Sarah’s Rap: Spring is almost upon us and it’s that time of year when I start thinking about prepping my vegetable garden. We’re still having some chilly temps and even had snow last Monday, so it’s too early to put much out in the garden yet, partly because I despise gardening in the cold and partly because another freeze could negate any hard-earned work I do outside. I prefer to start seeds indoors at this time of year. Ideally, I should have started this a couple weeks ago, but I tend to follow a laissez-faire style of gardening where I am not super strict due to a busy schedule and my unwillingness to let gardening “must do’s” add to my stress. As soon as gardening responsibilities start adding stress, that’s when I take a deep breath and give myself a break. I like to plant things when I can and just to see how they do. Occasionally, I read gardening tips and implement them when I can, but I have learned over the years that I do better with an ” wing-it” approach. This allows me to fit in gardening a little bit at a time, have fun with it and still have a nice bounty throughout the year.
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Category Archives: Family
Family Craft: Fall Table Topics
Sarah’s Rap: I used to be so crafty. No, not the cunning and deceitful variety, but the soap-
making, sewing, homemade-paper and make-cool-stuff-from-scratch kind. This was, of course, before the kids arrived and my free time plummeted at the same pace as my energy. My youngest son though loves art and with several recent craft projects he’s designed and executed without help from anyone, he has inspired me to dig deep and dust off my craft-loving side. The holidays also help to motivate me as this was always the time of year that I’d start making homemade ornaments, prepare for lots of creative cookie making and make gifts for friends and family. I’m not sure I’m quite that ambitious this year, but I am very excited about this fall craft that will be perfect for Thanksgiving.
Guest Rap: “Good Enough is Good Enough” by Kellie Brunner
For years, I was an avid scrapbooker. My daughter’s life was dutifully (and decoratively) recorded in one full scrapbook after another. This was back before digital scrapbooks like Shutterfly. This was hands-on, cutting pictures in a variety of shapes, cutting papers in another variety of shapes, stickers, the works. And for many years, this worked for me. Until it didn’t.
The Working Parent’s Exercise Conundrum
Sarah’s Rap: As a working mom, I find it difficult to fit in two things on weekdays: exercise and fun time with my two boys. I leave for the office around 7 am and I return just in time to prepare the evening meal or if I’m lucky, sit down to eat what my husband has cooked. Sometimes I have doctor’s appointments or other errands after work which pushes everything even later. Our post-dinner routine typically includes clean-up, showers, reading and the kids entertaining themselves while I make lunchboxes or prep food for the next day. By the time they are in bed, I feel like all I’ve done is work. My body is antsy and craving exercise, but I talk myself out of it: it’s too dark now; I’m too tired; I don’t want to exercise so close to bedtime; I gotta work on my book/blog to do; yada yada… Inevitably, this means that my weekdays are a blur of work at the office, work at home, work on my computer, a little reading and a bedtime crash. Then I wake up and do it all again. Any exercise and fun kid time I get is on the weekend. Sound familiar? If so, let’s make a pact together to change this pattern! Continue reading