Welcome to my Home Wednesday » Making A Home And Family

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Aug 2011

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Countdowns!

Recently, J put up countdowns on our whiteboard in the kitchen so we check it with excitement every morning. Today it reads… 30 days until we close on our homestead. 52 days until baby is expected. Oh my goodness!!

There’s still so much to do. Our house needs a new roof, the walls need paint, and all of our things need to be packed. And the baby will be here soon afterwards, so I need to pack by bag making sure I have all of the things I need for birthing and the first few days/weeks at home.

More canning needs to be done, jelly needs to be made, and the garden need attention. I think more freezer meals need to be made so I don’t have to worry as much about cooking with a brand new baby and a toddler adjusting to her new role as big sister.

It’ll get done, but some days my nesting instinct sure makes me believe I can be super woman and do it all RIGHT NOW.

Category: Homestead, Motherhood, Pregnancy, Welcome to my Home Wednesday Leave a Comment

Jul 2011

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Mackinac Island

Jennie

We took a trip to the beautiful Mackinac Island for my birthday weekend, so we took the Starline Ferry across Lake Michigan where we had a great view of the Mackinac Bridge.

I enjoyed an evening with my girl at Starbucks while J took the ferry back to retreive his laptop from the car. Doh!

The following day we were busy walking amongst butterflies at the Original Butterfly House.

And riding on a horse drawn carriage tour ride upon Val’s request to RIDE THE HORSES. She was fascinated with the horses as a means of transportation. She yelled from our hotel window when more horses were coming and what colors they were.

We also had great views the entire weekend – ferries, Lake Michigan, the big Mac, sunshine, sunsets….

What a great retreat it was!

Category: pictures, Welcome to my Home Wednesday Leave a Comment

Jul 2011

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Make Way for Ducklings

Jennie

Since we are awaiting our big move to the homestead, I have been visiting our local Craigslist “farm+garden” section a little too frequently. I have heard J talk about raising ducks numerous times and each time he talks about the Muscovy breed. They are supposed to be good layers, good for meat, great forages (less bugs in the yard), and gentle to have around other animals and children.

Then… I found an ad. Muscovy DUCKLINGS for sale. That would be perfect for us! We could raise them in our rental home with a combination of indoor and outdoor time and they’d be just the right size to be out and about when we move.

So with the help from my wonderful dad, who always lets us know that he is NOT a farmer, he built a fenced in grassy area for them outside. We finally found a working set up for the times when they are indoors and they seem to be adapting and growing already. They were already taught from their mama how to forage and eat greens. They are loving the fresh clover outside and spinach in their dish.

Without further ado… meet our six new ducklings!

Category: Animals, Homestead, Welcome to my Home Wednesday 2 Comments

Jun 2011

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Our Homestead

Jennie

{Photo Source}

We have an official accepted signed offer on a home on 40 acres with a barn, big garden, apple trees, and trees producing sap for syrup. I am hesitant to say too much until the key is in our hands and we are moving in, but we are planning that within about 60 days it will be ours!

Projects, dreams of fixing and decorating, and what animals to put in the barn are floating around in our heads. It’s so good to be at this stage of buying after the ups and downs we’ve come across so far in this process.

I’ve been reading a great book about starting a homestead and she caught my visions with her words:

And soon it spread, until the word home could make me cry. I wanted one. With a man. A house. The smell of cut grass, sheets on the line, a child running through a sprinkler. This humble wish seemed so impossible. It was so different from the life I was living, and no one in my circle had those things, or wanted them or would admit it if they did. ~ Kristin Kimball

Soon this home I’ve been dreaming of, full of imperfections but possibilities, will be mine.

Category: Books, Homestead, Welcome to my Home Wednesday 2 Comments

May 2011

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ A Living Kitchen

Jennie

We are in the midst of another round of intense house hunting, but we have seen things that need too much work, are too fancy, or in the wrong locations for what we want/need. House buying is such a process, but we are still looking and still hopeful.

Among that, I have been busy in the kitchen trying some new things and enjoying the way my kitchen has become alive. I have sprouts growing in a jar right now for salads, wraps, and sandwiches. I also have my dehydrator going with banana leather and drying dandelions for tea.

{Photo Credit}

I picked a big bowl of dandelions while I visited my parent’s house last week and I used the greens on a portobella mushroom sandwich and I am using the flowers for a tea recipe. They are free and a good tonic for flushing the liver and it boosts your immune system.

Dandelion Tea Recipe:

1 handful of dandelion flowers

1 cup of water

Steep for about 20 minutes and sweeten as needed.

Banana Leather Recipe:

12 over ripe bananas (my dehydrator uses 3 bananas per tray)

Puree the bananas in the blender (you can add other fruits like strawberries too)

Put on wax paper in your dehydrator

Dehydrate at 105* for 18-24 hours until no longer sticky to the touch

Enjoy! These don’t last an hour in our house after they are finished.

How is your kitchen coming alive this Spring?

Category: Homestead, Recipes, Welcome to my Home Wednesday 2 Comments

Apr 2011

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Homestead Prep

Jennie

Well, as house buying goes this one is still a PROCESS. I have other names for the journey, but they are not appropriate for my blog. There are good things that we are doing in this time of waiting though…

We are reading up about raising chickens and goats, planting gardens, permaculture, and generally taking this down time to read other books for business and birthing. The books are piling up around here! That’s for another post though, I do believe.

The thing we are most excited about are the greens we see growing around our home as they await fresh dirt. And the little seeds that have yet to sprout, but were so interesting to plant with a toddler around. My rug or vacuum cleaner may have seen more dirt and seeds than our little greenhouses. Haha!

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Apr 2011

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Homestead

Jennie

I haven’t written and haven’t written because I thought this update would come a lot earlier, but as processes go…. it was a process.

Pending any crazy things happening with a home inspection or anything else unforeseeable, we will be moving into a farmhouse with a barn (the barn above) and 35 acres within 45 days!!!

I have more visions in my head about making this homestead ours, and I can’t wait to share them with you along the way. Stay posted for more pictures as we get a chance to get moving in!

Category: Homestead, Welcome to my Home Wednesday 3 Comments

Mar 2011

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ BeachBody

Jennie

I am really excited because I just became a new BeachBody Coach! I am waiting on my start up box to get here with my new workout video – Yoga Booty Ballet and my box of Shakeology. I want to stay fit during this pregnancy and I love dancing and yoga, so I thought this would be a perfect fit. It would keep my body moving and stretching while I prepare for a VBAC delivery and the Shakeology will help me keep up my calorie intake with all the great supplements it has too.

So, why BeachBody? I believe in taking care of your body through exercise, supplements, and good food. I was won over with a sample of Shakeology. It tastes really good (doesn’t taste like chalk like many others), it has really good ingredients in it, and it seems to go above and beyond just a meal replacement or protein shake. It has food based supplements in it – it’s like taking a vitamin!!!

Also, I get to help others achieve their fitness goals. That’s exciting in itself! I am hoping to see people set goals, reach them, and feel good about their bodies. So many of us don’t have body confidence, but this is our only body. Let’s do good by it! If you think Shakeology or a new fitness routine is something you may need, please visit my BeachBody page and let me know how I can help you achieve it.

I get to stay at home and do all of these things so I can be with my little one all day too! If I can share, BeachBody with others (especially Stay at Home Moms) so they can create a business that works for them I would love to! Let me know, and I can answer your questions about the company.

Need some Wednesday inspiration? Leave your Mark today!

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Mar 2011

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Hooping

Jennie

I was invited to a MOPs group yesterday to lead them through a hula hooping workshop. How cool is that?! I am not the best hooper – I just dabble, but it is so much fun. Much more fun in the sunshine and barefoot in the grass so hopefully I can hoop with a growing belly.

Anyway!

The workshop was so much fun. Why didn’t I go to MOPs before?! All of the women are so nice and inviting and they seemed to have a good time building and decorating hoops. The bad part, we ran out of time to actually hoop! We are planning a playdate at the park when it’s warmer so we can hoop together.

Have you tried hooping as an adult? Make your own hoop for cheap, don’t use your kids they are too light and small for us, and crank the music. It’s such a playful exercise!

Category: Friends, Motherhood, pictures, Welcome to my Home Wednesday Leave a Comment

Feb 2011

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Family Herbalist Course

Jennie

It has been over 3 years since I graduated college. It’s been way longer than that since I have graduated high school. But.. I am excited today because me and another friend are signing up for a class tonight.

Why does that make me so happy?!

I’m a life learner! I can’t help but get excited about learning new things… especially with someone as interested in these things as I am. So, what class is it you ask?

It’s a Family Herbalist Course through one of the founders of the American Herbalists Guild. I am taking the course so that I can learn more about the history of the use of herbals, how to grow them, harvest them, and use them for myself and family and friends as a form of preventative medicine.