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Live Small. Eat Well.

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Live Small. Eat Well.

Welcome here – I'm Leanne. I love to cook because I love to eat. I'm currently living small with my husband and 2.5 yr old daughter. Check back monthly for new recipes, food tips, tidbits from our journey, insight on parenting au-naturel and encouragement for the seemingly never ending journey towards minimalism. See you around!

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Sand for days... Oh what a dream to be a toddler lost in play. Maybe we can be? ⁣ ⁣ Could you choose to let go? To be fully present and free? Rolling in the dirt without a flash of thought to the condition of your clothes. Digging your hands in, loading up your fingernails. Feeling the sensations of the Earth, the smells, the sounds. ⁣ ⁣ I don’t know why this becomes so hard for adults. It seems so important. Yet, difficult to achieve, even when effort is put forth – for me anyway. ⁣ ⁣ Maybe it can’t be done unless it is effortless. So how can we achieve it? Maybe unplugging is number one.⁣ Meditation could be number two.⁣ Both lead to present-ness, which seems to be key in free, unadulterated immersion. ⁣ ⁣ Of course, I’m only guessing. I’m just as alienated and addicted as the next guy. But I have certainly been working to at least consolidate my phone work, so that I’m not picking it up constantly trying to get a minute in here and there. If I get an itch to pick it up, I ask myself, “Can it wait?”. The answer is usually yes. ⁣ ⁣ #fulltimervfamily #Rvfamily #Slowchildhood #slowparenting #Myeverydaymoments #raisingstronggirls #toddlermoments #Adventuringwithkids #adventuresareeverywhere #Outdoorkid #bornwild #Outdoorkidsarehappykids #Wildandfreekids #Outsideisbetter #Beinnature #Getlostinnature #Reconnectwithnature #Natureistherapy #Exploringfamily #playinthedirt #sandfun #Lettherebedelight #goodforthemind #changeyourmindchangeyourlife #mindfulnesspractice #coloradoliving #unplug #bepresentinthemoment #bepresentnow #itcanwait

I am going to continue my “Pros & Cons of RV Living” series even though we are in a house now, but for today here are some of the differences we’ve noticed from the perspective of living in an RV and moving back into a house (and it’s only been 3 days).⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I’d like to preface this by saying that I think regular house living is a lot easier and more comfortable than RV living, but that there are huge benefits that shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to RV living (another post for that). ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ In our new house (the good):⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ • We can hang the bath mat up over the edge of the tub instead of trampling it with dirty feet all day 🙌🏼⁣⁣ • We don’t have to go outside to empty the water tank twice a day⁣⁣ • We don’t run out of hot water doing dishes! 🚿 • We don’t have to tote the laundry supplies with us to do laundry – it can just sit on top of the dryer (surprising how much of a relief this is) 🧺⁣⁣ • We don’t have to tiptoe and whisper after Ilamay has gone to bed⁣⁣ • We can stash lesser used items in the basement instead of cramping up our living space with them⁣⁣ • We have a couch and a table just for crafts & eating⁣⁣ • Our salt lamps are actually serving a purpose⁣⁣ • We can buy extra food if we want⁣⁣ • We can recycle! 🎉⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ The not so good:⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ • I’m always cold⁣⁣ • I had to sweep yesterday and it took forever ⁣⁣🧹 • Ilamay keeps making huge messes while I’m doing other things because she’s not right behind my back for me to keep in check⁣⁣ • I spend a lot of time walking the house instead of accomplishing goals⁣⁣ • We’re not pressured to get outside⁣⁣ 🍂 • Ben will probably be in the garage until the end of time (this might be good for him, but not for me)⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ If you’re not an RVer, do you think you ever could be? It’s such a hard thing to imagine if you’ve never experienced it, but taking stock of all the little differences might help paint the picture. ⁣⁣ #Outdoorkid⁣⁣ #Outdoorkidsarehappykids⁣⁣ #Wildandfreekids ⁣⁣ #livelifeoutdoors⁣⁣ #Outsideisbetter⁣⁣ #Seethebeautyaroundyou⁣⁣ #Exploringfamily⁣⁣ #lookforthegood⁣⁣ #lessstuffmorelife ⁣⁣ #minimallifestyle⁣⁣ #minimalists #winterwonderland #spinningbabies #colorado #itsthelittlethings #rvfamily #moving

We left our little parking spot at Jim’s sheep farm (swipe to see a recap of our daily views there) on Tuesday and have now landed back in our home state of Michigan. ⁣ ⁣ I guess we are officially hypocrites as we are “full-time RVers” about to move into a house! Nonetheless it should be a nice season of change. ⁣ ⁣ We will absolutely be keeping up with our little outdoor adventures and are interested to see how they stack up to those we’ve had over the past year and a half. ⁣ ⁣ We already have Ilamay signed up for gymnastics with her same aged cousin. I’m looking forward to visiting the local donut shop on the corner (like, right now). And Ben is super excited to begin working overtime... 😒 not. ⁣ ⁣ I still have plenty of Colorado pictures to share, so I hope you don’t mind me trickling them in as we begin our adventures here. ⁣ ⁣ That’s all for now, folks!⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #Smallliving⁣ #Rvfamily⁣ #lesshousemorehome⁣ #rvlife⁣ #Parentswhowander⁣ #Myeverydaymoments⁣⁣ #livelifeoutdoors⁣ #Outsideisbetter⁣ #Exploringfamily⁣ #Nomadfamilies⁣ #Happinesscomesfromwithin⁣ #lookforthegood⁣ #courageovercomfort⁣⁣ #findingjoyinthejourney⁣⁣ #lessstuffmorelife ⁣ #livingsimple⁣ #minimallifestyle⁣ #minimalists⁣ #theuniverseprovides #sheep #sheepfarm #mountainviews #keystonerv @keystonerv #puremichigan #colorado #movingday #gymnastics #cousins #seasonsofchange #seasonsoflife

Sometimes I wonder how we will manage to bring Ilamay up with all of the values and practices that we are aiming for. It feels like we’re shooting for the stars when we’re not living the end result right now (or it feels like we’re not getting there fast enough or starting soon enough). ⁣ ⁣ ...but then I notice that Ilamay is doing a yoga pose or two every time I try to get through a yoga practice. 🤸🏼⁣ ⁣ I notice that she is teaching me how to meditate. 🧘🏼‍♀️⁣ ⁣ I notice that she can spend longer and longer outside when it’s cold and can walk longer without being carried – which means she’s loving being outside and getting so strong. 🏔⁣ ⁣ I notice that she is eager and willing to put her things away when I ask her to, which we are all working on in order to keep our RV from feeling like a tornado hit at all times. 🧹⁣ ⁣ I notice that she is eager to learn and to show us what she is passionate about which means that she is independent & driven. 🧮⁣ ⁣ I could go on, but the point is not to doubt yourself just because you’re not “there” yet. You are doing it already (sometimes without even “doing” anything), you are doing what feels right to you, and that’s the only way to get there. 💞💪🏼⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #Fulltimervfamily⁣ #Fulltimervliving⁣ #RVfamily⁣ #slowparenting⁣ #gentleparenting⁣ #respectfulparenting⁣ #Parentingjourney⁣ #raisingtinyhumans⁣ #raisingstrongwomen⁣ #raisingstronggirls⁣⁣ #Wildandfreekids ⁣⁣ #Outsideisbetter⁣⁣ #Naturesmagic⁣ #Seethebeautyaroundyou⁣⁣ #Natureistherapy⁣ #Exploringfamily⁣⁣ #Treasuringlittlemoments⁣ #lookforthegood⁣ #findingjoyinthejourney⁣ #mindfulnesspractice⁣ #yogawithkids #yoga #coloradolife #meditation #naturalparenting #momlifeishard #presentparenting #strongkids #teachingvalues #yogapractice

We’re saying goodbye to “our” sheep very soon! 🐑 It’s come time for us to head back to our home state (MI) for a little re-boot. Originally, we left to take advantage of a work opportunity for Ben in WA. We eventually made our way to CO (my favourite state growing up) and spent six months here, getting a feel for things and meeting up with old friends. ⁣ ⁣ We have debt piled up from our RV(s) 🚌, my small biz and Ben’s truck, mainly, so our next step is to take advantage of overtime that’s available through the sheet metal union in MI. We’re not exactly thrilled to be leaving our mountain views 🏔 (or working extra hours), but there are plenty of good things that will come from being in our home state:⁣ ⁣ – We will be very close to family 👨‍👩‍👧, so Ilamay will get to spend plenty of time with her grandparents (and I might actually catch a break).⁣ – I’ll be more comfortable & knowledgeable of our surroundings, so I’ll be able to more easily get involved with community hikes and homeschool groups – and even go to the library 📚, which I’ve had a hard time successfully executing since we’ve been mobile⁣ – Ben will have a garage again and will potentially be able to work on some of the projects he’s been building in his head for several months (or years) ⚙️.⁣ – We will have in-home laundry 🧺! Though, I’m not particularly pleased about moving all of our stuff into a house and having to clean 🧹 said house instead of our tiny box (yes, we are keeping the RV, but we have a rental opportunity that will make things easier for the time being and we may end up switching out the RV for something else – again)⁣ – Last, but not least: we’ll be able to enjoy good pizza 🍕(and some of our other fave restaurants) which has been surprisingly difficult to find since leaving MI!⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #Fulltimervfamily⁣ #Smallliving⁣ #Houseonwheels⁣ #Fulltimervliving⁣ #Rvfamily⁣⁣ #rvlife⁣ #rvlivingfulltime⁣ #Parentswhowander⁣ #Lifelearners⁣ #Slowchildhood⁣ #colorado #sheep #sheepfarm #puremichiganders #michiganbound #homeschoolersofinstagram #sheetmetalworker #payoffdebt #familytime #grandparents #hikeitbaby #librarylove #Takeyourkidseverywhere⁣⁣ #Outdoorkidsarehappykids⁣ #familieswhotravel

Just learning how to play, with little Ilamay. I’m grateful that we’ve been parked somewhere where we’re able to incorporate adventure into our everyday for the past few months.⁣ ⁣ We’ve had some pretty boring times at RV parks at which we’ve stayed long term. We have so much more to explore at our current location. We’ve been a little spoiled having the ability to enjoy nature without exhausting ourselves with full-time travel (not that we have the means to do that anyway). We also don’t have the “downside” of going back to “regular life” in-between “vacations” (does that even make sense? Lol).⁣ ⁣ How do you adventure during everyday life??⁣ ⁣ Ilamay said, “Momma, momma, wanna show you sumpin’”. She begins digging in the sand with her fingertips and pulls up some little rocks. “Some special, little, tiny rocks!” You lucked out on that one, Ilamay. 😂⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #Fulltimervfamily⁣ #Fulltimervliving⁣ #Rvfamily⁣ #Wildandfreemama⁣ #Parentswhowander⁣ #Slowchildhood⁣ #slowparenting⁣ #Parentingjourney⁣ #Myeverydaymoments⁣ #raisingstronggirls⁣ #toddlermoments⁣ #adventuresareeverywhere⁣ #Takeyourkidseverywhere⁣ #Outdoorkid⁣ #bornwild⁣ #Followtheadventure⁣ #Outdoorkidsarehappykids⁣ #Outsideisthebestside⁣ #Wildandfreekids ⁣ #livelifeoutdoors⁣ #Outsideisbetter⁣ #Reconnectwithnature⁣ #Natureistherapy⁣⁣ #playinthedirt⁣ #sandfun⁣ #Lettherebedelight⁣ #barefootwalking⁣ #coloradoliving #barefoot #sandeverywhere

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