Post-holiday happenings

Our holidays don't seem to be as restful as we'd like.  It's just with a big family and many friends - all great blessings in our lives - there is a lot of entertaining and being entertained.  It is nice to catch up with old friends though, so I'll take it.

After the holidays were through, we settled into a more relaxed rhythm.  Everyone helping around the home, doing a little academic work together (mostly math and writing), and some excursions to round things out.  The kids did a lot of baking with me, including those cheese pies.  Come to think of it, I don't think I did much besides the prep work.  They pretty much put them together and I stuck trays into the oven.  Done.  It's actually a wonderful feeling to have helpers in the kitchen.  It's taken a few years of "training", lots of messes, plenty of patience and encouragement, but they seem to be well on their way to self-sufficiency in this area.  

 J is working on math now.  She is a playful monkey, so it's tough to stay on track usually.  I have to keep reminding myself that the work she's doing doesn't matter nearly as much as our time together and how we connect.  Not easy.  She is chugging along however and has mastered the collective exercises for addition.  We are working on carry-overs now.  She and Michael partner up for this, and I am the happiest mom watching them work together.  I think J likes it because we make a big deal whenever someone says "ten" as they count beads.  :)  

I have to say that most of our work is done in 10-15 minute increments.  It's very manageable.  In fact, many times the kids move on to a second round of work, or else they do a little extra,  I like that aspect immensely about Montessori.  It doesn't take much.  The trick is to do it as often as possible - if not daily then at least 2-3 times a week.  This repetition helps to cement concepts in a profound way.  I find that even if a child does not grasp every single aspect or angle of whatever the lesson is, they still understand the concept.  

This little munchkin is growing like a weed!  She is past one and walking.  Climbing is more like it.  She climbs everything.  We've had to be creative with this one, she just can't help it.  She loves to by a part of whatever's going on, which usually means getting up onto the dining room table, or climbing all over the sofas and side tables.  She's so happy and so full of zest as she goes exploring, we can't help but kiss those cheeks!  

When evening arrives, the best way to calm down rowdy kiddies is to read with them.  I was so glad when D captured this moment.  I don't think we have any recent shots of us reading together.  Here we are reading "The Quiet Little Woman" by L.M. Montgomery.  The kids love it, especially the older two.  

There is always work to be done in the kitchen.  As per usual.  I don't think we've been terribly creative on that front, but I have had more spurts of energy, so we have had less sandwiches and more hearty fare.  I am trying to stay away from cold cuts, which is difficult because a) it's convenient for lunches, and b) the kids love it.  I've made them steak sandwiches, pulled beef and turkey (from leftover turkey) that I've stashed in the freezer.  I think that's going to be my new system.  Once we have something like a roast or turkey, I will freeze a certain amount to use for lunch meat.  Finally got this down!  

I painted this icon years ago, but the gold starting peeling off thanks to a bad metal size I used.  (Of course!)  Thankfully, we found an experience iconographer to fix it.  I will never use that size again.  Yeesh.  Thankfully, all's well that ends well.  

So, I bring this little update to a close.  It's sounds an awful lot like a point by point rehash of bits of our days, but right now, that's all I've got.  Didn't want to keep postponing it.  Wishing you a great weekend!

A much belated update

S washing dishes

My, how I've neglected this space!  Time just seems to fly by and priorities shuffle around accordingly.  Which is to say that I haven't been here because I haven't had the time, nor found it incombent to make the time.  :)

S with the sandpaper letters

There has been just too much going on.  I am simultaneously reading three or four different books.  Simplicity Parenting, Siblings Without Rivalry, and Square Foot Gardening.  I have three crocheting projects that are just missing ears, and I have a cape pinned up and ready to sew.  Schooling has been the main reason though why I haven't been here.  The kids have quite a bit of homework on a given day, and when they don't (or when they're done) I don't want to waste the precious time I have with them.

The two older ones and I went skating this past Monday outside at Celebration Square.  Oh how fun it was!  I have forgotten the joys of skating.  And those two were just priceless.  My phone is full of photos from our morning skate.  In the end, I had to drag M off home.  He just didn't want to leave.  And boy, you could tell how much he loved it!  Trying to speed skate around the rink and falling every so often when he lost balance.  I can't say how often I laughed gleefully for the pure joy of watching those two learn such a fun sport!  We are planning a repeat for today while the cold weather lasts.

Last weekend we managed to get to our favourite retreat - Dormition monastery.  Such good timing.  And how we've missed it.  Whenever we get back, we notice how we feel more uplifted and how the kids have sort of re-calibrated, if you will.  It's beautiful.

S and J scrubbing potatoes

S colour matching while J sorts beans

These days, it's S keeping me busy during school hours.  She is motoring along with her "work" and I am following her lead as best I can.  I wish I knew what I know now earlier so the other two could have enjoyed similar activities and attention from mama.  I am doing my best to make up for it though.  J loves working in the kitchen, and it's not hard to get M in there either.  All is not lost.  The other day, we took a much-needed break at home to recuperate and recharge together.  While not perfect by any stretch, I found the day to be very profitable on so many levels.  And that just makes my heart sing.  :)

Little J turned 5 early this month.  She loved all her gifts, and they were all very hands-on, which is where this little one is right now.  She loves to make things and play dress up.  She has gotten a lot of use from her new "bead box" and has been very generous sharing with M and S.  There has been a lot of bracelet and necklace making going on.  

And baby M was baptized on the 31st of Jan.  (Two more reasons I haven't been around, incidentally!)  Speaking of baby, she is a doll.  Laughing away whenever someone takes the time to notice and talk to her.  She talks right back to us too!  This is actually a sore point, because I so often have little time to give her, and I feel so guilty!  It's no wonder I try to make up for it while I'm waiting in line at the store!  Those old ladies must think I'm a new mama the way I go on with her.  :)  C'est la vie, je crois.

J sorting the items in our nature box

Right now, we are turning our attention to plants.  Tomatoes in particular.  And cucumbers.  Some seeds need to be started soon and I am unprepared on so many levels.  But, here we go again.  Diving into another growing season with our sleeves pulled up and ready to get dirty.

M and J completing their Montessori sun together while S looks on

M experimenting with mixing colours

Another item on my list is organizing this space.  I think I mentioned I was trying to organize the kitchen.  Well, that has spilled over into the entire house.  It's a big job.  Bear with me.  It won't be done this month.  Probably not this spring.  I just have to be realistic with four kids and a full, full, full life with them.  (In trying to find an adjective to describe our lives, I really think "full" is the most successful...)

The cape I must needs finish and my little sewer stitching her little fox purse

Anyhow, excuse me as I have a cape to sew and a poster of the life cycle of a frog to start.  And if I was being honest, I'd have to say that I'll probably have to wait on the poster for next week.  Kids do need to eat, I'm told.  So dinner trumps poster.  But not cape.  Funny how that works, eh?

Wishing you a wonderful and preferably peaceful weekend.

Quieter pursuits

Things have been a little quieter on the home front this past week as the kids started school.  Its always a little confusing for me.  Just as we finally get into a rhythm that feels good we have to up and change again.  More than that, I have mixed feeling about them starting school again.  On the one hand, I miss them and I miss all things we could be doing together - that we should be doing together!  On the other hand, I am thankful for a quieter and tidier space.  (I'd trade the latter for the former any day mind you.)

To calm my confused and somewhat low spirits, I have picked up my crochet hook and knitting needles.  Nothing like yarn to match a contemplative mood - and it really does bring me to my happy place!  That there above is going to be another hooded cowl.  Haven't decided between rabbit or wolf or perhaps another cat?  Speaking of wolf, there is a wolf hat I have in my unfinished project bag waiting for me to get to it.  Maybe I'll make this one a wolf too and we'll have a pack?  (Oh the possibilities!)  Also, when you're feeling off, chocolate cake can't hurt.  A sour cream chocolate bundt cake.  Preferably drizzled in a delicious chocolatey ganache.  

This is my 3rd in action.  (She is literally my Montessori poster baby... thrives on routines that one does.)  She is cutting up a banana for her morning snack.  I ended up eating it for her since she preferred to munch on carrot sticks and broccoli trees.  We're flexible like that.  :)

 I finished (I think?) a watercolour robin yesterday.  The kids all did watercolours alongside mama.  They are all marked as gifts.  I will ask them if I can share their work here for the next post.  I'm going to frame theirs either way.  I was so happy to break out the paints.  An impromptu art session.  I miss art.  

Here's to more art in 2016!  

Christmas crafting

Just stopping by to share some of our Christmas crafting.  A foxy messenger bag (which will probably not be ready by Christmas...), pine cone ornaments, Christmas cookies with my elf, peppermint bark jars, a chef's apron for M (shhh!).  Yesterday, I taught the two older ones to finger knit, so they have been knitting garlands to decorate our home.  J has taken to it surprisingly well, though I don't have a photo here to show.  She really loves handiwork, especially when it's something do-able for her little hands.  

Lots of family festivities going on around here with cousins, aunts, uncles and friends.  Which feels exactly right for this time of year.  Baby M loves being passed around the group while napping in various arms.  (Honestly, just holding her feels like Christmas to me - look at those cheeks and those little lips!)  I have embraced the chaos and we are coasting along: doing what can be done and not worrying about the rest.    

Now is when we really dive into the last bit of baking and cleaning.  And of course the wrapping of all these goodies.  Wishing you a blessed Christmas season!

A special visit

For just a few hours, I am alone with baby.  D has taken the kids to church, and so we are here, baby M and I, for a bit resting, enjoying each other and the quiet.  I didn't want to go online, but it seems like I just can't collect my thoughts properly with a million kids running around the place.  (Ok, three or four is hardly a million, but it may as well be because the volume they can reach is truly amazing!)  I am prepared for their return though with a vegan chocolate cake.  I am not above bribery.  :)  

We have been having rather mild temperatures up to this point, so the kids don't think it feels very much like Christmas.  That might be somewhat of a Godsend since I haven't had any nagging yet.  :)  (The proverbial silver lining...)  St Nicholas did pay a visit to these little ones this morning though, and weren't they just ecstatic!  We try to keep it a little low-key because we don't want "things" to be the focus of the feast.  They got each a bottle of apple juice (that's a big thing since we don't keep juice in our house unless we make it from the fruit itself), and some money.  (I think the juice was a bigger hit!)  Boy were they happy that Bishop Nicholas didn't forget them.  His is one of their favourite saint stories.

I am looking for a quick pattern to knit or crochet a pair of slippers for miss J.  She has outgrown her old ones and I think it would be a sweet Christmas gift.  I will, of course, have to make them in pick for the proper effect.  Also, embellishments would be greatly appreciated, so I'll have to see what I can do.  Maybe a little jewel glued on will suffice?  Or perhaps a felt flower?  

Don't ask about the state of my home.  It is in need of some TLC.  Small table covered in glue, buttons and bits of paper.  And glitter everywhere.  (What's with kids and glitter?!)   The bathroom was clean yesterday, but now the counters are covered with puddles of water and a few drops of toothpaste.  At least the laundry is somewhat under control.  

And as for the kitchen, I think I'll pass on any describing.  Why is it that dishes can be done, and yet the kitchen can still be messy?  I'll never understand how my babies are able to do what they do.  So full of enthusiasm for everything.  And this mama trying desperately NOT to extinguish their little flames of excitement.  (SO hard!)  But worth it when they come to me proudly with their little projects.  I just have to keep the end goal in sight and try not to flip out on the journey.  After all, flour covered counters may be a nuisance, but little ones who learn through that to be self-sufficient and enjoy cooking in the kitchen is priceless to me.  

Happy Feast Day!


PS - I will try to post some photos later on today when I have the time.  Right now I am going back to enjoying my baby.  :)  

Cooking and cleaning can wait till tomorrow,
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So settle down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm nursing my baby and babies don't keep.

-Unknown 

Snuffy and some Christmas cheer

Little M has hit her first growth spurt.  And caught her first cold too.  We call her snuffy nowadays, but she isn't a happy camper that's for sure.  Her lovely sleeping habits have shifted, of course, and instead of a 5-6 hour stretch at night, she only sleeps in 2-3 hour spurts.  Poor little darling!  I hope it doesn't last too much longer...

We are well into Christmas makings around here.  The kids have little gifts going on for their teachers, and I have put in some time for them while they're at school.  We finished a couple of pine cone owls too since I took that picture.  I am so glad I came across this idea by Lia Griffith.  

I finished a sweet little apron for S.  (I just love the lace with denim... so tempting to make into a dress!)  I had to try it on her for sizing since I had to make up the pattern.  She loved it!  I couldn't get it off her!  And of course, that makes me feel as though she's been getting the short end of the stick most of her 2-year-old life.  I guess it's time for her to have some handmade love from mama.  :)  I think I will try to finish a messenger bag for her too, but let me not get ahead of myself here!  

I have plans to make an apron for M.  A true chef's apron that is, because this little boy like to help in the kitchen too.  (And did I mention that this little boy, for some reason, is so much more prone to making huge messes?)  Thus, my thoughts (oh so naturally) run to aprons.

That there above is my second quilt.  I'm not too sure about that vibrant green I included.  I mean, it works, but I'm not convinced it wouldn't have been better with something less "electric".  Anyhow, J has claimed it and it sits on her bed when not in use on the couch.  They are so handy to have around for cuddling under while reading in the evenings.  And I've added to my wish list a sewing machine that can free motion quilt.

Stay tuned for more Christmas makings in the coming days.  :)

"For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life.  But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid.  Then life would begin.  At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.  (Alfred Souza)  

Number 4

She finally came.  Our baby girl.  Our tiny number 4.  Our little M.  And for someone so small, what great joy and sweetness she has brought with her.  I am so completely in love with this newest little one of ours.  Even her mewling cries are sweet.  The others are over the moon too, especially the kids!  They are forever asking to hold her, burp her, change and bathe her.  She has a beautiful story too, quite different from her siblings.  

By the way, that gorgeous green hat was knitted by my dear friend Kim.  (She even included a felt flower to sew on in case it was a girl, which she was!)  Thank you so much for thinking of us my dear friend.   You are a sweetheart.    

So little M.  She came late, but she came quickly.  I am so thankful that she was born on her own with no interventions and no drugs.  (My midwives were just wonderful - I couldn't have done it without them, and I'm not just saying that.)  It really has made a difference in the speed at which I've been able to recover and get back on my feet.  For the most part, I feel like I am living in a bit of a bubble nowadays.  Not so much because my head is buried in the sand but because this baby sets my routine.  Lots of feeding, changing, and snuggles.  It all sounds so rosy, but it kind of is right now.  (I'll let you know when that changes!)  I am in the "honeymoon" phase where the sleeplessness and crying doesn't bother me at all.  In fact, I'm rather enamoured by it.  :)  Honeymoon indeed!  

Perhaps the reason for this is because D and my mom have been a huge help.  Between cleaning the house, making food, taking the other kids, soothing baby when needed so I can rest, they have literally spoiled me.  Little M is not the only one who's being taken care of.  I am too!  I was so anxious before, but now I feel a little like a queen.  If this is how women used to be cared for in the old days, it's no wonder they had so many kids.   

I have been able to spend time sewing this past week.  J's dress is done except for those buttons at the back.  Such a pretty jumper.  I think next time though, I won't do the gathering for the skirt.  At least not with corduroy.  It's too thick and bulky of a fabric to really work well that way.  Still, I do love it, and so does J, who keeps at me to finish it so she can wear it to church on Sunday.  I think it's because of the pink sash.  She really wanted the whole thing to be pink, but I don't think she minded it at all once she saw that sash and little rosebud.  :)  

I am also finishing off the binding for that much-talked-about quilt.  Except I keep forgetting to take a picture.  So you'll have to wait for me to show it off next time.  I have promised the kids we will do a little pine cone craft tomorrow, so the quilt may have to wait until during the week.  No problem by me!  

While I was in the hospital, I started working on two crocheted birds.  Turtle doves actually.  I'm hoping to make a crocheted wreath for a special someone this Christmas.  I don't think she checks my blog out, but I'll wait to post pictures until later.  Besides, I keep forgetting to photograph that too!  (Mama brain is not a myth, my friends!)

Since baby M's arrival, we stopped reading together for a few days.  I missed our routine so much though, I couldn't wait to get back to it.  It's a little more challenging with 4 crawling all over me, but we're managing.  As long as they have a snack to distract them when baby interrupts, the older ones do just fine. 

And that is where we are right now.  Getting back to our routine as much as possible and enjoying our little blessing.  And enjoying each other too.  These little monkeys are so precious!  I can't believe how they have grown.  

Before I sign off, I wanted to share a beautiful quote I found yesterday.  It really resonated with me.  I felt like, yes, this is why we need to slow down and simplify.  

"The more people deviate from the natural simple life and move toward luxury, the more human stress increases.  And as worldly politeness expands, simplicity, joy and the natural human smile are lost."  (Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos)  

Going inside

I have had this bad habit lately of leaving the house without my camera.  Lately, we've been trying to take the kids outside after dinner before it gets dark.  A nice walk or bike ride to the park nearby is what they love.  This means dinner is quite early, obviously, since it gets dark by around 6pm.  But I always seem to forget the camera!  Which bums me out because there are so many things to capture and remember!  Those gorgeous leaves, the little antics of three monkeys, little critters around us, sunsets.  Everything is wonderful and beautiful and it kind of leaves me silent after soaking it up.  Alas, I have no pictures to share them with you here.  But I imagine you are able to experience most of what I'm talking about, and perhaps to a greater degree.  And that is a comforting thought.

The crisp weather is here to stay it seems, although we had a warm spell last week.  Even my children are turning more towards making things and "quieter" activities.  Don't get me wrong, they are still full of boundless energy.  And sometimes I feel the lack of space most acutely.  But their plans are veering towards more handiwork and less outside work.  (More fine motor and less gross motor?)  I have some nice winter crafts ready for them in the coming weeks, especially for Christmas gifts, and they are really looking forward to them.  M wants to make a snake out of yarn, so I think finger knitting is going to be big with him for a while.  :)

And this mama has a whole whirl of projects going on.  From hats to sweaters to jumpers to quilts.  Only baby is going to slow me down!  :)  And perhaps not even.  For you see, it is easy to crochet or knit even with little ones.  So we wait (and not very patiently anymore) for our newest baby to come out and fill our lives with more joy!

Happy Tuesday!