The Last Two Weeks

Happy Holidays from all of us!

It is an understatement to say that the last two weeks have been most hectic and stressful for our slow-paced family. So a sampling of pictures will have to do while we are in recovery mode!

Dec. 16 - Laurel and Olivia are THREE!

~ Liv opens a gift from Aunt Bec, penguin from NovaNatural ~

Dec. 16 - That very night, there were fevers in three of three daughters.

Dec. 16-20 We all got sick and the girls felt quite ill for four days, and were up most of the night. Suddenly, our plan of quiet evenings making Solstice gifts was upended. We stayed up all night, taking 30 minute chunks of time between comforting feverish children. That Momma and Daddy weren't more ill than they were is a miracle of sorts.

~ sick chickens ~

Dec 21 - The fevers finally break just in time for our family Winter Solstice celebration. All got a new dress for their doll. Lela got a new teeny doll, Laurel got a wooden wagon/stroller, and Liv got a balance bike, painted glitter red! And their big gift, of course, was the wooden kitchen made by Daddy!

~ happy girls love their Momma-made dresses for their dolls ~

Dec 24. - Happy Birthday Grana! Happy Birthday Aunt Virginia! We love you!

Dec. 24 - Then just three days later, snuffles and coughs still a nuisance, we travelled to Virginia to be with family for Christmas. There was still snow on the ground and it was so beautiful on the farm.

~ Loving Gran ~

Dec. 25 - Christmas Day, we gathered to eat, play the gift exchange game and have a great time together.

~ Four Generations ~

Dec. 26 - Happy Birthday Grandaddy/GP! We love you!

Dec 28 - We left the rural Piedmont of Virginia by way of mountainous Blackburg, where one of Mike's brothers lives. We spent the day with Grandma, Uncle C and cousin A. I didn't get any pictures, but the girls had fun and there was quite a bit of snow on the ground and flurries.

Dec 28 - We arrived back home a few hours after dinner, and plopped the girls in bed.

We are still recovering and will be for a few more days I expect. Hopefully, after the long weekend, we will feel like ourselves again. :)

Peace,
Carrie

P.S. This post and pictures are made possible by the external harddrive my parents gave me for Christmas. Now I have somewhere safe to store my beloved pictures. My computer is completely filled - not a single picture could be uploaded. It is also nearly 6 years old. Gratefully, we received funds to buy a laptop! I hope this will happen in the next few days, and that by soon after the New Year, I will have a shiny new toy. :)

Beautiful Pictures

Please, please visit my friend Lora's website to see these beautiful pictures of the girls!

Lora Denton Photography

This link is actually to my post along, but be sure to check out her other beautiful pictures of families and births.

Great job Lora, thanks so much! :)


And also a quick note to say that I cannot be sure when I will post here again. We have all been sick since Wednesday and remain that way today, with no end in sight. I hope to be back to posting around the New Year.

....our little secret....

Three little girls will be excited to receive this Daddy-made gift!





He was inspired by Sylvie's Kitchen on NovaNatural. I believe he's pulling this together for around $50. It is missing the bottom details for a very important reason - sitting flush on the floor means no dust bunnies or toys or food crumbs can hide underneath!
Happy holiday crafting!
Peace,
Carrie

Happy Birthday Olivia and Laurel!

Three years old today!

~ Laurel (left) and Olivia ~

~ Olivia (left) and Laurel ~

My, how you two have grown and grown up.

~ Laurel Marie AKA Baby B~

~ Olivia Kathryn AKA Baby A ~

Big belly, bigger surprise
Long nights, nursing around the clock

Tiny babies, one month old and no weight gain

Finding our rhythm, babywearing twins

Washing diapers, washing clothes

Getting muddy, playing outside

Climbing, crying, laughing, living

We love you so much!

birthday crafting and preparations

Last night I finished up Liv and Laurel's 3rd birthday gifts - teeny Waldorf babies.

~ Livvy's doll ~

Their outfits are made out of their own worn-out-and-outgrown stretch pants. I do believe that they will recognize that little detail.

The only thing left to do is make them a little diaper, and of course, create their birthday tables. This year I think I'm just going to give them each an end of the hearth. At any rate, Mike and I have a fun night of getting ready!

~ Laurel's doll ~

They have requested a birthday breakfast of French toast and a birthday dinner of pizza! Luckily I made bread so breakfast will be simple, and Mike makes the best French toast. I need to mix up the pizza dough today so it is ready to cook tomorrow.








I'm so excited for them to wake up tomorrow morning and receive their gifts, from us as well as their grandparents and aunt.

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Of course, a brief look back at birthdays past is in order!

~ Birth Day ~

~ First Birthday ~

~ Second Birthday~

I have one more day to enjoy two year old twins!
Peace,
Carrie

Real Life

Last week, after a great Monday Waldorf co-op.... Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were terrible.

I yelled and scolded and berated and barked.

I puttered around on the computer all day.

I didn't take my kids outside as much as I should.

Meals were thrown together.

The Laundry Mountain had a landslide.

By Friday, with the coaching of my husband, I pulled it back together. Not idyllic. Just together. A breath in, a breath out. Unplugged the computer and sat on the floor.

So, here you go, cruddy pictures and all - this is our Real Life. A bit self-depricating, but accurate. :)

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FRIDAY: After singing the Winds song from Song of the Seasons, we did a little bit of yoga. Goodness, that felt blissful. We all were so grounded afterwards. Then we moved on to some holiday crafting.

~ ACRYLIC felt trees ~

~ a lost greyhound wandered through our yard,

so we brought him in! ~

"Gunner" was promptly reunited with a neighbor. Note to self - don't get a greyhound for a pet unless you can manage to remove the breakfast food from the table before 11:00am. And yes, there's a beer bottle for a candlestick on our table.

~ table surfing ~

While I took a minute to relax, Lela decide to do some photography. She asked Laurel and Olivia to pose for her, so they did!

~ Tree Pose ~

Dinner that night was leftover rice with leftover beans. I thought I would be clever and pop in a tomato. I had picked up this on at the farmers market a couple weeks before, and it had gone from green to red on my windowsill. Then I cut into it.....

~ tomato sproutlings ~

SATURDAY: Desperate for coffee, I went to the grocery store at 6:00am. Goodbye willpower, hello delicious, creamy, heavenly coffee! Promptly spilled a bit on the floor while frantically opening the package. Two hours later this image still remained......

~ I call this one: footprint in coffee grounds with distracting flash ~

Time to water our tree! Of course, the kitchen sink is completely full of dishes. What to do, what to do? Oh yes - use the diaper sprayer! I wish I could say I put that empty toilet paper roll back there for humor.

~ improvisation ~

Mike and the girls boldly decided to undertake a project! Together they built a simple shelf with hooks to hold their boots, hats and coats. Here, you can see a fine example of our excellent parenting. Two of three children wielding saws.



Lastly and bestly (is that a word?) I got to go shopping for a little while. Okay, a couple hours. OKAY it was over three hours! While I was out, Mike and the girls made hammocks under the bunk beds.



He's a great man. It allowed me to get the last few supplies to make the teeny babies for Laurel and Liv's upcoming birthday. The only supply left to get is the wool stuffing, tubular stockinette, and, oh yes, the motivation to start the project.





Hope you enjoyed this little realistic peek into our lives!
Peace,
Carrie

Waldorf Co-op

I have no pictures today - but if I get some hands on them I will share. ;)


Today was a FANTASTIC day, I nearly wanted to cry with joy. It was 39 degrees F when I pulled into the parking lot at the park. I was wearing Mike's capeline Orvis longjohns (ahem!), a long skirt, nursing tank, long sleeved shirt and a lightweight jacket, and my new hat. The girls all had on 2 layers on the bottom and 4 layers on top (undershirt, longsleeved t-shirt, sweatshirt/sweater/dress, and coat) and hats. I am really noticing that I appreciated the warm layers as well. I felt a bit clunky in my boots, and I was quick to show everyone that I had them on as well as longjohns. Not much above freezing and we were comfortable!


We were perfectly comfortable all day long! The girls were in great moods, no one clambering to nurse during circle, or lunch, or story, or....you get the picture. As the Sun came out and shone through the bare trees, everyone shed a layer, only to replace it when clouds arrived. Our fire crackled and offered everyone some additional warmth. More warmth was provided by all the thermos of herbal tea, cider and soup. Brilliant!


After Circle and craft (birdseed pinecones for the 3rd week honoring the animal world) and lunch, we went for a nice just-over-a-mile hike. I ended up carrying Laurel and Liv in the wraps, and Erin kindly was my donkey for my backpack. Liv got a quick snooze on the front.


I enjoyed all the great conversation on the hike and afterwards. There's so much alive-ness (is that a word?) from these women. To have these deep connections with people who are not your physical family is glorious and when you are with them you can feel your heart bursting with happiness and gratitude for their company.


Love to you all!


Peace,
Carrie

Visit from Saint Nikolaus and Jack Frost

Happy Saint Nikolaus Day!

Many Waldorf families choose to celebrate the traditional Waldorf "saint" holidays. We decided to embrace that as well this year. The stories are powerful and the saints, Saint Nikolaus included, are figures to look up to, for children and adults alike. We've been talking about him all week.

Last night during dinner, I told a Saint Nikolaus story, in brief, to prepare the children. After dinner, we sat out milk and a muffin for Saint Nikolaus, and THREE huge carrots for his horse. The children sat our their boots in an orderly row, while I retold the story, longer and with a few more details.

~ last minute arranging ~

~Saint Nikolaus has arrived with treats! ~

" Saint Nikolaus" brought the girls a pretty ribbon, a knitted Santa gnome and some yogurt pretzels and chocolate covered peanuts. I told the story again, with more details than before.

~ midnight oil knitted gnome take a backseat, eh, boot, to food treats ~

~ what happens when sugar is the first thing on your stomach in the morning ~



~ frosty Santa gnome (thanks for the wool Apple!) ~

I struggled with this holiday quite a bit, since we don't "do" Santa Claus. Was it a double standard? In the end, I told the children that Saint Nikolaus became Santa Claus (true) and that the spirit of Saint Nikolaus is celebrated today as well as Christmas Eve. Though they knew Saint Nikolaus and his horse were not actually coming into the house, the magic and surprise was not diminished this morning. And we can continue to honor Saint Nikolaus Day with our own generosity and love.

However, we did feel quite certain that Saint Nikolaus himself had given us a gift - in the form of Jack Frost.

~ white clover ~

Bundled up to keep in that physical and spiritual warmth, we all ventured outside in the cold, clear morning to dance through the hard frost. This is pretty much the closest thing to snow that we can hope for here in the southern United States.

I couldn't stop taking pictures of the beautiful Japanese maple leaves. The trees, which were hanging onto many of the crimson, feathery leaves, dropped them all as the Sun shooed away little Jack Frost.

~ Japanese maple leaf ~

For more about warmth, please look at a favorite blog of mine, Healing Hillary. Her most recent post was very inspirational to me, as we have struggled here with winter dress. I left a HUGE comment, even mentioning the fact that I didn't own any shoes but sandals.

However, a bit later, as the words sunk in, I realized that yes, I *DO* have other shoes. I promptly went upstairs, pulled on my favorite wool socks and put on my hiking boots. They haven't been worn in years, since before the children we born. They felt quite uncomfortable at first, when compared to the Chacos and Keens I normally wear. But I acclimated and I wonder now if my friends at co-op tomorrow will notice. ;)

Hillary, I'm still wearing the socks!

Peace and Happy Saint Nikolaus Day!

Carrie

SuperMomma Saves the Day, eh, Night: An Epic Short Story

I shared this on a local mommy chat board today - hope you enjoy!

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It was not-so-late one night when three little girls were getting ready for bed. Daddy was doing his regular bedtime routine, brushing teeth, washing faces, putting out fires.



Then, from the top of the steps Daddy shouts:

"Where is the mattress cover and sheet for the bed?!"

Quickly, SuperMomma springs into action. The cover and sheet were sitting, newly washed and dried, in the clothes basket in the laundry room. SuperMomma bounds upstairs and passes the linens to Daddy. Crisis averted - no one will ruin the mattress tonight.



SuperMomma continues getting her knitting things together for the knit/crochet night. By now, it is about 6:45pm, time crunch. Supermomma had laid out PJs for everyone - - - everyone except the Littlest.


From the bedroom comes a squelching scream:

"Where's my sheep pajama pants?!?!"

SuperMomma again races into action. The sheep pajama pants hadn't been washed - drats - but there *were* the much-coveted pink sparkle pants. SuperMomma administers said sparkle pants, only to discover - - -

FOUR TO FIVE MASSIVE TEARS!

Terror ensues - screaming begins - Littlest demands the pants be mended! What will our buxom heroine do now?



Once more, SuperMomma rises to the challenge. With pink thread and needle in hand, she begins rapidly stitching the pants back up. But will she be done in time? For if the children aren't in bed by 7:00pm, then they will hear the knock on the door - the knock of their friends coming over to pick up milk - and will not go to sleep.

Tick tock tick tock

Her fingers flying deftly, SuperMomma whip stitches the pants. Daddy is beginning to get nervous in the bedroom. Just as she is snipping the last thread, Daddy calls:

"Are you done yet?"

DONE! The pants are adminsitered to the Littlest. The children are swiftly kissed and SuperMomma manages to escape the room without nursing the Littlest and Next Littlest children. A harrowing manuever, to be sure.


With only seconds to spare, SuperMomma gets to the door, exchanges the raw milk for organic wool batting. And now, with only 10 minutes, she gathers her knitting and crochet supplies and yarn, snatches the favorite coffee mug from the cabinet, jumps into the car and drives away.

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A relaxing evening is her reward. Knitting, oohing over babies, and chatting. Oh the chatting.

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Peace,

Carrie (AKA SuperMomma)

Also, I technically didn't get the door - Mike did. But it makes for a better story if I did. ;)

This is Waldorf - Connection to Earth

This is a little themed post that I have been musing on for a while now. I believe I would like to try to make this into a regular thing. This blog has become a bit of a journal for me, and putting some of these words down has helped me to solidify them in reality.

So here goes!

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This is Waldorf is a verbal and visual representation of what Waldorf means to us.

Waldorf is our lifestyle.

Rather, more accurately, our lifestyle is easily defined by Waldorf. We were already doing many of the "ideals" long before I met my dear and wonderful friend Tanya, who first told me about Waldorf, way back when my twins were not even walking. Some of the "ideals" go along with attachment parenting and conscious living and natural living.

So today I'd like to show some pictures that represent our connection to Earth. The Earth provides food and Energy for us.

~ this year's garden - our first ever ~

With love and great care, the plants and animals will provide food.

~ first tomato ~

But timing is also important.

~ rite of passage: picking green tomatoes ~

Pictures in books come alive, when you see them in Nature.

~ Cicely Mary Barker's Foxy Foxglove ~

We are connected to Earth physically, but we also want to be connect to Earth spiritually.

~ Dancing in the rain on Spring Equinox ~

And most importantly, We Are Nature.

Peace,
Carrie

Thankful

Last Friday we celebrated Thanksgiving with my parents, sister, and sister's significant other. It was a beautiful day and we quickly decided to move the feast out-of -doors.

~ Lela-made place markers ~

~ The Birthday Boy - Pop ~

~ Lela and Gran ~

~ Liv and Aunt Bec ~

Thanks for a beautiful and blessed day, loved ones!

Peace and Gratitude,

Carrie

WiP Wednesday - Cheating and More

I remember fondly a funny post on Little Home Blessings. Despite spending the last fifteen minutes digging through her site, I cannot find it. (However, after all that digging I feel newly inspired by all her beautiful crafting!)

Anyway, the premise of post was that she had been crocheting, and was "cheating" on her knitting.

~ So, today I'm cheating as well. ~

My friend taught me how a couple weeks ago and I am just now getting around to my first project. This is going to be a hat for me - imagine that, actually crafting for yourself. I'm amazed at how quickly crochet works up.

I try to have my girls wear a hat out-of-doors when the weather necessitates it. But I cannot expect them to wear one if I never do! Crochet offers a warm-natured momma a lightweight hat. I will definitely share a finished picture of this one.

In keeping with the cruddy-picture-nice-craft theme, here's a picture of a really sweet bow that my friend made for the girls. There are actually 2 different bows, one for each girl. She did an amazing job!

~ Lela ~

~ Laurel modeling a past WiP - another completed gnome hat. ~

~ And isn't a marriage, a partnership, always a work-in-progress? ~

Yes, the Winter Beard is gone. :( To return soon, I hope!
My parents visited us for 4 days last week, and we celebrated Thanksgiving. I figured I would share those pictures in the next few days. But on Saturday night, after the girls were asleep, my mom gave us her credit card and we went out for drinks and a little food and a lot of fun. This picture that I FORCED Mike to take is probably the first one we've taken together in at least a year.
Peace,
Carrie