To Buy Or Not To Buy?

I've had a shift in conscience over the past year or so, and felt moved to slow down and really look at our family's habits as consumers. What are we buying and why? Where did this item come from and who made it? I find myself filling bags of "stuff" for Goodwill and wondering just how we came to own and then give away all of it so quickly.

We are part of a "disposable" culture. But disposable doesn't mean something just disappears. What happens to our garbage and our unwanted items? Not only that, but what went into creating the item in the first place? I think specifically of clothing since I am always buying stuff for the ever-growing children in this family! I love deals that I can get at Target on kid's clothes, but then I think of the price point that I am willing to pay - usually only $5-$10 maximum - and what that means in the production process of the clothes. Rarely are they made in the U.S. So, the price has to cover shipping costs, productions costs and the garment factory workers who produce them. These items are often made quickly, and with decent but not long-lasting materials. This almost guarantees that the item will not last until next year.

I have turned to buying most of the boy's clothes from Goodwill and second-hand stores. I won't buy just anything, and often search for an hour to find a few pieces of good quality, name brand clothing for them. While I'm browsing, I think of the clothes my kids have worn out over the year - often purchased from department stores at low prices - and the fact that most of them wouldn't even make it onto the resale floor due to poor condition. So, either they are recycled as animal shelter bedding or thrown away. I'm trying to be much more aware of what I buy and why I'm buying it.

I'm also attempting to apply this thought process to other areas of our lives - the food we eat (eggs from our chickens, etc.), the way I decorate my house (what can I MAKE vs. what can I BUY), what will stand the test of time (what do I want to hand down to my kids?). I crocheted a headband for Max and two sets of mittens on strings for the boys this year. They don't lose their mittens now, so instead of buying a thousand pair of $1 gloves like I did last year, I spent some time making these ones and feel great that I made something to keep my kids warm. I am also crocheting a tree skirt (that I hope will be an heirloom item) and a wreath for my front door.

I have also been Christmas shopping since summertime this year. I've been very intentional about what I buy and where I buy it from. Yes, many of our gifts came from Amazon.com this year, but we can still support small businesses selling items on Amazon. We also were able to read reviews and make decisions on the quality of each gift based on those reviews. I chose to purchase a few items from local stores - Meyer Jewelers for one - to keep money flowing in our local economy as well. Aaron and I are trying to be better stewards of our money, and making choices like this is part of that.

Aaron kind of kicked off this whole thought process when he started his woodworking in earnest last year. Together we built our own backyard chicken coop from scratch and found that we are capable of creating some pretty amazing things. He wants to continue to make things that will last and  teach himself more about the art of woodworking in the process.

So, just a little of what's been on my mind lately. So excited for this Christmas season that we've been preparing for over many months! Not just the gifts, but the thoughts and love behind them.

Merry & Bright

 

Decorating the tree, after a night of driving through town looking at Christmas lights!

 

(Note Max's "Smith Sister Face" in above photo...!)

 

St. Nick morning

Oh, Maxwell

Max, holding up a mini Butterfinger candy bar, "Mom, do these kind of candies make you laugh a lot?"

"There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West." - J.R.R. Tolkien

Aaron posted this a few days ago and I wanted to save it here.

 

Today I took the boys over to Toys R Us. Liam had some birthday money to spend, and Max had a little bit of Halloween money to spend. After spending some time looking at Lego sets and Nintendo DS games, Liam decided that saving his money would be a better option. Max, on the other hand, kept asking to go back and look at some Schleich knight toys that he had seen. He had enough money to buy on...e, but he couldn't decide which one he wanted. He asked if he could get two, but I reminded him that he only had enough for one. Liam quietly asked me if he could give money to Max so that he could have two of them. I told him that was sweet, but that his money was a gift that he should hang on to. Max became so flustered trying to decide between the knights that he started to cry. Liam looked at him and said, "Max, I'm going to buy one of the knights for you. Which one do you want?" Needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed. My seven year old son found more importance in making someone else happy than in holding on to his money for himself. More importantly, he felt so strongly about it that he was willing to risk getting in trouble for not listening to me in order to follow through with his convictions. I learned today not to get in the way of someone else's generosity, and that my children are (quickly) growing into the kind of people I feel the world is lacking.

 

Here are some more pictures from Liam's big day. So proud of this kid, every day.

 

Happy Birthday, Liam James!

 

Max chose a ninja turtle figure for Liam's gift. He agonized over all the toys at Target before choosing what he thought Liam would like the most!

 

Liam wanted a Hobbit birthday party, so mom and dad got him a shirt to wear on the big day!

 

Liam and his "Elvish" birthday bunting!

 

Striking a pose! Crazy kids.

These two were so cute all day. Max didn't cry or whine that he didn't get the same things Liam did (which I half anticipated he would), and Liam let Max help and look at all of his gifts. Such good brothers.

 

 

Liam's "Hobbit Hole" cake. I fashioned the door, windows and ground out of fondant after baking the cake in a pyrex bowl to make it round.

 

It turned out super cute, and only took three hours! :)

 

There were various "Hobbit" themed foods like "The One Ring" Funyuns...

 

The "Elven Council" E.L. Fudge cookies...

 

...and "Smaug's Fireballs" were actually cheese balls!

 

A favorite gift - arrows for his bow and a target from Grandpa Howie and Grandma Pammy! Target practice commenced soon after gift opening!

 

Mines of Moria Lego set from aunties!

 

I will never get tired of listening to him read his cards!

 

The Civil War book he has checked out of the library three times! He now has his own copy!

 

Grandma Karen couldn't come because Grandpa Richie was sick, but she sent her gift along!

 

Phineas and Ferb DS game and pj's!

 

Love my 7 year old!

Happy Birthday, Liam!

Happy Halloween!

 

Obi Wan Kenobi and a very fierce ninja!

 

And after his beard grew out...

 

Happy Halloween!

LiveLaughLove

One of the things that makes Aaron and my relationship work is how much we love to make eachother laugh. We have tons of stupid inside jokes that date back to when we first met nine years ago. One joke has to do with a confusing license plate we saw one day - "LMEJAJS". I don't know what it's actually supposed to stand for, but we work it into our conversations at least monthly even now! We also like to come up with new ideas for "family businesses" that make no sense and have hilarious and ironic names - i.e. "Weave It To Beaver", a hair extension business! We also like to combine family business ideas to create the true "up north business" conglomeration, wherein the business owner just combines 3 things he or she is good at into a business. For example, "Junior's Cabinetry, Macaroni Salad & Screenprinting."

Aaron's latest attempt to make me laugh was pretty clever, and even scared me a little bit! I have a collage of family pictures in our master bedroom that I'm almost finished with.

 

 It still has a few open spots, and I even kept one of the stock photos of an Asian couple in one spot that Aaron likes to refer to as our "Asian relatives"! Well, I was getting ready for bed the other night, and happened to be facing the collage, when something seemed off to me. I looked a little more closely and saw THIS:

 

I may have screamed when I saw the photo on the right, and then died laughing at the naked couple on the left. Note: neither are relatives...! Sooooo funny. And the best part is that Aaron spent time looking for these pictures, printing them out, taking the collage apart, putting the pictures in, and then putting it back on the wall for me to find! I may just leave it like this for awhile! I love you, sweet. Thanks for always making me smile. 

Art For Art's Sake

 

Liam is such a creative kid. I just love seeing what his mind dreams up. This is a map of our neighborhood with a route for trick-or-treating! He and Max worked on it together before school this morning. They even included a map "legend" in which the color red outlines the route where a "grown up" is required...

 

He and Max also collaborated on this turkey project for Max's class. They cut pictures out of magazines and then glued them on the turkey. Seems pretty simple on the surface, but then I looked more closely. Liam carefully cut a portion of a picture out of his Highlights magazine to create the head and beak of the turkey. The white for the head is part of a picture of a girl's shirt and the yellow was part of a boy's shirt that Liam cut into a beak shape. That is just one piece of paper; it's not glued to look like that, he cut it in that shape himself! He then drew the blue dot for the eye...and I am speechless! I can't stop looking at it!

 

They also had various complete images cut out of magazines. I liked this glove that they glued to create a convincing tail feather...but that cigar may need to be removed before we send it off to school...!

Quick Notes

The boys have a new fascination with the show "Mythbusters", thanks to their father! They will choose this show on Netflix on their own almost as often as cartoons!

Liam likes to teach Max about math, and this morning he said, "Max, I'm going to be your private math tutor...ok?"

Max, trying to determine which Lego storage case is his, says "Hmmm...I BELIEVE this one is mine..."

Tae Kwon Do Masters

Liam and Aaron have started taking a Tae Kwon Do class together one day a week. It's really cute to see how excited they are about it, and to hear them practicing and giving eachother advice about kicks and punches! Liam even "teaches" Max proper form while they wait for the bus in the morning!

Last night was the first class they had been to in a few weeks due to Liam being sick with a cold. Aaron called when they were on their way home and said Liam had something to tell me, but he wanted to tell me when they got home. He bounced in excitedly and told me that he got to break his first board with a palm strike! He was the only kid to do it on the first try! I was so proud! I didn't get to break my first board until I tested for my first belt! Liam has taken 4 classes and already broken a board! Impressive!

 I'm happy he enjoys the class so much, and that he gets to spend quality time with his dad at the same time! (Aaron also broke his first board last night...and the board then fell on his instructor's toe and broke it...!)

The Civil War

Liam has a new fascination with the Civil War. Seems quite appropriate, considering his father's life-long love for it as well! Liam learned some facts about the war at school, and checked a giant "Smithsonian" book out about it from his school library. Since the day he checked it out, he's been making his "own Civil War book" by copying pictures of weapons, soldiers, canteens and cartridge boxes into a wide-ruled notebook. He even copies paragraphs that are interesting to him. I asked what his process was for finding things to draw and he said, "Oh, I just turn each page and see if there's something interesting." So, he's going through this 300+ page book, page-by-page! He says his favorite things he's learned about so far are the cannons.

I usually get home from work around 10pm, and the other night I found Liam still awake! He was working on his Civil War book and had books and papers spread out all over his bed! I knew he'd be tired in the morning...but it was too adorable to be angry about!

I love this smart kid! He says, "I want to be an author some day..." And I bet he will!