Thursday, January 26, 2012

38 Years Old...

What?  How did that happen?  How am I 38 years old already?  I feel about 31!  My birthday was yesterday, and I had a great day getting spoiled by Dame and my little ones.

Davin was very adamant that I needed a pretty dress in blue for my birthday, so that is what they got me, along with a bit of running gear (yay!), better than Dame's 20 year old thermal underwear that I have been wearing out on colder days!

You can see a bit of the top of the dress in this one...

There was also a cupcake cake in the shape of a flower, and risotto, one of my favorite dishes Dame makes.

Yummo!


Of course I had lots of help to blow out the candles!



It was a lovely day capped off with a bit of knitting in the evening, these days I'm working on a Milo Vest for William.  So far it is a great easy knit and I plan to do one for Davin and Miren when I'm finished.

And I'll finish with this one just because... :)

Monday, January 09, 2012

Enjoy Every Moment...

I read this great piece from Momastery the other day, talking about the "Enjoy every moment - they grow up so fast" advice we are regularly bombarded with, and it made me feel such relief, and a little sadness at the same time.  Relief that it wasn't just me who felt this pressure to enjoy every day with my babes, and guilt for the days where it was tough to find that enjoyment.  Raising babies is hard, and some days are long, end of story.  Sadness that it is clear that so many of us feel this way, and feel as though we're alone with that.

Source
And now, after reading this, I'm trying to just be.  Know that some days will be crap, but some days will be great, and in between, I will look for my Kairos time.  Remember that looking forward to bedtime doesn't make me a bad mom, but maybe tomorrow night it might mean saying ok to that "one more book".

The days are long, but the years are short.  It just is.  So I'll make the most of the days that I can, and not beat myself up for those where I just can't.  It's ok.

Saturday, January 07, 2012

Your mama

Most of what I write in the journals for our children or in this blog and elsewhere is things about them, so we can remember it together when they are older.  I thought it would also be helpful to once in a while capture my thoughts and feelings at this stage so they can hopefully better understand me.  So Davin, Miren and William, here are some things about me...


1) I obsess about what you eat, and would love to make everything from scratch, but struggle with that a bit between working and balancing with Dame's preferences.

2) I am not the most patient mother, and am working on not yelling and getting upset when you don't listen, as an almost 3 & 5 year old are apt to do.

3) Your dad and I have spent enless hours talking about your education and what we want it to be. It is a big motivator for trying to move back east and have you all go to the Waldorf school there.  Hopefully it all works out.

4) I love singing very loudly in the car when no one else is there, to all types of music, including dance and country.

5) I'm trying to get motivated and get back running now that William is settling into a bit of a schedule.

6) I love to read, and hope to instill a love of reading into each of you. It is such a source of joy for me, and many times a much needed escape.

7) I love snacking on potato chips (especially while reading, see above), and am always trying to cut back!

8) I love making things - sewing, knitting, felting, whatever. It provides such a sense of accomplishment for me, and I love learning new skills and trying new things.  The pleasure when they turn out as I had hoped makes me a little giddy. (Example - I installed my first zipper for some Christmas gifts this year, and couldn't stop showing it to your dad.  We're both geeks at heart, just with a slightly different focus!)

9) Although I'm not much for cooking, I do love baking, but am now always thinking about ways to modify some old favorites to keep them yummy while better for us.

10) I am back to work 3 days a week now that William is 4 months old, and more than a little heartsick about it. I would much prefer to be with you all the time, while still pursuing some of my goals and interests when I can.

11) Our best friends right now are Catherine and Richard, and their daughter Veronica is Davin's best bud (or her "twin" as she prefers to call her). It is tough to find couples where everyone likes one another, but we all really get along and have a lot of fun together.

12) My favorite colour is robin egg blue, your dad's is orange.

13) We would love to travel with you all more, but not sure it is in the budget in the short term.

14) We are really struggling with the level of consumerism and the focus of buy, buy, buy that seems to be so prevalent in society these days, and are trying to look inward at ways to simplify and reduce our spending and consumption.

15) We all love our jammies and spend many days in them not bothering to get dressed. If we do go out somewhere you guys start stripping as soon as we get home and get right back in your comfy jammies.

16) Overall we're home bodies, preferring just hanging out together as a family and going for quiet walks together over being out with crowds of people.

17) Without really realizing it initially, we're considered somewhat unconventional when it comes to some of the choices we are making for you guys, from the all natural healthcare and cleaning products, to many of the toys we buy, to the foods we eat, to the movies and tv we watch (or more often, don't watch), to our thoughts on schooling. We are making these choices because we think they are the best ones for us and you, and hope that as you get older you feel that way too!

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

My Word – 2012!

I’ve been seeing a few posts in blogland these days about a word for the New Year, which reminded me I hadn’t chosen a word yet for what I wanted 2012 to be.  Then yesterday Hip Mountain Mama posted on Facebook yesterday asking “what is your word for 2012?”, and I immediately knew it was ADVENTURE.  After 2011 being a year of Nurture - slowing down, sticking close to home, waiting for baby, and then enjoying our new little one, 2012 is the year for adventure I think.  Hopefully it will involve:
·         Spending fun times with friends
·         Some camping, hopefully in a new to us trailer (my dream is to get a Boler and fix it up, but we’ll see)
·         Going at least one place we haven’t been before
·         More adventures in cooking and eating well
·         Doing some renovations to our home
·         D starting her first year of school (eek!)
·         Continuing to simplify and organize our home – an adventure to be sure!
·         A trip back to Newfoundland for my 20 year (!) high school reunion
·         Keep working on making our dream a reality

Vintage Boler - Source

Here's to an exciting year filled to the brim with adventure!

 

Monday, January 02, 2012

Advent Calendar

This year I decided to finally make an Advent Calendar like the one I had when I was growing up.  It is a little different than most you find online, the idea is that you just hang an ornament each day as a count down to Christmas.  There are no gifts included like many others, I just feel that they get enough this time of year.  I found a few pictures online for inspiration, and they made up my own measurements and templates.  I need to add a back to it to give it more structure, but otherwise I'm pleased with how it turned out.


Here is a closer view of the ornaments:


Davin enjoyed it quite a bit, and I hope it is another tradition that will continue for many years.

Christmas Cases

For Christmas this year we decided to get the girls each a vintage train case and then fill it with some goodies.  We found the cases on Etsy from Babcock's Store, a great shop for vintage items.  The owner was great to deal with and worked with me to find the best shipping options.  Once they arrived we were busy making them special for each of the girls.

For Davin we decided to fill with her own craft supplies, including a pair of "sharp" scissors which were a huge hit.


We thought Miren was still a little young for that, so in thinking about the things she likes to do most, we filled it will little people, and surrounded it with a farm set for her to play with. 


They were a huge hit, and have had a lot of play over the past couple of weeks.  I hope the train cases will be well loved and something that will grow with them and be filled with different treasures as they get older.