There are some days where it seems that all I do is make sure the kids are fed, and some learning is accomplished. Where I spend my time breaking up fights and calming frustrated little ones, while balancing a fussy toddler on my hip and trying to get some laundry done. Yesterday was the complete opposite. I was able to bake three loaves of bread, make two quarts of yogurt, wash diapers and gets lots of schooling done. I felt very domestic indeed. We read about St. Alban and Hadrian’s Wall (I just love being able to tell the kids that I have been to some of these places, they get so excited). The children went outside to play, and despite being bundled up like eskimos, they came back in rosy cheeked after only twenty minutes. We had lots of snuggles and were even able get some extra reading done before supper. We are reading The Wishing Chair Collection by Enid Blyton. I loved these books as a child and now my kids do too. They are magical tales that are calmer than a lot of fairy tales, which is really good for my kiddos that have less of a tolerance for scary. Overall it was about as close to domestic bliss as we get around here. Definitely a very good day, especially when all the children were snug in their beds by seven o’clock. Check out this beauty of a rolling pin. It was another gift from Christmas, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It was handmade in Breckenridge, Co. and I’m so glad it found it’s new home with me. Now I really need to bake a pie and try it out. What is your favourite domestic chore? Is it baking, folding laundry, or doing a big spring clean?
family, food, gifts, home, homeschooling • Thursday, January 7th, 2010 • 14 Comments »
Tell Me A Story is a great book/game/not quite sure what to categorize it as thing we use around here. Since we homeschool, I am always on the lookout for fun creative ways to increase their skills. These are packs of 36 very sturdy, very well illustrated cards. There are many ways to use them. Sometimes I have the kids pick out a group of cards, lay them out in the order they want and then I tell them a story based on the pictures. Other times they grab a stack of them and I have them tell me a story. They are really effective with some of the kiddos that are less confident about making up stories. It gives them pictures to base the story on while still requiring them to come up with the words. We really enjoy them and they are also a great gift. They encourage creativity, which is huge for me. We have Mystery in the Forest, and Little Robot’s Mission. They also make Fairy Tale Mix-Up and Circus Animal’s Adventure. Hope you all are having a great day, cold and dreary here today.
books, family, homeschooling • Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 • 4 Comments »
For the most part, I like winging it when it comes to crafting. Though I do use them, patterns make me nervous. I much prefer to tackle a project by figuring it out what needs to be done and doing it, minus a pattern. I recently found an article of clothing at a thrift store that was fantastic in just about every way. There is one thing I want to change and that’s what these granny squares are for. Of course, the whole thing could be a complete failure, but I hope not. I should have it done by next week and I can’t wait to show you. Oh, and after I laid these out, I noticed how cute they would be as a granny square wreath. I might have to work on some of those for next Christmas. On a side note, my closet is almost done. Just one more stack to go through and then my clothes will be down to what I actually wear and love. Decluttering is so freeing, good thing, as I have lots more to do. Which do you prefer, working from patterns, or winging it?
crochet, sewing, thrift store finds • Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 • 11 Comments »
This was one of my Christmas gifts, isn’t it great? It’s huge, and I mean huge. The diameter is 12 inches and it’s about 6 1/2 inches deep. I have been using it constantly since I got it. It is perfect for mixing up a cake and because it’s so big, even the most exuberant of mixing by the kiddos doesn’t splash outside of it. Yesterday I used it to serve up mashed potatoes and they were dwarfed by the size of the bowl. I love it, it has become my new best friend. It has so much more character than a plain glass bowl, don’t you think? What are your favourite kitchen items?
food, gifts, home • Monday, January 4th, 2010 • 16 Comments »
We do a lot of reading here, especially since we homeschool. Sometimes it feels a bit like a chore when we are trying to work on some books while juggling everything else, but one of my goals this year is to live in the moment and really, truly enjoy what we are doing. My daughter and I are reading Pippi Longstocking and we are really loving it. My daughter loves that she lifts her horse up and down off of the porch and she cracks up every time Pippi drinks a cup of coffee. Who wouldn’t love a girl who wears striped knee socks? On the household front, my motivation level is high and yesterday I got all of our Christmas decorations packed away for another year. Next, I’m working on decluttering my closet. Wish me luck.
books • Saturday, January 2nd, 2010 • 7 Comments »
A new year, so full of possibilities. I must admit, after all the gearing up for Christmas, it is sometimes a bit of a relief when it is finished. I immediately think of the spring coming (though that won’t be for many months here), and new life and warmth. I look forward to celebrating a new year of birthdays starting with all of my boys in the spring. Thoughts of what to plant, where to plant it, and how much to plant. Dreaming of picnics every week in the warm summer sun, having it be warm enough to let my kids play for hours outside every day. We have serious cabin fever by this time of year. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just cold, but the wind makes it unbearable. I’m not such a huge fan of resolutions, but a new year does make me reflective over how I would like to do things this year. Much of this past year was spent physically, mentally, and emotionally recovering from the previous two years. This year I feel a renewed vigor and enthusiasm, and I am excited for the possibilities. This necklace was a gift from Hubby. It was made by Lisa Leonard and is called Be Still. I absolutely love it, and it is a constant reminder to be still. Being still is sometimes a little difficult with four children. This year, I want to live in the moment more. Enjoy each and every hug, story, cuddle that I am blessed enough to have. I want to enjoy cooking more, so often it’s a matter of just trying to get a nutritious meal on the table while stopping a squabble, holding a fussy babe and trying to think straight and stir at the same time. I want to be outside more, and truly enjoy the beauty of the world around us. To visit family more as time goes by so quickly, and the children are growing at the speed of light. I want to lie in the grass and read stories to my children, make them picnics to have on adventures in the back yard. Then there are the more domestic things that I want to accomplish, such as being more organized, getting some sort of chore system worked out with the abilities of everyone in the family. Being really good about making a big shopping trip and then only going out when we need milk and fresh veg/fruit. I could go on forever as there are probably hundreds of things I want to do, but my overarching goal is to be still, enjoy what God has given me, and make thousands of new, fantastic memories with my family. I sincerely hope that you all have a wonderful new year and are able to accomplish all that you want. Happy New Year!
books, crochet, family, food, gardening, gifts, green, home, homeschooling, kid's art, nature, sewing, thrift store finds, travelling • Friday, January 1st, 2010 • 11 Comments »
On our way home, we drove a little way out of the way to take a ferry ride over the Illinois River. After we crossed and were driving on a small road, we drove by this row of houses on stilts. There is so much flooding in this area that it is really common for people to build up on stilts to prevent problems. Many of the houses had their decks built directly under the house complete with grill, and porch swing. I love the colours of these houses and thought they looked just perfect along the tree lined river. I hope you all have a wonderful, safe New Year’s Eve.
travelling • Thursday, December 31st, 2009 • 2 Comments »
Isn’t this the sweetest little Laura nightdress you’ve ever seen? We love Little House on the Prairie and it just so happens that my mother-in-law is a wonderful seamstress. This is the second year she has made gorgeous jammies for my kiddos for Christmas. This is the first year that the babe has gotten some proper bigger baby jammies, and aren’t they beautiful? You can’t really tell in the picture, but there are matching bloomer style pants that go under the dress. There is even a mop cap, though we forgot to put it on when I snapped the picture this morning. She doesn’t wear it to bed as I’m afraid she would wake up scared if she had it fall down over her face, but my five year old dons hers every night. I absolutely love them, and the girls do too. This past summer she made a summer version for my five year old, and I think I might just have to ask really nicely to see if she’ll do a summer nightdress for the babe as her birthday is in July, so perfect timing. I’m hoping that this is now firmly a tradition, as I know we all love the end product, but also the time and effort that went into creating these wonderful gifts.
family, gifts, sewing • Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 • 6 Comments »
On our last day at hubby’s parents, we went to see the St. Louis Arch. It is absolutely amazing, and it was such fun to see it up close. 
The arch is 630 feet tall, I felt a little dizzy looking up to the top while I was safely on the ground. I’m not a huge fan of heights, so hubby took the kids (minus the babe) up to the top. They loved it and since I was safely at ground level walking around the museum, hubby took some pictures for me. 
This is my favourite picture, it’s the duck pond at the park below the arch. It was a little chilly, but we had a really nice time walking around. It was a great way to spend our last afternoon there.
family • Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 • 7 Comments »
Well, we are finally back home and getting somewhat settled in to our normal routine. It was such a rush when we got home to finish up last minute Christmas gifts, not to mention all the laundry etc. from being gone for two and a half weeks, that I am just now feeling like I am able to catch my breath. It was really nice to get away for a while and visit Hubby’s family. Some of them had not yet met the babe, so that was great. Apart from the really bad weather while driving (we drove through three different blizzards), everything went smoothly. It always makes me nervous as sometimes with different routines, or no routines at all, things can be hard on the little ones, but I didn’t need to worry, they all took it in stride. Granted, they all had a lot more sweets than normal and not nearly enough sleep, but despite this things went really well. It’s always good to get home though, and tomorrow needs to start our normal days again. Back to schooling, cooking, lots of snuggles and reading, and good amounts of resting and sleep. Unfortunately the babe has gone back to waking up a lot at night, so not much sleep for me, but one day she will be older and I will miss these times. I wanted to show you one more gift I made for Christmas. This was one of the garlands I made out of these Grandma Twinkle Stars. I really love how it turned out. The pattern is from The Royal Sisters, and is so hugely versatile. My daughter wants some for her room, so it looks like we will have some fun picking out colours for her star garland. I hope everyone had a really nice Christmas. I am looking forward to this next year and can’t wait to share lots of things with you. Thanks again everyone for taking the time to visit every day and for commenting as well. I truly appreciate it.
crochet, family, gifts, home • Monday, December 28th, 2009 • 6 Comments »
There are some days where it seems that all I do is make sure the kids are fed, and some learning is accomplished. Where I spend my time breaking up fights and calming frustrated little ones, while balancing a fussy toddler on my hip and trying to get some laundry done. Yesterday was the complete opposite. I was able to bake three loaves of bread, make two quarts of yogurt, wash diapers and gets lots of schooling done. I felt very domestic indeed. We read about St. Alban and Hadrian’s Wall (I just love being able to tell the kids that I have been to some of these places, they get so excited). The children went outside to play, and despite being bundled up like eskimos, they came back in rosy cheeked after only twenty minutes. We had lots of snuggles and were even able get some extra reading done before supper. We are reading The Wishing Chair Collection by Enid Blyton. I loved these books as a child and now my kids do too. They are magical tales that are calmer than a lot of fairy tales, which is really good for my kiddos that have less of a tolerance for scary. Overall it was about as close to domestic bliss as we get around here. Definitely a very good day, especially when all the children were snug in their beds by seven o’clock. Check out this beauty of a rolling pin. It was another gift from Christmas, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It was handmade in Breckenridge, Co. and I’m so glad it found it’s new home with me. Now I really need to bake a pie and try it out. What is your favourite domestic chore? Is it baking, folding laundry, or doing a big spring clean? 
