Personal Archives - Just to Claireify

Back-to-School Season

August 19, 2024 by Claire Leave a Comment

I’ll be MIA for another week, most likely, because of the back-to-school season! In no particular order, we’ve been up to just about everything lately, including:

doctor’s appointments
back-to-school shopping
last minute playdates and extended family time
birthday parties
kindergarten events
haircuts
cleaning and fixing up the house from top to bottom
so many trips to (1) the library to print forms + (2) various places to deliver them

I cannot believe we’re more than halfway through August already. Time has absolutely flown and everyone is excited to get back to the school year routine (mom and dad included).

I have some fun upcoming posts planned, such as:

a book review next week!
a delicious pumpkin pancake recipe (although we’ll see if I have it in me to DSLR the photos, or if I’ll just be snapping them with my phone on the fly)
storage organization tips
reviews of local fall festivities

But really we just need to survive the next three-ish weeks and hopefully I’ll be able to get back into my weekly writing time at the library after that. I miss it!

In the meantime, happy start to fall, and I’ll be back next week with the book review 🙂

xx Claire

Checking In…

June 18, 2024 by Claire Leave a Comment

We’ve had a busy start to summer and I’m excited for things to quiet down a bit, now that the kid(s) are starting some camps and the initial “see everyone and do everything!” has worn off.

I can hardly believe we’re already halfway through June–kindergarten back-to-school activities start in just two months. We’ll see how it goes this year. I’m not committing to our school choice for life; we’re going to take it one term at a time.

Sometimes, like last weekend, I realize how much happier the kids (and Eric and I) are when life goes slowly. It was scorching hot on Sunday afternoon and we thought we might head to the local pool again, but we were also tired. So we set up the sprinkler in the backyard and the kids played all afternoon in their bathing suits while we sat around slapping mosquitoes–this year is terrible for them here–and chatting.… Read More »

A Brief Summer Break!

May 19, 2024 by Claire Leave a Comment

This past week (and really, all of May) have been absolutely crazy between two bouts of pinkeye, my dad’s birthday, Mother’s Day, a business trip for Eric (whilst the kids and I stayed with my mom) and kids’ end-of-year/start of summer events.

So I apologize for being spotty with blogging! I’ve got plenty of content planned for June but I guess I expected to be able to fly by the seat of my pants in May. Needless to say, that isn’t happening.… Read More »

Why I’m Not a Crunchy Mom Anymore

February 25, 2024 by Claire Leave a Comment

What exactly is a crunchy mom? Some definitions include: someone who raises their children in a natural lifestyle, someone who follows their intuition to parent rather than current trends or official recommendations, or a parent who prioritizes the health of their children and the environment. Some definitions include phrases like “liberal-leaning” while others call crunchy moms “crazy,” “anti-science” or “conspiracy theorists.”

Obviously, there’s not even one official definition, since much of the above is self-contradictory!

The stereotype of a crunchy mom has evolved considerably since the term became popular 15-20 years ago. The pandemic definitely fueled a large part of that change and popularized the idea. People who previously might not have been interested in holistic health, homesteading, medical freedom or alternative diets adopted those values.… Read More »

The Crunchy Mom is Out of Office…

November 21, 2023 by Claire Leave a Comment

Current mood: vibing with this chunky tired squirrel in the front yard today.

We’ve had a few minor colds so far this school year, but everyone woke up this morning with the plague. Junky coughs, faucet-ing noses, absolutely exhausted–myself included.

After a decidedly non-crunchy day of almost no time outside (a brief walk in the cold was all anyone was up for), lots of TV and snacks on the couch, no one felt any better. In fact, everyone felt worse. So we headed to Target to grab some cold essentials: a humidifier, saline, lots and lots of tissues, cough syrup (Beekeeper’s Naturals for the kids–was so happy to find it there!), Vicks (because I’m out of my favorite natural alternative) and cough drops.

The kids were nearly asleep when their heads hit the pillows, and now I’m laid out on the couch after setting up the humidifier in the master bedroom and taking all the meds. The crunchy mom is out and survival mode mum is in at the moment.

Our Thanksgiving plans aren’t looking great right now… obviously it’s not appropriate to show up to a large gathering (especially one with other small children) when your family is all coughing uncontrollably. Or to go on our usual morning walk outside in the cold, dry air. I told Eric our backup is stay indoors, call family and eat pumpkin pie for dinner with a movie.

We have to make the best of what we have, right? Even if that’s a gross respiratory virus right before Thanksgiving.

Anyways–I’ll check back in later this week after the holiday, when we’ll (hopefully) be feeling better. Happy Thanksgiving, friends, however you’re celebrating!

xx Claire