A Few Thrift Store Treasures

As you may know by now, I love vintage treasures and I love frugality. So, not only are antique shops of interest, but thrift stores are divine. There are always fabulous vintage and used items at these lovely second-hand shops. This last time I went, I didn't find much, but I did find a couple of cute finds.

I am somewhat of a collector of different mugs, generally from Japan or fancy companies. We use them and they always replace some of the chipped or broken cups. The blue spiral mug on the left was made in Japan and I love the color and character of the piece. On the right are two mugs featuring wonderful Norman Rockwell paintings with brief stories on the opposite side. I love Norman Rockwell and this was particularly cool because I already have two other editions to this set, also from the thrift store (they are in the dishwasher right now, so I will have to share another time.)

These were about $0.25 for this set of ceramic autumn candle holders. I know that autumn is a ways away, but I still couldn't resist for the price and the lovely colors. Plus, we love candles in this house, so this was a perfect buy.

At the local thrift store, there is always tons of junk in the book section, but if you have the time or patience to weed through it all, you will always find some gems. Each of these books offer wonderful illustrations and classic stories. The entire shopping day cost us about $4.00, and we just went to the one in our community so I am not even going to count gas. It is always so rewarding and it is always fun to go on treasure hunts!

Getting Started on Sewing

Sewing is sew good for the soul. I haven't done much sewing for quite some time, but I have several ideas that I would love to implement....But where to get started? I have my stash of fabric, most of which was purchased second-hand, and I have my machine. I never really had any formal training or any informal training for that matter. So, I had to figure it out myself, and there are still so many things I have yet to learn. Here are a few comprehensive sewing books that are extremely helpful for beginners and cool in content.

Wonderful Illustrated Season Books

I absolutely love these picture books based on each season. Gerda Muller is the illustrator of these wordless wonders. They are great for all ages and each of my kids love them. I usually put one on the bookshelf that corresponds with the current season and tuck the others away on a less frequented shelf. These can be found at any book seller or reseller. I bought these used on Amazon for cheap. These are great for anyone who is curious about or involved with Waldorf education, anyone who loves nature and art, or for anyone interested in warm, fuzzy picture books for their little ones.

As one might suspect, we currently have the *Winter* edition out for the boys. Below is one of the detailed, soft paintings within the board book. There is always something happening everywhere you look. Bobcat can listen to my narration as he absorbs the lively colors and images. Jaguar can tell the story to me differently each time we go through it. Plus, it gives him several ideas of what he wants to do, expanding his imagination and creativity.

 Below is an example of each of the books' illustrations throughout, in addition to the beautiful panoramic images. These pages display separate smaller paintings that depict particular activities by the which the characters engage. Characters include children, sometimes their parents, and their dog.

At any rate, check your local library or purchase them used. It is well worth it. The paintings suck you right into a land of childhood experiences, family, traditions, nature.... Again this set of books are fantastic for toddlers, preschoolers, and older children, as well.

Recap of our Kwanzaa Celebration

Kwanzaa is a non-religious holiday that honors African-American people and their heritage. Everyone can join in the Kwanzaa celebration, which lasts for 7 days from December 26 until January 1.

Kwanzaa was started in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, an African-American teacher. He wanted to help African Americans learn about their African history, culture, and customs.

Dr. Karenga took the name for the holiday from the Swahili word "Kwanza," which means "the first fruits of the harvest." The extra "a" was added so the name would have seven letters to match the seven principles of Kwanzaa. First harvest, when crops are gathered, is a time of great celebration in many regions of Africa. Like the first harvest, Kwanzaa is an exciting and joyful occasion.

Jaguar and I worked on many things to celebrate and to learn about Kwanzaa. We read a few books, and read stories to exemplify each meaningful day therein.



This is the Kinara that Jaguar made from homemade playdough, which was crusty in texture by the 7th day. A kinara is similar to that of the Jewish Menorah used on Hannukah to represent each day of the celebration. The middle candle is supposed to be black, the left three red, and the right three green, but we made due with leftover birthday candles used on our prior menorah.

Jaguar made a Bendera, which is the African-American flag that is displayed during Kwanzaa. The black represents African-American people, the red symbolizes their struggles, and the green stands for a happy future. We used dollar store felt and scrap yarn from my stash, and Jaguar sewed the 3 strips together. He utilized popsicle sticks to make the flag's handle. Sewing is great for dexterity and coordination, even for a 4-year-old.

African quilts are a customary part of the culture. Making quilts is a wonderful part of gift-giving during Kwanzaa. Jaguar and I picked out different African designs off of the internet, sized them, and printed them. He then meticulously colored each patch to his liking and put them together to form the perfect African paper quilt.

Jaguar created a woven place mat with common African colors, and he used this as his book cover. Within his book, he has numerous pages that include crayon-colored images of Africa, Kwanzaa scenes, and more. He also did matching activities, letter fill-ins, word fill-ins, write the Kwanzaa words, and more.



Happy (Belated) Kwanzaa!!!

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My "Notebook" - Organize Life With a Binder(s)

Getting organized can be done in many ways. There isn't just one right way to go about this. I have discovered the use of a binder (or binders) with dividers. There are just too many aspects of life for me to keep track of on my own, so I end up writing things down. The only problem with writing things down is that I often don't look at what I wrote. However, with a binder filled with all my schedules and lists and planners, I am sure to keep refering back to it again and again.
















My "Notebook" is a work in progress, but so far, I have included the following:
Family
• Personal Information for each child (Developmental Toys and materials, extra curricular activities…)
• Clothing Size Tracker
• Master Occassions (Birthdays, Anniversaries….)
• Gift Ideas List
• Birthday Party Ideas
• Recommended Websites
• Movies to Watch
• Books to Read
• Library Information
• Craft Queue and Progress
• Holiday Planner

School
• Weekly Planner for each child
• Reading List
• Summer Programs Information

Home
• Monthly Cleaning Schedule
• Home Inventory
• Home Improvement/Decorating Ideas
• Car Maintenance /Schedule

Meals
• Weekly Schedule
• Shopping List

Finance
• Spending Record
• Bills to Pay
• Credit Card List












There are so many other subjects and categories that are important to every individual life. This list is not a full reference list of what one should have in their “Notebook” if they so choose to start one, but it is a great start. I have yet to expand on mine listed here, but at least now I feel like I am much more in control of my life. :)

First Day of Home School for my Preschooler

Yesterday, I managed to successfully begin home-schooling my preschooler without even a morsel of the tv! He had a lot of fun, even though he was asking me about movies periodically. I had to keep reminding him about our new rule of no movies during the week. He was pretty accepting of this, though he doesn't really know the concept of no tv for 5 days straight. Eh, he'll get used to it, as long as he is being stimulated properly, actually doing things, rather than passively watching the simulation of others doing things, and then getting up afterwards with all this pent up energy and nothing in his brain other than the crap he just watched. So, today will be our second day of tv detox.

So, anyway, we have decided to do a 6-week unit on weather because it is summer. Yesterday morning, Bobcat and Jaguar and I all took a long walk in the morning and discussed all the things we saw and the traits of the current weather. We then ate some apple slices and drank water (Man, it's hot out, especially carrying a rollie-pollie 25-Lb baby in a sling!). Bobcat is being a little kling-on lately, so it is hard getting anything done without having to hold him. So, when we got home he still wanted me to hold him and threw a huge fit. Then, I struggled to prepare my etsy orders for shipping, and scooped up the boys for trip to the post office and the store for food coloring.

After we returned back home to the more shady tall pines, I put the baby to sleep. Jaguar and I went into the kitchen and filled an ice tray with water and he created mixtures of colors within. We stuck it in the freezer and ta da!, we had colorful ice cubes. Outside, there were some patches of sun that we used to lay down papers and ice cubes on top. We left it for the sun to do it's watercolor magic. The colors traveled and melted and created a beautiful masterpiece. He also spent much of his time drawing pictures of people, animals, rainbows, summer landscapes... He loves drawing.

It was so warm yesterday, we had a light lunch of avacado on toast and fruit. Jaguar played thoughout the day in his transforming bedroom and outside in the dirt and on the swing. He was building roads and buildings with scrap chunks of wood from Daddy's bunk bed-making. He would dance to the lingering music on the radio periodically. He helped sort the dirty clothes and swept the garage of it's saw dust and goodies tracked in from outside. He fed the kitty, watered the garden, took out the compost.... All the while, Bobcat tags along, often wanting me to hold him, and explores the things in his little sensory world. Right now, he is exploring clapping, running, dancing and climbing...

We also started on our felt "paper doll", whereas I drew and cut it out for him after he attempted both, and he drew the eyes, mouth, and nostrils (he had to have a nose on his doll). Then he picked out the colors of embroidery floss and began carefully and meticulously stitching the eyes and nostrils. By that time, he had had enough. So we will continue today.

We made a curry lentil dish for dinner, and then the boys went outside even longer, this time with Daddy because he was home. After my dinner cleanup, I decided to take a bike ride all the way up to the corner store and over to this other house we were going to buy a year ago. It was a major fixer and I wanted to see the progress made by the people who had ended up moving in there. It is like night and day from what it was. But now I had to pump up this huge hill just to get out of there....I made it, without getting off the bike once.

I then gave the boys a bath, read Jaguar "The Earth and I", which we have actually continuously read for about 5 days (he dives in further and further each time) and "Summer" by Gerda Muller. Then he went night night. Bobcat actually had an odd sleep schedule last night, taking a "nap" late and waking at around 10:00 pm...Yeah...(sarcasm). So, he stayed wide awake with us till 12:30.

And we are up again at 7:20 this morning......

Rearranging the Boys' Bedroom

This last weekend, I decided to go through the kids' bedroom once again to do a cleansing. I took out 95% of the of remaining plastic toys, junk, and character stuff from the last toy cleanout. Most of that is in my trunk, ready to be sent off to the local thrift store. Then, I decided to remove all the movies from the living room (too accessable, and yes, we are still watching movies, though we haven't had TV in about 6 years) and into the top shelves of the kids' closet. I want them to still be accessable, but sort of forgotten as they gather dust up there. I can't remove them completely yet, but it is a gradual process. Although, I did implement a new rule upon starting to formally "homeschool" my preschooler yesterday, which was that he can only watch movies on the weekends. This, I am excited about because I have been bad with this since we moved to our new house a few months ago.

My husband is starting a bunk bed business and he just built a short loft bed for my son, which has a spacious space underneath for just about anything in a young child's world. Right now, all we have done is hang a sarong across the front and put some cushions and animals inside. I plan to refine this, like put playsilks across the ceiling of the "castle" or "cave" part of the bed or hang needle felted ornaments from the wooden slats, or something. This inspired me to do a whole bedroom/living room arrangement. My husband is going to build a tall loft bed that creates an even bigger space below to place a desk or whatever. We are getting rid of the previous bunk bed that was separated into 2 beds and the matching colossal dresser/shelves. I am excited because there is all this open space and vacant room...I can think clear-minded, the kids can play clear-minded. Well it will be filled in with more attractive custom made drawers, kitchenette, fridge, and low shelves. This will be a slow process, but hopefully we can get this all implemented within a couple of months. There is still a bit of rearranging to do, but we are headed n that direction.

Books were another category of items we had too much of. So many of these books that I decided to get rid of were based on movie characters, or were just of lower quality. From 2 bookshelves-full, we ended up with one. So, I moved the low bookshelf into the boys' room as a temporary home for all of their kitchen toys. When I was in there, I gazed at our 9-year-old's bookshelf. I ended up eliminating 1/3 of his chapter books, which were mostly GooseBumps. Now he is left with an array of Newberrys, naturesque books, animal stories, fairy tales, and so on...

Furthermore, the only kiddie things we have in the living room anymore are the couple of Waldorf babies in the corner of the sectional couch blanketed by a couple of fairy play silks, and our developing nature table, which, by the way, gets "rearranged" at least 20 times daily by our 16-month-old...we are working on it. See pic for our nature-table-in-progress. This is great because our old house was dominated by little kid junk! I guess I just didn't really know where to start at the time.

There will be more updates in the future on the updates in our home and life!