De-Tech your Kids for Summer

Today is our official first day of summer vacation. . . Or the part of the year I dread the most. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, but the first few days of vacation are always the worst. The kids are fighting: me, chores, and each other.

This year is presenting a special challenge since the kids are a lot older and they've spent most of the school year completely plugged in. From friends to school work, they've had to be on the computer all the time. And in our house, we love our tech gadgets. The Boy had some challenges this school year because tech is so tempting for him. And Little B? He's taken to waking up before everyone else so he can have total access to the computer. Leelee sticks on her headphones and gets sucked in to Tumblr fandom. It wasn't so bad during the school year when they had homework, but without a set school schedule, it is so easy to sit back and get sucked in to the endless abyss of the internet.


You've certainly heard of detox. In our house, the kids are going to de-tech.

Tech access is going to be earned.  But first, it has to be taken away.


 Unplug. For real. Take away the cords, the mice, the game controllers. Unplug the WiFi. It's a hard first step. Lock it up. Hide it. I don't know about yours, but my kids will look for it.

But what to replace it with?

1. Tech with a purpose. Let the kids access sites to blog or find activity ideas. There's a good chance you'll "see" my kids guest blogging for me.

2. Summer reading programs. I'm glad my kids love to read. There are some big movies coming out based on books. We're all going to be re-reading our favorites. . . like Ender's Game.

3. Gardening. The garden needs tending every day. No one wants to weed the whole thing, but each person take a small part. With three distinct gardening areas, there's plenty to do.

4. Camp. Even if it's camping in the back yard, kids love to sleep in tents. Three of mine will be going to sleep away camp this summer. Just for a week, but it's amazing how much the household dynamic changes when you remove just one kid! We are also planning a big family camp out at the beach. Check your local state parks for camping options. I may tent camp, but I don't go anywhere without showers and real toilets.

5. Swimming and splash pads. Our house is located halfway between a YMCA and the city's splash pad downtown. My big kids love to go to both. 

6. Local museums or zoos. It's really too hot here to go to the zoo in the summer, but we have plenty of free museums!

7. Service Projects. Whether its walking dogs for the humane society or just mowing the lawn for an elderly neighbor, it's important for kids to have opportunities to give back. The Boy will be working on his Eagle Project this summer, with Little B helping. Leelee volunteers at a horse therapy camp.

8. Homework. Even though it's summer, there's still homework.  Three of the kids have major projects due the first day of school! 

9. Board games. Or as I like to call them bored games. As in "Mom, I'm bored." I have a jar of chores they can pick from or they can go play a game!

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Ok, now let's get to the practicalities of it all. These ideas are great, but they are all based on two things: Having a schedule and keeping to the schedule.

The kids wake up before I do and are free to read and watch TV quietly. Cutting back on the tech is a hard step for us. We aren't quite ready to be TV-free, too!

Around 10 a.m. is the morning snack. Chores are done before lunch. If rooms are clean and chores are done, after lunch, we select an activity. It can be the park, swimming, crafting...pretty much something to stay busy. By 2 p.m. the kids are getting hungry again so it's time for another snack.  The afternoon snack is the fun snack and may require a bit more prep. I'll be sharing some of those adventures.

Late afternoon is hot. It's miserable. The little ones and the teens usually end up taking a nap and waking up for dinner. Little B and Danger Girl are suddenly left alone with mom. Whining gets them extra chores, so it's their turn to come up with activities and things to do. Danger girl has a big homework portfolio we need to get a jump on. This is also the perfect time for everyone to play a game.

After dinner, there are more chores to do and a garden that needs watering once the temps start to drop. I let the kids run through the sprinklers during the garden time. Or we may head back to the pool. We end up having different family theme nights, too. Family Home Evening on Mondays. Family Game Night. Family Movie Night. Midweek Church Activities.

With everything that has to be done this summer, it's a wonder the kids are going to have any time to get on to tech at all!

I'd love to hear your great ideas for de-teching this summer. Leave a comment and I'll be updating this list with your great ideas.


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The Blog Workshop was awesome!

This past weekend, I attended my very first blogging conference. I can't even begin to tell you how glad I am it was an online conference! I can't imagine trying to get around a hotel or conference center on crutches.

Aside from the physical issues I had that would have made an in person conference challenging, there are some huge benefits for attending an online conference.

The first one, I have to say is the savings. At $175, The Blog Workshop was less than you'd pay for hotel alone at a big conference.

Secondly, the time. No time away from family or work. With the sessions held in the evenings, I was all to get my To Do list done and attend without impacting the family.

Third, you happen to miss a session or information, its recorded so you can go back to it.

I always love the tweets from blogging conferences. Simple, 140 characters that get right to the heart of whatever session is being discussed. This conference was no different, and it was fun to be one of the ones actually tweeting!

Here are my takeaways from the conference:

Be true to your own voice. Don't try to be other bloggers. The best bloggers (and writers) are the ones that are consistent and recognizable.

Be yourself! There is a reason that your readers follow you. I want my readers to come back because they like what I have to say.

As a person who was trained as a print journalist, it's hard for me to get in to the friendly and casual blogging style of writing. I just need to embrace that my writing is probably going to sound more newsy than other blogs. I tend to write in paragraphs; I use semicolons properly. I just need to go with it.

I am looking forward to going over the sessions on SEO and marketing again. During those sessions my eyes glazed over just like they did when I took my advertising and marketing classes in college. Some things never change.

Caramelized Green Beans

All sorts of goodies are growing in my garden. My tomatoes are coming in very well and I have little peppers, blossoms on my cucumbers and even a few tiny strawberries.

What I'm not growing this year are green beans.

Don't get me wrong, I love green beans...but I'm not very skilled at preparing them any other way besides opening a can. There is a huge texture difference between store can beans and fresh. For years, I wouldn't eat peas because all I'd tasted were the canned variety. Fresh is usually better. Except for green beans.

My mission this summer is to find a delicious green bean recipe using fresh beans.

Tonight's side dish of caramelized green beans got mixed results among the kids. Little Miss loved them and the Boy hated them. That wasn't surprising. The Boy has texture issues and doesn't like most cooked veggies.

They did taste pretty good to me. I mean, you can't really go wrong with a recipe that calls for half a stick of butter and two onions. Butter makes so many things better.

Caramelized Green Beans

1/4 C butter

2 small sweet onions

1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans

3 T soy sauce

3 T brown sugar

salt & pepper to taste

Chop the ends off the green beans. Cut them in to uniform size to help even cooking. While preparing beans, boil a medium sized pot of water. Once beans are cut, place them in the water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter over low heat. Add onions, and continue cooking on low for about 5-6 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce and brown sugar. Add the drained green beans into the skillet and "stir fry" for 4 minutes. Next, pour on the sauce. Continue cooking and stirring the beans for another 3 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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Paint Stick Garden Markers

I'm planting heirloom tomatoes for the first time this year!

A man who sells heirlooms lives just a few blocks away. He had 27 varieties and I really didn't know what to get.

I planted a hybrid tomato plant I picked up from the farmer's market and I think it's doing pretty well so far...

I had to pick tomatoes already because the clusters were so large and weighing the plant down, despite being well supported. Only one of these came home with me from the farmer's market. I'm a bit relieved by that because I can't imagine how many tomatoes I'd have!

With the heirlooms, I wanted an easy way to mark them and keep track of what I planted.

 

A painted paint stir stick, labeled with a sharpie seemed like the perfect solution. Free, fast and plenty of room to label things like when you planted and how long til expected harvest.

 

I'm really looking forward to seeing how these tomatoes taste. 

The rest of the garden is growing well. The hot peppers are already coming in and I saw some flowers on my cucumbers this morning! 

What are you looking forward to harvesting this year?

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Tips for line drying clothes

Last week was a bad week. In addition to everything else going wrong, my dryer broke. And with my ankle not so hot, this was a much bigger problem.

The one thing I wanted for my birthday last year was a clothes line. D did get it for me so while I've been on the mend, the kids have been hanging out the laundry.

I have been loving the smell of the clothes coming in off the line. It smells so fresh and clean.

Today, I told D I wasn't in any hurry to get the dryer fixed. Sometime before September.

There are a few challenges to line drying *everything*

The kids are afraid of stiff undies.

And towels.

And jeans.

Probably reasons many people are afraid to throw caution to the wind along with the clothes.

There are ways around these problems. . .

That's where my dryer without the heating element comes in handy.

Those stiff items will loosen up if you toss them in the dryer on an air only cycle. Another option is adding vinegar to the rinse cycle.

Running them through the dryer with no heat will also remove excess lint and pet hair.

When hanging pants, pretend like you're hanging them on a hanger...make the crease preserving fold then pin the hem or cuff to the line with the waist at the bottom.

You know what else to hang upside down? Your shirts. I know...it seems like you should hang them from the shoulders, but it's better for the shirts this way.

Use three pins for button up shirts. Overlap the button area and pin that first, then one pin on each side.

Socks can be a problem. Heck, they are a problem when I have a working dryer. With the clothes line, you can kill two birds with one stone: Match the socks and hang them together with a single clothes pin.

One great benefit I've discovered has to do with folding. I have a table next to my line I use for folding. As soon as the clothes are off, I fold them. I have to touch the clothes one at a time; it's not optional. It's so easy with the dryer to just pull everything out in a heap and fold later.

So far I'm really loving the clothes on the line. It's warm enough here in the summer, I should be able to dry up to three loads a day!



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Vintage Frame Wreath...from Restoration Redoux!

 Hey, gang...I'm still recovering from a very crazy time right. I'm really hoping everything will be wrapped up and back to normal(ish) in the next few days. Lots happening in the family and right now, family needs to come first. Thank goodness for blogging friends to help me out!

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Hi everyone! I'm Shanna from Restoration Redoux. The lovely Micki has graciously invited me over to visit today! I met Micki through Hometalk/Blogtalk, and we are now part of a tribe. For those of you who don't know what a tribe is, it's a group of bloggers that support, encourage, and challenge each other to meet our individual blogging goals. We have an amazing collection of ladies in our group, so when Micki needed some time to recuperate, I jumped at the chance to meet all of you! I blog about furniture makeovers, recipes, crafts, home decor and the crazy stories that come with being a mom to three dogs, a cat and a fifteen year old daughter.

 Speaking of being a mom, I thought I would share with you the gift I gave my mom for Mother's Day. There are only so many things you can give your mom over the years, so I was looking for something new. My mom loves having lots of photos in the house, and the only thing she said she wanted for Mother's Day was something she could put on her front door. I decided to combine the two. First I started out with a 14-inch foam wreath that I bought at Michaels.

Also from Michaels, I purchased these little vintage looking picture frames (I got them in the isle where you would get goodies for kids' birthday parties -- and they're plastic, not metal, so they're lighter than they look). They were two dollars a piece. I took my hubby and daughter with me, and we all used the 40% off coupons which helped a bit.

I took the picture frames and spray painted them silver.

Next I bought 1/2 a yard of black velvet at Hancock Fabrics. I took the fabric and cut it in half, leaving two long strips.

I took my hot glue gun and glued the end of one of the strips to the back of the wreath, and then I started wrapping it around the whole wreath. One strip will do a little more than half of the wreath. Once I got the whole thing covered, I made sure I ended with the tail on the back and glued that down as well. Next, I laid-out the pictures where I wanted them on the wreath. Under each frame, I put three or four metal thumbtacks -- I put the tacks there because I was concerned about the weight of the frames pulling on the fabric.

I then removed the stands off the frames so that the frame would lay more flat on the wreath (no technique used here ... I just pulled them off).

One of the trickiest parts of this project is getting the pictures centered. After selecting the picture I wanted to use in each frame, I had to scan it, resize it to fit, and print it in order to have it the right size for the right frame. Once I inserted the photos I wanted into the frames, I hot glued them to the wreath -- make sure to use plenty of glue.

Last I took silver metallic ribbon and on the back of the wreath I made a loop, fastened it with thumbtacks and cut off the ends. This is what you hang the wreath from.

This is super easy to do and is a great gift for any occasion. Micki thank you so much for having me over, and hopefully you will be feeling better soon! I would love for you guys to stop by Restoration Redoux!
 

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Historic Homes in my neighborhood

DH is beginning to suspect I'm taking my sweet time getting up on my feet. Usually I'm running circles doing things I'm not within a day or so after the doctor tells me to stay down. This time, I'm not. I can stand for short periods of time, but if I start to put weight on the ankle, it feels like needles and pain shooting up my leg. So, yeah, I'm not doing much right now.

I'm really hoping to be back to normal middle of next week. . .

Tonight, we're having a teenaged girl sleepover. The boys are supposed to be camping. It's also supposed to rain and one of the boys is sick.

Other bad news this week? The heating element went out in my dryer. Oh and our renters skipped town.

Did I mention we're finally closing Monday on this house we've lived in and loved and fixed up for the past two years? It's also my 19th wedding anniversary!

I feel like I'm on some type of emotional roller coaster. I'm ready to get off...or at least get on that part of the track that is flat.

What I have for you today, are a few of the awesome houses in my neighborhood. I love old homes. I love being able to fix things. I love uncovering the hidden surprises of repairs. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an archaeologist. I guess living in and restoring an old home is helping me live that childhood dream.

This 1914 craftsman has so much character on the inside. Beautiful fireplaces. It used to have built-ins, but those are now over at my house and one of them is responsible for my ankle injury.  The picture doesn't do the English-style garden justice. There are all sorts of healing herbs and pretty blooming flowers. She also invites anyone in the neighborhood to pick her rosemary.

Built around 1916, this house is currently for sale! I haven't been inside, but I imagine it's very much like the other craftsmans in the neighborhood.

Our neighborhood was founded as a town in 1908 and later incorporated in to the city. We had beautiful tree-lined streets until a hurricane in the '80s took down most of the oak trees.

These craftsmans are the smaller houses. Ours is a four square or "prairie box" style and is one of the larger homes.

As with many urban neighborhoods, we are seeing a revival of sorts. We have homes that are being lovingly restored and preserved and others that are in rough shape. A wonderful civic association is doing everything it can. Heck, it was even recognized by This Old House.

We still have a lot to do. Take this amazing house, for example:

What? You can't see the 4000+ square foot house? 

We've lived here for nearly two years before we even knew there was a house there!

This is what the house originally looked like. And hopefully, what it will look like again very soon.

A group in our neighborhood has purchased the house and launched a campaign to save the historic home. If you click on the link you can see more pictures of exactly what needs to happen to save the house. Or you can follow the blog as progress continues. While our own money is tied up in restoring our own home, you can bet we will be donating our time to save this house!



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