Nurturing is Invisible

What builds a home

Last weekend, as you know, I was fortunate enough to attend the Rahima Baldwin conference at Cedarwood Waldorf School. It was as wonderful as I imagined it would be. Rahima is such an amazing speaker, she really reaches out to everyone. I think everyone there left on a high after hearing her speak. Her question and answer session was almost as insightful as her speech itself. It was so great to be around so many Waldorf parents, I have to say I have never seen so many knitting needles going at once!

Some highlights that really got to me from her speech:

"Nurturing is invisible"

How true is that?! Does your significant other ever ask you what you did all day at home with the kids and you can not come up with one thing? You know you've done so much, calmed down fears, rescued dearly loved dolls from dragons (or in our house - Paw Paw), sang silly songs, alleviated melt downs, kissed away boo boos; the list just keeps going.... But yet you can't seem to put it into words.

"Doing things rhythmically simplifies life"

I think that one speaks for itself.

"Teach tolerance but stand strong"

That one really got to me because I really try to teach tolerance but standing strong is hard for me. With C it's a bit easier but with K I know I am a push over at times and I need to work on that.

A couple other great quotes to note:

"Children learn what they live"

"Reverence and Gratitude - two of the most important things in life"


The 8th graders played us some beautiful music as we left to raise money for a field trip to Costa Rica.

One of the high points of the conference for me was meeting Kyrie and Kate. I don't think I could express how sweet both of these ladies are. I felt so comfortable and at home with both of them. And Kyrie's sweet baby girl - OH MY! Her beautiful pictures don't even begin to do justice for her cuteness!! Kyrie and Kate are both even sweeter than their blogs could ever try to show. If you haven't checked them out before, please do so now! Thank you ladies for the wonderful day!!

I did not take any pictures of the conference itself other than the first image on this post but I did get a few shots of the classrooms during the tour at Cedarwood.
I will leave you with those as I get back to my Halloween madness! Have a great weekend and Happy Halloween!




The daily classroom rhythm


Entering one of the Kindergarten classrooms


Rainbow of play cloths


Beautiful window


Kindergarten toys



----------------------------------------

I just re-read this post and I must apologize. I typed this up on about 2 hours of sleep so my brain is still in sleep mode!

Nurturing is Invisible

WIP Wednesday: Holiday Confusion

A peek into my WIP basket

Is it Halloween? Or is it Christmas? I can't tell anymore. As usual I have quite a few things going on at once. I finally decided on what the Halloween Fairy is bringing the girls. One part of it was bought and the other is currently being made. I don't have any pictures yet, I just started it last night. I am rushing like crazy to finish it by this weekend and I should have it done in time. The only problem with doing it last minute like this is that I rush which tends to cause mistakes and sloppy work. I need to try and keep myself in check and make this nice for the girls...


Pocket Mice

I started on the kitties' Christmas presents. They will each get at least one wool mouse with catnip and wool stuffing inside, perhaps there will even be a bell in some of them. The ones I made last year for them were a big hit, they are completely falling apart. This time I am knitting them in bright colors to make them easier for us to find. I am hoping to make 2 for each of them 1 big and 1 small. They like the small ones so they can carry them around the house, but the big ones to bat around. Don't ask me how I find the time to notice those kinds of things!


Late night assembly

We went to Ikea last weekend (Which requires a huge THANK YOU to all of you for your help!) and I found my desk and chair. That's all I could afford for now so the shelving, etc will come later. I can't wait to get set up! I assembled my chair but Kevin and I are currently working on putting my desk together one screw at a time. Slow going there with his hectic work schedule and my endless crafting but I have a feeling it will be done by next week. Now, clearing space among all the boxes for my desk; that's another story.

A couple of things I did manage to finish this week are:


Our Korknissee

This little guy was a super fast and easy knit. My mom gave me some wine corks last year for this project and I didn't get around to it until now. I am not too happy with his face so I will probably switch out the cork. I am thinking of adding a string to his hat to make him into an ornament. I planned on making a bunch of these guys because they look so nice set up together but I only have a couple corks with out writing printed on them so I will have to wait until I can find more.


Falling leaves

I have always loved the beautiful needle felted mobiles made by naturechild on Etsy, have you ever seen them? I just could not justify buying one. So the girls and I made a mobile of our own inspired by naturechild. Granted our little mobile is nowhere near as wonderful as hers but it makes up happy. We dipped the leaves in beeswax and tied them on then made a swing for our autumn fairy to sit on. I wanted to use a branch instead of the mini wreath to hang the leaves and swing from but we couldn't find one that was just right, maybe next Autumn we will, though :) The wreath still works. The girls love her and that's all that matters. She is currently swinging in our kitchen over the girls' play table.

Thank you, again, everyone for all your help. I hope you are all done or near done with whatever Halloween projects you have going on. If not, know I'm up late finishing last minute with you!

Happy Creating!

WIP Wednesday: Holiday Confusion

Rhythmically Speaking

I have been receiving quite a few e-mails about rhythm lately so I thought I would share where we currently are at.
Slowly, very slowly, things are coming together in our new home. Baking day is back, to every one's delight, as well as some other weekly rhythms. Our daily rhythm is still a bit of a struggle with unpacking and finding things amongst piles of boxes, but our night time rhythm is truly golden. It has always been our one thing we can count on. I truly enjoy our time together as a family at night.

Here's a little glimpse into our night life, but, honestly, it starts in the late afternoon. Around 3:30 is when the girls and I start making supper and singing our dinnertime songs. Then we set the table and light our candle.


Our current dinner candle set up (tea lights in the Jack-o-lanterns)

K helps me set the table by getting her dishes that we keep in a cabinet within her reach. She puts them away after they are washed, as well. She loves being able to help, that's why it is so important to us to have these things accessible to her.


K's cabinet with her plates and silverware

We eat our dinner at 5:00, clean up and then have some quiet play time.


Toy set up in the living room (we haven't painted our walls yet or unboxed everything)

But the real signal for the girls that it is time for bed is when I sing the 'brush your teeth' song:

Brush, brush, brush your teeth
Brush them everyday ohhhhhh
Brush, brush, brush your teeth
Before you go out to play

Brush them even longer now
Brush in little circles now

Brush, brush, brush your teeth
Brush them everyday
- Mary Thienes Schunemann



No matter where they are at in the house they come running into the bathroom to brush their teeth. I just can not express how valuable singing is in our house. Sometimes it's the only thing that gets us through the day!


My monkey girl

We then pick out our bed time story and get into our PJs. We end our night by cuddling in bed together and reading our story. Then the 'moon is Round' verse is recited and it's lights out.

That's what works for our family. Our girls thrive on consistency. If we were to skip any of our steps chaos would ensue. Believe me, we learned the hard way with them!

What is your night time rhythm (for you and/or the little ones)? How did you find it?

Rhythmically Speaking

Family Time

We found some rare and unexpected family time this morning so I am taking advantage of it. I hope you all understand! Have a great weekend!!





Although, I have to quickly add how excited I am about meeting up with some amazing blogging mamas tomorrow at the Rahima Baldwin Dancy (author of 'You Are Your Child's First Teacher) conference.

Family Time

WIP Wednesday: When Good Projects Go Bad

I almost didn't share this crafting mishap out of sheer embarrassment but then I thought you would all get a kick out of this.



Last weekend I picked up some beautiful, sweet smelling beeswax from our local beekeeper at the farmers market. I had many projects in thought for this beeswax but one in particular that I just couldn't wait to do. That was my first mistake, not waiting to think the project out...



I found this cookie mold (at least I think that's what it is) at the thrift store when we first moved here and thought it would make the perfect beeswax impression to hang in our window for the winter. I just could not wait to get my hands on some beeswax to make it. Well, once I got the beeswax I literally ran home and started melting it to pour into the mold. As you may have noticed the mold is ceramic which makes getting the beeswax out tricky, to say the least. So here's brilliant idea number 1: I thought to make the boiling hot beeswax not stick, I'd just put saran wrap over the mold. Yeah, like I said brilliant idea. So of course a soon as one drop of the hot beeswax touched the saran wrap, it melted it. Realizing I did not think that through at all, I took off the saran wrap, paused for a moment to consider waiting until I figured out how to make it not stick, then carelessly proceeded to put the beeswax into the mold. That was my second brilliant idea for the day.



Looks great, doesn't it? I thought so, too. But of course as expected once the beeswax hardened it was stuck like glue. I ended up sticking the mold in the oven and remelting the beeswax to pour it out of the mold. Now, I have a mold with beeswax residue that I can't get off. *sigh* What on earth was I thinking?! All I can do is plea temporary insanity and put my beeswax projects on hold until I regroup. Back to knitting!


C's Lyala Hoodie preparation

Since you are all so amazing with your ideas and help I thought I would throw another dilemma out there for you...
I want to find a desk similar to Amanda Soule's wonderful studio desk (the long thin desk with her sewing machine and computer on it). I honestly don't care what it looks like, just that it is long and thin like that so I can have all my projects on it at once. I was thinking even a folding table might work but I am afraid of that not being sturdy enough. I have tried looking at our local thrift stores and on craigslist but I honestly don't even know how to search for it. Is it a desk or a table?
What do you think?

Lastly, to make up for my 'what was I thinking' moment I did at least finish up a Christmas present. Can't say for who, though ;)



Happy creating!

WIP Wednesday: When Good Projects Go Bad

Loving our Locals

We are extremely fortunate to live in an area with a plethora of farmers markets all within a short drive. All of them are equally wonderful, but I thought I would share one of our favorites - the Oregon City Farmers Market.
The atmosphere is so very welcoming and open. I have never met so many kind people in such a small radius before.



Every time we go I am pleasantly surprised by the amount and the price of the local organic produce. I am used to the poor selection and absurd prices that we had at the farmers market back in Virginia, so this is like a dream.
One of K's favorites is the local organic CSA stand. She loves their tomatoes and enjoys filling up her bucket with them.



C, on the other hand, just enjoys eating everything she can get her hands on. She is usually covered in food (as you can see) by the time we head back to the van.



We picked up quite a few goodies this last trip. The usual assortment of fall veggies (notice almost all the tomatoes K picked out are already gone by the time we get home) and some local honey.



But this last trip was extra special for us because we had two special orders waiting for us there. One was some sweet smelling beeswax we requested from out local beekeepers and the other was a custom bird feeder. The people that made the bird feeder are some of the nicest I've ever met. I love that they use wood found on the ground to make their sweet creations. Feeding and providing safe havens for birds is important to us and I think this little bird feeder is just perfect for helping us with that.



I love that it looks like a little log cabin, and the fact that I met and know the person that created it for our birds makes it that much more special.





If you look closely enough in the picture above you can see a little black capped chickadee eating til his heart's content.
Feast away my feathered friend, feast away!


What do you pick up from your local farmers market?

Loving our Locals

Harvest Festival

Last weekend was the Harvest Festival at the girls' future school. This was our first event (that all of us were able to attend) at the school. I have to say it was truly magical. Have you ever had one of those moments when you suddenly realize you have found your place, your niche, your home? I can't think of any other way to describe how I felt that day. It was just in the air - this is it! It was such a huge moment it was almost spiritual. I wasn't the only one who felt it, either. Even Kevin and both of the girls were in bliss and didn't want to leave (3 hours later we did have to go though, poor C was exhausted!). We made some wonderful connections and learned so much (thanks to K and C's sweaters and hats, surprisingly they were the top conversation starter there), we want to be a part of this wonderful school and community now but will patiently wait for K's first year of school next September... or at least try...

I have a lot of pictures to share from the day so I will let them speak for us :)


Arriving


Local carrots are the best!



Wet felting acorns




K dipping leaves in beeswax something we will be doing a lot more of! What a great project!




Michaelmas story


Spinning! A hobby I hope to learn this winter thanks to some amazing women




Pumpkin bowling


Donkey cart ride




I'll be back next week to announce the sign ups for the winter ornament swap.
Have a great weekend!

----------------------------------------------------------

Thank you everyone for your wonderful responses and amazing ideas on my last post. I love them all, now just to decide on one or two...

Harvest Festival

WIP Wednesday: Leading by Example

The'Soulemama Hat'

I finished up my Soulemama hat at the end of September but hadn't photographed it. I finally made Kevin take my picture in it at the farmers market last week (although it was not yet blocked - I am hoping that the 'puffing' on the top of the hat goes away after I block it). I made this one in wool and I plan on making another one in cotton for the spring. It's already quite chilly here so this hat has become a necessity. It actually helps me out with the girls, as well. We have a rule that they must wear a hat whenever they are outside (whatever the weather). K caught on to the fact that mama doesn't wear a hat outside so she started using that as an excuse to not wear one. Well, this solves that problem. Now I never go out without it on. 'Lead by example' really rings true here, huh?!
It's funny because all the vendors at our farmers market know us by our hats and my knitting.


St. Nicholas knitting time

I got this beautiful rainbow yarn quite some time ago from the wonderfully sweet Melissa at Ram in the Thicket but was almost afraid to knit with it. I didn't want to ruin it or waste it. Then K started mentioning that her K baby is cold a lot and needs warm clothes. I thought this yarn would be perfect for keeping her warm and it was a great idea for her St. Nicholas gift. I found the pattern on ravelry here. It is super easy. My only complaint is the holes that appear from the yarn over increases. I plan on knitting more of these sweaters but I will try to replace that increase with another and see how it goes. I think K will still love it, though.

More current WIPs:

I am currently working on the prize for my upcoming giveaway and plan on announcing that in early November. I was hoping to post the Winter Ornament Swap today but I think that will have to wait until next week. I have to stop before I spread myself to thin.

Lastly, we have a great tradition for Halloween. The Halloween Fairy visits our home Halloween night to gather all the candy the girls collect and then in return leaves them a little surprise. I am having a hard time this year, though. I don't know if it's the move or maybe it's just that my brain chooses to no longer work but I can not think of a single thing for the Halloween Fairy to bring the girls. I am really running out of time, too. I know she will bring them honey sticks but what else? Can anyone suggest anything? Just something small and simple I could make them or purchase them. I was hoping to find something bat related for K but really anything at this point will do. Thanks for any help!

Thank you everyone for your warm welcome into our home and your well wishes. I am feeling almost 100% better and we are slowly settling in. I hope you are all having a wonderful week.

Happy creating!

WIP Wednesday: Leading by Example