vee vant

to be very, very scary vampires for Halloween!

And you are my sweet boys, you certainly are.

But I don't think this 'lil scarecrow could scare away a flea.

A perfect Hallows Eve complete with a new trick-or-treat bag madly hand sewn before dusk.

pumpkin to jack-o-lantern

changes.

It's been a long time since I visited this space and shared our adventures.  Some might be wondering whether we fell off the face of the earth.  Well, not quite, but almost.

The mountainbugs are still romping, playing, creating, learning and growing.  They are as silly, cute, entertaining, and busy as ever.  In fact, they are busier than ever.    And, I, their mama, am also busier than ever. 

The past year has been one of great change in our family.   Recording our families ideas and adventures here has not made it onto the list.  This is all okay with me.  I am living it.  The days are perfectly full and I fall into bed at night (before nine!) with very tired bones (and brain) only to rise at four or five the next morning.

 

The days are perfectly full, and fully perfect.  Not always smooth and not always easy.  Sometimes perfect days consist of tears before breakfast (sometimes mine!), unneccessary amounts of dirty clothing, baby crying throughout an entire school lesson (one that is supposed to be reverent and mystical and presented with peace of course), naps without rest, eggs and carrots for supper and bedtime as soon as is humanely possible.   I always make mistakes, the kids always forgive me, my husband always forgives me, and hugs and kisses always make everything better.

And yet the days truly are perfect in all their imperfections.  I couldn't be happier and more joyful about the days I spend with my little clan.

One of my many mantras these days consists of this short reminder,

"Choose peace.  Choose happiness.  Choose love."   

Say it over and over again... it works. Perfectly.

at the beach

my little GQ

In Made By Mama knitted vest.  Ravelry notes.

lipperty, lipperty

A visit from the Easter Bunny.  And a wonder-full week of our usual traditions.  At the end of April we are certainly glad to be spreading spring and sunshine.  This year we added something new to our Easter weekend.  A bunny cake!  I was planning for a rainy (or, let's be honest, snowy) day activity on "the day of" just in case.  It turned out to be hot and sunny and we spent the whole day outside with Gramie and Grandpa.  But, the cake was made (and consumed) nonetheless.

Directions:  One round carrot cake (mine was a 9" pan).  Cut into two semi-circles with a notch in each (to shape the back and neck).  Use notch pieces for tail and front paws if desired.  Cream cheese icing, um, lots of it - and make it thick while you're at it.    Coconut fur.  Chocolate chip eyes, jolly bean nose (not jelly bean you silly, jolly bean), spaghetti whiskers and paper ears.

For the eggs, we added some varied glitter glue after dying and loved the results.  They are glossy and shiny with even deeper colours.  Ash helped blow out the centres this year and was so proud of himself. 

And, the hunt for Easter pockets and clues... led the boys to their new masks.  Meow and ... hmmm,.... what DOES a unicorn say anyways...

 {Cherished Easter sacs quilted by Nana Carol}

some LOVE...ly pics of the week

growing baby.

Popping in to share some pics of little Em (on his first day in our old Phil&Teds Me Too chair). 

Okay, so he's a big, little baby Em. 

But, nonetheless, he's our baby and we are in love with this person.

Yup, this black thing hanging off my face is nothing to smile at.... apparently.  But full of smiles he is and the giggles too.

Any resemblance to this big brother with his mouth full of food?

Maybe not yet but check out this picture of Iko at 6 months old.

fostering remembrance.

Of those who have worked and died before us to make our world a better place.

when to read.

I am a firm believer in allowing "children to be children" as long as possible.  The years of free, imaginative, open-ended play are so fleeting.  Our culture seems to be in a rush to move young ones onto the next steps as quickly as possible.  I think there is so much learning to be done in the pre-reading level - learning that trains the brain for life.

From Marsha Johnson (waldorfhomeeducators):  The symbols of our language when written hold deep magic and mystery.  They are to be held in awe and regarded with reverence and it is indeed one of the earliest and most daunting passages of initiation that human beings will enter in a lifetime, for once able to read, forever able to read....

(me)  Prior to deciphering the code of the English language our children see the the world in an entirely different way.  They observe a scene with all their senses alert rather than reading the sign like us adults do.  For example on a morning walk we might come upon a construction site.  The children observe all the machinery, inspect the hole being dug in the road and notice the big chunks of asphalt  that are torn up.  They smell "something funny"  and wonder about the whine and pounding noise one of the machines is making (a jackhammer).  I, on the other hand, see a sign describing the work that is being done, and the first thing my eyes are trained to do is read what is going on (hence ignoring all the other senses).  The information children obtain from their senses, and the problem solving that ensues, are phenomenal training for life "in the real world".

Marsha goes on to say:  The children in grades 2 to 4 are expected to be reading in most educational models and much of the focus in certain public programs has been to over emphasize at the sacrifice of all other arts, the goal of literacy.  The facts are, the vast majority of people, at least 98 percent, can be taught to read and write, so this is indeed something that comes quite naturally to most people.  Pushing preschooler to read does not guarantee a better long term outcome of intelligence, happiness, or economic prosperity.  There certainly is data, to show that pushing literacy over play and imagination may create negative long term attitudes towards learning.

Ruth Beechick (homeschooling mother and author of well-renowned book The Three R's) relates an interesting kindergarten experiment (read below)):

Some children do teach themselves to read at early ages (5, 4, and even 3).  Often these early readers will progress from simple books to reading full paragraphs very quickly.  They are obviously really ready to read.   These children probably benefit even more than later readers from a holistic, well-rounded learning/play environment where imagination and exploration are paramount as they are often labelled in an academic sense and put on a fast track.

Our Grade One here at home will include letter learning and a gentle introduction to the written language when Iko is near his seventh birthday.  As eager as he is to reach those lessons (being that he "loves learning at our school" - oh, yes, a happy mama to hear those words) he is still obviously in the early years stage of happy, dreamy play and ever content in listening to us reading aloud.   You can't rush a good thing.

scary disguises.

Some pics of our costumes this year.  Um, beware.  There are some seriously scary pirate impressions happening in these photos.

 

And, finally someone who looks truly happy that it's time for trick or treating....  :-)

{Costumes made by The Amazing Nana}

some fun stuff.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

latest good reads.

Haven't posted for awhile about the books we have been enjoying over here.  Evenings are certainly busy as we eat our supper together (this can take a loooonnngggg time), play piano with Daddy (um, not me - I'm a great listener though), and get bathed and brushed for bedtime.  But somewhere in between piano and an under-the-covers story creation by Daddy, the four of us snuggle up on the couch for a chapter or two.  Emry's not much of a listener yet, he's more interested in filling his belly.  But Iko LOVES this time and even Ash has become an avid listener (a new development in his attention span as there are rarely any pictures in our chapter books).

I am always on the lookout for books to add to our shelf.  There are many criteria of course.  Good (if not excellent) literary quality, rich vocabulary, interesting plot, age appropriate content (I can alter phrases and words as I read if I feel they are a bit mature i.e. some older literature can contain words like stupid that I might as well avoid).  I have chosen not to read chapter books that are written at the level of primary and early grade reading.  When my children are ready they can read those on their own.  I would rather have them listen to the most beautiful prose and diverse vocabulary that I can expose them to.

Three books we definitely recommend:  Bambi by Felix Salteen, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and Mr. Poppers Penguins by Richard Atwater.

Bambi is a story we all know well and certainly worth reading the original classic (well over 200 pages of beautifully written story).  Bambi's character is loved by all of us as he learns to survive in the harsh world without his mother.

The Wind in the Willows is a fabulous read.  A tale of several animals; a mole, water rat, toad and otter and their adventures together.  Funny, interesting, heartwarming, loveable.  Well written - absolutely poetic and very wordy.

And Mr. Poppers Penguins - not nearly as well written as the first two, but very fun to listen to and quick to read.  Perfect for Ash or for an older four year old.

autumn days.

Autumn days are here again. 

Now the leaves are falling. 

Leaves of gold and leaves of red. 

Hear the North Wind calling.....

is what we are singing as we wander down the paths and through the forest.  Every sunny day is cherished.  Each beautiful tree is admired.  All the falling leaves are followed by our eyes.  This magical time of year is so fleeting.

pixie.

Love this pattern.  Love it on my littlest bug.

You can find it on ravelry.  This is the newborn size that Emry is just about to outgrow.  The wool is Debbie Bliss Luxury Donegal Tweed Aran.  A super soft angora tweed in a nubby brown with flecks of blue and grey.  Knit so many months ago for this little roast.

And what about those cheeks.  Bet you can tell what Em's been doing day and night for the past five weeks.  :-)