I linked these turkeys from Montessori Journey last week, and I made ours over the weekend.
I doubled up the felt for a little extra durability, and my favorite part is the wood buttons. I have a brand new little obsession with buttons, which is soooooo not good! Do I really need another thing to collect?
Ezra snatched the turkey away from me the second it was finished and spent a good twenty minutes buttoning and unbuttoning. It took him a very long time to button them the first time (this is his first work with buttons) and just as I was about to show him how to work with the buttons Ender stepped in to tell him how to do it and he did a great job!
If you’d like to see more quick takes, go visit Jen.
~1~
Only seven weeks until Christmas now! I never used to care- Superman and I were always kind of ambivalent about gift giving, but with kids around I get almost more excited than they do. I’m making several things for Christmas this year so I’m trying to be ahead of the game to get everything done in time.
~2~
This weekend is my first big sewing weekend dedicated to Christmas gifts. I cut out Christmas stockings awhile back but never got to sew them so I’m working on those first, followed by Superman’s gift and finishing a quilt top for Ender and another for Ezra so I can get those off to be machine quilted.
~3~
I saw this tute for stackable Christmas trees quite awhile ago and immediately saved it to my “future project” folder. They are so cute, and I *know* I have enough scraps to make these!
~4~
I mentioned in my November links list that I was planning to make superhero capes for the boys. We have an awful lot of “Saving the Day!” going on around here lately.
And remember the button turkeys from that post? I’m planning on some Christmas buttoning activities too- maybe a Christmas Tree or a snowman?
~5~
One of the projects on my “if I have time” list is this cute yo-yo garland that I bookmarked last year. If I find myself ahead of schedule sewing-wise after Thanksgiving that garland will be calling my name!
~6~
Need Some advent ideas? Sarah has a few lovely posts about her Advent planning.
~7~
I come from a family with no holiday traditions-seriously, absolutely zero. Superman’s family only has the tradition of opening gifts on Christmas eve instead of Christmas day.
When Ender was born we really wanted to think about creating some traditions for the family, and so far our Christmas traditions include decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving, spending Christmas Eve with Superman’s family and coming home to open up a package of Christmas pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve. This year will be the first talking about Advent with the boys. Does your family have traditions for Christmas?
Outside my window… It’s a crisp morning. I’m just waiting for the first frost so that I can dig up the lily bulbs. We brought the little lemon tree inside not too long ago and it’s doing well.
We’ve had a few cardinals visiting the crabapple tree in the backyard in the last few days, and they boys are so excited to see new birds!
I am thinking… about the holidays. Only 7 weeks now until Christmas, and I will be out of town for one of those weeks. I need to spend a lot more time at the sewing machine!
I am thankful for… a clean kitchen. I’ve been making that a focus in the last week or so while I’ve been feeling overwhelmed with other things and it helps so much to always come down to a clean kitchen in the morning. I feel like I’m ahead on my day!
Always Learning… We picked up a few School Zone workbooks at the store that were pretty cheap (I think $3 a piece?) because Ender asked for some papers to do. I think that desire was born out of two things- he is *really* into writing right now, and also his friend at church goes to preschool and talks to him about bringing papers home, so I think he wanted the same thing.
Ender has been working his way through the Math Readiness book whenever he likes and he’s been doing 3 or 4 pages at a time. Right now it’s a lot of counting and matching groups with the same number, both skills he’s had for quite awhile, but using his pencil to connect them makes it more exciting. He’s really seeking to write a lot and this is satisfying some of that need without the exercise of forming readable letters.
Ezra has been using descriptive speech lately and his 2 word vocabulary is expanding. Lots of “blue shirt” and “pretty flower” kind of talk. I’m so happy to hear his language expand now. He’s been on the borderline of needing speech therapy several months, but this is the first time he’s been firmly in an “average” category. He also said “love you” to his daddy the other day for the first time. I love those little words from little mouths!
From the kitchen… A really good potato soup earlier in the week, and on the menu for the weekend is a roast with potatoes and carrots, chili, and fresh bread.
I am wearing… My long red linen skirt, a black long sleeve t-shirt, and black knee socks. I really need to finish those new slips so that I’ll be a little warmer in my other skirts.
I am creating… Christmas stockings and December lesson plans.
I am going… to sew like a maniac starting this evening while Superman is in class and through the weekend.
I am reading… Kushiel’s Justice by Jacqueline Carey.
I am hoping… that this annoying cold clears up soon. It’s difficult to blog or sew or do any of my extras when I’m asleep by 8:30.
I am hearing… Little Einsteins and little boys munching on crackers and cheese for snack.
Around the house… I’m keeping up on the minimums housekeeping wise, but sleep is definitely coming in first place.
One of my favorite things… Is it too soon to claim the frozen Apple pie filling? I had some last night and I’m sooooo glad that I put that away for this winter!
A few plans for the rest of the week … Helping Superman study for another competency exam, spending time outside while we have the sun with us, sewing, and finishing out the garden.
Some of our fall/November/Thanksgiving plans:
Learning to Button with Turkeys
Superhero capes (shhhh! don’t tell- these are for Christmas!)
Leaf projects: collections, rubbings, drawings, paintings . . .
Using some ideas from Jean Warren’s November calendars.
Picking from the excellent Thanksgiving and Fall ideas from the Crafty Crow.
And our habits to build this month are generosity and kindness, particularly with brother.
Erin tagged me for The 8 question Meme.
Six names you go by:
Mama (to the boys of course!)
Honey (the husband)
Babe (again with that husband)
Erin
Miss Erin
Mrs. W
Three things you are wearing right now:
Navy Blue long sleeved t-shirt
Jean skirt
new argyle socks that make me really happy, but Ezra says “hippo” every time he sees them. No idea why.
Three things you want very badly at the moment:
Peace to some medical issues for Superman.
An answer guide on how to get a 2-year-old to sleep more than 45 minutes at a time.
May 2010 to come quickly! (Graduation day for Superman)
Three things you did last night/yesterday/today:
I went to bed early.
I finally finished off the last of the apples.
I just sat to knit during naps yesterday. No cleaning or keeping up. Just knitting.
Two things you ate today:
A ton of chips and salsa- my comfort food!
WAAAAAY too much halloween candy.
Two people you last talked to on the phone:
Two sisters- T and C. C called to tell us that she and her boyfriend got engaged while on her short term missions trip to the Phillipines! (He is there until January, she was only there for a few weeks.)
Two things you are going to do tomorrow:
Go pick up a few notions to finish up sewing projects I started last weekend.
Get into Christmas sewing!
Your three favorite beverages:
Dr. Pepper (I’m trying so hard to stay away from it though because it affects my sleep tremendously)
Hot Chocolate
Cranberry Juice
Consider yourself tagged if you’d like to play along!
We spent most of last Saturday making and freezing apple pie filling. The house has smelled cinammon-y for days! (My favorite fall scent.)
And after putting up all that pie filling, we finished our day with an apple crisp, because really- what’s a little more peeling and slicing when you have all that yumminess to eat as a reward?
Weekend = cooking, reading and sewing.
We spent our weekend with apples. Lots and LOTS of apples. I made and froze several jars of apple pie filling and applesauce, and I made two apple crisps over the weekend. We had apple pancakes Sunday morning for breakfast, and I still have apples left. They are wonderful crisp Fuji apples that we picked at a farm north of us. The boys had a wonderful time picking them, but I don’t know how we’ll ever eat them all. I’ve spent two days coring, slicing, peeling and cooking and there are STILL more apples!
I suppose I’ll be making more applesauce tomorrow. And apple crisp for breakfast.
I updated my reading page. I’ve plowed straight through all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books this month, save The First Four Years. I find that I don’t ever want to stop reading them and I’ve been disappointed at hitting the end of each book and having to wait to get to the library for the next one. I started Jennifer Weiner’s Best Friends Forever 2 nights ago and I’m about half way through. It’s fine so far, but not as good as I’d hoped it would be. Next in the reading queue is the next Jacqueline Carey book and the last Laura Ingalls Wilder book as soon as it comes in at the library. I’m out of ideas for where to go next.
And the last weekending thing- I did sew. A lot. The boys are now each 3 pairs of pajama pants richer, and I have a new skirt. Or I will when I finish gathering the blasted ruffle and sew it on. For now though, we’ll pretend that it’s NOT annoying to gather without a ruffling foot (can’t find it ANYWHERE!) or else this post will quickly turn into 18 million paragraphs about how much I loathe gathering by hand. I should have started with sewing the slips I cut last week, but I’m feeling really nervous about working with slippery material and I thought the skirt would be soooo easy . . .
But again. Not talking about the stupid ruffles.
Oh, oh, and! I pulled out My christmas fabrics I bought way back in the spring and I’m going to get started on Christmas stuff this week. I have a few small gaps in my teaching schedule this week so I’m going to try to sneak in a bit of Christmas sewing. I really want to get all my Christmas sewing done before Thanksgiving this year.
Stop laughing! If I aim for it all to be done by then I might actually be done on time. 
If you’d like to see other quick takes, go visit Jen.
~1~
It’s been a quiet week here. If you’ve emailed or messaged me since last weekend I probably haven’t gotten back to you (but I will try before the end of the weekend). I haven’t been much on the message boards I typically frequent, or even online at all. Sorry about that, but it was much needed quiet.
~2~
I was “that mom” on three separate occasions this week – once in the post office while I held a hysterical toddler (hysterical because I wouldn’t let him just wander about the place), once in the middle of Target when my 4-year-old threw himself to the ground and then kicked me in the shin (over my refusal to buy candy), and once in a parking lot where I wrestled with Ezra for what felt like 10 years to buckle him into his car seat as I said over and over, “Car seats are not negotiable!” while people walked by staring at me.
I’m tired. And it feels like the boys are ganging up on me sometimes.
The reality is that they could tell that I was on edge and they hadn’t seen their Daddy in almost three days, so they were on edge too. Extra sleep and good food is a great cure for edginess.
~3~
So I’ve been hiding out, spending a lot of time cooking and talking with Ender, changing little bits of our routine to make it easier on me, reading for a few hours after the boys are in bed (real books, not online), and getting to bed early. I needed a massive recharge.
~4~
When Superman came home on Wednesday, there was a long discussion about why we’re doing this- why I’m working, why he’s taking such a heavy course load this semester and next, where we want to be by this time next year and 5 years from now.
A re-focus, if you will, partnered with lots of prayer.
A reminder of what my husband has asked me to do, a reminder that this is indeed a short season, and that life will be peaceful again in just a few months.
~5~
In my non-online, post-little-boy-bedtime free time this week I’ve:
:: Cut pieces for 6 pairs of pajamas for the boys
:: cut material for two new slips for myself and one new skirt
:: cut beautiful, beautiful Alexander Henry fabric for a sunny apron to help me through the dim winter months
:: Read 3 books
:: cast on wristers for myself
:: cleaned my sewing table so I can actually sew for the first time in a few weeks. This is the weekend. Next week might be a million crafting posts since I have about a million things simply waiting to be made.
~6~
Why has Superman been away so much this week, you ask? Well, after work he’s had at least one school-related stop to make each day- new classes started up, he had to do the whole advisor things one night to deal with the special requirements of applying for graduation and taking a last competency exam. He’s been home every night, but between some craziness at work with late hours and his combination of class nights he didn’t see the boys awake any time from Sunday evening until Wednesday night, and then only for an hour or so before bed. He had class last night, but thankfully once he’s home tonight he’ll be home until Monday morning.
We so need this time with him.
~7~
The most helpful bit of this week? An hourly schedule. A simple thing really, but I need something mindless so I could just look at the list and do whatever it said. 9 o’clock? School things with Ender. 10 o’clock? Off to the kitchen to take care of a few more of those apples. Laundry? Meals? Even reading? All on the list, designated to a time when I knew it would be taken care of.
I don’t generally like to be told what to do with every minute of my day, but I needed it this week. I’m thankful for this coming weekend and the free time held there.
Time with Superman and my boys.
Time to sew.
Time to be outside, take a picnic (perhaps for the last time this season), and just be.
Outside my window… It’s dark. I usually write early in the morning, but I’m up late. I haven’t had caffeine in ages, but one little Dr. Pepper at lunch and I won’t be asleep any time soon. I really should know better by now.
Our leaves are almost all changed over- there are very few green leaves left! The trees in our front yard have huge leaves and Ender is really impressed that the leaves are bigger than his head. He wants to keep every single one of them.
I am thinking… about how to make our early mornings run better. I’m not naturally a morning person, but over the summer I had gotten into the habit of getting up early to help our mornings. I’ve been terrible about it in the last few weeks though- I need to plan ahead a little more in the evenings and actually get up with my alarm clock every day for a few weeks to help my body get used to it again.
I am thankful for… weekends. It was a good weekend.
Always Learning… Ezra has started to notice shapes. We talk a lot about circles, triangles and squares, but all he has so far is “shapes! Shapes!” which actually sounds like “sip! sip!” Hey- it’s a start.
Ender’s new thing this week is a book about rocks and minerals. He has a special box of rocks he has collected from camping trips, visits to new parks, rocks from the back yard and a variety of other places. A few are shiny or have a cool shape, but most of them seem like ordinary rocks. He has a reason why he chose every single one, and he keeps them ordered in his own way. He is in love with this new book and has spent quite a lot of time on it.
From the kitchen… 80 Gazillion pies worth of apple pie filling for future pies and crisps this winter. That’s pretty much all I’m doing in the kitchen this week- apples every single day!
I am wearing… My favorite jersey jammies.
I am creating… nothing new this week. I need to finish up a few things so that I can get started on Christmas stockings and Christmas gifts.
I am going… to catch up on the house this week.
I am reading… Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I am hoping… for some resolutions to the schedule problems I’m having.
I am hearing… most excellent silence.
Around the house… I’m de-toying the house. It was becoming too much and it was time to put away some of the outgrown things. So our infant and under-2 toys are all packed up and in storage. I also sent Ezra’s 24 month clothes to storage along with his crib. He’s growing up too quickly!
One of my favorite things… Homemade Tomato Soup. I made a bunch yesterday. That is my soul food right there.
A few plans for the rest of the week … lots of apple pie making, quiet time in the evenings (I have hats to finish!), and Superman starts new classes this week.
Lots of prayer.
Lots of white space.
Hard stops.
