Homemade Toys this Year

I am trying to calm my spirit and the mood of our home to the quiet of the Advent season. The weather has finally obliged by turning cold with sometimes darker skies, the retail business has not.

We are crafting as we think of the people we love and how to offer them something special this season. I am talking a lot with the older children about the value of a gift that you make with your own hands; be it a hat, an ornament or a song you play. I also try to move us away from the gimmies and the pursuit of catalogs to make room in our hearts for compassion, peace and celebration. Arthur has already wrapped up a box of candles he made with love and Alienor has been making a present for her sister.

As we look forward to the coming Solstice, when the darkest part of the year gives way to the light of renewed hope and a new day, I am sharing a series of photos of some of the toys we have made (or remodeled, as my childhood doll house). More will come, as I capture (literally and on film) the many dolls hiding around the house. 

What are you doing this season?

Toymaking

Road Trip

I quickly posted photos a few weeks ago from our two days of partial camping road trips. The plan was to camp, but when the forecast said 29 degrees overnight, we chickened out. Or at least the parents did, the kids decided to camp out anyway...on the trampoline in the back yard. They loved it, they all ended up in a great big pile in the middle, keeping each other warm if not comfortable.

The whole two days were glorious. I was interpreting in court in the morning and gazing at the Mississippi from the wooded hills in the afternoon. Skirt, stockings and heels in front of a judge... to jeans and tennies with my whole family out in the woods in 3 hours. I kept thinking; "this morning I was at work!" Then I forgot about work and home and just had fun tramping around and exploring, marveling at the fantastic views of the Mississippi River from Pike's Peak State Park or Pallisades Park.

Salute to Parents Everywhere

At 6:30am at the grocery store this morning, I saw both mothers and fathers, checking through quickly with bread, fruit, diapers, milk (we all had milk, I was toting three different sorts). Clearly we had somewhere else to be, some of us were dressed for work, some just rolled out of bed. Here we were, dashing out to make sure our babies were fed and taken care of. As I was pulling out of my parking space, there came one father holding the hands of three toddlers with a smile on his face; incredible!

Sure, it would be better if we'd remembered at a more convenient time that there was nothing in the fridge for breakfast, school lunches, etc., but perfection is so last season, and as elusive as the end of the rainbow. It's not worth beating yourself up about. Don't forget that it is not in the moments of glory, your kid's graduation from med.school or the gifts you give, even if it is a car, that we excel as parents. 

It is in the day-to-day dedication to doing what needs to be done, the repeated vow to try harder, understand more deeply and be the best mother or father we can be at each moment. You're buying bologna at 5am dressed in sweats, flip-flops and your winter coat covering it all up? Give yourself a high five, you're doing it, friend!

Ready for a Hike

On the Edge

Road Trip: Pike's Peak on the Mississippi

Camping Out: in the Backyard Between Road Trips

Pallisades Park

More Precarious than it Looks

Pooch Along

Pike's Peak, Iowa

Happy Trails

Birth Order and Middle Children

 Alienor said to me yesterday morning; "Aragorn and I are a lot alike. It's like two pairs, because Lily and Arthur are alike too." She then went on to explain all the ways that she and her brother were alike, as well as something she couldn't quite put her finger on. The amazing thing is: her father and I both agree on this, we don't talk about it in front of the children, but there is a certain truth in it. This is not the first insightful thing this child has said. She would set up mini-fights with her dolls when she was little, that ended in "too much yelling" and people being thrown out of the doll house. Ouch. Or dolls being lovingly soothed back to a peaceful state on other days.

I once attended a talk on birth order as connected to careers and personalities of children. I found it fascinating, but took it with a grain of salt. Each of my children is precious and loved, for their very own self, without qualifications.

American History

Our new block for my 8th and 9th graders is United States History. Over the years we have studied different epochs in history, through mythology, legends and then history resources, but this will be our first concentrated effort on US history as a whole. We've studied European history, Asian history, African history and our local and state history. It's a funny thing, what kids learn that you don't realize they are learning, and what they don't know that you  are sure you've been over a number of times...or they should have read somewhere...or you had pounded into your head for so many years that you assume they know too. 

History is an excellent example of this. Aragorn and Lily DO know a lot, but the sources of when and why they learned are so odd and interesting. They remember who made the first American flag, because we saw the house of Betsy Ross in Baltimore.