Happy Hanukkah!

MIA and WIPs

Working on a bunch of snowmen, giving these away to various people as gifts.

Changed the nature table today, complete with Menorah, Charlie Brown tree, Yule elf and Yule goat.

Anyone want some Turkey jerky?

I'm not sure where I went wrong. I've made turkey many times (successfully, even!) before. But, this year, I totally overcooked that sucker. It was chewy. Very, very chewy. No big deal on several counts, though.

1. I was only making it for us.
2. I got it for free (my husband's workplace gives them out every year -- if only they would come with those handy pop up timers that most other turkeys have)
3. We are going away for a few days, to visit some friends (when would we eat it all?)

I'll do better next year! This year we're going to spend the day outside playing instead.

WIP

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Originally uploaded by shar0n_adler

Sock monkey #1. I'm hoping to finish two of these by Hanukkah. Loving the pattern and yarn so far. This was a free pattern I picked up at Michaels. Ravelry link here

Trying to get back in the groove

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Originally uploaded by shar0n_adler

I survived our trip to Boston and back. I pushed a little too hard with the driving this time and I'm definitely not feeling like doing it again anytime soon. We have to drive up again for Christmas, though, but at least my husband will be with me then. We've been back a week and it has taken us almost this long to get back into our usual rhythm.

Today we started our "Thankful Tree" and we'll be adding a leaf every day until Thanksgiving. I'm trying to make plans for activities around the holidays as well. It is hard to start your own traditions as a family, to make the holiday your own. Sometimes I lack the motivation to try new things.

WIP Wednesday

No pictures today unfortunately. I'm knitting with black yarn and I had a hard time getting a clear picture of my project. Basically, the picture looked like a big black blob. Anyhow, I'm STILL working on Halloween longies for my daughter. I guess I've sort of lost motivation for these, so I've been knitting really slow.

The kids have both been waking up at night, so I'm a bleary eyed mess this week. My son (3.5) has been waking up every night at 3am for 4-5 months. We have no idea why. My daughter is teething.

We're due to leave for Rhode Island/ Boston area tomorrow. I'm driving up by myself, visiting my mother, and then picking my husband up at Logan and we're spending a few days in the area we used to live in.

Somehow, it is easier on the road. Even traveling with them by myself, I find a lot of peace in being mobile. And, without all of the housework to worry about, it seems there is more time to enjoy life.

WIP Wednesday

I can't seem to stop knitting dolly pumpkin hats



Claire's sweater is finally done. I'm not too wild with the way the sleeves came out. I really wish I could rip it back and redistribute colors, but I used every last drop of yarn. I guess I'll have to live with it and hope it is less noticable when she is wearing it. ;o)

I'll working on some longies for Claire that are Halloween themed. Should have those by next week.

Reconsidering homeschooling

We went on another preschool tour yesterday. Got pretty drenched just walking to the front door, it poured all day long. I really want to like one of these places, but I just don't feel like any of them are good enough for my son. Maybe that sounds snotty of me, but I don't think I could send him anywhere that wasn't 100% perfect for him right now. Maybe it is a first-born thing, I don't know.

Anyhow, this particular program was at the Jewish Temple, so a big bonus would be that he wouldn't come home singing "Jesus Loves Me." (Not that there is anything wrong with that, if you are Christian, which we are not) But, I still didn't have the "this is it" feeling. There aren't a ton of other options for us either. So, I guess I'm back to not sending him anywhere and just keeping him home.

I think my biggest concern right now is writing skills. Ephram only recently started drawing (previously he refused), and his grip on his writing utensil leaves something to be desired. I believe a lot in the Waldorf approach, but I also think that we have to make a little progress on things like this. Not sure where to start with the whole homeschooling thing and the thought of homeschooling makes me feel a bit overwhelmed. Not sure where to start in educating myself.

I don't think we're going to stay here in SC for the long term, so my thought is that I would homeschool him only until we move somewhere closer to a desirable school.

WIP Wednesday - Progress is a little slow lately

Pumpkin hat for Claire's baby doll

Plus, I'm still working on reworking a sweater for Claire. I'm hoping it will be finished before we journey northward to visit family. She has limited cold weather clothing and she'll be wearing a few hand-me-downs from her brother.

WIP Wednesday on Friday

Hat for my husband. This was the hat before I ripped it back. He doesn't like the stripe placement. I've decided to just omit the stripe entirely because I've not had the best luck with my WIPs lately.

I also have a pair of Halloween longies and a sweater for my daughter in the re-works.

I took Ephram of a tour of our local Montessori school this morning. We've had a rough few weeks and I've really felt like I was failing at the whole homeschooling thing at times. So, I figured it wouldn't hurt to check it out. It seems like a great program for him, but I find myself asking whether it is really worth the money ($440/month for M-F 8:30-11:30am). I know he'd get more socialization than he is getting now, but a lot of the educational activities that they presented to me were things I already am doing with him at home. Or things he is already proficient in. I know it probably has more value than I realize, but sometimes I really underestimate how much he learns at home. Even when it feels like I'm not really teaching him anything. If there were a Waldorf program nearby, I might feel differently about sending him. I find a lot of value in a program that is rich in art and music. For now, he will remain at home with me. I feel good about that. If nothing else, today made me feel a little more confident that I'm doing an ok job.

Baking bread with toddlers

Today we're making Sunflower Bread and Challah Bread.

Hello knitting funk

It has been a frustrating knitting week for me. I have several projects that I'd hope to have finished by now, but instead, they are sitting in a pile, waiting to be frogged. I keep making silly mistakes. It took be a bit to mourn the loss of the sweater I was knitting Claire, but I think I'm ready to cast on again. So much for my knitting 'agenda.'

Rainy days

We made this bat garland this morning. Although I really have no reason to be, I am extremely bored. It has been raining everyday and I'm getting cabin fever.

Autumn Nature Table

We set up our autumn nature table today. Perfect activity for a rainy Sunday. I am in love with the pumpkin patch gnome I got on Etsy. Love. I got it to represent the "Halloween tomten," who we leave most of our candy out for on Halloween night. In exchange, the Halloween tomten might leave us several small gifts in our trick-or-treat bags. ;o)



Seasonal selections. Some are Waldorf-y, others, definitely not.

Sharing a cider slushie at Skytop Orchard in NC

How much is that froggy in the window?

Marty walked by the front door and saw this guy plastered to it, sleeping. We think he is a green tree frog.



He tried to make a break for it after Ephram tried to pet him and kept yelling "HI FROGGY!"

WIP Wednesday

Curly Purly Pumpkin. Knit with Naturally by Nazareth wool yarn, which I love.



Ear Cozies hat for my husband. I found this pattern to run a tad small, so I casted on 120 to make a hat for his 22.25 inch head. Hopefully, it will fit. I'm using ultra Alpaca by Berroco.



Seasons Round Exchange items.



Pullover sweater for my daughter. 24 mos size, but I'm adding to the length and sleeve length a bit.

I'm hoping to get these, plus a sweater for my son done for the first day of autumn, but they may end up being gifts for Michaelmas instead.

I'm so excited to be traveling back to Salem for Halloween, my favorite place to be this time of year. We have yet to spend a Halloween here, in South Carolina. It just doesn't feel like fall here to me. Plus, I plan to enjoy all of the wonderful seafood restaurants while I am there. You can't really get fresh seafood here. Oh, I am sooooooooo looking forward to it.

On being *mostly* TV-free

DS hasn't watched TV in a very long time.... until these past couple of weeks. Both kids have been waking up at night lately, and, in my exhausted efforts to get dinner started, I have turned it on for short intervals. I don't feel as guilty about it as I thought I would. For the most part, I believe that toddlers really don't need TV in their lives. I've noticed a big change in DS since we stopped watching it altogether. His imagination is absolutely incredible, and some of the stuff that comes out of his head, 100% organically grown in there (not a product of something he has watched and parrots back at me) totally impresses me.

Anyhow, per some recommendations on MDC, I just rented "The Red Balloon" on Netflix. What a wonderful, wonderful film. DD and DS both sat through the entire thing (a rarity) and were completely rapt. And, I don't feel guilty about showing it to them.

These past few weeks have been hard for me. I've got the end of summer blues. I find myself feeling like this, as one season draws to a close, more often then not. Living here, in SC, has been a major adjustment for me. But, I am trying to bloom where I am planted for the time being. I have hopes of moving back North, though. North of the Mason-Dixon line. The South isn't for me, I've never felt like I've fit in here. I'm doing a major cleanout right now, because you never know, we could move at anytime. Keeping focused on the present and trying to live in the moment should be my focus, though, and I'm working on it.

WIP Wednesday

I can't believe it is Wednesday again already. I had planned a real post prior to now, but life has been busy.



Sweater and hat set (6mos size) for a friend in England that just had her first baby.

Friday is Baking Day

Every Friday I bake Challah bread, so we do a lot of our baking on Friday. My husband is Jewish, and when we moved to South Carolina we found that it was a bit harder to find challah bread at the market as we had in the Boston area. And, when it was available, it wasn't the best or the freshest. So, I started making my own. It was a lot easier than running around to different places on Friday to search for it. I'll post my Challah recipe at some point in the future. For now, let me share with you what I am baking this morning, in honor of the harvest season. It is a really dense and yummy bread.



Pumpkin Bread

1 small sugar pumpkin (I half it, scoop out seeds and then bake it for 1-2 hours)
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2/3 cup water
2 3/4 cups brown sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger

Puree pumpkin, eggs and water together in blender. Mix with rest of ingredients. Pour into two greased and floured loaf pans (I use glass). Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Enjoy!
Makes two loaves. Freezes well.

WIP Wednesday

Not much action that I can share this week. I have several WIPs, but I'm trying to concentrate on finishing my items for the Seasons Round Exchange. I'll share photos after I get them mailed out.

We just moved our 18 mos old daughter to a toddler bed (from the crib), so it has been a tiring week. She has been climbing out of the crib and the pack and play, so it was time to make the move. I thought the transition would be easy, especially after she went down for nap beautifully several times on her big brother's bed. However, I have been humbled. I'm hoping we'll get into a routine within the next week or so.



Here she is sleeping soundly on her brother's bed

WIP Wednesday

Chocolate and cream Bolero


Rainbow Hat #2

Remembering to breathe

I've been spending some time lately reading Buddhism for Mothers by Sarah Napthali. It is a beautifully written, very calm and insightful book. Even if you are not interested in Buddhism as a whole, it has a lot of inspiring thoughts and good information.

We've been using the "Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book" a lot for our afternoon snacks. My 3 year old loves to help make snack. This is a pretty good blueberry muffin recipe. I had to modify it a bit, though. I don't have any "Rice Syrup" in the house so I used sugar instead. I replaced the apple juice with orange and the soymilk with regular milk and I only baked them about 40 minutes. It made 18 muffins.

Weekend

Homemade "tree blocks"


Snacktime