So wanted to change up a table for a bit for the equinox. I have a few more changes planned. I want to keep the table fresh since summer sometimes seems to drag on in Texas. Keep things fresh and growing.The beehive was made by pinning jute rope around styrofoam (would prefer a more eco-friendly material, but was short on time).

The bees were made with brown roving, thread and tissue paper. The pitcher of water is meant to reflect light around the wall and ceiling.

The cuttings are from our Mexican Honeysuckle plant in the front yard. This bush is drought resistant and amazing. What does it do in weeks of 100 heat without much water? It blooms and blooms! A true Southern plant - bring on the heat!

Some days around here are not stellar and I do muddle through. It isn’t always elegant how we get through the day, but we get there. As I review the day, I will pat myself on my back for not giving up or checking out. That has been one big change for me - if things are starting to go downhill, I remain engaged and shift directions. Kids throwing books/toys? Build them a cave on the couch which eventually leads to jumping on the couch (which is totally fine). Downstairs getting old, move upstairs. I am feeling hungry and grumpy, think the kids might as well - make a quick batch of always-pleasing popcorn.

Typically a Cave or Tunnel, but today we were climbing up a mountain…

I am starting to slowly build my arsenal. I got this great idea from a class I took at Blossom Family Center on 3 year-olds about using a lot more imaginary stuff and visual scenery. One day I couldn’t get Tyler on the potty, so I told him to go get on his tractor. I sat in the hallway with him, got on my tractor and took Tyler all over my farm - we fed the horses, checked on the sheep, got some eggs from the hens. And he loved it. Now he tells ME to go get on my tractor while he is on the potty and tells me where we are going. This morning he asked me if I had pigs on my farm…I guess I need to add some.

I am working on doing a better job of setting the stage for play. When I do that and get them engaged, I can usually pull away and get things done while in the same room/area. And I find that as I use my creativity more, the ideas are starting to flow more.

The last two days we have all been in a slump. Maybe I have been preoccupied or just out of sync with the kids. We have our Summer Blossom class starting tomorrow, so that will be fun for all of us. I find that going to that class really helps “reset” me and get me back on track.

Setting the stage for play..I started building bridges creating “loads” and before long Tyler had grabbed his forklift and was hard at work….

Finally, those rhythms and anchors are so necessary. There are certain parts of the day that are always the same. Even when I don’t want to do what is next, I make myself sing the song and get a move on. The continuity really helps all of us settle in to our day. We have a pretty solid morning routine, lunch and rest time routine and then after Quinn wakes up. I even drew a visual aid and Tyler loves it. One day we were out of order and Tyler had to check it and let me know! Things just flow.

Our morning routine: wake, breakfast, dress/brush teeth and hair, and out the door - either to walk the dog, head to our local park or into the car for an adventure

This home stuff is all starting to come together so beautifully. I found a calendar from 1.5 years ago and the way I planned my days were AM - out, then nap, then PM - out. I never wanted to be home. And slowly, this is where I want to be. There is so much fun to be had right here. The days aren’t all perfect, but they aren’t horrible either. Even today, I decided to just clean the house and the kids were fine. They kind of did there own thing, made their own messes, and I got a ton done.

With that the kids are home and it is bath time….

Update:

It is midnight and after futzing with a broken sewing machine for an hour, I fixed it and stayed up late to finish sewing our birthday flags! I will post pics tomorrow! They will be used to celebrate each family members’ birthday.

Tomorrow I start making Quinn’s birthday crown - it is so cute and I am so excited! Tyler already asked me if he was getting his own crown (since I told him the flags were for all of us) and I told him that “yes, he gets his very own special crown”. Oh, this is such fun!!

Birthday Flags!

It has been a crazy week and I stayed up far to late last night getting some tasks completed, but it was TOTALLY worth it! We had a fantastic May Day! All week we had been slowly delivering May Day baskets to our friends and we spent the entire morning delivering the last few. The kids also got a little surprise when they woke up this morning - two new Spring books, (from a great list compiled by Soulemama), and some delicious flower cookies! The seasonal table had reflections of the holiday with colored cloths, fresh flowers and its very own Maypole.

Some days I think that I do this more for myself than the kids, but they today Tyler asked, “why didn’t we do anything for Easter?” I told him we did the egg hunt with our friends and we had a bunny cake from Grandma H and easter baskets from Grandma W, etc. He said, “no…” and meant our seasonal table!?! I was way behind on Easter and the table didn’t have anything special…and he noticed. He even suggested “a Christmas tree with bunnies and chicks and eggs” for next year! I told him I thought it was a great idea and we would do it.

Those moments make the late nights getting everything just right so worth it! Here out some pics from our special day.

Our May Day table!	May Day baskets for our friends - full of flowers, cookies and an invitation to our spring Beltane celebration!
Surprises for the kids!	Tyler checking out his new books - he LOVED “The Sun Egg”

We have been busy as bees around here and perhaps that is why I feel a bit winded this morning. I have much I want to accomplish while Chris is off with the kids, but I will take a cue from my body and lay-low. My biggest goal last week was to get my seasonal table back in shape. Wow, is it full of Spring now!! We have fresh flowers, a wonderful branch from our crepe myrtle, butterfliers that Tyler helped me make, some fabric eggs made by Kristy that we were lucky enough to get in an egg hunt and finally some cute little bunnies that I knitted this past week. They aren’t perfect, but full of love - I really enjoyed making them. If time allows, I would love to learn to needle felt next week and add some tiny carrots to their picnic of greens!

The butterflies and bunnies came from the spring edition of Living Crafts - a most amazing magazine that I would recommend for any crafter or someone wanting inspiration!

I really love the seasonal table - it is something I look forward to and it puts such a smile on my face. And I am most excited that I actually sat down and planned the next 4 months of the table incorporating festivals such as May Day, Pentecost and Whitesun, and St. JOhns’ Tide (Summer Equinox). The table is a mix of seasonal and Christian and Goddess traditions. I am learning to make the little and big changes quietly and not point them out to the kids instead letting them discover the mysteries and fun happenings for themselves.

The Spring Table!!	Georgous flowers from our garden!
Butterflies and Eggs hanging about	Bunnies munching on some greens

It is definitely spring! I have of course been busy with projects and haven’t had as much time to blog, so I will give you a photo montage of some of our spring activities and fun happenings! I will try and post more details on some of the fun projects soon!

The big project that I undertook right after the Christmas holidays was making a doll for Quinn. I had found a kit at the Waldorf School store that utilized a knitted body.

Somehow this seemed much less intimidating then doing a fully formed body. Basically, the head would be the only form challenge - everything else would be stuffing knitting which I learned from the animals I knit a while back.

Halfway through knitting the body for Quinn’s, I decided I wanted to make one for Tyler too. That part was fun because I could ask Tyler was color he wanted and whether he wanted a boy or girl. The answers were “green” and “a boy - just like me”.

Since Tyler knew I was making him a doll, it was fun to share my progress with him. The reason the title to this post is “bulbheads” is that I showed Tyler the dolls when I had the head connected to the body (which had a torso and legs and the time, but no arms). Tyler said they looked like bulbheads.

And yes, the heads did look like lightbulbs. I was a bit dismayed thinking “Great, they will forever be known as “bulbheads.” But the next thing I knew, Quinn took the doll out of my arms saying, “baby” and gave it a hug. Nevermind - it was going to be fine.

I finished the dolls and they turned out better than expected. I did so many things that I had never done before: sewing the seams of a knitted fabric, forming a doll head, making doll clothes, sewing and inseam on pants, and sewing hair on a doll to name a few. Mistakes were made and all is not perfect with them, but I can tell you that I put a ton of love into these creations and I think that is what matters.

I am more than satisfied. I won’t say the dolls are a huge hit with the kids right now, but I expect that as their doll play grows as they age, the dolls will get played with more. And I do admit to getting a little grumpy if a doll is getting mistreated. “No Tyler, I don’t care if it is pretend play, we don’t throw the doll around!” :-p

Even if they end up sitting somewhere untouched - I still derived so much satisfaction from this project and am really glad I took a leap and tried something new. Not to mention that I completed this project which took 6 weeks and pretty much every spare minute I had.

I wish I had taken more pictures showing all the steps involved. It is really fascinating to see how they come together. And finally, here are the finished products!!

Declared Disaster Area

The state of my house right now: disaster area. We are having the carpets cleaned downstairs, so three rooms have been emptied into the rest of the house.

We are commencing a series of house projects that have been discussed for quite some time. First of all, we are moving our master bedroom to its third home. But before we moved rooms, I had to dispose of the last white room in the house and paint the new home of our sleeping room. The pictures below show some before and after as well as the georgous fabric I just bought for curtains.

Oh, and I couldn’t stop there - no I decided I needed to repaint all the trim and the doors in the house. I ripped all the wallpaper out of the entrance a few months ago and need to finish texturing those walls and painting that area.

Oh, and I was having so much fun with the wallpaper steamer, that I went ahead and started ripping off the dining room wallpaper much to hubby’s disapproval. What? Do I have to finish all the projects I start?? :-p I promised him that I would finish it for now by only ripping off what remains above the chair rail, painting it and leaving the rest alone for now.

Where was I? Oh, carpet cleaning. So while we are moving furniture anyway, I decided what the heck - let’s get our dirty carpets cleaned too. And so many other projects will surface - like fixing the curtains I shrunk in our new den.

With that I have to get out of here - I have to put the second coat of paint on the trim and the Project Runway finale is on tonight…priorities people, priorities….

Ick…white walls…	Chris and I painted this room together.. …and the color is called Soulmate..{sniff}
Finished paint, 1 coat of trim, and my beautiful curtain fabric	Empty Den with shrunken curtains - nothing some black fabric can’t fix..