Archive for the Category »Welcome to my Home Wednesday «

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Friends and Family

This past week, we spent a lot of time with friends because James was out of town for business.  It makes me feel so good to know that I am surrounded by such great friends and family and little companions for Val.

We had a potluck at our house for mamas and kiddos.  The kids had so much fun running around and playing that only a few of them actually sat down to eat.  The mamas had a time to connect and that is ALWAYS nice!

We spent the end of last week at the library story time, music class, and playgroup meeting new friends and seeing our favorite “teachers.”  I’m loving this routine and Val seems to enjoy herself with the new toys and friends each week.

Over the weekend, I got to babysit for a friend’s little ones so we had a full house!  Four babes ages 3 and under – including just a wee little one.  I got to snuggle, and Val got to play with a bunch of kids her own age.  And we also went to a playoff game at my brother’s house, where we spent time with family yelling for the Packers! :)  Val got to play with her cousins – she even dressed up for a masquerade ball.

I hope your week was filled with friends and family too!

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Reading

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What’s better to do on a cold winter’s day than sip tea and read good books?  Nothing!  So that’s exactly what we have been doing around here. :)

I started my reading spree with my favorite author, Nicholas Sparks.  Don’t judge.  Every once in awhile, I like an easy, mushy, girly read and he always comes through.  I read The Last Song and enjoyed the teenage coming of age and love story.



I followed that up with a suggestion from my (soon-to-be) sister-in-law – The Hunger Games.  She was so right that it’s a page turner.  I didn’t read it as fast as her, but every chance I had I was reading.  Thank goodness for my Kindle and my Kindle app…  I always had it with me. :)



Of course, I’m starting the second book in the series – Catching Fire.  I’m just a few chapters in, but it’s just as captivating.  If you are ready to read a good series, this is it.  Order all of the books at once though, or you’ll regret it.



Through all of this, I’m pining for my non-fiction reading though as well.  As many of you know, I enjoyed Natural Healing by Frugal Granola and wrote about what I made here.  I am gearing up for a summer of growing herbs, harvesting them, and making things with them.  So I digging into The Herbal Medicine-Makers Handbook.  There’s so much to learn!




What are you reading?

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Creating a Harmonious Home

As I close up my SAHM Series, I was thinking about how I could do a recap of my goals in one post while still providing some ideas to share with you.  When I opened up my email from the DailyOM, I knew I had to share this article with you.
My overall goal with simplifying my things, my menu, planning in advance, and keeping the house clean is to have a more peaceful home.  A sanctuary from the outside world.  A place to recharge.  A place to learn and grow.  Our place. Our home.
Our homes can become chaotic; it is at these times that we have the power to decide to bring more love into our homes.

At their best, our homes act as our sanctuaries. They are the nests we return to for rest and nurturing nourishment before we venture out once again to spread our wings and fly. But there are times that we may feel quite differently about our homes—times when we feel surrounded by turmoil rather than harmony, or mired in chaos rather than immersed in peace. It is at these times that we have the power to decide to bring more love into our homes.

When we choose love, we are choosing to begin within. With a deep breath, we close our eyes and ask that when we open them again, we will see where we can make shifts to create greater harmony. These may be inner shifts, such as accepting others’ personality traits and working with them rather than against them. Or they may be changes we can make with items around the house–removing the ones that cause frustration and displaying things that make us feel good. Then, we reach out to the people with whom we share our homes–whether they are family members or another combination of people who share our space. We can help to shift their perceptions toward the positive by asking each person to think about their ideal living situation. After allowing some time for reflection, gathering to discuss each person’s ideas may lead to the discovery that there are conflicting concepts about what your shared home should provide. Once this information is out in the open, we have a roadmap for creating balance and harmony from seemingly disparate desires. Together, agreements can be made to enable all to take the steps needed to create a unified vision.

When we have consciously chosen to make our home a place of harmony, then love’s energy can expand throughout the lives of all who live there. Each person will be nurtured, allowing them to take that peace and serenity with them into the world, sharing it with whomever they may encounter; and making every space they enter a warmer and more loving place for everyone.

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ It’s lived in!

I’m a SAHM and that means a lot of things.  One things means that I live, work, play, and learn here with my family and GUESS WHAT? That means it’s not always tidy and pretty and clean.

So let’s get real!

Walk into my home today and you’ll see this:

This is Val’s play room.  Complete with stickers stuck to the floor and toys around.  There are toys on most other floors of the house too.  Including the bathroom and kitchen even.

My laundry is over flowing thanks to the move – our dryer doesn’t work here.  Ours is electric and the hookup is for gas.  I have been hang drying some of it – including cloth diapers and my family has been helping dry some of it.  Alas, I’m still behind.

My kitchen sink is usually also full.  Being home all day with James and Val and cooking most of our meals, creates big messes.  Notice the citrus juicer is also still dirty from this morning.

So there you have it!  I’m not always perfect, my house is not always tidy, but it’s a busy home and it’s filled with love and that is what’s important. :)

Welcome to My Home Wednesday ~ Stay at Home Mom “Schedule”

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I was recently asked to outline my day as a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM) from a friend who will be taking on that role soon in her life with her little one.  Now, first, let me put out a disclaimer that my day is not streamlined (maybe writing this out will help), my DH works from home so it may change things a little, and lastly this is just an example.  Days have surprises and we tend to go just go with the flow most of the time.  It’s good to have a general routine but don’t get stuck in it either. :)

Example of a SAHM schedule:

7:30 – 830: Wake up, breakfast, V plays, I do yoga/blog/use computer

8:30-9:30: Bathe us both, dressed, make breakfast for J

9:30-11:30: Go to town for a class at Y or library visit for V, run errands, do a project at home

11:30-12: Lunch and clean up

12:00-2:00: V’s naptime.  I clean, read, bills, menus…

2:00-4:30: V’s free play.  I play with her, read, clean…

4:30-6:00:  Prepare dinner, cook, eat, and cleanup.

6:00-9:00: Family time – reading, playing, watching movie.

9:00: V’s bedtime

9:00-11:00: Mommy and Daddy time

What does your schedule look like in your home?

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Kitchen Edition

Welcome to my new home!  We are officially moved out of the home we “owned” and are now getting settled into the rental house, and I’d like to invite you into my kitchen for a quick photo tour.  I am in love with this kitchen.  I mentioned I wanted to host parties, right?

Come on over!  I’ll put on some tea!

We can drink it here and have a chat!

And when it’s time to say good-bye, I’ll wash the dishes and enjoy this view.

How are you this Wednesday?  Are you preparing for the holidays?

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Good-bye First Home

This will be my last post from this house for Welcome to my Home Wednesday.  This house we bought about 3 years ago, and it was in need of a lot of TLC.  Although it’s not ideal for us, it sure has been good to us overall.  There are many memories here, lots of dreams, and lots of firsts.  We brought our baby home here!

But new things await us in the future – a homestead someday but just not yet.  For now, we will be renting and looking for THE house.  So… for the curious…

Our rental is beautiful – 3 bedroom, 1.75 bathroom home with an office for James, a room for Reiki and yoga and other things I may want to pursue, and large spaces for Val to play.  There’s a big and beautiful yard, and a large and newly updated kitchen for me to cook and bake.  Did I mention it’s practically on an island?!  A road leads out to the neighborhood circle!!  It’s really neat!! :)

We move Saturday, so if you’d like to show up and help – I’ll feed you supper afterwards. ;)

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ You Don’t Need A Job – You Need Guts!

  • ::So we realized we are human when we came down with the stomach bug.  Yuck!  I’ll spare all the details, of course but that’s why I’ve been so quiet.  I’m blogging now to the hum of my dishwasher and my washing machine.  It means we are on the mend!
  • ::An awesome E-book launched today!  Have you heard of it?  You Don’t Need A Job, You Need Guts! Buy it – Ash will rock your world!
  • ::By this time next week, we should have signed on a great house to rent.  I will wait until next week when everything is for sure before divulging anything.  I swear I jinx myself if I share too much too early. :)
  • ::We put up our Christmas tree and our decorations this week even among all the craziness.  How are you preparing your home for the holidays?

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Update on the homestead

So remember my post from yesterday about a wonderful homestead for sale?  Well, they took it off the market when my agent contacted them.  I’m beyond bummed about it!

There must be another one awaiting us.

We are still dreaming.

Welcome to my Home Wednesday ~ Sold and making new friends

Welcome to my home!  This one… the one I may only be living in for a little over a month because we signed sale papers on Saturday!  We had an inspection today, so pending anything major IT’S SOLD!  Whoa!

Expect a few changes in my “Welcome to my Home Wednesday” posts from now on.  Like, where we’ll be living for one!!!  We’ll keep you posted as we go along. :)

More about all that here.

You know one really cool thing I did this past week? I met up with a Twitter friend to have coffee.  She is from nearby, she blogs, she is fostering a LO (a very cute LO), and she’s lovely.  I am so glad to have made the connection!

What fun things have you done this week?  What is happening in your home today?