Thursday, September 26, 2013

{this moment}


{this moment} - A Friday ritual, inspired by SouleMama, capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.






Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Wonderfull (Full of Wonder) Wednesday

Looking for the wonder in everyday life! 
I'd love for you to join me on this journey. 
If you find wonder along the way, please leave a link in the comments,
so others can share in your wonder! 


Since we made a fairy garden, there has been a regular exchange of gifts from the grandbabies to the fairies and from the fairies to the grandbabies!  The grandbabies usually gift the fairies with some bit of nature we have: a pinecone, a flower, a piece of loofa sponge .. or all three!




The fairies usually leave either a bit of nature (little pink rocks, tiny, perfect seashells, a pinecone baby...)



Or some unique little gifts....








And sometimes the fairies have a surprise visitor!




If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in” ~ Rachel Carson




Each week I join several linky parties!  What a fun way to share and learn! 
Natural Living Monday,  The Children's Bookshelf,  Monday's Kid Corner, Hey Mom, Look What I Did!,Montessori Monday, Made by Little Hands, Homemade Mondays, Mama Moments Monday {Link Up}, The Gathering Spot,  Little Wonders' Days,  Mom's Monday Mingle, Mommy Moments, Frugal, Crafty Home,  Hip Homeschool Hop, Mom's Library,  Tuesday Tots, (tot school tuesday), The Tuesday Baby Link-Up,Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}, Tuned in Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday, TOO Cute Tuesday, Open Call Tuesday, Backyard Farming Connection Hop, Tuned in Tuesday, Kids in the Kitchen,  Waldorf Wednesday,  It's Playtime, We Made That Linky, What I Learned Wednesday, Super Link Party, Kids Co-Op,  Artsy Play Wednesday, Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Adorned From Above, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Kids Crafts, Link and Learn, Thrifty Thursday,  Hearts for Home,  needle and thREAD,Made U Look, Tender Moments with Toddlers and Preschoolers,  Natural Living Link-Up, Small Footprint Friday,  Our Days Homeschool Link-Up,  For the Kids Friday, FarmGirl Friday Blog Hop,  Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday, Read. Explore. Learn., Creative Learning on Friday,  Preschool and Kindergarten Corner,Friday's Nature Table, The Friday Baby Shower,  TGIF Linky Party, Family Fun Friday,  Creative Friday,Friday Flair Link Party, Shine on Fridays, Friday Favs, Outdoor Play Party,  Do Something Crafty, Weekend Whatever,  Saturday Show and Tell,  Tot School Gathering Place,  Sharing Saturday,Share It Saturday, Country Kids, Link and Learn, sharing creative, ideas {all weekend}, Show and Share Saturday, Stress Free Sunday,  The Sunday Showcase, The Preschool Prekinder Nook, Fun Sparks, The Sunday Parenting Party, Making Boys Men, Spring Carnival, Made with Love, Raising Memories

And each week I co-host Eco-Kids Tuesday Link-Up!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Creative Compacting


Since I started compacting, I have really been trying to push myself to be creative.
We recently started doing Dave Ramsey's envelope budget system again and I love it.

I really wanted a nice wallet in which to keep all our envelopes.
But alas, buying a nice wallet for our budget system wasn't really in the budget.

I could have sewn one and found some good tutorials on Pinterest, but I never ever ever have fusible interfacing on hand. And to be honest, it was a bit too complex for as ADD as my mind has been lately.


And so when I was at Goodwill and saw this plain brown vinyl wallet, I went ahead and splurged the 49 cents, knowing I could do something with it... Even if I had no idea what.


I made some cute scrapbook paper envelopes and labeled them with my label maker (I have terrible handwriting and much prefer a nice neat label). The wallet has lots of slots to fit them all.


Fueled with a few sips of Papa's coffee (caffeine really affects me lol) I stayed up to the wee hours of the morn, trying to decide what to do.


I am not usually very good at painting, but I am pretty happy with how it turned out.
Funky on one side.



And flowery on the other.
There is also a little bunny and squirrely on there if you look close.

A look inside the finished product!






Each week I join several linky parties! What a fun way to share and learn!
Natural Living Monday, The Children's Bookshelf, Monday's Kid Corner, Hey Mom, Look What I Did!,Montessori Monday, Made by Little Hands, Homemade Mondays, Mama Moments Monday {Link Up}, The Gathering Spot, Little Wonders' Days, Mom's Monday Mingle, Mommy Moments, Frugal, Crafty Home, Hip Homeschool Hop, Mom's Library, Tuesday Tots, (tot school tuesday), The Tuesday Baby Link-Up, Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}, Tuned in Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday, TOO Cute Tuesday, Open Call Tuesday, Backyard Farming Connection Hop, Tuned in Tuesday, Kids in the Kitchen, Waldorf Wednesday, It's Playtime, We Made That Linky, What I Learned Wednesday, Super Link Party, Kids Co-Op, Artsy Play Wednesday, Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Adorned From Above, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Kids Crafts, Link and Learn, Thrifty Thursday, Hearts for Home, needle and thREAD,Made U Look, Tender Moments with Toddlers and Preschoolers, Natural Living Link-Up, Small Footprint Friday, Our Days Homeschool Link-Up, For the Kids Friday, FarmGirl Friday Blog Hop, Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday, Read. Explore. Learn., Creative Learning on Friday, Preschool and Kindergarten Corner,Friday's Nature Table, The Friday Baby Shower, TGIF Linky Party, Family Fun Friday, Creative Friday,Friday Flair Link Party, Shine on Fridays, Friday Favs, Outdoor Play Party, Do Something Crafty,Weekend Whatever, Saturday Show and Tell, Tot School Gathering Place, Sharing Saturday, Share It Saturday, Country Kids, Link and Learn, sharing creative, ideas {all weekend}, Show and Share Saturday,Stress Free Sunday, The Sunday Showcase, The Preschool Prekinder Nook, Fun Sparks, The Sunday Parenting Party, The Homesteaders' Blog Hop, Making Boys Men, Spring Carnival, Made with Love,Raising Memories, The Creative Home and Garden Hop

And each week I co-host Eco-Kids Tuesday Link-Up!



Friday, September 20, 2013

{this wild and free moment}


{this moment} - A Friday ritual, inspired by SouleMama, capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.






One word is all that is needed to describe this child: 
Passionate



 "Though she be but small, she is fierce."
William Shakepeare
A Midsummer Night's Dream


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Sleeping Like Kings

Earlier this summer (before we started The Compact), Papa and I finally decided to shell out the cash for a new, KING sized bed!  We made a trip to IKEA to get our mattress. It was the best deal we could find for a decent mattress with a warranty. Plus I love IKEA so I may be a bit bias.

Sadly, they no longer carry the bedframe that we loved with our queen sized bed.
So we decided to save some money and make our own... 
Ok, ok, *I* decided to save some money and have *Papa* make our own.
But he is awesome, so he agreed to do it.


He upcycled a head and foot board we got second hand from friends, into a king sized head board.
I found a used roller frame for cheap. A little modifying and spray paint, and we were set.


Another way I saved some money was by not having to buy new sheets and a comforter.
We already had a king sized comforter just because it is easier to cover everyone in queen bed with a bigger blanket. And the last time I needed new sheets for our queen sized, I found kings sized ones on clearance and just tucked the extra under one side.

 Ahh, the seal of approval!

No matter how far apart my girls are when they go to sleep, they always migrate toward each other.
By the time I go to bed, I have to pull them apart to get in!
We still have Bunny's bed right beside ours for even more space.
However, is she wants to sleep with me all night, it is no problem at all now.

Grey Kitty's fav place for cat naps.

We are all very pleased with our sleeping arrangement.
The last time I posted about it, I admitted that I didn't make my bed. Now I make it every day as part of my morning routine. I am learning that the cleaner and neater my house is, the better my day goes.
That doesn't mean it is perfect, I have just found that doing the small things that only take a few minutes are worth it because they never get a chance to turn into big things that take an hour.
I am still learning and de-cluttering and organizing, but I am getting there.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Inspired By Finn Discount Code


Squirrely girly won't let cutting molars keep her down!


Happy Baby!


Brought to you by...


Her amber teething necklace!
  

For 25% off you order at Inspired by Finn,
Enter code: SepBuy25
code good through October 1st


 In case you want more info, read some of my Past Posts about Amber Necklaces!



Sunday, September 15, 2013

An Enchanted Childhood Preschool ~ September 9th~12th



The children continued exploring the little Montessori trays I made up for them.





One of the options during Learning Time is to look at books!


As the children have gotten older,
I have noticed a division at times with the girls playing more with the girls...


And the boys playing sometimes with just the boys.




On this day, they were off to feed the chickens and gather eggs!





They love to do real work, so they helped to toss the sunflower stalks out of the chickens' yard.





Lots of fun!



 
They had to take time for a little Big Creek play!


The children had fun with the tray of shells and the tray of plastic sea creatures!





They made a Hermit Crab with a Shape shell!





A yummy snack... fruit with real whipping cream!



Look at the nuts we found!

Regular garden eating!


And apple picking!







Lots of learning going on here!


Each week I join several linky parties! What a fun way to share and learn!
Natural Living Monday, The Children's Bookshelf, Monday's Kid Corner, Hey Mom, Look What I Did!,Montessori Monday, Made by Little Hands, Homemade Mondays, Mama Moments Monday {Link Up}, The Gathering Spot, Little Wonders' Days, Mom's Monday Mingle, Mommy Moments, Frugal, Crafty Home, Hip Homeschool Hop, Mom's Library, Tuesday Tots, (tot school tuesday), The Tuesday Baby Link-Up, Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}, Tuned in Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday, TOO Cute Tuesday, Open Call Tuesday, Backyard Farming Connection Hop, Tuned in Tuesday, Kids in the Kitchen, Waldorf Wednesday, It's Playtime, We Made That Linky, What I Learned Wednesday, Super Link Party, Kids Co-Op, Artsy Play Wednesday, Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Adorned From Above, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Kids Crafts, Link and Learn, Thrifty Thursday, Hearts for Home, needle and thREAD,Made U Look, Tender Moments with Toddlers and Preschoolers, Natural Living Link-Up, Small Footprint Friday, Our Days Homeschool Link-Up, For the Kids Friday, FarmGirl Friday Blog Hop, Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday, Read. Explore. Learn., Creative Learning on Friday, Preschool and Kindergarten Corner,Friday's Nature Table, The Friday Baby Shower, TGIF Linky Party, Family Fun Friday, Creative Friday,Friday Flair Link Party, Shine on Fridays, Friday Favs, Outdoor Play Party, Do Something Crafty,Weekend Whatever, Saturday Show and Tell, Tot School Gathering Place, Sharing Saturday, Share It Saturday, Country Kids, Link and Learn, sharing creative, ideas {all weekend}, Show and Share Saturday,Stress Free Sunday, The Sunday Showcase, The Preschool Prekinder Nook, Fun Sparks, The Sunday Parenting Party, The Homesteaders' Blog Hop, Making Boys Men, Spring Carnival, Made with Love,Raising Memories

And each week I co-host Eco-Kids Tuesday Link-Up!