as cozy as spring

The Nature Table (and more!)

Grace first introduced me to Waldorf education this spring - and I was amazed at how much it fit a lot of my ideas about how life with children should be.  I was having a bit of trouble figuring out how to implement any of it but two weeks ago a component fell into place that is the most exciting part of our plans for next year - and that is the nature table.  I can't seem to find an accurate description of what this is supposed to be, but it doesn't really matter because I'm adapting this to our home (meaning we won't be praying to the sun or whatever - for much more thoughtful information on Waldorf inspired homeschooling see Melissa Wiley's series of posts on Waldorf education)

The table itself is actually a small dresser my father beautifully refinished years ago.  And here's where the idea really comes together.  There are four drawers and each will hold a month's worth of seasonal supplies (with a bit of August flowing into September) for the semester.  The drawers are a place to stash the things I purchase, intend to use, and inevitably lose - ex. Cosmos seeds.  Cosmos is October's flower and one I intend to plant every year in August for beautiful fall flowers but I always lose the seeds.  Now they are tucked away in the top dresser.  Also included are the craft kits I wrote about earlier, holy cards, Martha Stewart Kids articles, and poetry samples.  So, as I go along our planning, pick up stuff on sale etc, I know it will all stay together and all be put to good use because it's all organized by month and so very handy. 

On top of the dresser is where Lucy can display her seasonal crafts, acorn collections, mushroom prints, flower arrangements or whatever else strikes her fancy.  I envision hand rolled beeswax candles, miniature pumpkins, poinsettias for when we read the Tomie de Paola book, our nativity set - all sorts of sweet items.   I also have a little clothespin to clip up a copy of the poem she is currently memorizing.  The dresser is in a main part of the living room and she recites it every time she passes by.  I have a basket of seasonal book that sits at the base of the dresser that we can pick up easily.

Sometimes I think it's not what I purchase but how I put it all into practice.  I am so very happy that this area fell into place and am confident it will be the center of our education next year.  Ooooh, wouldn't it be the most romantic gift for my husband to surprise me with a cozy, overstuffed arm chair on our first day of school to sit next to this dresser?  A girl can dream, yes?  While I'm at it I would like a beautifully sewn quilt and coffee bar right next to the chair. 

Tomorrow : The Learning Environment - my substitute teacher

               

Confession that that basket actually contains our Christmas books right now.  Our summer books are strewn all over my bedroom floor (see - I'm so organized!)- you get the idea.

One year ago...

It's been a year since I began posting all this silliness.  I suppose I should write something thoughtful and witty, but I am so very tired.  Linus had allergy problems last night because I just thought about purchasing some peanut butter (mmmm).  He was up at 1:00 AM itching, itching, itching.  And I've been up since then. 

BUT I am planning many posts this week on some of the things I am truly excited about for this coming year and will be back to my old cheerful self ("huh?" said my husband) very soon. 

I cleared our vegetable garden yesterday - a difficult task but an enjoyable one.  It cheered me up considerably.  I remarked to my husband last night that working in the dirt can actually act as an antidepressant (it's true!).  He suggested I try eating some as well.  Ha, ha!  What a funny, funny guy.

It's not even that anything is bad, exactly.  In fact, our lives are incredibly blessed.  It's just bittersweet as I embark upon a new full year with my growing babies.  And truly it happens every single year - how nice that I have this site where I can publicly fall apart.  Level of insanity to be measured in gallons of paint.

So in thanksgiving for daily support you all provide, I will give you a recipe I stole from my sister.  It's super easy, yummy, semi-nutritious, and a perfect snack between lunch and dinner.  I make it as often as I can remember.

• 8 ounce package of low fat cream cheese
• 1/3 cup brown sugar (I imagine some other sweetener like honey would work as well)
• a smidge of vanilla
• Mix it all together with your blender
• Serve chilled with apple wedges

We are serving this at tea time on our very first day of school this year.  How very autumnal.  Umm, it's a dip - was that clear?

Oh, I also got you these flowers - enjoy!

            

I blame Martha

  Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:38-42).

I blame both Marthas actually. 

I've been a little blue lately - my husband is calling it a vacation hangover.  I become quite frustrated when my plans don't come together, when my house is not quite clean, when my living room is three different colors (no, he didn't like Twinkleberry Blossom and I collapsed in despair). 

Late July and August sort of start the year for me.  Both my children were born at this time of year which makes me a bit emotional anyway.   And I want everything to be perfect for the Autumn and the holidays.  I want my school plans beautifully put together.  I want everything just right.

I want us to walk around in Hanna Anderson clothing, complete with adorable tights and clogs.  I want Martha Stewart parties, an Ina Garten kitchen, and an HGTV home and garden.  After I had my daughter HGTV contributed in large part to a serious case of depression.

Anyway, this post was to thank everyone for their comments over the last few days - from my insane painting urges to my frustration over lesson plans.  You have no idea what a breath of fresh air and perspective you have all been.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Three

          

         

My sweet baby is three today.  He hasn't always been the easiest child to raise, but he is tremendously enjoyable.  He is like a caffeinated little monkey most of the time, jumping, screaming, and being hilariously silly.

There are times I hold him in church (very short times, because our Mass world record is 29 minutes) - and I can't believe he is finally in my arms.  He took years for him to finally join our family.  I don't know that I will ever stop feeling amazed at his presence.

Twinkleberry Blossom

I warned my husband when he left today to see "The Transformers" (he's THIRTY SEVEN!) that there was no telling what I was capable of in my emotional state.  I tend to begin home improvement projects when I am completely overwhelmed with house work, yard work, and school.  This happens every single July.  True to my word, I just grabbed a can of paint from the garage and went at it.  Clearly all of my problems boil down to the color of my living room (Horrid Ugly Pale Yellow) and nothing can go wrong in Twinkleberry Blossom.  It's the color of my son's room and there is some comfort in knowing I already like the way it looks on the walls.  I really think this will solve all my home education issues.  It doesn't matter what we study in Twinkleberry Blossom.  We will have an awesome year in Twinkleberry Blossom.  It will be the best Christmas ever in Twinkleberry Blossom.  The bills will pay themselves in Twinkleberry Blossom.  Probably this is a healthier way of coping with stress than alcohol, drugs, or child abuse.  Though I imagine one day I will push my husband too far with the paint colors and he will abandon me.  But it won't matter, because I will always be happy in Twinkleberry Blossom. 

               

The unbearable weight of it all

We've been catching up on laundry and yard work.  This morning I cheerfully sat down to print out calendars and assemble my lesson plans.  I had kicked around so many ideas, surely it would be no problem to bring it all together.  And then I came to history.

I used Story of the World last year.  And it was OK.  I have the second volume and read through WTM to see why they approach history the way they do and I get it, but I don't like it.  This summer, our fling with American history has been so fun and rich - it isn't methodical, but Lucy is making far more connections than she ever did with the ancients. I think I tend to like the immersion approach to history a bit better.  Ancient History was easy to compartmentalize into Egypt, Greece, Rome.  I can't figure out how to break down the Middle Ages.  I want to spend a semester on Great Britain in the Middle Ages, but I have to jump on to Islam.  That doesn't leave a lot of time for themed chapter books etc.  It's not easy to plan for and it's not easy to do, but I can't seem to break away from SOTW.  I'm hugely frustrated.  I spent an entire semester in college studying only the Virgin Lands project under Khrushchev and loved that detailed and intense method of studying.  Racing through 1200 years and every continent with a seven year old just seems wrong.  Will someone please give me permission to drop SOTW already?  Dad?

A few times a year I feel the weight of the children's educations on my shoulders and it overwhelms me.  It will work out, I know.  I know this is a passing feeling.  How you people do it with more than one child I have no idea.  Good grief!

Anyway, I am open to suggestions.  Our Island Story looks interesting, any thoughts?  Also, I am writing out of frustration, my apologies for the tone.  You should feel very sorry for my husband who has to live with me right now.  How do some of you seem so at peace with homeschooling and don't ever seem to completely freak out that you are doing everything wrong?

End Note: I cannot comment on Blogger sites right now.  It started about a week ago.  I have no idea what the problem is, the screen just blinks at me.

Oh give me land, lots of land...

and the starry skies above...

      

Anyway, the washing machine is happily humming and my boys are asleep in an actual bed.  My little girl is enthusiastically digging into a sculpey, paper, and marker project - she sobbed for missing her art supplies while we were gone.  For the record, I don't actually expect anyone but my dad to read all of this, but it's here if you are super bored.

• Where?  Red River, New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  The high in the summer time reaches the low eighties with night time temps in the upper 30s - it's a nice way to break up the long hot summer.  It's also a perfect balance of roughing it and not.  We stay at the River Ranch Campgrounds just outside town.  They have super clean bathrooms (yeah, a must for some of us) and a friendly staff.  Just don't expect them to bend any of their rules.  The best part of the town is that it offers things like a handful of coffee and doughnut shops, pizza places, and even a  couple of nice dining options.  When we got tired of hot dogs (or carrots and hummus) and s'mores you can drive into town for a civilized meal.  There are also plenty of other lodging options.  We are tent people.  I think it's a good experience for children to be totally unplugged for a while.  I finally purchased a decent sleeping bag from LL Bean and had no problem keeping warm.

• What we did: My husband and Lucy rode the ski lift, which is a little breathtaking for me. He also took her on a race car track thing (?) We hiked about halfway up to Middle Fork Lake - a beautifully clear lake, but a bit of a challenging hike for two little ones.  We made it as far as a gorgeous waterfall.  The bridge was washed out, so we didn't press on any further. 
• There's plenty of cute shops in town, horseback riding etc.   
• The next day, I took Lucy on another hike to some old abandoned mines.  We had explored these several times before and it's just kind of neat.  At the start of the hike, we saw several garbage bags torn and strewn all over the mountain with accompanying bear tracks, so I chickened out on letting Lucy go too far into the mines.  I don't know if a bear would hang out in an old mine, but I can't say it wouldn't for certain.  We've only run into one bear up there and it didn't bother us at all, but again.  It's my daughter.

                                  

The next day we headed down to Taos, one of my favorite cities.  It's so very funky, with the strong artsy vibe, yummy Northern New Mexican food, and beautiful landscape.  My husband and I have been rafting twice with Los Rios River Runners and we decided that Lucy and I should try the milder, race course trip this time.   I am not a good enough writer to describe how much fun we had.  We loved our guide (as usual).  He was very welcoming and friendly to Lucy.  He also gave us a thorough history of the geology in the area, the plant life, and the history.  Lucy squealed and laughed with every rapid (as did I).  I cannot recommend this strongly enough.  I think it gave Lucy a confidence boost.  And frankly, it did the same for me.  That's sort of why we did it and why we made it a girl thing.  I work hard to create a strong mother/daughter bond.  I hope that she grows up to be a confident woman and think she needs a good role model.  It's a role I am totally faking as I go along, but she doesn't have to know how scared I was to take her on my own.  She will just remember the great time we had together doing something a little daring. And she'll remember the ride on a school bus, her first and something she's always wanted to do.

      

While in Taos, we ate at The Apple Tree which was every bit as good as I had read.  My husband said it was the best burger he ever had.  I personally enjoyed their signature salad.  Wow.  And we shopped around at the cool little shops, marveling at the size and color of the flower blossoms.

               

There are a lot of other great moments; the romance of my husband roasting the perfect marshmallow for me, the cozy cuddly wonder of my whole little family sleeping in a warm pile of sleeping bags, my babies peacefully dozing right on top of me for warmth, watching Linus hike with his little walking stick refusing to be carried and the fun of watching a little boy light up just from throwing rocks into the water.  Of course, there was the shock of realizing that ten years ago it was just my husband and I and now here we are with an almost-seven year old daughter and an almost-three year old son.  Lucy has been to Red River now three times.  And she just refuses to stop growing, no matter how much I beg.

The sky cleared on the last night and reminded me of the line from that 10,000 Maniacs song, "The stars were so many there, they seemed to overlap." 

               

Things we didn't miss: Email, TV, phone, lights, frankly none of it.  I even refused to buy a newspaper or magazine so I could just be for a while.  No planning, no creativity, no books at all.

Things I did miss: My parents and siblings.  It won't ever be the same with out them there with us.

            

I have nearly 400 photos from the trip, so who knows what will show up on Flickr tomorrow.  Tonight?  Well, the laundry needs to be switched and my bed needs to be slept in. 

               

My little Linus seems to be as frequent a photographer as his mommy.  It was hilarious to see what he thought worthy of a photo - "A pisser a sky, Mommy!"  "A pisser a me!"  The above photo is one of his.  :)

Did Ya Miss Me?

Here, let me trap you in my parlor and show you my vacation slides....

         

This is where I've been drinking my morning coffee, in the cold mountain air.

We just returned from our summer camping trip, one I've been taking with my husband as often as possible for the last ten years.  And to the same spot my parents and grandparents took me as a child.  It was quite simply the most wonderful vacation I can recall.  The children were well behaved and energetic.  I got to watch my (sniff, sniff) almost seven year old daughter turn into adventure girl - hiking up mountains and rafting down the Rio Grande river, even jumping into the frigid waters at one point to float along the river.  My little boy hiked right along with us, apparently thinking he was much older and tougher than not-quite three.

There's so very much that happened that I had given up writing about it.  I'll probably detail a bit more tomorrow.  Right now, I need a shower. 

Fireworks

               

Last night we walked down to our local fireworks show.  I think everyone in town was there.  It's such an odd thing on July 4th to see all of our neighbors relaxing on blankets and eating snow cones.  The fireworks were later in starting than we excepted and by that time, my son was literally begging me to go home.  "Pees, Mommy.  Pees go home."  But finally they started and the children relaxed into my husband's arms, my daughter with her fingers in her ears, of course. 

            

At one point my son stood up and walked over to my bag and said, "Mommy, a pisser a firrerrrr."  To translate, he was asking if he could take a picture of the fireworks.  And he did.  And I fell in love with him even more.

This post has no point, but halfway through the show my husband took my hand in his and I was just so very thankful for these happy years with my little tiny family.

And ooh, ooh!  It didn't rain.

Just to change things

Correct me if I'm wrong but typepad won't update design changes until you post again after the change.  That being the case, here's a bonus post because I'm sick of all this white. 

• It's taken a week but my car is fixed.  I hope.  The repair details are so outrageous I laughed, I cried, I felt like I was in an episode of Seinfeld. 
• Like my friend Kellie, I couldn't take the high grass and weeds anymore and sloshed through the puddles to mow this afternoon.  While mowing, I accidentally ate a bug that flew into my mouth. 
• While walking with the children the two (or hundred thousand) miles to the car repair shop it began to rain and a neighbor I didn't even know picked me up in her car to drop me off at the shop.  How sweet is that.  She saw us, went inside to check her radar, and insisted we wouldn't make it.  What a super nice lady.  And no, I won't get into the car with just anyone.  Retelling this story makes it sound a little odd.
• And THEN my favorite employee at the coffee shop delivered my freshly ground coffee to my car so I wouldn't have to get the kids out in the (you guessed it!) rain.  Nice people. 
• My son is the loudest human being on earth.  This is nothing new, but it is a sad reality.  At several points in the day I will beg my daughter just to give him whatever he wants so he will stop screaming.  I know this is certainly contributing to the problem, but he is simply so loud that I do not care. 

Here's a little swallowtail photo I took yesterday.  The little guy was resting on our hollies in the (you guessed it!) rain storm.