Welcome friends! I am very excited to be starting this Guest Post series today. Throughout the next year I will be introducing you to fellow crunchy mommas who have a passion for sustainable living, taking care of their children, and who want to share their vision with other mommas.
To start off the series I have asked my friend Teri from Homestead Honey to share a little bit about herself and her family. I actually know Teri outside of the blogosphere. Aside from having a passion for all things crunchy, Teri and I both share a love of musical theatre! We actually met years ago when she was choreographing "Oklahoma!" at a local musical theatre.
She is an inspiration to me onstage and off, and I am very excited for you all to get to know her a little bit, too.
 |
| Photo used with permission from Teri of Homestead Honey. |
Hello from Teri of Homestead Honey!
Hello LittleOwlCrunchyMomma readers! I am Teri Page, from Homestead Honey. I live in Northeast Missouri with my husband Brian, and our two children, ages 3 and 6. My professional background is in nonprofit management, dance education, and arts administration.
These days, I use those skills as the coordinator of our Waldorf-inspired homeschool cooperative; a children's musical theater teacher; and as a writer, both on my blog and as a frequent contributor for homesteading and natural parenting magazines. For years, I have been active in dance and musical theater (which is, in fact, how I first met Jackie!), and I still love performing, teaching, and choreographing in local productions.
These days, I use those skills as the coordinator of our Waldorf-inspired homeschool cooperative; a children's musical theater teacher; and as a writer, both on my blog and as a frequent contributor for homesteading and natural parenting magazines. For years, I have been active in dance and musical theater (which is, in fact, how I first met Jackie!), and I still love performing, teaching, and choreographing in local productions.
A Little Background (and where we are now)
My family lived in the Eugene, Oregon area for 13 years, renting a 30 acre property, growing gardens and fruit trees, and raising chickens, ducks, bees, dairy goats, and pigs. We desperately wanted to steward our own piece of land, but the real estate prices in Oregon were prohibitive for the type of debt-free life we wanted.
In 2012, we packed up our entire homestead, and moved across country to NE Missouri, where we bought 10 acres of raw land next door to good friends. For the past year, we've been building our off-grid homestead, planting fruit trees, creating a sheet mulched garden, starting a new laying flock of chickens, and most importantly, building a 350 square foot house.
We camped very rustically on the land all summer, and in late October, we moved into our (not quite finished) home. Our homestead is a work-in-progress, and while we someday plan to install a photovoltaic system, for now we are living electricity-free, and using a water-catchment system for our drinking water needs.
What a Typical Day Looks for Teri on her Homestead
Because of the rustic nature of our living situation, our typical day is full of chores such as purifying drinking water through our Berkey filter, collecting wash water from our pond, charging our phone with a solar charger, cooking whole foods meals from scratch, and splitting firewood for our woodstove.
My husband and I both work from home, so we balance work time with kid time. It is a joy to be able to spend so much time with our children, together as a family, but it also involves a lot of juggling! We are also preparing to launch an Etsy shop in the next few days, so we've been very busy making products and setting up the store.
We try to share each meal together, so our meals serve as anchor points throughout the day where we can regroup and reconnect.
I started blogging in January, 2012, but began blogging in earnest about a year ago. It's been a fabulous way for me to document and share our experiences building an off-grid homestead from scratch, and to connect with a community of like-minded people. My ultimate goal is to inspire people to pursue their own radical homestead dreams.
What is a"Crunchy Momma"...?
I have been called "crunchy" for many years, beginning when I enrolled in college in Maine in 1992! In those days, crunchy meant that I wore Birkenstocks and studied ecology. Nowadays, I view crunchiness less as a function of what I do, and more as a reflection of being a questioning, thinking woman and momma.
Camping on a piece of land without electricity, creating a home-based economy so we have more time for family and community, homeschooling, breastfeeding well into toddlerhood, eating whole foods, not vaccinating my children, practicing elimination communication...these actions are all expressions of my inner knowledge that what our society and culture says is "right" is not always right for me and my family.
Camping on a piece of land without electricity, creating a home-based economy so we have more time for family and community, homeschooling, breastfeeding well into toddlerhood, eating whole foods, not vaccinating my children, practicing elimination communication...these actions are all expressions of my inner knowledge that what our society and culture says is "right" is not always right for me and my family.
 |
| Photo used with permission from Teri of Homestead Honey. |
The BEST part of being a Momma is...
Being a mom has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. My two children have taught me to be more playful, to view the world with wonder, and to get in touch with my creativity. But what I love most about being a momma is that I get to practice patience and peaceful parenting in a way that I never dreamed possible. I am helping my children connect with their own emotions and feelings, and in turn, they will be the future peacemakers of the world.
 |
| Photo used with permission from Teri of Homestead Honey. |
The HARDEST part of being a Momma is...
The hardest thing about being a mom is balancing my needs as an adult woman who loves to connect with other adults, perform in musicals and dance performances, and work on my own projects. I love staying home with them, but I also love the stimulation of work in the nonprofit arts world, and hope to find a way to integrate this passion into my life.
A few of Teri's Favorite Things...
 |
| Learn more |
 |
| Learn more |
 |
| Learn more |
I have a lot of favorite cookbooks. These days my top two are Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair, and Eating Close to Home by Elin England.
My favorite quote:
"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."
- Anais Nin (1903-1977)
 |
| Photo used with permission from Teri of Homestead Honey. |
You can find Teri on her blog, Homestead Honey, follow her on Facebook and Pinterest, or visit her at her Etsy Shop. Stop on by and say hello!
Are you a crunchy momma? Do you run a blog or other website? Are you interested in submitting a guest post? Please PM me through the LittleOwlCrunchyMomma Facebook page. I would love to get to know you.
(Note: this post contains affiliate links. Meaning, if you shop after click on them you will are helping to support my blogging endeavors. Thank you!)
Come back to Oregon! (We live in Ashland.) Nice to meet you. Can't wait to read the next ones in this series. Awesome photos!
ReplyDeleteRadical Homemakers is one of our favorite must-read books, too!
ReplyDeleteThank You Jennifer!
ReplyDelete350 square feet, sweet sassy molassy! I love it! I'm coveting your fruit trees and land. Ready for that to be a part of our lives. And compliments of this post my word of the day is "photovoltaic" :D I love what you're doing Teri! Can't wait to read about more crunchy mamas and Jackie, the title of the series...priceless!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Karrie!
Delete