Holiday Craftiness by my friends :-)

So not only did the fam get some pretty groovy things made by the momma, they also got some awesome handmade things by good friends and local crafters!

Here are some things I L-O-V-E!!

My favorite colors! This blanket was a gift to the wee one. Made by Copper River Fleece in Alaska. The colors are sooo very yummy and it is so soft. A snuggle blankie for sure 🙂

Trivets & coasters made by my sweet friend Jena 🙂

My Knight in Diapered Armor

(Armor purchased at the Apple Fest in Bayfield, WI this summer)

The girls hats are by my cousin Kayte (Lucky Find Design) and the wee one's hat is by Cite Fuz of Etsy.

Happy Handmade to you!

Some Holiday Craftiness, by me! (Part 2 of 2)

Some more photos of things I made…..

Art bags & pencil/crayon holders (that's that purple & pink thing in the front) by me for the kiddos. Our art supplies came from Stubby Pencil Studio, their customer service is fabulous and their art supplies are super high quality and eco friendly. My kids spent the majority of the day on Christmas drawing! The pencil/crayon holders really help keep things organized. There are slots for the pencils and the roll up for easy storage. They were a big hit!

Dresses for the girls, these were truly a labor of love. Made from some lovely vintage fabric I found on ebay! The sweet daddo took the kiddos for a long winter walk on Christmas Eve so I could finish them up. They really came out just so sweet and the girlies absolutely loved them :)

Some Holiday Craftiness, by me! (Part 1 of 2)

As promised, here is part one of some Christmas Craftiness. Some gifts I made for my family and friends.

Little Gnome hat in orange fleece.

Flannel Jammie pants for my 4 favorite kiddos.

Homemade deodorant, it rocks!

Basket of goodies for my friends 🙂 It includes some handmade tea towels, napkins, a recipe for "princess toast" as told by my little 6. Smoked Salmon I brought back from Alaska and 3 flavors of Jam I made this summer. (Blueberry Rhubarb, Raspberry Ginger & Cranberry Apple preserves) And some yummy chocolate. Voila!

More to come in the following days….. some by me and some by others 🙂

Our Holidays

The magic of the night was at it's peak for the 6 year old of the bunch…. she finished her dinner and promptly announced "Okay, I am going to bed now!"

We convinced her to join us for our tradition of rice pudding dessert. If you find an almond you get to open a present, we reminded her. "Ohhh…. I almost forgot" she said… and then she added "I always find one, you know". Hmmm… I wonder how she gets so lucky. Christmas jammies made by momma were on each kiddo. A new book nestled in each hand and they sat in front of the tree reading….. such a beautiful sight. Too bad I missed the photo op….

And then off to bed with sugar plum fairies dancing in their heads….

They must have been good because Santa filled their stockings. And the momma and daddo had a few treats for them as well.

Stockings

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The Tree

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A much appreciated snack, left by little 6. She made sure to put his name on it so know one else would think it was for them…..

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At 6:30 the wee one awoke and rallied her siblings before climbing in bed with the sleepy eyed parents…. "It's time, It's time" she told us. And so we all went downstairs to see that the Jolly Elf had paid us a visit 🙂 Many handmade treasures from us and others. (I'll share some photos of these next week!) A few great new books. Christmas cookies and fruit for breakfast. A day of coffee and jammies and playing with toys. Ahhhhh….. yes. The holidays were good to us.

Hope yours were just as lovely.

Snow

I love the quiet after a snowstorm. Such a peaceful beautiful silence….. like the world is asleep….. resting and waiting….. for spring.

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Welcome Winter…. we're glad to see you.

Home

The daddo is home.

At the Good Will …

I am a thrift store junkie….. I LOVE to go through all that stuff and find a treasure long forgotten…. I have (so far) passed this love of finding used treasures onto my children. We go to our Good Will pretty often and sometimes we find nothing….. and sometimes we find some stuff like these 🙂

The picnic basket turned toy chest for the wee one. No heavy lid to squish his fingers and it has held up amazingly well so far to a rough & tumble 2 year old!

Then this, I found it, but showed it to my crafty eldest daughter who squealed at the beautiful fabric and then asked, what is it? A knitting basket. I am not the knitter, she is, and she was delighted that her knitting would now have such a lovely home.

All this for under $7. Oh how I love thrifting 🙂

Gettin’ in the Mood :)

Okay, as previously posted, the daddo in our house has been away…. he's a–l–m–o–s–t home…. we are SO looking forward to it! Anyhow, we we had missing the big man of the house and most of us are sort of in a funk.
The 6 year old of the bunch sort of whipped us others into shape!
"We aren't getting ready you know!" she reminded us.
Oh darn, she is so very right. Well, over the last few days we have been putting stars in the fabric sky of our nature table to count the days towards Christmas.

And we've made tons of gorgeous paper snowflakes, one for each day, also to mark the days towards Christmas. We hung them at different lengths with thread, they make great shadows on the wall and dance around like the real snowflakes outside…..

Funny how the boisterous one of the bunch can get us all in the holiday mood. Good job sweet-pea 🙂 We needed it! And to help in the decorating mood I downloaded 2 new albums from Amazon, Warm December and The Hotel Cafe Presents – Winter Songs. I love them both! I especially adore hearing the kids sing along….. and most of all I truly love to see this…. my crafty oldest daughter knitting away.

Ahhh, said so many times before I know, these kids truly inspire me 🙂

The Journey

I know some of you might end up on my blog via search engine….
and you may have typed in homeschool…..
and then you got here and you wonder where is the homeschool stuff???
So here is a homeschooling post for you!

As I mentioned in my "about me" page…… we are a homeschooling family. We don't have a set style…. it's sort of a mix between Waldorf and Unschooling for you "term specific" folks. Basically, I do what works for my kids, while trying to assure they get exposed to lots of great stuff! It's certainly a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.

One of the greatest things abut homeschooling is that you have the power to tailor learning to your child…. you can even sneak learning in (shhhhh!)…. and best of all you get to watch that glorious light bulb turn on in their heads. Oh yes, that light bulb, it is the best part.

You get to watch them read 6 different books about the same subject. Just because they want to. You get to see them lay in the grass watching the world…. ants…. clouds and and plants move around them. Just because. Isn't that the best reason to do anything? Just because.

Children have a way of slowing things down for us fast-paced parents.

For example, have you ever taken a walk with a young child?

It's rarely about the destination.

No, my friend, it is about the journey.

If there is one thing my children have taught me, it is to slow down, and enjoy the journey.
To see each flower…….
each stone…..
each little bug…..
the smell of the ocean…..
or the feeling of each new season.

"Mom, your legs are too fast, I can't see all the stuff!" a quote, while taking a walk, from my sweet girl a few years back…..slow down mama…. slow down.

I am constantly amazed and grateful for experiencing the world through new eyes…. through the eyes of little ones. I am grateful that I can homeschool and spend all the time I can with these young people. They amaze me, and sometimes drive me crazy, each day.

And most of all, I am certainly trying my best to slow down and enjoy The Journey.

Waiting….

the kids are waiting………
the mama is waiting……
the tree is waiting…..
for the daddo to come home……
so we can decorate the tree….
so we can bake Christmas cookies….
so it will feel like Christmas.

Each morning before the sun I am greeted by a whisper….
"mama, 5 more days right".
Not the Christmas countdown…
no ….
it's the "daddo countdown".
Shh… yes, only 5 more days I tell her….
now if only 6 year olds could make coffee.

I hope your weekend is wonderful and you have a moment to watch the sun rise.