Who needs candy when Hood strawberries are in season? As we were out running errands yesterday, I stopped by my favorite farmstand and picked up a half flat of fresh berries. I passed back one pint to my little half-pints. Between the two of them, they polished off the berries in record time. I always feel this surge of motherly pride when my kids happily eat things that are good for them. Now if only I could convince them on the merits of spinach... As you know, Hoods start going bad if you just look at them wrong. Flash freezing or making jam are great ways to preserve those sweet berries. If you are looking for U-Pick fields in Keep Reading

I'm such a procrastinator. This post is three weeks late and the only reason it's going up today is because I'm having my quarterly meeting with the Frugal Living NW contributors tonight and I don't want Emily to think I'm a total slacker. And honestly, dealing with toys and miscellaneous kid clutter is so difficult for me. I really want a home that contains only items that are beautiful and useful. I don't like clutter, but for some strange reason, it's still here. I clean out a room only to find it's exploded two days later. Seriously, where did all this stuff come from? Emily's wonderfully inspiring post on managing toy clutter got me thinking Keep Reading

This is Emily's final post on our Homemaking Your Way series. Catch up on previous posts here. If you have been following our Homemaking Your Way posts, you know by now how I am wired (weird?). Like many of you, I feel most relaxed and operate best in clean, organized spaces. I originally titled this post as Top Ten Tips, but that didn't really seem to fit as these are just homemaking habits that work well in my own home with my personality. Top Ten Quirks probably would have fit the best. These are just a handful of ways I keep my home running smoothly and my sanity within normal ranges. Maybe some of these will work for you. So here's my Top Keep Reading

This is the eighth installment in our series, Homemaking Your Way. Catch up on the first seven here. How can I get those strawberry jam stains out of the dining room rug? Why does my son hate vegetables? How do I teach my daughter not to begin every sentence with, "I need..." Why are there not more Starbucks drive-thrus in the greater Portland area? I have no clue. In fact, I could write an entire post on all the things I do not know about this thing called motherhood. Half the time, I'm just making it up as I go along [don't tell my kids]. However, there is one thing I know for sure: my kids have too many toys. In our home, toys seem Keep Reading

This is the fifth installment in our series, Homemaking Your Way. Catch up on the first four here. Clothing. Ugh. Emily did such a great job explaining her "system" for clothes, I really don't think I can add anything super helpful to the discussion (hence the five day late post...). But I'll give it a try. KIDS CLOTHES Here's the deal. The Davises have long been our friends and family's personal Goodwill. We get hand-me-downs like crazy, or at least we used to. When my daughter (my first) was about 2.5 years old, I saw a children's clothing consignment event advertised on Craigslist and I thought I would quickly go through Audrey's clothes Keep Reading