::Right Now:: & A Christmas Quilt

Mr. November himself!

I just love this one

Our November garland

November circle time

Our Indian corn experiment

Right Now I Am..

...Revelling in the quilt I just finished. I am happy to say that I am done with Jonas' Christmas quilt. Deirdre got a quilt at age 4, so Jonas was due for one. However I lost the fabric in the move I originally wanted to use so I decided to embroider his squares. It took a week and a half start to finish. The squares were all hand embroidered by myself and I just freehanded the designs with a pencil from some online images and by Jonas' request (Thus the Christmas bat!). It was my first time using the quilt as you go method and I am pleased. 

...Recuperating once again from a series of colds and busyness. I just can't seem to stay well. Boo. 

...Admiring the autumn leaves. Right now we're at the peak here in Yorktown. I think we've got one more week before most trees are bare. 

...Finishing up our month long turkey and pilgrim theme. We've had a fun time growing Indian corn, making pilgrims hats, and even gourd turkeys. I have to say, I really am loving homeschooling. Deirdre even got to meet some local wild turkeys at our Living Museum during a program they had. 

...Gearing up for December. We're going to take a break of sorts from homeschooling that month. We'll still be reading and our theme is advent but most of our crafting and trips will be geared towards the holidays.  

...Feeling so blessed to have such amazing local freinds. There was a time when both my best friends moved away that I was very angry about once again being alone and then new friendships were made and old ones deepened. I love my ladies (That means you Anya, Abby, Emily, Lila, & Sherry)

...Soaking up this time with my kiddos. I love that both D and J are old enough to list and be thankful for things. I love keeping our thankful tree. I am going to save it's leaves for years to come. It's a good lead into Christmas- as well as it compliments Martinmas. 

November, I love you! 

Our thankful tree- next to it is a collection box for Mission India
(which we've been participating in it for Martinmas)

Thankful leaf

Our November table

Some of our Martinmas lanterns

Our gourd turkey

One of my favorite blocks from the quilt

Until Next Time, 

::right now::

Right now, I am... (a tradition birthed by SouleMama aka Amanda Blake Soule)

:: trusting in the Lord about my husband's work and job security. God has always provided for us exactly what we have needed and I need to not doubt that now. 

:: feeling a little helpless to help ease his stress. He works so hard for us and I have no control over how his day at work is. Not to mention I have been feeling a little sick... heat exhaustion probably! 

:: doing a lot of fun stuff with the kids to keep their minds off the fact that they have seen their father for only about 10 hours in the past ten days. 

:: beginning to pack up our home and transplant it in our new home in the next four weeks. Ah the excitement,  sadness, and memories all wrapped up in one this brings. 

:: sewing the finishing touches on Craig's suede apron and beginning pajamas! 

:: knitting (still) the Tomten jacket. Oy! I will not be defeated! 

:: missing my husband. He truly is my other half. Daily life with out him is just not as bright.

:: knowing that this is only a season in life. A quick fleeting season. Nothing more. 

:: wondering what fun things the kids and I can do tomorrow! I think water play of some sort is in order with Omi! 

:: eating much better now that I have a monthly meal plan, huge step forward there!

:: giggling at home since all my animals literally think I am their mother. And how they, like my kids, fight for unnecessarily my attention. 

:: loving my children and all of their new personality quirks. Walks by the fountain are so much fun with them! 

:: continuing to transition my home into a better rhythm amid this moving/working chaos. Good-bye chintzy plastic toys. Ah and yet it is so hard to let go when they cost so so much. Am I depriving my kids...? Stay strong, stay strong! 

:: appreciating the people in my life who help me out and pray for us. (Thanks MK, Chris, and our HG)

:: thanking the Lord for is all. The good and the bad. I am blessed and content. I am at peace. 

:: wishing you a blessed week and peace. 

Jonas had his 15 month check up today and he was a champ!

Daily Quote or Verse: 

Phil 4:6: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Art and our Waldorf Co-op

PS: We have 3 chrysalises 

Now on to the blog: 

Tonight is a lazy night. We did not get home from our day trip until 7:30pm. Today the kiddos and I visited my mother and brother in Virginia Beach, my hometown. I also was lucky enough to see my high school/college best friend Jess during nap time- a rare and sweet time for us both now that we both have kids! I missed her daughter's baptism last weekend due to Jonas being sick, but I was there today and was able to give her a little homemade reversible quilted bib. Abbie's gift was the first sewn gift I have given anyone besides my kids. So I am nervous about it. I am very critical of my sewing. But babies are forgiving :) I just love that little Abbie! 


But on to the focus of the blog! Part of my homeschooling vision is incorporating Waldorf education into our daily lives and schooling. This all began back in October when a dear friend Sarah gave me a Nova Natural toy catalog. Yes, this all began with toys! Their catalog was pure art and so vastly different to anything I have seem commercial on the market. Something deeply resonated with me while flipping through their pages. That resonation drove me to dig deeper and see the aesthetic and vision behind the toy company. All of that then lead to Waldorf education. At the time, I had never heard of Waldorf before, which was shocking and disappointing  since I was studying 'Education' and recently received my Masters in Teaching. 


So after falling in love with Waldorf and finding my mothering compass, I began making small subtle changes in our home and schooling. One of the aspects of Waldorf that I love the most is their attention to arts and crafts as well as the respect it is given when created by a child. My daughter was particularly drawn to wet-on-wet watercolor painting and beeswax modeling. I however had never seen any of the supplies that I needed to do these activities in our local Michael's. So I turned to the Internet! 


While Nova does supply the things I needed, I could not afford to keep getting them as often as required from them. Even though their prices are very very reasonable!  I generally use Nova for our Waldorf toys and household items. No one beats them in that department. But Bella Luna Toys is also high up on my list. I love Sarah Baldwin. 


So for our quality Waldorf home-schooling supplies we turned to Cedar Ring Circle Co-op. Becca over there is a fellow Momma and works so hard for the families in the Co-op. She helps supply us homeschooling Moms with quality and affordable Waldorf supplies. We do a monthly order, and members get an awesome discount. I highly suggest them to you. We are so pleased and grateful. Traditional large schools can afford to buy in bulk, but homeschoolers don't have that luxury, yet we all want the necessary supplies for our kids, right? Also since Waldorf is specialized and not well known, the supplies and toys used are hard to find and can be expensive. 


So my fellow Waldorf home school moms, please check Cedar Ring Circle out if you need to access to quality Waldorf supplies! I am so glad that I did! 

-http://stores.cedarringcircle.com/StoreFront.bok                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

DD's 1st wet-on-wet watercolor

nature table 

DD's 2nd wet on wet watercolor painting

She uses it now as a carpet for her gnome house. 

Nature/Painting Corner

A Tiger!- Beeswax crayons have such great color to them and glide on so smooth. 

Lion

Flowers

Changing seasons and evolving homes!

Today and yesterday were glorious days! We are all very happy about Spring in my household. I love to be outdoors and so do my kids and husband. The only times I do not enjoy being outside is when there are droves of mosquitoes out or the sun is blistering (unless I am on the beach, then I can and will tolerate the heat-just give me a surfboard). Unfortunately for me during the summer around here, the heat and the pesky blood suckers coincide quite often. 


You see I am very pale, very sweet, and very Irish. I am convinced that there must not be any mosquitoes in Ireland because I am not evolutionarily cut out to survive around them. These three things combined make me a PRIME target for sunburn and thirsty mosquitoes. I also swear that it is not only hotter in Newport News but the mosquitoes are also worse here than in Virginia Beach (where primarily I grew up). But I digress, the point to this is not to bemoan things I cannot change. This blog is about change in truth. 


Since August of 2010 I have been back at CNU part-time finishing up my BA- which I am proud to say I will be done with this May. While being back I have had access to an awesome library with a free inter-library loan service. In turn I have been using this service, which I do pay for indirectly, to its fullest by checking out tons of books. Books about education, homemaking, knitting, and my kids which I otherwise could not get at my local library or afford to buy. 


Obviously there are some books I do not like and return right away, but I have checked out all the books on my Amazon wishlist (as of today) and I have gone to town. In particular I have learned how to knit better, make toys for my kids, the values of sustainable living, and most meaningful to our family yet- I have leaned more about Waldorf-Steiner education. 


While I am not going to seriously delve into how I am applying Waldorf to our daily lives in this blog tonight, I will say that it has finally given me a succinct mothering philosophy that resonates fully with me, my kids, and most importantly my love for God. 


So needless to say, as Spring swings into full force, more little changes and fine tuning will creep into our home for the better. From the extremely positive reactions I have seen with the changes I have made in the past four months, Waldorf seems to effortlessly mold into our home. 


Daily Verse: From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.- Acts 17: 26-27

Spring Visitors

Telling me that she saw sprouts (see below photo)

Deirdre's Sprouts

My blueberries are flowering!!!

Duffy and Fluffy

A St. Patrick's Day gift

Rocking his Teething Necklace, and yes it does works! 

No ibuprofen needed for a week and two more teeth coming in!

Strolling her gnome babies

A sharing and self control activity. Yes this one works too and is fun. 

His favorite toy!

Love, kisses, and running noses!

Sweet Child Moment: After naptime we all went outside to play. While laying in the grass and staring at the clouds (which happed to look like lions according to Deirdre) Deirdre snuggled up to me and verbatim told me that she loved me and that I was the best Mommy in the 'whole sky'. Then she kissed my cheek.