The Life and Times of a Family of 5 Living in Rural Northern New England + Recipes, Fiber Arts Patterns and More!
From the category archives:
I. started 4th grade this year. Its extra big because we have homeschooled him since he was in kindergarden….and this is the first day of public school for him!
He had a great day!
He has a really nice teacher whom he enjoys, and, the boy who sits next to him loves to dress in cammo – loves legoes and star wars – and has a ton in common with I.
Hope he’s up for 9 months of it!
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If only I could find a van this cool!
So, we need a van. I finally convinced Mr. T. that we just don’t have the space in the wagon anymore – even with the 3rd row seat. He’s sad. He doesn’t want to own a mini van.
If you’re gonna have 3 kids, you’re gonna eventually get a van, its that simple.
I wish we could afford one of the new 7 or 8 seaters like the Honda Pilot, but its just not in our price range. We’ve got to settle on the van and have been focusing our search on Honda Odysseys and Toyota Siennas. I’ve found a few, but that was before we sold the Volvo (which happened within a day after posting it on Craigs List!!).
Now, we can’t really find anything. And, even when we do, its such a saga.
Gather up the kids….who don’t want to go. And drive. We’re trying to keep it close, but there’s only been one, and that’s been a bit of an odd experience.
The car was being sold by a family about 20 min from us, so, we went over. It was nice, had a dent in the back, but was nice, only 125,000mi and in our price range. Mr. T. drove it and liked it so offered $500 less than the asking price. The guy said he and his wife would have to talk about that but never told us anything from there. So, we collected the kids and headed home. Weird. I emailed just to be sure, but no response. So, I’m guessing that’s a dead end.
As a result of where we live (in the beautiful Maine countryside) we have to travel around an hour to see other vehicles. Its a total pain in the a$$.
But, I need a van. Hell, I already sold my volvo, which, lucky for me isn’t getting picked up until later in the week. I. starts school on Mon. though and I have to drive him….can’t do that without a vehicle…so gotta go through that buying a car process in all its “deal making” glory.
Here’s to hoping our new van finds us…sooner rather than later!
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It had been happening for awhile. Our printer would work, and then all of a sudden for some unknown reason it would just crap out on you….usually in the middle of something important!
Finally, we just had to pull the plug.
Mr. T. ordered a nice new (and much bigger) Cannon printer/scanner/fax. Our other was a combo model, but with this one, all 3 features actually work properly!
Its wireless too, which is definitely a great feature. I can print from anywhere!
Of course he had to do a LOT of research. A printer with an affordable looking price isn’t always an affordable printer. If your machine only takes pricey ink, that low ticket price ends up being quite a bit more over time.
Don’t get me wrong. I always take advantage of great deals and other money saving opportunities like a 123inkjets coupon or OEM cartridges. But some printers just require expensive ink no matter how much you try to cut the cost with discounts.
So, like Mr. T. do your research. In the end, we ended up with a nice machine that offered a great deal, but, ALSO has affordable ink prices over the long haul.
After the new computers and now this great printer I’m feeling pretty cozy in my little ‘ol “home office”. We found a place for her on top of the file cabinet (it’s not a huge floor model, but much bigger and beefier than our other one), and she’s already been making it so much easier for me to make copies and get things done.
Can’t ask for much more from an inanimate object! So, I think, she’s a keeper.
Hopefully, I’m saying that several years from now too!
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Do you have a favorite coffee mug? I do. Mine is white inside and from time to time it can get to looking a little, well…..less white!
When I used to want to try and whiten something up, I might reach for bleach – or some super power (aka toxic) dish soap….not anymore. What’s the eco friendly way to remove coffee and tea stains?
Baking Soda.
Yep!
Plain, old use it in your baking, Baking Soda. Any brand will do the job, and boy does it do a great one!
All you have to do is make a paste of baking soda and water. Then, use this paste to scrub your coffee mug, tea pot, or even your coffee maker. The stains will seem like they get absorbed right into the baking soda.
If you have a particularly persistent coffee or tea stain, you can let the baking soda mixture sit on the item for 15-20 minutes. Then, scrub again, and rinse thoroughly.
You’ll be amazed at how easily the baking soda works. And, better yet, the way your favorite mug or beloved brew pot will look when you’re done will really surprise you. The baking soda is so gentle, yet, it leaves such a shiny clean behind; you’ll never use anything else to remove coffee and tea stains again!
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If you’re a dad or a dad to be, Happy Father’s Day to you!
Its a great thing to be a dad! In 1910, a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd thought so too; so much so that she wanted to make a celebration and holiday out of it.
As a young woman living in Spokane Washington, Sonora saw her father become the sole parent of 6 children when his wife died during the birth of their last child. This, of course, affected her greatly. As she saw how her father rose to this occasion and how he loved, cared for, and raised all the children by himself, she was deeply touched.
When she heard of the first Mother’s Day being celebrated, Sonora wanted to honor her wonderful father in the same way.
Ms. Dodd talked to her pastor who helped her approach the YMCA who also was supportive of the idea. So, it was decided Father’s Day would be celebrated there in Washington State in 1910, but when?
Sonora had suggested her father’s birthday which was June 5th, but, there wasn’t enough time to get everything ready by then, so, it was celebrated on June 19th. The organizers even incorporated the idea from the celebration of Mother’s Day to wear flowers to church to honor one’s parent. Red for your living father and white for a father who had passed away.
Unfortunately, many thought this idea to honor fathers in the same way people wanted to honor mothers was silly. They suggested that it was just a way to commercialize another thing in life. There were several attempts to make it a national holiday, but all were defeated. Interestingly enough, it was a senator from our great state of Maine who in 1957 made a persuasive argument that by the nation only celebrating Mother’s Day, it was only allowing us to honor half of our parents. We have a mother and a father and both are special and important.
Finally in 1966 Lyndon Johnson ordered a presidential proclamation that the 3rd Sunday in June would be designated as Father’s Day. Then, in 1972, Nixon signed this proclamation into law….and ever since we’ve celebrated Father’s Day in the U.S.
Many other nations celebrate Father’s Day as well, or at least have some other date honoring fathers at this point. To me, this is important. Dads are awesome, fun, exciting…. and totally different, but equally as special, as moms!
So, Happy Father’s Day all you dads. Enjoy your special day, and hug each of your kids a little extra….cause without them, you wouldn’t be a Father!
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