Sickness

Not a lot gets done when sickness invades your home -- nothing except napping, coughing and nose blowing.  But with all that sitting around trying to get better, it's kind of nice to have some quiet time to read a book and finish a project.

Snuggling by the fire with a little girl (who recently visited the local radio station which explains the sticker) is one of the best things about feeling under the weather.

Not sure where I first heard about this book: Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids, but I am LOVING it (hope I won't have to wait until the next time I get sick to finish it).  Written by a Waldorf trained teacher, it provides arguments and practical suggestions for simplifying your environment, and creating rhythms and routines in your day.  This really ties in great with my goals for the year.

The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder through the Seasons is another book that I have been enjoying and working my way through.  Near the beginning of the book is a knitting project perfect for my beginner knitting skills -- a winter cowl.  It knit up pretty quick (and turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself) and Isaac is happy to be the owner of a new cowl.  Now all we need some winter weather to wear it in!


Today, there is nobody lying on the couch -- a sure sign that people are feeling better.  A break is nice (even if it is forced), but it's nice to get back to normal too.

Hoping that you and your families are all well -- or at least curled up in front of a warm fire with a cute kid, a good book and some yarn!

One Bite at a Time

Okay, so the new year is upon us.  Have you made any resolutions?  Me?  I would like to be more organized, both at home and in mind.  I would like to live intentionally.  I would like to have more time for the things that really matter to me.  In short, I would like to live a simpler life. 

Sounds so ... simple, doesn't it?  But when I think about all that "simple" implies, I get kind of overwhelmed.  You too?  This year I am resolving to make some of those changes that need to be made One Bite at a Time.  Are you with me?

Click here to visit Simple Mom

One Bite at a Time is an e-book written by Tsh Oxenreider.  I have decided to use this great book as a jumping off point for making some changes and moving toward a simpler life.  I don't remember how I first came across Tsh and her blog, Simple Mom, but it has become one of my go-to places for inspiration and information for all things "simple".  She writes gracefully and honestly about life with children and trying to juggle all the things that need to be done, while searching for the right balance of work and play.

Tsh's new e-book, One Bite at a Time -- 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler is just right for new year's resolutions like mine because it's divided into 52 projects -- one for every week of the year (how convenient).  Each chapter contains great information to get you started and motivated.  There are also links to other resources if you are looking to learn a little more about a certain project.  I have been reading through my copy for a couple of months now but, shamefully, have not yet put many into practice.  Well, that is all going to change starting today!  The chapters are short and can be tackled in any order that suits you -- I am starting with chapter 39 (Create a Daily to-do list) and combining it with chapter 1 (Eat your Frog) -- see you can combine them too (the frog is fine, don't worry)!  Some will be easy, some will be hard, and some I will skip altogether.  But that is the beauty of this book, you can take what is relevant to you and apply it to your life in a manner that suits you.

So that is my plan for the New Year.  If you would like to join me, simply click on any of the links (where you can find lots more information and a sample chapter to peruse) in this post or in the right sidebar -- until January 10th, it's only $4.  I hope to be able to report regularly (dare I say weekly?) on what and how I am doing.  Feel free to join in the conversation and share what your resolutions are and how you are doing.  I'm off to decide what flavour of frog I will eat tomorrow!

Wonderland Round Up -- Week of July 24

Goals for the Week:

My darling baby is not sleeping very well (at night or at nap time), so my goal for the week is to see what I can do to help her ... oh, and try not to fall asleep while driving, cooking, walking or anything that may be dangerous.

Recipe that we have tried or want to try:

Something easy and tasty ... anybody have any suggestions?  When in doubt, bake bread!


Book(s) I am Reading:

The 100 Thing Challenge by Dave Bruno.  Along the same lines as last week's book, but a little more drastic.  Not sure that I could ever get down to 100 things, but I like the idea.

Website or Blog Discovery:


Looks like some great activities here and all done with frugality in mind -- my kind of fun!  I hope to try some of the ideas this week.  I'll keep you posted!



Kid Saying of the Week:

Owen walked into my room early one morning and announced that Dada was home (Dada delivers the morning newspaper, so it is not uncommon for him not to be home when he gets up).
I:  How do you know?
He:  The car is here.
I:  Maybe he walked.
He:  No, it's too far.
I:  Maybe he took a train ...
He:  No, there are no tracks.
I:  Maybe he took an airplane ...
He:  No there is no airport.
He then walks down stairs to check and returns with this report:  Dada's in the shower.
I:  How do you know?
He:  I heard the soap rubbing!


Finally, a favourite picture from the week:

 Kids, water, and sun ... what else do you need?

Things That Make Me Happy # 23

Strolling around the Internet one day, I came across a blog post entitled "100 Things That Make Me Happy". What a great idea, I thought as I scanned the list, so Fridays are now dedicated to things that make me happy!

Things That Make Me Happy!
# 23  Books, Reading, and Learning Something New

 

 

This is my pile of books that are waiting to be read.  Some about gardening, some about food, some about saving money and simplifying life ... all sound very interesting and are calling my name.  Most of them are library books which means that I have a finite amount of time to read them, so I'm off to read a book or two -- I'm feeling smarter already!

James and the Giant Peach

I remember the day I first heard about Roald Dahl.  Well, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration.  When you're 8 it's not the author that you remember, it's the story.  My friend and I were walking home from school one day and she told me all about her new favourite book:  Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.  I was so captivated by her retelling of the story, that when the next Scholastic book order came out and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was on the front page, I went straight home to count my money.  I still have that well loved, well read, old book (well, ... not that old -- I'm still quite young you know!) and it is still one of my favourites.

The boys and I have enjoyed many Dahl books over the years, so when we learned that 2011 marks the 50th year since James And The Giant Peach was published, we needed no other excuse to enjoy it again. We also joined the "Follow that Peach" celebration by helping to send peaches around the world.  Sound's messy, I know, but ours are paper peaches complete with names so that they can be tracked -- yes tracked!  Very exciting!  Check out the "Follow that Peach" website for more information and to download your own peach to send around the world.  Don't forget to join us in reading the book too!

Our peaches -- Bubbles, Dude, and The peach is not in his bed (can you tell that the boys named them themselves?) -- will be on their way soon.  We are hoping that they get to visit some far away places.  Have a "scrumdiddlyumptious" day!

It's A Book

It's almost time to start the summer reading program at the library, so I thought that I would tell you about a book that we have recently read (again and again and again).  I don't know if you would call this a book review, but here it is --
It's a Book by Lane Smith.

With the sniffles going around our house a couple of weeks ago, I did a quick stop at the library one day to stock up on some new reading material.  Usually I take everybody into the library with me and let them pick out their own books, but that day I just grabbed a bagful of books and headed home. 

It's a Book is about a monkey who is trying to reading a book, but is being interrupted by a donkey (or a jackass as he is referred to in the book) with a laptop.  The donkey has no idea what a book is and has many questions about it, but the answer is always the same ...
"Can it text?
No.
Tweet?
No.
Wi-Fi?
No ... it's a book."

I think that I may have gotten more enjoyment out of this book than the boys -- they liked it, but I thought that it was hilarious! -- it must be a generational thing.

I don't want to ruin the ending for you, but I did have to explain what a jackass was and then make it very clear that it was not a good name to call someone -- to which they replied that it would be alright to call a donkey a jackass because he would not be offended by his own name.  How can you argue with that?

Happy reading!

Mama's Little Helper

This is my life right now.  If I can't do something with one hand, or while balancing someone on my knee, or with someone attached to my leg (or sometimes both legs), it simply doesn't get done.  Don't get me wrong, this is not a complaint, but it is challenging at times.  Other times, I just have to accept that certain things are not going to get done and be okay with that.

On this particular day, Laurel's input was extremely important because I was making a new diaper for her.  She is dangerously close to outgrowing the infant sized diapers that we have -- I'm really surprised that they still fit at all -- and the toddler ones seem WAY too big.  So I made one in an in between size to see if it would work.  (I meant to take a picture of it after I was done, but forgot.  Today she wore it and you definitely don't want to see it now!)

I found the pattern in one of my favourite books called "Handmade Home" by Amanda Blake Soule.  I love that it uses thrifted or repurposed items to create something new -- our new diaper is made from an old T shirt and a receiving blanket!  She has an amazing blog too where she writes about finding the joy in the simple everyday things, her latest family adventures and crafty creations.

This is not my first project from this book.  I have also made a picnic blanket from materials found around our home plus a couple of bed sheets from Frenchy's.  It started out as a wedding present for a friend, but when I found out that she was expecting, it was going to be a baby shower gift, when the baby was born, it was going to be a baby gift, when Christmas came, it was going to be a family gift ... well, you get the picture ... but I finally finished it and was quite pleased with the results.

All rolled up and ready to go!

Lots of interesting project to try, but now that all my little helpers are asleep, I'm off to finish some of the two-handed tasks that were skipped today!

Gentlemen

We have a new book at our house.  It's called "50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know" and I'm excited to read it with the boys.

Maybe it's my old fashioned-ness that makes this book appeal to me, but I like the idea of teaching my boys to be gentlemen.  Published in 2006 -- despite the Emily Post feel of the name -- "50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know" contains short chapters on basic subjects like: saying please and thank you and making an apology, along with more challenging issues like: dealing with foods you don't like, meeting people with physical challenges and, my personal favourite, putting down the toilet seat.  It easily and clearly explains what you should do, what you should NOT do, and why.  It seems like a good beginning.

Well, this is what the boys looked like today -- maybe we'll start tomorrow.

They don't look much like gentlemen -- gentlemen of the sea, maybe.  I'm sure that they remembered to say thank you when they stole the treasure, asked politely before comandeering another ship and didn't rudely stare at other pirates' wooden legs so that their mother would be proud.  Pirates can be polite, right?

A Meteor Shower

Ever have one of those days, where at the end you struggle to remember the good things that happened?  You know that there must have been at least one or two, but they get squashed by the numerous other things that maybe weren't so great.  Today was one of those days at our house.  Now, I know that I complain occasionally, but I really try to stick to the positive and remember the highlights of the day -- and Fridays are dedicated to positive things.  Anyway, all I'm saying is that if I get a little side tracked today, please forgive me.

With the recent exposure to Star Wars at our house, everybody now carries a lightsaber (or "light saver" as Owen calls it), flies around the house in an x-wing fighter, is on the look out for Darth Vader (or wants to be Darth Vader), and wants to befriend a Wookie -- and Dada thought that my hair in the shower drain was bad!  So, of course, space talk is constant.  Today, the talk was about meteors, so we decided to get out our space book and see what we could find out.

Turns out there was a whole chapter about meteors, meteorites and meteoroids -- a short chapter with lots of fun facts -- which included an easy experiment.  Most of the chapters include some sort of experiment or hands on activity using common materials, which is part of the reason that we chose this book.  So we played with meteorites in our living room!  Some flour, a little cocoa, a bucket and some marbles and presto, you can see how meteorites impact the earth!  It turned out to be great entertainment too.

The marbles actually made very impressive craters.  The hard part was getting the marble out without damaging the crater too much.  Then we had to try again and again and again and again ... you get the picture.

Then we had to see what would happen if we dropped them from different heights again and again and again ... well, you know how it goes.

Everybody was interested in the results!  Who says science can't be fun?  The boys are now eagerly awaiting the next meteor shower, while looking for meteorites and avoiding meteoroids (and blasts from the Death Star) as they fly around the house!

Our Centrepiece - Feb 27

I didn't get very many posts in last week, but have no fear, this week, I will do better.

After putting all the red from Valentine's away, the boys and I made a new collage today and we're very excited!  Because last week's was so easy (yes, it was obviously blue -- thanks to those of you that guessed), this week, we're really going to put you to the test.  I'll post the answer next week with the next collage.  Happy guessing!

Okay, one hint:  think literature!

Picture Books

After talking about the library the other day, I thought that it might be interesting to ask the boys what their favourite picture books were.  They went upstairs and, after dismissing a few choices and then defining "picture book", they came back with these choices.

Isaac chose "Arthur Flips" by Marc Brown.  We have a few from this series and, although I know that he likes them, his choice surprised me.  When I asked him what he like best about the book, he looked at me like I had two heads and said:  "It's about pancakes!"  I guess that there is nothing else that needs to be said.

(Yes, the gap in Isaac's mouth is bigger.  He was back to the dentist last week to have another tooth pulled -- ouch!, but did great.  He now calls himself Bugs Bunny and keeps asking me "What's up doc?")

Aidan's choice, which also surprised me, was "Is Your Mama A Llama?" by Deborah Guarino.  All he wanted to talk about was the ending, (attention -- spoiler alert!) where the baby llama finds his mother and snuggles.  He summed it up by saying:  "It's a happy book."

Owen's choice was "Donald Duck's Toy Sailboat" -- again, not what I expected (you would think that I would learn to expect the unexpected, but I guess that I am a slow learner!).  His plot summery goes something like this:  "It's a funny book.  The guys (chipmunks) go to the tree in a boat.  I am the black nose guy."  Which was followed by great debate over which chipmunk has the black nose.

After all these unexpected choices, I decided to search for some of the books that I thought that they were going to choose.

"Two by Two", by Barbara Reid, I had pretty much memorized at one point because I had read it so often when Isaac was little.  We love the illustrations too.

Okay, "The Squeaky Door" by Margaret Read MacDonald is one that I really thought that someone would pick.  I really like it, so I guess it can be my pick.  The boys love the part where Grandma kisses the pig (yuck!) and I love the part when Grandma (not Grandpa) gets out her tool box to fix ... I don't want to give away the ending, you'll just have to read the book to find out what needs fixing (besides the door, you bunch of smarty pants!).

When Dada was asked about a favourite, he suggested "Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel" by Virginia Lee Burton.  He remembered enjoying this book as a child and once the book came out, we had a couple more votes for this book too.  It's about construction, so of course it's going to be popular!

Here are a couple more older books in our collection that have been popular over the years with more than one generation.

The last book that I will share with you is "Pajama Time" by Sandra Boyton.  Actually, anything by Sandra Boyton is popular in our house, but I think that this one is still the favourite.  It makes going to bed look like fun and anything that makes bed time easier gets a thumbs up from me!  

Happy Reading!

Things That Make Me Happy #5

Strolling around the Internet one day, I came across a blog post entitled "100 Things That Make Me Happy". What a great idea, I thought as I scanned the list, so Fridays are now dedicated to things that make me happy!

Things That Make Me Happy!
#5 The Library

I have noticed that almost all my other Friday posts have been about things that pertain to little people -- little clothes, little mittens, little spoon ... -- well, today I decided that I would pick something BIG!

The library is one of my favourite places. This is the library that we usually go to, although, libraries, in general, make me happy. This particular library used to be the train station, so it has the added "happiness factor" of being a great old building that has been converted into a great new space. It's also nice that all of the librarians seem to know who we are -- wait, maybe that's a bad thing, like a wanted poster in the post office. uh oh!

Anyway, there is something about libraries that really appeals to me. There are the books, of course -- and maybe someday I will have the time to read a whole book again, instead of just little bits here and there (sigh!). I like the feeling of having an actual book in my hands, turning the pages, closing the book every so often to see how far along I am, feeling the weight of the book, seeing a pile of books to be read or books that have already been read. I love my computer (and they have those at the library too), but nothing beats an actual book.

I like the selection of books -- to be surrounded by rows and rows of books on any topic that I might be curious about just waiting to be read. It is so hard to choose, I usually leave with more books than I know I can read in the allotted time. When we lived in Ottawa, the library there was so big I could easily spend all my time in one section (one row, truth be told) and still come home with more books than I could read.

It's also a fun place to do some people watching. I remember sitting around at the university library one day, looking down on a large table with only one guy sitting at it. He got up suddenly and opened his bag, but instead of it being filled with books, it was full of clothes. I know this because he then proceeded to walk around this large table, throwing the clothes on the floor behind him! I never found out or figured out why he had done this -- maybe he was marking his territory, kind of like a dog -- but it was interesting to watch.

Well, there are many reasons that libraries make me happy. I'm not sure that I have done a very good job of explaining it -- maybe I should go and read a book on communication! Happy Reading!

Things That Make Me Happy #3

Strolling around the Internet one day, I came across a blog post entitled "100 Things That Make Me Happy".  What a great idea, I thought as I scanned the list, so Fridays are now dedicated  to things that make me happy!

Things That Make Me Happy!

#3  8pm

Sorry, no picture today -- it's hard to get a picture of time.  My favourite time of day is about 8pm.  By this time, Owen is tucked in bed, Isaac and Aidan are reading quietly in their beds and Laurel and I are spending the last few minutes of her day together.  She is snuggling and nursing happily while I take a few minutes to pick up a book that is not about dinosaurs, trucks or fairy tale creatures -- something that I never get to do during the day.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy these books too, but it's nice to read about other subjects.  At the moment I am reading Buddhism for Mothers.  I don't think that I will be converting to Buddhism anytime soon, but am finding the concepts very interesting and and am always hopefully that I'll be able to recall the peaceful ideas during the next days challenges.  There is a long list of books that I would like to read and the list never seems to get any shorter, but for those few moments at the end of the day, I get to relax and enjoy reading a book -- that I picked out -- with my daughter.