Life Skills Checklist

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What do I hope to teach my boys before they leave the house?

My babies are growing quickly before my eyes. As an OT, I have always encouraged and fostered their independence. That is easy when they are young; they are always around and it is innate for them to want to try things that you are doing. I can tell that as they grow and we are not together as often and we are focusing on school, sports, activities, friendships, travel, etc., I will need to make a conscious effort to teach them these life skills. Some are serious and some are just things I wish I learned sooner!

These are specific life skills I hope to teach them. They are not the broad aspects that I hope for them, such as: being a good person, being kind, finding their own way in the world, being happy, asking for consent etc etc etc.

Would love to hear if you have any to add!!

Life skills checklist:

  • How to cut a pineapple

  • How to cut an avocado

  • How to cut an onion

  • How to cut a whole chicken

  • How to roast a chicken

  • How to cook eggs (scrambled, over easy, frittata)

  • How to sort, wash, fold laundry

  • How to change a tire

  • How to check the oil

  • How to start a fire

  • How to write a good thank you note

  • How to write a professional email

  • How to write a check

  • How to balance a budget

  • How to pump gas

  • How to start a lawn mower / snow blower and perform those tasks

  • How to properly set the table

  • Register to vote

  • How to jumpstart a car

  • How to unclog a toilet

  • How to use a fire extinguisher

  • How to change windshield wiper fluid

  • Proper etiquette rules when dining

  • Basic First Aid / CPR skills

  • How to set up a tent

  • Knowledge of female anatomy / cycles

  • How to use a drill

Favorite Gifts from 2020 Christmas

I promised my instagram peeps a holiday gift guide and I never delivered!!! I figure we are all overloaded on toys for now, but thought I would share while I have time and they are fresh in my head for you to reference later. In no particular order, my boys’ favorite Christmas gifts from this year follow.

Memberships / Subscriptions

Woodworking Kit— for my almost 7 year old. He’s done one already and really enjoyed it!

Cooking Kit — this was for the almost 4 year old twins. My stepmom added on a sibling pack, so they got 2 aprons and get 2 patches every month and 2 of the special cooking equipment every month which is great! They have already made 2 meals and they were DELICIOUS. As you can imagine, they did need a not of guidance from me since they are so young and these are actual meals, but with help they really enjoyed it.

Kiwi Crate — this was not actually a Christmas gift; my oldest got it for his birthday but thought I would share it here. He really enjoys getting this and now that he can read, he can do them all on his own!!

Games

Bugs in the Kitchen — My SIL found this game and it is SO FUN! The kids and adults all enjoyed it and fought over who could play next.

Cadoo — We are a big game family and Cranium is my FAVORITE! This is the kid’s version! It was really fun, but the kids did need help and to be on a team with an adult.

Zingo — Bingo with pictures and words. 4 year olds love this!

Ticket to Ride — My husband and I love the adult version, and my almost 7 year old loves this. I was worried it would be too complicated, but he caught right on!

Toys / ETC

Fun pattern blocks — all 3 of my kids love this so far! Great “center” activity for school and for visual processing skills (I can re-use for work!)

Fire Station — This was one of their big joint gifts. They are obsessed with all things Fireman Sam and this has been played with nonstop. It comes with 1 helicopter and 1 firetruck, but they got 2 more of the individual fire trucks and I’m so glad. They can all play together without fighting. It is a bit pricey, but I got it on sale.

Camera — They each have their own camera now and play with it nonstop!

LEGOS — They are obsessed with Legos. This burger fire one and this underwater one were their favorites though!

Projector — This was their other big group gift. My husband was mad when I bought it, but when he played around with it it fell in love! We have already had movie night in their room on the ceiling and can’t wait to have outdoor movie nights this summer!

Piggy bank — Everyone got a piggy bank for Christmas and they have been asking to do jobs around the house for money ever since!

Luggage Tags — My MIL gave the boys matching suitcases awhile ago that they love, but they always fought over which one was theirs. Now they have luggage tags to keep them apart. I was surprised that these were such a big hit.

Paint sticks — Love, love, love these! Kids love them because it feels like they are painting with a glue stick (which kids are obsessed with). I love them because they are not messy and the colors are so vibrant.

Books

Art Activity Book — My almost 7 yo loves this!

They received a lot of books and chapter books. We have been really into chapter books that I will hopefully post about soon. They are great for bedtime because they are long and no one fights over looking at the pictures. I sit in the hallway and everyone is in their beds. I will share just a couple of our favorites here that we have read and loved, not necessarily ones we got at Christmas because we haven’t read those yet.

Zoey and Sassafrass — A sweet series of books about a little girl helping animals.

Little House Series — We are about halfway through this series and I can’t believe how much the kids are enjoying it! I never read/ watched as a kid and am learning a lot myself!

My Fathers Dragon — A sweet, fun adventure.

Charlottes Web — A classic that we all enjoyed.

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3rd Floor Refresh

One of our many “shelter in place” projects was refreshing our 3rd floor. We have a very old home that got a lot of updates in the 60s or 70s, including the finishing of our 3rd floor. It’s such a great space for us — it has two decent-sized bedrooms and a decent-sized closet for much needed storage. One of the rooms we use as a guest room and the other is our office / overflow guest room. When looking at houses, we were very open to almost anything, but my husband works from home so we definitely needed a dedicated work space for him. This was a double bonus for us— since the office is so far from the playroom, he can’t hear the kids (or me) screaming downstairs. Refreshing this space was always very low on our priority list since I don’t go up there much, but I was just itching to paint everything being stuck at home!

1 — FRESH PAINT. We painted all of the walls Benjamin Moore White Dove in eggshell.

2 — DOOR REFRESH. Hollow wood doors got a faux paneling with trim pieces and were painted Benjamin Moore Beach Glass in pearl finish.

3 — COVER UGLY EXPOSED PIPES. My husband built a small wooden frame around them and painted them the same color as the walls.

4 — DECOR. All furniture is secondhand— gifted to us and or/passed down from family with the exception of the desk (not shown) and the wall sconces. I added some plants and fresh bed linens.

BEFORE — This is the view from our second floor hallway.

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AFTER — Same view looking up the same stairs. I added some artwork that the boys made (watercolor rainbow fish with a shiny tinfoil scale). I plan to add more of their art as a gallery wall as they start creating more. My husband built a simple wood frame around the exposed pipes. He said he made a long strip of wood and nailed that to the wall and then made a separate “C” shaped wood structure that he drilled to the top of that. We hope to replace the carpet someday.

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BEFORE — You curve around those stairs and this is the top half of the staircase.

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AFTER — I started sanding down this wood piece. I got bored and stopped, but hope to continue sanding it and white washing it someday.

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This little bookcase is nestled at the top of the stairs. The books looked wild before (no picture) but a quick rainbow organization makes it look fresh! The light on the ceiling has since been painted white around the edges.

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BEFORE — At the top of the stairs to the left is the guest bedroom. I have no idea why this pillow is crooked. This comforter was so old. The bed is vintage from a family friend.

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AFTER — Guest bedroom. She just needed some lights, a plant, and some new linens! This comforter is no longer available. I find that in May or June Target has really inexpensive bedding targeted to college students. Most patterns are odd, but they will usually have a simple one. This was less than $30! I still want to get a ceiling fan for this room (the last of the boob lights in our house!)

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Before — Guest bedroom looking out.

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AFTER — Guest bedroom looking out. The biggest project here was the doors! We kept the same hollow wood doors and bought trim pieces from Lowes to make it look like a paneled door. Paint, inexpensive doorknobs, and done!

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BEFORE — Office. When you come up the stairs to the right, we have the office and an extra bed for guests. I did not photograph the office side since my husband and I are both working from home and its a mess!

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wall light (pack of 2)

AFTER — Office. No pictures! Still a mess from Christmas gift wrapping central and work disaster. But this room got the same treatment, wall paint and door trim and paint. The bed setup and chair are basically the same in here but with cute, fluffier pillows :)

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2020 Reflection

I’m not one to spend much time reflecting at the end of the year or set goals and intentions for a new year. However, I have been spending a lot of time reflecting upon 2020 as it comes to a close. For some reason, I feel the need to write down these thoughts for this historic year, probably to help sort through the weeds and emotions. 2020 has a lot to unpack.

The year mostly started out like any other year. I finally felt like we were in a groove again after several years of being unsettled (we struggled with infertility, having twins and a toddler, moving to another state with no home, moving again into our home, still having twins and a toddler…). We finally got into a good a good routine; the twins were getting old enough (and potty trained enough!) where I could bring them on my own to places. I was in a good spot with the kids, work, friends, therapy, and going to the gym.

My mother in law was watching the kids one day in March while I was working and she mentioned something about the fact that I should buy some water to have “just in case” for this new virus in China. I brushed it off and thought she was crazy. Not long after, I had a panic attack at the grocery store as I was stocking up on food. My husband’s job quickly told him to work from home, and mine shut down completely. The boys’ schools got cancelled. I didn’t bother doing much with school, because we deserved a break and the shut down was “just a week or so.” My anxiety was at an all time high — I finally called my doctor and asked for medication. I have always been anxious but it became unbearable. Our state got hit hard and fast and getting groceries and food took up 90% of my mental capacity. I tried doing “school” some days, but we watched a lot of TV most days. We set up obstacle courses and went for walks looking for signs of spring. We planned a garden and a tree house and new outdoor furniture. My oldest learned to ride his bike with pedals and my youngest ones learned to ride their scooters.

The days were so long but somehow it became summer quickly. It turned into the best summer of our lives. The boys’ bond was always strong but grew an incredible amount. They were riding and scooting and playing in their treehouse. We were able to take slow mornings and afternoons. Garden. Walk. Play uninterrupted. Hike. Paint. Read. Eat outside. Discover new places we’ve never been to in our own backyard.

Then fall came just as quickly as summer had. I normally love fall but was so anxious about being stuck inside again. We made the tough decision to homeschool my now 1st grader (!!!) and preK 3 twins. My husband had still been working from home and I had been working very part time virtually. We were so lucky that my inlaws are able to stay at home too, so we’ve created a little pod with them and have some help with childcare so we can work.

We are now ending this year. There is a new president-elect with a female VP. There are 2 new vaccines. My immediate family has remained healthy and safe this year, and, dare I say happy?

When everything external is taken away from you, it’s easy to see what really matters and how most of what we need we have right here at home. If I’ve learned anything: FAMILY MATTERS and HOME MATTERS. This year has been a nice exercise in evaluating how we want to spend our time. What did we actually miss when everything was taken away? What parts worked well for us?

I was able to be the person and mother I’ve always wanted to be— the life I imagined before having kids. The one that has time to make fresh bread. Read books for pleasure. Cuddle with my kids in the middle of the day. Cook without rushing. Garden. Take long, slow, kid-directed walks. I think it’s hard to admit this year has been good to us when there are so many people that this year has been plain awful to.

I am not trying to discard the ugly parts of this year. The world was on fire. So, so, so many people got sick and died. People lost jobs and businesses. The education gap widened. Children went hungry. Families fell apart.

My anxiety was close to debilitating in the beginning. My wonderful, kind, funny aunt survived 2 strokes. We missed hugs, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and everyday moments with some of the people we love the most, even though they are only 20 minutes away. Being a teacher and mom to your own kids is weird. My boys miss their friends. I miss my friends. I miss fancy dinners with my husband and movies with my bestie. I miss book club. I miss traveling with my kids.

Still, I feel lucky. So, so, so extremely lucky. Some days my kids drive me wild, but I truly enjoy this extra time with them. I did not feel this way in March, but I now know that it was such a beautiful GIFT. There is nothing like time when you look at a child’s life. I think adults think of this year as a pause from real life, but our kids show us that there is no pausing life. Life goes on. My oldest came home from kindergarten “for a few weeks” and will not return to his school until SECOND GRADE (fingers crossed!!).

I don’t dare try to set an intention or goal for 2021. I am going into the new year with an open heart and an open mind. I do hope we can hug our loved ones soon and never, ever take that for granted again.

2020 Advent Calendar

I am starting to work on our 2020 advent calendar and I thought I’d share what’s in it this year! We are doing the mantle advent calendar again this year since it was such a big hit last year! The boys loved it and I had so much fun putting it together.

I try to switch up the size boxes so they truly are surprised when they open it. It was so sweet watching them get so excited each morning and trying to guess what was in that day’s box or envelope. Every box has 3 of each thing (one for each kiddo) with the exception of the experiences which are in a fancy “scroll” (just a piece of paper rolled and tied with a ribbon haha!)

My holiday philosophy is to spend the majority of my time, energy, and budget making the season special with this advent calendar, different holiday activities (not many this year thanks to Covid), and the Christmas Eve box (I hope to share that with you soon!).

Here’s what I’m planning on so far!

  • Make paper snowflakes

  • Chocolates (coins, santas, mini PB cups)

  • Legos from a Lego advent calendar I bought years ago! (I just take out some each year so it’s really a good investment).

  • Decorate wooden ornaments for gifts

  • Stay up late and watch The Polar Express

  • Decorate gingerbread houses (and mom will make gingerbread bundts!!!!)

  • Small box of colored pencils

  • Dress up and watch the Nutcracker (on TV) and have a fancy dinner at home

  • Paint wooden nutcrackers

  • These sweet activity books: here, here, and here

  • Walk around at night and look at the holiday lights

  • Bake cookies

  • Hot chocolate with marshmallows with breakfast

  • Decorate cookies

  • Open Christmas Eve box

Hope you enjoy!

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Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese

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I don’t have a great picture because I wasn’t planning on sharing this, but I tried something new and it was so yummy!

I modified this simple Mac and cheese recipe from Bobby Flay. We did this virtual cooking class and it was so much fun!! Disclaimer: my kids are the only humans on earth that don’t mac and cheese but my husband was raving over it.

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Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese

  • 4 tablespoons butter or ghee

  • 4 tablespoons flour or arrowroot (I used whole wheat flour it was fine)

  • 1 (1 pound box) short pasta

  • 4 cups whole milk (I used Elmhurst unsweetened almond milk) — warmed

  • salt and pepper

  • pinch cayenne pepper

  • pinch freshly grated nutmeg

  • 10 oz grated cheddar cheese

  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese — divided

  • 2-3 huge handfuls fresh spinach — roughly chopped

  • 1 small jar marinated artichokes — drained and roughly chopped

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

  • evoo

  1. Cook pasta al dente according to directions on the box. Drain.

  2. Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a casserole dish.

  3. Meanwhile, melt butter over medium/ low heat. Once melted, add flour and whisk for about 2 minutes.

  4. Add milk to the flour and butter, whisking constantly. Cook, continuing to whisk, until sauce thickened, about 5 minutes.

  5. Remove from heat, add a good amount of salt and pepper, a pinch of cayenne and nutmeg, 3/4 cup of Parmesan, all of the cheddar, the spinach, and the artichokes. Mix well.

  6. Add the cooked pasta and mix well.

  7. Transfer the cheesy pasta into a greased casserole dish, top with panko, garlic powder, parm, and drizzle with evoo.

  8. Bake at 375°F for about 15 minutes until bubbly.

Healthy -ish Chicken Pot Pie

Ahh fall is here! My favorite season! Chicken pot pie is just about the coziest dinner, am I right??

Liz Adams has a wonderful recipe for chicken pot pie on her website, but it calls for cream of chicken and mushroom soup which I never seem to have on hand. I tried making a version without and it’s SO GOOD so I had to share!

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Healthy-ish Chicken Pot Pie

  • 1.5 lbs chicken breast — cooked and diced (I roast mine in the oven at 350°F but you could also use a rotisserie!)

  • 1 white onion — diced

  • 4 carrots — diced

  • 4 stalks celery — diced

  • 1/4 cup mushrooms — diced (optional)

  • 1 cup frozen peas

  • 2 tbs butter or ghee

  • 2 tbs arrowroot

  • 2/3 cup milk (I used almond milk)

  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme

  • salt and pepper

  • 1 frozen but thawed pie crust at room temperature (see note)

Note: I’m providing directions for putting the small shapes of pie crust on top. You can omit the pie crust or put it on over the whole thing like traditional chicken pot pie. In that case, just put it on top and follow the crust directions on the package.

Here are my leaf cookie cutters

  1. Cook chicken if you haven’t already and put into a large bowl.

  2. If using cookie cutter pie crust: preheat oven to 400°F and cut out shapes using a cookie cutter. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, watching carefully so they don’t burn. Set aside.

  3. Preheat oven to 375°F.

  4. Sauté onions over medium heat with extra virgin olive oil approx 5 minutes.

  5. Add the carrots, celery, and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft. Remove the veggies once cooked and add to the bowl with the chicken.

  6. Add the peas and thyme to the vegetables and chicken season with salt and pepper.

  7. In the same pan over low heat, melt the butter and whisk in the arrowroot.

  8. Still whisking, slowly add the milk and chicken stock. Simmer while still whisking until sauce has thickened.

  9. Mix the chicken and vegetables with the sauce and pour into a casserole dish.

  10. If everything is still warm, it should take just about 20 minutes to get bubbly at 375°F. Increase the time if things cooled down a bit.

  11. Carefully add the pie crust pieces, pressing down very gently, and return to the oven for another 10 minutes or so.

    Enjoy!!

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Homeschool Prep

We’ve officially decided to keep our kids home from physical school this year. We have a 1st grader and two 3 year olds — they start kindergarten in 2022 so they have two years of preschool — more on that later. I hope this goes without saying, but I need to mention it anyway. This was a difficult decision for us and there is no judgment whatsoever what you choose for your children. There are 0 good options — we are all trying to do the best we can without much information and with completely different life circumstances.

Another disclaimer— I don’t think any of this is really necessary. When I am anxious, I feel better planning and organizing and preparing, but I think you’d be fine doing zero things to prepare as well! Kids really don’t need much to learn.


For now, we’ve decided to utilize the school district’s virtual learning option and plan to evaluate as we go along if that makes the most sense. If it consists of a lot of screen time, I will probably pull out my 6 year old and attempt to find an actual homeschool program. Ideally, his school district will provide a good mix of computer time, paper time, and creative time through the virtual learning.

I feel like I need to shout this from the rooftops: 3 year olds don’t need to be homeschooled! 3 year olds need: play, play, play & books, books, books!!! I know my kids and I know they will want to do something similar to big brother, so I am buying them similar things. But, aside from maybe 5 minutes a day of cutting or learning letters, they will not be homeschooled. I sent them to preschool for my sanity, not for “academics.”

I have been sharing some of this on Instagram, but I wanted to have a place for it here too. It’s where we are in the process now; I will plan on posting again when everything is complete (which may take awhile!).

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Update— here is the completed table! We ended up cutting it again. It’s now 5.5’x3’ and is perfect for the boys. The top is so heavy and the base was wobbling so my husband had to add some bracing pieces.

On my immediate to-do list/what I’ve already done:

*Make a rekenrek — When my then kindergartener started virtual learning last year, I learned that they use something called a rekenrek for math. I had never heard of it, and am definitely not a math person myself, so if you want to read more about it, head HERE. From what I understand, they want kids to be able to visualize (“unitize”) numbers under 10. So 6 is 5 and 1 — not 1 six times. I’m sure there’s a thousand other things they do with it, but that’s what I know for now! They build upon these skills each year and now I know my youngest ones will use it in kindergarten, so I wanted to incorporate one into our homeschool room. I already have an IKEA abacus so I plan on spray painting the beads on the left red and the right white. It looks like they sell rekenreks on amazon already made. We also made a 10 frame one last year with beads on a pipe cleaner, so that’s an option too!

*Modify our current letter puzzles— I LOVE these letter puzzles (both uppercase and lowercase). They can be hard for little ones to orient which way they go when dumped out, so to increase their independence, I’m going to sharpie the back side so they can flip them to the colorful side. You can also put a dot or star on the top or bottom if they need more help with orientation. The puzzles are great for hide and seek, matching, several games, etc.

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*Build a table — I was heavily inspired by homegrown traditions homemade desks. Currently we have a round, plastic table and stools from ikea. I wanted something taller and sturdier with more working space for all 3 boys at once. Homegrown traditions made smaller desks, but I loved her idea of using MDF board for the top and inexpensive furring strips for the square legs. I got a large (8’x4’) mdf board (it was about $30 at both home depot and lowes) and had it cut. I ordered it for curbside pickup and called the lumber department and asked VERY nicely for them to cut it to length for me. We decided on 4x5.5’. Ideally, I would have liked it cut down a bit for the width, but my husband said they like to only cut the board once and since they were already doing me a favor cutting for curbside, I didn’t have the heart to ask for more. So the table will be huge! For the legs, I ordered 7 furring strips and did the same thing with those, calling the lumber department very nicely to pick some straight and nice boards. Furring strips (less than $2 for a 2”x2”x8”) are known to be crooked and warped. They did a great job and we got some good pieces! Stay tuned for the final product, but we plan on priming the mdf with oil-based primer and painting it white outside. My husband will make the legs outside and we will stain them a natural color and he will have to assemble the table inside since it’s so big.

*Buy appropriate stools— As an OT, I really wanted something sturdier and more ergonomic than our IKEA stools (which were fine for short periods of time). I did a lot of research and decided on THESE. The have a slight degree of “wobble” and will encourage appropriate posture. I got 3 of the 15” ones in the seafoam color. The 12” would have been more appropriate for the 3 year olds (you should measure from the back of their heel to the back of their knee when seated to determine the correct height), but I couldn’t find any in stock. I may have to get creative if their feet don’t touch the ground (maybe putting blocks under their feet? Will keep you updated). They are a bit pricey, but I am justifying a lot of these purchases based on the money we will save from not paying preschool tuition this year.

*Pencil boxes — Totally not necessary, especially for the 3 year olds, but I wanted them to each have their own box with a set of crayons, chalk, pencil, and eraser to cut down on the fighting. I got a simple box for 98 cents and put in a box of 24 crayons, an eraser, a glue stick, a pair of spring loaded scissors, and one of my favorite thick, triangular pencils.

*Print name plates — Just something fun to feel more like school! I found ones I liked on Pinterest that were free and wrote their names (make sure to do uppercase first letter and lowercase the rest!!), and of course i had to use my trusty laminator. I used THIS for the 3 year olds and THIS for the 1st grader.

*Get a real pencil sharpener — A must. It’s already gotten so much use!!

*Buy tabletop easels — Another fun and not necessary thing, but something my kids are really looking forward to! I got 3 so they can each have their own. These have an adjustable incline, come with uppercase alphabet and 0-9 magnets, chalk, paper roll, dry erase marker, and eraser. The dry erase side is magnetic and the chalkboard side is not.

*Get alphabet and number posters — I was losing my mind going down a rabbit hole trying to find cute posters that I didn’t have to print myself. Etsy had a ton of adorable options, but I didn’t want to have to deal with printing them during a pandemic. I ended up randomly finding THIS pack of 6 for $10!! I will find another use for the other posters or give them away. I got a bunch of fine motor craft kits to get free shipping.

That’s it for now! Will keep you updated!

XO

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Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

I loooove tomatillo season! So excited when they showed up at our CSA this week 😍. Most tomatillo salsas are roasted, but I LOVE this fresh version. ⁣ ⁣

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FRESH TOMATILLO SALSA

2 cups tomatillos — husked, rinsed, and roughly chopped

2 large garlic cloves ⁣

1-2 jalapeños — seeded and roughly chopped (still pretty mild if you get all of the seeds and white part out)

⁣2 limes — juiced⁣

1 tsp salt⁣

3ish springs of cilantro (optional)⁣

1/2 small white onion

1 tbs sugar (optional— see note)⁣

⁣ Purée the first 6 ingredients (everything except cilantro and onion) in food processor until smooth. ⁣ ⁣ Add onion and cilantro and pulse to desired consistency. Add more salt to taste. ⁣ ⁣

NOTE— sometimes tomatillos can be bitter if they are not ripe enough. If your salsa tastes bitter, add a bit of sugar. ⁣ ⁣

We enjoyed it with steak fajita bowls tonight and will finish the rest with chips 🤤🤤

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Treehouse!!!!!!!

Our kids are now 6, 3, and 3 and the small toddler playset wasn’t cutting it for them any longer. I’ve been wanting my husband to make a treehouse for the boys for some time now. When Covid shut the world down, we knew it was time to make one since we knew we wouldn’t be able to go to playgrounds (or anywhere) for a while. I drew a quick sketch of what I wanted and gave it to my husband to take over from there. I have to say, he is becoming pretty handy! He did this all by himself with zero help and without stepping into a store! I’ll share my pretty photos first with product links and let him share his process after that.

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This is the space before! The treehouse is where all of those plastic toys are in this picture. And these wooden chairs also got a makeover this spring! See if you can spot them in this post — I painted them matte black and they now live in the back right corner of the yard (eventually to become a fire pit area).

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My original drawing. We obviously nixed the extension on the left. We already have a swing elsewhere in the yard and didn’t feel it was necessary. We can always add on later if we feel we need to.

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We just happened to have had several trees taken down as my husband was finishing the treehouse. We saved a ton of money by having the tree people “take the trees to the ground.” This means that they don’t take the brush or cut up any longs. Our neighbor is amazing and helped us all day moving brush to the curb and cutting the large logs with his chainsaw into smaller logs. Since the grass doesn’t grow well under the huge tree, we decided to put stumps around it to give it a clearly defined play area. After the stumps were ground, we moved the chipped wood under the tree. Can’t believe how well that worked out! Someone did warn me about having logs around the treehouse as that may attract termites, so if you do something similar, I’d look into that. We will research and add to this post as we learn more.

In this picture the logs are just placed on the ground, but we plan on digging a trench and setting them in the ground a bit more for safety. I also plan on adding some other elements into the circular space (balance beam? stepping stones? hammock?).

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binoculars (similar — ours are no longer available but were 1/2 the price) / chairs (similar)

My husband added a small step for the twins to be able to use the binoculars.

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It would have been very easy to trim these low branches on the tree, but we decided to keep them and work around them to feel more like you are in the tree.

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rope

The boys love ducking under the branches; when they climb up the mountain they have to duck under this big one!

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It cuts right across the tree platform. We decided we can always cut it later, but for now the kids love it.

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I just love kids’ imaginations. They use the spots where the other branches have been cut as buttons and computers.

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sand table (similar)

I do want to add some monkey bars under here at eventually.

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One thing we did not agree on was the slide. I knew this was going to be a problem and tried to get us to order the slide first and build the treehouse from there. Many play slides are made for a 5’ deck. As I researched, I learned that if you are looking at the actual slide length, you want about double the height: a 5’ deck would warrant a 10’ slide, for example. Well, my husband decided to build the treehouse first and buy the slide last. The treehouse is on a pretty major hill. The lowest point from the ground is about 6.5’. We had a very hard time finding a slide that was the right height that did not cost over $800 and was in stock. I checked facebook marketplace daily (which is a great resource; a lot of people were getting rid of their old playsets and slides) but still couldn’t find what we needed. I ended up calling a local playset store and asked if they sold slides separately and they said they did and that they had one with a scuff mark they would sell me for 50% off! SOLD! We picked it up that day in the minivan for about $160 and I can’t even find the scuff mark! It is for a 5’ deck. After attempting to attach it to our 6.5’ deck and having the kids fly off if it (eye roll), he came up with this plan of adding a couple steps. I wasn’t sure about it, but it hasn’t been a problem. He still claims that he doesn’t regret building it shorter. He said he wants the kids to grow into the treehouse and didn’t want anything short.

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swing (similar)

Can you spot the baby deer that live with us now!?

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Hi, deer!

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swing (similar)

The boys are already planning on adding a zip-line connecting the two trees!

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I made sure to save all of the scrap wood to have a set of outdoor blocks. I wasn’t sure if the boys would play with them, but they do!

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rope / u bolt (size #536)

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long pole / elbow / flange / small pole

The fireman pole also gave us some trouble with the height. After scouring the internet without success, I gently nudged my husband to make one out of pipes.

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flag and bracket (purchased through same shop, message seller) / dowel rod

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Product Links:

I’m now turning it over to my husband, Dean! Disclaimer — although he is an engineer, this treehouse was not “engineered.” We are sharing the process how we did this and are not suggesting this is how you should do a treehouse :)

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Most of the screws I used were 2.5” long #8 wood screws with a driver head. I love the driver head and would not have done this project without them! I began by leveling and mounting some smaller pieces of wood along the tree (parallel to the ground). These helped support the larger 2”x8” pieces later on and were removed at the end. The height of the floor will be 16” above the top surface of this piece. The larger horizontal pieces of lumber are 2”x8”x10’ (pressure treated). They are the support for the base/frame. Toward one end of the 2”x8” I mounted a 2”x4” perpendicularly at roughly the height I needed it off the ground. I call this the “wife brace” as this replaced her unsteady hands. I then lifted this structure up utilizing the "wife brace” and placing the other end on the smaller supports in the tree. I loosed 1 of the screws on the “wife brace” and pivoted it out slightly to get the 2x8 level. Then I tacked it in place with some wood screws and followed up with three 5/8” lag screws (pre-drilling and a large wrench were required!!!). Repeat this process on both sides of the tree (two parallel 2x8’s). Remove the “wife braces” when pieces are secure in place.

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I then added additional 2”x8”x12’ pieces on top of these large supports. This is what the floor boards will rest on.

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I used a 2x4 as a straight edge to align the ends of the 2x8’s.

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I overhung a large 2x4 at the ends of the frame to provide a lip. This allowed me to easily set the end pieces in place while I screwed them in.

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At the end not supported by the tree, I added three 4x4 posts to support the frame using 3/8” hex head screws. I dug small holes and added gravel where these posts sit in the ground. I felt the platform was mainly supported by the tree, otherwise more posts would be needed and they would need to be cemented into the ground. On the two ends, I put in angle pieces to prevent wobbling of the frame. This was only necessary in one direction. I also added some 2x4’s vertically to connect to the lower 2x8 pieces for extra stability where possible. More 2x4’s were added horizontally between the larger 2x8’s where to increase rigidity.

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It was important to add these little blocks level with the top edge of the 2x8’s at the posts. These support the floor boards.

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I laid out the whole floor before screwing anything in to make sure the spacing was correct. The floorboards are 2”x6”x10’ pieces and screwed into the framing. The platform is 10’ x 12’ so we did not have to cut most of these pieces. Where we did need to cut around the tree and posts, a jigsaw was very helpful.

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We must have stopped taking pictures at this point (newbie bloggers!!) so a super quick rundown of the rest:

The ladder rungs are two deck rails cut to size and screwed in. Deck rails are also used for the railings around the platform. For the rock wall, I angled two 2x4s between the posts vertically at roughly a 30 degree angle. Because this is on a hill, I used one piece that was 10’ and one that was 12’ long. These were screwed to the 4x4 posts. I then cut a bunch of 2x6s down to about 4’ matching the lengths. These were laid on the angled supports and screwed in. The rock hold were screwed into these.

Would be happy to answer any questions you may have!

XO, K&D

*This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking a link, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I appreciate your support!*

Stamped Copper Garden Markers

We started a garden! Originally, we were going to spend this summer working on the tree house (coming to the blog soon!!!) and focus on planning the garden to plant next spring. But, since we found ourselves stuck at home thanks to Covid-19, I couldn’t help myself but to start saving seeds from veggies and planting them by the windowsill. Everything started growing really well, and I just knew I wanted to put them outside! So, without much planning (not like us at all), we just got to work making garden beds and piecemealed it as we went along.

While scouring Etsy for garden markers, I fell in LOVE with various stamped copper markers. They were stunning!! And also very expensive! The ones I saw were $5-10 PER MARKER. Since I am VERY new to gardening, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to be successful at planting and didn’t want to invest in something that I wasn’t sure would last, so I decided to make my own! This project wasn’t necessarily cheap, but it was still less than buying them. I also love that I can add on as I grow my garden and didn’t have to make too many decisions up front. I also had fun making them! My kindergartener helped me sound out the words and the 3 year olds helped me find the letters in the box, so it was a whole family affair!

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All you need is copper labels, a stamping kit, a hammer, and something to hammer it on as to not ruin your table (I used a piece of scrap wood).

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So simple — just line up where you want the letter and hammer it!

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The hardest part is spacing for long words.. I had to squish in that last letter as you can see here. It does get easier with practice, so I’d recommend starting with shorter words first.

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There she is at home in the garden!

**not my photo**

**not my photo**

NOTE- This is real copper and will age/ patina over time, which is what I like about them. If you love the look of the copper, you may be disappointed as they will not stay like this over time. This picture above is a screenshot from an Amazon review. This person sped up the aging process by soaking them in vinegar and salt.

I’d love to know if you try this project! I was surprised at how easy it was!

XO, K

*This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you.*

My Skincare Routine

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but after 33 (I think? haha) years on this earth, I feel comfortable enough with my skin to not wear makeup!! (Mostly. I do have some yucky spider veins on the sides of my nostrils that I need to cover up with concealer. I plan on getting those bad boys zapped at some point). I would still wear makeup if I’m going out on a hot date (if that ever happens again!), but I no longer feel like I need a full face of makeup to run into the grocery store! I never had horrible skin but I’d always have at least one active pimple or one that was healing, and my skin was always red or blotchy. I don’t like using a ton of products and I really hate the gimmicky nature of most skincare products on the market, but I promise you no gimmicks here and you can find most of these at the drugstore! I didn’t realize this would be so wordy, so I created a simpler list at the bottom if you’re not so into the words :)

Night

WASH: 99% of the time I just rinse my face with super hot water and a cheap, clean, white wash cloth. This is super gross, but I used to get sties on my eyes a lot, and the eye doc recommended getting a wash cloth super hot and resting it on my eyes for a minute before lightly rubbing. It’s been several years and not a single sty since! I just then flip it over and GENTLY rub my face. If I feel like my face is super dirty or if I have makeup on, I will use THIS cleanser.

TREAT: THIS is the secret ingredient (only $12!). I started this per a recommendation from a friend for fine lines and I think this is what has changed my skin the most. It has lightened my sun spots, lessened the fine lines, made it so there are no more pimples (!!), and just overall made the redness go away. There is a period where your skin gets worse before it gets better, breaking out and drying the skin. But I powered through (thanks COVID 19) and am so glad I did! There is a strategy for when you first get started. I started every other day and put moisturizer on FIRST. Now that my skin has adjusted, I put this on after washing my face. I try to pay attention to how my skin is doing and will apply anywhere from every day to a couple times per week.

THIS is a bonus product — definitely not necessary for changing skin long-term but I do notice a difference the next day. It is the priciest item I’ve ever paid for a skin care product but I received a sample and really thought it brightened my skin. You can’t use this on the same day as the gel above, so I will do this on off days. Also, it’s just gorgeous!

THIS is a bonus mask — also not necessary but my skin LOVES it! I always used cleansing / clearing type masks but this moisturizing one has been my favorite.

MOISTURIZE: I love THIS moisturizer! It’s really thick and hydrating but absorbs quickly and has helped with scars on my hands too! Love that it’s so inexpensive.

EYES: I don’t use THIS every night but it’s the only thing that hasn’t irritated my eyes.

LIPS and HANDS: Aquaphor or bust.

Morning

WASH: In the morning I don’t usually wash my face! If it feels greasy (which it usually doesn’t), I rinse with warm water.

MOISTURIZE: SPF is a must with using the gel. I’ve really liked THIS one. If I’m not going outside, I will either leave my skin as is or THIS one if it’s really dry.

More simply:

Morning

Night

XO, K

*This post contains some affiliate links (just the ones from Amazon). This means that I may receive a small commission if you purchase something after clicking the link, at no extra cost to you. I really appreciate your support!

Mudroom

We finished this project about 2 years ago shortly after we moved into this house so we don’t have any progress photos. It’s a fairly small room and, as a family of 5, we really had to utilize every square inch. It was carpeted which really didn’t work since we get a lot of snow and mud. Before we moved in, my father-in-law replaced the carpet with tile and we are so glad he did. That was the only thing we did to the house before moving in. We lived with the “before” pictures for awhile before deciding what we needed and had the energy to tackle the project.

Our house is all brick and built in 1910 and this small area was put on after the fact at some point. We love the brick on the outside of our house, but it was really making this room feel dark and cramped.

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It had a simple rod and shelf but you can see the amount of space above that wasn’t utilized.

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Not very functional and very sloppy looking. This is where guests usually enter and it didn’t give the best first impression.

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Here’s a shot of the other side. Not only is it paneling but the wood has these little holes in them. My husband really didn’t want to get into replace the paneling and drywall. He decided to try to fill in the holes with spackle and fill the lines with caulk and it turned out great! He said it was a lot of work a lot easier than redoing the walls completely.

I wasn’t sure where to start when planning this out but ended up designing it around the baskets! I wanted each person to have their own basket and found some that we could fit 5 across plus the wood in between. I also wanted to utilize every square inch so decided on two sets of baskets each — one has winter accessories and the other summer and I rotate them with the changing seasons.

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I also really liked the idea of a ledge for every day items (sunglasses, wallets, etc.) and am SO glad I did. It’s not feasible to store those items in the baskets since they are up a bit higher. The other thing we weren’t sure about and actually argued over and over again was the seat depth. I wanted it as long as possible because I knew our heavy winter coats were going to be hung up and take up a lot of depth. Thankfully I won that argument 😉

After I drew up my vision, my husband came up with the actual plan. If there’s interest, I can ask him to write up a post on how it did it, but he said it was pretty easy! We white washed the brick, added some hooks, painted the walls with some old white ceiling paint, and painted the door with a sample pot of paint (Benjamin Moore Wythe Blue) and added a little command area on the other wall, and the room was completely transformed!

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We also decided to paint the trim in the hallway so help lighten it up a bit. I’m glad we left the doors wood — I think it’s a good balance for this space.

The door with the wreath leads to the basement. I added two rows of hooks on the back of that door to hold extra seasonal items (snow pants, re-usable grocery bags, swim bag, etc.).

Since I love a good before and after side by side:

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My Favorite Books

Yesterday I shared my Covid Shopping list in hopes to provide you with one small resource. Today I thought I’d share my favorite books, as reading has really helped me recently. I am not a “reader” (I just started reading for leisure recently) but, a good book really can make you feel like you’ve travelled someplace else. It can make me forget about my current situation for a moment. I know this sounds silly, but it gives me something to look forward to and makes me feel like more than “just a mom.”

Here are the books, in no particular order:

I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did! If you aren’t a “reader” either, I encourage you to order yourself one just to see :)

Please share your favorites as well so I can add to my list.

XO



 *As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I may receive a small commission when you click a link and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. I appreciate your support!*

Covid Shopping List

I don’t know about you, but if I get one more “resource” or activity for my children, I’m going to scream! I feel SO incredibly lucky that this global pandemic is happening during a time of such social-connectedness. I am able to text my friends memes and gifs and funny faces when my kids are driving me insane. I can google and print various worksheets and pinterest an infinite amount of activities for my children. I’m sure that parents during the flu pandemic of 1918 had it a lot worse than we do. BUT both of my children’s schools are sending me a curriculum plus any place we’ve ever been is sending us activities. And every family member is tagging me in activities on facebook.

What I don’t think parents have enough of during this time, is resources for THEMSELVES. I thought I’d share some things that are working for me for now and hopefully we can collaborate and help each other.

Before this pandemic, I would meal plan and grocery shop for the week, and usually have to stop at the grocery store 1-2 more times (!) which was clearly not very efficient but worked fine for us. Obviously, now, things are different. We have been getting groceries delivered and our stores have been out of a lot of items. I’ve been trying to put together a big order every couple weeks and being thankful for what our shopper can find for us. I created a list for myself of things to order each time and I’ve been surprising myself with the amount of meals I can come up with using the following items. I will include a free printable for you to screenshot or print as well as some recipe / meal ideas. These foods are not things we typically buy — but we are going for life-sustaining and somewhat delicious here; “healthy” is more on the backburner but still in play as much as possible.

Refrigerator

  • Yogurt — I go for a big tub of whole milk, unsweetened yogurt since it’s so versatile (tzatziki, avocado crema, sour cream substitute). I sweeten it myself when the boys eat it with honey or maple syrup.

  • Perfect Bars — these are great to have on hand. They are super filling, delicious, and last awhile in the fridge.

  • Cheese

    • Goat cheese, feta (sheeps milk), parmesan (the block), cheddar (block)

  • Bacon

  • Cream cheese — in celery and mini peppers with everything but the bagel seasoning, cucumber dill tea sandwiches, on cinnamon raisin bread

  • Eggs

  • Butter — lasts a long time and you can freeze extras

  • Ground beef

  • Ground turkey

  • Chicken breasts

  • Chicken thighs

  • Italian sausage

Shelf-Stable

  • Larabars — our favorite are the pecan pie ones!

  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • Applesauce — I get plain and unsweetened. Can be used in baking as an oil sub or as a side dish. Extras can be frozen if you don’t finish.

  • Epic Bars — my husband loves these meat bars.

  • Triscuits

  • Rice

  • Love Grown Power O cereal

  • Almond milk (unsweetened)— I love getting the shelf-stable almond milk to have on hand for lattes and baking.

  • Almonds

  • Pecans

  • Black beans

  • Pinto beans

  • Garbanzo beans

  • Pasta sauce

  • Pasta

  • “soy” sauce or equivalent

  • Taco shells — hard and soft

  • Salad dressing

  • Peanut butter — we buy one that’s just peanuts

  • Pretzels — I love the spelt ones for the kids

  • Simple Mills almond crackers

  • Chocolate chips

  • Tortillas — freeze until ready to use

  • Almond flour

  • Whole wheat pitas

  • Granola

  • Canned tuna

  • Canned salmon

  • Canned sweet potato — for muffins or salmon cakes (recipe below)

  • Rice cakes — unlike bread doesn’t get stale. We top these with hummus or peanut butter and berries

  • Popcorn

Bakery

  • Bread — I always try to grab a loaf or two of whole wheat bread to put in the freezer

Produce

  • Lemons — I go through sooo many lemons!

  • Garlic

  • Onions

  • Peppers

  • Cucumbers

  • Avocados

  • Broccoli

  • Cauliflower

  • Potatoes — these last forever and we have potatoes at almost every breakfast

  • Sweet potatoes

  • Lettuce (I try to not buy the bags since that doesn’t last as long. It’s more work to have to cut and wash it yourself but it will last so much longer)

  • Kale— super hearty and will last forever in the fridge. Can be frozen for smoothies if you don’t use it all

  • Spinach — love chopping spinach finely and topping all of our meals (haha). Can be frozen if you don’t use it all

  • Butternut squash — buy whole and it will last for a long time

  • Spaghetti squash — buy whole and it will last a long time (favorite SS recipe is spaghetti squash pizza pie from paleomg)

  • Bananas — my kids fly through bananas but extras can be frozen for smoothies or banana bread

  • Apples — my kids fly through apples too. If you need to use them up, you can make my easy microwave applesauce recipe to freeze or sauté and top on oatmeal or pancakes.

  • Berries — blueberries tend to last a bit longer before going bad. Also can freeze — single layer first then in baggie.

  • Celery

  • Carrots

Frozen

  • Vegetables (stir fry, broccoli, kale, spinach)

  • Fruit for smoothies

  • Perogies

  • Salmon

  • Cod

  • Shrimp

  • Meatballs

Check

  • Spices

  • Baking supplies

    • flour

    • yeast

    • baking soda / powder

  • Honey

  • Maple syrup

Other

  • Dog food / cat food / litter

Recipe / Meal Ideas

  • Stir fry

  • Black bean and sweet potato tacos

  • Salmon or cod tacos

  • Souvlaki

  • Roasted butternut squash with chicken thighs

  • Greek shrimp with tomatoes and feta

  • Crusty no-knead bread

  • Sheet pan harissa chicken — when I made this I didn’t have harissa, so I did some paprika, cayenne, and garam masala. I also added carrots and regular potatoes to beef it up. Next time I will add cauliflower if I have it. So yummy!

  • Pizza night (on bread, pitas, make your own dough, etc)

  • Good old spaghetti and meatballs

  • Any kind of pasta or ravioli or tortellini with evoo or butter, garlic, lemon zest/juice. Yum!

  • Risotto (with or without sausage)

  • Salmon cakes

  • Cinnamon raisin quick bread

  • Chickpea curry