slowing down

 

  

Over the weekend we enjoyed a slower pace and other than church on Sunday, stayed home most of the time. The children played outside, we planted lettuce, did some baking and watched the Sound of Music. I worked on some special Easter basket knits (think fuzzy little spring creatures in tiny hoodie sweaters), did some menu planning for April and mostly tried to kick this cold I have.

sweater of many colors

My dear friend Maija from college (we met freshman year in the dorms, studied abroad in London together and were roommates throughout college) just had her second child, a sweet boy named Ryker. When I visited Maija after her first son, Marshall, was born I was struck by how all his clothes were in bright, fun colors. So when I found out she was having another baby I just had to make this new babe a bright, colorful sweater. My sweet Silas, 5 months old, begged to model it before we wrapped it up and sent it to Ryker. If you want the FREE pattern or knitting notes, check out my Ravelry page here.

As part of Ginny's Yarn Along we're also supposed to note what we're currently reading. I'm usually reading 3-4 books at a time. Which book I pick up depends on the time of day, where I'm reading (at the gym, home with kids, home after kids are in bed, etc.). This week I'm reading a sweet book from the 1930's called Down the Garden Path thanks to the idea from Lori, Montessori From the Start which has so many excellent ideas for how to foster independence and self esteem in children babies-age 3, and The Paleo Diet Cookbook. I'm also browsing through all my gardening books like The New Self Sufficient Gardener, Mini Farming and the Backyard Homestead to get inspired and help plan the changes we're making to our garden and yard this year. Did I tell you we're raising 30 meat chickens with friends (on their property- not our backyard!)? We'll be butchering them in a few weeks. I bet you can't wait for that blog post!

spring on Tracie's farm

 

 

This morning the girls, West and I had the opportunity to go visit our friend and Mira's piano teacher, Tracie's, family farm. We've been going to piano there every Monday for more than two years now but had never walked around the farm. They had six calves born last week and they invited us to come bottle feed them and see them. We had a wonderful time with Tracie and her boys and we loved the chance to get out of town for a morning and spend time on their beautiful farm. West came home a muddy mess, but what else would you expect from a two year old boy? Thank you Tracie for a great time!

farm chores

Mira (10) has her first job. She's been "hired" to be a farm helper for some friends when they are out of town. They walked her through the daily morning and evening chores, left her with a typed list, told her she'd be paid $10 a day and left for the beach.

She's taken this new job very seriously, pouring daily over the checklist which she put in a special protective cover. I've been so impressed with how responsible she's been and how she's insisted on doing it all herself, even though that means doing things outside her comfort zone like having goats bigger than her jumping on her. It will get interesting in the fall when the goat has its baby and milking in on the chore list.

right now

 

Right now I'm:

more than a little obsessed with my newest hobby, embroidery. And french knots? Oh how much fun they are! I'm loving these cute patterns from Sarah Jane.

making up for a terrible week last week by making these yummy and healthy truffles for a little Valentine's Day treat (recipe below).

enjoying turning my built-in in the dining room into my craft cupboard. Out goes the china, in goes the yarn and fabric.

loving the quiet pace of Mondays when Shane is home and he and the girls work on Bible Study Fellowship together in the afternoon.

making this citrus cleaner and looking forward to making these canning jar soap dispenses too.

planning some new sewing project from this book and looking for the perfect pattern for peasant dresses for my girls.

thinking about and planning some homeschool writing classes that I may be teaching in the fall.

loving the way I feel since I cut out grains and increased my veggies by 50%. I finally got the green smoothies just right and that combined with a hard boiled egg make the perfect breakfast. And I'm loving the challenging of  making old favorites grain free (like mini pizzas on butternut squash rounds instead of dough or lasagna with zucchini noodles instead of pasta, or baked spaghetti with spaghetti squash "noodles"). Fifteen pounds down (since Jan 1) and I feel so much more energetic too.

Healthy Chocolate Truffles
1 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut butter or coconut cream
Unsweetened shredded coconut

Melt together honey, coconut oil and coconut cream/butter. Mix in cocoa powder. Put in freezer for 20 minutes (not longer or it will get too hard). Scoop out and roll into balls. Roll in unsweetened shredded coconut and store in fridge

{this moment}

{this moment} - Joining with Amanda today for this Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

work as play

Having a toddler (and a boy) has been exhausting and a real test of my patience.  As West nears his second birthday, I've been thinking a lot about how to incorporate him into our family routine and give him the attention and focused activities I think he needs. 

 I've tried setting up blocks, playing cars (complete with fancy roads, houses and trees to add to the "fun"), various toddler toys, puzzles and games. Yet, again and again he turns from the toys - the stuff - to follow me around and break a few eggs in the process.

 

I've come to a point where I've stopped trying to distract him with toys, forts and puzzles and instead find ways to incorporate him into what I'm doing.  If I'm cleaning a toilet you can bet there's nothing he'd rather do than have a turn with that scrub brush, or if I'm changing Silas' diaper West is ready with the wipes.

His self confidence is unwavering and his determination impressive. As I've started to allow him to participate more in my basic routines our rhythm feels natural and I've come to appreciate his constant companionship (and even his help at times!). I've stopped feeling badly because he doesn't play with cars or toys like other boys his age, and I am seeing the value of allowing life and meaningful work to be his play.

 I know this isn't a new concept, I've long been a Montessori fan, but I never really understood, until now, how important purposeful play is to the young child. This, this and this article are great reads for how to facilitate meaningful work for toddlers.

 And guess what? When West's second birthday rolls around next month he won't be getting any cars, blocks or Lego's. Nope, he's getting his own little broom and dustpan and maybe some child size gardening tools.

Side note: the little pants the boys are wearing are just a few of the Quick Change reversible trousers I made over the weekend from Anna Maria Horner's book,  Handmade Beginnings. The sweaters are the 5 Hour Baby and the 7 Hour Toddler sweaters. Details on Ravelry. Oh, and the cute little mini poster can be downloaded for free from Sara Jane Studios here.

Sunny Days

The last few days have been so unbelievably sunny that I am feeling spoiled. If you know Oregon, you now that usually our winters mean lots and lots of rain. Spring does come early in Oregon though and in less than a month the daffodils will be in bloom and the cherry trees that line our street will start to blossom. Before you know it summer will be here.

We've been soaking up these days with lots of walks, playing in the dirt, drawing in our nature notebooks and trips to the library for toddler story time.  I have a stack of crafting books and am so looking forward to spending the weekend on some sewing projects.

Annah spent the morning making this sweet little cardboard book called, "What you can do on a farm" and West has been his busy usual self as you can see in the photos above where he is attempting to unroll the beeswax candles the girls worked so hard on.