• My diaper stash

    Yes, I have a diaper stash, I admitted sheepishly on facebook. Hee hee.

    Why sheepishly?

    My youngest children will be 12 in December. My eldest is 20. I don’t have any need for diapers, however, over the past many years there is the occasional time that I can not resist adding a diaper here or there.

    Some I’ve obtained because I’ve traded with other wahm’s, some I purchased through charity auctions I felt were far too low and needed some extra bids, and a few I’ve simply bought, just because.

    It’s not a huge stash, but it’s certainly more then I “should” have. However, I have no fear that it will ever go to ‘waste’!

    That’s the joy of cloth!

    Photo 1:

    Photo 2:

    There you have it, ‘most’ of my diaper stash.

    Who wants to play, “Guess The Diaper?” Give me your best guess on some of these! Some have the cards or names visible, but others don’t, so tell me what you think!

    I KNOW I have a few more somewhere, but I could not find them, so this will have to do. We have so much of our lives packed up, actually these were packed up too, but the box was in my closet so I simply unpacked them to snap photos. lol

    And I snapped a photo of something I thought you all might think is cute, a blanket I made for Shaylah’s doll a few years ago for Christmas. 2008 actually, I even put the date on it. I made each of the girls one of these in fabrics they liked best, but Shaylah’s is the only one that’s unpacked because she loves ALL her blankies, even at 11 years of age. Ha!

    Shaylah loves duckies. She still does!

    But I can’t blame her, even I still think they are super cute! And what mother who buys diapers, who has no babies, is going to tell her 11 year old daughter that she’s too old for duckies!

    Not me!

  • Autumn

    I didn’t expect to still be here as autumn approaches. I especially didn’t expect to be here, with my husband in the prairies, over THERE, with autumn approaching.

    See this pile’o wood?

    It belongs here.

    Considering how cool it’s been getting at night, I suppose the kids and I had better hop to it!

    I don’t even mind that really. The work. I know we’ll simply kick it into gear and get’er done.

    What I mind is knowing we never expected to have to worry about this, yet here we are… again.

    Some days I wonder if this will ever end…

    (If you’re new around the blog and wondering what on earth I’m referring to and whining about, we’ve been trying to sell our home for quite some time now. Hubby has already started our new life in the prairies of Saskatchewan, in a 5th wheel trailer, which is getting pretty darn cold at night I might add… while we impatiently await a buyer for our hobby farm here in beautiful British Columbia so our family can be together once again. I try real hard not to whine too often, but every once in a while it gets the better of me.)

  • A hair tip

    While I think of it, I’ve been wanting to post a tip!

    You’ve probably seen the new hair care products, the ‘dry wash’ shampoo you can use between washes if your hair is starting to look a little… ‘greasy’? For lack of a better word.

    These seem to be the newest thing.

    alesia

    Well you can achieve the same thing using…

    of all things…

    baby powder!

    With 3 sisters and one bathroom growing up, we could not wash our hair EVERY day
    (I still don’t wash my hair EVERY day! It’s really not good for you and just not neccessary!) so one of my sisters, I believe it was my eldest sister Ellis, found out this neat trick!

    That was about 25 years ago, and to this day, I still brush in a little baby powder into my hair when it’s not looking it’s best and I don’t have time to wash it! And let’s face it, lately, I do well to find time to wash my hair more then twice a week!

    And the best part, you don’t need much at all. I sprinkle just a little on my hands and run it through my roots mostly, then brush. We’ve been using the same travel size bottle here at my house (I have four daughters!) for months now.

    And there’s your helpful tip for the day!
    If you’ve got a beauty tip to share with the world, let me know and I’ll share it here!

  • Alesia’s Birthday

    Alesia doesn’t like birthdays. The rest of our family however, does. So… we went ahead and celebrated Alesia’s birthday on Monday anyways. I’m kind of mean that way. Haha.


    *Julia made a Happy Birthday sign.

    Personally, I have a hard time believing ANYONE could ‘truly’ hate birthdays. I think any cause to celebrate, should be, celebrated! There’s enough difficult days to make it through in a year that any justification in making a day truly special is well worth while! One year, I threw my own birthday party! I let everyone know I didn’t want gifts, I simply wanted to celebrate! If it didn’t seem so wrong, I’d probably throw myself a birthday party every year.

    On Monday, Alesia had to work 7am-4pm. That was kind of a bummer, however, it gave us the whole day to get ready.

    Elsa made her cake! Elsa LOVES to make cakes. Her very favorite tv show is Cake Boss. She planned out this cake for days.

    She made it two layers, with icing in between, then put on a ‘crumb coat’, and dug out her ‘pond’.

    As Alesia’s birthday gift, Elsa bought her a schleich horse and rather then wrap it up, she used it as the main part of her cake decoration. She spent the entire day making this cake.

    Shaylah and Julia also got creative with cake & fondant.

    Shaylah loves to make tiny things.

    When we picked up Alesia from work and brought her home, she wasn’t totally thrilled we were celebrating, but I think she knew to expect it.

    And we even got a few smiles.

    It seems so ‘strange’ to have a 20 year old daughter.
    Wasn’t it just yesterday that I held her in my arms for the first time?

     

  • My neighbours garden.

    While the girls were homestead sitting the neighbours animals, I’ve been enjoying their garden. Such as this tree.

    I just love the colors.

    The fuchsias.

    A rose.

    Even some apples!

    It’s always a pleasure to enjoy another’s garden.

  • TWENTY years.

    That’s how long I’ve been a mother, as of this day.

    On August 29th, 1991 I had my very first baby girl. Born on her exact due date!

    Then…

    and then…

    feel like a life time ago.

    Oh boy, all three of us look SO young. What a little sweet pea she was! (I’d say is, but she’d get mad at me…ha!)

    So much life has been lived in the past 20 years.

    So much growing, so many experiences.

    So much joy, laughter and even tears.

    Alesia, I wish you much happiness for many, many, more years.
    May all your hopes and dreams come true. 

    Happy Happy 20th Birthday!

  • Silly Saturday, farm animal edition.

    I need a good laugh today, so I figured it was time for another silly Saturday post! Of the farm animal variety! Maybe some of you could use a laugh today too!

    Oh dear donkey, what big ears you have!

    And such a big nose too!

    Cock-a-doodle-doo. Show off!

    Rooster

    Silly baby Lacey

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    Pretty Lacey baby.

    Lacey FAV!

    Silly Lacey again.

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    What horses do immediately following a bath.

    DSC_1993

    This cow thinks Josh might just be his mommy!

    IMGP0106

    Yum!

    IMGP0105

    Peek-a-boo, I see you.

    Bandit

    And that’s it for now!

    It’s off to work I go! Later this evening I’ll be taking my two eldest for driving lessons, and meeting my husband for a chat on msn. What would we do without the computers while we’re apart? Oh I know, I’d go insane. Oops, too late!

    Tomorrow morning is church (we haven’t been in THREE weeks), out for lunch with a few friends afterwards, take my eldest to work, and then our first trip to costco since before hubby left! More work in the evening. I’ve got some things that just need to get done!

    What’s your weekend plans? Heading out anywhere? Enjoying the last few weekend’s before summer is over?

     

     

  • The winds of change…

    There are changes a coming.
    2011 has been a year of many changes for our family, and for this business. It’s been a year driven by survival. It’s been tiring, and trying, physically and emotionally. It’s also been one of many, many, mixed emotions. A mix of survival, and of blessings.

    During this time, I’ve had it said to me,
    “Be thankful your business can support your family!”

    Believe me, NO one is more thankful then I.

    However, there are realities in life.

    First reality, I am just one person.

    Second reality, I am not just a business woman, first and foremost, I am a wife and mother to five. A homeschooling mother at that.

    When I am on my death bed one day, hopefully many, many, years from now, I won’t be found saying, “wow, I sure wish I had spent more time on my business…”

    I’ve spent plenty of time on my business. Much more time then any wife and mother should, for too long anyways.

    For a season, things have needed to be this way. As a wife and mother, my financial help needed to be very great for our family to survive.

    However, if things were to continue upon the path they have been heading, I will be at the end of my life one day, I will look back and say, “I sure wish I had put my priorities in place, and kept my family FIRST.” By then, it would be too late!


    *Julia helping to sort instock pads.

    I don’t want my children to remember me only as the woman who always made enough money to feed them and keep a roof over their heads.

    I want my children to look back and say, “no matter how difficult things got, or how hard mom needed to work, she ALWAYS made time for us.”

    I am VERY thankful this business has done, and continues to do, SO well.

    Those of you who have followed us along, know that my husband has landed a truly wonderful job as an engineer! This has been a HUGE blessing. Even if he IS 2000 miles away, at least our family is headed in the right direction. He’s just gotten there ahead of us.

    For the past 8 years or so, my husband has been self employed, as I am. For a few years things were actually going fairly well. Things seemed VERY good. Both his business, and my business, were growing

    However, at one point, our gov’t here in BC implemented a new tax. This tax affected my husband’s business quite immediately, and all business came to a halt.

    Times became VERY difficult for our family.

    Last winter my husband headed to the oil fields for work. He was gone three months, and then the work was over. He was there just long enough to get our heads back above water again. We kept hoping when he got back in spring that things would change, work would come in, and some did. A job here, and a job there, just enough to eek through, along with my income. We’ve been hobbling along. This put a lot of stress on each one of  us. Not just my husband and I, but our kids too.

    Some may feel it’s not good for the kids to know what’s going on in the finances of the family, but that’s just not how we do things. Our kids ARE this family, as much as my husband and I are this family. They are involved in every aspect of everything we do. We are a family unit, not individuals living individual lives under one roof. We are a family unit, living together, while still keeping our individual personalities.


    *Shaylah making cookies

    If you’re a fan of Little House on the Prairie, you may remember when times became tough, and the family pulled together to get through it all.

    I can proudly say we’ve been there, done that, that is the Homestead Emporium family.

    Mind you, I’m not like Ma with a constant quiet demeanor and positive attitude. My husband isn’t like Pa, playing the fiddle to work out his frustrations. We both get grumpy and stressed, and our passion shows not just in the good work we do, but in our stress levels too.

    Our children don’t run barefoot to the fishing hole, read their Bibles every night and never say a mean word to one another. They get stressed out too, get downright grumpy with each other, and bicker, even with us parents (or now, with my husband gone, with ME!)

    graydon, julia
    *Graydon cutting out VersaPads.

    However, no matter how ‘real’ this family of mine may be, I can not stress enough how blessed I am by each one of them. My husband, when his work has been slow and mine needed to pick up, was there to help me while he was home. Even when we would argue over how things should be done, or why there wasn’t enough money that week to pay such and such a bill, we remained focused and reminded ourselves, and each other, that this is a SEASON.


    *Elsa snipping threads on finished products.

    No matter how stressed our kids got, or how much we might bicker, if a load of hay needed to be bought for the horses, or even if we were short on the funds to pay the mortgage, our children stepped up to the plate and offered to help where ever, and how ever, they could.

    Whether it was through funds from their own jobs, helping in the business by cutting extra stock, or simply by doing extra house cleaning (still working on HOW to get them to clean without being asked… lol), they pitched in. And continue to do so.


    *Joshua helping make dinner.

    I have never been so humbled, as I have been these past couple of years.

    And honestly, that is probably the biggest blessing of all of this. Even though it also hurts, a lot. My true colors have shown through these trying times and not every color I am is always pretty. We won’t speak to my kids about mommy stressed out during pms time… let’s just say, a little over the edge.


    *Alesia baking

    All this to say (and I realize this is very long… blog posts should not be this long… call me a rebel…) there will be some changes coming to the Homestead Emporium.

    My biggest goal for this shop is to never get burnt out, instead to keep it growing slow and steady! This shop was begun not just for myself, but for my family. As a help, not a hinderance. This shop is a VERY LONG TERM goal.

    However, this shop can not RUN this family, the family must run IT.

    And that’s where the changes will be taking place!

    So stay tuned, and in the meantime, I thank you GREATLY for your continued support! We ALL thank you!
    You’ll never know how much it’s meant to each of us, not just me, but my husband and my children too. To read your heart warming stories of making it through your own difficult times, and the prayers and support that has been sent our way. Each time one of you takes time out of YOUR busy lives to drop us a line,  it has REALLY helped!

    Thank you.  

  • Comparing fabrics with dyes

    I shared on the facebook page that I had recently dyed three different fabrics, all in the exact same colorway, to show the differences in how each fabric takes the dye.

    This is my “black currant” colorway.

    I used ONE dye batch for all three fabrics so I would have a good example to share.

    On the left, organic cotton velour.

    Organic cotton velour is quite a ‘plush’ fabric. It’s not the same ‘silky’ softness as bamboo velour, but I love it because of it’s feel while wearing. To explain better, it keeps me feeling dry.

    The ‘finish’ of the fabric once dyed is more of a ‘matte’. It shows color with a rich quality.

    In the middle we have bamboo velour.

    Bamboo velour is a very silky soft fabric. It’s definitely the favorite choice of most women.

    Bamboo velour takes dye VERY beautifullly. The ‘finish’ of the fabric has a sheen to it, adding to it’s beauty.

    On the right, is bamboo fleece, with the smooth side showing.

    What I love most about bamboo fleece, is that the smooth dyes up with such gorgeous ‘veining’ that it adds a whole new dimension to the finished product. It takes dye as gorgeously and vibrantly as the bamboo velour (with out the sheen) but the finished look is quite different. Very pretty! It’s quickly becoming a new favorite for many of my customers.

    So there you have it!

    One colorway, three fabrics, all the same, yet different! 

    And because my paint mare always seems to be in the perfect spot to be included in so many of my photos, here’s one last shot I couldn’t resist.

  • Homestead-sitting

    The three younger girls have been homestead-sitting.

    Caring for our neighbours homestead while they are away. On an Alaskan cruise!
    (I won’t stop here and discuss how much fun that would be, how wonderfully breath taking the photo ops would be, etc. etc. etc., no, I won’t do that.)

    One evening trip over there, I decided to bring along my camera.

    It’s a shame my girls don’t like animals…

    Just think of all the fun they could have if they did.

    Feeding all these animals just feels so much like work to them.

    Next, the HAD to feed the Llamas. They hate that part too.

    Check out that miserable face!

    And speaking of miserable, the llamas don’t like me. One of them REALLY doesn’t like me.

    I’m a ‘whistler’. I like to whistle, a lot. I often whistle while I work.

    I’ve found out, these llama’s, the one in particular, does NOT like the sound of whistling.

    What a look! Anger, pure anger.

    He spit at me. Oh yes he did. A great big spit too. A great big spit with lots of food in his mouth.

    I don’t think we’ll ever add Llama’s to our homestead.

    And once again we have my miserable girls.

    They are saying goodbye to the chicks.

    Good Night, Good Night!
    Parting is such sweet sorrow,
    that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.”

    Good thing my girls don’t like animals.