in the past few days

We've been busy lately.

A asked me to sew him a pair of pants, though I still have not taken a picture of the whole pant, but you can see the cute pocket lining and a full picture here. A originally requested the entire pocket to be flowers, and because he doesn't see the cultural gender associations with flowers he thought it was an excellent idea. I could foresee a few issues with doing that, honestly I don't care what he wears as long as he looks nice, so we talked about how he could have a special lining just for him that had the wonderful heather ross flower fabric he loved. He thought that was a great idea, especially since his second favorite fabric would be the top part that everyone could see. I'm glad that he thought it was an acceptable substitute, but I truly wish that I didn't have to make decisions like that.

Yesterday we spent a lovely afternoon and evening with a couple cousins, one of whom had a sweet baby boy a couple weeks ago, and some lovely aunts. The boys had a wonderful time playing with their second cousins. And aren't baby feet the cutest?

I made the baby a little bib and a felt ball, one of my favorite gifts to give.

And as a side note, aren't these clothes just so lovely?

freezing asparagus

Last spring I had a great idea to try and preserve foods that are in season for a short period of time, but it never translated into actuality. This year, however, I am a little more on the ball. We now have a small deep freeze (a cast-off that had needed a minor fix) to fill up with goodies. Yesterday we went to the farmer's market, decided which farmer of the abundance to purchase from, and bought four pounds of the nicest Michigan asparagus. The woman couldn't believe I wanted four pounds, she kept asking if I was sure I wanted two two-pound groups (which I then divided up into 5 groups of just over 12 oz). This asparagus was pre-trimmed so it made the work at home even easier.


Preparing the asparagus for freezing was really easy. I found this extremely helpful website by the National Center for Home Food Preservation, clicked on the asparagus link, and in an hour I had asparagus ready for freezing. The hour was literally start to finish - from cleaning the asparagus, to cooking, to putting it in the bags for the freezer. I always wondered if you had to cook vegetables before freezing or if you could just freeze them raw. I discovered, via this handy website, that you cook them to halt the decay process. By blanching the vegetable, whatever it may be, you stop the enzymes and get a healthier and fresher product when you pull it out of the freezer.


So, first you clean it. Contrary to popular belief (at least around here) you do not have to cut all the little triangles off the asparagus stalk. Just make sure they are well cleaned. I fill the sink with water and asparagus and use a vegetable scrubber and just run it down the stalk and over the top. I also swish the tip in water to get all the sand out. Then (or while you're cleaning, which is what I did) bring a pan of water to a boil. I use a large saute pan, but a lot of people fill a big pot of water which you can put one of those handy mesh colanders into. Once the water is boiling put your asparagus in to boil. The water should come back to boil in less than a minute, if it takes longer than that you have too much asparagus in the pan. I boiled my asparagus for about two minutes because I had thin stalks, add a minute for medium stalks, and another (for four minutes total) if you prefer the fat stalks. After your cook time immediately take the cooked asparagus and plunge it into ice cold water to stop the cooking process. (Here is where you would lift out the colander and put it into another pot filled with ice cold water. I just used tongs to pull my stalks out).

Once it is cold, dry it and put it into bags or freezer containers and pop into the freezer to enjoy at your leisure. I put it on racks to let it dry while I finished blanching the rest, but I think just drying it in a towel would work as well. Make sure that there is no water in the tips when you put it into the freezer or you'll get freezer burn.

We enjoy our asparagus roasted. Simply put it on a cookie tray, drizzle with olive oil, then using your hands or a brush rub the oil all over the stalks, salt and pepper it, and put it in a 425 oven for about 10 minutes, switch over to broil and with the door open a crack so you can check on it, broil until it is brown and sizzling, maybe 5 minutes? The tops should look a little crispy and the stalks should start shrinking. Pull it out of the oven and enjoy. (I'll post a link to a picture of this the next time we eat it roasted).

our daily rhythm

I realized recently that I haven't been writing much about the Waldorf-themes in our home. Our days still revolve around a rhythm and our play is centered around home, they are such normal occurrences that I don't think to document them. The daily rhythm is an important part of the Waldorf philosophy. It emphasizes the need that children have for some sort of structure and consistency. My boys definitely thrive in this atmosphere. They find comfort in knowing what will happen next and if our day includes something different I try to discuss it with them early on it the day. Say we are going to play with N after lunch. As soon as I know this will happen I'll say, "we are going to play with N today. After we get ready and W has his nap we will eat lunch and then see N." This gives A (and W though he is still young) the knowledge that our day has changed, but not the whole thing; there will still be some continuity.

The important thing about rhythm is that it is fluid and not rigid. A schedule is rigid, but a rhythm can change and can accept a difference in the day - whether that difference is a weekly occurrence or a small change like rain instead of sun. Our day flows something like this:

• We wake up and adjust to the day. I like to have a cup of coffee and the boys like to sit together and look at stories or play quietly until they are ready for breakfast.

• After a nutritious, but tasty breakfast, we take the time to play and do housework together. They especially love to do laundry and sweep, and their play often centers around them doing household work - kitchen play, "vacuuming", taking care of baby.

• We then get ready for the day. Brushing teeth, taking a bath, and getting dressed. I try to give them a choice in what they wear (A almost always chooses his clothes completely on his own) as this fosters independence in its own small way.

• At this point it is usually 10-10:30 and W is ready for his nap. Because it happens at the same time everyday he is almost always ready to take a nap. When I say it is time he hops right up, gets his blankie and settles down in his bed for sleep. (When A was a baby we did not follow a pattern of any kind and his sleep schedule was terrible! I am so thankful things are different this time around!)
  

• While W is napping A and I try to take this time to a little project, whether it is drawing, painting, sewing - just something small. Though sometimes we read stories, and sometimes he just wants to play on his own. If A seems extremely tired he will have quiet time as well and looks at stories in his bed while W sleeps.
  

• After nap-time we have lunch, then we often go outside to play. Riding bikes, building forts, looking at plants and insects. During the winter we don't go out quite as often, but instead play inside usually with something a little more structured than free play - something I sit down and do with them. This is also the time when it is easiest to change the plan and do something different.
  

• Around 3:30 or 4 Papa gets home from work and we all have another small rest time. No sleeping, usually, but just quiet time inside. This is the part of the day that I will sometimes allow one short video, but most times we just read.

• Finally we start our dinner preparations and eat all together. Something I find important (except on those date nights) as it shows children the importance of manners and manners are something I feel make a huge difference in the everyday.
  

• If we haven't cleaned up before dinner we do so afterwards and then it is bedtime, when we brush our teeth, put on our pajamas. We read a story, shut off the light and say good-night, and in the morning we do the whole thing over again!

Whew! That was longer than I planned, but it does show that nothing is set in stone. We can change it if something comes up (groceries, baking, sewing, playdates, etc), yet there are still important elements to each day. The weekends have a slightly different plan and on Thursdays when the boys spend the day with my husband's parents I know they have a different rhythm than we have here, but it is the same every week, so they always know what to expect. And that is what I feel is so important. Children need to know what is coming next. It gives comfort and a continuity that feels good - even to Mama!

an excellent weekend

I'm back from Nashville and it was so, so good. I had an excellent visit with my cousin, made some instant friends, went shopping at stores that I never go to, and bought a cute dress.


The trip was better than I could have ever expected, and I feel so rested and restored. I only wish I had taken pictures! I'm usually that person who is annoying with their camera, and here I forgot to take pictures except for that one at the top! Oh well, just an excuse to go back right? ;)

some changes can be fun

So Elly has started braid wednesday, just for fun on flickr. I often braid my hair in the evenings, but rarely during the day anymore. Makes for a nice little change.

This week is also the start of the farmer's market, a change I am happy for! I've been waiting for the market to start for awhile, as the produce in the grocery store becomes a little hum-drum. Soon the goodies of the season will start showing up on our table. So good. And one more little change happening is this weekend: I am crossing number one off my list. I am taking my first ever trip without my little ones. I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited, especially since I am going to see my cousin. Working tomorrow and leaving bright and early, okay...so early it won't even be bright yet, on Friday. I'll see you next week!

picture posts

I had originally planned a long post about our weekend, but I think the pictures say it best.

open

These and some other lovelies are now in the shop.

shop update tomorrow

There will be a shop update tomorrow evening at 10 pm EST.

There will be items new to the shop, things that have been much requested. I hope you enjoy them!

nature pack

Number 19 on the list - nature packs for the family. This past week I have been working on one for A. I really love the way it turned out. He asked for a flap so he could close the bag and the raincloud button, otherwise he was okay with every decision mama made. I had some woodgrain fabric waiting in my stash for the perfect project and a satchel for exploring the outdoors seemed to fit. I embroidered a little fern on the front and sewed the strap to the outside rather than in more for lack of planning than anything. However, I do enjoy the way it looks.

We've popped a couple new guide books inside, a Peterson First Guide for Trees (we had these books growing up and are they really are excellent, just the right amount of information for a little one to understand) and a Birds of Michigan Field Guide. This one has beautiful photos of birds that we encounter a lot. Plus, of course, a notebook from my grandma, for recording and drawing, and some binoculars. I need to get a small set of colored pencils for drawing and I think I'll pop a magnifying glass in there too.

An excellent blog about observing nature here.

tulip time is upon us

The dutch costumes are pulled out and new pieces made to fit. We'll be out and about for the next week, so I'm not sure how present I will be on this space. However I am hoping to have a shop update next week!