My Absence Excuses

My lack of postings are due to the following excuses:

:: no internet access, but just with my username (hmmm ?)

:: the camera was last in Scott's possession which he thinks he left in the shed which has the basketball sized hornet's nest in it!

So once I get these two issues dealt with I will be back to regular postings but for now I'm taking my time and enjoying the lazy days of summer with the kids (poor Daddy has to go to work).

Medieval Festival

We went to the Upper Canada Village Medieval Festival since Sir Carter is so interested in knights and castles. It was incredible and we going back next year but in costume. Carter and Gabe can be knights, Madison a princess, I'll be a gypsy and Scott can wear a Peter Pan hat!

Madison and Scott making candles.

His sword is bigger than him!

This was a real Heavy Armour Jousting Match, they actually went at each other full force and knocked each other off their horses.

Upper Canada Pioneer Village

In keeping with our learning about pioneer living we took a family trip to the Upper Canada Pioneer Village to explore what life would have been like for Canadian pioneers in the 1860s. I was the most excited and interested and would like to go back by myself. This part of Canadian history really interests me and I can't stop reading about it. There is something that captivates me about truly living off the land and a simplier way of life. Our pioneers worked hard and endured many hardships yet their lifestyle still appeals to me. I do believe that I am a 19th century soul livng in a 21st century body.

Here a few of the many photos I took with a link underneath in case you want to read some more.

Sawmill

Flour Mill

Shoemaker

Tinsmith's Shop

General Store

The Dressmaker's Shop

The School House

Spinning & Weaving

Our Little Big Boy

Carter found a friend caterpillar yesterday and named him "Harry".  He giggled as he walked across his fingers and was so gentle with him. Eventually he did drop him in the grass and couldn't find him but continued to look and call his name. "Mama I can't find Harry and I've looked everywhere for him, I think he's lost". I hope he didn't step on him while looking!

I can also officially announce that Carter is fully potty trained now! We are so proud of him and he is also very proud of himself. We put him in underwear starting last Saturday morning and he tried and tried all day with no success. Now since Sunday he hasn't had any accidents and dry diapers in the mornings! It took one day. There really is something to be said about waiting until the child is ready and not the parent and not focussing on their age. Oh, and some gummy worms as bribes and cool underwear help too.

Pow Wow

(check out the belly on Gabe)

We took the kids to experience their first Pow Wow. It quickly became obvious just how underexposed they are to our native culture. There is nothing like seeing a pow wow through a child's eyes. They were so full of questions, loud comments and had no problem with pointing at people. This didn't bother me at all and no one else seemed to mind. I tried to answer all of their questions as best as I could.

Of course I have acquired some books on Ojibway heritage and ceremonies to learn more myself and hopefully pass some culture onto my children. The best book I found is The Mishomis Book The Voice of the Ojibway by Edward Benton-Banai.

It really was an amazing thing to experience with the kids, the drum drumming, the men singing, the people dancing, the circle of community surrounding them.

Its a start, the kids and I can learn together.

Our Little Ballerina

Pictures from Madison's ballet recital last weekend. 

What can I really say about this, the pictures say it all. 

She is absolutely beautiful. 

It still brings tears to my eyes to think about her up on that stage. 

She takes her ballet very seriously and practices all the time at home. 

Our little ballerina. 

I love you Madi.

Spring has finally sprung at our house!

We have been busily reading our Spring books, working on our Early Spring Nature Table, planning our garden, sewing seeds and getting our nature bag supplies collected. All of the snow has melted from our yard and the winter gear is ready to be packed away. The sun is shining, flowers & trees are budding, the birds are chirping, the squirrels are busy digging up stored food. 

The kids have found a cure for their cabin fever which includes (but not limited to): puddle jumping, mud digging, nature collecting, bird watching, park swinging, and all around squeals of delight that spring has arrived.

Our long & dark Canadian winter hibernation is over . . . let the sun shine, the rain pour and our world turn green all around us right before our eyes! Magical.

I'm Still Here

I'm still here, I just haven't been posting much lately. I've been re-evaluating the whole blog thing and trying to sort through my have-to and want-to. There are a lot of things on both lists right now and I'm trying to muddle through them as best as I can without too much stress or anxiety. I can't decide if blog posting should be on the have-to or want-to list? 

I recognize that I have to let some things go and even lower my standards on some. Sometimes I have to move something from the have-to list onto the want-to list. Most of this is self-imposed, silly really, I blame it on the fact that I'm a Virgo and its just in my nature to be organized and a bit of a perfectionist. 

I think it also has to do with the whole concept of "spring cleaning", for some reason I feel the need to clean, organize & air out the entire house and I guess part of that includes myself and its great to have this blog to help me with this. I guess this is in anticipation of the lazy days of summer when we can just sit back, relax (ya right!) and enjoy the outdoors.

The blog needs to be more about "life", my life, the kids life, our life together as a family. Regardless of what we are doing, weather its an exciting day or mundane day, happy or sad, good or bad.  You are going to see it all, right here. This space is a place for my creative expression through my words & photographs, the sharing of my crafty creations and of course a way to document it all and share with friends & family. Even if we have one of those days, I'm going to share it. If I'm going to document our lives then it needs to be real, not staged or contrived, but honest and true to ourselves. 

Oh ya, I almost forgot, the above picture is of Sasha (Madison's doll) with her new ring sling and pocket baby. Madison earned the money to pay for it when she came to work with me for a couple of hours. She took it really serious and made sure to complete all of her tasks. Now she wants to work more hours to earn the money to buy a friend for Sasha!

Rainbow Procion Dyeing Tutorial

(picture courtesy BTRT)

Lori of Beneath the Rowan Tree has an amazing Rainbow Procion Dyeing Tutorial for purchase from her Etsy shop that I really wanted to share. This is something I am going to do but, only after I finish up some of my current works in progress!

Its a 10 page tutorial for creating colourful rainbow items, which are suitable for all plant fiber which includes cotton, bamboo, hemp etc. The tutorial includes 20+ pictures, clear, detailed instructions and loads of tips & tricks. It will walk you through dyeing a pair of cotton tights, but is applicable to anything at all: clothing, sheets, wraps and more. The tutorial provides information on dyeing with Procion (fiber reactive) dyes. The tutorial costs $6.50 (USD), and will be emailed to you in a PDF file. The tutorial itself and all the content and images are copyright of BTRT but it can be used to make items for commercial purposes.

How cool is this, oh the possibilities . . !

"Home is Where the Art Is"

The featured article in Mothering Magazine's March-April 09 issue is Crafty Mamas written by Jean Van't Hull. Its about how, "Everyday objects are elevated to the sublime in the art and blogs of five creative women."

The five featured women are:

1. Amanda Blake Soule - who blogs as SouleMama & is the author of The Creative Family How to Encourage Imagination and Nuture Family Connections
   
2. Sally Shim - who blogs at Shim and Sons
3. Amy Karol - who blogs as Angry Chicken & is the author of Bend-the-Rules-Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew
4. Stephanie Congdon Barnes - she blogs at stephaniecongdonbarnes.blogspot.com & has published A Year of Mornings - 3191 Miles Apart: A Photographic Collaboration
5. Eren San Pedro - aka Vintage Chica who blogs at vintagechica.typepad.com

Look at the above picture of Soulemama's studio space, how I covet it.
The article talks about how there is an entire movement of stay-at-home moms making things themselves rather than buying them, thrifting & re-purposing, trying to simplify their lives and re-connecting with nature. Van't Hul writes, that the movement involves stay-at-home moms "reaching out with or extending that creativity, through writing and photography, via their own blogs." She puts in perfectly in her article, "Blogs often serve a dual purpose of sharing information about crafts, and providing a welcome avenue for networking and "getting out of the house," if only via the keyboard".

Once again Mothering Magazine "hits the nail on the head", the article perfectly describes and explores the reasons why I started to read blogs and why I started my own. There is a community of stay-at-home mothers that are connected via their computers not only by their love for their children but, by a love for all things handmade. There is a movement of re-connection to home economics, a whole generation is re-learning traditional crafting and teaching it to their children and sharing it with others through their blogs.

For me, the skills and knowledge of breastfeeding, sewing, quilting, knitting and food preservation skipped a generation. My grandmothers did these things, albeit out of necessity, but they did not pass the skills on to my parents. Now, it seems that the generations that follow are trying to reach back into time and re-learn these invaluable domestic skills and pass them on to their children. The difference is, now the necessity of it all isn't the Great Depression its a commitment to a green lifestyle.

I tie my apron strings around my waist with pride!

:: Wow, that was a long post and I even wanted to write more! Really, just buy the magazine and read the article (or you can borrow mine).

Woolly Tits

Yes, those are knitted "Woolly Tits"! What the? Here's the story . . .

The original idea came from a story on the BBC a couple of years ago, whereby a hospital in Liverpool couldn't afford or like the commercial fake breasts used for teaching breastfeeding to new mothers. So someone came up with the idea of knitting them instead. An appeal went out worldwide for knitters to help out. That's when a fellow Ottawa Public Health Breastfeeding Buddy Volunteer by the name of Elizabeth Ann Spencer decided to help out and see if there was any local interest, and there was!

Here is a video clip from BBC news to see Woolly Tits being used as a breastfeeding teaching tool.

Elizabeth is amazing, she has raised $400 during each of the last 2 years for UNICEF's "Spread the Net" campaign in memory of a school-friend who died of malaria when she was 19.  

So now you're wondering how can I order some?

Elizabeth knits basic skin colours (ivory/maroon or beige/chocolate) and fun stripey ones!

They are $10 each ($8 goes to UNICEF!) if picked up locally and add $3 (for a total of $13 each) to cover postage & handling if they need to be mailed. No bulk discounts, sorry.

These are aimed primarily at those who teach breastfeeding for demonstrative purposes only, such as lactation consultants, pre-natal educators, postpartum nurses & doulas and GP practices. They are not meant to be toys or novelty items.

Please email me at marcisimonini(at)rogers(dot)com to get in touch with Elizabeth to place your order.

I Heart Squirrels

Yes that's right, I heart squirrels. I don't know exactly why but I just think they are really interesting little creatures. Not that I would want one as a pet but they're a lot of fun to watch and photograph. In fact when I was taking the pics for this post Madison rolled her eyes and said, "Mommy why do you like squirrels so much?" not really in the form of a question more of an annoyed statement.

Above is a felt squirrel broach, "on the lookout for acorns with his beady eye" which is beautifully hand cut & hand sewn by an amazing and talented fiber artist Lupin (or Laura). The broach is available in grey or dark red and measures approx. 6cms. Please visit her website or Etsy to order one & see more of her work and check out her blog Bugs And Fishes by Lupin for daily doses of felt + time + tea = handstitched loveliness.

Now lets learn some more about squirrels, shall we!

Spieces?

There are about 300 varieties of squirrels around the world. In North America there are ten. Examples are the red/brown squirrels that live in evergreen trees and eat seeds of pinecones and the gray squirrel (my favourite) which lives in woods of oaks, ashes and beeches and mainly eats beech nuts and acorns.

Where do squirrels live?

Squirrels typically live in trees - in holes in the trunk, or in treetop crow's nests. The homes in the treetops are called dreys and sometimes consist of two rooms and a nursery! How cool is that? Here is a video of some gray squirrels building their drey and mating (ya I knew that would get your attention!).

Above is a picture (gotta love winter's grey sky in the background) of a squirrel's drey high up in the Maple tree right in our front yard. The kids love to look out the picture window and watch the squirels go in and out. They are always busy repairing the drey, digging up stored food and either playing/fighting each other. Its hilarious to watch them jump onto the bird feeder to steal some seed.

I'm always asking the kids, "I wonder what the squirrels are doing today? I wonder what they are doing in their drey and when they are going to come out?" and they always get excited when they spot one and are sure to let me know!

Mamma Needs a New Chair

I'm sad to say that my glider is on its final glides. The arm is broken and won't stayed glued together, the cushions have no cushioning left, springs are missing & you need to sit on a pillow and screws randomly fall out of it while gliding. 

The thing is I've had this glider for over 5 years now, since I was pregnant with my first. It holds countless memories for us and has unmeasurable sentimental value. When I think about the amount of glides it provided for my babes and me it melts my heart. The nurturing it helped provide, the breastfeeding, the rocking to sleep, the consoling, the cuddles, just last week I rocked my five year old when she was sick. Plus now I like to sit in it and knit (how little old lady of me!). 

Farewell my friend, thanks for the glides, thanks for the love.
The time has come to choose a new chair. I really don't want another nursery looking baby glider but a nice upholstered chair that glides. Glide baby glide. This is the Hazel Glider by Serena & Lily. I love the casual look of this one and it looks so inviting & comfortable to sit in.
This is the Luca Glider by Monte which is a Canadian company and is sold at a local retailer. This one is more modern looking but I like the fact that its made right here in Ontario and the company is big on sustainability.

They both come in every colour combination imaginable, are about the same price & take 4-6 weeks for delivery. Isn't that just about the right amount of time for Mother's Day?

Another option, and a much cheaper one, is going with a traditional mission style rocking chair.

Oh please help me decide.

Eeny Meeny Miney Moe

Eeny Meeny Miney Moe - I can't decide what to blog about today so here is a bunch of my scatterbrain odds & ends . . .

This picture pretty much sums up what I've been doing the last couple of days, mothering 3 sick kids with head colds, runny noses and a nice dry cough to go with it. My arsenal included lots of kleenex, orange juice, homeopathic cough syrup, chest rub, some cuddle blankets for snuggle buggling in the rocking chair & a whole pile of movies. I'm sure I'll get it next.
Knitting Update - My scarf is now 25 inches long and the ball of wool is about the size of a soft ball. I think I will be done in time for the Crafty Mommas meeting so they can help me decide on my next knitting project. I got some knitting books from the library, have joined Ravelry and have been coveting some really beautiful wool on Etsy.
I was really excited when the new Spring 2009 issue of Living Crafts arrived in the mail. There are some really great projects in it which include: sewing a doll quilt, a knitted baby carrier, weaving with children, felted flowers, easter bunnys & other great stuff.
Scott finally dug out the Advanced User Guide for our camera. I really need to read it and work on my picture taking skills.
And last but not least, I bought some carob chips to make some cookies with. I'm still looking for a good recipe so if anyone has one please pass it on.

In Lieu of Gifts

Oh a mother's pride, I am so proud of Madison. For her 5th Birthday, which was back in August, she agreed to have a Charitable Birthday Party for her and 5 of her friends. Guests were asked to make a donation to the Ottawa Food Bank in lieu of birthday presents.  Information about the charity and the form for a tax receipt were sent with the party invitations. We gave Madi the choice of 3 different charities to choose from and she still received presents to open from her family.
This is the thank you card she just received from the Food Bank, she collected 10 pounds of food and $120 which for every dollar generates five dollars worth of food into the community. She is really proud of herself and she should be. 

We will continue to have charitable birthday parties for our kids once they reach age 5 and are old enough to understand and participate.  We encourage more families to do the same, just think of the possibilities . . .

Change and Hope

Congratulations United States of America on the Inauguration of 

Barack Obama.

Welcome Change.

Hope for the future,

For our neighbours and for our world.

Nature Table

We have been busy working on our first Winter Nature Table. We are using the table in the entrance so that Madison and Carter have access to it but Gabriel doesn't. Madi collected the bare branches with no leaves and Cart and Gabe collected the pine cones and evergreen boughs. The white play silk represents the snow and the candle represents the return of the sun.

The winter scene is this layered 4 Seasons Puzzle by Beleduc which was one of Madison's Christmas presents. She is really excited about the nature table, she takes it very seriously and enjoys showing it to any visitors and explaining what everything represents. I'm so proud.

This is Father Winter who is the personification of winter and my next crafting adventure. I've already made his head and of course his cloak will be made from felt and his beard from wool. I'm sure mine won't look like this but that is the beauty of hand made, I'll share a picture when I'm done. Although all crafting is now on hold as I have promised to finish Gabriel's (aka the baby who doesn't sleep) baby book and birth story for his first birthday.