The pumpkin patch...

We were out for our weekend bike ride yesterday morning when it dawned on me.  The sky was blue.  There was no rain. It was even slightly - dare I say it - warm.  Perfect pumpkin patch weather. We had to go.

A few weeks ago we decided that we would try a new pumpkin patch this year.  We've been going to the same one since before we had children, and it has gotten progressively busier each year.  Hoping to find one that was a little less busy, I did a quick online search and came up with one about 40 minutes away.  We ate lunch and hopped into the car.

When we got there, it was perfect - a quaint, well-oiled machine. A small gauge train took us out to the petting zoo area, where the boys enjoyed petting and feeding the miniature donkey, rabbits and goats, and following the chickens around the barnyard.  Then it was back on the train to go to the pumpkin field and hay bale pyramid.  Instantly both boys ran for the pyramid and the maze inside. I was close behind - and thank goodness, because I'm not sure I've ever seen our little one back-pedal so fast when he saw just how dark it was inside.  Together we felt our way through to the other side, giggling with joy and nerves. And immediately, the bigger child headed right back in.

We played on the pyramid and in the maze for an hour, enjoying the sunshine and fresh farm air.  It was perfect - plenty of kids for the boys to run around with, but no crowds or lines. Dan and I got to sit back and watch them enjoy themselves without having to hover or worry about losing them in the crowd. 

Eventually, we all chose pumpkins and rode the train back to the station. In the main building, there were bundles of dried lavender and fresh fruit and vegetables to purchase and the delightful smell of kettle corn in the air. Pumpkins were purchased and we loaded into the car. Fifteen miles down the road, three of the four of us were asleep. 

It is these kinds of fall afternoons that keep us warm in the dark of winter. I wish we could bottle them up to preserve on the shelf next to the canned tomatoes and raspberry jam. For now, we'll have to be content with the perfect pumpkins sitting next to the door.

Weekending...

Inspired by Amanda at the habit of being....

The weekend.  Time for play and relaxation and reconnection.  Time for what really matters...

 

A quiet weekend here, 

the whole crew is fighting off a cold with

tissues and time on the couch.

The rain has moved in, but flowers and tomatoes are still filling the garden,

and the farmer's market is full of pumpkins and dixieland jazz.

Book club with a new group

lots of laughs, great talk, ok book

The boys making apple cider and apple pie
Luke refusing to go to his religious ed. 
Sweater is blocking,
lawn is mown.
School work needs to be finished before bed...
I'd better get to it.

School starts...

Finally, one month in, I feel capable of writing our "back to school" post. With all four of us deeply tied to the academic calendar, we usually just try and hold our breath through the month of September, finally coming up for air when the page turns to October.

This year we are at 3 different schools.  This means 3 open houses, 3 sets of PTAs, 3 rounds of education nights.  At one child's school, we have 20 volunteer hours for the year, and 40 at the other. Not to mention all the conferences, performances, and social activities. It's busy - but honestly, we really love almost all of it.

The beginning of school was smoothest for the little one - he's returned to our amazing Montessori preschool, in the same class he began in last year. The same fabulous teachers, great friends, materials he knows, and lots that he's excited to learn.  Already we are seeing huge gains - he's moved into the "letter boxes" which are a beginning reading step, and is really working hard at using his words when he get's frustrated. He loves school, and every day has such enthusiasm for the things he is doing there.

My year has been going rather smoothly, also.  I have a fabulous class of kiddos - and only 10 of them are new to me.  We have jumped into learning with both feet, and are finding our way in our new classroom space.  While there are many transitions in my school as a whole, many of them don't affect me as a part-timer.  It's going to be a great year, and we're just glad to have it underway.

The biggest transition has been for our big kiddo.  He's a first grader this year, so he's at a new school.  Last spring we applied for a spot in a nearby Montessori charter school, and were told that he was first on the waiting list.  They were confident that some movement would happen and he would have a place there.  But when the end of August rolled  around and there still wasn't a spot, we had to change plans.  We registered for our neighborhood school, bought school supplies, and figured out the bus route. And then, one week after the charter began, but three days before the neighborhood school started, we got the call.  There was an opening at the charter school. He began the next day.

It hasn't been without challenge.  Because he started late, we missed all the new family orientations and "getting to know you" stuff, and that has increased anxiety for all of us. Overall, he's happy.  He gets to play soccer every day at lunch, loves the bigger kids (Montessori is mixed age, so his class is first, second, and third graders), and has been finding a lot of academic success. But there are still days when he asks to go back to his old school, or gets frustrated with all of the change. We're still convinced it is the right place for him, and have faith that things will smooth out as we feel more like a part of the community.

So, October, here we come!  The routines are starting to feel more normal, our days are finding their new rhythm, and we're all finding our place. It's going to be a good year.

Gathering...

Over the last couple of years, I have read, researched, and discussed nutrition more than I care to admit.  Especially for someone who is sitting here drinking a cup of sugar-filled hot chocolate...The more I read, the more confused I get - grains or no grains, meat or no meat, local or organic (when the local organic isn't available).  It's enough to make me give up all together.  But what I keep coming back to is whole fruits and vegetables as fresh as possible, and everything else in moderation.

This search for healthy fruits and vegetables has brought us some of the greatest joys of this summer and early fall. Gathering our own food, while it's in season.  We've spent many happy days with our buckets and containers visiting local farms and farm stands.  First it was blueberries in July, then blackberries, raspberries, corn, beans, and flowers in August. September brought us tomatoes, strawberries, apples, and pears. And October has lots of yummy corn and squashes in store.  We've made jellies and jams, frozen lots of berries, canned tomatoes, dined on meals fresh from our own garden.

It's been so much fun.  I love that my boys know where their food comes from, and that we've spent hours laughing and laying in between rows of blueberry bushes.  My oldest is a voracious harvester - stopping only when his bucket is full.  Then he asks for another. And more after that. He can outlast me most days.  The little one? Eh. Apples were his favorite - quick, easy, doesn't take long to accumulate quite an impressive pile.  The rest all takes longer than he wants. But I will never forget just how much he enjoyed sitting in the wagon eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cheering us on. Or running through the field with the bucket on his head. Or eating more blueberries than he picked.

And I can't wait until January when we pull the blackberries out of the freezer for a pie that tastes like summer.

A couple of recent projects...

Oh, poor, neglected little blog... there are so many things to post - great summer adventures never shared, new schools, and the beginning of fall fun.  In time, it will find it's way here.

But today is just a fun little sharing post.  While I haven't been sewing as much as I would like lately, there have been a couple of projects that make me happy.  But, oddly enough, they make me happy for very different reasons. One was a quick, one-hour project that I used nearly every day this summer.  The other was a project that began a year ago - and finally decided it was time to power through.

Project #1 - A Clothespin Apron
For mother's day, what I wanted more than anything was a clothes line.  I has dreamed of one all last summer, and made do with a small drying rack.  It was time for the real thing, so Dan and the boys kindly got me all the supplies, and when the rain went away, they put it up.  After about two loads of laundry, I realized that I had a serous need for an easy place to keep my clothespins.  A long time ago I purchased the book One Yard Wonders, and had seen the perfect solution. With fabric from the stash and an hour of the boys playing legos, it was done.

 Simple, easy, practical.  I use it more than just about anything I have ever made.  Love it.

Project #2. Bed Quilt

About a year ago, while in one of my favorite quilt shops, I saw a sample quilt that I fell in love with.  Girly, but not over-the-top, colors I love, linear and straight-forward. I bought it on the spot, sure it would be quick, easy quilt that would be done withing a month.  Um, yeah.  It was simple.  But honestly?  Once I got started, I kept finding reasons to put it away and work on other stuff. That many long, straight seams?  Not very exciting. After two or three months, I got the top finished.  Then it took another 2-3 months to get the fabric for the back and binding.  And the big stall?  That came in the machine quilting step.  My poor little machine was just not meant to tackle a king-sized quilt.  The minor tension issues my machine had been having became bigger, unkind words were said, and the whole thing very nearly found it's way to a basket in the crawl space where I could just forget about it. But I guess that this is where my stubborn nature kicks in.  I decided in July that I was not sewing ANYTHING else until this quilt was done.  Within a few weeks it was quilted and binding was attached.  Over the last two weeks, the binding was hand-sewn in the evenings.  And just this Tuesday, the final stitches were sewn.  It is done.  Finally.

To be honest, I'm having a hard time seeing past the mistakes right now.  I don't love it the way I hoped.  It's about 10 inches more narrow that I wish it were.  And  maybe I just need some distance from it before I love it again.  Right now, all that matters is that it is done.

SO, there they are.  I just got a new sewing book in the mail, and can't wait to get started on so many little projects.  I've also got pillows I want to make and dreams of a "sea and sky" themed log cabin couch quilt.  And the best thing?  Last weekend I bought myself a new machine. 

Now I just have to make time to use it!

Getting started...

It's that time again.  Our facebook feeds are filled with grinning children next to the front door as they prepare to begin the school year. The school supply aisles are filled with those of us who refused to believe that the start was quite so close. And as a teacher, my world also undergoes a large shift with the return to work.

But this year, the shift is smaller.  Last spring, our family decided that I would return to work only halftime.  Yes, it's quite a pay and benefits cut, but we are hoping that the shift brings more of that all-important balance to our home. The boys will be at two different schools again, my husband's work load has grown by large amounts, and we will now have two children involved in activities, rather than just one.  With me home in the afternoons, the little one has a much shorter school day, we don't have to arrange after-school care or create a crazy pick-up schedule, and trying to fit in a healthy dinner feels so much simpler.

One week in, and I'm already feeling the benefits of the lighter load.  I still have time to hang laundry on the line in afternoons.  An errand or two can be run before we pick the oldest one up from school. I even got to sit and paint with the little one - at 2:00! And while the weather is still nice, we can even have a popcorn and reading picnic on the lawn without having to wait until the weekend to do it.

The goal?  To feel like we are living the life we want seven days a week - not just two. And with this move?  We're a whole lot closer.  Getting started has never been easier...

Character is taught at home...

Today I read this wonderful post over at Simple Mom. Boy, did it touch that part of my heart where truth and good and hope live.  As a mama, I often find myself rushing through the day, and thinking, "I'd love to help that person, but my hands are full with the boys." But what the boys see is that we are too busy to help others.  That isn't the message I want to be sending.

I remember being out with my mom and seeing her pick up random litter.  I saw her mom do it, too.  Do I remember times when they didn't?  Nope.  But it certainly made in impression when they went out of their way to take care of a problem that didn't "belong" to them.

So, it's time.  Time to offer that hand, that listening ear, that comfort that someone may need.  Even when my hands are full.  Because someone else's hands are invariably more full. And because, as Shaun said, character is learned on aisle nine.