The TV

So, as we forge ahead on our journey of simplifying our lives, Justin and I have hit a roadblock when it comes to the TV. For me, I can take it or leave it. I much prefer to fill my evenings with a little bit of work, knitting, reading and tea drinking. Justin on the other hand really enjoys his TV. His evenings are filled with documentaries, history programs, national geographic programs, car shows and so on. His TV watching is very educational, he is not one for the regular TV viewing, thank goodness.

There is one issue regarding the TV we agree on, and that is Reece. We decided long ago the TV would not be a part of Reece’s childhood. We just felt it wasn’t necessary.  So the TV is not on during the day, ever, only coming to life after Reece is tucked in for the night.

A few months ago, I brought up the subject of getting rid of the TV altogether, you can most likely imagine the expression I was met with, yeah, it definitely said “no way”. I then suggested a little experiment, a week without TV, still a no go in Justin’s book. I was determined, though, to try and get him to come around, so I put the suggestion of a screen free day on the table and he agreed!

Sunday is our family day. We spend time as a family doing exactly what we want. We don’t schedule anything; we chill, hang out, usually head out for a hike and hit the coffee shop for a cup of tea. It is a day to just be and enjoy our time as a family. So, it made perfect sense to make Sunday our screen free day and so it began.

We have been at it for a few months now and Justin loves it! At first, I was still trying to get my Sunday blog post in, quickly, but we have decided that the Sunday blog post will no longer be so we can be totally screen free for the day.

You will find us reading, knitting, hanging out in front of the fire and talking on Sunday nights. It is really wonderful and is the perfect end to our family day.

So, for now, I will call it a win on my part, but I will not stop trying to find a way to limit it even more in our lives. There is just so much to do, read, talk about and share when we don’t have a “third wheel” in the room.

How welcome is TV in your home?

The Giving Tree

Every year after Christmas, we drag our tree outside and lean it up somewhere in the yard. It becomes a wonderful place for birds and little creatures to find shelter from the cold winter days. This year, though, we have done something a little different. I was inspired by this post from Our One Sweet Family to not only provide shelter for our little feathered friends, but to also provide them with some food.

Reece and I added some bird seed to some crunchy peanut butter and rolled them up into balls.

I halved some oranges and put some seed in a bowl.

Then we headed outside to decorate our Giving Tree.

We had a great time decorating the tree, for the second time this season.

The birds are still loving the little treasure we found on the side of the road.

Within minutes of heading inside, watching from the kitchen door, we spotted at least a dozen birds enjoying our Giving Tree.

{This Moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Inspired by Soulemama.

Crafting Supplies

My first experience with craft supplies for Reece was crayons, which broke the very first time he used them, frustrating both he and I.  Crafting is supposed to be fun; there should not be frustration when trying to use supplies. So right then and there, I decided if we were going to craft, we were going to use quality supplies.

Crafting for a toddler, and for me for that matter, involves many senses; from feeling the crayon in your hand, to the creative mind creating a picture to the visual aspect of seeing the finished product. I decided right then and there, if we were going to be a crafting family then we would have quality products which would allow Reece to focus on creating and not frustrate him.

So began my search. My first magical find was Stockmar crayons. These crayons are made from beeswax and are not only beautiful to use, but also beautiful to look at. Last Christmas I bought a small set for Reece and we were not disappointed. This year his nana and papa bought him a larger set with some wonderful colours and we ordered the block crayons for him.  These crayons are wonderful to use, and the colour they produce is vibrant. Reece was so enamoured with his new block crayons they came with us everywhere for the first few days and we were not allowed to put them away in the craft drawers.

Next up was paint. We tried the typical kid paints, but they just didn’t live up to my hopes. Their colour lacked vibrancy, and faded. Add too much water to the brush and the colour was too faded. Not enough water on the brush and Reece became frustrated that no colour was coming off the brush and onto the paper.  So, I hit the art supply store, there had to be a better alternative, and I was right there was.

These are water colour paints, which are used by the local high school students, so the owner of the art supply store told me. She said they would be the perfect starting point for Reece. So, I added it to the wish list I was compiling for nana and papa and the paint set found its way into Reece’s gifts this Christmas.

And of course if you are going to use water colour paints, you need the proper paper, so we have picked up some water colour paper to make the experience one to enjoy.

A new addition to Reece’s craft supplies are the water colour pencils above. We have not used them yet, but are looking forward to giving them a try soon.  They can be used as regular colouring pencils, but you can also do a number of other creative things with them. A brush is included with the pencils so you can wet the brush and paint over what you have drawn to create a water colour painting. You can wet the pencils before your draw with them for the same effect or you can even wet the paper and then draw on it. So many ideas with just one pack of pencils, you can’t beat it.

You will also find dot markers in our crafting drawers, ink pads and stamps, glue sticks, feathers, beads, felt, eco play dough, sparkles, rhinestones and scissors (Reece loves to cut). I am always adding to our craft drawers as I find things which I think will interest Reece and create a fun crafting experience for both of us.

And the one last thing you will in our craft drawers find is a pile of paper. We have lots of white paper, but I also think it is important to have paper in many different colours. I lucked out with this one a few years ago when we were at Ikea and found a package of paper with colours so bright and vibrant I had to pick it up. In fact, as our supply runs out, we usually head to Ikea just to pick up our stash of this paper.

So there you have it, our craft supplies at the moment. We have a ton of fun with these supplies and I know our craft drawers will continue to grow and change as Reece gets older and develops different or new interests.

You will notice some of these supplies are a little more expensive than the typical toddler craft supplies. This is a decision we have made, to spend a little bit more for quality products. This creates a quality experience for Reece which is fun and carefree. It reduces frustration and allows him to experience crafting to its fullest extent with all of his senses.

One last thing on our crafting routine. We have fallen into the routine of doing a craft project on Thursday afternoons, each week it just seemed to happen that way. So I have decided Thursday is our craft day. That does not mean we don't get the paints out on Monday, actually, Reece has access to the craft drawers at all times. This works for us and allows him to grab supplies and draw when the mood strikes. He does not have to ask Justin or I to get something for him, he knows where everything is and can be creative on his time at his own pace. Here's a peek at where we store everything.

Hope your crafting journeys are full of fun.

Story Time

I have waited patiently for the day when Reece would come running, with a book in hand, to ask me to read him a story, and it has finally come. For about two months now, Reece has been the one to initiate our story time each day, and I love it.

He usually grabs a book from the shelf in his room, comes running out calling “time for a story”. Often I make us a cup of tea, grab us a little snack and we cuddle up on the sofa and read.

Right now, he has a favourite, which we are pretty much reading every day, at least once, if not two, three, four...you get the picture, times a day. 

Peter in Blueberry Land by Elsa Beskow is a magical story of a little boy upset when we can't find any berries to pick for his mother's birthday. Along comes the Blueberry King and a great adventure begins. The imaginative story and the colourful pictures make this book a pleasure to read as many times as my little man wishes.

What story book is getting read a lot in your home these days?

Gifts of Love

As you know, we shared a pretty simple Christmas this year, nothing too fancy, choosing to make gifts instead of buying.  For the last few years, Justin and I have not exchanged gifts, we were happy with what we hand, needed nothing and choose to enjoy just being together as a family as our gift to each other. This year, though, with all the craftiness going on in our home, we both got busy creating gifts for each other. 

Justin is an artist, working with many different mediums. His work usually involves wood and metal, but you will often find him playing with something else if it creates a vision for him.  So, take a look at what I opened on Christmas morning.

Yes, knitting needles. Can you believe he made me a pair of knitting needles? Now they are a bit heavy and I don’t think I will use them for knitting, but they are beautiful none the less.  And to be honest, he told me the intended purpose is not for knitting. In mid December, I finally figured out how to create a little crafting space for myself in our little home.  I had been trying to figure it out for a while and it finally came together in my head, we just needed to get the Christmas tree out of the way. So, the plan was made, as soon as the holidays were over, he and I would get to work on my craft space. These needles are meant to be displayed in my space as a reminder of the knitting I love to do and the artistic work Justin loves.  Yes, my heart melted just a little bit.

And now for the piece which blew my mind. This.

Wow!

It was such a surprise to open such a beautiful gift. This is something Justin has never done, so it took me completely by surprise. He was able to get his hands on some soap stone and decided to try carving it, and this is the finished product; a beautiful piece which captures so beautifully the love we share.

I am continually amazed by my husband. He never ceases to surprise me with his creativity.

And to top it all off, he also snuck in $50.00 specifically meant for me to spend at a little yarn shop I found recently in Port Perry.

I will be the first to say, I am a lucky lady and am grateful each day for the man I call my best friend and husband.

I love you Justin.

Promises

I am not a big New Year’s resolution maker, although the year is coming to an end and a new one beginning, I don’t feel that way about my life. It is continuous, it doesn’t stop.  Life is always evolving and changing, things happen that are out of our control, all we can do is continue on the journey. We can’t make it stop and start again, we must just carry on. So with that in mind, instead of resolutions, I often spend a bit of time reaffirming the promises I have made to myself as I journey along the road called life.

So here goes:

• I will continue to greet each new day with gratitude. Grateful for the life I have been given, grateful for the people I get to share it with and grateful to be able to enjoy it for one more day.
• I will continue to take time each day to connect with the earth. Hiking, running, playing outside, shovelling the snow in winter, gardening in the summer, I will take the time to get out there, breath and feel the fresh air on my face.
• I will continue to enjoy life. I only have one life, given to me to enjoy; I intend to enjoy it to its fullest.
• I will continue to treasure each and every day I receive. It is a gift, and I intend to use it.
• I will continue to strive to live in the moment. This one is always a challenge for me; I am a planner and always looking ahead. Being a mom has definitely changed this. Reece lives in the moment, for him yesterday and tomorrow don’t exist, only now, which means I too have to live in the now with him. So, because of him this promise gets a little easier each day.
• I will continue to work at judging less, both myself and others. We are all on our own paths and while your path may be different than mine, it is not wrong, just different. And there is no need for me to judge you or your decisions, if you are happy, then so be it, I can be happy for you too. 
• As a family we will work together to stay on the path of slowing down and living simply.

While nothing is guaranteed, what I can say for sure is that I will continue to work on the promises I made to myself.  They are promises which make me a better and happier person. There is no doubt that 2012 will have its struggles but it also promises to be full of joy and hope too; for it is only through struggle that we can find hope and the joy which follows.

What promises are you reaffirming today to ensure you live your best life?