Enchanted Mama

Beach time::

After visiting with family this past week, we headed to the coast to enjoy some beach time.  

One thing about living in the mountains is that we dream of the ocean.  To feel the water on our feet and the ocean breeze on our faces is pure heaven.  The sun came out thankfully and although the water was cold we braved the beach anyway.  

We were that determined. 

 

Our nineteen month old spent many happy hours playing in the sand and toddling around after the birds. She then proceeded to fall asleep in the big daddy's arms for a three hour nap.  

 

My four year old ran and ran and ran in and out of the water until his lips were purple and his hands were popsicles.  Then, he bundled up in towels and his hoodie to wait for a slight bit of warmth to return.  Only to do it all over again. Needless to say, he slept well that night.  

 

My eight year old was the ring leader in the boogie boarding adventures and braved the icy waters for most of the day.  Stopping for lunch but not much else.  He dug in the sand and made a HUGE sandcastle.  He even whispered, thankfully, that he had seen a shark in the water, "he thought, he wasn't sure, but probably and it was big-ish".  

 

My twelve year old was happy to luxuriate on land reading the whole time.  

Oh, how times have changed.  

It was a bit strange to have her next to me most of the day.  Though, I will admit the water was freezing by my standards and there was no way I was jumping in either so I don't really blame her for not wanting to swim.

And really, reading in the sunshine by the ocean what could be better?  

 

Knitting was accomplished by small bits at a time.  Enjoying the sun, the laughter and the crashing ocean.  The big daddy had a snooze while the baby slept on him.  

Relaxing it was.  oh yes.  

 

Overall a successful trip.  Time with family.  Meeting a new wee baby.  Catching up with friends.  Soaking up some sunshine and ocean breezes.  

Even the sandwich snatcher, pictured above,  couldn't ruin our time.  

And now...The laundry's done.  The house returned to some assemblance of order, as of this moment at least.  

I hope to make it to the sewing machine today.  As we are in that magical leap day which comes so rarely it feels as though it should be marked with some creative time.  What do you think?  

There's also knitting pieces to share with you in the next few days.

What do you have planned for today?

 

 

Landing::

We returned yesterday from a wee vacation with the family.  

A delightful time was had.  

A new baby cuddled.

Delicious friends were seen.   

An old family home visited.

Laughter was shared with brothers.

A huge water slide was played on.  

Shells discovered and some good ol' fashion sunshine enjoyed.  

Today, I will happily toss loads of laundry into the wash and spruce up just a bit.  More than likely, I will think about what to have for dinner and dream about all the things we did in such a short time.  

I wish you all the best on this here Monday.  

I'll be back as soon as I can get a few ducks in a row over here.  

Wish me luck.     

 

Play Well::

Sometimes they play so well together.  

They laugh and create worlds with forts.  They help one another and find endless things to talk about.  They share and imagine great things.  They are surprised when the day is over. 

Sometimes that happens.  

I'm really glad when it does.  

 

My little Artist::

 

Oh, how I love thee.  

 

note to self...remember his little blue fingers and the total concentration he has until we hear the out breath and, "It's done."  He loves creating with watercolor, there's something magical about it, something calming.  Please remember this, for his sake.   

 

 

Weekend::

Images of a quiet weekend...

:: A scarf that I knit for my friend's birthday.  Then ripped out.  Then, re-knit.  Then gifted, even though it wasn't done, and I didn't leave enough yarn to finish it, yet she loved it anyway.  It is beautiful yarn!  So she ripped it out, with my urging and blessing of course, and lovingly re-knit it.  She has been wearing it almost everyday since.  Yes, I offered to knit it again for her but she thought it looked like way too much fun and decided to do it herself.  So, essentially I gave her the yarn...."Here's your present, now knit it."  Wow, and it worked!  

:: Breakfast ala the Big Daddy.  Delicious.  

:: A bird on my wee one's head, who turns nineteen months today!  It's the only clip I can seem to keep in her hair right now for all of about two minutes.  She's not a fan of the adornment, I see.   

:: Ginger Cake...yes, again.  I know.  

:: Sunset Show stopper.  

:: Cozy hat for my sister-in-law.  Love that she appreciates hand-knit gifts.  The yarn is so luxurious that I find I'm knitting slower to make it last.  Is that wrong? 

:: Interesting fountain in town that gurgles water out of his mouth in the Spring and Summer.  There's something very intriguing about it.

There was also some skiing.   A late night Downton Abbey watching session, or early as the case may be. Sniffles, coughs and a clean up of the backyard.  All of which I did not take photos of but happened none the less.  

Hope you had a weekend full of moments, Won't you tell me about a few? 

 

All You Need Is::

Happy Valentines Day to all of you lovely ones out there.  

As you read this I'm more than likely bustling excited children off to school to share homemade valentines and some giggles.  What other day can you eat heart shaped cookies, enjoy hand-written cards, eat chocolate before breakfast, and wear a shiny red ribbon in your hair?  

Well, most days I suppose....but today for sure!  

Let's all spread a little love around today shall we?   

Love, really is, all we need!

 

 

End of Week::

Valentines have officially been started.  There are many to be done and little time left to accomplish said task.  We will hope for good weekend Mojo and free time to create.  

My children are sniffling and snuffling.  Not a positive sign.  My plan includes a pot of soup and brewing up some tea.  Oh, and rest as I believe that would do us all a world of good.

The Big Daddy will be learning about fresh handmade pasta and sauces at chef school this weekend...and yes, we are happy about that.   

 

Various knitting projects are under way.  

My brilliant knitting buddy helped on Tuesday to puzzle through the "issue" with the Shimmer Sweater.  Yahoo!  I say brilliant because most knitters probably wouldn't have even noticed this glitch.  So, I will post information on Ravelry for those of you interested.  And, I will be giving full credit to my friend who figured it all out.  Thanks K!

There will be a Bach Cello performance on Sunday by my twelve year old which I'm sure will be lovely and quite an accomplishment for her.  Do you suppose it's normal for the parents to be more nervous than the children?  She performs so often in her Waldorf school with plays, music, public speaking, etc. so it nevers seems to bother her in the least.  Me? on the other hand?  Ner.Vous.  

 

The snow is still lovely yet, cold.  I've been a'shivering the last few days.  Needed to pull out a few more wool items which is honestly never a problem!  

We have the final performance of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight this evening and then all the parents and sixth graders will enjoy a wee party.  Ah, I look forward to that.  

My wish...a relaxing weekend after what proved to be a "flurry" of a week.  

What are your wishes for the weekend?  

 

 

February Colors::

The snow is falling again today and there is a sense of quiet outside.   

I'm noticing the many colors around me--the rich chocolate brown, the taupe's, the grays, the golden yellow. And, the light.  The February light, that is both dramatic and stark at times yet, casts its own glow on everything.  

Plans are percolating for many different projects.  

Valentines need to be started soon since the number is over twenty-five and we've yet to do anything. 

I took a peek through my fabric yesterday and find myself drawn to spring ideas--skirts for me, shirts and dresses for the girls, pants for the boys.  Fun to dream about with the weather outside today.  Though I'm in no way rushing the snow as we have needed it so badly.  

The view from my chair is beautiful and if only we could find the snow shovel, which is undoubtedly under one of the big piles outside, we could clear a path to the car.     

 

Last night I assessed all my various knitting projects "in the works" and although I'm fine with multiple knits in progress I'm feeling the need to clean up and clear out.  I yearn for that sense of accomplishment.  The "last stitch in" kind of joy.  

Hopefully, you will be seeing some things here on the blog soon.  

Of course, not my shimmer sweater, as you can see it has been unraveled and now knit up to the eighth row, again.  Where I'm sure there must be a mistake.  Same spot as last time and I was quite meticulous in my knitting.  Well see.  My two knitting buddies are braving the snow to come over for a bit today and have some knitting time.  Between the three of us, I hope, we can figure this thing out.     

 

I decided I needed to wear some glitter today to perk up.  I feel a bit less than sparkly today.  

How do you do it morning people out there????  I try to wake earlier and end up tired and uh-hmmm, grumpy.  What time do you go to bed?  That may be my problem as my night owl tendencies leave little room for sleeping in between.   

The "clearing out" journey of January continues in the basement.  I tried to convince my children over the weekend that it would be FUN to help out this mama but they weren't having it.  Granted there was epic snow outside so I don't blame them in the least and it was a great excuse to put it off until Monday.

What I find is that the more you clear out the bigger mess the rest of your house gets to be.  Moving a table from downstairs yesterday created an entire shuffle of furniture in the living room AND dining room.  

Yes, there are bonuses to said "mess".  It's a fresh start of sorts and I'm sitting at the table by the window writing this as we speak.  So, if I turn just so I can almost pretend that there are no piles sitting by the back door waiting to be liberated.  The huge mirror leaning against the armoire behind me, isn't there as long as I don't turn around.  You know simple clearing out coping mechanisms.  

I think I'm done.  Thanks for listening...   

What are your plans for today?  

 

 

Snow Fun::

This past weekend was "Snoooow Fun!" as the children would say.  

Most of our activities, or all I should say, centered around some sort of snow event.  There were forts built, both at our house and the neighbors.  Think secret passages, roofs and lots of snow hauling to and fro.

There were flying snowballs and a few tears to accompany those.  Wet gloves exchanged for dry ones every so often.  Children playing and working together that made a mama sigh.   

 My four year old barely made it to his bedtime each night before passing out.  Literally too much fun. When his sister and brother had gone inside he could be found using the snow shovel to move more snow and poke at the ice that was forming near the sidewalk. Quite content to just be outside.  

 

There was Mrs. Snowman with her fancy apple buttons and carrot nose.  Or as I explained to my dear friend, apple buttons made from a wrinkly old apple we found in the back of the refrigerator.   

Three times throughout the weekend we stuck a tape measure into the snow to measure the depth.  As amazed, as all our family out of town, at the sheer amount of snow we were getting.  

Warm meals of soup and chicken enchiladas were eaten and the front door started swinging open quite early each morning with one or more children bundled and ready to play.    

 

I cross country skied at the park with two of my children.  Both who seem to get faster and faster everytime we go out.  Think I might need to practice when their at school tomorrow....maybe?

There were snow angels made and laughter to accompany them.  

Our littlest seemed happiest to watch as her siblings galloped in the snow.  We're not sure she's a big fan yet.

 There was a constant row of snow items-- boots, gloves, snowsuits, etc. drying out by the fire, all lined up absorbing the warmth.  The mudroom aptly re-named the wet, snowy, frozen ice room after this weekend.  

 

While having a dinner out we spied these beauties "about town".  

A huge, at least eight feet tall, bear with a smile of course.  Was it a buffalo? A cow?  Not sure on this one.  The best was the heart up in the tree that the big daddy spied as we were pulling away from the snow sculptures.  Yes, a heart, of course.

 

So, I can't say I got the things done I had planned for this weekend as the snow kept tempting us outside.  Especially when the sun started shining as well, that was near impossible.  There was a bit of knitting but even I had a hard time concentrating inside when there was so much to be seen outside.  

I believe that two feet of snow would be hard for most people to ignore.  Thirty one inches of snow for the local ski resort.  Our neighbor informed us that they had to turn five hundred cars away on Saturday as they were full and beyond capacity.  Five.Hundred.Cars.  whoa.  

So now you know what we were up to this weekend.  

Today will more than likely include all those sheets I didn't change this weekend, towels, the basement, etc. but it was TOTALLY worth it and "snooow fun".  

How was your weekend?  

 

Snow Day::

Today, school has been cancelled.  An official snow day after no "real" snow since October.  

It's hard to know what we will do first...  

::Already we've enjoyed a warm breakfast without the rush to get to school.  

::Books have been read.  

::Snow shoveling has commenced.  

::Snowflake catching has been sighted.  

::Boys, so anxious to get outside, are wearing their pajamas under their snow suits.  

::Inside there are lattes, knitting and a warm fire.  

::There may even be some sledding and snow shoeing happening this afternoon. 

If I didn't know any different I'd say this day is looking up!  

Have a great weekend and see you back here next week. 

Love, 

Kellen

 

p.s. Anyone else see the tiny hearts at the ends of the branches in the first picture?  so cool.