Well, Hello There!

Look what I found today. We went out in search of early signs of spring and yes, we found it! Very strange indeed.
I was very tired this evening and needed a break from the twice weekly trips to ballet class with Kaiya. So Tait took her and I stayed home with the two littles. It was nice. I made lentil soup for our supper and a loaf of this bread. We went outside while it cooked, which is when we found the daffodils. Just the three of us, which meant no bickering, thank goodness. Perhaps all the bickering that's been going on was what I really needed a break from.

No sooner had I finished photographing the flowers and turned my back, River plucked the heads off!

This soup is really delicious, by the way. My friend made it for one of our Friday Waldorf get togethers a few weeks ago and I had to have it again. It makes a bunch so we'll be having it for lunch tomorrow, too.

Are you cooking anything good lately?

Meltdown Monday Giveaway

I present to you, for your Monday consideration... Love Bunnies. Two blushing bunnies (who happen to be madly in love so you should never split them up) that would love to make a home with someone special. Might that be you?
Each bunny stands about 2.5" tall to the very tip of their ears. Their base is wooden and they wear 100% wool, knitted suits and tail.






OK, so to enter leave me a comment. You can let me know how your Monday is going or, better yet, tell me how you beat the dreadful Meltdown Monday or just say hi. Whatever.

For additional entries;
(leave a separate comment for each entry, if you don't, they count as one)
Tweet this (include @thiscosylife in your tweet)
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I will randomly pick a winner on Sunday February 5th and announce here, on my blog. (Please, make sure I have a way to contact you!)

PS: If anyone is interested in participating in a Monday Meltdown giveaway, here on my blog, contact me here. Whether an item from your Etsy shop or just a little something you would like to give away to brighten someone's Monday, it's all good!

It's Nearly Here

Hello. How has your weekend been? For us, Friday and Saturday was filled with friends and Tait and I went childless to dinner on Friday evening. A late birthday gift to him from my parents. That was nice. Since he's moved back in I think it was the first time we'd had any alone time, out of the house.

Today started off very lazy, then I became inspired as I was reading through various posts around the web on Candlemas. We've not observed it before, never even gave a a second thought to Groundhog Day. So I dug through the links I've been collecting on Pinterest, and I think Candlemas may be exactly what I need right now. The unseasonably warm winter may not have made for a very cosy season but the early signs of spring are rather comforting. I'm still pouring over my seed catalogues and I'm so eager to get started on the garden! I ran across this site on Pinterest. You put your zip code in and get exact dates for planting what, when for your area. This week I'm supposed to start broccoli indoors and leeks next week. Planting!
Have I shown you this? A play garden.. it's my plan to keep River occupied so that I can actually get some work done in the garden this year.

So, the plan this week is; get my broccoli started, tidy up the greenhouse, make candles and spring cleaning. I'm really excited about the spring cleaning. I love pulling everything out and putting things in order and purging, of course. I also read in one of those Pinterest links that this is a good time to make some goals, resolutions, if you will and decide what you want to see birthed in you this year. I like that. I never did face that pile of discontent and sort it out, but I'm ready to now.


P


I made these Lemon Cranberry Scones last week and they we so good. I cut small triangles and ended up with 16. The girls ate so many! I thought there would be enough for two breakfasts... not a chance. Maye you would like to try them this week. And if you're making plans for Candlemas, would you mind sharing them with me?

Some Finished Gifts

A birthday was had, cake (and batter) was eaten, gifts were opened and the birthday girl felt a lot better than the day before. Thank you so much for your 'get wells' and birthday wishes for my River!

And for the handmade gifts...
I didn't get the man gnome finished (or started) but I love how this the lady gnome turned out. My goodness, all that seaming up was maddening! But well worth it. You can find my Rav notes here. I will be making the man soon to go along with her.

And here is the most excellent set of picture puzzle blocks that Tait painted. So cute! He added a couple of different characters than Lori had done. The fox is my favorite.





Anyway, a lovely day was had by all and my heart was so full of love by the end of the day. I just love birthdays!

Almost 2

Well, here we are. Just hours away from a certain little one's birthday. She's obviously not feeling very well at the moment but you can't tell very much in the daylight hours. Really, the telling signs are a constantly oozing nose and fitful sleeping. Fitful.. that's a nice word for it. Let's just say I'm praying for sleep tonight. I do hope it passes during the night.

I don't think I've mentioned it but River's speech has just taken off in the past month or two. She went from saying just a few random words to sentences and attempting to say just about everything in a short period of time. And let me tell you, it was the breakthrough I've waiting for since she took her first steps at 7.5 months. I know I've mentioned what a wild child she is. But this new speech development seems to have been the equalizer she needed. As though all that frustration of not being able to properly communicate has eased and she has a newfound peacefulness. She's just more easy going and, dare I say, a wee bit mellow. That's probably a stretch but it certainly has eased her mama's daily frustration.

Anyhoo, I'm not quite finished with the birthday stuff so I'm gonna go knit. Goodnight, all!

Light and Space

Lighting candles in the evening, inviting warmth and light in.

Every Tuesday and Thursday evening (from 5-6) I have dinner with my mom in the little restaurant just next door to Kaiya's ballet class. This past Thursday, as we sat waiting for our check to come, I realized that something was very different from just the week before at the same time. It was still daylight! Yes, friends, this means that the promise of the Winter Solstice is true, spring is coming and our dear sun is growing strong once more.
I take serious solace in that this year. Usually I don't begin yearning for spring til the end of February. But this year... I believe it's the unseasonably warm weather, the complete lack of snow here. Winter just isn't holding it's same appeal to me this year. I'm already eager for the bright, sunny days, things growing, everything growing.

Today, while I was supposed to be doing my weekly cleaning, I did some more purging. We really don't have too much stuff, I don't think. It's just that we have a very small house and everything is very visible. And I find the older I get, the more I am willing to and want to let go of things. I do this in steps. I go through at least a couple of rooms at a time, looking for what I can let go of. Sometimes I come up with just a few things, other times I have boxes and boxes. It's not that we have a lot of stuff... it's that I'm very willing to let go of much of what we do have. And the more I go over an area (once every month or two) I realize I can let this stuff go. But I don't do it all at once, I think I would end up with regret. Time passes and I can let it go.
I've been eyeing what's hanging on the walls for the past couple of months. Many things I love, photos, random art pieces, shelves. But after some time I decided I would love it even more if there was just nothing hanging there, just space. So, today most of it came down. I kept what I truly love and joyfully put the rest in a box and took it to the Salvation Army.
Right now, looking out over my uncluttered walls, knowing that behind my craft cupboard door it's just a little more emptied... it feels really good. Really clean and fresh.

Sunday

This Sunday finds me still sick, blah! But up and working just a bit after a very restful couple of days (thank you, Tait!). After a pretty rough start this morning I'm finally beginning to feel that good health is just around the bend.
So, today I am working on new Valentine's toys, destined for the shop.

And Tait is working on a set of picture puzzle blocks for a certain one, about to be two year old. Her birthday is on Wednesday. Oh, my goodness, she's not a baby anymore! I can still call her 'the baby', though, can't I? He's modeling these sweet blocks after a set I saw on Lori's blog. She made them for her own little ones twenty five years ago. I hope this set holds up just as long.

And I'm about to begin working on a set of gnomes for my little River. This free pattern can be found here.

My camera is on the fritz and I'm so bummed out about it! I'm not certain what happened. I know several days ago it was half on/half off a dish towel in the kitchen (my bad) and Kaiya came along and jerked the towel off the counter and the camera went flying. But after that it worked completely fine for another day or so. But then the shutter stopped working and I can't figure it out. So off to the repair shop it goes, I guess. Fortunately I passed my old camera down to my husband when I go the new one over the spring or summer and I'm using it right now. It's just not at all the same, though. Oh, well.
Hope your weekend is warm and happy!

Some Randomness

I'm sick again! Really, this is like some kind of record for me. I know I just said on Sunday that I had been sick and was all better, then I turned around on Tuesday and woke up sick again. I actually thought I would just cry this morning when I opened my eyes and realized I was still sick, thoroughly convinced the night before I would be better. Well, tonight I'm thoroughly convinced I am going to wake up tomorrow feeling much worse than I currently do. Maybe I'm just being a sour puss but I really can't tell you how many times (back to back) I've been sick this winter. The girls, too. They were looking rather droopy tonight and I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel our Friday date with our friends tomorrow.

Sooo, I've been kinda hiding out, feeling sorry for myself and darn grumpy to boot. I've made some pretty lame attempts at school this week but it's doubtful we'll have anything to write home about at the end of the week. And that's OK, I guess.
These photos are completely unrelated to anything. I've just not been in the mood to pick up my camera at all this week. These were some I took back in the fall, I think. They've just been sitting in the folder saying, 'Pick us! We're pretty and pink!'. I do hope to finally have a shop update tomorrow. I've told one reader some bunnies were headed to the shop in a day or two (five or six days ago) along with some other friends. Well, the friends were giving me a hard time and I got a little stuck. You can't win them all, right? But they're on their way!





I think the best thing for me to do is is hide out in bed this weekend and hand the mama reigns over to Tait. I may walk out to a complete disaster but hopefully I'll be fully recuperated, with a sunnier disposition and Monday is cleaning day anyway.
What's going on your way this week?

Waldorf Inspired Home School Themes-Animals In Winter

We are Waldorf-inspired homeschoolers, just starting out in kindergarten. Each week follows a theme, inspiring our work and play and learning. This theme is chosen based on the season and what's on our minds. Each week I will share what we've been up to and some links and resources that will hopefully inspire you. There is a link-up at the end of this post... I hope you will share what your home school has been up to. You can find previous weeks here.

'Mr. Bear says all he wants to do is sleep
Now that winters here and snow is very deep
He is curled up in his den
And we probably won't see him
Till the spring when all he want to do is eat!'

Our theme last week (sorry I didn't post this yesterday, Kaiya and I were both sick again, better now) was animals in winter. I shared this project over on the Natural Kids blog last week. It was inspired by Jan Brett's 'The Mitten' and her printable activity page.



Zoe worked on the coloring for us...

while Kaiya practiced her hand sewing.

We also made a paper mache bear cave like this one. We did the paper mache on Wednesday, it wasn't completely dry on Thursday so we took it with us on our Friday meetup with our other Waldorf friends. So instead of cutting an opening as in the tutorial we cut it in half so we could share with our friends. We let the girls paint the cave and a piece of cardboard to sit it on and Sunday the girls finished it up with their dad, cutting construction paper leaves. They've had so much fun putting their animals in there.
We weren't able to get everything done that I would have liked, as Saturday was my husband's birthday and we were pretty busy crafting for that. But if you check out my Pinterest boards you can find more 'animals in winter' inspiration. I also printed some coloring pages from Jan Brett's site and let the girls color them on Monday. Monday is my cleaning day so I like to keep it light that day, generally coloring, drawing or painting.

Songs
Where Is Bear?
Mr. bear
Little Bear
Winter Is Cold
The Mitten

Story
Winter Story
and a couple of books we have
Animals In Winter
When Winter Comes (They're both good but we especially like this one, very informative but not over their heads, even mama learned new stuff! )

Facts
Snug In the Snow


My Pinterest Home Schooling page is here, Verses and Stories here.

A Birthday

Today is my husband's 30th birthday. What a wonderful moment he woke up to. I awoke to the smell of toast and the sound of little feet scurrying about in the kitchen. I could hear plates being pulled down from the shelf and stacked on top of one another. I heard something scrap along a wooden shelf, a sound I knew to be the big serving tray being taken off the shelf. Light clinks and thunks and much scurrying of those little feet. I lay still as Kaiya quietly dashed passed our room and went to the room she shares with her sisters. 'Wake up, Zoe. Zoe, wake up! It's Daddy's birthday! Come on!" Urgently whispering to her sister. They both head back to the kitchen and Kaiya asks Zoe to help her with the tray because it's heavy and tells her to sing 'Happy birthday to you, Daddy!'.
In they come, singing their own version of 'Happy Birthday' and carrying a heavy tray full of toast, jam, apples and homemade presents. Happy birthday, indeed!

I spent the day in the kitchen. Pretty much the whole day. I've been on a bit of a baking frenzy lately, taking much pleasure in trying new recipes, especially bread recipes. Money is really tight right now but I wanted to make Tait something special. Well, simple/special, which is what I do/like best.
Hummus. With extra garlic.

Naan. My first time making it. Love it and will make more. I baked it in the oven.

Cranberry walnut Swirl Bread, sans walnuts. Was supposed to be for breakfast but I was feeling lazy this morning so it's will be tomorrow's breakfast.

Carrot cupcakes.... from a mix! I asked him what kind of cake he wanted and he said carrot cake... 'Just buy a box.' I thought I'd take a break and just do it the easy way. Then I spent the whole day in the kitchen kneading 2 different types of bread and making hummus. Oh, well.





They were well received.

I'll be back tomorrow with some homeschooling inspiration.

A Winter Craft Inspired by Jan Brett's 'The Mitten'

We're learning about animals in winter this week. I shared a little project inspired by Jan Brett's book 'The Mitten' over on the Natural Kids blog. Kaiya loves a chance to work on her hand sewing skills. She really does enjoy it. I think I'm going to give her more sewing projects.



It feels really good to get out homeschooling back on track. We just have so much fun together. And this Saturday I will have a new homeschooling theme post for you. Till then, come on over and visit me at Natural Kids.

Warm

It's not really cold here, not much at all. We've had extremely mild days lately (nearly 70 on Saturday!), 50s and 40s this week. But something about winter, even a mild one, just makes me crave a certain warmth.

Hot beans, soups and breads. Cosy blankets and lying directly in front of the sunny window. Cuddling, knitting, hot tea and candles. It's not really what the thermometer says (for me, maybe it is for you), it's a state of mind. As nature goes into hibernation my spirit seeks warmth and comfort elsewhere. You know, I resisted beans and cornbread as a child, but I crave them often these days. Simple goodness in a bowl.

I finished knitting this hat. It was intended for a friend but felt rather snuggish and just wasn't as slouchy as I would have liked. I think I'll knit another for the friend, this one I handed along to the girls.



Kyrie shares some beautiful reflections on warmth here, that are so inspiring. How are you keeping warm?

Happy Monday

We had a lovely day of cookie baking, popcorn making and movie watching yesterday. A very cuddly way of spending our family day together. However, River and I finished it off with a rather fitful night of constant nursing and tossing and turning. I suppose those molars are back to working their way in. Molars just take forever to come in, don't they?

Needless to say, Mama's feeling beat and I'm thinking that cup of tea just isn't going to cut it. I'm trying to make the switch from coffee.
I'm feeling prepared to jump back into home schooling this week, though, after taking an extended Christmas break. I have some fun projects lined up for us. I know the girls have really missed it. We all appreciate the more structured days and focused creativity.

And I just wanted to say, even though I have not had the chance to respond to everyone who commented on my last post individually, thank you so much for your understanding and supportive words. I just had to smile reading them all. What a blessing to be able to reach out, say what is heavy on your heart or perhaps joyful or just thoughtful, and be heard and hear in return, 'I'm right there with you!'. What an amazing bunch of ladies you are. Have a beautiful week!