One of those days

I think one of the hardest parts of parenting for me is seeing my children struggle with something be it math, peer relationships, or coping with life's ups and downs. The worst part is realizing that somehow whether through genetics or observation, they got that struggle from me.

Both our older boys have a hard time coping. Ivan seems to struggle most when he makes mistakes, he just can't seem to forgive himself for it and it bothers him for a long time. Erik tends to be more affected by things that don't go his way ( a classmate doesn't want to play with him, uhoh day ruined!).

We are working with them both on becoming better at coping and moving on. With Ivan we are working through strategies such as taking deep breaths and blowing away the mistake. We talk a lot about "turning it around" and "starting fresh". He is doing really well with this strategy. Just yesterday after a rough start getting out the door and being upset with his brother, he told me by the time that we reached the end of the driveway, "Mom, I turned it around and I'm ready to have a great day!".

With Erik we are working on pointing out all the good things that happen in any given day and trying to help him to find those positives on his own so he doesn't feel like his day is "ruined". He still struggles but he is improving on it.

So today could have been "one of those days" for me. The baby didn't sleep well which of course means I didn't either, ours was the only school district in the county that didn't call a snow day (when i really could have used one), I burnt breakfast, dropped a jar of laundry powder and it went everywhere, got pooped on, a pattern I ordered is lost in the mail, and the fabric I ordered came in wrong ( turquoise satin is definitely not cream cotton jersey).

But instead I'm trying to take a lesson from my kids and turn my attitude about today around. Even though they are at school I know I'm still setting a good example for them. They can tell, keen observers that children are...and when I pick them up from school I want them to see that mom had a good day, because really I did.

We had a great walk to school in a bunch of freshly fallen (and still falling) snow, the brisk walk woke me up and energized me ( as did the hot cup of coffee I had once I got home). The boys never complain when I say "Well, looks like cereal for breakfast", I didn't spill the entire jar of laundry powder. Poop...so what? I'm just happy to have an adorable 7 week old here! The pattern I'm sure will turn up, and the fabric company has awesome customer service and are shipping me the correct fabric today. See, I turned it around!

Some really special things have happened today like......boys adventuring across a snowy field, beautiful winter scenes, Magnus napping in front of the fireplace while i make bread, sleepy baby smiles.....the good stuff is always there, I just have to remember to look for it.

“Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
― L.M. Montgomery

Sunday outing

Sunday was a beautiful day here, 36F and sunny. We spent the morning doing some much needed early spring cleaning. The idea was to go sledding in the afternoon but we realized after much basement searching that our sled did not make the move with us. So we did the next best thing; a family walk in the park!

Our park is amazing, over 400 acres on the shores of Lake Michigan. There is a beach, many trails, playgrounds, a fishing spot in the creek, and beautiful views. We had a wonderful time enjoying the fresh air. Snowball fights ensued. We found many animal tracks. We laughed and had the perfect afternoon, followed by hot cocoa once we were back home.

The pictures are a bit lopsided in their reflection of the snowball fight, I swear the boys got daddy good too!

Poem on a snowy afternoon

Baby's breath
Snowy steps
Winters magic...settling in
Wet apron, hair is coming undone
The stomp of small boots
Heavy silence of falling snow
Red cheeks and dry dishpan hands
Cup of tea, knit a few rows
Baby sleep smiles and dreamy coos
Tired and full - happy, content
Life where I want it in this moment

This moment

Inspired by www.soulemama.com a moment I want to treasure.

Sew ready!

I just ordered a bunch of cotton jersey and cotton thermal to make myself some nursing tops and dresses.

I'm much more comfortable with knitting than with sewing, but I'm appalled at the cost of nursing tops and even though I can nurse in normal clothes I just find it more comfortable to have shirts with built in nursing access.

I'm going to use the Jalie 3132 pattern http://www.jalie.com/jalie3132-nursing-tees-sewing-pattern.html , and modify the tunic pattern into a just above the knee dress.

I'm crossing my fingers it will come out!

Finished Milo

I finished the Milo vest for Magnus last week and then misplaced it for a few days. Today is the first time Magnus is wearing it, and what a perfect day for it! With wind chills reaching around -15F an extra layer for core warmth is essential today.

Happy Valentine's Day

We don't make too big of a deal around here when it comes to February 14th, but being in school the boys were excited about today.

They made sure to wear red today...Magnus too!

They made their own cards for teachers and classmates. I cut up heavy weight paper into 2x4 inch cards which they decorated with artwork and stickers. Erik drew a quick little picture on each, while Ivan took his time ( being the attention to detail artist that he is) and drew elaborate scenes and characters. He designed the cards to be a game that he is going to teach his classmates. They also brought in red lollipops to hand out.

I wanted to do something special for them so I attempted to make chocolate chip moose shaped pancakes with a cookie cutter. It was a disaster, my pan wasn't even so the batter leaked out of the mold and did not resemble any type of animal at all. So round chocolate chip pancakes it was ( which still earned me the title of best mommy ever from my little guys) and they enjoyed them immensely and felt special, which was the point anyways.

That wraps up the festivities for this holiday in our house. It is a half day today due to parent teacher conferences, so I'm looking forward to an afternoon spent with all my special boys.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Milo

After seeing so many adorable Milo vests on blogs that I like to follow I just had to make one too!

I bought the pattern on Sunday and I'm more than halfway finished with a Milo for my Magnus ( with very little knitting time devoted to it). I can see why the pattern is so popular, it is very well written for a large range of sizes, and completely seamless to boot.

You can check out my ravelry notes here,
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/vintagegreen13/milo

I plan in making this for the older boys as well.

The best laid plans....

Sometimes just don't happen. When we went to bed last night my intent for today was to wake up, make a nice pancake breakfast for the boys, and then bundle all 3 children up and walk to the library. I pictured our afternoon consisting of playing in the glorious snow and then warming up with some hot cocoa and popcorn.


Instead I was woken while it was still dark by hot little hands and the soft weak voice that can only belong to that of a sick child.

So instead I made a cozy nest on the sofa for the sick middle child and a tray of oatmeal.

We are spending a quiet day inside, reading stories, resting, and reminding Erik to keep drinking fluids.

I'm lucky to have such a big helper in Ivan who has been on baby duty between feedings and diaper changes so I can tend to Erik. He even managed to put Magnus to sleep!



Once daddy is home I'll make a chicken soup. The snow will have to wait to be played in, but that's okay. Sometimes a day of rest is what everyone needs.

This Moment

Inspired by soulemama.com

A moment I want to treasure.

Snow

We have our first real snowstorm of the year...finally! For a girl who loves winter as much as I do this nearly snowless winter has been pure torture.

I wish my camera phone could capture the beauty of the snow falling outside tonight, but all the pictures I've taken fail miserably.

A few from today though....

Mama and Baby

It is a rare thing for me to have my picture taken, I just simply don't like most photos of myself.
I'm always coming up with excuses, vain as they may be. I haven't showered, my face is broken out, I have dark circles under my eyes....the list goes on.
A recent post over at the Knitty Gritty Homestead blog, http://theknittygrittyhomestead.blogspot.com/2013/02/inspired.html?m=1
made me think about this picture business in a whole new light. It is important for my children to have pictures of themselves with me to look back in and treasure one day. When I think about the photos I treasure most of my childhood it's the ones with me and my mom together.
They are not studio portraits, just snapshots of a moment during everyday life.
One of my favorites was taken shortly before I turned four. I have band aids all over my knees and a lopsided ponytail. It was a hot summer day and my mom was 8 months pregnant with my little sister and most likely miserable from the heat and exhausted. She doesn't care for the picture because she remembers how she felt that day, and as most of us are guilty of doing, she sees all her flaws in that photo. But I don't. I see a beautiful, young, vibrant woman. I see her pretty jet black hair and think how good she looks for being pregnant on that heat. I see a mother who loves her children more than words can say.
30 years from now my kids aren't going to look at a photo and point out my bed head hair or that pimple on my forehead. 30 years from now when they see photos of us together I hope they will see a mother who adored them and instead of the dark circles, see the joy they brought to my eyes.


Magnus was talking to a Van Gogh painting on the wall this morning, Sunflowers. He either loves art or yellow!

This Moment

Inspired by Amanda at www.soulemama.com, a picture of a moment I want to remember and treasure.