Assless chaps for toddlers

It's a New Year folks and I don't know about you, but one of my resolutions this year was to let my toddler run around with a naked bottom while we are at home...

What?  He likes it! 

Okay, I am just messing with you, well kind of.  The real story is that Trent and I opted to stay home for New Years this year and enjoy a quiet long weekend together as a family.  Of course, as you might have guessed, I am not one for being able to partake in too much down time and therefore I hatched a plan to potty train Chephren while I had the 'man advantage'.  Since the Internet seems to know just about everything, I turned to my computer as my primary advice-giver on the matter (followed somewhat distantly by my mom).  I had previously decided on the three-day potty training method and after reading this article, we were on our way!  (There is also a booklet on the subject that you can download for a fee, but we're trying to live with less remember?)

Now, I will spare you all of the grody details about the whole process (if you wanted to know more about this stuff you would have your own kid right?) but I did want to share my latest sewing project: warm fuzzy pants with no bottoms (ahem, 'assless chaps' if you will...)  Being that we live in such a cold climate, letting Chephren run around with no pants on seemed somehow irresponsible as a parent, no matter how much he loves it.  After experimenting with several varieties: his commercially made Baby Legs from when he was a baby (pretty small on him now) and a handmade pair of leg warmers that I knit (they don't stay up), I finally crafted a pair of fleece 'pants' that are super comfy and cozy and are held up by elastics at the top.  Even Trent was impressed that I came up with these things... and it only took me about 30 minutes to make them!

The most important part?  Chephren loves them too, and we are on Day 5 of the potty training and it is going very, very well!  I haven't declared a total victory yet (we still have to figure out how to leave the house), but I can feel good knowing that this new toddler fashion statement is keeping diapers out of the landfills.

Happy New Year!

Marebare xoxo

I survived!

No, I haven't been hibernating for the past three weeks... although that wouldn't have been a bad way to spend the month of December.  The real reason for my silence can be summed up with a phrase my mom used to say: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all"

Well, I am here to say that I was wrong, for the most part anyways.  And yes, believe it or not, I can be wrong sometimes, just don't tell my husband okay?  You see Christmas of 2009 was what plunged me into the depths of such despair as to provoke me to do something drastic.  You know, drastic, like starting a blog (enter sarcastic tone here).  Seriously though, I was feeling so frustrated with the fact that consumerism was taking over our lives that it managed to plunge me further into my depression... for real.  Despite the fact that the past three weeks have been filled with a sense of foreboding and a dash of dread, I am happy to say that we made it through this Christmas with my emotional sensibilities still in tact - although I did go straight to bed on Christmas at 8 pm and sleep until 10 am the next morning... Yup, it is the 28th of December and I am feeling a-okay.... even after enduring five (yes FIVE) Christmases, straight through from December 22 until December 26. 



How could you be stressed out waking up to this guy everyday!?

To what do I credit my survival?  My friends and family of course!  These are the following strategies that seemed to work at keeping things under control this year (and I share these here because other people have shared similar Christmas anxieties with me):

• My family decided on a spending limit of $50 per person.  Now, I am not exactly certain that my parents kept to this as strictly as I had hoped, but they did turn it down a few notches for sure, which was noticeable and much appreciated!
• For my gifts, I either made or purchased handmade gifts almost exclusively.  Some exceptions included edible gifts or gifts of 'experiences': concert tickets, a dinner out, etc.  For the gifts that weren't handmade (a few Children's books), I purchased them at a local business.  The biggest benefit of this strategy?  NO MALLS!  (Which are the scourge of society in my humble opinion)
• As for the gifts that we received, I am feeling very grateful... most of Chephren's gifts were books and/or puzzles, two things that I really have no problem with (educational toys RULE!).  Chephren also received a handmade touque (thanks Gigi!) and a few beautifully made knit items including a sweater from Ecuador and a touque from Nepal.  Cool!  
• Remembering that the best gifts at Christmas are FREE, well, mostly free anyway!  Cross-country skiing with my parents on Christmas day has been a long-standing tradition and one that I cherish greatly... Other favorites include: My mom's Christmas letters to each of us (I will share some of my letter in a future post because it pertains to the blog).  She writes them every year and we mount them on the fridge to read daily until the next Christmas comes around.  They are always my favorite gift by far.  Spending time with our families (all four of them!), and speaking of family, it was especially fun to watch Chephren 'prepare' for Santa's arrival and come bouncing out in the morning to find the present that he asked for... a donut!  



Tobogganing in Fairmont

• Finally, we did something that we should really do every year when things get a little 'crazy' before Christmas: LEAVE!  We went on a relaxing holiday for a week to the mountains in the 2nd week of December just to chill out, play in the snow and teach Chephren to ski.  It was such a great holiday!



Next up on the horizon is New Years, my favorite holiday of the year by far!  For me, New Years represents the ultimate time to reflect on the past year's triumphs, failures, trials and tribulations.  2010 has been such a positive year of growth for me in so many ways and yet I feel that I have so far yet to go on my journey. 

As for the Marebare Necessities blog?  I have had many inquiries as to its fate in 19 days when the year is up... All I have to say is you will have to stay tuned to find out!

Happy Holidays to each and every one of you and THANK YOU for your support, ideas, feedback and best wishes throughout the past year!

Marebare xoxo






Livin' La Vida LOCAL

I never thought that I would EVER think of using, referring to, or quoting a Ricky Martin song lyric (gag!), but when I think of Living Local... this silly song persistently pops into my head.  Now if you are stuck with this powerful association too (I hope so... insert evil laugh here), don't fret, it is for a good cause.  My entry today is about a new-to-me program that has been launched in Edmonton called Eat Local First.  For the past few weeks I have been ordering food from this site, including 'The Good Food Box': an assortment of 8-12 fresh, locally produced vegetables that are out-of-this-world amazing!  Eat Local First/The Good Food Box are part of the Live Local Alberta initiative, which encourages Albertans to eat local, shop local and dine local... definitely a program that 'Marebare' can get behind (ahem, see the above statement in my banner). 

I was waiting to promote this program until I had sufficiently sampled the 'goods' and now that I have (we have ordered from there for 3 weeks in a row now), and for what it's worth, I am more than happy to get behind their products.  Of course I took some photos of the 'real thing' so that you could see for yourself:

This week's Good Food Box

 

Is your mouth watering yet?



Now for the downside (yes, of course there is a downside).  This program delivers to Edmonton/Sherwood Park addresses for a small fee, however, given that I live so far from town, I have to take the drive into the city each week to pick up my order.  Don't get me wrong, it is well worth it, however I would really like to get a group together from Stony Plain/Spruce Grove/Parkland County who are all interested in buying some of the goods from this organization (they sell more than just produce).  This way, we could take turns picking up the week's orders and reduce our impact by driving less as a group.  If you are interested and live in this area, PLEASE contact me!  If there is interest, I will set up a group on facebook for us to communicate on...

Finally, one of the things that I LOVE about the Good Food Box (aside from the amazing quality of the produce), is the fact that it forces us to 'think outside the box' (pardon the pun) in terms of cooking.  We are forced to use what we have and so far have come up with some really different and delicious recipes.  Trent and I both love a challenge in the kitchen so it has worked out really well.  (A further incentive for all of you interested in partaking... we could share recipes!)




I know that you're not supposed to play with your food, but I couldn't resist!

Happy shopping/cooking/eating!
Marebare

Oh Yes I DID!

Told ya that I was going to.  Oh, and btw, that is apparently not a fig tree but a ficus (hence the lack of fruit prodcution, duh!).

Happy holidays :)

Marebare xoxo

... and then it rolled away...

The ball I mean.  I dropped it and it is now rolling away.  I wonder if I can catch it?  Ok, enough with the metaphors.  What I am referring to is the fact that I had a brain fart.  Thankfully, one of my readers (thank you Cindy) was kind enough to awaken me from my holiday stupor, but alas, it was too late.  As such, I regret to inform you that I am sending out Christmas cards again this year.  (By too late, I mean that they have already been ordered - we send out the picture-card kind).  This is something that we have always done and I didn't even think of it as 'cheating'.  Never mind the fact that they are expensive and TERRIBLE for the environment.  I am such an avid lover of the snail-mail postal system (who doesn't like to get friendly mail, right Tess?) that I didn't even think about the effect that sending out cards in a mass mail-out would have. 

So, my bad.   This got me thinking though... what other 'traditions' was I about to just 'do' without thinking?  One of them is the Christmas Tree.  Now, I love a good Christmas tree: the lights, the smell, the sparkling decorations, I mean, they are a really powerful symbol of the season.  We have always made an effort to buy a local tree (sometimes even taking a half-dead one off our land that was crowding another healthy tree).   Let's just say that I am NOT above a Charlie Brown tree, in fact, I prefer them.

See?  This was Christmas 2006

Anyway, I am committed to making up for my card flub and as such, I have been researching the greenest option for a tree this year.  Here are the choices:

1. Buy a fake tree (no, no never.  They are bad for the environment, they're made of PVC, and they are expensive)
2. Take down another Charlie Brown tree on the farm.
3. Source out a locally grown organic tree farm (there are tons of them out by where I live, and these are apparently a pretty green option b/c they provide housing for birds and clean the air while they are alive and then get replaced by 2-3 more seedlings when they are cut down and sold).  One more thing about this option, if you go this way, it is important to consider the disposal of it... landfills = NOT GREEN, composting, mulching, or sinking it into a local pond = GREEN.  And I am not making this stuff up.  Check it out at: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2004/12/how_to_pick_a_g.php
4. Go treeless (GASP!)

After careful consideration (not really, it was more like, 'Trent, we're going treeless this year', followed by a 'sweet')... oops, I gave the answer away.  Yup, we picked option #4 and have decided to convert our beloved fig tree into a Christmas tree.  I'll post pics as soon as I get it 'decorated'. 

The tradition tides are turning... Do you think that this make up for the Christmas cards?

Marebare

To Scrooge or Not to Scrooge... that is the question!

My denial is officially over.  After spending the first part of the month soaking up the sun, followed directly by a long weekend with my husband home, things are back to 'normal' around here.  And by normal I mean that it is a blustery freezing cold day outside (probably somewhere around -20 or -25 with the windchill) and the roads are icy and dangerous all over again... YAY WINTER! 

Actually, it's not so bad.  I am sitting in front of a warm fire, editing pictures from our trip and drinking a nice warm cup of tea while Chephren naps.  So, I guess winter isn't the worst thing in the world.  If I am being honest, the real reason that I am feeling jaded today has to do with Christmas... the holiday that started it all (no pun intended). 

If you recall (you probably don't so I will remind you), last Christmas was a crisis-like experience for me... one that drove me to starting this project actually.  For years now I have struggled with the extreme excess that is often associated with this holiday and of course, all of the WASTE that it generates.  Plus, it is often back-breakingly expensive.  Anyway, I won't rant about it too much here (I don't want to seem too scroogy), but I will tell you that my family has come up with a solution that pretty much no one except my dad and I are happy with (I think that this means that we are taking some serious liberties by calling it a 'solution', but anyway, it's what we're doing!)

Not me by the way, but she is accurately depicting my previous Christmas emotions!

Our previous tradition involved opening stockings (often filled with a heck of a lot more than toothpaste and mandarin oranges), followed by a huge breakfast, followed by you guessed it, more presents.  The whole ordeal would take us all morning and often into the early afternoon.  The end result was bags and bags (and bags) of garbage and each of us leaving with a clothesbasket (or bigger) filled with new things.  Now, I don't want to sound ungrateful, but don't you think that this is a bit excessive?  My husband and I are independent adults (I was going to say mature, but who am I kidding?), who really don't NEED anything anymore.  In fact, everyone in my family is an adult now (except for Chephren, but he doesn't need that much stuff either), and I would venture to say that not one of us needs that much new stuff.

Not our presents really, but you get the idea

So, this year we are holding it to stockings alone, with a spending limit of $50 on each person.  My own personal rule is no new stuff, but handmade stuff is okay (but I guess you saw that one coming didn't you). 

So, while it is not the perfect solution for me, nor is everyone else particularly fond of the new rules, it is what we are going with for now.  I get that change is hard, but I am convinced that this one is a change for the better.  I just hope that my family can ride this one out with/for me and stick to the rules!  And people wonder why I like Halloween so much better...

This was this past Halloween: Momma and Baby Dragon/Dinosaurs



Here is to the start of a new (and reformed) holiday season!

Marebare

(PS: If you have similar stories/suggestions/strategies to share, I'd love to hear them!)

All good things must come to an end...

One of the biggest challenges of 'living with less' has been cutting back on travelling.  Last year, I took 11 holidays (yes 11... after all, my little guy could still travel for free, so I was practically making money, right?).  So, besides our summer in the bush (NOT a holiday, trust me), we hadn't taken a single trip this year, until now.  If you haven't been following me on Twitter (with the exception of two people, no one is, so I know you're not), you might not know that we (the man, the boy and I) spent the past week in Phoenix.  Why Phoenix you say?  Well, simply, we lucked out and had a free place to stay... plus, Cheph could still fly for free b/c he wasn't yet two... on one of the flights anyways.  So, again, I am going with the argument that we practically made money on this trip.  We have had an awesome time staying at my dad/stepmom's place (which is luxury at its finest) and took in the best sights that Phoenix had to offer for a family of three.  We took Cheph to the zoo for his 2nd birthday, went to visit Trent's mom who is down here too, had a friend in from Tucson, had my mom come for a visit, had some more Canadian friends in from Palm Springs, went to a kiddie amusement park and last but certainly not least we hit the Children's Museum in Phoenix (which, let it be said, is NOT to be missed... even if you aren't yet parents).

Here are some photo highlights of the trip...



Baby Gibbon



Parrots enjoying the sun

Cheph's favorite - the carousel

Who could say no to those eyes?



Lion fish!



Have you ever seen someone so ramped up about bubbles?

Gymnastics lesson in Phoenix!



Another carousel ride... really not hard to make this kid happy!



Children's museum, part of the huge climber structure



Upcycled decorations (ok, art)



More upcycling, these are drums

We have really had a great (and inexpensive) trip to the desert... but, all good things must come to an end and we head home tomorrow.  Back to the land of the deep freeze.  Goodbye shorts and tanktops, I will miss you.

Yours remotely,

Marebare