a new year

It’s funny how we scramble around the last day of the year trying to finish those last few things before the new year -like it will make a difference what day the tree comes down, or if we get those last minute details taken care of. It didn’t matter on Christmas day that I hadn’t put the Christmas tablecloth on the table. We still enjoyed our morning just as much as if I had put it on, perhaps more because I wasn’t completely exhausted from setting things up in the middle of the night. Now it seems like the rushing around of the holidays just gets extended longer and longer. I find myself hurrying through the days and prodding A along when I don’t think he is moving fast enough. Does it matter whether we get somewhere at 12:10 or 12:15? Do those few minutes really matter in the grand scheme of things?

So, even though I am not one to make New Year’s Resolutions, I am making a resolution to take the time to let A walk slowly to our car, or to play with him instead of just setting up something for him to play with. I am going to enjoy the small things and not worry about hustling along on a time schedule that I’ve created for myself.

Happy New Year!

a little bit of happiness

This is A's new favorite video. I stumbled across it while looking for sheep farms near us.

generosity

Well, the hectic days are over. We had a very nice Christmas, busier than I had hoped, but nice all the same. The boys loved their gifts. A especially liked the eggs I had made. Isn't it funny how the silliest things strike a child's fancy? Unfortunately I have no pictures to share of Christmas morning because almost all of them turned out blurry. We've now rested up and can start thinking about A's birthday in 3 weeks.

Every year I am amazed by the generosity of my family, and by how well they know me. A lovely teapot and tray from my husband and his family, and a set of four teacups and saucers from my parents.


Bread and Tulips (one of my favorite movies) from my mother-in-law, and the new Feist cd.

A new bird feeder, these cool little birdseed eggs,
and my awesome new pants:
Plus, more kitchen things, a new jewelry box, and some terrific earrings. I can't get over how thoughtful everyone was. Thank you so much for all of your generosity!

finished at last

I finished the last of my handmade gifts last night. I am so happy with the way things turned out. Usually my procrastination wins out and my plans don't happen quite the way I had hoped (like the gift for a November birthday that is still not finished). This time everything (minus W's sweater) I wanted to make was finished, plus some. Cousin N's tutu is a perfect poufy, meringue-y, floaty skirt. Tulle is rather difficult to photograph, so you can't really see that the inside part of the skirt is gathered and then an outside layer of sparkly tulle is wrapped around the front. It turned out better than I could have hoped, and really it is the tutu I would have wanted when I was little:

Instead of the sweater, I made W a little woolen hat. His poor little head was getting chilly since all I could find were really big, or very tiny newborn hats. And the big one he was wearing was just not cutting it, so this one is measured to his head and is a nice snug fit. I lined it with a super soft plaid flannel, mainly for aesthetic purposes since the wool was an incredibly soft, plushy fabric. In the photo it looks like I cut the edge poorly, but it is actually a little scalloped edge.

I got a fantastic deal on this wonderful wool fabric, in both blue and bright pink. So of course N needed a hat to go with her tutu. But I'm not going to show the hat full scale since I want my sister to be surprised at least one time. However, here is a little peek:

I am looking forward to a quiet Christmas with my little family in our little nest of a home and I wish you a merry Christmas too!

speedy gift

So, what do you do when one by one your whole family has had the stomach flu for a week, no Christmas shopping/crafting has been done, and you realize that today is the last day to send the box to your sister who lives 2000 miles away, but you have no gift?

You make a scarf out of your fabric stash! At least that's what I frantically did this morning. Inspired by Ella's gorgeous ones, I made this one for my sister.

Thankfully, W slept almost the whole time I was making this and I gave A a pair of scissors and let him cut to his heart's content. So not only were my scraps on the floor, A had managed to practically carpet the floor with paper and fabric shreds. I regretted that decision after I saw what a mess there was to clean up, but at least I finished the scarf in record time! And I raced to the post office and actually got it in the mail with a 95% chance of it getting to her before Christmas. I'm quite pleased with the end result of all the frantic work this morning.

almost done

I have been working really hard to finish the Christmas gifts for A, W, and my nieces and nephews. And thank goodness I am almost done because some of these gifts have to go to Colorado! For my oldest niece I have American Girl tutus:

Matching wizard capes for her brothers:

Some stocking stuffers for A and W:

The beanbag star is for A and the flower is for his cousin:

I bought these super cute stockings for the boys from the wonderful Hanna Andersson and the sweet baby for W from Nova. Even though this post was going to be about the gifts I've finished, I couldn't resist showing how cute these are:

Plus, look what came in the mail today:

Unfortunately I have not finished the sweater for W. Maybe I will get it done this week, but the boys have come down with the stomach flu, so it seems unlikely.

joyous sunday

We woke up on the third Sunday of Advent to this gorgeous snowy day. We got a lot less snow than was expected, but enough to make it all Christmasy looking. The snow coating everything is one of the most beautiful sights.

I had planned to write about all the gifts I've finished, but it will have to wait until tomorrow, because I am exhausted from this business with A, my sister, her husband and their daughter:

This is what happens when you give 3 year olds free reign over the cookie cutters -pumpkins for Christmas and baby Jesus in Mary's belly.

living healthier - hopefully

Wow. Last night I watched the documentary Supersize Me and it is scary. You can literally watch the effects of a McDonald’s diet. The narrator gained almost 25 pounds, his liver became like an alcoholic’s liver, he became depressed, had chest pains, plus he had elevated risks for almost every other health issue. I try to make sure we eat healthily, but I will admit to a weakness for McDonald’s cheeseburgers - but no more. For a long time after A was born we did not eat any fast food. I was nursing and I didn’t want to pass any of the effects onto him. Then when he started eating table foods he was really sensitive and fast food actually made him sick. Lately, I have gotten a little lazier and will say okay to fast food more often than I should. But watching this will help me to get back into the way I like to eat. I do not want these effects going on in my family's bodies.

Usually in the summer we go to our fantastic farmer’s market and eat tons of fresh foods, but this summer I was pregnant and often didn’t feel up to walking around the market in 90 degree weather (surprising isn’t it?), so we missed out on a lot of the goodies I usually make. And now with the baby I was still being lazy and not really watching what we were eating. Which is odd because I was super careful with A, andd I want W to have the same healthiness A does. Fortunately our grocery store has a ton of organic foods, and actually produces an organic line of their own, plus their produce comes from local farmers -which I find great because it gives me a way to shop in two of my favorite ways – locally and organically. They’ve even started selling reusable grocery bags, though I would rather have larger ones than what they sell. And just now when I googled it trying to find a simple photo, I found a whole post about these bags. Yay! I am so glad I am not alone in trying to live healthier. And jane has a great post about her new mattress, of which I am incredibly jealous.

I try so hard to be “greener,” but it is so easy to slip back into buying the chemical filled products. But I think having the two little ones really helps since I don’t want them to grow up exposed to all the scary stuff out there. I can’t wait until we live in a house and have our own backyard where we can actually grow veggies. I’ve tried to grow things in containers, but it is a bit difficult on a tiny, second story balcony! But I think that any little bit helps, and I’ve even managed to convince my sisters that I’m not too kooky for thinking about that stuff.

yum!

One of my favorite meals to fix during winter is beef stew. This recipe is so easy to fix; I never measure the amounts and it always comes out right. And you can make as much or as little as you want (we always make a lot because it reheats so nicely).

Beef Stew

1-2 lbs stew meat

6 cups water

2 small to medium onions

1 stalk celery

a couple bay leaves

4-6 potatoes

4 carrots (or one 1 lb bag baby carrots)

Coat the meat with a mixture of 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tsp salt. (I just dump all of this in a gallon ziploc bag and shake until coated.) Heat a few tablespoons oil in a stockpot. Brown the coated meat in this. Add the water, onions, celery, and bay leaves. Leave to simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Chop the carrots and potatoes into smallish pieces (big enough so they don't fall apart. I leave the baby carrots whole). Add to the meat broth and simmer for 45 minutes or until the veggies are soft. If you want the broth thicker, mix 1/4 cup water and 2 Tbs flour and add to stew. Simmer for 10 minutes or so, until it thickens. You can add more water if you want it soupier. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

We usually have a loaf of french bread or a hearty whole grain bread and a bottle of red wine to complete the meal.

loveliness

We went Christmas tree cutting this weekend. It was the perfect weather for it – not so cold that our faces went numb in the first 30 seconds, nor was it too warm. There was just enough snow to crunch underfoot and to give an excuse to dress the kids in their winter gear. We went to a different tree farm than usual and it was kind of a strange experience. They drive you out to where you cut the trees on a large wagon/trailer behind a tractor and then you cut your tree down and drag it back to the track where they pick it up for you, bind it, and off you go. Usually we dither around this overgrown field and find a nice tree that has just enough wildness to it. At first I found this year’s tree is a little too perfect, but as it relaxes it is becoming quite lovely.

A and I decorated the tree yesterday throughout the day. I love going through the boxes, looking at all the old ornaments and remembering who gave it to me, or where I bought it. A was excited to look at his ornaments and he put up an angel before we even had the lights on! Some of my favorites are the ornaments that hung on my grandmothers’ trees,

The man climbing to his girl’s window that my sister gave me when she lived in Germany,

The felt elf and star-baby (one of A’s) that I wish I could say I made, but actually a lovely woman in town did.

A also enjoyed hanging all of the ornaments on one branch. And I just love how he clustered two hearts together.

Second Sunday

Christmas WIPs

The Christmas list is getting longer and longer this year; a list of things to make and give is what I am striving for. I have such a large family (5 children – all married or with significant others, plus their children) that making everyone’s gifts has always seemed like such a daunting task. This year, however, we are trying something new. For years my husband’s extended family has drawn names so each person only has one gift to bring to the festivities and now my siblings and I have decided to give it a try. This means that I can easily craft items for family members and not feel overwhelmed. Though typical me, I will be making one thing when suddenly I think of something else, and my inevitable procrastination is no help! I’ve made an actual, physical list (though looking at it now I noticed I made a spelling error!) - which seems to help with the ideas, but not with my time. And with a preschooler and an infant, time is at a premium.

I have managed to finish a few things and am frantically working on others. The Lotta Jansdotter All Day tote is to be a gift for my mom. Though now that it is done I’m not sure how I feel about it. It is floppier than I wanted and I totally screwed up a couple of the seams. The denim is not either of the colors it showed up in the photos. It is closer to the second photo, but is not so blue as it looks here.

I may begin again, since it is a fairly simple bag to make and put some actual interfacing inside rather than the cotton flannel I usually use. I hate putting that crappy interfacing inside, but I guess if I want it sturdier, and to have an actual form, I will have to use that.

The dippy eggs are coming along nicely; I just need to sew the edges and make some toast for them. I think I will also attempt a felt taco as A likes to roll everything up and say, “Yum a taco.” - then make chewing noises.

W’s sweater is so soft. I got this lovely yarn a few months ago when he was first born. I started to sweater in the 3-6 month size, but the little stinker likes to nurse so much that he quickly out grew that and I had to rip out all the stitches and start over in the next size. This seems have be a good plan because what I have done so far looks like it will fit for awhile.

I'm trying to plan out my time better than I have been, and my husband E has generously agreed to take the boys out a couple evenings to give me some uninterupted sewing time. I'm glad we chose not to have Santa be a large part of Christmas because now I don't have to work with a lot of secrecy on W's gifts (of course A's are done after he is in bed). Though when A asks what I am doing I usually answer with an ambiguous "I'm sewing" or "I'm knitting," which seems to satisfy his curiousity (for now).

Ginger Cookies

Does anyone know of a good recipe for ginger(bread) cookies? Please email me if you do.

Thanks.

Advent

We went to bed last night with a winter storm brewing. It seemed like the perfect start to Advent. While Advent has always been a season that I loved, it is even more fun celebrating the small daily traditions with two small boys. Although W is much too little to understand what is going on, A still likes to inform him of the particulars of each activity.




I've had this Advent calendar for a few years now, but I can't bear to get rid of it. Each door opens to have a small portion of the Christmas story on it and the pictures are just so sweet.

This year I've added the star path and A loved it as much as I thought he would. He was very excited to move Mary and Joseph onto the first star. In fact he was so excited he wanted to keep moving them!

This angel is what I made with the gold thread I bought the other day. It is just wool roving and gold thread twisted into form.

This Advent wreath is one of the nicest we've had simply because it has beeswax pillars which smell so nice with the evergreen scent. A loves to sing the little Advent song that I learned as a child (I think it originally came from Pentatonic Songs, but I'm really not positive about that) - Edit: I found my copy of Pentatonic Songs and the song is not in it. Unfortunately that means that I do not know where the song comes from. However, some German friends of ours knew the song from childhood, so we may just know it from them. I'm sorry for any confusion.

Advent, Advent, A candle burns.

Advent, Advent, A candle burns.

First one then two then three then four,

Then stands the Christ child at the door.

(I can dig out the music and scan it if anyone wants the melody)