Getting There

Illness.

I did mean to make a few posts in the last while, dear readers...but I have been knocked off my feet by illness. I've been sick for almost two weeks now. My fever just won't go away, and the cough keeps getting worse. I hear crackling sounds coming from my chest that kind of freak me out. My doctor says it's bronchitis, and gave me some antibiotics today, so I am hoping there is an end in sight. It really wears a person down, being sick day after day without any change.  I am trying to take care of myself the best I can, relaxing when possible and drinking a lot of fluids.

If I am able to, I will be back before Valentine's Day with my recipe for the best chocolate cupcakes in the world...but now, I'm going to go have a nap. Take care, everyone.

A dreary day, saved by Samuel Whiskers.

This winter that is not continues. It rained cats and dogs all night last night - and I live in Canada! Amy is sick with the flu (again!) and was up fussing. Maybe the sound of the storm bothered her, too. I hardly got any sleep. This morning it was still dark, rainy and incredibly dreary.

I naturally slept in too late and was behind schedule. I somewhat grumpily rushed through breakfast and had just enough time to get a quick shower before we started our homeschool lessons (I try to start at the same time each morning). But just I was sprinting for the shower, hoping that this was not going to be One of Those mornings, Jasper tugged on my sleeve and showed me a book he had picked out: The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, by Beatrix Potter. "Can you please read this book to me, Mom?" he asked politely with a smile. My heart flooded with warmth and happiness. How could I refuse? Sometimes it's better to forget about the schedule.

As he often does, this little guy reminded me to slow down and enjoy the moment, and not be so serious! He listened intently to the whole story - he has an amazing attention span for a 3 year old. It's a funny story. After it was done I carried on the rest of the day's activities with a different attitude. And you know what? I notice that when I make an effort to slow down more, and concentrate on each task before me, instead of trying to do many things at once, I actually get more done.

The rain continued all day. The common behind our house is entirely flooded. Really not a good day to play outside. The children weren't quite as chipper as usual, being cooped up inside. So I decided that after lunch, it was necessary to make chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles. That makes sense, right?

I had a helper in the kitchen, as usual...

I am happy to say these cupcakes (topped with ganache rather than icing) were ridiculously good. Maybe some time I'll share the recipe!

There was still a few meltdowns and tense moments today, and naps were taken...but all in all I think this day was much better than it could have been. :)

Looking back, looking forward.

2011 was a great year for our family. We welcomed a new member of our family (who, I might add, is growing cuter and sweeter every day) and Chris was blessed with a good job (as an industrial machine builder) that he enjoys. 

And how did I do in my journey towards a simpler life? Despite our tiny, shaded, soggy backyard, I did manage to grow some herbs and make some healing salve, as well as dry some herbs for use in the kitchen. (Interestingly though, I found that even the rosemary and sage were weak on flavour - I am guessing this is a direct result of not getting enough sun.)

I made herbal tinctures for the first time this year - dandelion and lemon balm - and have not used them. I found the alcohol was just too strong for me (I don't drink at all, not for moral reasons but just because I don't like it). I think in the future I will stick to herbal teas.

Our green bean harvest was decent, but our tomatoes were a stunning failure. And just to prove that our back yard is cursed - I planted several zucchini plants and only got a single zucchini! Who ever heard of such a thing...

I didn't do some of the things I had planned for 2011--I decided not to buy a pressure canner because I really don't have room to store it here. And I actually canned less fruit this summer than the last year, not more. No pickles either. But I have continued to learn the skills required to cook from scratch, and improve my homemaking in general. I now make all of our bread by hand, which is a big step I suppose.

My sewing machine has not been very busy. I've sewn nothing of note all year (just a few baby bibs, a hat, some napkins, and I upcycled an old shirt into preschooler pajamas), even though I wanted to sew some long skirts for myself after the baby was born. Of course, it's probably not realistic to be planning new projects with a newborn babe around...

The first part of the year we were living only off our Etsy business, which hasn't really been bumping in 2011. This meant we were not able to save up very much towards our future home in the country. But that's okay, because now that Chris has a good job, with the chance to work overtime, and we feel confident that by the end of 2012 we will be able to purchase a place of our own--nothing fancy, but some place outside the city limits with a nice big yard so we can have chickens, lots of gardens, and of course, a tree house for lazy summer afternoons.

Perhaps most importantly in 2011, I learned to step away from the screen more often, slow down, relax and enjoy life. Our family started having Unplugged Sundays - no computer, video games, or tv all day every Sunday -  which is a tradition I have come to love. I started writing paper letters to friends, instead of emails, which has been enjoyable as well.

So for 2012, our main goal is to save up a down payment for a house. And for a personal resolution, I am going to try much harder than I have been to exercise. In past years, I have not been taking care of myself and it's starting to show. I have realized I can't properly take care of my family if I don't take care of myself, too.

For his part, Chris is quitting smoking this month. Good vibes are appreciated! :)

Since it is possible we will be moving this year, I think I am going to give up trying to coax a productive garden out of the yard here. But I will continue sewing when I get the chance, and I will be trying to improve my ability to feed my family on a strict budget.

I'm really looking forward to 2012 and all it will bring for us.

Does anyone else have any plans for the coming year they want to share?

 

A lesson learned.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. I'm happy to report that although it's been warm and rainy all week here in Southern Ontario, it is actually snowing this morning! We'll see how long it lasts.

Our Christmas was nice, although unfortunately we all had a light touch of the stomach flu all week, which meant we couldn't visit with family, which was disappointing.

We had another disappointment, one which taught us a lesson. Regular readers of this blog will know that we love handmade gifts. We try to make them, we try to buy them. And we sell our handmade toys on Etsy. Handmade gifts are, in my opinion, better quality and almost always more special.

However, there are times when it seems that a store-bought gift would fit the bill. This Christmas, for example, we bought a remote control monster truck for Owen. Now, we normally don't buy toys like this, especially ones that require constantly buying new batteries. But our son had been asking for one of these for quite some time now. So we decided to buy it, and felt pleased when we imagined how happy he would be on Christmas morning.

We should have known better, of course. I thought that spending $60 on a toy would mean it would be decent quality...but this thing was total junk. It broke literally within minutes of being taken out of the box--it would go forward but would no longer steer side to side. It's going back to Sears; Owen is understandably upset. All the more so because last year the small remote control truck my sister bought him also broke on Christmas day--it literally fell apart, the wheels fell off and everything. That one was much cheaper though, so I thought we would be safe this time.

We are really disgusted that even a $60 toy can't last a single day, even a single hour without breaking. But lesson learned. We are going to be much more careful about what goes under the tree next year. Every Christmas, we try to squeak through just one or two toys mass-produced in a factory overseas, and every time the item has ended up breaking within a week. (The only exception we have found are the metal Thomas trains, which actually hold up well to extended play. But the important thing to note is they are not plastic.)

It's really sad, because I can imagine how many little children across North America are heartbroken already because their new Christmas toys broke immediately. And all of those broken toys will end up in a landfill, after having served no purpose but to disappoint a child (and to make profit for someone somewhere.) Chris and I both agree that it seems unfair to the children of today. When we were growing up back in the 1980s, toys were much better quality and our Christmas presents could be expected to last.

I don't want to be too negative--we had a lovely Christmas, we ate a lot of good food and laughed a great deal too. I just wanted to share this lesson about consumer goods that we apparently needed to learn one more time!

I was surprised with a handmade gift I was not expecting - Chris made me a maple cutting board with a trough, for carving roast meat. I was so pleased! I have wanted one like this for some time, and this one is so thick and sturdy I imagine it will last forever.

I know I've said this before, but I'm so glad I have a husband who is a woodworker! :)

I also was blessed with two books which I enjoyed from the public library, and wanted to add to my own shelf: The Self Sufficient Gardener and The Art of Simple Food. I'm so happy about both of these books, which I love.

(Please, no one notice the crumbs on that chair...)

Today, it feels like Christmas is really over because Chris is back to work. I'm going to spend the day cleaning and putting things back to rights. Perhaps that doesn't sound like too much fun, but I'm looking forward to it!

Warm holiday wishes to all my readers around the globe...

Hit by the flu.

I guess it's that time of year. A few weeks ago Kira came down with the flu. Then last week, Chris got sick...he got it the worst of all of us, and had to take a day off work to just sleep. Jasper was very sick last weekend too. A few days ago Owen started with the fever and cough and sore throat, and today I find my throat is sore and scratchy, and I feel weak and dizzy...humph. I thought I was going to fight it off, but I guess not. Perhaps it has something to do with getting only about 5 hours of (broken) sleep the last couple of nights.

Amazingly, Amy has not gotten sick...surprising considering the number of kisses she gets on a daily basis!

Last weekend when I was walking quickly into the grocery store an elderly gentlemen took one look at me, made a gesture moving his hands towards the ground and said (with a smile) "Slow down! Slow down!" I didn't respond; it sort of stunned me for a moment, but once I was in the store I got it and started giggling. I must have looked silly speed walking into the store so seriously. I resvoled anew to stop rushing around and start taking on my daily tasks at a gentler pace.

This sickness has certainly forced me to maintain that resolution. The way this flu bug has picked us off one at a time, and then lingered...we have had sickness in the house for weeks now and it's still going. We haven't gone anywhere (other than me to the grocery store and Chris to work), and our homeschool activities have been put on hold...we've all just been basically hibernating here, reading, relaxing, playing video games, making paper snowflakes...actually it's been rather nice, fevers and runny noses aside.

I put some winter and Christmas books into a thrifted basket...I rather like how it looks. (Once the holidays are over, these books will go away until next year.)

My Christmas shopping is done too, which helps me to feel relaxed--although I haven't made any headway on the quilt. I thought I would just try to do the top and give that to Jasper on Christmas morning, but alas! When I went to press the very first seam with the iron, the fabric wrinkled and melted. I guess some of the scraps I had received were polyester. I am not sure if it's a good idea, but I have decided to proceed, and just keep the iron on low...wish me luck. :)

Today we woke up to the very first snow fall--it's the first time the snow has stayed on the ground, anyway. As I was looking out of the window at the lovely snow-covered branches I saw two "V" formations of Canada geese flying due south. I guess winter is truly here...and like every year, now is the time to put on some slippers and spend some quiet, restful time in the house. I'm going to be shutting down our Etsy shop for a holiday break in a few days, too, and I'm looking forward to that.

I do hope though, that we'll be free of this flu bug before Christmas arrives! Has anyone else been hit by the flu?

December already!

I can't believe it is December already!

I remembered at bedtime last night that I needed to get out and tie up the little Advent bags I made last year...it didn't seem real to me that the end of November had come so fast.

(I put something special in one bag each night leading up to Christmas.)

It also doesn't look like the holiday season outside--we had so much rain lately, that yesterday we had quite an impressive flood out behind our house. And so far we have had only an extremely light dusting of snow which didn't last.

But, the calendar does say December 1st. Yikes!

You know, a little while ago I was in the dollar store (buying some Christmas tins to use for giving baked goods to Kira's friends). It was very busy, and I couldn't get over the feeling of almost panic that I sensed there. The feeling that I sense in every store this time of year. Everyone is frantically trying (or so it seems to me) to buy everything they need before it's too late. It is a very unpleasant feeling in the air. I would like to say that I am beyond all that holiday anxiety, but it wouldn't be true. I admit, I feel anxious right now too. I may not buy very many things, but there are so many things I would like to make for Christmas and I know I will get little of it done. It just seems that there are too many things going on in my life--all good things, but still. Sometimes I feel like I have more blessings than I can take!

(Actually, I have been considering lately giving up blogging. I love it, but I just have so much to do, and I seem to be having a harder and harder time, since the baby was born, to find time for it. I haven't made any decisions yet, just thinking about it.)

It's strange, that this time of year, when the darkness and cold should be forcing us to slow down and hibernate, we instead pick up the pace, rush around buying things, baking things, making things. Even for someone like me who is trying to keep our holidays low key--I am not even exchanging gifts with the extended family, and we will only be attending one party this year--I still have a lot to do. I can't tell you about the projects I want to do, of course, for those children of mine who can read.

I will say though, the quilt I am making for Jasper is simply NOT coming along at all. Day after day I try to find time to work on it, but it doesn't happen...but somehow the kids manage to spend time in my work room even if I don't, and mess it up to the point where I'm going to have to clean it for half an hour before I will be able to do anything. *sigh*

It doesn't help that Amy just cut another tooth. I am just not getting enough sleep. My energy levels are not what they should be, despite all the vitamins I take and the water I drink. I know all the moms out there understand, so I won't complain any more. :)

One project I hope I'll have time for is making some festive garlands to decorate up the house--I'd like to use some fabric scraps I have to make a yo-yo garland or two, like this one I saw here:

I feel so lucky that earlier this year, a friend gave me a big stack of Christmas fabric squares, among other fabric. I know I will be using up these bits for years to come!

Of course, December also means baking. I have a list of things I want to make: Chocolate covered pretzels, like we make every year, candy cane bark, date squares, truffles, sugar cookies, and cherry shortbread. Nothing in the list is too complicated, I should be able to manage it all.

Does anyone have a favourite truffle recipe they'd like to share? I think maybe when I get started on my baking, I'll make the truffles first...I could use a few myself. :)

By the way, for anyone who wants to spend some time reading with a big mug of tea...the Winter edition of Rhythym of the Home is up (our Etsy shop is a sponsor there). For those not familiar with it, it's a quarterly magazine for parents filled with lovely seasonal craft ideas, recipes, interviews, and articles about family life and celebrations. Just throwing that out there!

Leaf Pictures.

We still have quite a lot of leaves hanging around our neighbourhood (on the ground, anyway), so when I saw this post on making pictures from pressed leaves, I wanted to give it a try with the children.

Our results weren't quite as fabulous as the ones in the original post, but we had fun. Strange that although we have been doing crafts with autumn leaves for many years now, I had never thought of simply gluing pressed leaves together into a picture.

Kira made a bunny:

Owen made a monster:

And Jasper made what he called a leaf pile. And then, before I could take a picture of it, he added more glue. And more glue. And a hazelnut, it looks like. And then he added more glue, until the bottle was empty. He squeezed the last bit that was left onto his brother's picture, apparently.

It was fun not only to make the craft, but to go for a walk looking for different shapes of leaves. Next year I'll try this again, but maybe I'll supervise the glue usage a bit more carefully. :)

Has anyone else been doing anything fun with the last remaining autumn leaves?

What I've been up to.

Thank you sincerely to everyone who offered their encouraging comments on my lost post. Obviously I've been feeling a wee bit frazzled lately. A teething baby will throw off the schedule in just about any home, I suppose. And Chris has started a new job where he is away for long hours every day. Yet, I am learning to manage this new life with four children. I am learning to pace myself, to take time to recharge myself, and most importantly to engage the children in the work that needs to be done.

I decided to declare a no-school week this week--instead we are having a Life Skills Week. The time I would normally spend "doing school" with the children--about 2 hours per day, usually--I will dedicate to teaching the children how to help me more around the house. Today I worked with the boys for a while ensuring they knew how to put their own laundry away and tidy their room. Later today I will teach Kira how to do laundry. And the week will continue like that. I hope that this will be a good investment of time and that things will go at least a little bit smoother in the future.

Yesterday too, when I planted some garlic in the back yard which I had sprouted, I made sure Owen helped me. (I know, it's rather late to be planting garlic in Canada, but I had a whole bag full that was going to go bad before I could use it so I figured, might as well give it a shot! I put some cloves in a container with wet paper towel, and almost every clove sprouted within 24 hours.)

I pulled out the few straggly chamomile plants I had to make room for the garlic. There were a few blossoms on the chamomile, which strangely were the nicest and largest blossoms I've had so far. But there were only a few, not even enough for a good cup of tea, so out they came. I am sure the chamomile didn't grow very well because of the lack of sun in my back yard--for that same reason, I'm sure the garlic won't grow well either, but it's fun to experiment anyway.

I am going to try my best from now on to involve the children in my daily tasks. There is just no way I can comfortably manage our family business, take proper care of the home, cook all our food from scratch, tend to the baby, and facilitate the children's education besides, all by myself. I need to learn to delegate jobs, and ensure everyone in the house is resposible for their own messes.

But enough about that. I also wanted to mention a small sewing project I did for Halloween. Owen wanted to be Toad, who is character in the Super Mario universe who looks like a toadstool. I was rather proud of myself that I whipped up the right kind of hat at the last minute with some scrap fabric, although since I was making it about 5 pm on Halloween I had to glue on the red dots instead of sewing them by hand. Here is Amy modeling the hat:

In other news, I harvested my humble herb garden a little while ago, and some bunches of sage, lemon balm, rosemary and oregano have been drying on my clothes line in the back hall. It makes me so happy to see bunches of herbs drying! I'm not sure why, but it's just a happy sight. (No basil; my plant was huge, but it all withered away after a light frost we had one night. That's what I get for procrastinating.)

Remember my post on Unplugged Sunday? Well, we have been continuing this, and I must say it has been wonderful. I really enjoy having a day free from electronics. The house is so quiet and peaceful, and we have been doing some really fun activities in place of television and computer. My husband, for example, helped the children make their own board game. It's based on the video game MarioKart, which is ironic I know, but they have all been working hard on the game and it's such a joy to see the whole family work together on a project. (And fun to play together, as well).

Of course, with a seven month old girl around here, a lot of cuddling has been going on. Amy's older siblings all adore her and sometimes fights break out over who gets to cuddle with her! I guess there are worse things children could argue about. And I guess I understand. She's pretty darn cute.

(That's milkweek fluff on her shoulder--we had just gotten back from a walk!)

Life is full and good. :)

Trying to pace myself.

I love our home-centered life of family togetherness, I truly love the old-fashioned domestic work I do each day, I love schooling the children at home...yet although this lifestyle might be reminiscent of a simpler time, some days it feels anything but simple!

Some days, if I am not careful to pace myself, I just run around in circles going crazy, not knowing what to do next.

Today is pretty typical. The house is messy, of course. Everywhere I walk, crumbs and random floor debris and sometimes even bits of oatmeal stick to my socks (which have holes in them, but I don't have time to go shopping for new ones). The laundry is piling up to a veritable mountain because I didn't do it for one day. I have five packages for customers I need to get ready for shipping, that are sitting there waiting for me. I tried to get them done this morning, but Amy wouldn't stop crying--I believe she is teething right now and is much fussier than usual--so I paused to nurse her and put her down for a nap, and then I grabbed a quick shower and then it was time to give the other children lunch, and then we returned to lessons, which didn't go very well because Amy was awake again, and not happy.

Once lessons were somewhat finished I put Amy down for another nap, left the children with Kira (who is almost 13) for a few minutes and took a brisk walk to the nearby dollar store to pick up a few little things we needed. When I got back, I made up a batch of pumpkin muffins, which was accomplished because the boys were both playing video games...an activity I try to keep under control, but sometimes it's so useful to keep them quiet and out of trouble for a little while!

Now, I am sitting down for a few minutes to write this post and enjoy a muffin and cup of tea. The boys are playing outside, Kira and the baby are watching Kiki's Delivery Service, and things seem calm for now. Yet, there is still laundry I need to do. The garbage needs to be taken out. There is bread to go into the oven. Chris will be home from work very soon and I will need to start making supper. After supper, although we normally like to relax and have family time, I know I will need to get those packages wrapped up--our customers mean a great deal to us and I don't want to keep them waiting! This will take a big chunk of the evening. By the time I do that, and get the supper dishes cleared away, and if I am lucky, find time to sweep these dirty floors, it will be time to start the bedtime routine, which is lengthy because I stubbornly insist on reading each boy a bedtime story, no matter how busy or tired I am. After everyone is in bed I will fold the laundry, organize school materials, and write my 'to do' list for tomorrow. Maybe Chris and I will watch something funny on Youtube for a few minutes before bedtime.

I will get a fair amount accomplished today, but there is so much more I need to do. I have not yet started the quilt I want to make Jasper for Christmas. Every day I write on my list "cut quilt squares" and every day I don't get around to it. I need to start work on other Christmas gifts too, but have done nothing! I also wanted to make Christmas stockings for the children this year from some holiday fabric I was given, but I know I will probably never get to it. (If I had been smart, I would have started that project back in the summer when I had time!)

All week I have wanted to make it to Sears to buy us all some much-needed new pajamas and slippers, since all sleepwear and slippers were 40% off this week. I haven't had a single chance to drive all the way out to the mall and I know now I am going to miss the sale. Poor Kira, her pajama pants are halfway up to her knees!

There are several letters I'd like to write to friends, but they remain unwritten day after day.

And need I mention that the bathtub has needed to be scrubbed for over a month? Or that the wall next to the front door has been covered by some kind of reddish sticky fingerprints (jam, maybe?) for weeks and I haven't cleaned it yet?

Sometimes I feel so sad that I just can't do everything that I want to. Why, oh why can't I just have another hour or two per day? Or maybe a maid! But this type of thinking doesn't help. The only thing that helps I find, is to try to pace myself. Instead of fretting and running around, I have to force myself to take a deep breath, and move slowly and deliberately through each task. I try to take the time to do each thing properly, because tasks rushed through don't feel really completed at all, and then I feel even worse. For example, I have to force myself to properly brush my teeth and not rush, I have to force myself to sip my tea instead of gulp, I have to force myself to stay and cuddle with the baby for a while after she has fallen asleep because I know I need a rest too...even though I want to rush away and have a look at my 'to do' list. Forcing myself to slow down requires a great deal of self control, but I have learned it's the only way to get anything properly done and not feel like I'm losing my marbles.

Does anyone else notice this same phenomenon? I mean, that rushing and multitasking really don't work in the long run, that the only way to stay sane is to slow down, even if things don't get done?

By the way, sorry there are no pictures today...I tried taking pictures of the laundry piles waiting to be done and the toys waiting to be shipped, but my camera died...because I keep forgetting to recharge the batteries! One more thing on my 'to do' list! ;)

Book Review: Mrs. Sharp's Traditions.

Mrs. Sharp's Traditions: Reviving Victorian Family Celebrations of Comfort & Joy is a book originally published in 1990 by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Some might recognize her as the author of the bestseller, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy. Simple Abundance was written later--Mrs. Sharp's Traditions was her first book.

Writing in the voice of the fictional Victorian homemaker and mother of 12 Victoriana Sharp, Ms. Ban Breathnach takes the reader through the year month by month, and describes in detail the type of customs, crafts and celebrations that families in the late 1800s enjoyed. Short essays on the history of different holidays are included, as well as a special poem for each month. Delightful illustrations from the Victorian era decorate each page.

Although this book may catalogue the traditions of times past, it was written by a modern author with the goal of providing inspiration to modern families. And that is exactly what it does. Not only was this book a joy to read, it gave me many ideas for new traditions I would like to include in our own family holidays. The book also contains many lovely ideas for family traditions and rituals that are carried out all year round--for example, the author details how to plan a weekly Family Night, how to create calming bedtime rituals, and how to make outings in the country memorable for children.

Where holidays are concerned, the book deals with all the ones we are familiar with in North America (including Jewish holidays), as well as several European holidays we may not be familiar with, such as Michaelmas, All Soul's Day, and St. Lucia's Day. The changing of the seasons are also talked about--for example, she includes some nice ideas for making crafts with nature's bounty in the autumn.

This is a wonderful resource for families of young children who would like to add some new rituals and traditions into their life. I highly recommend Mrs. Sharp's Traditions to any mother who would like to make next year's seasonal changes and holidays a little more special and memorable for her children.