Look to the Right

I now have a preview of hats and you can pay through Paypal! YIPPEE!!!

Here's a close-up of the hats:

Pinecone Elves: Tutorial

The days are cold and gray and we are spending a lot of time indoors. I have been "pinning" so many ideas of crafts with Hudson. This one was super cute and fun.

The next few weeks we plan on making many things for the holidays. Christmas cards, Elves, ornaments, wreaths, garland, etc. Hudson also has a boat making idea for all his friends. Yikes! Christmas isn't that far away I see. :)

Here are the cutie little elves:

What you need:

*pinecones (around 2 inches high)

*wool felt

*pipe cleaner

*hot glue and gun

*2/4 in wooden craft bead

*paint

*needle and thread (optional)

This project definitely needs adult supervision for the hot glue.  Here is a complete list of directions: Martha Stewart How-To Pinecone Elves

How to include your child:

Hudson painted the ends of our pine cone with glitter. As he stated "everything is better if you add gliter"

Hudson then painted the rosy cheeks

I added the eyes with a black sharpie pen

Hudson would hold the pinecone when I went to hot glue something

Let your child pick out the colors. our elves have very colorful arms and legs ;-) 

We then added a stick for them to carry and glued a felt star to each. 

We did not sew their outfits, but glued them together. 

Enjoy! 

Post your pictures to the comments section! I can't wait to see!

Wonder

In our busy lives of fast cars, fast phones, fast internet speeds, fast everything.. it's hard to just put all those things on silent and sit and wonder. To turn off the phone, to turn off the computer, to refuse to let the outside world in and sit deeply in your own mind. gazing. daydreaming. wondering. For just a second, two, three, maybe more.. you let yourself out of this hurried world and enter into a life of simplicity and carefree.

As the days are turning colder, we have found ourselves inside more. Summer, with it's beauty of heat and the ability to sit for hours outside, also warrants busy days. Bike riding, park dates, swimming. Our lives are full in such a different way. Today, we find our new ways of tending to our day.

Today H gave me the most wonderful moment. A moment. Captured in my memory. Pure beauty. Pure innocence. Pure wonder. After our cleaning day had commenced he welcomed me to relax on the sofa. He asked for some "Huddy/Mama cuddle time" (N was napping). I jumped at the opportunity, grabbed our blanket, cuddled him in my arm and gazed outside. The blinds open. The sky gray, cold. The wind blowing fast. The last leaves gripping hard to the tree, holding on for just a few days longer. We watched. We talked. We asked each other questions.

"mama, do you think that leaf there will fall soon"
"I don't know, do you think it will fall.. now?"
"how about now?"

"mama, the sky is kind of scary, but not scary like I'm scared, but like scary like gray."

30 minutes of watching this leaf. 30 minutes of uninterrupted life. 30 minutes of.. wonder.

Our lives can be busy, they can lead us to miss these moments. These moments when our children show us just how beautiful the world is. One leaf at a time. One gray sky. A morning I awoke without ambition to welcome the cold days. It turned out to end with me feeling so lucky to have these precious moments with my son. His eyes so bright and beautiful into this world.

Baked Fruit for Breakfast

{photo courtesy of Blog: Beauty that Moves}

I am so excited to try this recipe! I had to share it here too!

Baked Fruit for Breakfast!

Weekending

 

The weekend is coming to a close and my friends, winter feels like it is here!

The first colds have entered our home. Mom and Dad have been hit and recovering ever so slowly. I am a pretty firm believer of letting my body heal colds/flu/etc on it's own so my colds take a little longer than maybe some. I also don't really enjoy taking meds while breastfeeding, so I have made many soups to keep us warm.

I recently made this soup and it was very delicious. Something about Chicken noodle soup really warms the tummy! Recipe here: Yummy Chicken Soup


I also believe in getting out of the house when sick. Something about the fresh air is good for the soul. It's freezing here and that means SNOW! We headed to the mountains for a quick "mom is sick and can't dare go sledding in the snow" moment. It was the perfect amount for our kids. The beauty that we saw was spectacular. I love breathing in beauty and that's not hard when you are on top of a mountain covered in snow.


Little noses were oh so cold!
 

Little raccoons took over little hands. We also spent most of the time putting said gloves back on hands!


And of course there was lots of snow throwing (and eating)



Hoping your weekend was filled with warmth and many giggles!

{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.

. . . . . . . . . .

Fail!

 

No child was harmed in this moment of mamarazzi behavior..

See..