Fun, Family, & Friends!

The cold has set in and we have even had a few snow flurries here in Wisconsin but the nasty weather held off for our fun day at Honeydew Farm on Saturday! Honeydew Farm is owned and operated by our dear friends who kindly opened their home to all their family and friends on Saturday to share in food, fun, and how they are living a healthy lifestyle. I always love visiting our friends farm, I always feel at peace when I am there and forget any troubles in my life. Maybe it is being outdoors, maybe it is the animals, or maybe the wonderfully kind people but I always feel happier when I leave there. Late this summer I even got to have my first experience at chicken butchering. Despite the kind of grossness of it, it was a very interesting time, I may even do it again next year!

At Honeydew Farm they raise chickens for meat and eggs, pigs, and even a few cows. They also have a dog, cats, and rabbits and are going to even try raising rabbits for meat. On top of all the animals they have an enormous garden that they grow all their own veggies to freeze and enjoy all winter long.

My children had a wonderful time, their favorites were horseback riding and riding on a homemade train behind a 4-wheeler. In between fun we enjoyed delicious homemade soups, muffins, and deserts. Here are some of the pictures of our great day!

Here is my little girl Adelaide looking like a pro!

Leon riding for the first time!

Mommy was just a little nervous…… (Daddy and I walked along on each side)

And our oldest Haley looking like a natural.

And here is our oldest son Colton on the train, he isn’t as willing to try new things so he chose not to horseback ride, but loved riding on the train!

And Leon and Daddy having fun on the train too.

Since it was a day of homemade food and all natural living I was invited to share my Shaklee products with everyone. I made protein smoothies using Shaklee 180 protein powder for everyone to try and met lots of new people, including a new friend there sharing her business too!

We left Honeydew Farm with full bellies and completely exhausted, the sign of a fun filled day!

Have a happy day!

~Bonnie

 

Other great posts by Bonnie:

5 Steps to Getting Kids to Eat Healthy

Green Cleaning

Homemade Applesauce

Bonnie’s Home Tour

Chicken & Biscuit Casserole

Oven Makeover

All Natural Fruit & Veggie Wash

Relieving Stress As A Stay At Home Mom

As moms we all need to find ways to relieve stress in our busy, hectic lives but as stay at home moms we sometimes face different challenges. We are around our children 24 hours a day, we are always on call as I like to say! It definitely has its benefits but today I want to talk about its draw backs and how we can manage our stress as stay at home moms.

Some days start out amazing and just fall apart slowly and some days just start out crazy and never stop!

Don’t get me wrong there are plenty of good moments and those are what carry me through my days but they are only just moments, rarely an entire day. Being with our children day in and day out finds most of us stressed to our max and when the hubby finally gets home we are a hot mess! Usually throwing our children at them and saying “you need to take him, I am going crazy”!

What if we were to find little ways, little moments throughout our day to relieve that built up stress so when our husbands come home we are mostly calm and happy to see HIM not relieved because it is someone to take the kids for us? I don’t know about you but I am so grateful to my husband for working so hard every day to support our family so I can do what we feel is best by me staying home with the children. I don’t want him thinking I hate what I do and can’t wait for them all to go to school, because I really don’t feel that way I just have moments. Well I want to share with you a few of the ways I find time in my day to unwind, de-stress, and recover from the craziness of my dear children! Sometimes it is only a moment, or 5-10 minutes but let me tell you sometimes that is all it takes to get you back on track.

• If you are going nuts and just need to take a shower or just breathe for a few minutes take your infant or toddler and put them in their crib with a few toys and books, turn on some music for them and let them play while you shower, get dressed, empty the dishwasher alone, switch the laundry………whatever it is you need to do without help for 10-15 minutes. This is what I always did with all three of my kids so I could take a shower alone everyday. I started at a young age and they never complained but if they are older and not used to doing it just kindly explain to them what you are doing and just go and do it. Even if they fuss and cry, as long as you know they are in a safe place for a short time it won’t hurt them, they will eventually get used to it and it truly will be relaxing. If they are no longer in a crib, gate them in their room, just make sure it is safe.
• Have someone you can call! This has always been huge for me! A friend, your mom, your sister, your husband, although for me a female is usually a better option as they understand us a little better. We do not need to do this alone, lean on your family and friends! A support system is key, in my opinion, to surviving motherhood. Even a 5 minute conversation with another adult can leave you feeling calmer, give it a try, make time for you!
• Take a bath. Put the kids to bed have your hubby be on call for a little while and go take a hot bath and relax. I like to turn on some relaxing music so if the kids are having trouble sleeping I don’t have to hear everything that is going on. Just let go and let dad take control for a little while. This may be something that only happens once a week but put it on the schedule and take some time for you!

• My last tip is just something I enjoy and helps me relax at the most stressful time of the day for me. Have a glass of wine. I enjoy a glass when I am preparing dinner some nights. I don’t know what it is but it calms me, and no it is not because I am getting drunk I only have a small amount, I still need to function at tip top shape for several hours yet. 

As busy moms we always put everyone and everything else before us. Find what works for you and take a few minutes each day to put your well being first. We cannot be good wives, mothers, or people if we don’t take time for us. Everyone around you will appreciate this not look down on you for thinking of you! Be kind to yourself, you deserve it!

I would love to hear from you! What do you do to de-stress? How will these tips help you be a better mom? Comment below!

~Bonnie

Master Bedroom Walk-in Closet ~ Thrifty Thursday

It is good to be back, this is my first post in over two weeks. We have been under construction around here and it was too crazy to even get on my computer some days. My dad is a builder and was down here for the past two weeks along with my husband and father-in-law and they were putting a new mudroom onto our house. It is close to being done but there are still a few things that need to be done, as soon as it is ready I will share it with you.

Today I am going to continue my home tour and show you the last room of the Master Bedroom, the walk-in closet. You can view the Master Bedroom tour here and the Master Bath tour here. With each room I went into on our first visit of the home I fell more in love. All my life I have wanted a walk-in closet, so when I saw this one I was in love! Our walk in closet is a little less functional as a closet the past year or so (I will explain below) but I still love it.

This is what you see when walking in…….my husband takes up most of the hanging space.

 

This is back behind the door where I keep all my things. On the top shelf I have a colored basket for each of my kids for all there special things and baby books. On the second shelf I have some of my craft things and all my greeting card storage. And of coarse lots of space for my shoes!

Below, is more of my husband things and baby blanket storage.

And here is why our closet is less functional………..it also serves as a nursery! Before you call me crazy I can explain! Our youngest, Leon, has always had so much trouble sleeping. We have tried it all, he has slept in almost every room of the house, in every baby bed we have owned and no matter what we tried he didn’t sleep. We even tried co-sleeping for a while. Well when he was getting a little older and wasn't sleeping well when he could see us I decided to try out closet. It has a light, a window, a door, heating ducts…….it is basically a bedroom. So I moved his crib into our closet and that has been his little room since. He really seems to love it too, it is quiet and dark and cozy! So there you have it! I would love to hear all the crazy stories of what you have gone through to get your child to sleep, feel free to share below.

Leon’s cozy spot!

One of my favorite parts is the window! So cool to have a window in our closet!

So there is our Master Walk-in Closet! What do you think! o you have a walk-in closet? Have you ever used it as a bedroom?

Don’t forget to link up your posts below on Thrifty Thursday……..don’t have a blog with projects to link? Go ahead and click on the links to check out some great recipes, crafts, and more!

Also check out:

Basic H ~ All Natural All Purpose Cleaner

The 20 Best Children’s Books

Banana Bread Muffins

Beef & Broccoli Stir-fry

Bakes Sweet & Sour Chicken 

Crockpot Fiesta Chicken

Thanks for stopping by,

Bonnie

 

Thrifty Thursday!

With: Lindsey @ Apple of Mama’s Eye, Jessica @ Healthy Higgins, Julia @ Julia Kendrick.com, & Krysta @ Krysta Steen.com

<center><a href="http://fromnature-tonurture.blogspot.com/"> <img src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j270/LFisher1707/ThriftyThursdayButton.png " border="0" /> </a></center>

Weekend Fun at the Cabin on the Lake

We had such a fun weekend I thought I would share with you what we did! So Friday afternoon after the kids got done with school and the hubby got home from work we packed up and headed south for the night. My brother-in-law owns a new home about an hour and a half south of us and we headed down there to do some trim work for him. He had the house built last year but didn’t have the basement finished so all of his family is pitching in time and talent and helping him with it. In exchange he lets us all stay there and enjoy the home and in the summer the lake. Well everyone else happened to be busy this weekend so we had the house to ourselves. We went for just one night because it is so hard going places with the baby, he doesn’t sleep very well to begin with and its worse when we aren’t home, but despite very little sleep we actually got a lot done and had some fun too!

On Friday night after we got there and unpacked we made some dinner for the kids and did some puzzles together.

Then we finished our night by watching “Chipwrecked” in the theater room!

And then after a pretty rough night with the baby we started our day with COFFEE!

And a yummy breakfast!

Then we started to work……..Many of you who don’t know me very well probably don’t know this about me…….but My dad owns his own construction business and for a few years before college and the summers during college I worked for him. I am not saying I know what I am doing here, at all, but I am happy with how everything turned out!

My husband  Bob and I worked on the basement bedroom this weekend putting up trim, baseboard, and crown molding. We got the whole bedroom done and the window finished off.

Despite all the work we spent a lot of time playing too!

Adelaide and Colton playing in the snow!

Puzzles!

Adelaide and Colton making candles!

And lots of help from Leon!

Sunday we made it to church in the morning and then had a pretty lazy day after, it was great to get a good nights sleep in our own beds and spend Sunday relaxing with our loves! I hope your weekend as wonderful as ours!

We even had a little visit from a leprechaun!

~Bonnie

Next stop is to visit me on Facebook!

 

If you liked this post you might like these too:

Linen Closet Organization

Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken

Fun Hairstyles for Little Girls

Safely Washing Fruits & Veggies

Day 2 Home Tour

Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry

Hot Mama’s Loosing Weight with #1 Nutrition Company!

Thrifty Thursday ~ Day 1 of Home Tour

Good Morning it’s Thrifty Thursday! Link up all your great blog postings of the week!
Link party follow home tour!

<center><a href="appleofmamaseye.blogspot.com"> <img src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j270/LFisher1707/ThriftyThursdayButton.png " border="0" /> </a></center>   I have been meaning to do a home tour for a while now I just haven’t gotten to it! Story of my life! Well today I decided it was the day, I took my camera with me down to the bus stop and then I took some pictures quick before I went inside. I decided that I would start by showing you what the outside of our home looks like. It is nothing fancy just and old country ranch home but from the first day we saw it we knew it was for us! I truly love our home! It is the first home my husband and I purchased and we have lived here for 3 1/2 years now. We rented for the first 5 years of our marriage, we didn’t want to buy one until we were sure. Below is a picture of the quiet country road we live on……..It is a dead end so there is very little traffic which is great with the kids! Here is the front of our home…… And the back of our home……. Some of the things I love most about our home are…….This is what we see when we look out the front window……. And this is what we see when we look out the back of our home….. I love the quite seclusion…….the peace……..being surrounded by trees and nature! Some of the other wonderful features are…….our deck out back, we spend a lot of time here in the summer and it makes a great outdoor playpen for the little ones! The play area for the kids…… And last but not least, every country yard needs a great big garage! Also here is our home away from home in the summer time, our camper! Thank you for joining me on Day 1 of my home tour! I hope to see you back here next week when we head inside! Head over to Facebook and say HI! Bonnie