Summer days

Long time, no post! We've had a busy and full summer and I just haven't made it a priority to sit down at the computer very much. To catch you up to speed on our summer...


Auntie Em came to live with us for nearly two months, much to the delight of everyone.


We took an unforeseen trip to New England -- and decided to drive there with all three kids! Our route took us through Canada, stopping at Niagara Falls, and took me to eight new states (having never been further northeast than Pennsylvania).


My favorite day out with the kids, while Douglas was occupied with a music workshop, was taking them to Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT. We love Raffi (at least his early albums, not so much the later ones) and his song "Baby Beluga." Edmund has been very interested in marine creatures this summer and the chance to see beluga whales up close was not to be missed!

Of sewing interest, I can now say I've visited Mood Fabrics in NYC and am the owner of some lovely Liberty of London cotton poplin as a result!


Back at home in the sewing room, I cut down this vintage full-size quilt to twin-size for Lavinia's bed. It was an old, worn quilt given to my mom by a friend of hers to use as a play mat for grandbabies. The binding was completely worn and there were some ragged holes around the edges, but I figured if I cut down the size a bit, it could still be usable. Since Lavinia has been in need of a quilt or comforter for her bed, my mom was glad to pass it on to us.


I found some matching lavender polka-dot cotton at Walmart and made my own binding, handstitching the back for strength. Yes, it took forever, but it looks nice and neat.


[First day of homeschool 2015!]
Most recently we've started up homeschool for the year. Edmund is in kindergarten now so everything feels a lot more official. I was kindly gifted some Sonlight curriculum from two friends, so we are using that for Bible, history, geography, read-aloud time, and science. I'm using Singapore Math workbooks for math, and making my own way with phonics/reading. For handwriting, I'm doing a bit of an experiment and we're using Cursive First -- we'll see how it goes! Edmund has really blossomed with his artwork this year and I love to see what he draws, too.


I had fun designing a coat-of-arms for our school in Adobe Illustrator. This binder is the key to my success this year, with everything planned out as much as possible! I'm thankful Sonlight does that for you, and it was easy to make up our own math schedule. For me to succeed as a homeschooling mom, I've realized I must have everything PLANNED OUT -- or else it won't get done!

If you're curious about our school name, Seekings School, it's a nod to my favorite children's books by John Masefield, The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights. (Seekings is the name of the house where Kay, the protagonist, lives.) But, of course, it has a delightful double meaning for seekers after knowledge and truth!

Florida in February

We just got back from a family trip to Florida, our first in three years.


Lots of firsts for my girls. First airplane ride, first visit to the beach, first visit to their great-grandparents' condo.


We built some modest sand sculptures.


The weather wasn't very cooperative. We had one sunny day, and although the temperatures were always more pleasant than what we'd experience back home, it was still a bit cool. The natives were wearing winter coats.


Lots of greenery for winter-weary Northerners, however.






And these kids would not be kept from the ocean! Edmund and his cousin loved to jump waves.


My favorite memory was taking Edmund for an early-morning walk to hunt for shells and other beach treasures. The commonest seashells sparked big-time excitement. You can see we found a nice assortment! God's beauty is everywhere.

Collecting winter whites

A Day at the Museum

There's something for everyone at the museum.


A cozy, old-fashioned quilt on an iron bed...


I always notice a pretty teapot....


Lavinia loves the little playhouse. Here she is enjoying some "grapes" at table...


...and tucking the dolly into bed after reading her a story.




An apple tree for Edmund to climb, and outdoor swings and games to "give him energy," as he says.


Even Rosie enjoyed the outing.


Next time, we'll come back with a picnic.

Happy 4th!

Last night, the big boys had tank wars.

This morning, the kids rode in a parade at the park.


Then back to Grandma's for a picnic lunch.



I think Lavinia's meal consisted solely of a corn dog and strawberries.



Grandma has made this flag cake just about every Fourth of July since she was given the recipe, sometime in the '80s.



Happy Fourth of July from all of us (including Douglas, not pictured)!

Spring in the Blue House

Life is flying by. I can't believe it's May already. My sweet Rosamund is now 3 months old, and we'll be celebrating Lavinia's second birthday next week!

People often ask me how I'm adjusting to life with three children. It's hard to know how to answer -- it's not like things were easy, and now they're hard. Having a baby has certainly added a different element to life, but it's no more or less demanding than it was before. I'm still caring for all the needs of my children and household, with some different needs thrown in now.


Rosamund is actually a pretty "easy" baby in most ways, so she is fitting right in to the rhythm of our lives. She started sleeping all night long much sooner than my other two children, which is a great boon to me because if I ever needed good sleep, it's now! I didn't do anything special to try to encourage her to sleep through the night, she just started on her own. She just recently "discovered" her fingers and loves to suck on her middle two fingers, in a sort of inverse Vulcan hand salute. I like to think it's genetic because my dad says that's how he sucked on his fingers, too. At any rate, it's made her even more contented and happy.


I have been working a very part-time editing job from home since a few weeks prior to Rosie's birth. I do my work in the early mornings, before the rest of the household is up, so I get Rosie up for a morning feeding, then she keeps me company while I work (falling back asleep somewhere in there). She is so happy and smiley in the mornings -- it's sweet to have that special time with my baby. The older kids wake up right around the time I finish and then we hit the ground running.


If I'm completely honest, I feel pretty overwhelmed by it all. It is so easy for me to feel like a failure each day because I never accomplish everything I'd like to do. There are so many balls in the air -- cleaning the house, cooking meals, doing laundry, errands, bills, household projects, spending time with my children, spending time with my husband, nursing the baby, getting myself (and three other little people) dressed and presentable, exercising, reading, working, church activities, investing in friendships -- and I haven't even thrown homeschooling into the mix yet (eeeek!). It seems like I can do one or two of those things well, on any given day, but never ALL of them! I know that I'm deep in the trenches of motherhood right now and that things will change and perhaps not get easier, but they will be different, so I persevere as well as I can. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by encouraging voices from family and church family. And I'm always looking for ways to "double up" on those tasks, to get more done, which I may share about on the blog from time to time.

I have not felt like doing any sewing at all. Someday my enjoyment of it will return, I'm sure, but right now it just feels like one more thing on the "to do" list. So I'm giving myself permission to take a break for a while. Instead of sewing, I ordered matching dresses from Boden for my two girls to wear on Easter, and funnily enough, I got asked so many times, "Did you make them?" So why sew when you can fake it?! ;-)

Well, here I sit when there's breakfast to be made, children to be dressed, and a day to start -- until next time, friends!

Christmas vignettes

This is our first year having a real, live Christmas tree. It's an absolutely gorgeous Frasier fir tree that is so tall and full and smells wonderful!


Douglas had to snip a few of the lowest branches off, so I have been using the extra greenery for decorating around the house. I bought an advent wreath frame on clearance last year after Christmas, and this year I've been able to fill it in with fir branches, dried orange slices, and pinecones.


A little Nutcracker vignette. It's the only use my poor pointe shoes are getting these days!


A Jesse tree in our dining room, decorated by little hands.


Winter-y/Christmas books for reading. I love the vintage Little Golden book I found at a used bookstore for a dollar!


Douglas, the resident gardener, is forcing some narcissus bulbs. I don't think they'll be quite ready by Christmas Day, but they'll be a welcome whiff of spring come January. (EDIT: I was totally wrong. They were blooming by Christmas! Those flowers grow fast!)

Kids' clothes on a budget

My kids looked so cute in their "new" fall clothes I couldn't help but snap some pictures!






[Curls at the nape of the neck. The. Cutest.]










[Who's that coming down the sidewalk? It's Grandpa!!]

Edmund:
shirt: Old Navy via garage sale
corduroy pants: BabyGap via Goodwill
shoes: kohls.com (last year, purchased with my mom's Kohl's Cash)

Lavinia:
sweater: Circo via Once Upon a Child (resale shop)
cupcake T-shirt (under sweater): Sonoma via Salvation Army
jeans: Old Navy via garage sale
shoes: Wal-Mart

Here are my tips for shopping for kids' clothes on a budget. If you have any more, please share them in the comments!

• Try garage sales, thrift stores, and resale shops. Garage sales often have the best prices. I always scope out the newspaper ads beforehand and only hit up the sales that advertise clothing in my kids' sizes. This sounds horrible but I make an effort to show up right when the sale starts if the garage sale is in a "rich" part of town -- sometimes means nicer brands and newer clothes! Visit a variety of thrift stores every so often to browse their offerings. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to visit a resale shop in a larger city recently and find that their prices were nearly as good as (and in some cases, better than) a thrift store. The fact that everything was organized by size and color was also a huge bonus (less time wasted browsing). I will go back when I can!
• Know what you like. I stay away from silly slogans and pop characters on T-shirts. Just not my thing. Neither is sportswear (for wearing when not actually playing sports), so I don't waste my time sorting through a pile of track pants when there are corduroys and jeans nearby.
• Only buy clothes you like and that are in good condition. I don't just buy whatever is in my kids' sizes. I only buy it if I actually like it and will enjoy seeing them wear it. I examine each item carefully for wear, fading, stains, holes, etc. Only buy an item that needs mending if you know you can and will mend it (like a missing button). I don't gamble on stains coming out.
• Buy a few sizes ahead. If you see something you like that is a size or two larger than what your child is wearing, snap it up! A lot of Edmund's 4T fall clothes this year were purchased last year when I was looking for 3T sizes at the thrift stores. I usually only buy ahead two sizes, just because I don't want to store things for too long and lose track of what I have.
• Know what you can spend on. I have had a hit-and-miss experience finding second-hand shoes for my kids. If I can't find what they need secondhand, I just buy them new shoes. I have a hard time finding jeans for Edmund, so several times I've bought him a new pair (looking for a good deal at the same time).
• Hit clearance racks and end-of-season sales. I can often find new clothing in stores that's on clearance for thrift store prices at the end of the season. Buy a size up for next year and your kids will grow into it.
• Modify your expectations. I'm not a fan of the Pepto-Bismol shade of pink that is all over just about every item of girls' clothing. But, since I'm buying a lot secondhand I just can't be that choosy about completely excluding it from Lavinia's wardrobe. I do try to buy items in a variety of colors for her, but I don't sweat it if her coat is pink. At least it's BabyGap and in good condition!
• Have fun. You know what, if you see some item of clothing in a store that you absolutely love and think your child would look adorable in it, BUY IT! It's OK to splurge once in a while. I've looked forward to having children for a long time and it's fun to dress them. I enjoy seeing them in cute clothes. God has been good to me and I want to celebrate that! So I'm not going to spend $30 on a dress for Lavinia every time, but once a year? I can make it work.