Wednesday, December 16, 2015
My PMB Post: Christmas Cookies!
I did a little blogging over at Portland Moms Blog today. Head over there to check out my handy mom's guide to Christmas Cookies, which includes links to all my go-to recipes for this time of year. It doesn't matter if you are an experienced baker or don't even own an oven, I've got you covered! (And while you're there, check out some of the posts from other Portland-area moms!)
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Eight Great Traits of Living in a Small House
I live in a small home. While that's a pretty subjective statement, I can't help but see the large houses in the subdivisions all around me. They're pretty big. In the (relatively) modest subdivision next door, the houses are between 50-100% larger than our house. And if I were living alone, my house would be plenty spacious, but thankfully I'm surrounded by my family, which means there are five of us living under this dainty roof.
I could complain about my small house. But I won't. Because at the end of the day, I have a house. It's dry and warm, clean and safe. I'm happy that I live here. And I've realized some pretty cool advantages of living in smaller digs.
1. I can vacuum my entire house without unplugging the vacuum cleaner. It also doesn't take that long to vacuum (or dust, or clean the walls, or...). Plus, I don't have to deal with stairs.
2. Because I can't fit very much furniture in my house, it's much more inexpensive to furnish. No formal living room set. (Does anyone even host gatherings here instead of the actual living room?) No chaise lounge in the bedroom. (Do they ever get lounged upon?) No china hutch. (It'd get broken anyway.)
3. For better or for worse, we can't escape each other very easily. There are definitely times where one (or all of us) has completely burned through their patience for people. But guess what, sweeties. You gotta learn how to get through those homicidal tendencies. It's a life skill, kids.
4. Baby monitor? Who needs one when you can hear when the baby wakes up clear on the other side of the house!
5. If my kids' bedroom is only 10 feet by 10 feet, there's only 100 square feet of space they're going to have to clean up at the end of the day. If my three kids each had their own bedroom at a more modern 13' x 13', that'd be 507 square feet of space to tidy up, a five-fold increase. Plus, my kids can't hoard toys with which to spread about the house. After every Christmas we must go through to weed out all the toys that never get played with so that they'll have places to put their new ones.
6. I am more aware of what is going on with my kids throughout my home, since I can often see and usually hear what they are doing. Annoying? Yeah, it can be. But it also gives me opportunities to correct when misbehavior is happening that I wouldn't get if I was far, far away in a big house.
7. Home maintenance and utilities are cheaper. Does the carpet need to be replaced? It's cheaper to replace 800 square feet than 1800, potentially by thousands of dollars. Heating is also cheaper. Typically property taxes are cheaper as well (especially in older homes that have locked property tax increases). Really, pretty much everything is cheaper.
8. Forced simplification. If I had a walk-in closet, you bet I'd fill it up with things that I "need". Well, I don't have a walk-in closet. Anything unnecessary goes to a new home (if it even makes it through the door to begin with). I don't feel like I'm drowning in stuff. (Up to my neck in it at times, yes. But never drowning.)
I could complain about my small house. But I won't. Because at the end of the day, I have a house. It's dry and warm, clean and safe. I'm happy that I live here. And I've realized some pretty cool advantages of living in smaller digs.
1. I can vacuum my entire house without unplugging the vacuum cleaner. It also doesn't take that long to vacuum (or dust, or clean the walls, or...). Plus, I don't have to deal with stairs.
2. Because I can't fit very much furniture in my house, it's much more inexpensive to furnish. No formal living room set. (Does anyone even host gatherings here instead of the actual living room?) No chaise lounge in the bedroom. (Do they ever get lounged upon?) No china hutch. (It'd get broken anyway.)
3. For better or for worse, we can't escape each other very easily. There are definitely times where one (or all of us) has completely burned through their patience for people. But guess what, sweeties. You gotta learn how to get through those homicidal tendencies. It's a life skill, kids.
4. Baby monitor? Who needs one when you can hear when the baby wakes up clear on the other side of the house!
5. If my kids' bedroom is only 10 feet by 10 feet, there's only 100 square feet of space they're going to have to clean up at the end of the day. If my three kids each had their own bedroom at a more modern 13' x 13', that'd be 507 square feet of space to tidy up, a five-fold increase. Plus, my kids can't hoard toys with which to spread about the house. After every Christmas we must go through to weed out all the toys that never get played with so that they'll have places to put their new ones.
6. I am more aware of what is going on with my kids throughout my home, since I can often see and usually hear what they are doing. Annoying? Yeah, it can be. But it also gives me opportunities to correct when misbehavior is happening that I wouldn't get if I was far, far away in a big house.
7. Home maintenance and utilities are cheaper. Does the carpet need to be replaced? It's cheaper to replace 800 square feet than 1800, potentially by thousands of dollars. Heating is also cheaper. Typically property taxes are cheaper as well (especially in older homes that have locked property tax increases). Really, pretty much everything is cheaper.
8. Forced simplification. If I had a walk-in closet, you bet I'd fill it up with things that I "need". Well, I don't have a walk-in closet. Anything unnecessary goes to a new home (if it even makes it through the door to begin with). I don't feel like I'm drowning in stuff. (Up to my neck in it at times, yes. But never drowning.)
In the end, I really do love my little house. It's so cozy. What do you like about your house?
Monday, December 14, 2015
Puddle Jumping, and This Week's Menu
December in Oregon is has nothing to do with the weather itself but rather the attitude of the person in it. Case in point: We've been getting amazing amounts of precipitation this month--magnitudes that I have never seen since we moved here almost ten years ago. There is a lot of lowland flooding, and the Tualatin River is astonishingly high.
Naturally, the rain is cold and wet, which makes certain people pretty miserable. And I admit, flooding makes people miserable. And achy joints makes people miserable. I get it.
But sometimes you've got to turn the drawback into a strength. Rain makes puddles. When was the last time you did some unabashed puddle-jumping? The Husband and I took advantage of some kid-free time last weekend and ventured out into Tryon Creek State Park. We hiked a short-ish loop and I got to field test my birthday present: a pair of (snow?) boots that are great for marching through puddles without caring about my feet turning cold and wet.
We stomped in puddles like a pair of hyper kids. We hid in tree stumps.
We had fun.
Monday, Monday, back to the grind. I've got a week's worth of dinners planned out, and here they are:
This Week's Menu
Monday: Gyoza and stir-fried veggies with yakisoba noodles
Tuesday: Cajun Chicken Pasta and salad
Wednesday: Beef Roast with veggies and potatoes
Thursday: Indian Spiced Chicken Stew
Friday: Egg Salad Sandwiches
Saturday: The Husband's company Christmas Party!
Have fun out there in the wild weather!
Sunday, December 13, 2015
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