We had a little taste of spring there for a bit, but winter is still holding court around here. Ari has been going out for a morning ski every day (saying- "this might be my last chance!") and he is just whipping along with his new skate-skiing skills on that firm ice crust out there. Admittedly, I have not been getting the rest of us out as much as I should- the same paths we tromped all winter are feeling a little old these days, and my energy for getting baby and kids bundled and out the door has dwindled. But we are keeping busy with lots of projects and creations and book reading and playing together. Some days the kids even get dressed! (I'm realizing that almost all the pictures I've posted of my kids lately they are wearing their pjs. To my credit, they do get dressed (almost) every day, but since I tend to get the camera out more in the mornings when the light is nicer, there are a disproportionate number of pj shots. That's my story anyway. Though it is true that it is sometimes well into the day before the kiddos bother to get dressed or I bother to encourage them. We'll call it a homeschool perk.)

We did a big spring clean/baby proof/ furniture shift last week, and it is amazing what a little refreshing can do for the head-space. The kids are loving the new space, and the new toys that have been cycled from the packed-away boxes (and I am loving a brief hiatus from the teeny plastic bits that all got packed away this time,) and lots of fun creative play has emerged. And cycling out old books for ones that haven't been seen in awhile has made for lots of quiet reading moments. We also have a new nature table space and a new homeschool corner, and an area for Willa to play with all the baby-friendly toys and books. She is getting into stuff now, and she's a busy little girl- though she hasn't started a full crawl yet. The bum-scootch is serving her just fine for now it seems.

And oh, her sweetness. Her sweet, sweet, sweetness. I can hardly stand it sometimes. Last night I was rocking her to sleep, singing to her, holding her sweet little self in my arms, her soft soft hair and warm little head against my face, her body calming at the sound of my voice and I just had this urge to simultaneously stop time right then and there- forever rocking my sweet girl- and also to go downstairs and scoop my other babies out of their beds so I could rock all three of them in my arms together. Of course this is hardly practical, considering the long gangly limbs and big squirmy bodies of my boys, not to mention they would probably balk at being rocked to sleep. But still, there was this deep sense of realizing how fleeting this is, how precious it is, and how each one of them is growing up even in this very moment of holding them tight. Growing up. Growing out of my arms and into themselves. What beauty and joy and heartbreaking wonder it is.

 around here::

 ::lots and lots of hot tea to get through the cold snap.

 

:: dreaming about far off places.

 :: celebrating my love (aka the world's best Papa,)

 :: starting a new cultural block with stories of baby Krishna's antics.

 :: loving this boy's creativity and spunky self. and his homemade bakers hat.

 :: a first sourdough spelt bread success. Yum.

 :: outside the sun shines and the winter marches on. Lots of skiing and shoveling and sledding.

 :: baby in a sunbeam.

These days are feeling full to brimming lately. Sometimes I look around at the house- the piles of laundry and toys and books and the kitchen filled with half-finished projects and the homeschool books to read and the lists and lists I keep making, and the sweet baby who is generally rather uninterested in naps, and the two busy busy cabin-fevered boys and I think- this is craaazy! And it is. It's crazy. But I wouldn't change it for anything, you know? (but I do daydream now and then about being in a coffee shop or the window seat of a train with only my knitting and a good book for company- just for an hour or two!- ok. a weekend. I would take a weekend.)

We are getting through this end of winter hump with lots of reading of books and drawing of pictures and cooking and baking and listening to audiobooks and dancing in the kitchen. The boys came in from a town trip with their Papa so excited, they had seen the great grey owl again and this time saw it swoop down and "catch a mouse dinner"! They were thrilled. Today they had their last ski class- they have been loving their ski lessons so much, they will miss them. 

We are reading a stack of new books now- flying through them quickly these days. Trumpet of the Swans with Ari, My Father's Dragon with Dori and Half Magic with the both of them. I just finished pre-reading Swallows and Amazons which will be a fun read with Ari soon, and have still have not settled on a book to read with Perry in the evenings- we used to read to each other a lot, but will have to work hard to carve out the time these days- but the idea of snuggling with my love by the fire and reading a book together sounds pretty divine, so we'd better just choose one and make it happen! I finished The Snow Child after hearing lots of good things about it, and I love love loved it. I need to take breaks between my own fiction reading  though- I can get so absorbed that I almost forget I have children when the plot gets good. Best not to do that all the time! The boys have been listening to some of the older Junkyard Tales Sparkle Stories this week. They really are so terrific. Dori and I have been reading The Black Geese from the Enki kindy collection this week. Baba Yaga is a beloved villain in this house!

We started a new cultural block this week- so good to visit our beloved India for awhile and pull out some of our traditional Indian music and the Indian cookbooks from our travels and learn some dances and songs. The boys are loving the Krishna trickster tales (Dori soaks it all up during Ari's recall even if he isn't actually listening to the first telling, and loves them, being quite the little trickster himself!) and they have been playing Krishna and stealing butter from the kitchen. My big box of grade 3 Enki materials also arrived and I have been sneaking peeks at it whenever I get the chance- it really is incredible- such thorough, deeply envisioned, beautiful material. Grade 3 is the first year with full cultural immersion units and they look so amazing- I am really excited for our year next year to be so deeply immersed in the cultures we study together. I am still trying to sort out how to combine things with the boys so they are able to share the experience, yet both be met academically and developmentally. It is a lot to think about for this sleep deprived mama!  

and I joke about dreaming about a weekend away, but this morning Perry took Willa for a couple hours while I caught up on some sleep (thanks love!) and when I came downstairs I just had to scoop her up and dance her around the kitchen singing a made up songs about the cutest baby in the world and covering her sweet self with kisses- I missed her so! So no. I wont be taking the train anywhere on my own anytime soon! But a mama can dream, right?

feeding our families:: food for baby

I have been thinking a lot about how to feed this wee babe of mine lately. I felt uncertain about how to feed my other babies- opting to forgo the rice cereal, but not totally sure what to replace it with. My first babies ate a variety of fruits and veggies and bits of what we were eating, but I never felt really confident I was on the right path with the best foods to give my wee ones. One of my kiddos loved everything we gave him and my other really would have been happiest on a strict diet of bread and cookies! Later on, we discovered various food sensitivities and issues with food and gut health and I though back a lot to the early foods they had been eating, wondering if a more conscious, nourishing diet might have helped to avoid some of these issues. They hadn't been eating junk certainly, but I just had a feeling that we could have done better during those early months and years of feeding those little bellies.

So during this pregnancy I was just a wee bit preoccupied with thinking about nourishment and food. I didn't read a single book about pregnancy or birth this time around, but I did real lots about food! After our family's journey with the GAPS diet, and the healing we had with it, and with our focus still being on real, local, nourishing foods, I knew that was where we would start with this baby once she started joining us at the table. 

But after lots of reading I came to the conclusion that there is no one right way to feed a baby! Babies first food's around the world vary hugely (soups, seaweeds, fruit, fish, eggs, legumes, butter, grain porriges, all kinds of different veggies and meaty bits and bobs!) and reflect local traditions, climates and tastes. All sorts of different foods are good for babies! And yet I also knew from our time on GAPS that having a healthy gut is so integral to good health, and that some foods are especially good at promoting digestive health. Plus, it seems obvious that since these little people are growing so darned fast, they need lots of good nutrients to grow on! So I decided to focus on food that was easily digestible and as nutrient dense as possible.

Thankfully wee Willa is happy to eat it all! Her very first food was homemade chicken broth and she approved! Since then she has tried all sorts of things, but usually broth is a componant- since it is so good for the tummy and such an all-round healthy food. And it is such an easy transition food from breast milk for little taste buds- no new textures to adjust to right away! Now many (but not all) of  her meals start with bone broth -which the rest of the family is often eating as well- but with various veggies and/or meats mixed in and mashed up a bit with some healthy fats (coconut oil, butter ghee...) and a little probiotic food like whey from our homemade goat yogurt or some fermented veggies. So far some of her favorites are carrots, squash, leeks rutabagas, onions, meats- including liver (I wish the rest of us could learn to love it like she does!) fish, plain goat yogurt, avocado, banana, fresh carrot-celery juice, cooked apple (and gnawing on a raw one,) banana. She also adores our lacto-fermented pickles of all sorts- which is awesome as they are such a healthy probiotic food- and a great teething toy to boot! Lots of sources suggest egg yolk as a good first food, but they don't agree with Willa's tummy yet so we'll wait and try again later on those. 

I am finding now as I am offering her a greater variety of things that usually she can be eating from the foods we are eating and there is getting to be less prep work to feed her. I make a lot of soup for our family, so I can just scoop out some veggies or meat and some broth and then add in other ingredients for the rest of the family. If I am making something just for her I try to make extra and freeze small portions, but already I am needing to do this less and less. She will be eating most of what we are eating fairly soon I think, though we will hold off on any grains for awhile. She seems pretty happy and healthy, so, hopefully we are on the right track.

My favorite resource has been Super Nutrition for Babies which has lots of great information and some excellent recipes- lots of great grain-free ones that our whole family has enjoyed. There is a chapter on baby feeding in the GAPS book which I have kept an eye on too.  I also read French Kids Eat Everything when I was pregnanct and really enjoyed it (and it has finally helped me get my big boys to  stop snacking insistently and my picky eater to start eating more real food which is something to celebrate!) It isn't specifially about feeding babies, but I was insprired by the variety and approach to feeding little ones that she talked about. Along the same lines is this beautiful website by a french mama- she posts her baby's weekly menu too, which is fun to read and glean ideas from! I also read Real Food for Mother and Baby while I was pregnant and it laid things out in a way that helped me feel calm and sure that feeding and nourishing mamas and little people is totally doable.  

I am loving being part of the Feeding our Families discussion with other mama bloggers. Please check out the other posts, and join in on the comments too! 

 

Melanie from Our Ash Grove

http://ourashgrove.blogspot.com

Jules from A Little Crafty Nest

http://alittlecraftynest.typepad.com

Melody from Bespoke

http://www.littlehomeblessings.com

Sarah from Our Island Home

http://sarah-ourislandhome.blogspot.com

Tonya from Joyful Living

http://plainandjoyfulliving.blogspot.com

Heather from Shivaya Naturals

http://www.shivayanaturals.com

Renee from Heirloom Seasons

http://heirloomseasons.blogspot.com

 

 

 

The weather has warmed up and we are outside more again. It almost feels spring-ish, though I know better than to get my hopes up, there is still lots of winter ahead and that is okay too. We missed our Imbolc/Candlemass candle-making day (still planning on dipping some candles at some point,) but we sure have been noticing a change in the light- a happy reminder that spring one day will come. Valentines was a sweet little celebration with paper hearts and flowers and heart shaped crepes. Ari did his 100th show on the community radio and it created quite a stir- he got 3 interviews-1 newspaper and 2 on different CBC shows, and handled it all like a pro. And the station manager who is a good friend made him this terrific gold record (and also took this photo) which he is rather thrilled with -as you can see!

Other things: We saw a huge great grey owl on our driveway the other day- such magic to watch it swoop from tree to tree. 

There have been a lot more sick bugs in the house this year than in past years- nothing serious, but enough to throw things off  the rails a bit. 

Listening to lots of stories on tape- A Mouse Called Wolf was enjoyed this weekend. Dorian has almost memorized some of Jill Tomlinson's stories- they really are so perfect for this age and he adores the accent of the woman who reads them.  (and looking up this link I realize there are several here we have not read/heard- good to know as winter marches on!) 

Willa is such a wonder- gosh we enjoy this baby girl! Tonight she was copying Dorian's movements- wiggling from side to side and up and down- knowing she was making a good joke. And I could just snuggle her sweet little self all the day long. My favorite moment is lifting her out of bed after a nap when she is all warm and sleepy and cuddly. Oh sweet baby girl, we love you! 

 And looking for a new book, preferable one that would be good to read aloud with my love- any suggestions?

Goodnight friends! 

I am joining in with Jamie at Simple Homeschool for the Day-in-the- life homeschool series, documenting a typical day in our homeschoolin' home. We homeschool using the Enki Education curriculum with our kindergartener and 2nd grader- and our 8-month-old baby is along for the ride.

Today I get up with the baby and find the boys already up with Perry as he gets ready for work. They have pulled out the "barley bin" - a big sensory bin full of dried beans and barley and shells and cups and little vehicles and are engaged in a game together. I make a cup of tea and start on breakfast. When it is ready the boys leave their game to come and eat and I eat with them with the baby on my lap. I start cleaning up while they finish up and then take turns with each boy for "mini-practice"- our new attempt to get a daily music practice in. Just a quick once or twice through a single song for school days, with longer practices on weekends when mama can focus more fully on the little musicians. They play their songs and are off for free play time.


I use this time to change and nurse Willa, put away dishes and get a start on supper. Days where supper prep is done first thing go so much smoother- I manage it about half the time. Willa plays on the kitchen floor with some measuring cups and spoons (baby math!) while I bustle around.

After about an hour I start humming the cleaning-up transition song and start the boys cleaning and getting ready to go outside. I have to give these songs some thought- they work really well for my dreamy kindergartener, but my second grade boy is getting resistant to them and the transition into outside clothes does not go smoothly for him today. But before long we are all outside in the new snow and happy to be out. The goal of our morning outside time is to have a short exercise walk to get our blood moving before lesson time- and the boys do have a lot of energy to burn- jumping and running and sliding down the hills, walking in the deepest snow for the extra challenge. Willa loves the ride in the ergo and watches the sky for birds, and I enjoy the brisk walk. By the time we near home Willa is asleep and the boys have slowed down a little, but they are not quite ready to come inside.  I lay babygirl down in the bed upstairs and get a few things ready for morning lesson and then call the boys in. 
 
We used to do a longer circle at this time, but it just wasn't working for me to try and hold that kind of formal space with just the 3 of us, so now we just keep it very short. I am confident that my active fellows are getting plenty of base-sense activity with all the sledding, skiing, wrestling, shovelling and racing about that they take part in during an average day. So now we just do a sensory integration activity and a couple cultural dances that are based in the culture we have been working with, and some academic activities- multiplication clapping games and a number fact chants for Ari, beanbag counting and days of the week for Dorian and then our form walk to end it. We sit down to work on our morning lesson.

Our morning lesson focus is math right now, and we are working with place value for Ari. Dorian is free to join in as he likes or do his own thing, but he usually wants to be part of what his big brother is doing. A few days ago Ari and I read a place value story about the Kingdom of Jewel and a character called Tricky Mischief who saves the day by counting all the jewels in the kingdom. Last day we counted a huge pile of bean "jewels" together, using envelopes and little boxes to sort and count together. Today we work on a drawing in our books and then move to the chalkboard to work with numbers and drawings of jewels. 
 
Both boys really enjoy this and are excited to draw and erase the jewels to change the huge number, and then reading it out together. I can see Ari really starting to take hold of these concepts in a playful way, and I think he will be ready to move on to using manipulatives and written numbers on paper in the next lesson. The boys continue drawing and writing numbers (creating "funny numbers" like 5555! haha!) while I prepare lunch. Willa miraculously sleeps through all this- she is not much of a napper, so these long ones are a rare treat! I hear her waking up just as I am getting lunch out, and I go up to get her, kiss her cute self 1000 times and bring her down to eat beside us in the highchair.

After lunch is quiet time. Ari starts first in their room, turning on a story CD and bringing in some art supplies, and Dori and I have storytime on the couch. We light a candle- he likes to do it himself these days- and read his Enki kindy story. This week's story is The Talking Fish from Armenia, and he is loving it, and I've been hearing bits of the story in his play. When we are done I start an audiobook for him on the ipod and he goes to his quiet-time spot in the book corner of the living room to listen and draw. With Willa having just woken, this quiet time wont be a rest time for me, but I enjoy some time with my wee one, check my e-mail and slip upstairs with her to my sewing nook to sew a few seams before Ari comes to get me for practice time (by sneaking up the stairs and shouting "boo!" and scaring the pants off me!) Willa loves the basket of ribbon and trim!
 
Dori takes his story to finish in the bedroom and I work with Ari for a bit. On days where we have a new curriculum story to read we do it during this time, but today we get right to his reading time. He reads me a book and then he does some practice work. He works on a printing sheet and some language arts work. In a perfect world I would be able to give Ari my full attention during this part of the day to work with Enki language arts games, or on some journalling or story writing, but that rarely happens these days. Babygirl is getting fussy on my lap and Dori comes out from quiet time needing my attention. I am glad for the workbooks we have for Ari to practice these skills and he usually enjoys working on them independently. He gets through the work quickly- it has started to snow and the boys want to get out in it to play "arctic explorers."
The explorers are out for about an hour and manage to shovel all the pathways before coming in for a snack and a chapter of our read-aloud by the fire. 

Afternoons vary quite a bit from day to day around here- there is a ski class on one day, and there is music lessons and the boy's radio show- and on home days our afternoons are each quite different, with the boys working on various projects of their own creation, or helping me with kitchen projects, or doing puzzles or craft projects. Today Ari asks to set up the rope ladder and Dori asks for a puzzle, but they are getting a little grumpy with each other so I pull out a craft kit that their grandparent's sent for them to work on while  I get the baby down for her (late!) nap and work on supper. She sleeps approximately 3.5 minutes and then I juggle her while I finish supper.
 
 Supper is mostly ready when Perry gets home, but that isn't always the case. Evenings are the usual dinner and bedtime routines. Sometimes there is time for playing with Papa or having some family art or music time or other activity. Tonight the boys pretend they are circus performers as they get ready for bed, doing tricks on the rope ladder that is still up in the living room. They give me their autographs (as "Strongman Ari" and "Strongman Jack") before heading off to the bedroom. Perry does the final bed routines for the boys and I take the baby off to bed. Then we try and clean up and catch up on a few things, have some sort of uninterrupted conversation, and get ready for the next day ahead!

 

This past week we had some very cold weather, which kept us inside more than usual. The boys had some epic play going on, with games that have been going on for days, being set up and taken down and set back up again. We are moving on to a math block now, with a place value unit which is going to be good fun- a story about a castle being won by counting up all the jewels in the kingdom-  and then working together to sort and count a huge pile of "jewels" (beans) of our own. This sort of hands-on and image rich activity really suits my active, story-lovin' boy.

I came downstairs with Willa on Saturday morning and both boys were already awake and busy on projects. Dorian had stapled together some papers and was busy illustrating a book and dictating words to Perry, and Ari was writing a King Midas story on the computer (he's never typed anything up before, so he was very excited!) At the end of Dori's book he drew pictures and titles of several other books in his book series, and he has gone on to complete several of these over the course of the weekend. I love homeschooling.

 I am knitting so slowly these days, but getting somewhere with a few projects. I have a couple baby girl projects in the works, including this little maxi-dress that I found half finished in the bottom of my knitting basket and picked back up again. Also something for my dear, patient sister, who just might get it by her half-birthday!

And Willa, oh my, this baby! She has my heart. She is utter sweetness. She is scootching backwards on her belly now, and playing peekaboo by pulling blankets over her head and then pulling them off again when we say "where's Willa?" And when I gave her that apple to play with she surprised me by spending an hour carefully peeling the skin of with her new teeth, spitting it out and sort of mashing it against her teeth to slowly carve away at it. Brilliant, this baby of mine.

We had a lovely long weekend together, slow days mostly at home, really enjoying some time as a family. We even managed to get a few things done off the list! Couldn't every weekend be a 3 day one?

Happy Monday, friends.