The Badlands

Last weekend, our little family took a road trip up to South Dakota to visit two of my husband's siblings. Despite having lived in Nebraska for a large chunk of my life, I've only been to South Dakota once that I can recall, and that was just passing through the eastern part on my way to Minneapolis. Douglas had fun introducing us to some of South Dakota's famous sights, driving a scenic loop through the Badlands.

The scenery is eerie, especially in midwinter.

Edmund took the name "badlands" pretty seriously. "Where are the nice lands?" he asked.

Next up: Mount Rushmore!

Douglas' new haircut

I've had fun experimenting with a different hairstyle for Douglas over his last two cuts. We've let the top grow out long while keeping the back short, a sort of anti-mullet if you will. The effect is either 1990s or Edwardian, depending on how you look at it. I'll take Edwardian.

He's sooo handsome, I get kind of giddy looking at these photos. Love you, darling! Thanks for letting me have fun with your hair! (And for posing for pictures in a foggy cemetery after church last Sunday!)

Reading with Little Ones

Winter is a good time to snuggle up on the couch with the kids and do some fun reading. Lavinia is not as interested as Edmund yet, obviously, but if I give her something to suck or chew on, she will generally sit beside me contentedly while I read aloud several books.

One of my favorites is a book I had as a child, A Great Big Ugly Man Came Up and Tied His Horse to Me. My copy was pretty beat up, but I found one in pristine condition at a library book sale many years ago and saved it for my future kids. Now this one is getting beat up, but that's OK. It's full of fun and silly nonsense verses, but I've always loved the illustrations the most. Wallace Tripp has a wonderful, humorous, whimsical style that will capture kids' attention, but is also amusing to adults. There are humorous details scattered throughout the pages that I never picked up on as a child, but now as I read the book to my kids I can enjoy them. (For instance, he seems to have a "thing" for English composers?! There's actually a caricature of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar on the very last page, worked into the illustration, that I only recognized two years ago when I was reading the book to Edmund. Wow.) Children's books that can simultaneously entertain both kids and adults are the absolute best!

I looked on Amazon, where even used versions were selling on the pricey side, so you might instead want to check your local library to see if you can get your hands on this great book!

"Snowy Midnight" Sencha blouse

I made up a wearable muslin of Colette Patterns' Sencha blouse last month, out of some dark blue polyester crepe left over from one of my early sewing projects. Nowadays I wouldn't choose polyester, as it's rather annoying to sew with, but this leftover length was just sitting in my stash, so why not use it up? It gave me the chance to try out the fit and style. It feels a little loose; I've probably lost a bit more postpartum weight from the time I cut it out in November until now.


As I mentioned, polyester is not particularly fun to sew with, so next time I would choose rayon, silk, or a drape-y cotton. Another note for next time: I will hand-sew the hem, as the machine-sewn hem doesn't drape very well. Otherwise, I really like the style -- the keyhole neckline with ties is sweetly retro. Douglas gave me a new pleated skirt for Christmas, which goes perfectly with the top. Love it!

The first snowman

We were planning to drive to my in-laws' home for our Christmas vacation today, but a snowstorm yesterday afternoon closed the Interstate all day long. (Douglas commented, "You know you're in Nebraska when the winter is mild up until the day before vacation, when a foot of snow closes the interstate for 500 miles.") Although it was disappointing to have our plans thwarted, it ended up being kind of pleasant to have a relaxing day at home. After lunch, Edmund and I bundled up and headed outside to make his first snowman! Well, I did most of the work while Edmund observed, but still. I found a nice, long icicle hanging from the garage to make a nose, vintage buttons for eyes, and a red pipe cleaner for the mouth. I haven't made a snowman in who-knows-how-long, so I enjoyed the snowy fun just as much as Edmund did.

After Edmund went down for his nap, Douglas and I played Carcassonne while enjoying some coffee and Christmas cookies. (I put eggnog in my coffee, mmm!) I am finally getting the hang of that game because I've won four times in a row, whereas when we first got it, Douglas won the first nine games we played. (We're kind of board game nerds and keep track of who won, when and where we played, and other pertinent details by writing it all down on the top of the game lid.)

What are you looking forward to during your Christmas break?

A Jesse Tree

Now that Edmund is three, we wanted to start some more meaningful Christmas traditions within our family. My mom did a Jesse Tree with my brother and me one year when we were kids, but for some reason it didn't become a yearly tradition. I remembered and liked the idea, however, and so this year I found a set of ornaments from Etsy seller Inspired Traditions. (If you are unfamiliar with the meaning of a Jesse Tree, she provides a good explanation in her ornament listings.)

The ornaments come with a little booklet that explain each symbol and give suggested scripture reading, so we've been doing that each morning at breakfast. The ornaments are simplistic, just little wooden discs hung with twine, with colorful but plain symbols on each one. The illustration style reminds me of what you might see on banners and cloths in more traditional churches. I like the visual symbolism, and it's certainly easier for a toddler who can't read yet.

My mom donated a four-foot Christmas tree that she wasn't using, so Edmund has his own little tree. It's nice that he can decorate it however he wants and I don't worry if he takes ornaments off and puts them back on, or if they're not hung in a very picturesque fashion. I think this will make a really lovely addition to our family Advent traditions in years to come.

"The Lamb"

I'm greatly enjoying all my Christmas music and I've been pulling up a few favorites on YouTube, too. I can't embed this one, but I can send you over to YouTube to see the King's College choir perform John Tavener's setting of William Blake's poem, "The Lamb." I rather enjoy the slightly bizarre quality of the music; it matches up with my mental image of William Blake.