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Money Matters: Kids & Allowances
It’s one of the ways my dad was most proactive in his parenting. Financial education. Money. Dolla’ bills. My dad hired us kids to do work on the family dairy farm. He paid us well and he expected quality work done right. Even as little kids there were paying jobs to be had. Picking up rocks out of the…
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10.
We started back to school last week. Maybe the week before. Did I take any darling photos of children standing beside chalkboard signs announcing their grade? No. We didn’t move into our new home yet. But we will. Soon. Until then we are living amongst the boxes and I can’t find the baking soda for biscuits because I guess…
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A Max Patch Visit
One of the lovely friends we met at Lost Valley Ranch contacted me. Told me that she had a timeshare that she’d be happy to share with our family because her family couldn’t use it this year. It is in the Pigeon Forge area. And the week it was available was the beginning of August. I wanted to say…
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Small Projects: Recycling Wooden Crates
Right now is officially an In Between time. We’re still living in our current rental home. But we’re mostly packed and we’re anxious to be living in our new home. And it will be time to move soon enough, that’s true. Unfortunately, I have never been good at limbo. Waiting is not what brings about the best version of…
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Five Finds Friday: unicorn mascots and repairs and glazed carrots
Summer was far too short. I know it’s not officially over, but at our house – it feels over. We had a soft start to school this week and I know the timing feels off, what with trying to move soon too, but we also love being finished with school in May and we all highly value the…
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Just What We Needed: Rapid City/Black Hills KOA Review
We’ve been back from our Ranch Adventure all summer and between buying a house and preparing to move and running a business and taking care of five kids I’ve not taken the time I meant to to write some reviews of our experiences back and forth across these lovely United States. Our route this year was heavily…
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it’s alright . . .
Because we are downsizing, GET RID OF IT has been a mantra I have been embracing. Or, you know, at least trying to embrace. And I’ve given away, sold and tossed so very very many bits of this and that. As I am going through old boxes and high school journals (they’re not going away, so don’t…
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last week – a vanishing act
I think I’ve been maintaining this blog for a decade. Ish. That means I had five kids under five and still sat down at a computer routinely. When did I ever have time to write posts when I had so many babies? What was happening? Oh, right, yes – for all their exhaustion, babies do actually sleep. And take…
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The Friday 5: a new bag, cat photos and some things of more lasting value
I know it’s not called The Friday Five. But maybe it should be. This week has been one where I have been the taxi driver – even with daily carpooling to theatre camp, it’s felt like an awful lot of to and fro, which is what a portion of parenting is, of course, but it is still not my…
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state of the union, currently
There are two screws loose on the lawn mower and is that some sort of metaphor for my life? Stuff gets almost done. Right? I’ve got five tabs open on my computer, various virtual carts waiting for me to push “order” but I’m waiting on some small detail in every tab before I can finalize the order. (And lest…
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July Fourth and the Farm and a Few Photos
Twenty-seven? Or has it been twenty-nine? I can’t remember which of those numbers is accurate, but either way, it’s been a LOT of years that my family has been celebrating the fourth of July with my framily. It was just an idea a couple of decades ago. A casual “let’s have dinner together on July Fourth” sort…
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Get Your Grove On – it’s a giveaway this weekend
It’s been the busiest sort of summer and although it’s all been of the happy variety, it’s made our days feel a bit hurried. I should correct that to say it’s been a FULL summer – right? Well, whichever, it’s been both. When times are full and days are splitting wide open with things to do and places to…
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July Fourth – celebrating it all week long.
For the last 27 years I have spent July 4th at the farm in Virginia. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s my favorite holiday. (Well, I did miss one holiday gathering the summer I worked as a camp counselor at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park.) The party is traditionally the Saturday nearest to July…