciation for teachers is so important -- especially if you have the kid that isn't known for his sunny disposition! for more teacher gift ideas, you can find ideas galore at Skip to My Lou :)

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Favorite of the day: I am digging burlap more than usual as of late. Here is a project that caught my eye.

Working on: A sash

"Extreme" couponing

Whatever the reason, be it the new show or finding blogs that make it easier than easy to shop using coupons, I have been caught up in clipping coupons and saving money for the past month or so.

Admittedly I rely on several blogs to match up coupons and store deals to determine what I am going to buy. I also limit the stores I will go to for these items to Target, Walmart, CVS, and Ralphs (Kroeger) - stores I go to anyway in any given week. I am suddenly thrilled to receive the random Target mailer with dozens of store coupons, as you can "stack" those coupons with manufacturers coupons from the newspaper and sale prices to get awesome deals. I am seeking items that are free or nearly free, or give a return of reward dollars (like at CVS). The items shown above probably cost about $10 total including tax. Some items were free with coupons, like the dental floss, and others were bought at CVS with reward dollars so that all I paid was tax (and received more dollars to use on my next transaction).

But, the real question is -- what am I doing with all this stuff?? The items that thus far have come up in the "extreme" category (i.e. free or nearly free) are not things we typically use. For hygiene products, we try to use organic or natural products. I am not brand loyal, per se, but I am a kind of a brand snob. When I see somebody on the Extreme Couponing show with shelf full of Kraft salad dressing, I cringe. There are coupons out there for the products we buy, and I am collecting those as well to use for my "real" shopping, but the stuff shown above is not intended for us.

Instead, I will be donating these items to my church, which in turn donates the items to food banks (I didn't encounter any extreme food deals this month - odd), and homeless shelters. In determining our own budget, donations were a little squidgy. It currently is part of our personal "discretionary" category, which essentially mean we have to be altruistic and donate money versus spending it on a latte. This way, I have one donation opportunity covered with little cost. In shopping for these items, I have fun, spend very little money (after a $9 investment at CVS, I have been able to keep buying items there that return reward dollars), get a bag full of stuff each month to donate to a worthy cause, and get that little thrill I suspect all the extreme couponers live for when the register clicks down to zero.

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Recent favorite: So cute!

Working on: A wreath or two