So, another one?

Another title I am considering is "Remaking Suburbia." Which do you like better? Do you like neither? Are you all lining up to write for my urban homesteading blog???

I need a title...

Some may be taken, but I've been brainstorming titles for an urban homestead blog....

Suburban Simplicity
Simplicity in Suburbia
Sustainable Suburbia
Sustainability in Suburbia
Little House in the Suburbs
Bloom Where You're Planted

So, I tried most of these in blogger, and all were taken. I came up with Self-Sufficient Suburbanites.

I don't know. If someone has a better title that hasn't already been taken, let me know....

blogging...

I'm seriously considering the possibility of writing an "urban homestead" blog. It may be rather silly, but I think a lot of people are interested in reading this sort of thing right now....Well....I'm interested in reading this sort of thing right now.

I don't feel my writing is particularly entertaining, though. As one of my professors told me in grad school, it is solid, sound writing. It is technically sound. ;) However, perhaps I can still serve as a resource for others and share our adventures in learning ways to make our home more profitable to us.

Can a 60's era bi-level in a corner lot in suburban America become a homestead? A place where we can become more self-sufficient on a minimal budget? Man, I hope so.

The Peace of Wild Things

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry

My dear Ben's Mom ;) sent this to me.

...and in the mornin' when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes....

Content.

With all that is uncertain in this world, I think both Ben and I are in a similar place. He was looking out the window yesterday afternoon, and when questioned, he replied, "I'm just feeling very content right now."

And, I feel it too. With the knowledge and understanding that our plans are not what we had initially hoped--that we would be moving soon to a place with some acreage and (for Killian) a pond, comes some peace. We now work to make our home the place we want it to be, and, with some relief, we see that it can be all that we need and want. We have kind neighbors. We have good schools. Ideally, it would be closer to family, but we are not far, and hopefully, my parents will be bringing their boat around so that they, at least in the summers, will be closer too.

Once the initial yard work was done a few weeks ago with Ben and Jacob's hard work, I have stood, often, looking out the window at our yard. No, it's really not that much different, but it's beautiful. I just want to run around out there. After delaying for a few weeks, I have been hanging laundry daily (well, most days barring rain). We have continued to dig and plant and construct self-watering planters, planting more seeds--food and flowers--than we had planned. I had a stash of seeds, and it seemed silly not to just go ahead and give them a try. When summer ends, we'll save what seeds we can for next year.

It is fun to see what we can do. The kids have been helping, occasionally with planting, with watering, with laundry on the line. It is good for them, I think. I am looking forward to plants and veggies growing and them watching that happen. Liam already is offering to pick my radishes. He says I can eat them, though. ;) They are growing so big and capable. Even though they often fight doing stuff on their own, it amazes me as they begin to take the initiative to help out (and/or even just when they are able to really help when asked).

Seeds we've planted...

This might be a philosophical post about raising children, but, um, it's not....

We planted a bunch more stuff this weekend, mostly seeds but a few seedlings. I even dug two new beds along the fence at the top of the hill.

Here's what we've got in the ground or in planters. We're looking forward to seeing what happens!

two rows of sweet corn next to 2 watermelons, 2 pickling cukes, and 1 slicing cuke
9 tomato plants of various varieties,
radishes
rainbow carrots
bunching onions
broccoli
kale
bright lights chard
spinach
lettuce
cabbage
colored sunflowers
dwarf sunflowers
scarlet runner beans
peas
sage
basil
parsley
rosemary
dill
strawberries
snap peas


Lots of flowers:
wild flower mix
daisies
asters
zinnias
sweet williams
forget-me-nots
cosmos
crackerjack marigolds
calendula (technically marigolds, but the seeds are different)
California poppies

I'm so excited!

Gratitude continued.

Reagan's continued Bandaid obsession. This one is a "Pincess" bandaid, and there is no boo-boo underneath it.

Spring birthdays, and a wonderful crowd of family and friends who came to share with us and /or thought of the boys.
Baby tiger lilies my dad brought from home.
Baby radishes.
Asparagi.
Er, yeah, not exactly eco-friendly, but a cup of each in 5 gallons of water saved a half a basket of laundry doomed to never come clean....
Yummy lilacs from our gorgeous bush outside.
Jammies on the line.

Gratitude.

Lest I sound too distraught with my last post, please let me note that, while I don't necessarily know how things are going to go, I do know that we will be fine. We are quite capable. :)

It also seems appropriate after my rant to share some things for which I am so grateful.
Silly Kids

The state of the state...

Ben, You might just want to go ahead and delete this now. I am going to ruminate on the state of the economy right now (Why would Ben want to delete, you may ask? Ben, as you probably know, is an industrial salesman. He works hard, but at the moment, working hard pays quite a bit less than it used to, and there is only so hard one can work at selling things when people quit buying...Ben is not uninformed. He knows, probably better than most, the state of things. However, he works really hard not to dwell on them and keeps his head down and keeps working. I'm very proud of him for that. I, however, am a bit of a dweller by genetics, and tend to deal by venting, so, I am about to do that. Ben might not want to hear it.;) ).

I am in the midst of grading papers. For the first term in the last three, I actually have a class. Hopefully, what has been my gainful source of employment will continue and classes will keep filling. Enrollments have been down, but I am hopeful that they will rebound as people seek training for new jobs, etc. Anyway, I've been thinking of making a post on this topic for some time, but kept moving on to better (and, likely, healthier) things. We get news updates in our email, and I made the mistake of reading one, and so am now again compelled to fuss about this topic.

Our state has the highest unemployment rate in the country. And this is before Chrysler declared bankruptcy and still before GM is sure to follow the same path. Rates increased last month, and are predicted to be higher before the year is up, and higher still next year. A company in a nearby town (likely one of Ben's clients) has declared they will close by August 31. They are auto suppliers. Many of Michigan's small industries are auto suppliers.

In the meantime, the state is cutting jobs--fewer police (sounds like a great idea when folks are hard up), fewer state medical providers...and more.

Our home value, according to Mint.com, has dropped 13,000 in the last 3 weeks, and that, by the way, is 20,000 less than it was when we bought it, and 40,000 less than when we refinanced less than 4 years ago.

It's getting scary here, as we are quite certain that it will get worse before it gets better. I am not sure how we ford this. I am working hard to keep our expenses down as much as possible.

Men....

Last week, Ben took two days off from work. What did he do? Go fishing? Sleep in? Go golfing? Monday and Tuesday, he worked hard at his job. It is very stressful right now, as one might imagine, selling industrial supplies to industry struggling in this state. There has been some very grim news regarding what's happening with some of the major industry in this state of late, and I cannot even imagine the weight that Ben carries right now.

On Wednesday, Ben went to a nature preserve with Liam and his second grade class. He took lots of pictures. They spent much of the day at the preserve, hiking miles. Please remember that Ben, while much improved, still has daily pain in his back. Sometimes I am not sure whether it is really better or if he has just gotten really good at sucking it up and doing what needs doing anyway. Thursday, back to work. Reagan woke both of us at about 4:30 am. Reagan and I fell back to sleep. Ben did not. Thursday night, Ben came home and he and Killian drove to Jacob's place in Canton. They (including Jacob) joined Killian's class at Deerfield Village, a living history museum. Killian misread the alarm clock and woke Ben, telling him, "Dad! We slept in!" Ben jumped up to see that it was 4:30 am! Much more walking.

They drove home and arrived around 5:30 pm. I was in the midst of cleaning, but nowhere near done. Jacob was to follow them. He was working a race (his company does timing for marathons) in town and stayed on to visit us. After what was certainly an exhausting day, Ben cleaned the living room upstairs and finished the downstairs living room, including vacuuming. I can't remember (duh), but he probably fed the kids too.

Saturday, we see Jacob around 10:00 am. He actually arrived at our house shortly after we went to bed, but got up to set up for the race at about (guess when?) 4:30 am. Ben got up and was going to go with him, but wound up staying home....Um, he didn't go back to bed, though...Saturday and Sunday, we played. The boys played lots of video games, went outside and played catch, and hung out. I made a h0-ho cake for Killian's birthday and marinated some chicken. We made pizza and breadsticks for dinner, and Ben's mom and Breanne joined us. They stayed for Killian's birthday breakfast and a few hours in the morning and then had to return to St. Joe. Ben made biscuits and gravy for breakfast, warmed up leftover pizza and breadsticks for lunch, and grilled hamburgers and made French fries for dinner.

Oh, and I forgot, on Saturday morning, Ben went out to put together a chair, slipped when he was cutting the box, and cut his thumb soundly. He spend much of the weekend trying to keep it from bleeding and/or throbbing. He still got the chair together later on Saturday. We also packed the last of the winter gear up and stashed it up in the rafters of the garage. Ben and Jacob moved the picnic table to the garage to ready it for painting.

Monday, Jacob and I started on the back yard. He cleaned up one bed (definitely the more difficult of the two), weedwhacked, mowed, and edged our lawn (front and back), not to mention picked up all the kid stuff strewn about the yard to allow for mowing. I cleaned up another bed and moved some coleus from the front bed to the back. I'm taking that out and the myrtle because it's taking everything over in the front, but it will be the only thing in this bed, so it will be a good thing there. I tended to kiddos and worked on my class the rest of the day.

Monday night, Ben came home. He and Jacob drove to Lowes for paint, sanding supplies, and wood filler. I wasn't feeling well, and I went to bed after starting asparagus and couscous. Ben finished it, grilled chicken, and fed everyone, including me. I nearly cried when I heard everyone downstairs singing grace together.

Tuesday, Jacob sanded the table all day. When Ben came home, he and Jacob filled the holes in the table and put new lattice up. I dug a little bit and swept a little bit to help, but really did next to nothing. Ben and Jacob constructed benches from to big boards in the garage and the legs from our retired kitchen chairs. They turned out awesome, and will be great next to our fire pit. I watered the garden, washed and hung diapers to dry, and baked cookies and took them to Killian's class for his birthday treat. And we ate leftover chicken sandwiches for dinner.

Wednesday, Jacob continued to sand the table. The girls and I went to Liam's "publishing party" at school and then to the library. By Wednesday afternoon, Ben and Jacob were painting. That evening, they spread some mulch in the back and moved the table and benches out to the yard. I actually cooked dinner on Wednesday night.

Jacob left early Thursday morning. I feel badly that he didn't just hang out for a while now that all the projects are done (as if they have an end, LOL). The kids were terribly sad to see him go. He is always attentive and kind to them, and they adore him!

Ben came home Thursday night, tired and hungry. He changed Reagan's diaper. He fed the kids sandwiches while I cleaned Molly's perpetual and endless pit. He hung a mirror I thrifted. He got Killian and Liam in and out of the bath and everyone ready for bed.

Late this morning, he came home from work, made a sandwich, and ran to Liam's classroom to help with computer time for an hour. He stopped at Costco for some supplies and dropped them off while driving through town. He'll be stopping at the bread store before he comes home from work to get buns for our party tomorrow, and will likely stop at Meijer for a few more supplies before he comes home.

Crap, I need to figure out what to make for dinner.

I am truly, truly blessed.

To Killian, on his 11th birthday

Today is very special, not only because it is your birthday, but it is also Mother's Day. Eleven years ago, on Mother's Day, you were born. I can think of no better way to spend Mother's Day than spending it in celebration of you, my oldest child.

Your birth was a very much anticipated event, and we longed to meet you and hold you in our arms. We loved you before we saw your tiny little face, a cleft chin that looked like a little cherry under your mouth, a beautiful, perfect baby boy. We held you all the time. You even slept on my chest for most of your first year--basically refusing to sleep anywhere else. I didn't get a lot done, but I knew it would go fast, and I didn't want to look back and think, "I wish I had held him more."

You have grown so fast, sometimes without me even noticing. Here you are, beginning your second decade on this earth. It seems you have been a part of our lives forever. It has been such a privilege and an honor to see you grow, to watch you learn and take interest in the world around you. You are a kind and loving young man. You are smart beyond belief. I love to see you teaching and sharing with your siblings. I know sometimes it is hard to be a big brother, to be expected to do things because you are older, and to be expected not to do things because you are older. Often, I am impatient, and I am sorry for that. I know that, so often, you are trying hard to be a good person, trying hard to do what is expected. You often deserve more credit than you receive.

I love how dedicated and loving you are to all of your family. I love that you are always thinking. I love that you love mashed potatoes and cheeseburgers and insects and amphibians.

I always, knew, Killian, that I wanted to be a mom. I never knew, my boy, just how much you would teach me and show me about the world. I am truly, truly blessed to have you as my little boy.

I love you.

Mom

Spring Fling!

Well, it's been slow going here. I lack some motivation. However, I have made some progress.
Pantry nearly done, and with it, a reduction in Mr. Potato Heads (we had some duplication going on) and now everything is fitting nicely into one tub. Every day, it seems, we are lessening our toy collection by one or two things. Even if it is a Happy Meal toy. I knocked the shelf in our closet back together and now our little pantry area is nice and neat and not in danger of toppling on children or being toppled by children and trod upon, LOL.

I also worked quite awhile in the boys' room this week. From there, I removed 1 very full kitchen bag of trash and 1 kitchen bag to donate. We took the closet doors off of the boys' closet, Ben put up a curtain rod, and I put up some Ikea bug curtains I bought for super cheap from someone several years ago. Ben also put up a curtain rod over the girls' closet, and once I iron her curtains, I will put those up too.

There is much more to be done, but every little bit seems to make the next space that much easier--especially when it involves the kids' stuff that travels everywhere.

More Cleanin'

Other things that must be decluttered:
Mr. Potato Heads
Playdough Toys
Dress Up

Spring Cleanin'

Oh, I though I had done a lot with my Winter Clearance Event, but here I am again feeling like the walls are closing in on me, LOL. The house also needs a thorough cleaning. Inspired by my friend Val, I am posting a list here for a little accountability.

So, today, I started in on the boys' room, which has pretty much exploded.

Molly's room has to be re-done again. I have hopes every time I go through it that something will make it back to the same spot I found for it next time it's pulled out.

My declutter list:

stuffed animals and puppets (These, especially puppets are really difficult for me--I don't know why. Any tips?) It doesn't help that it seems Molly is always bringing another home from somewhere or another.

what's left of the winter wear

Molly's clothes (list needs)--she's outgrowing most of her pants...

Clean/Reorganize:

bathroom cabinets. I think I know what I want to do here, but I don't want to spend the money for the sterlite drawers I want to use in there....So, I may put it off for awhile longer...

pantry closet. Remember how I made my closet into a pantry during the winter? It needs to be re-organized in a major way to optimize the use of the space. I also have to pull a shelf out of there and screw the shelves into place as they keep getting pulled down by the kids.

refrigerators (yes, we have two)

Girls' Room

Boys' room

Spare bedroom closets. I've made progress here, but have never finished.

finish painting downstairs bathroom

Garage~in progress~

Outdoors:

rip up/dig out the rest of the myrtle

sand/patch/paint picnic table

finish planting garden and new bed (I'll tell you more about that later!)

There's much to update, but for the moment, before I forget, I didn't report one of my favorite kids' vocabulary words: glub.

As in, I need to wear glubs because it's cold outside! (Molly and Reagan)