Homestead

This At-Home Bounce House Upped My Dad Game

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Growing up, I never realized that there could be so much satisfaction in being a father. Not just in having children, but in having someone you simply want to take care of and make happy. Having someone right in front of you that just takes you back in time, to when you were also a child, to when you hopped through a bounce house and sprung around trampolines and thought the world was endlessly vast. I didn’t know that being a father meant both being selfless, and also indulging in someone else’s joy.

Kitchen Sink Organizer Ideas for a Bright, Minimalist Home

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We have readers reach out on occasion with questions about our kitchen sink organizer situation. Since we posted about our kitchen hub awhile back, it seems that minimalism in the cooking area is a hot topic! The organization in this space can’t really be contributed to a specific organizer or individual design purchase, though. When it comes to our farmhouse, Nate and I have made a long series of decisions that have contributed to a simplistic space in general. Here are some of our favorite kitchen sink organizer ideas.

4 Marriage Advice Tips for Couples on the Move

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Since our family has experienced quite a bit of upheaval and tragedy in the last few months (and even before that, frankly) a lot of people have asked how Nate and I keep it together. How we keep going, smiling and moving through life. We’ve continued to travel and work, leaning into each other as life whirls on around us. If you’re going through similar issues, here’s a little marriage advice to put your relationship into focus in the midst of chaos.

How We Manage to Keep a Low Maintenance Farm

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Along with traveling about half the year, Nate and I own a low maintenance farm in the rural hills of San Diego. This is definitely one of the things we get asked about most. How on EARTH can we manage to be away for days, sometimes even weeks at a time, while still keeping a bunch of animals alive?

DIY Peter Pan Family Costumes that are Cute and Cheap

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Our family likes travel and movies and we LOVE Disney, so we were stoked that our Disney Cruise Line trip gave us the perfect opportunity to marry that all together! Disneybounding is one of our favorite pastimes, and we decided to channel some fun silver screen characters for pirate night. There was a little sneak peek of our outfits in our post about what to pack, and now we’re laying out all the details for these Peter Pan family costumes.

Wet or Dry Food for Cats – Which is Better?

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Living on a small farm, we’ve had a LOT of cats. Indoor cats, outdoor cats, feral cats, domestic cats. Fancy breeds and mixed, short hair and long. We’ve adopted both kittens and adults, and talked about it all here on the blog. It’s not surprising, then, when readers email us with questions like: wet or dry food for cats? Which should I pick?

How I got my Baby to LOVE Vegetables

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I have four kids ages 7 and under. People always ask if I had a set of twins in there. Nope! It’s just been a solid seven years of pregnant, nursing, weaning, crawling, toddling rambunctiousness. My kids –  all boys – were born back-to-back-to-back-to-back all approximately two years apart. That means that we’ve been elbows deep in baby food for over six years. I know a LOT about feeding little kids. And I have the magic secret to getting a baby to love vegetables.

Going Back to School was Surprisingly Painless this Year!

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Our big boys started back to school last week. Second grade and kindergarten! To be honest, I was anxious after a couple of bumpy years. I’ve shared that we do sort of a “modified” schooling situation, pairing long stretches of independent study with a more traditional elementary school setting. This summer took us on a new homeschool adventure, with an educational consultant and lots of fun curriculum, but we ultimately decided to continue with the part-time classroom situation for at least another year. I was nervous that the kids wouldn’t want to head back.

A Minions Oral Care Setup for your Movie-Loving Kid

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To say that we have some BIG Minions fans in our household would be an understatement. We’ve dressed up as the characters for Halloween, our third son is nicknamed “Minion”, and they’re all over our kids’ favorite jammies! So when our dentist said we needed to motivate our kids to brush their teeth more consistently, I knew exactly what approach to take. A Minions toothbrush, all the Minion-y gear I could find to go along with it, and the new augmented reality brushing experience from Colgate on the Blippar app!

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