Sweet Moments

It's times like this that I want to remember forever.  M played a very cute game of hide-and-seek with T last night.  He helped her count, hid in very easy places for her, and pretended not to be able to find her right away even when she hid in the exact same spot every time.  Each round ended with them both bursting out laughing and running into each other's arms.  Then after the game, he snuggled up with her on the couch and read her Christmas stories. 

  Eventually each of the older girls snuggled in to listen as he continued to read.

Sometimes they can be so sweet.

Snow and Santa

We got our first real snow of the winter yesterday.  By "real" I mean it stuck and stayed more than a few hours.  The kids had a great time playing in it even if it was only a couple of inches. 

And, surprisingly, we only had a few tears getting everyone into their snow clothes.  T had the most trouble and I thought for a while that she wasn't going to go out at all.  But after watching her older brother and sisters having such a good time she decided that she could put up with her snow pants being a little uncomfortable.

 

 

  

 

We also saw Santa this week and T was very brave.  She climbed right up into his lap with no tears this year.  So sweet!

St. Lucy's Day

St. Lucy's Crown to celebrate St. Lucy's Day yesterday

 

Felted sweater tote bag

I have a bunch of all wool sweaters that are no longer suitable for wearing like this one.

A while back I had used part of this sweater to make a hat and mittens for myself.  Hence the clipped out parts.

 

Now I decided that it was time to use up the rest of the sweater.  This is what I made:

  

And the inside:

 I was thinking I would use it to carry around my current knitting project.  But J might have other ideas.

 

Yarn Along

 

 

I'm joining Ginny for the first time in her Yarn Along.  I'm currently knitting yet another hat.  It must be the sudden cold weather here. And the quick projects satisfy my need for instant gratification.  A nice break from the looong project I've been working on for the girls that definitely won't be ready to show until well after Christmas.  On my night stand with the knitting are the other "yarns."  The Trumpet of the Swan is a read-aloud for the kids.  The Wives of Henry the VIII is a book that I borrowed from my sister-in-law months and months ago.  It's not exactly light reading so it's slow going.  But it is fascinating!  Antonia Fraser really makes these women come alive for me.  Highly recommended!

Another hat

Here is a little hat that I made recently.  Sorry about the weird way I had to display it.  But I couldn't very well have one of the kids model it since it is a surprise for one of the girls.  So you get it see it propped on a Mason jar.  :)  This was a really easy hat to make.  Quick, too.  I made it according to the pattern on Ravelry.  I think I may add some tassels on the corners, though.  Kind of spice it up a bit.  I'll probably make a couple more of these, too.  It's do-able by Christmas even for a slow knitter like me.

Christ the King

Last Sunday was the Feast of Christ the King.  On this day I bake a king's cake with a golden cross inside.  Whichever of my kids gets the piece with the cross in it gets to start the Advent calendar the following week.  The look on C's face was priceless when she realized that she was the lucky one this year.  If only I had been quicker with the camera...  I guess the shot I got wasn't too bad considering I only had my phone camera nearby. 

And today is the first day of Advent.  I'm ready.  I love this time of year. 

Two projects completed

J finished her doll!  It's so cute.  She decided to leave it with no face the way the Native Americans did.  I'm so proud of her for working so diligently on this project.

Here she is wearing the hat I just finished.  It was actually intended for a certain guy...  Unfortunately, I have no real concept of gauge and it turned out way too small.  So, J has a new hat.  She really likes it.  Yay!  I'm thinking that it was really meant for her all along.  (This means that I need to cast on again for a second try at a large hat.)

Meanwhile, I have already started working on a pretty pink hat with cat ears (yes, cat ears!) for her for Christmas.  I guess two mommy-made hats won't be too much for my girl.

Leaf garland

This is a super easy and fun craft to do with the kids.

We collected some beautiful fall leaves.  Then we dipped them in melted beeswax and let them cool on waxed paper.  After that we threaded them onto a string to make a garland.  I totally copied the idea from Elizabeth Foss who copied it from Ginny.  (Sometimes I just love the internet!  Good ideas getting passed on and on.) 

 

Colonial crafts

On a recent trip to Historic St. Mary's City my girls each got a doll making kit as a souvenir.  The kit basically consisted of fabric that had been pre-cut into shapes for the dolls body and head, arms, legs, and dress.  Then there was some stuffing and some yarn to sew on for the hair.  It's a lot of hand sewing for a little girl.  J has been up to the task.  In fact she has been sewing nearly every spare moment she has.  She even worked on her doll Friday night in front of the television during our family movie night!

Here she is sewing the dress right after breakfast.  You can see the doll (minus the hair) next to her.

Martinmas

For Martinmas, or the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, I made St. Martin's Croissants, a Polish tradition.  While I don't have any Polish ancestry that I know of, Ray is half Polish.  That means that my kids are 1/4 Polish.  So that is as good a reason as any to adopt a Polish tradition for our household.  Especially when it involves making and eating sugared croissants!  I couldn't get a decent picture of them, though.  In real life they were all sparkly from the coarse sugar coating.  And mmmm, yummy!

While we were enjoying the croissants and hot apple cider, M re-told the story of how St. Martin gave a beggar half his cloak so he wouldn't freeze. Next year, if I get my act together, I think it would be nice to have the kids collect some coats to give to charity on this day.

Fall fun

This week we met some of our homeschooled friends at a local park.  It is one of my favorite parks because it is right on a beautiful lake.  The weather was perfect.  Chilly but sunny.  The children raked together a pile of leaves with their hands and feet then took turns running down the hill and jumping into it.

 

 

And a trip to this park would not be complete without playing with the ducks a little.

Small changes:2

A while back I wrote about the small changes I was trying to implement in my life to be more environmentally friendly.  A few months ago I tried another small change.  I didn't share right away because I wanted to see how it worked out first.  What is it?  Well....I have stopped using shampoo and conditioner.  I know, I know...you are probably thinking, "Eeeewwww!"  But it is actually great.  I haven't stopped washing my hair.  I'm just using much more environmentally friendly products.  Baking soda and apple cider vinegar.  My hair feels great, has tons of body, and I've gotten lots of compliments on my hair lately (from people who have no idea that I'm not using shampoo). 

This is how it works:  I keep a water tight container of baking soda on my bathroom counter.  I have a plastic one-cup measuring cup and a teaspoon there too.  The apple cider vinegar is in a bottle in the shower just like conditioner would be.  Before I get into the shower I measure out 2-3 teaspoons of baking soda into the measuring cup.  I take that into the shower.  When I'm ready to wash my hair I simply fill the measuring cup about half way with water.  Stir to semi-dissolve the baking soda.  Then I pour it onto my hair, trying to work it into the roots as much as possible.  It doesn't feel like it's working.  It actually feels like I'm just washing my hair with water.  Rinse well.  Next I pour a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into the measuring cup and fill the rest of the way with water.  At this point I gather up my hair and dip then ends into the cup for 10 seconds or so since my hair is longish.  Then I dump the rest over the top of my hair.  Rinse and I'm done.  It's amazing how well it works.  I will say that there is a bit of an adjustment period. But after you get used to not having a foamy lather to wash with, it is really nice.  The kids especially like it.  Also, they really like using apple cider vinegar instead of conditioner.  Conditioner always felt too "slimy" for them.  For a good article on the how and why of going "no-poo" check out Babyslime.

Mount Vernon

We live in a really fantastic place to homeschool.  There are so many wonderful museums near our home.  And so much history all around this area.  Last week we visited Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington.  We had never been there before even though we have lived here for nearly seven years.   Well, we were really missing out!  George Washington said (paraphrased) that it was the most wonderful place on earth.  I find it hard to argue with him.  It was beautiful!  I wanted to sit on his back porch all afternoon and take in the view of the Potomac and watch the kids run around his lawn.  We spent all day, 9:30-5:00, walking around his estate.  When it was time to go I was sad to leave.  It is really a beautiful place.

 

a ha-ha wall

Placing flowers at George Washington's tomb

 

Playing "Revolutionary War soldiers" at Mount Vernon.  How awesome is that!

A large old juniper makes a perfect fort.  It's all hollow underneath.

 

Good bye for now, Mount Vernon.  I'm sure we will be visiting you again soon.

Remember, remember the 5th of November

Guy Fawkes Day.  Bonfire Night.  Since we happened to be studying this period in English history right now, we tried to have our own celebration here "across the pond" in our own backyard.  The kids made paper guy dolls and we lit up a fire in our new fire pit.  We roasted hot dogs and burned the guy dolls. 

 

The kids had a good time even though we had some trouble keeping the fire going.  In fact, we had to roast the marshmallows over the stove after the fire went out and refused to light up again.

 Fun, fun! 

My first hat

After a couple of late nights tidying up, we are mostly back to a normal level of mess around here.  Thank goodness!

I wanted to share something that I made a few weeks ago.

This little hat is my first attempt at knitting in the round.  I think it turned out pretty well.  I forgot to start it with a couple inches of ribbing so it has a rolled edge instead.  I wasn't sure how big it was going to turn out, either.  While I was knitting it I told the kids that it would be for whichever child it fit the best.  C won.