My Family's Rewarding New Evening Ritual (+ Can You Do Me a Big Favour?)

 Images courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that sometimes the simplest changes we choose to make can be some of the most rewarding. Many moons ago when I still outweighed my boys by a considerable amount, there used to be that natural evening rhythm of snuggling up with a lapful of freshly washed, footsy-sleepered boys and reading them a story or three before tucking them into bed.

As the boys went and got bigger, and we all got involved in more evening activities, that ritual fell by the wayside. As I feel the clock ticking ever louder towards the day when one or both of the boys will no longer be living with us full-time, I realized I really missed how we used to all gather together at the end of the day. 

I wracked my brain trying to figure out a way we could all reconnect at the end of the day in a way that felt easy, fun and not forced - something we would ALL look forward to. Then one day I thoght about how much we all enjoy playing games together around the campfire on our family camping trips, and how seldom we seem to play games when we're NOT camping.

Thus, our new routine of spending 30-45 minutes playing games together was born! We decided we'd commit to doing this Monday through Thursday, as on Friday and Saturday evenings the boys tend to spend time with their friends and Joe & I with ours (or each other) and Joe plays hockey on Sunday nights throughout much of the year.

We have a standing "appointment" at 9:30 p.m. for each of these four evenings, and each night a different person gets to pick the game. We also agreed that ALL screens would go off for the night prior to our commencing game time, which has been good for all four of us (and given that late-night screen time is supposed to disrupt your sleep, we're probably all sleeping better because of it).

It's ended up being so relaxing and fun, and great "bonding" time with some good (and usually very entertaining) conversation. We all look forward to this time together, and it just feels like the perfect way to wind down the day.

So, what are we playing? I'll admit we're a little short on good 4 player board games right now.  Our favourites are tile rummy, Uno, President and Whoonu, with the boys often requesting trivia games (we have a Harry Potter trivia game and Star Wars Trivial Pursuit). We do have a Scrabble set, but no one else in the the house wants to play with me because I'm pretty much going to win :) I'm going to keep my eyes open this yard sale season to see if I can find some other good games, and we really need to learn more card games, too!

I can't believe how much this simple idea has enriched our family life - and it didn't cost us a thing except the willingness to make this time commitment to one another.

Do you have a favourite family ritual you do with your older kids? Or do you have a good 4-player game to recommend?

While you're here, can I ask you a favour? I know many of my blog readers have been some of my book's biggest supporters, and I am so grateful for all of you that have purchased the book and helped spread the word about it. If you do have a copy of the book (or even if you've read a friend's or a library copy) would you consider reviewing it for me on Amazon? I'm doing a Book Review Campaign right now with the goal of adding 15 new reviews to the several wonderful ones that are already there. You don't need to have purchased the book on Amazon in order to review it there!

You can find more details on why this is so important to me, and how to do an effective review, by clicking HERE (this will open up a PDF file). Thanks to all of you who are willing to take this on (it should only take about 15-20 minutes of your time). 
 

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Our Annual Apple Picking Expedition

On Monday, we made our annual jaunt to Myers Apple Farm. We've been going there for what must be getting close to a decade now, and the fall season would just not be complete for our family without an apple picking adventure! We love this farm because they have a great selection of apples, as well as a small petting zoo, a corral full of horses and other goodies such as pumpkins and cut flowers. And I love it even more because they have not gone hyper-commercial like a lot of the other farms around here, which charge an admission fee and have a more carnival-like atmosphere. We're fortunate that although we live right smack in the middle of a dense urban area (a city of half a million) the apple farm is just a short 15-20 minute drive away.

Unfortunately, I had "camnesia" for our latest excursion (and apparently I was similarly afflicted last year, as I don't have any photos of that occasion, either). So I'll share a few photos from 2-3 years back (I cannot believe how much younger my kids looked back then!)

 

My younger son Nathan enjoying a freshly picked apple, Fall 2009

My hubby Joe and older son Noah, picking apples in fall 2009

Family photo amongst the pumpkins, October 2008

One of our classic family photos: Noah the Horse-Headed Boy 

(this was *not* taken intentionally - the horse moved just as I snapped the shot, which makes it even funnier!)

And I just love this sign, posted at the entrance to the farm:

Empires are our favourite apple variety. I think they're the perfect mix of slightly tart with just the right sweetness, and they're nice and crisp. Last year, much to our disappointment, the farm had a severe shortage of Empires, as they were hit with a May frost just when the buds were forming. We got the last half bushel of apples they had last year and weren't actually able to pick any apples because there weren't any left on the trees. This year, happily, there was a bumper crop of Empires and we were able to pick a full bushel, despite the fact that we went up a couple weeks later than we usually do.

Newly fortified with our bushel of fresh-off-the-tree Empires, we'll have a good supply to make all my favourite apple dishes! I've shared a couple previously here on the blog:

Upside Down Apple Oven Pancake
Pork & Apple Stew
Baked Oatmeal

And there are a bunch more in my upcoming book, Cheap Appetit (which really will be coming out sometime soon - there have been quite a few delays, but it will definitely be available well before Christmas!)

Apple Crisp
Morning Glory Muffins
Sausage and Apple Saute
Apple & Bacon Baked Beans
Carrot & Apple Salad
Apple Raspberry Squares

Do you go apple picking? What's your favourite apple variety? Do you have a favourite apple recipe to share?

Money-Saving Recreation Resources

It's been another busy week around here - who'd have thought February (usually the official month of "not much to do") could be so hectic! We had a surprise visit from my dad Monday night, a surprise visit from my brother-in-law and niece Tuesday, a day-long visit with my friend Jenn and her adorable 3-month-old daughter Paige (to whom I am an honorary Auntie) and a 3-hr playdate with one of the boys friends this afternoon! Whew. No wonder I'm a bit groggy!

Okay, on to some frugal ideas. On Tuesday, all four of us ventured off to the Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology. The great thing about this (aside from how cool the museum was) is that our local library system has recently made available family day passes for the local civic museums. You reserve one and check it out just as you would any other library material, and you get into the museum for free!! This is really fantastic for us, since as homeschoolers we're always on the lookout for something new and interesting to do, and admission fees can really start to add up after a while. I also feel better knowing that if the boys get bored after half an hour I can leave without feeling guilty about wasting money. All frugalistas should know their library system pretty intimately of course, but it never hurts to ask the staff if they have recently added any new programs or resources. These passes will probably save us about $75-100 per year.

Another thing I learned about this past week is that our city offers substantial discounts (less than 1/2 price!) on Rec Centre Family Passes (normally $114 a year) if your family receives any Child Tax Benefits ("baby bonus"). Apparently this is not something they advertise (not sure why, if it is their policy!), but it is something I am definitely going to look into before I purchase this year's pass!

Even though I've lived in the same city for almost 15 years, I am still finding new programs and resources that will help save us money while having fun!

Boxing Day Bliss

Ahh, Boxing Day. My favourite day of the year!! I do enjoy Christmas, but the visiting frenzy of the few days surrounding it, plus all the preparations for the big day, means that no matter how hard I try, I always seem to be exhausted on Christmas Day (and I have to produce a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings as well!) Boxing Day at our house is sacredly protected as "The Day of Doing Nothing". We laze around in our pajamas, get dressed if/when we feel like it, and basically do whatever the heck we want.

I stayed in bed until 10 a.m., spent a lot of the remaining morning reading a novel, puttered around the house a bit, watched The Chronicles of Narnia (again, watched it yesterday too - the boys got the DVD for Christmas from my dad), listened to the Barenaked Ladies, ate "turkeyovers", took an after-dinner nap, and surfed the net somewhat aimlessly. In other words, a perfectly divine day. The boys were busy most of the day playing their new Gamecube games and watching Madagascar (another new DVD) so I had a lot more time than usual to myself, although we did get some group snuggles in today too.

By the way, our "Hundred Dollar" Christmas was, by and large, fairly successful. All of our friends and family seemed pleased with the gifts we gave, and the boys were thrilled with the fishing rods - there's no doubt they will see lots of use. I would have preferred to have a couple more presents to give my hubby (and okay - maybe a couple more to unwrap myself if I'm entirely honest) but all in all, considering that we spent just over $100 for our *entire* Christmas, it was very successful. I was quite impressed with everything we managed to pull off with that small amount. My gifts from my hubby, by the way, were a birdfeeder (built by him), homemade truffles, and a coupon book filled with certificates for goodies like a foot massage and a "get out of dishes free" card. I don't think I would voluntarily choose to do a strict $100 holiday again, but it was definitely a worthwhile experience, and has helped to clarify what the most meaningful and important parts of the holiday are for all of us. Hopefully our budget won't *require* us to do this again next year, but we certainly won't go hog wild with the spending next Christmas even if we can afford to.

I finally got around to uploading the photo I took of the gift baskets I made up for some of our friends:

the treats included a Norwegian "Julekake" (traditional Christmas bread), candied peanuts, toffee butter crunch (tastes like a skor bar), pumpkin loaf, and a jar of cran-raspberry jam. I then filled an orange crate with their personal gifts (all knitted by me!): a scarf for Jenn, socks for Bruce, a cube-shaped stuffed toy for Paige, and a CD of Christmas music for all of them. I also made them a "birdseed wreath" to give to their feathered friends by dipping a grapevine wreath into a mixture of melted shortening, peanut butter and cornmeal, then coating with birdseed and refrigerating until firm.

My dad got pumpkin loaf, peanuts, butter toffee crunch, a birdseed wreath, and another classical music CD to add to his collection.

My nan (grandmother) got cran-raspberry jam, pumpkin loaf, a knitted sachet filled with peppermint (from my garden) and rosemary (heavenly scent!), and an SPCA calendar featuring lots of cute critters.

Boxing Day is now officially over as the clock on my computer says 12:02 am so I'm going to head to bed!

Frugal Halloween Fun

We've been busy having some free family fun! On Friday night, we went on what's known in our neighbourhood as "The Night Hike". This is a free event that has been going on for quite a few years and is a much anticipated event in our household! The local school decorates a wooded nature trail with jack-o-lanterns made by the kids. It is *very* cool to hike through a forest full of glowing jack-o-lanterns, even if, like this year, it's freezing cold and pouring rain. The event is so popular that there were still crowds of people participating, despite the abysmal weather. A frugal aspect of The Night Hike (besides that it's free) is that since my hubby always volunteers to help clear all the pumpkins from the trail at the end, he gets to bring home as many "unclaimed" jack-o-lanterns as he wants (usually somewhere around a dozen). So, we always have a *very* spooky looking house on Halloween night, despite the fact that we usually only purchase two pumpkins of our own.

On Saturday night (despite a distinct lack of improvement in the weather), we attended the Haunted Halloween event at Westfield Heritage Village. Again, lots of fun (in this case, spooky old-fashioned creepy kinds of fun). We had bundled up well, but were still eager to make hot chocolate and popcorn when we got home!! Of course, the popcorn was air-popped and the hot chocolate was of the cocoa-and-sugar-in-hot-milk variety (which I think tastes a lot better than anything out of the expensive little packages anyways).