Our lazy, fruit-filled August days...

I forgot to post a whole bunch of photos and happenings last week.  Or maybe it was the week before.  Akh.  I've hit that magic number of something - whatever it is that makes you lose your mind.  Kids, years, who knows.  

We just came back from our spot in Michigan.  Our retreat, our oasis just outside of the world.  That monastery is a piece of heaven.  They all are.  But this time, I felt that our visit was too short.  I felt that there was more that needed digesting, more than needed to be said.  But just like that, we were back on the road coming home and I was left with more questions than when I came.  Perhaps that is the way of things.  There was something different about this visit.  Something more solemn to me.  I am still mulling it over.  Digesting.  

Apple picking season starts very very soon.  Not soon enough for my little ones.  But here were are almost at the end of August.  I am not ready to say goodbye to the summer just yet.  We have a few more things that need doing.  

Today I made yogurt for the first time in months.  Definitely since baby M came things have been different, routines dropped or changed, and disorder rampant.  It's not her, bless her little heart.  She's a darling; a ray of sunshine.  Even the older ones dote on her.  It's just that life has to be rearranged with babies.  :)  But now we have yogurt.  And labneh!  Dany is very happy.  I don't usually make labneh.  I never grew up with it, so it's hard to remember to make it!  (Not like I notice it's missing until I really want it...)  

Did ever mention that I thank God for good neighbours?  Well I do!  Last week, one of our neighbours down the hall dropped off some of their extra basil, chives and blueberries.  How sweet!  The kids just devoured the berries.  I thought maybe we'd make something - a blueberry lemon loaf cake, or even a pie.  Nope and nope.  They didn't have a chance those berries.  I can't say I was upset.  Fresh fruit just belongs to summer.  We've been enjoying lots of peaches.  In fact, tomorrow we'll pick up another basket at the market.  I love summer Wednesdays. 

I have been painting these past two weeks.  It is heaven to be back at the brushes.  Of course, I have other things pulling at my time.  Namely a sweet, drooling baby who's crawling!  :) Oh those teeth.  They are cute, but bought at a price.  Sleep is the price.  :)  

On that note, I'd best be off to bed.  Who knows how many times I'll be waking up to kiss those sweet cheeks tonight.  (Actually, to be completely honest, I am not always fully awake when I "wake up" with her...)  Sweet dreams world!

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)  

Cookery and some yarn projects

I've been finding that life is pretty messy these days.  It gets to me insofar as I feel powerless to do anything about it, but otherwise, I have been trying to embrace it more.  (Hurray for progress!)

The kitchen is still our main hub of activity.  Food is always needing to be made, eaten or preserved.  We have been on a bit of a pizza spree for the past month.  Translation: we've made pizza about 4 times so far.  This is a spree for us.  I think this is mostly because I've been wanting to perfect a pizza recipe for a while.  I took a base recipe and tweaked it a bit here and there.  I don't remember where I got the original recipe, but with the modifications, it's a really great one.  (At least we think so here...)  Anyhow.  You can bet my little sous chefs have been involved in these adventures.  In fact, on Saturday they made the pizza themselves.  I did the dough and then took a nap while it was rising.  Afterwards, I gave each kid a lump of dough and they did the rest.  It was actually pretty neat sitting back and letting them go.  I have to learn to do that more often.  I thought J would have problems with the rolling, but she was great!  All her own elbow grease and no mama help.  Just what a 4-year-old needs for confidence!

By the way, making pizza is messy, even without kids.  Imagine how much more so with the kids doing the work.  That's part of what I mean about life being messy.  And I'm ok with it.  Because hey, my kids made dinner for me!  And because they were happy doing it!  And because learning to take care of themselves and others is a priceless skill.  (We just need to work on the clean-up part afterwards...)

Right now in the kitchen, a pot of soup is simmering on the stove - a savoury beef and chunky vegetable soup.  Just the thing for a crisp, cold autumn day.  Also, precious little can beat a good bone broth in my books.  We also have a tray of granola cooling on the counter which S and I whipped up this morning.  This time, we're trying granola bars, not just the usual loose granola.  (It's a first for me.)  I figure we'll be needing some snacks for around when baby decides to debut.  We put in peanuts, raisins, and dark chocolate chips.  (My kids will eat anything if it has chocolate chips inside, so I try to take full advantage of that fact.)  It looks like they turned out great, so I just need to package them up and store.

Outside of the kitchen, M has some upcoming projects for school.  This has kept us busy and promises to do so for the coming week.  Thankfully, we have split things up into manageable chunks instead of cramming it all into one day.  But still, I've promised myself that I'm throwing in the towel after this!  (Hello, new baby coming!)  I miss my quiet, uneventful routine!  Waaa!

I've gone back to knitting.  That is, I've been alternating between crocheting some hooded cowls and finishing the sweater for baby.  The cowls will be Christmas gifts, so I won't share them here.  I am happy to have at least a few handmade items for this year.  I don't think we'll come close to last year, but that's ok.  There is still time and lots of love to go around regardless.  I don't know if I mentioned it before, but my darlings unraveled most of my previous knitting.  I couldn't salvage it, so we finished the job and I started over.  Thankfully, I sized it properly this time around.  (It was too big before.)  I have made a note to try and keep my knitting out of reach for now, but I do like to take it out at frequent intervals when I need to sit down, so it always manages to end up on the side table or sofa.  I am tempting fate, I suppose.  But those little hands are curious, and those little brown eyes so sweet and honest when caught unravelling stitches.  Somehow, I didn't mind as much as I thought I would.

And since it feels like this blog sometimes reads like a to-do list, I thought I'd add that I am looking into putting up some pumpkin and squash before the season finishes.  It's just so nice to have some on hand for soups in the fall/winter.  I'm starting to genuinely loathe canned food.  And it's not only about the taste, although there are worlds of difference in taste between fresh/dried/frozen vs canned.  When I read about what they line the cans with, I think to myself, "No wonder we're struggling with all these health problems!"  There is something to be said for putting nutritious, wholesome, real food into our bodies.  And that desire is fuelled even stronger when you are responsible for little ones.  Every season, every year, we try to do something else to further our journey towards eating properly and truly enjoying God's bounty.  

Now if only I can motivate myself to exercise a little more!  I suppose running around after 3 will have to suffice for now.  

Life is full right now!

While not always punctual, it seems that I have fallen into weekend blogging.  Meaning, I usually post after the weekend has passed, and often about the weekend too.  It seems to work for now.  We are busy enjoying each other during that time, and after all that connecting, I am only too happy to come here and unload all that joy.  :)  Of course, it's not all fun and games.  There are definitely rough patches in our lives.  I struggle often on what to share and what not to.  It's not just my my story to tell.  I want to respect the other members of my household, and those others who touch our lives as well.

So just for the record, there are many things that happen around here (as everywhere else I'm sure) that are not seen.  In all things though, I do try to focus on the positive because it is easy to get sucked into a negative "energy" vortex, and I personally tend to often veer towards the melodramatic.  (And pregnancy hormones do NOT help with that...)  So this is a place where I try to focus on and remember and celebrate the beauty and blessings around me.  And I am 100% sincere in what I write.  Every single word.

I mentioned I've been trying to sew that quilt a few strips at a time.  Well, I've finished piecing the squares together and now needs pin the strips together to sew up.  I am happy that this sewing rhythm is not eating into other important parts of our days.  My dear mama came by on Friday to help me make and freeze a batch of meat and cheese pies.  They are safely in the freezer (minus a dozen or so that the kids gobbled up) for when baby comes.  While I don't have a large freezer, I am trying to stock up on food for when things are especially crazy.  You just never know.  I am hoping I can squeeze at least one or two more such sessions before D-day arrives.  We'll see.

Just as we ran out of apples, D decided to take us apple-picking again.  If you haven't noticed, apple-picking is not just a once-a-season affair for us.  We are not tourists about it.  We love our apples.  And we love picking them ourselves as they come in season.  It is so satisfying to tune in to nature's timeline.  This time we got some Golden Delicious, Jonagold (duh!) and we had some Macintosh and Mutsu to round things out.  I think there will be at least one last run before the season is over.  Too bad we don't have an extra fridge.  I'm convinced it would be devoted to at least 90% apple storage if so.  And while I'm at it, I wish we had our OWN orchard!  Now THAT would be awesome!  Just mosey on out into your backyard and pick a few whenever you wanted...  A gal can dream.  

M made a poster in french for the letter "M" for school this past week.  He was so into it.  I mean, I got into it too, but he was hardcore.  (I did the drawings, and he did the colouring, writing and glueing.)  We had finished working on it the night before and that was that.  In the morning, M woke up at 6:30, came to me (thankfully I was already awake) and said very seriously, "Mom, we forgot something.  We forgot 'masque'."  And he proceeded to coach me on how to draw a mask for him to colour and glue it on a small empty patch right up near the corn.  Hilarious kid.  Although, I imagine how it would've been less hilarious had he actually woken me up.  

The school adventures don't stop there.  Aside from reading (boy is she getting speedy at spelling!), J is obsessed with pets.  Not the typical kind, mind you.  I mean snails, spiders and all things small.  She brought home a snail from school.  There is a wall outside the school apparently, that with the changing of seasons has had quite an array of snails stuck to it.   So my darling daughter put one in her backpack and brought it home.  Of course, she lost it for a while because it had climbed up the other side of the pocket she zipped it in, but once we found it again, all was well.  I do feel badly as the snail died a couple days later.  I told her he (or she?) needed to be outside and that was the best place for little critters.  So far she hasn't brought any more home, so perhaps the message resonated?  Although when she and M found a spider in the bedroom, they put it in a cup and kept it for a couple of days before D kindly let it outside.  Not before they accidentally crushed some of its legs with a small pebble they put inside the cup though...   (Apparently they wanted spidey to have a rock to rest on.)  I think we need to work on that before we look into getting any real pets.  :)

So yes.  It is Wednesday and we are halfway through the week.  My how time flies.  I don't feel any "nesting" instincts kicking in so far, which is a little disappointing.  It's nice to have all that energy to work.  Most days I'm practically forcing myself to go through the motions.  Thank God for D.  And for all these little hands who love to help out mama (well, most days...).  I suppose there's still time.

Wishing you a wonderful week! 

Weekending, monkey bars, and other tidbits

How time flies.  It is almost September.  Almost the last week of August.  I thought we just started the summer!  To be fair, it has been a wonderful summer, despite the fickle weather.  And by fickle, I mean weather that can't make up its mind as to whether or not it's August or May.  C'est la vie.  We have lots of indoor activities (like chess, and tic-tac-toe and toy car washes on the balcony) for inclement weather.  But my favourites are those outdoor times where the kids play for hours and we lose track of the time and the day stretches out gently.  

But the weekends have been lovely.  I must say.  And full.  Full of visits to the zoo, outdoor BBQs in the park, canoeing, playing soccer, practicing monkey bars, swimming and just about everything that makes summer special for little ones.  (Incidentally, we don't seem to have much trouble getting them to bed after these excursions.)  And yet somehow, these adventures don't make things feel busy or even remotely chaotic.  Perhaps we take a low-key approach, or maybe the excursions we have allow for us to relax together.  Or perhaps it's because during the week, we are mostly homebodies aside from the daily park visits or nature walks, so when the weekend comes we have the energy to go forth.  I don't know.  But I'm glad.  I emphatically dislike feeling stretched too thin.  And the more kids we have, the more stretched life gets.  At least we can control some parts of it.  D and I have always felt that it is important for the kids not to be rushed around from one thing to the next without time to absorb, process and just enjoy life.

So when I say practicing monkey bars is part of our summer, I am dead serious.  This 6 year old boy is just enamoured with those bars.  He wasn't able to do them at the beginning of the summer.  But he practiced and practiced.  (Every park we went to had to have monkey bars for him to practice on!)  And now he can do them.  Oh what pride and joy lit up that sweet face as he kept showing us how he could swing himself back and forth.  We keep telling him it was because he never gave up, and I think that resonated with him.  A good life lesson to take away from monkey bars.  :)

We received a present from one of our neighbours last week.  A pot of mint.  Such a nice gift!  It is sitting happily on our balcony alongside the spinach and parsley.  Our parsley has been getting haircuts quite regularly and I love being able to step out to the balcony whenever I need some.  Puts a whole new meaning on the word "fresh".  

My two-year old is quite a character, as you can see.  She likes to do everything the other two can.  And boy does she make it known when she's not happy.  It's kind of funny watching her pull her older sister or brother in the wagon for example.  Or try to run along when they have races.  She thrives on routine and order.  But what a fun girl to have around.  I can always count on her to be game for whatever craftsy, artsy project I do.  :)  

And because I am just brain dead right now, I will take my leave.  So much to do on my list this week to get the kids ready for school!  Hoping you enjoy the final days of August and summer. 

Cookery & a few tidbits from daily life

I am so happy to find a bit of time to post this!  I was hoping to get some kitchen fun in this week.  :)  We have stalled a little in our preserving and putting up of summer produce, but I suspect that will pick up again after this weekend.  We are travelling to Quebec early tomorrow morning, so there are preparations to be finished.   

After another lovely gift of apples from my cousin, my sister requested I make an apple custard pie for her visit.  (I was only too happy to oblige!)  I have a bag in the freezer of apple filling for sometime later on - I think I might have to make a pie for a special cousin...

Fresh bread waxes and wanes in our home these days.  It was a good day, as you can tell from this loaf on the counter.  If I had a big enough freezer, I'd freeze a bunch of dough in small bags to have ready when needed.  Now that would be awesome!  

Okra and meat in a tomato paste sauce.  I can't tell you how delicious, how filling this dish is.  The kids somehow prefer spinach to this, but they ate it up too.  This mama is not a short-order cook, so these kiddies of ours have gotten used to eating what's put on the table.  It does tend to be obvious which are favourites though by the amount of second and third helpings.  ;)  

My little helpers!  Lots of little hands helping to break the string beans into smaller pieces.  We cook them with onions.  They love that.  And they love helping out too.  Usually, I take out a bag of beans, plunk myself at the table and start.  This is like flowers to a bee, and not many minutes pass before they swarm around me begging to help.  They really are helpers, I must say.  It takes no time at all to finish with two or three or four sets of hands pitching in.  These are beautiful moments in life that I store up as little memory treasures - tidbits of joy that brighten my days.

Interestingly enough, we often have very deep conversations around the table while we work.  And sometimes in the car on our way to wherever.  It's... priceless.  I'm sure every parent has those kinds of talks with their kids.  Kids are just full of whatever's around them, and they're constantly processing.  To have them share these reflections or questions with me creates this profound connection between us.  I don't feel that I am adequate or capable, of shaping them in this way.  However, as a mama, I don't have much choice!  I simply pray that God touches their little hearts and works in their lives the way that they need, despite my bumbling clumsiness and failings.  

There are some serious studies going on around here.  :)  Colouring always is.  And when little baby (who's not so much a baby any more) just has to imitate older siblings, well, it's a beautiful sight.  I look forward to collaborating with these little ones on a serious art project one day.  That, of course, would require me to get organized and possibly plan something.  Hmmm.  I foresee a long interval before completion.  A mama can dream though.  

Enjoy your weekend!  

A little rearrangement

We did a little furnitre shuffling this past week to accommodate a new set of bookshelves.  (Have I mentioned yet how much I love Ikea?)  And I must say that I just love how it looks!  We are using it for all our school supplies, work and such props.  It's wonderful having it all in one place.  The kids have already been going on their own to a shelf to take down and work on an activity they are familiar with.  And I'm noticing that clean up is a breeze too.  I can't imagine how we lived without these shelves!  

This is J doing some chalk art.  (I think she said that was a portrait of me.)  And the second photo is showing her working on pouring liquids.  We do a lot of baking, so those kind of things are definitely helpful in a tangible, everyday way.  :)

The kids really are gearing up for summer.  I mean, the weather is consistently warm, and so they are full of plans.  I haven't really sat down to think about what we need to do this summer, except maybe with our curriculum goals.  I'd like to have some activities lined up for July and August - nothing crazy... I'm still exhausted these days and nausea does come and go - something for us to use when we need a change or some new fun.    

D decided we need to plant more spinach and parsley, so we kept a couple extra pots.  Guess what we're doing today!  Actually, today has been a great day so far.  Cleaned the bathrooms, folded the laundry and working on the dirty pile, swept the house and balcony, and set up the play kitchen outside.  A summer space for little ones.  

Hope you have a cheery and productive week!  I'm off to take my afternoon nap.  (Can't last without one...)

It broke.

My sewing machine is broken.  What a lamentable day!  I mean, thankfully, J's bag is done.  Minus the little fairy jewel I need to sew on by hand that is.  (Such a pretty button!)  At least there's that.  But, of course, I have another two bags I'm working on too!  Which means they will have be put aside for now until I find the time to a) tinker with the machine or b) take it in for a tune up.  I'm a little nervous to think about trying a) right now.  

Haven't been working with yarn too much these days.  Trying to finish this chick hat along with the other two.  It's been in the bottom of my bag for a looooooong time.  I actually found it on our trip this past weekend and did a bit of work on it.

The kids have been busy with their own work.  Lots of making from the treasures we collected during the summer.  And lots of painting for M.  He loves the texture, the feeling of the materials sure.  But what he really loves about painting is mixing colours.  He tries several combinations, and the endpoint finds him with everything all swirled together - an irresistible impulse.  J is more about cooking and baking.  She likes to stir.  And she likes to make sweets.  Hmmm.  I wonder who she takes after.

I've mainly been busy with school work for the kids.  So much to make, organize and research.  I am trying to put together our French "program" for the summer.  It is a huge task.  And one I feel somewhat unqualified to do.  Oh well.  Isn't that the story of a parent's life?  Unqualified, but called none the less.

Yesterday some new materials I ordered came in.  I am especially in love with the stamp game.  It is so beautiful.  Really!  The little chips, the number tiles, the pegs.  All organized in their proper colours and slots.  Ah.  I can't wait to show it to M.  I know he will love working with it!  And of course, with the gathering of new materials, I am now in need of more storage space.  I need a bookshelf - preferably with drawers or doors at the bottom.  A new wish list item!  (And pretty much at the top too!)

There's something about being physically (and metaphysically) organized that speaks to me.  I need it.  I crave it.  When I see clutter, I suddenly have to clean.  It's been like that for as long as I can remember.  Whenever I had to hunker down and study for an exam in university, the first thing I did was clean my room.  Procrastination, you say?  Perhaps.  I just couldn't really focus otherwise.  Those days of studying may be over (or not), but the other part has remained.

This is not to say that my home is immaculate.  Most of the time, it is strewn around with toys, books and whatever creative projects we are all working on.  But, at the end of the day, everything has it's place.  Everything has a home.  And when it is put away, I am mollified.



Joining Nicole and friends for this week's Keep Calm Craft On, and Ginny and friends for this week's Yarn Along.