The children are really enjoying this book.  It’s those days where we have “nothing to do” that the kids engage in deep, meaningful learning on their own terms.

This week we’ve been playing a lot of card games (Bea’s favorite), which reinforce cooperation, strategy, addition, subtraction, memory recall for the girls, and help Hal ( age 3 1/2)  with number recognition.

Our friend Dr. Ellie gave the children this paper punch-out book, and Hal has particularly been enjoying the city play mat in it.  It has been really neat to see him maturing in his play, and listening to the detailed conversations his toys have with each other. 

In the mornings, when it’s been too cold for the kids to play outside, and we have down time, all of the children have been sculpting with Bendaroos.  Bea likes to create her own designs (a “long neck” dinosaur, above), while Ruth prefers to follow the directions in the pack (a Toco Toucan, below)

What learning are your kids engaging in when they have nothing scheduled to do?

When you’re having a bad afternoon (the watercolors and brushes fall off the shelf onto your head, you have a fight with your sister, you mess up the eyelashes on an otherwise gorgeous portrait you’re painting, your brother whacks you with a toy), nothing gives comfort like snuggling with a sweet little chick.

(That’s Cookie, the Buff Orpington, btw)

Happenings in the garden this week so far:  Mustard greens, lettuce and kale are all getting big!  (Red Russian Kale in the foreground, with Mizuna mustard behind.)

A volunteer and I got 20 tomatoes planted this afternoon – half in front, half in the back.  (I have room for another dozen or so, but am out of cages and will have to jury-rig some bamboo supports – the cages were donated, and I’m trying do as much free and homemade as possible.)

I got 7 De Milpa tomatillos (they have beautiful purple fruit) in the ground, and am trying to find room for three more in some sunny corner.  While I planted them, I kept thinking about roasting tomatillos and making purple salsa verde with chips, or chicken enchiladas with tomatillo sauce  – can’t wait!

Most of the front yard beds can be seen here (I still don’t have good pictures of all of the backyard, since it’s a mess) – beets and chard and peas are really coming along.  We are harvesting lettuce every day (despite the continuing slug issues).   Pole beans and pumpkins are just beginning to peek up through the soil, and the wildflowers are germinating as well.

Baby parsnips in the backyard are putting out true leaves.  Only 90 more days or so, and they’ll be ready to eat!

The summer squash in the backyard cold frame is coming along beautifully – looks like we’ll have lot of starts to give away to any volunteers that want them!

On the right is a new veggie I’ve never tried before (thank you, Patty!) – variegated garden cress.  Can’t wait to get it established and try some in a salad!

The first of three potato beds out back are really going gang-busters.  I have to mulch them almost every day (cutting tall grass from the yard and quickly using up our last bale of straw).  The second bed planted will soon catch up – the leaves are 6 inches high.  And the third bed potatoes are just barely peeking leaves up through the straw.   Looks like we’ll need to run to the feedstore for another couple of bales soon!

Not pictured – 3 types of mint planted in pots buried around the garden

-bronze fennel starts and lots of chives transplanted around the garden; cilantro and lemon balm starts planted out as well

- bulb fennel, Waltham butternut and Golden Hubbard squash germinating

-  Scarlet Runner and Kentucky Wonder pole and  4 types of bush beans planted in the back, along with Christmas limas on the side yard.

-3 dozen Fordhook Giant leeks were transplanted out  in the front and side yard and another 30-odd Walla Walla Sweet onions in the side and back (wish I had room for more!)

- And many, many flower starts inter-planted amongst the tomatoes.

And -just as importantly- many, many people have stopped by and talked to me this week about our gardening project – I’ve met a half dozen new neighbors, and am connecting more with many others – the garden is building community, not only amongst volunteers, but also in our neighborhood, and that’s really encouraging to me.

As my next-door neighbor said, “It’s starting to actually look like a garden!”

The past month has been an opportunity to re-evaluate what we value as a family – to really examine what we strive to be and to accomplish.  Although unintentional, the blogging break these past several weeks has been very therapeutic for our whole family.  (Actually, it was a break from all computer-related activities).

I realized how much time was being spent every week blogging, and reading other beautiful, but consuming, blogs.  I realized how much more time I spent reading, knitting, sewing, being still and quiet when I tuned out technology.  My stress level went down, and we were all less rushed and more at peace.  Most importantly, I spent so much more time  communicating and interacting with my children in a positive way.

I am going to continue blogging, still for the reason I began – to be an encouragement, and reminder of the value of being a mother, and a keeper of the home and a member of the greater community.  There is priceless value in the small, everyday moments of raising a family.   But, for the next few months, at least, I’ll be scaling back the frequency of  posting and dramatically pruning back the amount of time spent on the computer.

So, that’s it for this week.  I’m not going to spend the next hour reading other mama’s blogs (as inspirational as they are) while the baby naps – getting neurotic and feeling completely inferior about this humble little blog and our domestic activities compared to what I see elsewhere.

Instead,  I am going to put on some mint tea, and sit down with my girls and enjoy our tea with oranges, Nutella on graham crackers, lively conversation.

Blessings on you as you connect with your loved ones today.

I’ll be back next week.

Oregon is a wonderful place to be nursing a toddler!  Tum Tum is nearly 18 months old, and I am very grateful to live in a place where doing what is normal and healthy is culturally accepted as normal and healthy.   Granted, this being my third nursling, nursing past the WHO minimum recommendation of 2 years – and comfortably nursing an older baby in public – is an accepted reality for our family.

The other week, we were out at the library, Tum Tum was tired, cranky, and it was naptime, so I sat down to nurse him while the girls looked at books.   A woman actually came up to me and said, “Way to go on breastfeeding your toddler.  I breastfed my daughter until she was 2.  Keep it up!”   Seriously, I love Oregon.

I am glad my son and I can continue to share the benefits of breastfeeding as long as it mutually benefits us both.  (By the way, did you see the CDC’s recommendaton? - Keep breastfeeding to protect your child from H1N1.).

If you haven’t checked out the classic, Mothering Your Nursing Toddler, and also Hilary Flower’s book, Adventures In Tandem Nursing, both are helpful resources.

Tum Tum highly recommends Breastmilk Makes My Tummy Yummy by Cecilia Moen. 

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Scripture verses – I love how God uses the imagery of a nursling and his mother to show His comfort, peace and provision for the people of Israel.

¹⁰” Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her;
¹¹that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her abundant breast.^“

¹²For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,
and bounced upon her knees.
¹³As one whom his mother comforts,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

- Isaiah 6: 10-12

The wind and rain have settled in, and the nights are getting pretty chilly.  It is finally feeling like fall, so this morning the girls and I did some dusting,  got out a few fall decorations, and put the autumn cover on the duvet.  I hope to get the window hangings and more decorations out by the end of the week.

Many of these items would normally go on the nature table. We are still figuring out how best to have a nature table with a toddler in the house.  He puts everything in his mouth, and loves to “deconstruct” things with glee.

Our current compromise is to put all of the chokeables and breakables on “high shelf nature table”, where the girls can reach if they use a step stool, but the baby can’t.    So, here is the first incarnation of our fall nature table, and as the leaves continue to fall and we do more autumnal crafting,  I’m sure it will grow and change and reflect more of the girls’ creative character.

How is your fall nature table taking shape?

Some friends recently asked how we share sleep with our youngest while he’s in cloth diapers.  Overnight leaks are a worry, even with doublers and the “good covers” saved for night time.  To safeguard the mattress, we don’t use expensive wool mattress pads (which sound fabulous, but are way out of the budget) or those awful rubberized crib pads that don’t breathe a bit.

Our simple solution is to use some thrifted wool blankets that I ran through the wash a few times in order to felt them up nice and thick (from twin size down to about 3 x 3 1/2ft).  They are breatheable, natural, and very waterproof.  I double up just to be safe – and wash on warm, tumble dry.

It’s that easy!  I’d love to hear any tips on how you make the family bed work for you!

Little Hen found this book at the library two weeks ago.  The topic is one that has interested her for a long time, and she read the book , cover to cover, as soon as we got it home.

The basic massage routine takes 5-10 minutes, but there are several techniques described in the book, and massage for different purposes.  The book runs the gamut from massage to relieve anxiety/stress all the way to reflexology for hay fever.

(Although we don’t ascribe to the philosophies of reflexology or acupressure, Little Hen has been fascinated with the topics, and studies the reflexology chart intently – she keeps asking Firecracker if she’d like a foot rub for her respiratory issues, to which Firecracker replies, “Don’t get near my feet!”)

Although I wouldn’t initially have thought of a “massage for children” book as parenting aid, this book has been helpful in helping me mother the children more effectively and compassionately.  Little Hen tends to be a high-anxiety child, and Firecracker full of energy with a fiery temper, and we’ve found this book to be a great tool to facilitate calming and connecting and having a more peaceful home.

We have tried to make some time a few days a week, in the afternoon or evening, when everyone is tired and tempers tend to flare, to get out the book and get a massage from Mama.  Little Hen likes to give Firecracker a back rub, too, reading the directions as she goes.  I think it diffuses a lot of sibling rivalry and helps everyone mellow a little bit during what can be a grouchy time of day .

By caring for the children in such a small way, I am modeling and learning compassion and service.  Such small acts go a long way in creating peace and  we are all blessed by them.

What mothering tools do you utilize to comfort your children and foster harmony in the home?

Here’s my mother’s super simple recipe for onion biscuits.  They go perfectly with roast chicken, or a bean soup, and the girls love to help make (and eat) them -  a great way to occupy the children with something purposeful while I’m trying to get dinner ready.

You’ll need:

2 tubes of biscuits, 1 stick of butter, and 2 packets onion soup mix.

Cut the biscuits into quarters (yes, an almost 5 year-old can use a knife safely – we practice “fingers BACK”  and I supervise closely.)

Add the onion soup mix to a large bowl.

Melt the butter and add it to the soup mix.  Stir to combine into salty, buttery goodness.

Add the bicuits, a handful at a time, and roll them around until thoroughly coated.

Place on a Silpat or parchment paper, and bake at 450 F for about 5-7 min.  Watch carefully to avoid burning.

What do your kids enjoy creating in the kitchen?

We were recently, unexpectedly, blessed to be able to trade a family friend some homemade jam and brownies for a Kelty his son had outgrown.  Best barter we’ve ever made, if you ask me!

I love my Ergo and use it daily, but the Kelty is a much better fit for my husband.  We’ve been on two good hikes in the past week or so, and both he and Tum Tum have been quite comfortable.

More on our hikes tomorrow with Friday Nature Table sharing.