Alaskan Mamas Falling into Autumn

[spruce]

Are there any of us left here?  Hellloooooooo?  I know summer gets us all off our keyboards and out into the gardens (yay!), but it's freezing here right now and I miss you all!

We're gearing up for another year of homeschooling.  Paring down the house so we're not so cluttered.

We have a new grandbaby and we're expecting our own new baby in April!  So excited and hopeful...a winter pregnancy sounds fabulous.

Our gardening didn't go as well as we hoped this year...the huge swings from rain to intense heat did most of my garden to death.  I did have a bumper crop of lettuce, celery and carnations, though, and my mint went crazy, as always.

Missing all my Far Northern friends!

love, penelope

[Rik-E]

I check in but there isn't much activity.

We are also gearing up for the school season, although more on the child led learning end.

And decluttering!!!  I am the only person in my house who bothers to care about the mess or clutter so it's a major battle to get anything done. I'd love to just box stuff up & donate it all to a thrift store or something.

This year we did goats instead of gardening. LOL I will be putting up a fence around 'my half' of the yard before spring so I can replant the few things I generally attempt. Plants & I don't get along well.

[1stimestar]

I'm here but still in the process of moving to the cabin.  Once there, I will be on dial up until we can see if anything else can be done.  Since Jordan is taking 3 online classes from BYU, dial up is going to suck!  But, my options are limited there.  I ordered the phone line this week but they couldn't tell me when they would be able to get around to getting it in.  

[spruce]

Originally Posted by Rik-E 

I check in but there isn't much activity.

We are also gearing up for the school season, although more on the child led learning end.

And decluttering!!!  I am the only person in my house who bothers to care about the mess or clutter so it's a major battle to get anything done. I'd love to just box stuff up & donate it all to a thrift store or something.


This year we did goats instead of gardening. LOL I will be putting up a fence around 'my half' of the yard before spring so I can replant the few things I generally attempt. Plants & I don't get along well.

. I hear you, rik-e! Decluttering is a scary word right now in our house. .

So far, I think all three of us replying are homeschooling this year!:joy. I really hope you all love it, georganne!

We talked about doing pigs this year, but decided we wanted to be ale to camp as much as possible...with the net result that we didn't camp at all (unless you count the week I stayed up in the camper every night to finish reading all five of the Fablehaven books:shy). So we decided to buy half a cow from delta meat.

What is your favorite goat meat recipe? Friends of ours just gave us a goat shoulder, but it's a meat I've never cooked.

G, if he has a chance to go to the library, there's wifi there, as well as at gulliver's, b&n, Safeway, Alaska land and. Even Safeway.

Love, p

[Rik-E]

Originally Posted by spruce 


. I hear you, rik-e! Decluttering is a scary word right now in our house. .
So far, I think all three of us replying are homeschooling this year!:joy. I really hope you all love it, georganne!
We talked about doing pigs this year, but decided we wanted to be ale to camp as much as possible...with the net result that we didn't camp at all (unless you count the week I stayed up in the camper every night to finish reading all five of the Fablehaven books:shy). So we decided to buy half a cow from delta meat.
What is your favorite goat meat recipe? Friends of ours just gave us a goat shoulder, but it's a meat I've never cooked.
G, if he has a chance to go to the library, there's wifi there, as well as at gulliver's, b&n, Safeway, Alaska land and. Even Safeway.
Love, p

ALASKALAND!!!   Ahh, used to love the little train......  

I have never cooked goat meat myself, I will be gleaning recipes from my Aunt. I've had goat aat her house many times so I plan to bribe her into sharing with a couple cuts form the goat. LOL
 

[happyblessedmama]

I'm here... I don't formally homeschool, but we do a lot of extra at-home learning and I do with my non-school aged kiddos.

Decluttering - yes.

I plan to hit the fair today... only day we could get a babysitter for our older six kiddos. I'm excited as I love the fair.

[Rik-E]

Originally Posted by happyblessedmama 

I'm here... I don't formally homeschool, but we do a lot of extra at-home learning and I do with my non-school aged kiddos.

Decluttering - yes.

I plan to hit the fair today... only day we could get a babysitter for our older six kiddos. I'm excited as I love the fair.

You don't take your kids to the Fair?
Don't get me wrong, I'd love a day to go without kids too. But if we only get one trip I take the kids for all the animals & fun stuff.

[spruce]

Originally Posted by happyblessedmama 

I'm here... I don't formally homeschool, but we do a lot of extra at-home learning and I do with my non-school aged kiddos.

Decluttering - yes.

I plan to hit the fair today... only day we could get a babysitter for our older six kiddos. I'm excited as I love the fair.

Congrats on the new baby!! .

Taking all the kids to the fair is hugely expensive...I can see why it would be nice to go with just the baby. I hope you enjoyed your day out!

Love, Penelope

[Alaskanewbie]

Hi all, I'm pretty new to Fairbanks and I'm newly pregnant. As the trees turn more and more yellow I've become more and more anxious over my 1st winter in Alaska and my new baby. Any advise?

[spruce]

Originally Posted by Alaskanewbie 

Hi all, I'm pretty new to Fairbanks and I'm newly pregnant. As the trees turn more and more yellow I've become more and more anxious over my 1st winter in Alaska and my new baby. Any advise?

Hi, mama! Welcome to the Interior!

First, where are you coming from, do you have a preference for health care providers for your pregnancy and birth, do you live in town or out, and do you have any other kids? All that helps us figure out how best to advise you.

Heat: wood or fuel oil? Vehicle or public transit or normally a walker/bike rider?

For good quality secondhand baby stuff, try Once Upon A Child. For secondhand maternity and nursing try Blueberry Baby (also go there for cloth diapers, nursing bras, organic and locally made baby swag, etc). We have a robust breast feeding and home birthing community, as well as tons of homeschoolers and unschoolers. LLL and WIC are both good places to meet other nursing moms (WIC has a breast feeding circle).

For winter gear, secondhand is at Value Village, while good deals are at Big Ray's or Big Ray's Outlet.

There is a cutoff date by which you must have snow tires on (and then one for having taken off) your snow tires. Try not to wait until that date as it gets very busy!

Farmer's Market is going on until the 24th, you must go at least once.

Homegrown Market has nice produce and meat box deals throughout the year.

Go to a First Friday somewhere, anywhere, and enjoy the community of Fairbanks.

. Again, welcome!

Love, penelope

[happyblessedmama]

Ummm.....we took our older kids one day but i didnt feel compelled to mention that! No, I don't take the 2 and 3 year olds along with everyone else. Why would I drag seven kids to the fair and prevent the older ones from riding rides, etc that the smaller kids don't enjoy and have everyone subject to the naptime whims of our toddlers? Splitting up one day then going as adults with one baby works for us. Shoot.

[spruce]

Originally Posted by happyblessedmama 

Ummm.....we took our older kids one day but i didnt feel compelled to mention that! No, I don't take the 2 and 3 year olds along with everyone else. Why would I drag seven kids to the fair and prevent the older ones from riding rides, etc that the smaller kids don't enjoy and have everyone subject to the naptime whims of our toddlers? Splitting up one day then going as adults with one baby works for us. Shoot.

I hear you, Christine. Was it fun? Our fair has been over for a month and it feels very far away. We held it too early this year, and with the strange growing season, most of us didn't have the greatest veggies to offer up. We enjoy watching our friends' kids show their animals and seeing everybody's handwork and baked goods...and flowers! (I'm too greedy to put in my own veggies and flowers...it kills me to see all that produce just rot every year).

Love, penelope

[happyblessedmama]

it was! I went last year with our older kids so it was dh's turn this year. It's fun to go with the older group. We ended up going Monday and it was pretty windy, but we had the baby in fleece and he was fine. I love looking at the exhibits, and one day a year of fair food!

So... there was frost on our lawn today. :-(

How did any Anchorage people do with the power outages? Ours was out Tuesday-Saturday. We took the kids and stayed in the valley.

[spruce]

We have about 36F right now, down to about 34F at night. My carnations and hanging lobelia still look grat, as do my daughter's really large daisies. Other than that, are garden is kaput. The trees, however, are fabulous.

Love, p

[AlaskAnne]

Hi all - I'm new on here and expecting my first baby on December 28th. I've mostly been posting on my DDC group since this group didn't seem very active this summer.  

A little about me: I live in Anchorage with my husband.  I'm from Washington originally but have lived here since 2003.  My husband is Anchorage born and raised.  We just bought a house that is a major fixer upper so gardening didn't happening this summer - too much else going on!  I like to knit, sew, and refinish furniture and other thrifty crafts.  The new baby is a great excuse for all that!  Not sure if we will homeschool/unschool as we both work.  However, we'll definitely do Waldorf when our kid is young. I was unschooled in middle school and I think it saved me from going crazy, so I'm definitely supportive!!!  

Happyblessed - I hope this coming storm doesn't hit the electric grid so hard this time!  We were only out of power till Thursday morning and that was bad enough.  Right now I'm on a work trip in Kotzebue and I'm slightly nervous that my trip back Saturday night could be affected by this storm.  The turned away planes from the airport last time so I know its at least a possibility.  Ugh.

[Alaskanewbie]

Thanks, Penelope!

I am originally from Oklahoma. We Live is Goldstream. I do not have other kids, but we are a blended family so I have two boys! I am quite sure that because of previous health issues that I will not be able to have a natural birth and will most likely have to have a c-section.

We use heating fuel....just had our tank filled for the first time and nearly had a heart attack! I had not idea it would be so expensive. We are big bike riders. Although, because we work in town, our cars are used too much.

I feel like I have finally settled in and now I am preparing for winter. I am afraid that I will not have all the necessities.... I am not even totally sure what I need.

Also, I am so sick. We wanted to have a baby so bad and it feels wrong to complain but yikes! Any tips on combating morning sickness that last all day and night?

Beth

[akichan]

aloha mamas!

I'm in Hawaii but am in a complicated relationship with a soldier at Fort Wainwright so I will be there in Fairbanks in November. I'd like to make some friends and meet some people so I don't have to hang out exclusively with my guy the entire time. That and I'd love to bring my kids up with me sometime so I could use some suggestions for things to do with them too. Mahalo!

[akichan]

Aloha Alaska Mamas,

I'm going to be visiting Fairbanks in November. Do I need to get special shoes? All I have are hiking boots and tennis shoes. I bought a pair of generic "Uggs" at Payless today - they're Airwalk brand - do you think those will be ok? And do I need to treat them with some kind of waterproofing spray or something? Any advice would be appreciated, I'm from Hawaii and never went anywhere as cold as it will be in AK . . .

[Alaskanewbie]

Oh, I wish I could help you. It keeps getting colder and colder here and I feel so unprepared. This is my first winter here. It was 18 degrees this morning and there were people going in to Fred Meyer's without jackets or coats on.  I had a coat, hat and gloves on. I hope some of the other moms have good advise that we both could use!
 

[Rik-E]

Originally Posted by akichan 

Aloha Alaska Mamas,

I'm going to be visiting Fairbanks in November. Do I need to get special shoes? All I have are hiking boots and tennis shoes. I bought a pair of generic "Uggs" at Payless today - they're Airwalk brand - do you think those will be ok? And do I need to treat them with some kind of waterproofing spray or something? Any advice would be appreciated, I'm from Hawaii and never went anywhere as cold as it will be in AK . . .

Get some wool socks to wear in the hiking boots & Uggs. If the uggs are real wool lined they should be fine. Many people wear tennis shoes all winter for errands, only wearing boots when spending time outside. You can always hit up a second hand store for things you find a need for.

Leggins to layer under jeans would be good too. Of course a good coat, gloves, hats, and a scarf. Wool is super warm & water resistant.

Hope that helps!