Spelling Lessons

Photo by Antonin

Today, Antonin excitedly came running into the living room to show his Daddy this:

He said, "Look, I spelled my name!"

Amazingly, every letter is there! He did this entirely on his own this morning, with no help from Dave or I. One day, two weeks ago, I printed up a sheet with his name written on it several times so that he could trace the letters, and this is what he remembered! But that is the only time we've really looked at his name. I'm so proud of my little boy who is growing up way too fast!

Organizing the Kitchen

One thing that I love to do in the new year is to reorganize my spaces. Or rather, my home is in desperate need of organization, and I finally get the motivation when the new year starts. This year, one of the first areas I tackled was the kitchen. So far, I have tackled two areas in my kitchen: my silverware drawer and my pantry. I still would like to deal with my spices and utensils, but, since they are functional right now, I'm going to focus on other areas in my home before tackling them.

I ran into a big problem when reorganizing my silverware. I took everything out to the drawer to put a new, safer drawer organizer in only to find the drawer completely broken. I ended up organizing everything on the counter temporarily. But it was two weeks before the drawer was fixed. I'm happy to say that every is back in place now and my counter is once again usable.

My pantry desperately needed to be decluttered and reorganized as well. I removed everything, shelf by shelf and set to work sorting, tossing, and replacing. I also have an island in my kitchen, in which I keep most of my baking supplies. I'm really happy with how things turned out. I've found some things that needed using and I've organized everything so that I can find what I have. I even made room for my bread machine, which had been sitting on my desk or on the floor in the living room, and my bosch machine!

Before

After

Busy, Busy, Busy (#376-428)

my boys loving on me during a break in painting

This was a very busy week for us! I am amazed by how much we accomplished, compared to the previous two weeks! But, then again, we weren't dealing with any ill people this week, so that made a big difference! We worked hard, and even had time for snuggles and stories.

We finally tackled the master bedroom this week. We finished clearing it out, patched, sanded, primed and painted. And on Wednesday morning, we moved our furniture back in and set up our mirror on our dresser finally! I was thrilled to be able to get the rest of my house back and start to move past the "barely surviving" mode of the past couple of weeks. I've even unpacked most of my books that have been in boxes downstairs since we moved here. It is so nice to look over and see the books and my reading nook. It is wonderful to feel like I can finally settle into my room and enjoy it. I still have more to do - declutter my clothes, declutter my books, put up the curtains, put up pictures, and fix the bedskirt. But, I can do those things without waiting on the painting, and it feels so good! One-and-a-half years is too long to take to get painting done and to settle in. I'll post some pictures when it's actually finished.

I also gave my boys haircuts this week. This was Titus' second haircut, but the first really was a very minor trim that took care of a couple of long strays, leaving him with a basic baby style. This time he got a little boy cut! He hated getting it cut - screamed and fought until daddy brought him a mirror so he could see what was going on. He looks so cute now! I can't believe how quickly he is growing! Nineteen months already - and communicating more every day. And this time, I was able to trim Antonin's hair while keeping it a little longer on top so that his hair doesn't have to do its faux-hawk all the time. I learned two things while cutting hair. Both my boys have the exact same hair colour. And Titus has a lot of hair!

Titus pre-haircut

mercies:
376. a healing bone
377. my own home
378. happy smiles
379. children dancing in the backyard
380. apple crisp
381. Positive Parenting
382. a quilt block completed just in time
383. new ideas for homemade gifts
384. more time at home
385. ability to breathe
386. reading to my big boy
387. watching my little boy walk
388. learning my little boy's words
389. a little boy falling asleep on his own
390. dinner prep done in the morning
391. a new dresser
392. better clothes system for the boys
393. new routines that work
394. cultural exchange packages finished and sent
395. returns made
396. a cast off
397. fairly well-behaved boys in the hospital
398. healed bones
399. mom & dad home safely
400. empathy
401. tears (for my cousins' loss)
402. time to pray
403. my precious boys
404. aching heart that draws me to You
405. a big boy's excitement to go swimming with daddy
406. reading stories
407. laughing over rhyming
408. playing the "starts with" game
409. holding baby close
410. a freshly swept floor
411. cold water pipe fixed in my kitchen sink
412. hearing of an old friend's visit
413. changing plans to meet a friend - if possible
414. making plans for a Christmas surprise
415. beautiful northern lights seen from my living room window
416. hot chocolate and a warm bath on a chilly night
417. teaching a little boy to share.
418. visiting Grandma and Grandpa
419. delicious food
420. fun shopping - finding an item from my wishlist
421. fun shopping - solo excursions
422. built in video and microphone on my computer
423. good weather
424. people who know me and welcome me when I visit
425. candy cane decaf green tea from Trader Joe's
426. new things
427. business in USA complete
428. most packing done
these gifts are from October & November. next week I'll be able to get up to date :)

Wintertime Blues (#351-375)

last winter

February 2012 - photo by Antonin

About this time of year, I usually start wondering, "Is this winter ever going to end?" But, this winter really has been quite mild,  especially compared to last year. It has been quite warm, with daytime highs in the -5 C to +2 C range, with only a few days of -30 C weather. It hasn't even hit -40 this year! Luckily, we even missed the coldest days when we were in Florida. In addition, we've got about one third of the snow. I know, I know, there's still more winter out there, but it is a very different feel than last year.

This year I have been able to send Antonin outside to play. And both boys have enjoyed walks with Daddy. Antonin has discovered making snow angels and there are several lying around in our yard. 

Even though this winter has been easier in some ways, I'm ready for it to be over. It has been difficult in other ways. We have been sick a lot this winter. It seems we barely recover from one illness before we get hit by the next one. That's where the past two weeks have gone - to the flu. I'm glad that I got it first and had recovered before the rest succumbed.

Now that we have fully recovered, it is time to focus on getting the master bedroom in shape. The day before I got sick, I cleared 70% of the stuff out of our room, preparing to paint the next day. That didn't happen. So, for the past two weeks, we've been in survival mode, with clothing in suitcases and random closets throughout the house, books in boxes, and extra furniture stuck in every available space. Painting will get done tomorrow. And hopefully, by the end of the week, our room will finally be set up comfortably.

the gifts*:
351. a tuning appointment for my piano
352. a wonderful coloring resource for Sabbath School
353. 25% discount on book for church library
354. learning a lesson about the potty for a little boy
355. podcasts & videos
356. the power of homemade deoderant
357. a bone (or 2) set
358. a boy whose only injury was the broken bones
359. calmness in the face of an emergency
360. a fan to deal with summer's heat
361. Titus finding my lost recipe
362. gluten from the freezer
363. short ER lines
364. a warm tub to soothe sore bones & muscles
365. a safe place to cry
366. tomatoes and peaches complete
367. slowly moving through laundry
368. cleaning & decluttering boys' rooms
369. a candle in the tub
370. a candle burning while working in the kitchen
371. curtain up in my bathroom, adding a touch of beauty and purple to my life
372. plans for travel to USA remade
373. relief to be home through October
374. neatening the basement
375. starting the process of organizing my home and time
*these gifts were recorded in September 2011

Cross Stitch Mini Blankies

It's something that I've been meaning to do for two years. It's something that only took me a couple of hours in the whole scheme of things. It's something that would have made my life a whole lot easier. And it's something that I put off doing until this past January. -- Making a couple of mini-blankies for my boys for travel or church or just being out and about. 

And, what, you may ask, inspired me to finally get it done? Why, a trip to Florida with only carry on luggage, of course! Titus has never, ever liked a pacifier. Instead, he soothes himself by sucking on a corner of a crocheted blanket. So, I rushed to get the green one made for him before we left home. And it's a good thing, considering that I forgot to even bring any blankets for the poor kid. And of course since baby brother gets one, Antonin "needs" one too. So, the white and blue one was made after we return home. 

The verdict: I don't know why I put off making these for so long! It has been very useful with Titus. We now take it to church with us every week. And it is so much simpler to get him to nap away from home and his familiar routine. If I'd had it for Antonin when he was younger, he would have gotten a lot more use out of it too. Now, he;s just using it for his baby. He may use it more on a trip, but we'll have to wait to see about that.

These are adapted from a pattern found in 63 Easy-To-Crochet Pattern Stitches called cross stitch, and an edging found in Our Best Baby Afgans. The 63 stitches book is the first one I got when I started crocheting and I have adapted from patterns in it for most of the blankets that I have designed over the years. This is a very simple blanket that I'd like to share the pattern for.

Chain (ch) 51 loosely in color of choice.

Row 1: Sc in ch from hook and in each ch across. 50sc

repeat row 2 until you get a square

Row 2: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), turn. *skip next st, dc in next st, working in-front of dc just made, dc in skipped st; repeat from * across to last st, dc in last st.

With one or two more rows until square, add on a contrasting colour. Complete square. Do not finish off. 

Edging

Round 1: With right side facing, ch4, (dc, ch 1) twice in same st. * skip next dc, (dc in next dc, ch 1, skip next dc) across to next corner. (dc, ch1) 3 times in corner st. Work dc, ch1 evenly across side. Repeat form * until finished, joining with sl st to 3rd ch of beginning ch-4. (25 dc on each side, plus corner dc)

Round 2: (Sl st, ch 1, hdc) in first ch-1 space, ch 1; working from left to right, * work reverse hdc in next ch-1 space, ch 1; repeat from * all the way around. Join with sl st to first hdc. Finish off.

Remembering on this Valentine's Day

July 2004

Today was my grandma's birthday! She was such a sweet lady - so happy and courageous! She lived through a lot of struggles, and spent the last 30 years of her life battling MS. She taught me so much about love, about courageous living, about trusting God. We lost her 2 years ago - 4 days after her 85th birthday and 1 week before her 65th wedding anniversary. She has been greatly missed and we are looking forward to Jesus soon return, when we can be reunited with her. 

Feeling Uninspired...(#301-350)

At least, that's where I am. I posted last week about the crazy ending to it. And it continued on into this week with me getting ill on Sunday night. Since then, I've been taking it easy. My children needed my attention, and I worked to just barely keep our household from falling into complete chaos.

However, my boys have been very inspired. Both boys love to sing and I have enjoyed their music this week. Antonin loves playing his guitar or on his drum and singing at the top of his lungs. Titus gets in on the action as often as he can too. It is such a treat to hear him sing "Hawu, hawu, hawu, hawua, pais to lor" and to have him ask to sing "monin" (Whisper a Prayer). These boys are the ones who kept me smiling and laughing this week.

The following "gifts" are from my list in early September. I will soon be caught up to current gifts.

301. fresh peach crisp with hazelnuts
302. a finger puppet
303. fun green yarn
304. planning a new baby blanket
305. an afternoon nap
306. conversations between little cousins
307. a package in the mail
308. shopping sans kids
309. sleeping through the night
310. colours
311. 28 quarts of tomato sauce made
312. sale on tomatoes and peaches this week
313. looking forward to camping
314. warm fall days
315. one year in our home and church
316. beautiful drive
317. warm weather for camping
318. borrowed supplies to use for forgotten things
319. watching the boys play in the water
320. camp fun
321. incredible starry sky
322. sharing the beauty of the night with Antonin
323. campfire
324. smores
325. warm blankets
326. sound of water lapping the shores
327. seeing deer crossing the road
328. seeing a black bear beside the road
329. finding enough of the food that I wanted in a cleaned out store
330. a baby who went to bend with minimal crying
331. a clean garage
332. exercises that help my shoulder feel better
333. flannel jammies
334. 22 quarts of peaches done
335. 13 pints of peach jam done
336. helping a friend
337. warm days
338. playing outside
339. Dave doing some laundry
340. Antonin having no accidents today!!!
341. all vehicles are returned
342. a fresh peach
343. cool nights
344. tomatoes sauce nearly complete
345. family & friends
346. cleaned peach jars
347. having running water
348. having electricity
349. ABC bookmobile
350. a new children's DVD

One of Those Weeks... (# 286-300)

It's been one of those weeks. You know. The ones where you have so much to do, and you work like crazy to get everything done, but every time you do something, you mess it up and so you create three or four times as much work for yourself. Yeah, that's what this week has been like. Plus the boys have added to the chaos and confusion.

So, I've been pretty moody and on edge these past few days. Yesterday however, a couple of emails showed up in my inbox that spoke to this very topic. And they helped me to see my situation with a little more clarity. One of the biggest things that I was able to do was to work on changing my thought processes. In the Bible we read about how our thoughts affect our actions and I found this to be true.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.                                                                                                   ~Philippians 4:8 NIV

When I was thinking about the broken drawer, the emptied cupboards, the flooded bathroom, the broken jar, the spilled food, etc., I became angrier and angrier and I was not able to handle even the smallest disruption to my thoughts or actions. My focus on these negatives was causing me to lie to myself. I kept thinking about how awful my life was, how I couldn't do anything right, how I wasn't accomplishing anything, so I shouldn't even try. I couldn't see the positives even if I tried. And with these negative thoughts, came more mistakes and challenges.

When I managed to think about the good things - the things I had finished,  the laughs with my boys, the snuggles, the sunshine - my mood brightened and lifted and I could respond appropriately to my boys. Thinking about the "gifts" allows me to see what my life is really like. Yes, there will be times of stress and anxiety. But by focus on the blessings that God has given us, we are able to keep on moving in spite of the stress.

286. dry pants during our excursion
287. new toys for the boys
288. fun with drumming
289. the man who stopped to help the dog wandering down the highway
290. the helpful and encouraging woman at the quilt shop
291. sweet words of encouragement
292. an extra fridge to use during preserving season
293. two stuffed animal giraffes for Sabbath School
294. a candle burning on my counter
295. a clean kitchen
296. an easier quilt block for this month
297. prepwork done while children are sleeping
298. acting out Bible stories
299. sharing my gifts
300. singing and playing in church*

* these gifts were recorded in September

Fun with Tortillas

Our family loves eating Mexican! And we go through a lot of tortillas and chips every week. I have been wanting to make my own tortillas for a few years now, but have always shied away from it. I didn't know how to get them shaped well and I thought it would take a terribly long time. It does take time, but I found that it was very fun. I got my last little push towards making them by reading this post and by watching the following video.

I have to say I loved making these. I did not really follow this recipe. I'll include the recipe that I used. But the technique is brilliant. And I use it all the time now, for anything that I need to roll out in a circle. These instructions also say to make each tortilla from a 1.5 oz ball of dough. In the future I would make them from 2 oz balls of dough, because we like our tortillas to be a little larger.

For me, this is a great way to save money! One package of 10 tortillas usually costs $3.87 at the store, while I can get 22 lbs of flour for $8.97. I haven't figured out the math on this to find out how much it actually costs to make my tortillas, but I know that each batch makes about 15 and costs much, much less. So here's to saving money and eating better!!

Tortillas

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
5 T. butter
1 cup hot tap water ( plus a little more)

Prepare as shown in video above.

Clayton's Blankie

Friends in Michigan had a baby boy just over two months ago. And I just needed to make a blankie for him. The pattern for this blanket is out of the book Our Best Baby Afgans,just as Betzi's was in May. This is my color and border option of the cover picture. It is a simple pattern to make that involves crocheting in rounds and alternating two different rows in two different colors. In the picture below, you can see where I ran out of yarn and had to start with a new batch. Even if yarn says "no dye lot," there still are subtle variations that can make it difficult to match. (Funny thing is, I couldn't see the change as clearly in person as I do in this picture!) I also made the blanket a lot bigger than the pattern in the book. I believe that having a blankie that you can wrap your child up in for a long time is so important! Antonin still snuggles up in his blankie and has room to spare!

I still am in love with these colors, but I've decided to make the next ones with other colors. I've got three more to do over the course of this year that I know about right now. Good thing I love crocheting :) I am excited about the plans I have for them