The Big White Farmhouse | intentional living, little by little

November 25, 2015

{five favorites} Vol.03: Five Thanksgiving Traditions and Ideas

Happy (early) Thanksgiving to all of my friends here in the US! We have felt the excitement in the air all week and can’t wait to celebrate with good food and family tomorrow. Today I’m sharing five traditions that we’ve started as a family, plus a few I’d like to incorporate in the years to come.

Thankful Leaves // Throughout the month, we have used this free printable to write down things we are thankful for. To save ink, I printed on cardstock, cut out the leaves and used them to trace on different colored construction paper. I also punched a hole on the top and strung them with twine across our chalkboard. Another idea would be to have your family and/or guests jot something down on Thanksgiving day.

Donate Food to the Local Food Pantry // Every year at our church, the Knights of Columbus hold a food drive collecting Thanksgiving items for our local food pantry. I always want to help out, but never seemed to remember in time! This year, I was determined (even adding it to my 100 Little Things list) and I’m hoping this is a tradition we can do every year with the kids. I used this post from Meg Duerksen as a starting point for our grocery list.

Julia Child Inspired Invitations // I came across this print (the etsy seller has since closed her shop, but isn’t it great?) and thought it would be really cute used as a Thanksgiving invitation. Definitely keeping this in mind next time we host.

Thanksgiving Journal // This journal idea is one that I hope to adopt in the years to come. Instead of going around the table sharing what they are thankful for, this family instead passes around the “Words of Thanksgiving” book. Adding new entries year after year, I’m sure this would become a priceless treasure.

Hand Print Turkey Family // With Thanksgiving tomorrow, I don’t think I’ll be able to get to this craft in time, but I’m keeping the idea ready for next year. I think once it is framed, it will be one of those sappy Mom things where I’ll pull it out every year and announce, “I can’t believe your hands were all so small!”

Do you have any fun traditions in your family? What are your favorite go-to recipes? Are you a pumpkin pie fan or do you prefer apple or pecan? Let’s talk Thanksgiving!

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I’d love to hear about five of your favorite things too! Need some ideas? Here are a few to get you started:
+ What are five things you are thankful for today?
+ What are five lessons you’ve learned this year?
+ List your five favorite places to shop for Christmas.

An InLinkz Link-up

November 24, 2015

{health} On Dusting Off and Starting Again

I stink at regular fitness.

I love a plan (I’m a rule-follower through and through), but the slightest change in my schedule can get me all out of whack and I just quit.

Case in point:
+ I ran four days a week for almost four months in preparation for my first half marathon. After crossing the finish line in May, Mark’s work picked up and I ran exactly twice afterwards.
+ In June, I started Jamie Eason’s Livefit program and lifted four days a week for five weeks. I went on vacation and never started back up again.
+ In August, I started T25, working out six days a week for six weeks. School and soccer season started and – you guessed it – I quit.

It’s been two months of zero (and I mean ZERO) exercise. Today, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my relationship with fitness. The vain part of me obviously wants to lose weight (14 months in and I still haven’t lost all the baby weight), but I’m starting to see that there might be so much more.

Working out provides a way to lose the belly fat and pump up the muscles, sure, but for me, I think it’s bigger than that. When I work out, I feel strong. I feel like I can take on the world! I surprise myself with small improvements: faster mile times, longer planks and heavier weights. When I work out, I can be in my own head for a little bit, which is huge for this introverted mama. I carry myself with more confidence. I’m a better me.

Having a daughter is helping to change how I see myself too. I’ve started to talk to myself like I would talk to Sophie. Would I tell my beautiful, precious daughter that she is too flabby and uncoordinated to be an athlete? Would I tell her that she’d look so much better if only she were three sizes thinner? Never. My sweet girl is perfect just the way she is…I’m trying to believe that too.

So one more time, I’m dusting off and starting again. Here we go.

November 20, 2015

{around here} Week 46/52: Week of 11.16.15

A collection of our ordinary days, recorded every week. At the end of the year, I’ll publish them into a keepsake to treasure.

Around here, I have been:

feeling…sad. Sad for Paris, of course, but sad for humanity as a whole. I’ve pretty much sworn off social media because I have a hard time with the name calling and bickering. Everyone seems to have the answer to the world’s problems and differing opinions be damned. I have thoughts of my own, but I’d much rather look you in the eyes as we hold warm mugs of coffee in our hands, you know? I want you to know my heart and where I’m coming from, before you judge my character or my devotion to my religion. I will be the first to tell you that I don’t have any answers: I’m just a sad mamma who wishes there wasn’t so much evil in the world.

celebrating M’s birthday. I have a tween. A tween! His birthday is always a little bittersweet, especially as I realized that his time here at home is half over. In a blink of an eye, he’ll be 18 and on his way out into the world. Sometimes that’s just the perspective I need to appreciate the right here and now. Slow down, time.

reading All the Light We Cannot See. I’m still so behind in my book club and I think with what’s going on in the world, I’m having a hard time reading more sad things. This book is such a heartbreaking story – so well written, but so hard for me right now.

potty training and it’s been so easy! We are firmly in the “wait until they turn three” camp because by this point, they totally get it and the transition is pain-free. We do M&Ms for every success. Sophie has been killing me with her kindness. She says, “Mama, let’s celebrate with my guys!” and passes one M&M out to everyone. Yay for only one in diapers!

celebrating Homemade Bread Day on Tuesday with white bread in the machine. Sort-of cheating, but still delicious.

thinking about this article and especially this line: “This moment, where I am pulled in too many different directions and I’m unsure of how to proceed, this is what I can turn into a thriving moment by simply learning to savor it.” Light bulb moment.

homeschool notes:
+ Morning Basket Time is working and I’m loving it too. Such a special, peaceful way to begin our day.
+ J has been dissatisfied with the amount of schoolwork he has (never enough – again!) so I’m breaking out my Kindergarten things and we’re going to see what he thinks.
+ We decided to take a break from the Hobbit and have started reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe instead. M is completing a lapbook with comprehension questions as we go. We even tried Turkish Delight! If all goes to plan, we’ll be finished by tonight, just in time to watch the movie for Family Movie Night!

November 18, 2015

{five favorites} Vol.02: Our Five Favorite Picture Books for Fall

Can you believe we’re more than halfway through November already? After a whirlwind few months, life has finally started to slow down around here and I’ve been trying to make up for lost time! This week, we’ve been reading our fall books before they’re put away to make way for Advent. I thought we’d share them with you! Here are five of our favorites:

The Little Scarecrow Boy // In this story, the little scarecrow boy longs to follow his father to the cornfields to scare the crows. Instead, his father wants him to stay and practice his scary faces at home. The little scarecrow boy goes to the field anyway and tries his skill, but can he succeed in scaring the birds away?

How To Make an Apple Pie and See the World // I just love this one. This book is a silly story about gathering the ingredients needed for apple pie by traveling around the world. A recipe for apple pie (which we need to make!) is included in the back.

Nuts to You! // The story of a boy who has a squirrel come into his room through a hole in his screen, this book is simple enough for the littlest readers. I also like the more detailed squirrel facts in the back for older listeners.

Autumn Days // This book is full of information about the season of autumn and it goes through everything from the holidays to changes in nature. I love the illustrations.

A Turkey for Thanksgiving // From the description: “Mr. and Mrs. Moose invite all their animal friends for Thanksgiving dinner and the only one missing is Turkey. When they set out to find him, Turkey is quaking with fear because he doesn’t realize that his hosts want him at their table, not on it.” A cute one.

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