We'll Be Coming Round the Mountain...

We journeyed to the top of our mountain recently to see what we could find up there. K has been asking for weeks to go to the top so we had to make sure we did it. Sadly, a lot of the top appears to be developed but there were some amazing areas where mother nature and all her wildlife still existed. Our house is about 3/4 of the way up the mountain and the woods behind us is home to many deer, coyotes and at least one bobcat (he visited our backyard when we closed on the house).

Walking to the top

The girls being silly and posing. K's nature bag didn't make it through the walk...

And here's why. Goofy C dragged it around with rocks inside

My little feisty one making faces

Mt. Hood and our view on a clear day. We like to imagine it with out all of the houses below, as the Oregon Trail settlers might have seen it

All of our neighbors seem to have goats, we love it!

C picking fairy clocks, she loves to 'make it snow' with them

Well, how do you like that - a post from 2009 that never made it's way to the blog. Yep, that explains why there is no Little L, why the girls look so much younger and why the pictures are so tiny. I have no clue why I never hit the "publish" button, but I am so very thankful that I found it! Talk about serendipity! Every waking moment right now is spent working in this house. We've hit "crunch time" here.We are set to move mid-September and have the realtor coming this Monday to see if our house is ready to put on the market. We know it's not ready but we are hoping that with a lot of prayers, trust and hope, along with busting our butts we will be able to get this house sold before the big move.

I had to share (because who knows how tomorrow will go and I don't want to forget today!), after a rough day yesterday, I was so close to calling friends and begging them to play with our children so that Kevin and I could get a day of uninterrupted work done. I didn't get around to making any calls but there was definitely a reason for that. Today was one of those magical days that I would usually only read about on other blogs. All three of our children were happily helping us, in one way or another, all day long. We talked about Idaho and our next house as we worked. It felt like we were Laura Ingalls Wilder's family. K even told me, as I tucked her into bed tonight, that she couldn't wait to wake up in the morning to do it all again tomorrow. Oh what a great day it was. Many happy helping hands truly do make light work!

Anyways, enough typing for me, time to get back to work ripping up carpet!

We'll Be Coming Round the Mountain...

Tradition

Every year Nana (my Mom) sends us an edible arrangement for Thanksgiving.
Every year it arrives with much fanfare to our home the day before Thanksgiving.
And every year it doesn't make it to our Thanksgiving day table because of two fruit loving cherubs in our home.

Happy Thanksgiving (and thanks Mom)!

Tradition

The Princess & The Wolf (A Small Sewing Tale)

One fine autumn day a young princess was playing with her kitties inside when her Mama told her that Father Sun would soon be departing her beloved land and she best get outside and bid him a fond farewell until next Summertime. The princess took heed to her Mama's advice and decided to play with Father Sun while she still could. The princess wanted to dress in her finest clothes to see Father Sun one last time and bid him farewell but it was quite cold outside, as Jack Frost had already visited, so what was she to wear? Her Mama understood her predicament and disappeared into her sewing room, remembering her promise to the princess that she would make her warm dresses this winter. She came back carrying a new winter dress, fresh off the sewing machine. This dress was very warm as it sewn with a heavy cotton/linen fabric and then lined with flannel. To make it even cozier, it had long flannel bloomers to keep the princess' legs warm.





The princess squealed with delight and quickly put her new dress and bloomers on over her woolen under layers. She grabbed her warm wool headband and shoes and was out the door.







She came out and danced and played in Father Sun's rays. This brought much joy to Father Sun so he sent down beautiful yellow leaves dancing off the trees around her and on to the ground.











Her singing and dancing caught the attention of a nearby rascal wolf and he came by to see what was going on. When he saw the princess' dancing he became entranced and joined her. The princess was frightened at first but then realized this was a friendly wolf. They danced and played with Father Sun for hours on end along with some of their other forest friends - including a little lost snow child. No matter how cold it grew outside, the princess stayed warm in her new clothing.









Finally, Father Sun had to leave and the princess heard her Mama in the distance calling her in for dinner. She waved good-bye to her friends, wishing them well and then made her way back home for a warm meal.



Goodnight my dear friends.





Notes:
The dress pattern is Big Sprout by Make it Perfect. I made the size 7 but with the length of the size 8 for my tall skinny 6 year old. I wanted the sleeves to be a bit long for her to grow in to but also so that you would see the contrasting blue flannel.

The fabric is from the Heather Ross Far, Far Away line. I actually pre-ordered it through a co-op years ago (during my crazy 'I think I have more money than I really do' credit card spending days), and then it sat and sat waiting for me to do something with it. I ordered quite a bunch of the line in many different prints (you saw Baby L wearing some of it before) with the intention to make a couple of dresses for the girls out of it and coordinating fabric. Well, I took so long to get to it, I could only make one dress and a doll papoose out of this Rapunzel fabric. I still have quite a bit of the sleeping beauty fabric, though, so I may be able to get two dresses out of that.

K's knit headband can be found here with modifications.

Remember my wish to make K some winter dresses this year and my desperate plea for help with a warm dress pattern? Well, many of you responded to that plea and really helped me out. Kelly, directed me to the smaller version of the pattern I mentioned above, and I am so glad she did.(It's funny how her source was my friend's website and that I was holding on to almost the same fabric for warm dresses, too. Oh how often we think alike, gotta love that. Thank you for the further inspiration! It's so important to give credit where it's due!) It is absolutely perfect.

I think this is her new favorite dress. She asks me if she can wear it every day to school. One of her teachers asked if I could make her one (I wish I could!) However, the big clue to me that she loves it was when she wore it last Wednesday night and I told her dinner was ready - she ran into her room instead of the dining room and closed the door behind her. She then came out in her pjs and sat down at the table. I guess I had a puzzled look on my face because she told me that was afraid she'd get her dress dirty. That never happens, she normally wouldn't care if she got food on her clothes, and we always say that we gauge how much fun our little ones had outside by how much dirt they are wearing when they come back in. They know that getting dirty and having fun is always ok with us. My silly little girl!



L-O-V-E

The Princess & The Wolf (A Small Sewing Tale)

Thank You!

I just have to say thank you to everyone who has contacted me to see if all is well. I am so touched. I am, indeed, still here but we have been going through quite a bit. I am unable to get online right now so please accept my deepest apologies for not getting back to you.
I know I have a lot of explaining to do about my absence from this space and it will come, I promise. But right now I just want to share some happy moments and other things from December. Consider this a 'part one of two' post. I have no way to access my photos so this is all I can share right now.


Having fun in the cold at parent/child class


Digging for treasures at the Cedarwood Waldorf School Winter Faire


K lighting her candle for her spiral of light at school


C decorating the tree


K needle felting Christmas presents


K's presents for Nana and Grandma...


Along with cards she and C made


Beeswax ornaments the girls and I made for K's class


Conspiring together on Santa Lucia day


K dressed up as Mother Mary on a nature walk


K's sweet present from her teachers - a hedgehog they made


K's Christmas present from me - a rainbow poncho. Unfortunately this is the only photo I have of it right now. Rav notes here.


More Christmas knitting


C's Koala bear I made her for Christmas. Rav notes/pattern here


More to come...

Thank You!

The Journey Begins but We're Calling in Sick...

It's been a bit of a mad house around here these past couple of weeks. C came down with a nasty stomach bug. Luckily K avoided it, so she could attend her first day of school.

Unfortunately, the first day was all she could attend so far. Today is her second day of school but now she has come down with a different bug so we are keeping her home to recover.

I have lots of pictures and stories to share from her first day but to add to the sickness in the house, our computer virus came back and I can't upload any thing right now.

I do, however, have a little video of K when she came home from her first day of school. It's amazing to see her teacher's influence after just one short day!


(Btw at the begining of the video she is lighting her story telling candle and announcing storytime with the bells)

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and I will be back as soon as we are all better!

The Journey Begins but We're Calling in Sick...

Rag Dolls

My girls are obsessed with the Laura Ingalls-Wilder books. We have been borrowing quite a few of the series 'My First Little House Books' from the library lately. I hear them pretending to be Laura (C) and Mary (K) on a daily basis now. K even recently told Purple Grandma that she wanted us to donate our car and get a wagon and horses, instead (Me too, little one!).

I really adore how much they love these books. The stories really seem to go hand in hand with the simple life we want to live as well as with Waldorf education/living.
Well, Today K declared she wanted to wear rags in her hair to bed so she could have curls just like Mary and Laura. So I found some old scrap fabric and tied up her hair. She was thrilled!



I have to say they look rather cute on her, even with her short bangs... yes, she cut her hair, again.You can see the first time here.



C wanted to have rags in her hair, too so I found as much hair as I could and tied it up. She seemed pretty satisfied. She wants to be just like big sister, so badly.



Now to see what their hair looks like in the morning. I know they can't wait!

Rag Dolls