Book Review: The Grace Of Enough

I just finished reading Haley's book last week and it was every bit as good as I was sure it was going to be. She talks about something that I have been looking into and trying to practice in my own life for some time now. The concept that less is more, and how we so often feed into what the advertising world wants us to believe-that "things" make us happy.
Haley's book arrived at a timely moment, as I had just watched this film, and read about Maya's experience.

With her family of three children and husband, Haley packed up her home and moved thousands of miles across the country. They fit all their belongings in a small P.O.D and moved into a 600 ft apartment with a composting toilet on a farm.
Now, I'm not about to give up my indoor plumbing any time soon, but that is so inspiring. I feel like we have SO much stuff, and much of it we don't even use! Good things, but still, they are only that. Things. And many of those things are just in the way.
So, I've been cleaning out everything. Closets, rooms, clothes, bathrooms. I've been downsizing mine and the girl's clothes and shoes, getting rid of books, art, and kitchen stuff that we never use.

As a work-from-home mom, I spend enough time at my computer, making food, and taking care of two small wee ones. I have realized that I don't have time to be moving all of our "stuff" around as well. So began "Operation Cleanout". While I still have a lot more to get rid of, I'm feeling pretty good about the dent that I've made so far. Having less really IS freeing. I spend way less time cleaning and more time doing what I actually WANT to do.

That's why I enjoyed reading Haley's book so much. It's helping to encourage me, plus, I just love her writing.

I honestly think that this book can be inspiring no matter what season you are in your life. Married, single, with or without children. Living the county or in the city. Big house, little, Catholic or not. There is freedom to be found knowing that comfort and security do not come from possessions.

I know that not everyone is going to be in the place in their life, and maybe you aren't ready, or even need to clean out things and de-clutter. But I honestly think this book is still an inspiring read for anyone.

disclaimer. I think that "minimalism" looks different for everyone, and this is my simply personal experience.

easy three ingredient (no borax!) slime recipe

Disclaimer: I am NOT a crafty mom. I don't really do crafts, and around here we generally stick to things like painting and reading stories. However, every once in a while I decided to go out of my comfort zone and last Friday was one of those days. 

Enter, easiest Slime Recipe!

You are going to need only three ingredients: 

1. 4 oz. of white glue

2. 2-3 cups of shaving cream

3. 6 tablespoons of contact lens solution

(if you're a cool parent you can make it fancy and add food coloring or gitter. I'm not cool).

You will also need a big bowl and a spoon to stir with. 

To make:

Add glue to the bowl and then the shaving cream. If you want to put in glitter or food coloring add it at this point. 

 Stir in contact solution and mix well. If you want it less sticky add a little more contact solution.

Have fun! 

Words on Wednesday

“I do believe in simplicity. It is astonishing as well as sad, how many trivial affairs even the wisest thinks he must attend to in a day; how singular an affair he thinks he must omit. 

When the mathematician would solve a difficult problem, he first frees the equation of all incumbrances, and reduces it to its simplest terms. 

So simplify the problem of life, distinguish the necessary and the real. Probe the earth to see where your main roots run.”

 

--Henry David Thoreau

after the weekend

We had a very quiet weekend. Adam spent most of it hunting and I hung out with the girls. Other than heading out to the thrift store over the hill on Saturday we stayed at home. We cooked food, cuddled, read books, and did crafts. Some weekends it's nice to be busy, but others (such as this one where it was cold out) it's nice to just be home.

"There's nothing like staying at home for real comfort" (Jane Austen). 

We are gearing up for the week today (on my part that means a lot of coffee). Today it's raining and that means I'm sure that we'll be spending most of the day indoors, reading books. Not a bad way to enjoy a Monday, if you ask me.

Have a great week! 

ready for the weekend.

Happy Friday! We are READY for the weekend! It's been a busy week here and we managed to fit a lot in, including not one, but TWO trips to Storytime this week! (Wednesday's was a disaster so we had a re-do and went to another today, and I'm happy to report it went WAY better-no meltdowns this time!).

How cute is that little rainbow pillow? We signed up for KiwiCo's subscription box, and let me tell you, it's worth every penny! Adri's having a blast making the projects. 

 I think we had the last week of outdoor play in the leaves. It's now rainy and almost all the leaves are off the trees. It's also SUPER cold and only getting colder this weekend. Brrr.

My two munchkins. If only they always played this well together ;) 

Adam has work in the morning tomorrow and it's supposed to be a super stormy day. I got some slime making stuff (we already made some today!), new paints, and some other crafting stuff to keep us busy, since there's no way I'm venturing outside. I may, however, take the kiddo here on Sunday while Adam is hunting since we've never been and I know that Adri will love it. We shall see. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

leaf play

We are experiencing a short two-day Indian Summer over here and it really feels like such a treat. It's in the 70s and lovely outside. Yesterday we raked leaves for a good solid hour outside and kept jumping in them. The girls had a blast! 

Today we are going to enjoy the last warm day before the weather plunges down to a chilly 35 degrees this weekend and visit the Nature Center for Storytime and a hike. 

I got this in the mail yesterday and can't WAIT to read it. Many of you already know my love of Haley and follow her blog, Carrots For Michaelmas.  She's a fellow mama and book lover. Well, she recently wrote a book and I can't wait to read it. It's along the lines of what I've been working on- appreciating what we have, getting rid of what we don't need, and cleaning out our lives of so much STUFF. I'll definitely write a review when I'm done :) 

I'm off to drink my coffee (I have one munchkin awake, but the other is still sleeping), and prepare for my day. 

Have a lovely Wednesday! 

p.s. I've been slacking with the Words on Wednesday posts. And I'm wondering if I should I bring them back. Does anyone miss them? Let me know! 

Piper Mae: Thirteen Months Old

A little late, but someone turned thirteen months old last week! I think Piper Mae has changed more in the past month than she has in the last twelve before that. She's still walking, running, and climbing (yay), but now she is talking up a storm as well and it's so. damn. CUTE. Like her big sister, she also has super tiny little baby voice and it cracks us up.

At thirteen months old, Piper Mae can:

Say, "dadda", "mama", "nurse", "here I am!", "Adri", "kitty", "diaper", "bye bye", "uh-oh", and more. 

She can run, walk, and climb on ALL the furniture. 

She can throw balls (like Adri she's a big ball fan) and has a good pitching arm!

Piper loves:

Food. She eats all the time. Like, no kidding, all the time. 

Adri Rose (still her favorite person).

Taking showers (we take more showers than baths around here).

Reading. She loves, loves to read books, and her favorite is this one. We read it a good dozen times a day! 

Music. Turn on the music and she will dance!

Ride on Cow Beetle (see photo above).

We love Piper Mae so. She's still the sweetest, cuddliest, happiest little baby. She finally outgrew the crying-all-the-time/hating-strangers phase and it's pretty great now (happy baby=happy mommy).

after the weekend:

Happy Monday! 

I hope you all had a great weekend. I know we sure did. Adam was hunting most of the time (he did stop long enough to hang out with us for a bit) so the girls and I were pretty much on our own. However, we made the most of it and had fun. Saturday we went to the Farmers Museum and Fly Creek  (a local orchard), and Sunday we watched Hocus Pocus and visited the Haunted Hill. Literally, all the Fall Feels ;) 

The is the first year that Adri is actually "getting" holidays and it's so much fun. She's really looking forward to Halloween and we've been slowly decorating, reading "spooky" books, and gathering all the pumpkins (she can't wait for carving). This year I think when we have our little Halloween party I'll include bobbing for apples.

Today is a recover-from-the-weekend-day (anyone else have those?). I have work to catch up on, and if the weather clears we'll take a walk. I'm also going to make some more window stars (maybe make a tutorial?). 

Happy Monday! 

(photos are a collection from the past few days)