Those around me know that my life has changed DRAMATICALLY in the last 5 months and it must be said that I personally, have reacted rather DRAMATICALLY to these changes. Without going into too much complaining and detail, I will say these changes involved having a difficult parenting summer and then watching BOTH of my babes march off to school in September. I have not adjusted well up until this point (hence no blog posts... I was busy being a big baby!) but that all changes today. So I welcome myself back to the land of blogging and social media, to making and making do, to having some time for myself and figuring out what the hell to do with it.
Challenge Update::
We are still following through with our challenge but have changed it up a bit. Over the summer we allowed ourselves one "eat-out" meal a week. We looked at this as an experience for all of us and a break for me from the kitchen that I was growing to resent. With school starting and our family back to a bit of a routine I think we may switch our visits to restaurants to every other week. Once a week seems a bit over indulgent. We have however, held close to our resolve of not bringing unnecessary items into the house. I am able to count 6 items in the last 5 months that we have bought (school uniforms, lunch bags, water bottles, a toilet brush, silicone baking cups to divide lunch snacks and an apple corer). This challenge while not over, has made a huge impact on our family. As a group, I find that we are more grateful for what we have.... we still have a long way to go. We get involved in experiences and meet people we otherwise wouldn't have. We have learned that bartering is such a great way to interact with people, share what you have, learn of others talents and get what you need. WIN WIN!!!! I often hear the kids mocking me "do we need it or want it?" but guess what....I've got them thinking about it. That is way more than I can say for the way we thought about consuming/purchasing FIVE months ago. I am proud of us. Imagine what is waiting for us in the next 7 months!
I am off to trade 6 farm fresh eggs for a Hamilton Magazine.
