Our Craft Corner

Which doubles as our dining table.

Mommy works on her hand quilting while Izzie works on her cutting, taping and colouring. Mostly cutting, she's fascinated with her blunt, round end scissors. Toddler bliss.

Busy Kitchen

A lot has happened in the last little while. Izzie was struck down with a stomach bug that took forever to bugger off, my birthday passed with a tired, ucky (and cuddly) toddler on my chest and good company/food/drink, and we all were kept busy with spring planting.

And while all of this has been going on, our kitchen has been the busiest place in the house.

My two yellow bowls, whom I love, love, love. One with rye dough, one with baguette dough. One from Phil for Christmas(?) and one I bought for myself at our local antique store. Izzie loves the green star. And of course my tea, warming itself on the element.

Phil's second beer attempt. His first attempt was a rousing success. We hope to be able to support our love of beer for many years to come! (I help cap the bottles....when I don't snap the necks)

And lastly, full watering cans. We all love our new little garden. So far it has only onions but I hope to plant potatoes and tomatoes soon. And then, bring on canning season!

Hope you are all enjoying your spring.

Rhythm in our Home: Part Two

"Rhythm is the magic word for parents and educators of young children. Young children thrive on a simple, flexible rhythm that carries them through their day, through each week and through the slowly unfolding years of their lives."

Heaven on Earth: A Handbook for Parents of Young Children - Sharifa Oppenheimer

Where did the week go?! I apologize for the pause in my posts, so I will make it up to you by now giving you part two.

Thursday is ..... Craft Day

This is the hardest day for me to think of creative things to do. Izzie is still a little too young to do and focus on crafty things. We've started learning how to finger knit, use scissors, home made play dough (pizza dough!) and use pipe cleaners. We try to use what we have in the house.

Friday is ..... Painting Day

But you knew that already! We paint with either finger paints or water colour paints. And sometimes we get a little crazy and paint with Jello! With finger painting Izzie and I work on the same paper. With water colouring we paint on separate pieces of paper. Painting in the past has been a bit of a struggle but I'm getting better!

Saturday and Sunday are what I like to call Family Days. We don't have any specific activities other than enjoying each others' presence. There's lots of biking, outside time if the weather is nice, reading, grocery shopping, cuddling, wrestling and so forth and so on. Basically Izzie and I soak in all the Daddy time we can get.

I thought you might also like to know what our daily routine looks like during the week....

7am - 8am: Wake up, Izzie and Daddy have breakfast while I catch a few more winks.

8:30am: Daddy off to work, Izzie and I finish up breakfast and clean up

8:30am - 9:30am: Sing songs and rhymes. Then Izzie plays with her toys while I catch up on my e-mail and blogs.

9:30am: Snack Time

9:40am - 10:30am: If the weather is nice, we head out for a morning walk. If the weather is foul we start on our daily project. If it is Monday, the first batch of laundry is ready to be folded in the bedroom. (Izzie usually has another snack, or as I like to call it her third breakfast, around this time too.)

10:30am: Play time ramping down to quiet time in the bedroom.

11am - 11:30am: Izzie naps while I get some work done. Sometimes I fall asleep with her:)

Anywhere from 12:15 pm - 2 pm: Izzie wakes, we spend some time waking up upstairs then come downstairs for lunch.

1pm - 2pm: Start or finish our daily project.

2:30pm - 3pm: If the day is nice, we head out for another walk or a bike ride to the park. If the weather is foul we read, play with dolls and clean up the house together. This is usually when the dishes are washed and the floors are vacuumed/swept.

4pm - 4:30pm: Phil gets home, is bombarded with what we did today.

5pm: Supper is served.

6pm - 6:30pm: If it's bath night, Phil takes Izzie for her bath. If not, we may go outside for a walk or hang out together inside.

7pm - 7:30pm: Bedtime.

It would be nice to pretend that we stay on schedule every single day, no matter what, but it doesn't always happen. I always try to stay on schedule as much as possible, but some days it doesn't work or we just want to stay outside for the whole day. I rarely, if ever, waiver with her nap and bedtimes . (Izzie has missed her nap once, and it was a very bad scene.) She needs her sleep. And I need her to sleep as well.

Thank you for visiting and reading. Up next, what resources do we use in our quest for a happier and healthier home.

Wordless Wednesday: BROOMBALL!!

A wonderful way to spend a "stuck inside" day.

Tutu optional.

Wordless Wednesday: Kilt!

These pictures were taken the morning of the Winnipeg Scottish Festival. The same festival where I first met Phil! (Nana brought this kilt back from Scotland. It is the Dress Gordon tartan, our tartan.)


(And a shot of Izzie wearing her protective earmuffs at the festival. Bagpipes are loud!)

Wordless Wednesday: Pigtails!

And then they were removed by force and with a little bit of temper.

Painting with Children

I have a "bad mom" confession. I don't know what it is about painting, but I tend to lose my cool.

I'm by no means the super bestest mom on the planet, but I tend (try) to lean towards slightly mellow. Until the paints come out. Then I go completely coo-coo.

The mashing of paints into different paints, the soaking/bleeding/obliteration of said paints, the inability (or desire) to actually paint on the paper. Sadly, I have lost my cool more than once.

First I tried to paint with Izzie. That was a bad idea. While I was calmly creating she was creating havoc. Now she paints and I knit, or drink tea and try not to pay attention to the mess.

Where did this neat freak come from? I used to be a chaos cleaner/organizer. Where it landed, that's where it was meant to be. And now, not so much.

Yes, that is paint in her mouth. It's non-toxic.

Time to breathe. And time to let go.

First step, finger paints.

I know what you're thinking. Finger paints are so much messier. What you don't realize is that finger paints don't involve several tiny dried pots of paint, brushes and dipping water. Just paint and fingers.

It helps when you see the original super cleaner enjoying the mess of finger painting.

So I am grasping at my inner calm to help Izzie enjoy the fun of making a complete mess of things. And slowly letting go of the part of me that tries to be perfect at all times.

All a precursor for when we start with watercolour painting.

It's Neighbourly, not Neighborly

Remember this post? I spoke of a sweater vest I was making called Neighborly. Well folks, it's finally finished.

Before sleeves

Took long enough, huh? First it was the fact that I couldn't find 5mm circular bamboo needles. (I only work with bamboo since metal and plastic needles make a noise that turns my stomach. I know, I'm such a diva.) Then it was the yarn I chose for the collar. It was to soft/flimsy to stand up. And that was after blocking it twice. So I decided to use seed stitch instead of buying new yarn.

I wanted to take pictures outside since it would look cool,

but that would just be mean so I took the pictures inside.

Once I got started, I was like a woman on fire! I sat and knitted while chips were present. I sat and knitted while people came to visit. I sat and knitted while Izzie cried for me to play instead. The last one is only half true. You can totally knit while playing hide and seek with a little one.

I also ran out of the grey yarn but I like how it turned out. Now I need a new project. Any suggestions?

FORT!

We are in fort territory. Izzie received two play silks for her birthday and we started to make forts (and have been building them ever since) that night.

Here are W., Izzie's cousin, and Izzie's bum showing you how to peek-a-boo out from the fort.

That wall behind their fort is not properly insulated, so today I have been using all of my fort making skills in the living room. This was one of the duds.

Now we have a play silk/blanket hybrid in the same area. The entire morning was spent, constructing, playing and getting a little weepy when the fort would fall down. Anyone out there have any fort building tips?

(And after 4 hours of fighting with clothespins, I am now lusting after these. They look like they could hold anything to anything.)
Who knew so much fun could be had with square pieces of silk?

(Just before I post this, I want to say that the kitties are now fighting each other through the fort.)

The Best Way

To welcome December...

is with a Santa hat....
and shiny shoes.

The Hat

Remember this picture?Well, it's done. It's a bit small for Izzie's head at first (it stretches) and she didn't enjoy it when I first put it on her head, but I think she's coming around now.

I think the trick was to put it on her when she's in her highchair, distracted by apples...

The colours remind me of falls in southern Ontario. And the peak at the back? That's why I made it. I mean, come on. How is that not the cutest thing ever?

But now onto my next knitting project. A very cute sweater vest called Neighborly. (Or neighbourly up here.) Now if I could only find size 5mm bamboo circular knitting needles...

Our Weekend

Filled with....pulling the snowsuit out of storage,

And taking a picture.
First snow = first snowman
Time to pose!

There we go.
And then I raced back inside from the unholy sight of snow on the ground. That and I had a turkey to cook.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all!

In Progress

Now that fall is fully upon us here in Winnipeg, with threats of snow not far behind, we have been spending a bit more time inside. Cozying up underneath blankets, learning new things and starting on new projects. Here is what we've been busy doing:

The constant and steady stream of dishes.....where is the dishwasher fairy when you need him?

A new fall hat for Izzie.

My quilt so far. I'm continuing with my lessons this Saturday

And starting to teach Izzie her colours.

Good times.