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May, 2014

  1. Pippi, Pippi Longstocking

    May 30, 2014 by admin

    IMG_1865We’ve been thoroughly enjoying discovering the world of Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraim’s Daughter Longstocking. What could be more delightful than reading about the escapades of a confident, incredibly strong, insightful, and energetic young woman?

    Pippi lives in her inherited home, Villa Vellekulla, located in Sweden. Her mother is deceased and her father is presumed lost at sea. Pippi’s only home companions are a monkey and a horse, and she is quite content with her living situation. Pippi has also made good friends with two young siblings that reside next door.

    Pippi’s daily adventures usually leave us chuckling. And her sassy comments made to overbearing or presumptious adults will leave you cheering for Pippi. She will not be forced into a cookie cutter existence. Pippi demands to be allowed to romp outdoors rather than attend daily schooling. And she loves her appearance-  a freckled, red headed, shoes-to-big, mismatched stockings, pigtailed girl.

    We haven’t explored the tv or movie versions of Pippi. Perhaps we never will. But we love the girl we’ve met on the page. Pippi is a fabulous role model for any child!

    Category Advice & Reviews | Tags: | Comments Off on Pippi, Pippi Longstocking

  2. Lego To Go

    May 28, 2014 by admin

    Our on-going love of all things Lego has collided with our love of exploring, resulting in a need to bring Legos on our jaunts. When traveling by car, we had constant problems with Legos being spilled all over.  This equated to unhappy kiddoes trying unsuccessfully to build the coolest thing while parents desperately attempted to reach inaccessible pieces under the seats- all while we rolled down the highway.

    What to do?IMG_1864

    For us, the answer was to create our own mobile Lego table- a lap desk/tray specifically for building Lego projects on the road.

    We considered constructing the whole tray from scratch, but then we chanced upon a great wooden tray set at Michaels. The tray perfectly fit a large, flat Lego panel Santa dropped off over Christmas. At just a few dollars, the tray was right on budget. Plus, the unfinished wood allowed for future painting projects. Perfect! We glued the Lego panel to the bottom of the tray and voila!

    We now have a great way to move Legos about, and a platform on which to hold and build projects while on the road!  And in addition to spotting cool birds and funky houses as we travel, we have the joy of seeing what new creations our backseat travelers have conjured up.

    Category Road Trippin' | Tags: ,,, | 1 Comment

  3. Pack The Car

    May 25, 2014 by admin

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    Rather than worrying on every outing if we have all of our ‘go to’ items and emergency bits in the car, we like to save time and energy by packing the car in advance- keeping the many little necessities tucked in the car to be at the ready when called upon.

    This makes spontaneous trips so much more do-able, since we can literally grab our coats and wallets and head out the door.

    What sorts of things do we keep in the car?

    • Cleaning Supplies: Wipes, napkins, trash bags.
    • Travel Supplies: Maps, pens and paper, a mini tool kit, flashlight.
    • Stuff for Kids: Toys, games, books, flash cards, crayons, paper, our family trip log.
    • Stuff for the Pup: Treats, water dish, half gallon of H2O, emergency dog leash.
    • Other Extras: Spare gloves and mittens, ibuprofen, small first aid kit, small packable blanket.

     

    Of course, you should modify this list to include the items that are essentials for you.

    By keeping the car pretty well stocked, we don’t have to grab all these things every time we head out on an adventure. We just gather a few snacks and some fresh water, along with books and toys of current interest- and we are ready to go!

    Category Jaunts | Tags: ,, | 3 Comments

  4. Tree Lover

    May 23, 2014 by admin

    Our Bluey fell in love recently.

    With a tree.IMG_5770

    It was love at first sight. He climbed all over the tree for quite some time, tested out branches and found a great place to sit up on a limb.  Then he cried for ten minutes straight when he had to say goodbye to his new favorite tree, even with the knowledge that he would get to see it again the very next day.

    We love that our children have such affection for trees.  It’s a feeling we cultivate. Trees are such beautiful beings, and so important to ecosystems everywhere.

    When we are out and about, we point out beautiful and interesting trees- same as we do with cool cars, funky buildings and birds.  They are all a wonderful part of our world.

    Many trees are ancient. Everyday we pass trees that stood during World War II. Or World War I. Or the Blizzard of ’88 (1888, that is.)  And we discuss regularly, the usefulness of trees- that they provide homes and food for so many critters. Trees regulate temperatures and hold on to topsoil, and so much more.

    IMG_1673Our hope is that our children will always feel a deep connection to trees and nature.  The world needs trees, and trees need their defenders and lovers.

    Category Rambler Ramblings | Tags: ,,,,, | Comments Off on Tree Lover

  5. Volunteering: Kitty Transport

    May 18, 2014 by admin

    Part of our continuing series for the ThriftyRambler Kindness Project.

    IMG_5936A great way to cultivate kindness is to volunteer to help others.

    Finding the best opportunity to volunteer can sometimes be a challenge, especially for the very young.  But a young age is the exact time to begin volunteering.  By starting out at as a youngster, kids learn all through their lives that helping others is something you do.  It can become a habit that they won’t want to break.

    So we’ve been looking for a chance for our young Bluey to get involved in something he cares about in his community, and that can make a meaningful difference in the world.

    We found just the thing by transporting kittens for Darling Pet Rescue.IMG_5935

    It’s no secret that Bluey loves animals– especially cats, so helping transport them was a perfect fit.

    Darling Pet Rescue (DPR) is a no-kill animal rescue group that finds homes for animals in need.  DPR offers shelter and foster homes for animals until a permanent home can be found.  But the logistics of taking care of the animals can be quite daunting.   All DPR rescues receive top-quality veterinary care, and frequently need to be moved from the vet clinic to various pet stores that display the animals to expose them to good homes.   If animals at the viewing stores get ill, or need additional care, then they need to go back to the vet clinic.

    Moving critters from place to place is where Bluey comes into the scene.  We (along with several other dedicated volunteers) offer the rides to or from the clinic.  Our Bluey loves going on a kitty mission, and offers his sweet loving words to the cats while they are in car carriers next to him.  He comforts, calms and reassures them during their trip, and helps them settle at their destination.

    Bluey’s volunteer work also ties into his school projects.  He his learning a lot about animal health and care, and this knowledge is reinforced every time Bluey helps out.

    Bluey looks forward to assisting DPR and he knows that with each trip, he is helping an animal find a new family- just like our cats and dog settled down with us!

    Although it took us a while to find the right fit, we are so happy that Bluey gets to help out his friends and neighbors in a way that really matters to him.

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    Category Kindness Project | Tags: ,,,,,, | Comments Off on Volunteering: Kitty Transport

  6. Who Wants Nachos?!?!

    May 16, 2014 by admin

    IMG_1822You can make awesome plates of nachos in your home, in about half an hour. It’s totally worth it!  We love this dish as a delicious evening snack.

    We always worry that we’ve made too big a pile of nachos, but there are never any leftovers…

    First, figure out what you want on your nachos, because you’ll want to gather all your ingredients together before you start cooking.

    Some ideas:

    Cheese (Cheddar is awesome, but you might like Monterrey Jack or a pepper jack- really almost any cheese you like will work.  Some vegan cheeses work really well too!), olives (black, green, or kalamata), diced onions, scallions, diced tomatoes, salsa, refritos or black beans, sliced jalapenos… the list can go on and on.  Anything you like can go on your nachos!

    Prep all your ingredients: chop you onions, grate your cheese, slice your olives- get everything ready.

    Take about half the chips you will be using and lay them out on a cookie sheet or pizza pan. Top with half of each of your other ingredients, saving the cheese for last. Bake this layer for about 8 minutes at 350 degrees to melt up the cheese.

    Add the rest of your chips and the rest of your toppings, saving the cheese for last.  Bake for another 8 minutes or so – more if you like your cheese crispy.

    Slide your big heap of nachos onto a plate, break out the sour cream and/or guacamole and dig in!

     

    Category Recipes | Tags: ,, | Comments Off on Who Wants Nachos?!?!

  7. Family Gardening

    May 11, 2014 by admin

    When seeking out fun activities for the family, we regularly check in with the happenings at our local colleges and universities.  You never know what you might get to see or do.IMG_5788

    We recently had the best day attending the University of Wisconsin Family Gardening Day!

    Hosted by the Science Outreach Department, Family Gardening Day is held at the D.C. Smith Greenhouse, the Allen Centennial Gardens and the Steenbock Library.  Each location set up a few booths to help educate people about gardening, talk to some experts, and allow you to get your hands in some dirt!

    We had a great time.  We got to look through a powerful microscope at tiny little garden bugs.  We taste tested different varieties of carrots and we took home seeds from the seed library.

    But our favorite parts were all the plant give-aways!

    IMG_5782We made small terrariums complete with live plants, constructed living necklaces that will grow to become bean plants, and took home a ‘spaghetti garden’- a set of tomato, pepper, oregano and basil plants to plan and harvest this summer. All for free thanks to the generosity of the event planners.

    If you live near Madison, keep your eye on the UW for their next fun happening.  No matter where you live, remember to check out your local college or university for fun activities for you and your family!

    Category Get Outside! | Tags: ,,, | Comments Off on Family Gardening

  8. Better Than A Booklist

    May 9, 2014 by admin

    We see them all the time. Someone puts out a list of all the books that kids should read when they are 7. Or when in High school. Or in order to be considered truly literate.

    There are a lot of great books out there, too many for any list.

    For our homeschooled little Bluey, we have a different kind of list.  A list for an explorer.  Parks!IMG_1793

    We love visiting new places and getting the chance to meet new people. So we have embarked on an ambitious plan- to have our young son experience all the parks in our hometown (big and small).

    There are over 200 parks in the city of Madison. That’s a lot of parks, so it’s a big challenge. But that’s not all we are going to do. We also resolved to attempt to visit all 31 parks in our county park system, and all the state parks as well.

    It’s almost 300 parks to visit!

    IMG_0127We know that this is an ambitious idea. But think of how many natural wonders our son will see! Think how many wild animals and plants we will encounter.

    Maybe he’ll never choose to read the top ten greatest non fiction books of 2010, but we know that he will experience amazing things.

    Category Parenting | Tags: ,,,,,, | Comments Off on Better Than A Booklist

  9. Colors

    May 7, 2014 by admin

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    This TR family is not afraid of the color spectrum or patterns. We love to see the crazy hodgepodge of prints and the vibrant collection of colors our kids throw together. But we seem to be in the minority, especially with our son, Bluey.

    How did certain myths about colors evolve? Why is pink too feminine for a boy and black the most slimming choice? Isn’t it time to break through these idiotic constraints? We allow our kids to wear the colors they want. It’s part of who they are.  We don’t shy away from purchasing vibrant articles of clothing for them.

    Wearing a flower print or a pink shirt doesn’t make Bluey any less of a man. Nor does Plum’s choice of blue jeans and a black shirt take away from her femininity. Of all the problems we have in this world, embracing color shouldn’t even register on the scale.

    So get splashy and have some fun! We sure do.

    Category Rambler Ramblings | Tags: , | Comments Off on Colors

  10. The Pabst Theater

    May 4, 2014 by admin

    Pabst TheaterWe are always on the search for sites offering free, legal Mp3s to expand our musical knowledge-base.  A frequently overlooked source for free cutting edge songs is the venues that host concerts.

    Many theaters are able to host songs from bands as promos for upcoming shows.

    2767747155_0ef8e6cac9A great theater we love (where TRMom and TRDad saw the ubercute Martha Wainwright, among others) is the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee.

    A quick view of the Pabst website shows the “Free Mp3” tab on the right-hand side.  A few seconds later you’ve got eight or ten new songs to enjoy.

    You don’t need to attend the concerts, or join the theater’s website.  You don’t need to live in Wisconsin, or anywhere near the Pabst.  Just download and enjoy!

    Is there a theater near you offering free music to entice ticket sales?  If so, let us know!

    Category Thrifty Tips | Tags: ,, | Comments Off on The Pabst Theater

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