(My mom just gave me this quilt. It was made by my great grandma using pieces from the dresses my grandma wore when she was a little girl!)
It’s Frugal Friday on my other blog today. You won’t want to miss all the great tips and hints shared there. And I’d love to have you weigh in on my question on getting rid of set-in stains.
It’s been a really good week here, despite some bumps in the road. After weeks of going-going-going, I’ve stayed home every single day this week. And I’ve loved it.
I’ve been cooking and cleaning and just enjoying my family. It’s been wonderful and I’m hoping the trend can continue now that our vacations and travels and other things are behind us.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy short seasons of excitement and adventure, but I always love coming back to our quiet, peaceful home and routine. I’m itching to take back up my handwork, do more experimenting in the kitchen, spend more time playing and reading with the girls, and keep the house more organized.
What about you? Do you like staying home, or going and doing, or a little of both?
I have a quilt that my great grandmother made as well! It is so precious to me. I’m glad to know that others appreciate theirs as much as I do mine.
What a gorgeous quilt! Of course with the history it would be special to you, but even apart from that, it is SO pretty.
I love staying home, especially after a busy week of work. My husband loves going out. Even if we have nothing to do, no errands to run, etc. my husband will just want to go out and drive around. If he has to stay home all day he turns into a grouch!
I do like going out, too, but the thing is, you end up spending money 9/10 times. Every stop for a soda or every gallon of gas used is like a few good coupons wasted! I guess a balance is best.
The quilt is beautiful! I know you will cherish it! I pieced the last quilt my husband’s grandmother ever had quilted. It is so very special to me!
This March my last child moved out and staying at home is a lonesome prospect for right now but I usually love to be home. I think there are seasons in our lives and this season I like going out and learning how to coupon and teaching others to as well. I enjoy going to Bible studies and to friends.
Wow, what an amazing quilt! I know you’ll cherish that!
I’m definitely a homebody! We stay at home every day except Thursday – and that’s grocery/errand day. We go to Bible study on Tuesday morning & church on Sunday morning. That’s about it, other than the occasional lunch at Grandma’s house or quick trip to a nearby park.
You’ve helped us to live a thriftyl lifestye and helped me to earn the title of SAHM, and I’m so thankful for your website 🙂
I wanted to add – what a beautiful quilt it is! That must be such a treasure to you.
I’m like Mary Ann because I am home since we have one car but I really do enjoy being home. I only get a little antsy when it is really nice outside and I haven’t been out in 4 or 5 days. Days like today when I went out to do shopping and errands (after 3 stores, lots of traffic, slow-moving trucks and too many people) I was really glad to be back home. I probably go out only once/twice each week.
Does anyone else wonder why so many people are still driving so much when gas is so expensive?
Just a thought but I do think when we make our homes welcoming it makes us want to be there more. This does not take money to do. I’m working on decluttering and organizing and to me when things are neat and clean, and there’s good food to eat, I don’t mind being home at all. I’m a work in progress, but this helps me. I also enjoy having a nice cup of coffee or tea and having down time. Without daily down time I get anxious, frazzled and stressed-out. I’ve done the running around 24/7 in my younger years and I don’t desire it anymore.
I must keep moving…I have to get out at leat once a day or I feel…I dunno…bored, I guess?? I wish I was a *bit* more of a homebody…it is expencive to go somewhere every day…though I rarely go places that cost us (besides the grocery/drug store:) )the gas alone is enough to wish to be content at home. I’m hoping that fall and winter the routine of school will settle me down a bit!
I am a true homebody. A friend teases me that I hibernate, a lot, I remind her that I grew up in Central Canada, and that is how we spent the winter, now that we live in Southern California we just reverse the time to avoid the extreme heat that tends to make us all sick!
In all honesty though, when we stick to our homebody ways, our family is genuinely happier. Our home runs smoother, and we are all better rested!
I love the quilt, I will have to do that with the dresses for our girls…and maybe a favorite maternity shirt or two!
I like to stay at home, I rarely get bored, there’s always something to do around the house 🙂
I like a good mix. I enjoy staying home doing all things domestic for about 2 days, then I like a change of scenery-even if it’s a quick trip to the library, garage sale, park. (So even the times out of the house seem to still be oriented toward serving the family). It has not always been this way. My first baby was very easy and I went from full-time social worker to full-time social butterfly. Then 17 months later I had twins and found it stifling and challenging to be what I felt like was “stuck” at home. But with a toddler and twin infants its hard to go many places (or to have clean clothes to go in). I felt the Lord helped me grow in contentment through that situation, only to prepare me for another set of twins who came 14 months later. By this time, I was happy if I could get some sleep, exercise, and a trip to the grocery -by myself:). Now I think I have a good, balanced life. I’m thankful for the little outings, but I don’t “live” for them. I don’t mourn as much for lost hobbies. Being extroverted seems like you’re missing out on something by staying home. God helped me realize the party is not “going on out there”-its right here in my house! Sometimes it just takes time to adjust to a new season. I’ve found it to be true that “he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39). To whatever small degree I’ve lost myself, I’ve gained immense joy!
I’m with you! Staying home is my very favorite thing to do!
I need to get better about organizing the week. Something always seems to come up where I have to leave the house when I thought it was a stay at home day!
What a beautiful quilt!
Lizzie
I’m definitely more of a homebody, but the kids and I can both get cabin fever, so we try to get out a few times a week. But whenever I’ve just been going and going, I look forward to a day (or two) of just being at home.
I remember that every morning my then 3-year-old son would ask, “Mommy, where we are going today?” And on the mornings I’d say, “Nowhere- we’re staying home today” he would shout, “Yay! We are staying home today!!” I guess it’s a testament to our homemaking skills when our family is happy to be at home!
I really enjoy days and even weeks at home. I get so much more done and my entire family benefits from it as well. We are all so much calmer… especially the littles.
Lately with my down time at home, I’ve been restoring a garage sale find dining room table. It’s going to be a challenge, but a solid wood antique table for only $20 deserves the work, don’t you think? I posted pics of it (on my post about budgeting for the redo of my dining room).
While I’m at home this week, I’ll be figuring out how to remove the rubber mat from this table. It was an old school table from somewhere in the county I live in.
Anyone know how to remove that kind of thing?
I work outside the home and my 3 year old is in daycare, so when I’m not working, I just want to be home with him. And even though it makes for full days, I try to run all my errands on week nights so that I can stay home all day on Saturdays. It doesn’t always work out that way, but that’s my goal. I’ve always been a homebody. As a teen, when everyone else was coming and going, I really was happier just being home. And now, social events like wedding and baby showers, church fellowships, etc. are just stressful for me. I like to keep it simple.
Love these posts and love this blog!
I gave you an award today! You can view it at http://delectiblemommies.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-first-award.html
I’m a homebody. My husband is the opposite though. He hates being at home all the time. He is always wanting to go and do something. Thankfully, he is trying to not be that way too much lately with trying to cut back.
I used to truly dislike being home for more than one full day..the next day I would make an excuse to get out of the house. It seems as if that was the case when I first became a stay at home mom, and all of my newfound responsiblities seemed so overwhelming. This is not the case any longer. I’ve begun to find things at home that I thoroughly enjoy and in turn I am a better mother, wife, and homemaker. I love expirimenting in the kitchen, my newfound love of canning and gardening, crafting, scrapbooking, and remodeling our home.These things have really helped me to stay grounded. Now, there is no need to go to town everyday…I would rather be here.
I’m a stay-at-home mom and I mean it! I stay at home!
Sure we have a once a week grocery trip (though I often do that on the weekend during the kids’ naptimes), occasional library trips, adventures to the zoo or museum or walks to the park, but by and large-we stay home. The kids play in the yard
And you know what’s so amazing? We get stuff done.
I really think that alot of the time that we complain about how we don’t have enough time to get things done, the reality is we aren’t being good stewards of the time we are given.
If we were to tell ourselves “Okay, I have only one morning (or afternoon or day) this week to be out of the house running all the errands that need to be done, what would I have to do differently to accomplish this?” we could see where we are wasting our energies outside the house.
I am a home-body, so I stay home most of the time and love it. We are a one-car family and I take care of two little ones during the week so I am almost stuck at home. I like being home and get a lot done even with 2 toddlers around, since I’m not running around. But after a few days, I’m ready to get out and about. I need to get some groceries at Aldi’s tonight and you don’t know how much I’m looking forward to it!
We had a slo-mo stay-at-home week too. Kept a pared down, minimums-only schedule and to-do list and really loved it. I know I can’t go this low-tech, low-energy, low-purpose every week (LOL) but it was a WONDERFUL and MUCH NEEDED break. Got lots of thinking and re-prioritizing done which should make the next few months of catastrophic change MUCH easier to deal with (LOL)
I am NOT A HOMEBODY! I really don’t enjoy staying home all the time and I love to be out and about on adventures, meeting with friends, doing something new and just being out of the house. I’ve been working on remedying this situation. I’m trying to enjoy being home more by making my home a more pleasant place to be (I recently painted my living room). With all the out and about we do, my home does get neglected. Then I feel pressed down when I’m home by the pressures of all the organizational projects and cleaning that needs to be done, so I leave and get out of the house…it’s an endless cycle. But I truly do admire women who enjoy being home – I guess I’m just not one of them.
Back in my “younger” days, I used to be out every single night. I literally was up and out of the house by 6am to go to my classes at school and didn’t get to home (if I came home at all, I often spent the night at my best friends house) until 3 or 4 in the morning (I was really involved in my college ministry at church and we would often go to the beach for bonfires and worship). Looking back, I can’t believe I survived on little to no sleep.
Nowadays, I LOVE being home and I get antsy if we are always going out. I really think my husband tamed me in that aspect because he has always been a homebody. We are learning to say no to so many commitments and I have seen it do wonders for our marriage. We are going out of town this weekend, but once we get to our destination, we will be doing a lot of relaxing, so it won’t be too bad!
I’m a homebody through and through. I like getting together with friends and family, but when I’m going and going and going for days (or weeks) it really wears me out!
Thanks for sharing the picture of your quilt. What a wonderful heirloom to receive!
I use to love running around all over all time, but this past year God has given me a peace and desire to stay home and be busy there. I now love being home cooking, cleaning, doing projects, playing with the kids, and making things special for my husband. I really feel like God has been preparing me for our first year of homeschool and teaching me so much about being a wife and mother.
Ehh…it really depends. For us, ‘staying home’ is sticking close to where we live. I go to the library a few times a week with Liam, grocery shopping once, maybe two times (I try and avoid the two times, but with a first birthday tomorrow, that isn’t possible), on walks around the neighborhood, to the paint store, etc.
We just bought our first home, so I’ve been wrapped up in financing/mortgage stuff, booking a carpet cleaner, painting the place, hiring a mover, and basically, just surviving the move. I like the busyness, but I can’t wait until the condo is painted and cleaned, we’re in and settled. Mainly, I’m concerned about Liam and his sleeping – he’s not a great sleeper, and any little thing can set him off. We don’t travel a lot because he doesn’t sleep well if he isn’t in his own crib, which is fine with me – the less I see of certain in-laws, the better! 😉
Overall, we’re pretty ‘busy’ during the school year, but that’s more me than Aaron or Liam. They just do their thing then. 😉
Ehh…it really depends. For us, ‘staying home’ is sticking close to where we live. I go to the library a few times a week with Liam, grocery shopping once, maybe two times (I try and avoid the two times, but with a first birthday tomorrow, that isn’t possible), on walks around the neighborhood, to the paint store, etc.
We just bought our first home, so I’ve been wrapped up in financing/mortgage stuff, booking a carpet cleaner, painting the place, hiring a mover, and basically, just surviving the move. I like the busyness, but I can’t wait until the condo is painted and cleaned, we’re in and settled. Mainly, I’m concerned about Liam and his sleeping – he’s not a great sleeper, and any little thing can set him off. We don’t travel a lot because he doesn’t sleep well if he isn’t in his own crib, which is fine with me – the less I see of certain in-laws, the better! 😉
Overall, we’re pretty ‘busy’ during the school year, but that’s more me than Aaron or Liam. They just do their thing then. 😉
I like staying home but need that get out of the house at least once a week so I don’t get cabin fever. I don’t need to go anywhere special just an hour or so away.
What a lovely and precious quilt!
I also like days at home. Some days, it’s fun to be doing a million things out and about. But being at home is restful and satisfying.
I love to stay home. I love being productive around the house and getting spend time with my sweet boy. I try to set aside one day a week for the grocery shopping and errands in order to save gas and to save valuable time. My husband is the same way. Once he’s home from work in the evenings, we rarely leave again unless its bible study night. However, tonight we have a date night and baby boy is going to grandmas! I’m sooo excited!!
I am a total home-body these days. I don’t know if it’s because I’m pregnant and don’t want to be too far from my husband or if I’m just more comfortable in my work at home, but even though we have fun going out at times, nothing compares to being in my own house with my family. It’s the best!
How old is your great-grandma?
Because, as a certified textiles appraiser, I’m not seeing a whole lot that says it’s before the 1930s — if that. If G-Gma grew up during the turn of the century (1890s-1910), her clothing scraps may be included in this mix.
That’s just from your photo…and it’s a guess (albeit an educated one). You might want to have a quilt appraiser from your state take a look! Go to http://www.quiltappraisers.org for specifics…
I so enjoy your blog. Thank you!
*********************
Money Saving Mom here: That would be correct, Cindy. She made it from the pieces of my *grandma’s* (her daughter’s) dresses. Neither my grandma or great-grandma are living, but the quilt was passed down with a note giving specifics on it and the time frame you stated would be correct since my grandma grew up in the 1930-1940’s. It wasn’t finished until after my great-grandma’s death.
Seems like whichever I’m doing I seem to enjoy the opposite more! But this weekend I am looking forward to not having plans – which means I now have packing plans for the new house!
That quilt must be so special to you!
I would rather be home, with the occasional trip to the library, of course! I like going to Wal-mart when I need to get a lot of items, but not going for one forgotten item almost every day! (Yes, I’ve done that LOL!)
~Susan
That quilt must be so special to you!
I would rather be home, with the occasional trip to the library, of course! I like going to Wal-mart when I need to get a lot of items, but not going for one forgotten item almost every day! (Yes, I’ve done that LOL!)
~Susan
I am truly a homebody at heart. I think my husband is at times baffled by it…. but there is something to be said about finding comfort at home. I have one child who truly feels the same way…. not sure if that is normal for a boy or not, but he too is a bit of a homebody.
When I go and go and go…everything at home just falls apart and that really bugs me. Spurts of adventures here and there are nice but I prefer home in the end.
I love staying at home as well. I work during the day and most the time on the weekends my husband and I run,run,run. But on occasion I get to just stay at home and relax on the weekends. I love it.
I love to stay home, except for a special outing now and then.
For example next week we will be going to my sister’s for supper. And, next month we will be taking a long weekend to go up to the lake to visit my husband’s parents at the lake.
We look forward to doing some fun things, but it drives us nuts to constantly be on the go. We both love to spend our time working in the yard and garden, reading and walking out in the country. We both love to fish and I enjoy cooking in my free time.
Take Care,
Trixie
It’s funny – I had the same type of week you described, though I had to run a few errands this week. I often do my housework or take care of my son with a higher level of stress because I feel like I should be doing “more,” whatever that means. But this week I gave myself permission to just focus on my son and on cleaning, and I really enjoyed myself too. And the amazing thing is, all of the important things still got done.