Uncommon Grace

Meet Hanna!

So here she is, the doll I'm calling Hanna. (Yes, without an "h" at the end. Because I'm a Scandinavia-ophile.) I made her to resemble -- who else? -- me. So I thought some reverse naming was in order. The name Ann means "grace," so it had to be an Ann-derivative. But for an orange-haired doll, Ann felt a bit too much like Raggedy Ann. Or Anne of Green Gables. Or Little Orphan Annie. So, she's Hanna, for now. Until she reaches her new family, which is ...

Molly's!

I also have two runner up gifts. They are some duplicate back-issues I have of Martha Stewart Kids. They go to Lori and Dawn. (One is Spring 2004 and the other is Winter 2004. Let me know if you have a preference, ladies.)

Hanna still needs some finishing touches, but I plan to ship her no later than Dec. 10. The magazines will go out this week.

Thank you all so very much, once again, for making my blogaversary so much fun!

xo, Grace

Postponed until the morning.

So sorry! Baby J's eardrum ruptured (he's been sick) today while he was with my mom. I've been assured by his physician's office and all of my hippie-mama recources that this is perfectly normal and won't impact his hearing or anything. BUT ... no drawing until the morning. So, so sorry. I know that there are more than 100 of you waiting with baited breath. I promise. In the morning!!

**You are all so sweet! No need to worry, I'm taking care of my baby first and foremost. And my pup, who's home from the hospital now, second. And my wee girl, who needs some attention and stories. And my husband, who has been having a hard month at work. And people with dolls to win after all that.**

Doll drawing will be announced this evening.

My friend is trying to help me wade through the comments and get them all onto paper ... a bigger job than I expected! My children are off to spend a day with their grandmother so I can work (imagine that!). We went to the funnest birthday party last night, and I'd love to share photos, but both camera batteries are dead right now. Once they're charged and all is uploaded, I will have lots to share.

So, tonight, then. I expect to post at about 8pm EST. One of you is going to be very lucky ... I am only reluctantly giving this doll away! ;)

Just a quick post to say...

Hello, and wow. I am so overwhelmed and grateful for the response to last week's blogaversary post. I hope those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving last week had a lovely day. Ours was snowy and cozy. Lots of baking. Super fun. More photos will be up on flickr today or tomorrow. Until then, here's one of my wee one in the snow.

I'm a bit behind on the blog here -- I had one more gushy post about blogging I wanted to share, and I probably will on Wednesday. We've had a dog emergency which requires surgery immediately, so we're off in a few minutes to take our pup in for her surgery. (Torn tendon in her knee. Yikes.) Anyway, I'm not sure how behind this will make me today, but we still plan to do the drawing for the doll tomorrow morning, unless something else unplanned presents itself.

xo, Grace

Thoughtful

I've been thinking a lot about this community of mamas that we have here. No, not all the blogs I read are written by mamas, or necessarily even women. But most are. And I am so very amazed each and every day by the posts of all you mamas. This is a community of people, who, by the very nature of the medium, are working to be thoughtful.

My shadow is really tall and skinny.

You -- we -- are all so thoughtful. Here is a community of people who are working hard to create beautiful homes for their families, regardless of their circumstances. To be mindful of the small moments that could so easily slip past and be forgotten in the daily work of keeping a home and raising a family. To provide their children with healthful foods. To honor their family history. To bring a spirit of creativity, of making something with one's own hands, into the every day. This is the real work of life, in my opinion. This is work that enriches our lives in countless ways. No, you don't need a blog to live your life this way. But in the process of blogging, so many of us have connected with one another, and have received so much inspiration, motivation, support, and validation from this community in return.

Sometimes, I'll admit, I waste a bit too much time on the computer. Reading blogs, following links, getting tangled up in the eye candy of flickr. I sometimes need to remind myself to get off. (There really is an endless supply of beauty out there, though.) But despite that, I think that my life and my parenting are better for having made my way into this community. And it's because of you. Because each of you takes a little time out of your day to share something from your own corner of the world. And I am so very, very grateful.

**PS: Please feel free to continue to leave comments on yesterday's post. As I said before, I'm waiting until the beginning of next week to do the drawing for the doll. Of course I'd like to hear from you on this post, too ... and any other you'd like to comment on, as well!!**

One Year!

In the midst of all my advent posting last week, I forgot about a very important date. This little blog passed its first year over the weekend. Happy blogaversary to us!

In light of this special date, I am doing a givaway, of course. Since it's Thanksgiving week in the US, I'm going to give you a bit of extra time to sign up for this very special givaway. It's a handmade doll, if you want to know. Leave a comment on this post by Monday, November 26, and on Tuesday, Elisabeth will draw one name out of a hat. (This is also partly to give me time to finish the doll before announcing the winner!)

This week I'm going to post about blogging and creativity and probably get all sentimental on you all. But that's come to be expected, I think. How I'd love to have you all over for a cup of tea and some creating together. But since that is probably impossible (especially in my wee little abode), just drink a cup of tea and think of me this week, won't you? I'll be thinking of this crazy, amazing, thoughtful community and smiling all week long.

Celebrating Advent :: Part 3

Advent Wreath

The advent wreath is a very ancient tradition, drawing on many cultures and customs. It is full of symbolism (which I won't go into here, but suffice it to say that no matter the religious background, circles are pretty much universally significant in human history).

There are a lot of ways to assemble an advent wreath. Religious supply stores sell small metal wreath forms with the candle holders already built in, which can then be filled out with greenery. You could use an actual evergreen wreath and place the candles around it. We have a wooden wreath form that can actually hang, although we just set it on the table along with a real wreath around it. As far as candles, the tradition is to use four red ones or three purple and one pink. (The pink one is lit on the third week.)

We are huge fans of candlelit dinners at our house (um, have you guessed?), and there's no more beautiful time of year than advent for this, as we're symbolically kindling light within ourselves as we await the "return of the light". There are the candles of the wreath, with a new one lit each week; our advent candle, which is a beeswax candle that we decorate with decorating wax every year on December 1; and plenty of other beautiful candles as well. We light each of the advent candles for the first time at a Sunday dinner, with a little prayer or blessing. (We use Christian advent prayers, but I know there are lots of other possibilities if that doesn't fit your family's needs.) Then we continue to light the appropriate candle(s) during each dinner for the rest of that week.

Another tradition with the advent wreath is to incorporate parts of the natural world into it. Traditionally, the first week is devoted to the earth and the mineral world. Many people place crystals and beautiful stones in the center of their wreaths during this time. In the second week, the plant world is incorporated. This would be a good week to add your evergreen wreath or branches if you haven't already. Pinecones, holly sprigs, and even red roses are also traditional additions. It's also one traditional time to put up and/or trim the tree. Representations of the animal world are added in the third week. Small figurines of animals are most common, but there are other creative options -- perhaps a dried starfish or some shells to remind us of the animals under the sea? Feathers to remind us of the birds? And so on. The fourth week adds the human world. Many people add the figures of Mary and Joseph to the center of the wreath, but any small representations of humans, their form or the work of their hands, would be appropriate. The purpose of this tradition is to incorporate archetypal representations of the natural world into the celebration of advent, not necessarily to create a very "realistic" scene, especially if your children are very small. Children's imaginations and comprehension of symbolism are much stronger than ours! ;)

There are several suggestions regarding constructing a wreath in All Year Round. Many of our family traditions surrounding the wreath are a blend of ideas from Mrs Sharp's Traditions, All Year Round, and our own religious backgrounds. 

Celebrating Advent :: Part 2

So, without further ado, here's the list. I am adding links for some of these items, but please understand that while I would not link to a company with which I explicitly object to doing business, these are not endorsements of one company over another. In many cases, I have found or purchased these items locally rather than through online sources. So please take the links as what they are: references for you to use if they're helpful, but not a buying guide from me.

And I think it goes without saying, though I'll say it anyway, if you think of something great that hasn't made my list, will you please share it in the comments? Many of these would make nice stocking stuffers, too, if you find yourself lacking inspiration in that arena. :) (Photos in this post are all from last year -- not necessarily pertaining to our actual advent calendar, but I felt that they expressed the spirit I'm hoping to capture here.)

Family Outings/Activities (make a simple coupon/ticket for these as a visual cue)

*Carriage ride (our downtown offers free carriage rides on specific days throughout December)
*Ice skating
*If your community has a "giving tree," you could incorporate one or more elements of this process into one or more (!) days of the calendar: the day your family chooses someone from the tree to give to, or shopping for or making a gift for that person (or you could incorporate some other form of charitable giving into the calendar if you don't do a "giving tree")
*Many public libraries have speical children's events during December
*Many places of worship or community centers also have special holiday events for families
*Sledding (in our area, December is pretty touch-and-go with regard to snow, so we kind of just wait and see if there'll be a snowy enough day for that)
*Special visit to relatives (or a coupon on your traveling day if you travel at the holidays)
*Tea party (either at home or at a local tea house)
*Tickets to see a performance of The Nutcracker or other holiday performance
*Visit Christmas lighting displays
*Visit to Santa
*Any other traditional holiday outing of your family's

Family Traditions

*A special meal -- maybe your child can choose what to have

*Candies for decorating on the day you make a gingerbread house
*Cookie cutter or sprinkles on the day you make cookies
*Coupon for extra bedtime story, late bedtime, etc.
*Moonlit walk (in the spirit of Owl Moon)
*Ornament on the day you put up your tree (think simple, even handmade -- it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive)
*Popcorn (we found red and green kernels last year) for a special movie night (i.e. Charlie Brown Christmas special)
*Special one-on-one time or "date" with parent

Made by Parent for Child

*A mix CD of some of your child's favorite music, or your family's favorite holiday music (I'll share some of ours in an upcoming post), or favorite music from your own childhood

*Crown -- crocheted, made from felt, or other fabrics

*Doll clothes

*Finger Puppets

*Knitted hat

*Knitted stuffed animal
*Holiday napkins

*Origami animals

*Other small handmade toys

Natural World

*"Found" objects from nature (pinecones, acorns, nests, etc.)
*Crystals or beautiful stones
*Evergreen sprigs
*Flowers that are blooming now (Christmas cactus, carnations)
*Paperwhite bulbs (if you give them early enough, they could be blooming by Christmas)
*Seaglass (OK, I know it's not technically "natural", but it's still lovely)
*Seeds (for planting)
*Shells

Multi-Day Items

*One bead (or more) a day, leading up to stringing a necklace or bracelet
*One puzzle piece (or more) a day, leading up to a completed puzzle
*Something that comes as a set, divided over several days, such as: a tea set, a set of nesting bowls, a matreshka, nativity set, checkers game, etc.

Free or Very Inexpensive

*A dollar or even just a few coins to put into the Salvation Army bucket, accompanied by an illustration of the bucket (be sure you do this on a day you plan to go to the store anyway)
*A story you have made up especially for your child
*Bells
*Jokes
*Letter or note
*Marbles
*Poems
*Riddles
*Scavenger hunt or treasure map -- either to an object too large to fit, or just for fun

Crafts

*Beeswax sheets and wicking to roll candles
*Candle and candle decorating wax or paints (can be found at craft stores or online through places like Hearthsong)
*Coloring book or sketch pad and fresh set of crayons or colored pencils
*Crafts made with natural objects (ornaments, people, or animals from pinecones, acorns, nuts, etc., a candleholder made from a crosspiece of a branch and decorated with crystals, bits of evergreen, nuts, etc., ornaments made with woven wheat or long pine needles, fire starters made by dipping long, thin pinecones into melted beeswax, bird feeders made using pinecones, peanut butter, seeds, etc. A lot of these ideas can be found in the books Earthways and Crafts through the Year, and there are kits out there, too.)
*Do you have any idea how many things can be done with pipe cleaners? Think about it. ;) Our house would probably stop functioning if we ran out of those babies.
*Embroidery supplies or kit
*Felting supplies or kit
*Knitting mushroom/tower and some yarn
*Modeling wax or clay
*Lanterns made using recycled food cans with holes poked in them with a hammer and nail (or other light-oriented project) -- really good for the day of the Solstice
*Origami paper and instructions for older children
*Pieces of wool felt for your child to cut up and make things with -- perhaps with some dolly pegs (old fashioned clothespins) and some other little bits of yarn and trims to make little people
*Rubber stamps
*Small sewing project or kit
*Supplies for a holiday craft such as stringing garlands, making ornaments, or simple gifts
*Supplies for making holiday cards, gift tags, or wrapping paper (such as construction paper, glitter paint/glitter pens, a large roll of kraft paper, rubber stamps, etc.)
*Window crayons or markers

Purchased/"Gifty" items

*An item to add to something your child or family collects: a piece of a collectible nativity set, Playmobil pieces, an Ostheimer figure, another toy that your child has a collection of, etc.
*Balls: rubber balls, knitted balls, felt balls, fabric balls, etc.
*Bath toy
*Bird call whistle
*Card games
*Collectible coins
*Costume jewelry
*Dress-up item
*Family game
*Fancy soap
*Hair ties
*Harmonica
*Jacks game
*Jump rope
*Kazoo
*Lacing cards
*Lip balm
*Music box
*One year I found a beautiful and inexpensive little etched glass votive candle holder with an evergreen-scented candle for Elisabeth, and she loves getting it out of our Christmas things each year
*Pajamas (could be homemade if you sew)
*Pencils made out of twigs (one source)
*Play silks -- mini or regular
*Slippers (I'm thinking of this in terms of maybe this is something my child really needs, and perhaps before Christmas -- could also be homemade)
*Small snow globe
*Socks
*Special drinking cup -- a holiday mug, or a little cup for your child to have as his "own". Two possible sources here and here
*Spinning tops
*Stickers
*Tiny toys

Food/treats

*Chocolate coins or small candies
*Mini candy canes
*Nuts
*"Stained glass" cookies
(We have never given food items in our advent stockings, so I'm afraid I'm a little lacking in ideas there. Sorry.)

Reader Sarah made a comment that her family uses an advent calendar with beautiful pictures behind each window rather than gifts in order to avoid the feeling of materialism that expecting "something" -- whether an actual gift or just the promise of an activity -- engenders. I think she makes a really good point, and I'd certainly like to emphasize that while we have definitely given real gifts in the calendar, we are very heavy on the coupons for activities here. In our family, it offers a way for Elisabeth to understand that even the season has a rhythm to it -- today we'll trim our tree, today we'll make cards, today we'll make cookies, etc. So, I want to encourage all of you to think of it in that light as much as possible in order to keep yourself out of the overwhelming trap of feeling obligated to buy or find a lot more tangible gifts, in addition to everything else on a busy parent's plate at this time of year! This list, I know, is very long. But don't feel like you need to somehow do everything on it! (We haven't!) Choose what works for your family first and foremost!

A bit of R & R

Hmm ... is it really so late? I can't believe that it's taken me all day to get this post up. One of those days, I guess.

Last night I had the special privilege of spending the evening out at a pub with two awesome ladies. Both are so brilliant and funny, it's humbling to think that they're my real life friends. A night out with some girlfriends was just what I needed after a long weekend of nothing but coughing and dollmaking. Not that I'm complaining too much about the dollmaking! ;) Thanks for a fab night out, Meghan and Kim.

Celebrating Advent :: Part 1

You are all so kind! I feel so blessed by your many well-wishes. I am still sick ... the laryngitis has passed and been replaced with a cough. Yuck! I don't get sick often, but when I do, it seems that I get every possible symptom.

I know that December is still a few weeks away, but I thought I'd share these ideas with you now so you'll have time to think about them if they resonate for you.

Spreading out the holiday season is very important to me. The idea of one single, over-stimulating, and -- ultimately -- disappointing day is very unappealing to my mama soul, and not so good for the wee ones, either. The more that we can do to celebrate a holiday season, the better, in my eyes. So to that end, we have a very involved advent tradition, into which we have incorporated many of our other family holiday traditions. We also celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, ending on Three Kings Day (January 6). During that time, we are still in merry-making mode, but we try to ever-so-gently wind things down.

As I wrote this post, I realized that it was far too much information for one day, so I'm going to divide it up into three days this week. Today I'll talk about the advent calendar. On Wednesday, I'll share a very long list of ideas for things to put into the calendar once you've got it set up. And on Friday, I'll share a little bit about the tradition of the advent wreath. These ideas have been accumulated over my 5.5 years of mothering and from my own childhood as well.

Advent Calendar

The first thing to do is to come up with some sort of advent calendar "vessel". This can be just about anything. We have 24 stockings strung on a garland. Years ago (2003, to be precise), Martha Stewart Kids showed a sock garland calendar made with baby socks, number stickers, and clothespins. It's not up on their website Here it is, although they do show this one, which requires sewing, and this cute one, made of boxes. (I made ours three or four years ago using this kit from Magic Cabin.) I have a friend who uses 24 beautiful paper cones. You could use a variation on the pocket calendar, based on something like this, this or this. Kim made these gorgeous little cornucopias. You don't even have to have 24. You could use a single beautiful bowl, tray, or piece of pottery, and the gifts could appear in it each morning. And each vessel does not have to be large enough to "hold" the day's gift. Our gifts frequently don't fit in our tiny stockings, so they simply await the children on a chair or stool beneath the garland. We do have a little elf who travels from stocking to stocking day by day as a visual aid to the passing of the days.

Another variation is to have a 12-day calendar and use it to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas instead. Then you only have to come up with 12 ideas, and you can spread Christmas out in the more traditional manner. (Traditionally, the Christmas/Yule season began on that day, rather than ending on it!)

Now that you've got a vessel of some sort, you have to come up with little gifts to put in it for 24 consecutive days (I know, I am a crazy person). This can get very expensive, very quickly, if you approach it with the idea that each day must contain an actual "gift" for each of your children. I try to think about things that we would be doing anyway, and make those things fit into our celebration of advent, rather than the other way around. For example, we would always make cookies one day, visit holiday lighting displays one or more days, and put up/decorate our tree one day. The same idea applies to things we'd spend money on anyway. Is there something that my child needs now that can't wait until Christmas? That goes into the calendar. We have the tradition of wearing new pajamas on Christmas Eve, so they started appearing on the last day of the calendar. We would buy a new, special holiday or winter book for our family each year anyway, so we incorporated that into the calendar. One of the most important things that I can recommend to you if you are just beginning with this tradition is to keep it pretty low-key and low-pressure. If you set your children up to expect an actual "gift" every day, they will feel disappointed if sometimes it's not. If most days they find coupons or tickets incorporating an activity that would happen in your home anyway, it gives them the security of predictability, and keeps it from becoming another commitment for you to buy a lot more expensive gifts.

The key here is keep it simple and manageable for the parents. I usually sit down in November with the calendar and figure out which days, according to my husband's work and gig schedule and my cello teaching schedule, we will do our usual family outings and activities. I think about the more "gifty" things I have acquired (or plan to), and try to spread those out at fairly wide intervals. I look at the days we're going to celebrate other festivals (St Nicholas's visit on the 6th, Santa Lucia's Day on the 13th) and think about ways that I can either incorporate the celebration of those festivals into the calendar (a Santa Lucia crown on the 13th, for example) or something simple that won't distract from the main event. (Since St Nicholas brings chocolate and a small gift to my children, I keep the advent calendar very simple on that day.) Once I have the main things plugged into my calendar, I fill it in with simple crafts or small things that I have on hand.

I like to have as much as possible on hand and parceled out according to date before Dec. 1 so that no matter how tired or busy I've been on some December day, the advent calendar won't be a cause for stress right before I go to bed. The easier I can make this for myself, the more enjoyable it is for everyone. 

So, make it fun for yourself, keep it light-hearted and simple, and it can be a really lovely family tradition that helps to spread out the season and mark the s-l-o-w passage of the days for the wee ones.

On Wednesday you'll get a very long list of ideas for things to put into the calendar, some of which we've tried in our home and some of which I just thought of as I was preparing these posts. Enjoy!

Laryngitis. Blech.

As you can tell by the title of this post, I am actually getting sicker with each passing day.

I really hate to do a post with no photos, but the idea of converting, saving, and uploading any right now seems ridiculously hard, so I'm just popping in to say hi, let you know that I'm still sick, but still alive, and promise to post this week even if they're just little ones.

A Proclamation

We discovered that James had a number of food and environmental allergies when he was a very wee babe. Since that time, I think Elisabeth has struggled somewhat to comprehend the meaning of these allergies that her brother has, what it means that his life experience is limited in ways that hers isn't, and so on. A couple of weeks ago, she announced that she was "allergic to polyester." She may very well be -- it'd be hard to tell in this natural fiber household. But there it was. Allergic to polyester. For some reason this proclamation was both hilarious and bittersweet to me.

So, with my natural fiber obsession (let's just call it what it is, shall we?), I have always needed my wee ones' pajamas to be cotton or wool. Mostly they wear those "must be snug fitting" longjohn-style pajamas since the commercially available alternative is polyester.

Last night, I finally got around to doing something I've been meaning to do for a very long time: sew up some cotton flannel pajama pants. Due to the end of daylight saving time, James was asleep by 5:45, so Elisabeth stood at my elbow while I whipped these up for her from my horded couple of yards of Munki Munki flannel. James will get some this week, as well, and some long-sleeved shirts with owls on them have been requested to go with them. So those will be following along shortly, I'm sure.

PS: I'm still sick -- actually sicker today than I was on Friday! But thank you all so very much for your well-wishes. I hope I'll be back to "normal" (a relative term with me, hee hee) very soon. xo

Souperific

I am completely sick today. Sore throat, headache, sore ears, sore eyes, congested. I know I'm going to be in the mood for soup, and lots of it, over the next few days.

Here's the recipe for a favorite of ours. I adapted it from one that a friend shared with me a few years ago (originally from Cooking Light, I believe.) It's so yummy!

Italian Sausage and Pasta Soup

1 lb. hot Italian sausage (or mild, if your family prefers ... we like spicy)
2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with garlic and basil (I think some brands call this "Italian diced" -- check the can. Remember that tomatoes are a commonly contaminated crop and it's worth the effort to look for organic!)
6 cups broth or stock of your favorite variety
1 cup small whole-grain pasta (such as macaroni or shells)
1 large bunch kale, stemmed and chopped

In a soup pot, brown sausage, using a spoon to break up. Add tomatoes, broth, and pasta. Simmer until pasta is tender. Add kale and simmer until bright green and wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve with crusty bread, salad, and a garnish of shredded cheese and/or shredded fresh basil if you choose. (We always omit the garnishes.) Enjoy!

And a couple more dinnertime photos from me, since this seems to be my favorite subject of late, and I just can't resist:

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! Be well -- not sick like me! ;)

Halloween!

You might remember that Halloween is my favorite holiday. This year was kind of strange for me in terms of decorating, however. One huge box of Halloween decorations was never located in our very disorganized storage space, and we've been going back and forth with the decision of whether or not to move before the end of the year, so I was dragging my feet a bit on getting things out. Anyway, a lot of the decorating I would usually do didn't happen this year, but it was still a very sweet Halloween.

Elisabeth and James were fairies (Elisabeth's idea, of course); their costumes were inspired by the work of Daniela Drescher, whose illustrations I would gladly inhabit. In fact, I tried to make Elisabeth's costume look like one of the fairies from In the Land of Fairies.

James's jacket and hat are made using patterns from Bend the Rules Sewing. The "Woodland Elf Hat" was super easy. I used some wool/rayon blend felt that I got on clearance at JoAnn last fall, and I didn't even have to pin around the curves because the felt stayed nice and still for me. It was really easy. I'm not sure if it's because I used a fabric so different from the one suggested in the book (no stretch), but the "Sweet Wee Jacket" turned out much shorter than I'd hoped.  But no problem for this project ... and when I make it again (I'm certain I will -- it's so cute!), I'll just cut the body longer.

The wings are made with coat hangers and pantyhose. I've been thinking about trying this ever since I first saw some like this in a store five years ago (one of those "I could make that" moments), but was never sure how well it would work with an actual hanger. Well, it did, and was much easier than I expected!

James's bag, new this year. I made one like it for Elisabeth when she was this age, even before I was sure if I'd ever allow my children to trick-or-treat. Simple, small, doesn't hold too much, sweet, perfect for little ones.

We had a really fun evening. We trick-or-treated at just a few houses and in our small city's downtown, and then we spent most of the evening at my sister-in-law's house drinking spiced cider and eating chili while my wee ones and their big cousins (10+) were in and out (it was freezing). My children got just enough candy -- but not too much. It was perfect.