Clean.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! From our goofy little perfectly normal family to yours.

Love,
Rachel

P.S. I love living in a town where homemade gluten free cookies are part of the Halloween deal.

P.P.S. Yes, there was also a lot of skanky candy. Here's where it's going, in case you need inspiration!

Some of the less questionable stuff is sticking around, and another bag of treats that I just can't let my kids eat is being taken to the coop for a trade out. Since I give them a little extra trade in value they're jazzed by my hippie up-sell.

Sweetest dreams!

How to stay sane when your schedule gets manic.

Mercy! Look at all those dishes.

For most of the last year I didn't even need a calendar.

No planner, no schedule - nothing.

We had a few lessons here and there and a good solid rhythm to guide us, and that was normally enough.

But the past few weeks - and looking ahead straight into the New Year - our schedule is borderline manic.

Birthday celebrations, holidays, LüSa events and shows, meetings, classes, lessons, work.

And all of that is overlaid onto an already full-to-bursting life of filling our pantry and freezer, caring for animals, and buttoning up this little old farmhouse for winter.

And sometimes I'm completely overwhelmed.

The other day I looked at Pete across the farmyard and yelled, "We forgot to put relaxing on the to-do list!"

The truth is, we love the kind of busy that results in a full freezer or a tidy wood pile.

And we love the lessons our kids take, our family work days at LüSa, and all the rest.

But sometimes it's all a bit too much.

Here is how I stay sane when the calendar is full and to-do list spills over onto a second (okay, or third) page.

1. Get organized

I always carry a small sketch book with me in my bag. For doodles and tangles and making art, wherever I am.

But now my sketch book has a practical side.

Inside of the back I drew a calendar for the next three months.

I always have it with me, and there I can jot down the time of lessons, meetings, and other events.

Having this calendar at my fingertips is keeping me up to speed on all that needs to be done. I'm not missing meetings or forgetting lessons because life is busy. All the information I need is accessible.

There is also a to-do list there where I can jot down anything I'm otherwise sure to forget.

2. Prioritize your tasks

What needs to be done today?

Put those tasks on their own list. Your "A" list. (Or in our case, the "before the snow comes" list.)

When it's time to dig in and get to work, go to this list first.

Then fill in with tasks from your "B" list.

Otherwise you'll find yourself doing the most enjoyable tasks first, not the most time-sensitive ones.

3. One day at a time

Try to focus on just today.

Today is full.

And tomorrow may be busy, this week may be crazy, and next month may be overwhelming.

But all you have to think about now it today.

4. Just say no

When life is busy it's time to pull back as best as we can.

It's okay to say no now and then.

Anything you're doing because you think you "should" is a candidate for cutting from your calendar.

Simplify lessons, social gatherings, extra obligations. You'll jump back in on most of it when time is more abundant. But for now something has to give.

5. Start somewhere

If you're prioritized tasks are overwhelming, find something enjoyable that needs to get done and do it.

Prime the pump.

Starting somewhere will break the deer-in-headlights feeling we all get on occasion during a manic time. 

And then you're off.

6. Lower your standards

My house. Is. A mess. I mean really. It's insane.

Our halloween costumes are strewn about the living room, there is a huge bowl of chicken feet in my freezer (don't ask), and our mop hasn't been seen for weeks.

Something had to give. And this was it.

For you it might be something else - shortcut meals, a babysitter for a day, skipping a meeting - whatever it is, cut some corners now to keep yourself sane.

7. Accept help

When we needed to butcher our chickens we reached out for help. Ultimately the timing didn't work for the friends who wanted to pitch in, but we did get a chicken plucker to use which saved us countless hours.

Others offered to take care of our kids while we worked on this and other big projects.

At the same time a friend asked me to bring her a meal because she's having a hard time.

So ask. Whatever your reason.

We're here to support each other.

8. Focus on success

Sometimes I write things on my list just so that I can cross them off.

Because I need to see a measurable course of progress.

Don't forget to celebrate all you have gotten done.

Because if you wait to celebrate until you're done, well, you might be waiting forever. Because seriously. Who gets it all done? (If you're getting it all done you don't need this advice anyway.)

For me focusing on success includes gazing expectantly at the two or three days clusters I've managed to stake out on my calendar where nothing is written. It tells me, "If I can make it through this week I'll get a break!"

9. Whistle while you work

Okay. You don't have to actually whistle, but do your best to enjoy the journey.

Because you can take your work oh-so-seriously with a furrowed brow, or you can loosen up and have some fun while you dig in.

Pete and I tend to laugh often when we work on a project together.

The time passes more quickly and before you know if the job is done.

Whatever your task - you choose if you get to enjoy the journey or simply suffer through.

10. Take a break

Please, please, please. Remember to rest.

Last night after two of the busiest, hardest working days we've seen in a while, Pete and I sat down and took a break.

We stopped working for the evening.

We had a nightcap, I did some knitting, we laughed.

You'll get more done if rest is on your to-do list.

And one last thought: This too shall pass.

These busy days won't last forever.

Do what you can to keep it in perspective and enjoy the crazy journey.

Dig in, work hard, laugh often, and know that soon this busy chapter will be just a fuzzy memory.

 

Love,

Rachel

 

 

Cultivating gratitude.

I believe that cultivating gratitude can transform not only how we view our (beautiful yet deeply imperfect) lives, but transforms our lives themselves.

Each week I will share with you seven things that I am thankful for.

I'd love to have you join me in your own post or simply here in the comments.

Because taking just a moment to appreciate what we have can change everything.

Today I'm thankful for...

1. a deeper relationship with our food than I've ever had before, after butchering fifty chickens yesterday. (Yes. Butchering. Chickens. Just Pete and I. {exhale});

2. a schedule full to overflowing with good, real, hard work that leaves me tired and thankful each night;

3. a new flock of sheep that will soon arrive at our farm;

4. an early morning alone to write before the sun even rises;

5. the smell of chicken stock simmering away, perhaps more nourishing because of the mindful work that put it in our larder;

6. connection - to people, to places, to our food;

and 7. abundance. Of every sort.

Link up to a post of your own in the comments, or simply leave your list there. I look forward to seeing what ordinary, extraordinary blessings you're counting today.

Love,
Rachel

 

Peace.

Oh, yes. That's more like it.

In my heart and my home, where peace, beauty, and harmony reign.

Because there is always a rainbow after the storm.

And I've had enough of the shadows.

 

Love, love, love,

Rachel

Reaching for forgivness.

Like you I am human.

Like you I am flawed.

Like you I have ideals. Of who I am and how I live.

And sometimes I achieve those ideals.

And other times I don't.

 

As a mother I strive for peace.

I listen. I hear.

I reach for compassion. Understanding. Love.

I empower.

I allow.

 

And today I yelled.

I really, really yelled.

I was frustrated. Impatient. Angry.

And at it's core was fear. It's almost always fear.

And from that shadow space I lashed out.

I yelled.

 

And around here a yell isn't so different than a hit.

It's violence, from one person to another.

We can dress it up, but it's still violence.

 

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can cut much deeper.

I did that.

In a weak and fearful moment.

I yelled.

 

And even as the words came tumbling out of my mouth, I knew I wanted to take them back, but they just kept coming.

Frustration.

Anger.

Fear.

 

And then...

I stopped.

 

Because this was not what motherhood was meant to be.

 

I didn't come here to be the mama for this.

To do harm to those I love most.

No.

I came here to be the mama with arms open wide.

To hold these precious souls in love and light and grace.

To listen. To hear. To allow. 

Not to knock them down.

This isn't what mothering is about.

I was on the wrong road.

 

And so I said:

I'm sorry.

 

I'm sorry.

We sat, my child upon my lap, both of us with tears in our eyes, and I said I was sorry.

So, so sorry.

And I said I was human. And I made a mistake.

 

It's okay.

 

It's okay.

We are human. We all lose our way sometimes.

 

My child forgave me.

In an instant.

We worked together to undo the harm.

We found a solution to our struggle.

We found connection once more.

 

And then I set to the hardest work of all.

Forgiving myself.

 

Because I was still angry. But now I was angry with me.

 

Yet when my children yell, I forgive them.

In an instant.

When others fall apart I reach for understanding. Love. Compassion.

And I am deserving of that same gift.

 

I am flawed.

I am human.

And I am forgiven.

Yes, even by my harshest critic: myself.

 

Because I taught and learned more through this simple act than any other today.

 

And from here we can truly move forward.

 

Love,

Rachel

 

Progress.

These October mornings have been cold.

The kind of cold that come spring might almost feel warm, but today has us pulling on our long johns and fuzzy hats.

The thick morning frosts have taken down the last of the tomatoes and peppers, basil and cilantro.

The goats and sheep are thickening up with fat and fiber for the coming days.

We've changed out the clothes in our drawers from shorts and t-shirts to sweaters and woolies.

And each day the meals I cook are heartier, richer, warmer.

And so the season turns.

We spent yesterday digging potatoes (a little late, but no one's keeping score) in the autumn sunshine, chasing the meat chickens into the garden to clean up the fallen produce, and cleaning out the barn.

Gathering.

Purging.

Clearing.

Releasing.

It has been good therapy. To dig up pound after pound of potatoes that I feared we'd lose to the cold, to empty box after box that has sat quietly gathering dust and sucking my chi since last November.

To be overwhelmed but to start just the same.

To decide that a little progress is worthwhile, even if we can't do it all.

And yes, I found the birthday bunting. The one I missed in August. There it was, in the barn, just waiting for me to unpack a few more boxes.

It was in a bag. On the floor. Under the hay.

All it took was a little cleaning up and letting go. And there it was. Bam.

Life is good.

Even though the to-do list never seems to grow shorter; even though it's almost November and we don't have firewood (or a chimney for our wood stove), we're getting there.

Bit by bit.

Day by day.

And that is enough.

Because I can't do it all.

Not today, not tomorrow. So rather that grieving what I haven't done, I'll celebrate what I have.

No, we can't do it all. But we can do some.

And that, my friend, is enough.

Love,
Rachel