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. ;)