Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse


Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse


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I am a huge fan of apple cider vinegar, or ACV as it’s known in its shortened form. This summer I tried my hand at making my own ACV and had great success (but more on that in a different post). Originally, I made the switch to ACV for my food because of its fermented properties that give it a probiotic kick (assuming you are ingesting some of the “mother”). I am all about healing my gut right now, so I take any help I can get!


Aside from being good for your gut, ACV is also great for your skin! I am allergic to just about every single shampoo and conditioner on the market right now since most have fillers that upset my system be it in or on my body. I’ve had to get crafty with homemade tinctures and creams to keep me clean and healthy! Enter ACV…


About once a week I use an ACV rinse in my hair (a little less in winter when the air is already dry)! My kids think I smell like a salad on vinegar wash days, but my hair looks fantastic! It’s shiny, the frizz is under control, and in general looks and feels healthy. The other bonus is that I can usually get away with not needing to use shampoo for about 2 days after since it works to balance your pH. 


So why ACV for your hair? Here are a few reasons:


1. It helps to balance your skin's pH, which is great for us oily people!


2. It contains probiotic which can help with the flora on your skin (yes, even your scalp contains tiny micro-organisms working to keep you healthy.) 


3. It strips the products from your hair that build up over time on the hair shaft and at the scalp.


4. In light of reason #3, it is much cheaper than clarifying shampoos!


5. It doesn’t contain harmful ingredients that are often found in store-bought hair products like (phthalates and parabens to name a few).


It’s important to note that ACV is an acid, so as many benefits as it has, it still needs to be used in moderation. "Less is more" definitely works in this case. If you are looking for an ACV shampoo and conditioner than can be used for more daily usage, check out the ones I use here. 



    Here’s how I use my rinse so you can make your own too. If you aren’t making your own vinegar, then head to the store and grab yourself an ACV that contains the “mother”. The mother is the bacteria and yeast that grow during the fermentation process and contains what we need to give our own flora a boost. At present, Costco sells giant jugs of it that do in fact have the “mother”, or you can use Bragg Live Food Organic Apple Cider Vinegar.


Step 1: Give your bottle a shake to stir up the mother that is probably sitting at the bottom of the bottle.


Step 2: Pour 1-2 Tbsp into a glass or mason jar. (Use the lesser if you aren’t an oily person, and more if you are).


Step 3: Fill the remainder of your container with warm water.


Step 4: Wash your hair as you ordinarily would. 


Step 5: Slowly pour your vinegar rinse over hair making sure you get your scalp all the way to the ends of your hair. (pro tip: careful you don’t accidentally pour it in your eyes…voice of experience speaking here!)


Step 6: Work the rinse into your hair and scalp like you would with your shampoo (I say like shampoo rather than conditioner because I tend to only put conditioner on the ends of my hair since it’s too greasy to put at the root. This is not the case with ACV rinse, you actually want it right down to the root.)


Step 7: Leave the rinse in your hair while you finish your shower.


Step 8: Rinse out the ACV and towel dry/ style as you normally would.


On ACV wash days, I give my hair a break from the blowdryer we well, and just let my hair and scalp have a day to breath.


That’s it! It’s that simple! Let me know what you think in the comments. What are you using ACV for? Share your ideas below!!


All my love,


Like Grandma Did


Like Grandma Did
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A Christian's Guide to Minimalism


Minimalism and the Bible


I sat on the couch excited by the newest Netflix series. A young woman, bouncing with excitement, and radiant with delight to help, eagerly made her way through the front door of episode one. She wandered the home and pointed out places that very clearly needed help with organization. With tears of overwhelm swelling up in their eyes, the other two people in the home, the owners, shared why their lives had erupted in such a mess and vowed to minimize their clutter with the help of the Minimization Wizard who now graced their hallways. Intrigued by the notion of having a clean home, my eyes were glued to the screen. What sort of tips did this ever so tiny woman have tucked in her equally tiny sleeves? 


What happened next was the part where my brain started to get fuzzy, and a hot anger began to make my eye twitch. After thanking the clothing for being part of their lives, and downsizing the vast array of wardrobe that would make even Walmart jealous at the abundant collection, the smiling Clean-up Guru began to fold a t-shirt into bite-sized origami folds until said shirt stood at attention under her mad skills of shirt folding. The woman then proceeded to fold a pair of pants the same way. With a roomful of saluting attire, each item was carefully placed into the drawers so as to see every piece of clothing and give every shirt the attention it needs. 


No. Just no. I shut off the TV, and, with every ounce of sarcasm I could muster, I thanked the show for reminding me of the load of laundry I had once again left in the washing machine, and marched my way to the laundry room to start the wash for the second time…I don’t chide myself here, there was also likely a third round done a few days later. 


Own less, feel free. It seems so simple in theory. I mean, who wouldn’t want to just rent a dumpster, toss out every knick-knack that graces your countertops and closet, and experience a new-found freedom? Sounds down-right dreamy! Sign me up! It isn’t that owning less isn’t a good goal, it’s just that it sort of side-steps the true heart issues of freedom. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for decluttering and only carrying with you what you need, but I believe the motivation behind most decluttering/ simplifying/ downsizing/ minimalistic  mindset is missing one key aspect: the desire of want.


If a want is a need, and a desire is our deep longing for our need, than a “desire of want” is our deep longing for our needs to be met. To remove the distractions in our spaces only leaves space to recognize our longing for more. It perpetuates a cycle of removal followed by a desire to fill it


The place where the minimalists fall short is in the recognition of why all these people are stalk piling not just the clutter in their homes, but in their schedules. It is because of a lack of trust for God to provide. Our rebellious hearts seek after treasures to satisfy a deeply embedded, and God-given, desire to want. Like a square peg in a round hole, our earthy desires, and tempting tangible treasures never quite fit, so we buy another item and try it again. Or, maybe it isn’t tangible possessions that tempt your heart, so much as your desire to be known by others. How tempting to wear the brand names, drive a fancy vehicle, or create a charismatic persona in effort to gain popularity and in turn, people who know your name. The need to be known, to be loved, to eat, to have joy, are all important wants, and often we work tirelessly to fill these voids. 


But, look at this simple verse that God gives us. 


The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. (ESV)


there is nothing I lack. (NASB)


I lack nothing. (NIV)


I don’t need a thing. (the Message)


There is nothing we need when we find ourselves laying peacefully at the feet of Jesus. Only God will do. Like sheep who need guidance, provision, shelter, and protection, the Good Shepherd knows our needs, and provides. As we sit in the satisfaction of his love and shelter, we can look closer at the tangible treasures around us that we have collected and see how they pale in comparison to the provisions of the Lord. Our desire to want should take us to the still waters and cool pastures where the Good Shepherd knows no such thing as to deprive His sheep, but rather offers us provision from a place of an abundance of love. It is here that we find our satisfaction. It is here that we can lay down our desires. 


    We can purge our belongings all we want, but until we frequent the still waters to seek out our Shepherd, our efforts to be less cluttered and busy will only help us acknowledge that our ache for more still exists. As we pair down our homes and schedules, let it not be simply for the vain necessity to join a movement, but rather out of the wisdom to know that there is little we truly need when we are in the shelter of God's wings and trusting in His ability to provide. 


I leave you with the lyrics from this song taken from my favourite verses in Matthew 6:25-34. May we grow in faith and wisdom to see past the worldly offering that simply owning/ doing less will will satisfy, and instead whole-heartedly trust God to meet all our needs.

Consider the lilies, they don’t toil nor spin

And there’s not a king with more splendor than them.

Consider the sparrows, they don’t plant nor sow,

But they’re fed by the Master who watches them grow.


We have a Heavenly Father above

With eyes so full of mercy and a heart full of love.

He really cares when Your head is bowed low.

Consider the lilies and then you will know.


(Consider the Lilies- written by Joel Hemphill)


Love,   

Sarah- Like Grandma Did

Like Grandma Did
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[GUEST POST] 11 Savvy Tips for Sustainability


Sustainable living on a single income


This post features guest writer Amber Stephens from Live, Life, Homeschool: balancing life with a touch of farm. This article was originally shared on her website here, and used with her permission. Be sure to visit her site and check out more from Amber! 


11 SAVVY THINGS I WAS ALREADY DOING WHEN THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC HIT THAT BROUGHT ME UNEXPECTED PEACE

I remember what I was doing when the coronavirus pandemic panic set in. I was on my couch, looking at Facebook. I saw friends posting about the toilet paper buying, posting pictures of lines, of people hoarding water and cleaning supplies. A small fear rose up from my stomach and I thought,

What do they know that I don’t?

Do I need to go to the store?

What if I can’t get toilet paper or some other needed supply anymore?

But then reason set in and I remembered what we had in the house and the peace that came over me in that moment was liberating.

We were fine.

I had done a good job of taking care of my family and we were going to be OK. We could have quarantined at that point for a month and we would have been fine. We may not have had every luxury we were used to, but we would not be starving.

Or out of toilet paper.

 

FROM FEAR TO FREEDOM

     I would like to share that with you today, to help you. The fear that can come from not being prepared for this coronavirus pandemic, or any major crisis, is not a place that is healthy or good for us to be in. Fear is a strong motivator and it causes us to do things that are irrational and potentially harmful. I want to show you what I was doing so you don’t have to be in that place of fear ever again, whether it’s another pandemic or something less serious. 

     This is a list of habits, skills and knowledge that I have spent my entire adult life building up. These are not just coronavirus tips, but are ideas you can use for any crisis. You will be able to implement all of these, but some of them will take time. It is a way of living, not a quick remedy. This is a list of ideas to get you thinking, to help you see in ways that maybe you haven’t before.

     I want to make a disclaimer here first: I am not a prepper. I have tried to be over the years, but I simply have not been able to manage a storehouse of supplies in case of a disaster. I am just a plain old mom and wife who makes choices every day, and some of those choices led to the freedom from fear when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

      I also want to say, that all of these things are things anyone can do, regardless of income level or lifestyle. Yes, we live on a homestead. Yes, we have animals. However, this list has nothing to do with our farm lifestyle and you can implement all of these even in the middle of a large city. 

 

MONEY MANAGEMENT

1. We have a savings account with actual money in it. Saving is hard. I understand. It’s hard for us, too. But it was nice having that money when the markets fell and I wasn’t sure what tomorrow was going to bring. When everyone starts panicking, I get a little jumpy, too. So the peace of mind I had that we were going to be OK for a few weeks was priceless.

2. We budget every month. Again, this is hard. We have been doing a monthly budget for our entire adult lives, but really got serious about it after we went through the Dave Ramsey class. Using his budgeting tools has been helpful for us to stay on track and actually do it. We do it the old fashioned way, with paper and pencil, using his worksheets. I just keep making copies every month and we’ve been doing it this way for about 12 years now. However you choose to do a budget, having one really helped me to stay calm during this crazy time. I knew that for the rest of the month, my bills were paid. I did not have to worry about the immediate future and this bought me about 2 weeks before the beginning of the month came around again. Knowing that everything was going to get paid, including food and gas costs, was wonderful! I wasn’t worried about not having enough money or enough supplies, because it had already been taken care of in my budget.

 

HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT

3. I use Subscribe and Save through Amazon. I can’t tell you how much grief this saved me during this very uncertain time. It was such a blessing to be able to have what I needed because of this service. If you aren’t using Subscribe and Save, you need to sign up right now! It is very handy to have in your back pocket, just under normal circumstances. But when everything hit and I saw lines of people with toilet paper and cleaning supplies, I could sit back and relax because I had at least a month’s worth of these supplies already in my home! I didn’t need to worry or run out to get anything. It was such a feeling of freedom and independence!

4.  I don’t use a lot of products in my home. Not using many products means that I don’t need to worry about running out of them. I use coconut oil, vinegar and peroxide for cleaners and face/body needs. I use coconut oil as a face wash, body lotion and to cook with. I also make my own cleaner using water with a little bit of Dawn dish soap and hydrogen peroxide. I make my own floor cleaner with water and vinegar and a touch of Dawn dish soap. Because these are in abundant supply in my home and last forever, I wasn’t almost out of anything. Vinegar is a great laundry booster! It gets out tough smells and I use it with all my towels and sheets. It is the only thing that gets out pee smells from children having accidents, too!

5. We were already homeschooling. I know this isn’t a lifestyle that everyone can or wants to do. I understand. All I’m going to say about this, is that is was nice to have my children close to me and not be worried about them getting sick or being in harm’s way. It was also nice to not have to miss a beat with their school. Since my days are spent schooling my children already, there wasn’t a large disruption for them when all of this hit and everything closed down. 

 

COOKING

6. I know how to cook from scratch. Over the years, this one skill has saved me large amounts of money. I spend about $800-$1,000 a month feeding my family. I am currently feeding 4 adults and 2 tweens: my husband and myself, my 4 children still at home, ages 20 to 10. I love being able to feed my family on such a small budget! If I round to the middle, that’s about $5/day/person, for all 3 meals. My husband takes his lunch to work and we are home all the time since we homeschool, meaning we eat all 3 meals at home.

     I am able to do this because I cook every meal from scratch. And no, that doesn’t mean slaving over a hot stove all day. It might mean sandwiches or wraps for lunch instead of prepackaged Lunchables or pot pies. It looks like spaghetti and homemade sauce for supper, instead of canned sauce or frozen pizza.

     Cooking from scratch doesn’t have to mean gourmet meals all the time. It just means that I choose food that is not from a box. Hamburger Helper, frozen pizza, and the like might seem inexpensive at first, but it does add up. Foods like this don’t have a lot of nutritional value and they seem to just burn up in my kids. When I give them nutrient dense foods that last longer in their bodies, they eat less. And my children have very big appetites! It would take at least 3 boxes of Hamburger Helper to feed my family, which wouldn’t be very cost effective.

     Consider some new recipes to replace your boxed or canned food. Maybe pick one or two meals and become an expert at them, like homemade macaroni and cheese instead of the boxed kind. You will never regret learning how to cook.

7. I buy food products that are in lower demand. We don’t eat chips, pop or packaged foods, which tend to be more popular. So when everyone was panic buying cases of pop, I was buying large cans of tomato sauce and ketchup and large quantities of vegetables. Eating in this “unpopular” way makes our food always available to us.

8. We garden and can our food. Yes, this is a big commitment and it’s taken me years to learn the art of gardening. But it has been worth every amount of time and energy I have put into it. We do the Square Foot Gardening method. In fact, I’ve never done row gardening and I’ve been doing this for about 18 years now! We love this method of planting and rotating our crops and we always have good success. Even if you live in a city, you can put in a square and grow an abundance of food! You can even make raised boxes and portable boxes. It’s worth checking into. Growing your own food in general is a worthy skill to have. You will not regret this one. When the virus hit, we had several jars of homemade spaghetti sauce, jars of jelly, pickled vegetables, frozen peaches and the like.

9. Knowing how to bake, cook, make cheese, pasta, grind wheat and other skills helped me to have the confidence that I could pull my family through a major crisis. For a few days, I didn’t know how things were going to end up. I was watching the stock market crash, people hoarding supplies, businesses shut down and an unknown, very contagious virus sweep through America. It was a lot to process all within a few days of each other. How much worse was it going to get? What if they did close down grocery stores?

      There were so many questions as the world around me was in a free fall, but having some of these skills in my back pocket helped me to fight the fear that was starting to grip me. I am not an expert pasta maker and haven’t done it for years, however I have done it and have a passing knowledge of how to make and cook pasta from scratch. I have also made cheese and have a mill and some wheat berries. I don’t usually do these things, but knowing that I could if I had to, helped more than you would think.

      Take some time to make some cheese, research mills and maybe buy one to tuck away. You will probably never need it, but if you do, you’ll be thankful you can. 

10. I have 3 months of meals planned at all times. This is something I do on a regular basis. I will explain more in another post, but having this one area of my life be this organized has helped me so much over the years. From being sick, to having crisis after crisis hit our family, to new babies, husbands that get deployed–I was still able to feed my family and not lose my mind because I have 3 months of meals planned all the time. When the shutdown hit us, I had enough food in my house for the week and a plan for all of it. It was such a help for my mind during a very stressful period.

11. Speaking of meal planning and groceries on hand, I also had a freezer full of beef and enough food to feed us for about a month, possibly longer. We had just bought a half cow in January. Yes, the timing was great, however, we usually try to buy local and keep large quantities of meat in our freezers. Sometimes it’s chicken or pork. This time we had invested in a cow. Even if per pound it’s a little more expensive, the peace of mind is worth it. I don’t intentionally stock up on food, as an official prepper would do, but we always have food on hand. If I couldn’t have made it to the grocery store, I did have enough food in my pantry and freezers to put together some meals for a month. We may not have been happy, but we would not have been hungry. My suggestion would be to buy in bulk when you can, or buy two items instead of one, such as pork chops or even frozen vegetables. You can build a small stock pile doing this without spending a lot of extra money. When I go to the store, I always buy tomato sauce, even if I have some at home. This way I always have it, even more than I need, but without going overboard.

   

HOMESTEADING DEPENDENT

     I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about anything that had to do with our homestead. But just in case someone does live on some acres and has the shelter, I would suggest buying a couple of goats or a dairy cow. My personal preference is goats, but do your research and see what works best for you. Goats are relatively easy to keep, they aren’t scary huge and they give you a lot of milk. Of course, not as much as a cow, but enough. Contrary to most people’s opinion, goat’s milk is delicious and tastes just like cow’s milk. If it doesn’t, there’s something wrong with it. We have 4 LaMancha goats and they are giving us about 10 quarts per day right now. Once we sell the babies and get all the milk to ourselves, we’ll get around 15 quarts per day. I’m freezing about half of it and we’re drinking and cooking with the rest. I have no need to buy milk from the store and that feeling is a great one!

     I hope I helped you in some small way to be a little more independent. Not having to rely on the government, or even the grocery store, is such a liberating feeling! I want you to have peace in as many areas as you can, and when a major crisis hits us, this peace of having some ducks in a row will be such a blessing.

 

Are there any good routines or habits you have that have served you over the years?

Or when the coronavirus pandemic hit us?

Share your ideas below! We can all learn from each other.


***

Let me know which was your favourite tip in the comments! Thanks for sharing Amber!

Love,

Sarah


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Beeswax Dipped Leaves




This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you order through the links, I may earn a small portion of the sales. 

 With fall in full force in Alberta, I'm not sure I could think of a better way to spend free time with the family than crunching through a forest full of colours! In spite the cooler weather, I must admit, it is my favourite season!

One of the ways you can preserve these colours is by wax dipping the leaves in beeswax- oh- and it smells delicious to boot! Here are some simple instructions to get you started.

1. Grab your family and head out to the forest, or your backyard if you have the joy of having multiple trees out your back door!

2. Collect leaves of varying colours, textures, and shapes. Make sure they are still freshly fallen leaves, the dried crunchy ones don't work as well.

3. Once you are back home heat up your beeswax using a double burner (you can also use old candle stumps that are too short for burning as long as they are not coloured). Beeswax can be found in local health food stores, nearby apiaries, farmer's markets, or craft stores, or here on Amazon. (I like to buy the brick of wax rather then the pastilles and grate what I need.)

4. Carefully (the wax will be very hot for little hands), hold the stems and dip your leaves making sure you get both sides of the leaf covered.

5. Set your leaf on wax paper to cool.

6. Once all of your leaves are cooled you can sew them together however you please. We made long strands that we hung from a birch stick (my son's other treasure from our walk), but you could make wreaths, garlands, etc. Your imagination if your limit!

All my love,





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6 Date Night Ideas for Exhausted Parents





I sat across from Grandma and Grandpa in our red vinyl booth. Milkshakes with red and white striped straws on the table, jukebox attached the wall, black and white checkered floors for days, the smell of burgers on the open grill. Their eyes glimmered as they looked around the purposefully nostalgic atmosphere. Grandma reached over and squeezed Grandpa’s arm. “Reminds me of our first date,” she grinned. I was about fourteen years old and just starting to notice boys, the idea of romance at my age was only found in the dreams us girls had for the latest Tiger Beat crush of the week. I knew what my grandparents had was
real romance though, not just the kind that teenagers dreamt up about being whisked away to Hollywood with an unattainable dreamboat who hardly had facial hair. Somehow Grandma’s smile made her look as young as her memory, and I knew what they had was more than just a crush, but a deeply connected bond that had taken decades to build upon.  

What followed that arm squeeze and wild schoolgirl smile was the unfolding of their first date. It began over a bet that eggnog milkshakes were or weren’t real. They were. It ended with the two of them driving one town over to a small milkshake shop where my grandpa proceeded to prove his knowledge of the drink industry and the rest, as they say, is history. It started over a milkshake flavour, a strategic bet, and I, the one privileged to hear the story, was a product of that very small, yet significant, date. 


Fast forward many, MANY years later and I now have three kids of my own. (*insert young Simba being held in the air and the Elton John singing about the Circle of Life*) The problem is, while the romance and twinkly eyes looked great on my grandparents, I wasn’t feeling overly “sparkly” myself. We were exhausted. Like, eye-burning, cheekbone throbbing, delusional exhausted. How were we to keep our marriage going in a way that we could a) still see each other with at least a little passion, and b) not drift away to the point of not knowing each other anymore? 


I’m pleased to report that as of today, we are officially sixteen years into our marriage and we are still together. Looking back, I can now see why my grandma could smile so sweetly as she reflected…she had had sleep the night before! As a parent, I get it, your days are long, your nights longer, the gruelling speed of parenthood, especially in the early years, can wear you down. However, I also must (*strongly*) suggest, that you carve out some time to remember how your family got started with just the two of you, wild crazy love, and a few dreams (remember dreams?). Marriage takes work, and hands down those first few years with babes in tow make it all the more of a struggle, as do sick days, bad dreams, potty training...life. Life can make marriage hard. As our oldest is currently preparing for her learners license, I am reminded that I was just seven years older than her when I got married (I’m not crying, you’re crying!). One day they will leave our home and once again it will just be the two of us. I kinda want to still like this man when we have no one but each other under the same roof!


For those of you in this season of life, embrace the tired, but embrace each other often. Here are 6 date night ideas just for you exhausted parents who are trying hard to make time for each other. Grab a babysitter, send the kids to a friend’s house, trade with friends for date nights, but put in the effort however you get there, you won’t be disappointed.


3 STAY AT HOME DATE NIGHTS


I can’t tell you how many times we took the kids to the grandparents or dropped them off with a friend and went back home. There are two rules you must abide by if you want to have a date at home. The first is: no phones allowed! You cannot check your email, or Facebook, or snap a selfie for Instagram. The phone can stay out in case of emergencies, but leave it on the shelf. The second rule is: no chores. Yes, the laundry is piled high, yes, there are dishes. It will all wait for you for tomorrow. Repeat after me, "house cleaning is not romantic." 


1. Dinner in - After you drop off the kids, pick up some take out food. At some restaurants you can call ahead and have your meal ready for pick up at a time that works after you deliver your children into the hands of your evening sitters. Grab your takeout (or order in if that’s your preference) and head home. Light a candle at the kitchen table and enjoy eating right out of your paper cartons! Keep it as simple as possible. 


2. Movie and popcorn at home - With so many ways to stream movies, this was our favourite “stay in” date night. When the kids were little I could never manage to watch an entire movie before I fell asleep or had to step away to feed/ change/ tend to a younger child. Now that they are older, movie watching is still interrupted by the need for snacks, and fidgety hands. Pro parenting tip: if you do this date at night your chances of falling asleep are exponentially greater, aim for an afternoon “matinee” instead.


3. Have a nap - There. I said it. You know what makes a happy marriage? Well rested parents. We almost always had a child crammed between the two of us in our bed. Super unromantic!! Also…super exhausting! When you are both completely drained, a good sleep can do just as much good to take the strain off marriage, as a romantic date for two. Take the time, while your kids are out, to fall asleep together. There is something about reminding yourself how comfy the arms of your spouse is that rekindle a gentle awareness of the strength you find each other (even when you’re too weak to move another inch).


3 DATE IDEAS FOR OUT OF YOUR HOME


1. Visit your local farmer’s market - We love walking up and down the aisles of the markets and seeing what people have crafted or grown. Even with the current restrictions, many markets have reopened with a few new, but simple enough, rules to abide by. The bonus of farmer’s markets is that they usually happen earlier in the day when even fussy kids are still smiling. I don’t know what it is about mornings, but my kids were always at their best for whomever was watching them, leaving me to relax a little more readily. 


2. Game night with friends - this one can be fun with a little careful planning. You can send all the kids to one house and grab a babysitter (or two), then have the parents at another home playing games. The rules are simple: everyone brings a game and an easy snack to share, none of the homes get cleaned ahead of time (no judgement is allowed!), and everyone must bring a hefty sum of humility and grace as you acknowledge the season you are in. 


3. Cloud gazing - weather permitting, grab yourself a drink of your choice, and find a quiet park to sit and visit, or walk around at, or people watch and mouth drool if you’re too tired (just don’t be creepy about it.). Park dates are great for catching up on where you are at in your lives. Be sure to check in and ask each other how well or not well you are coping in this season of your life. You might be surprised by each others answers. Sometimes just saying out loud that you are not ok, is enough to help you through it. 


Whatever you do, remember, you are team. Dates are reminders that you are there to hold each other up in all seasons of life. Growing together takes effort, but as my grandparents showed me, the payout is worth it, even for those simple dates!


What are other date ideas you’ve done? Share in the comments.


All my love,








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[name=Sarah Slanzi] [description=Old-fashioned homemaking steeped in God's grace] (facebook=https://www.facebook.com/hiddenmotherhood) (instagram=https://www.instagram.com/sarah.slanzi) (pinterest=https://www.pinterest.ca/hiddenmotherhood/)