My house looks like there’s been an internal explosion on most mornings.  You know how it is – all order is the first thing that goes when mama isn’t feeling quite herself.  Yesterday I had a bit of revelation, though, to the overwhelming task ahead of me with every pile and every corner of the house: focus on one corner at a time.  Brilliant, I know.  And so we began in the one room that has thoroughly gone unsupervised for days now, the girls’ art room.

I changed things up a bit and gave each girl some responsibilities to be proud of.  Ainsleigh was in charge of sharpening, a task she took quite fondly to…

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Good morning, friends.  It is a little odd to not have made an appearance yesterday – a Monday.  Let’s just say I’ve been fevering and sick and now some of my little ones are as well.

But more importantly, yesterday morning it was confirmed to Bobby and me that yes, indeed, I am carrying a singleton – not twins.  I am happy to experience a singleton again.  Baby was healthy yesterday – my first time seeing her on the black and white ultrasound screen – wiggling her wrists the whole time.

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Last night I found myself putting a little three-week old to sleep in my arms.  I could hear her mommy upstairs with her other children, tucking them in – stories and all.  The downstairs where I stayed was still and quiet.  Mostly quiet coming from this little angel of a baby.

The downstairs showed remnants of their day: papers drawn on, burp cloths in random places, dinner to be put away, legos strewn across the floor.  How the house reminded me of mine after a typical day of living in it.

After leaving my family that night to lend a hand here, I couldn’t deny the whole house felt so sacred and reverent.  Love and kindness and goodnight kisses over and over again upstairs could be heard, a patient mother after a long day coming downstairs to nurse her baby once again, to then prepare her home for a day of doing it all over again.  There wasn’t anything spectacular to be seen but everything was so deeply felt there.

My hour of holding little Miss Anna was so precious.  So was the simple conversation with my dear friend when everyone had fallen asleep.  We talked of making quilts and babies and day-to-day activities.  All I know and was reminded of is how precious motherhood is and how far-reaching its influence is.  I witnessed it so clearly last night in a house not too far from mine…

Many happy wishes for you this weekend!

the sleepy time gal

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Sometimes there’s so much to write but not enough quiet around here to write it.  Other times, I’m too quiet inside to have much to write.

These present moments for me are quite unique.  It is as if everything that used to be so important to me months ago – things that would pull me out of bed early and keep me awake at night – means absolutely nothing to me now.  We literally are living each day with no thought of tomorrow, something very difficult for me the planner.  But it is what the first trimester is meaning for me this time around.

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Every few months our direction of what we’re  exploring changes, and like the wind, we follow its course.  Whatever happens in life and in our days usually spawns what the girls become interested in.  Finding milky quartz has led to quite the exploration of rocks and minerals which has led to volcanos, tectonic plates, and science experiments.  I introduced Caroline to Mad Libs, the perfectly fun way to introduce nouns, adjectives, and verbs, which has become a silly way to spend an afternoon hour together.

And then there is French. I came to love the French language in college and have happily watched the big girls learning basic counting and dance terms from ballet.  We discovered First French at Home (an Usborne book which I love) which has introduced so many French basics terms in an exciting way.  We sit every afternoon and take a couple of pages at a time getting to know the made-up family in the book, their house, neighborhood, and likes.  Caroline has decided we’ll all take a trip to France someday since she can say, “Je m’appelle Caroline” and “Voici la salle de bain”.

We could use more phrases before we travel halfway around the world.

And then there is Johanna’s fascination with Native Americans.  Have you ever read the real legend of Hiawatha?  We picked up a book published in the 70s about Hiawatha at a garage sale a while back and Johanna pours over every page, reliving the story.  That has led to learning about the Iroquois (his tribe) and the Sioux and so on.  I was startled to learn about the Sioux Indians who lived on the plains and followed the course of the buffalo.  For their survival and way of life the mother tightly cups the mouth and nose of her newborn baby every time she cries to train her not to cry.  Keeping silent was a needed skill on the plains during the many buffalo hunts.

How about you?  What are you or your children currently fascinated with that is leading your course of discovery??

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I haven’t spoken about my health for a while.  For a few reasons.

Last night I faced the modern-day challenge that I often face; to spend my evening online or not.  I’m assuming that we all face this, right?  It is not like I’m wasting my time surfing randomness, but the regular maintenance stuff — emails, blogging, researching questions on the internet, responding to questions, ordering things we need, etc.

Last night I felt pretty stale to all of the modern media.  Like all of the Facebook/Google/email/blogging generation I live in was bogging me down.  So I picked up two books I haven’t finished and ignored the computer.  It felt so wonderful to put off emails and avoid all of the overstimulation of the cool/ trendy/crafty/inspiring things on the internet.

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Thanks for all of the excitement yesterday for our home feature and interview on Design Mom.  If you missed it, you can read it here.

Do you own any nice, thick watercolor paper?  And how about real watercolors?  These are probably the best investment in terms of artwork for you and your kids.  I inherited my Dad’s watercolors and try to always keep a nice watercolor pad on hand.  But used, real watercolors can be found at yard sales, grandmas’ attics and such.  So look around.

We had a watercolor day recently and everyone was involved.   The twins felt so privileged.

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