Clean.

St. Nicholas' Eve.

I know, I know. Its past my bedtime and I shouldn't be posting, I should be sleeping. (St. Nicholas is sure to arrive tonight, and the kids will be up by six, eating peppermint sticks and chocolate coins before breakfast. I must be ready.)

But I'm not much for should's. (Though I will keep it short.)

Today was a perfect December day.

It began with an early(ish) morning walk. The kids were certain they saw the following tracks:

1. Cat

2. Rabbit

3. Mama

4. Gnome

Along the way we shared a quiet, snowy moment with Buddha, and then...

...arrived at our destination: our local Waldorf School's annual Holiday Fair. Between the peppermint oranges, wool felt crafting, music, luscious organic food, and all sorts of handmade awesomeness, we enjoyed ourselves completely. 

Although we have chosen to homeschool, we are so blessed to have the Waldorf school here in our small town. It has created an energy in our community that we love and attracted so many kindred spirits to our area. (I never thought I would blend so well in such a small town.) 

: : * : : * : : * : : * : :

And tonight? Yes, St. Nicholas will be here soon. I should go to bed so that he doesn't have to come back later (he's pretty shy, Sage tells me). Every year he brings us a silly poem, a few chocolate coins, some nuts, and clementines. He's pretty mellow but so looked forward to around here.

I adored the tradition of St. Nicholas as a child. It brought the holidays in so close, so early and I delighted in it. My best friend's family didn't share the tradition so I justified the discrepancy in holidays as follows: they don't celebrate St. Nicholas because they are Jewish. (Never mind that I often attended Catholic mass with them - in their church.)

And now, as a parent? We didn't intend to celebrate St. Nicholas in our family. I struggled with Santa and St. Nick and the Easter Bunny and all of the magical deceit when Sage was small. But the magic of childhood prevailed, and we invited Santa and the Bunny. (I drew the line at St. Nick.) But after a fated December visit to a friend's house a few years ago they found out about the jolly man in red #2, and they have invited him ever since. 

Frankly, I'm glad. I always was partial to St. Nick.

Sweet dreams, and a sweet morning to you all!

Maple Snow "Ice Cream"

We love winter. My kids are outside until their fingers are stiff, cold, and red. They seriously don't come in until it hurts.

When they came inside today after a long afternoon of playing in the cold, Sage brought in two small jars of snow. He surprised Lupine with her first Maple Snow.

She has a new obsession.

You've made this, right? Just scoop up some clean snow in a cold jar, add a drizzle of maple syrup and call it dessert.

We do love winter. Just sometimes I forget.

Tonight.

Some evenings just weave together unexpectedly, with all the right components. Tonight was like that. The random formula went something like this:

Start with: 2 kids with 4:00 pm squirmies

+ 2 additional kids (unexpected)

+ 1 gnome hat, 1 witches costume, 1 fairy wand

+ 1 typewriter

+ 2 secret witches poison recipes

+ the unexpected development of social skills for my kid while navigating the world of his older friends.

=

why we live here.

A magical - then challenging - then magical evening. Perfect. Truly.

Holiday Traditions: the Gratitude Tree.

I know that its a little late for this post, but we just returned from an extended holiday trip to my parent's home.

In my family, where deer hunting comes before all else, Thanksgiving could easily feel like an afterthought. But this year we gathered together and celebrated with intention and gratitude. It was a sincere celebration of family, love, and appreciation.

 

The new tradition we created this Thanksgiving was a Gratitude Tree. A friend mentioned that she was creating a Thanksgiving Tree on her holiday table this year. She explained the concept and with a little bit of Googling I found dozens of variations on the idea. We jumped on board, and I suspect we'll do it every year. This lovely activity could easily transfer to a Solstice or Christmas celebration to add deeper meaning to that celebration as well.

The concept is simple: create a "tree" on your holiday table with a branch, ornament stand, or small Christmas tree. Provide guests with paper leaves or snowflakes, pens and a simple question: what are your grateful for? Throughout the evening, guests quietly penned the important things in their lives on leaves and suspending them from the tree.

 

After the table was cleared we gathered for a glass of wine and took turns reading the anonymous blessings. Some authors were easy to determine ("I love Sager. I love Sager. I love Sager" or "I am grateful for my wife putting up with my hunting for the past 40 years."), while others were more difficult to determine ("I am grateful for my loving wife and two kids.").

For me it was meaningful to hear my family express with such depth on this special day.

Thanks, Denise, for the inspiration! xo

 

Setting up the playroom.

: : The View from Here part 1 ~ a look around our home : :

Our home is becoming more organized and beautiful every week. We are slowly working our way through the To Do list, and starting to feel comfortably at home here. 

This post is a peek into our playroom. It is the first in a sporadic series I plan to write on where we live our busy lives. (Let me know what you think and if you'd like the more stops in the tour! Soap studio? Live food-zone? Homeschool chest? Family bedroom? Craft space?)

Between our living room and our dining area we have a pass-through room - a glorified hallway really - that is our playroom. It had been a narrow office, but now is where our playthings dwell. Toys in the children's bedrooms are kept to a minimum, so this tiny space contains most of what occupies their playtime.

Recently I reevaluated the play room and the sheer volume of stuff crammed within. (Where did all of these toys come from?) Books, games, toys, silks... so much to play with if you can focus on one thing long enough (but how can you focus in such a space?). Not so long ago we had a one-in-one-out toy rule but it was discarded somewhere along the way, and our playroom has been swelling ever since. 

Late last night Pete and I dug into the play room and narrowed it down to six open-ended play areas. The remaining toys are stored in a former linen closet to be rotated in and out of play as we wish. 

The space that previously contained dozens of toys now consists of the following stations:

1. The play table (which was always there, but is now clear of clutter and the shelf above is open, awaiting daily toy rotation);

 

2. A rainbow of playsilks;

 

3. Another (wild) rainbow of costumes;

 

4. A doll corner with our pram, cradle, two dolls, and clothes;

 

5. The farm (animals, people, and fences are stored in the nightstand that had belonged to my great grandma and the playmat is rolled in the hay loft); and 6. Our home-made playstands/play kitchen (top). 

Somehow removing the tall shelves and replacing them with just a few select things made our whole house feel bigger and more peaceful. The shelves were repurposed in our family room, stocked with games, books, and projects for long winter evenings by the fire. 

The simplicity of the set up has created a calm, creative energy in our house today. I'm off to see what our costumed knight and panda bear are up to!

Thankful.

Sending blessing to you for a day of connection, love, and belonging. I am grateful for so much.

Gratitude and thanks for...

this moment

beauty

home

local food

family

friends

community

growth

magic

freedom

true love

transformation

what comes next.

Raw cranberry relish recipe.

This recipe comes from my mom's mom's repertoire. I was going to ask my sister to send me a scanned picture of Grandma Lee for today's post, but she's on vacation. Use your imagination and visualize a tall yet round grandmotherly woman with perfect silvery-gray hair - all but the two dark streaks rising up in the front above each eyebrow ("They're my horns," she would say with a mischievous smile).

The perfect balance of sweet with just enough sour and bitter - and a whole lot of zesty. Grandma? Or the recipe below? I'll leave the to you to decide.

Regardless, its perfect for Thanksgiving and if it weren't there it would be missed.

 

Edited: Needless to say, cranberry relish is not the most photogenic of foods. But you get the idea.

Grandma Lee's Cranberry Relish

1 Lb cranberries (frozen are okay - actually a bit more cooperative than fresh)

4 organic oranges (don't peel, just wash)

1/2 C agave nectar (or, as Grandma says use 3/4 C sugar. You choose. But don't add both.)

1/2 C pecans, chopped

Using a very clean meat grinder or a food processor, grind cranberries until pieces are roughly 1/4 the size of a raisin. If using a meat grinder (our preference) just put on the coarser plate and go with it. It'll be perfect.

Cut orange into chunks and process as cranberries.

Stir in agave or sugar and let sit for several minutes. Taste, adjust sweetness, and allow to sit again before adjusting further. It changes. Magical, mysterious stuff. Just like Grandma.

Stir in pecan bits and enjoy! (Nope. You don't cook it.)

Children learn what they live.

It has been our goal to live our lives and parent our children from a place of gentle love and kindness. I think we're doing pretty well as we enter into our seventh year of parenting. The learning curve has been steep, but we're sticking with it and getting better all the time.

Sometimes I see our children's play as holding up a mirror to our lives to show us how we're doing. When its right on it feels so good. (This is not to say that their isn't play here that is all about death, fighting, domination, and poop. But sometimes you see just what you're looking for.)

Below is a peek into Lupine's world of play...

 

A tired Beanie and Lupine snuggle in the rocking chair.

 

Then a little nursing before Beanie falls asleep.

 

And the babies, mama, and papa snuggle up in "the big bed" because the doll cradle is too small to fit them all.

Here is wishing you a day where the mirror held up to your life makes you smile.

Homemade Play Dough Recipe.

I have been solo with my children for the past four days. (Ah, deer season.) Overall it has been magical, fun, and smooth as can be. We hit our rhythm right off the bat and kept our stride until yesterday morning. We've been thrifting, hanging with some of our favorite friends, dipping candles, making caramel corn, and playing so many games. But somehow "Papa-is-coming-home-today" Day is always the sticky one. We all fall apart.

With Lupine not napping much these days and me falling asleep with the kids at 8:30 the night before (oops), I was wanting just a moment to myself.

Enter Play Dough. My sanity.

I don't know the origin of this recipe except that my mom gave it to me when Sage was two and I have shared it with countless families, much to everyone's delight. It makes great DIY holiday gifts too, with just the dry ingredients in a mason jar along with the recipe. A fabulous, earth-friendly, homemade kid-to-kid gift.

Homemade Play Dough

1 C white flour (I have used whole grain with good results as well)

1/4 C salt

2 T cream of tartar

1 C water

2 tsp food coloring (optional)

1 Tb oil

A few drops of essential oils of your choice. Lavender is a favorite around here, but this batch was Cranky Pants EO Blend. (Ahem. That was my choice. We needed all the help we could get.)

Combine dry ingredients in a medium cooking pot. Add wet ingredients (except essential oils) and stir.

Cook over medium heat stirring constantly. It will soon turn into a gloppy, lumpy, ugly mess and you will be certain that it isn't working... but it is.

When the dough forms a ball in the center of the pot turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead (let it cool a bit if your kids can wait). Make a thumbprint in the center and add a couple of drops of essential oils and knead in thoroughly.

Store in the fridge. Discard when it becomes sticky (usually two months or so around here).

A note on food coloring: 

We have successfully colored these with spices (tumeric, paprica), synthetic dyes, juiced beets, and purchased natural food coloring. It's also superbly fun plain. This batch is colored with India Tree natural food coloring. (Blue, if you believe it. You learn to love the unpredictability of natural dyes.)

We sometimes like to do several colors at once. To do this, leave the batch uncolored and tint when completed. To do so, make a thumbprint in each finished dough ball and add a drop of coloring. Ever so carefully knead it in with the dough in your hands (not on the counter as your drop of color may attempt to escape).

Non-Violent Communication.

We have been blessed to have stumbled into the magical realm of Non-Violent Communication recently. (Thank you, friend Emma!) I've mentioned it before in this post and although we're just beginning to learn the first steps to communication from a place of understanding needs and seeking connection, we have seen its power in our home and our relationships.

Several months ago we began receiving an NVC parenting newsletter, free of charge via email. It has been inspiring and motivating. Here is a sample from today's in-box:

Compassionate Parenting Tip - Week 34

Ninety-five percent of what we learn is through modeling, only five percent through instruction.

Your children learn most of all by what you are living. Make a list of three values you hold dear. For each value, write down one action you can take today to express that value. Make a request of yourself to do those three things today.

I wanted to share the link so that you can enjoy the newsletters as well. They have been truly transformational for our family. Follow these links to sign up for the Compassionate Parenting Tip series or the Living Compassion Weekly tip. Amazing stuff.

* Peace *