Joy is...

Joy is homemade lattes in the morning, kids making it to the bus, wearing my favorite yellow dress and finishing an epic book.

Joy is a husband who does dishes, reads Winter in the Big Woods to a bath tubbin' little boy, roars like a monster, practices math flash cards and helps freshly washed babes into pajamas.

Joy is a special lady loosing her front tooth! Finally! We've been calling her Nanny McPhee.

Joy is sunsets and sunrises, for birth and death. For new beginnings, brimming with abiding joy. For a long earthly obedience and life everlasting.

Joy is a cleaned house. A wise woman once stood in my kitchen and loosely quoted Thich Nhat Hanh, it's not about how clean your house is... it's just about the process. Joy is scrubbing floors on hands an knees. As Grandma Eunice would say, "I'm thankful I am able to do it."

I'm Learning Lessons

And during this season, I've admitted that I am not super-woman. I cannot have a corporate job, keep a clean house, train for a half marathon, have happy children and a happy husband while making wholesome meals, gardening, canning, knitting, reading, blogging. Something had to go.

Namely, my pride.

And I had to ask for help and accept help. In the last month sweet friends made meals, brought meals, folded laundry, done dishes and had the kids over to play. That utter support leaves me speechless. And I feel determined to learn better how to say yes when people offer to help.

I am also determined to teach the kids how to be a big help too.

No man is an Island. And no mom can keep her home tidy by herself. One of the many changes around our house concerns who cleans up. I sat the kids down and I explained that this house is not just Mommy's House, it's OUR HOUSE. And they will help me and take responsibility for our house.

So we've set up teams. This week, Truman and I on the blue team and Isabel and Eric on the Gold Team. Simple tasks. Make sure your responsibilities are tidy and we alternate.

The only reward is getting to make an x in your spot. I don't want to bribe them instead of teaching them true responsibility.

Nor do I want to teach them to trash the house, then I'll pick it up! If they make a mess, they'll be responsible. I'm already hearing them say to each other. "I don't think you should dump that, this room is my room today!"

What's In Store for the Weekend

This weekend, I am really looking forward to relaxing with our little family and to some celebrating this weekend.

These are the things I'm planning on (in no particular order):
Snow! (mmmm... is this coming???)
Hot Chocolate
Some snowshoeing? (see #1)
Celebrating new babies and soon-to-be babies
Dinner with Friends
Jalapeno poppers for the Big Game
Folding an amazing amount of laundry (YAY ERIC!)
Making Valentines Decorations (to replace the Christmas Decorations that are STILL UP... o boy)
Lattes
Meal Planning
Baking Bread
Painting some small paintings
Clean out the car
Reading Isabel's library books
Sew a little something
Knit a bit on my project

*2-6-12 Note: I think I did good on my list. But there is still more to go. I wish we would have gotten snow!

New Resolve

I'm wondering why everything in my life begins with a good house scrubbing. But, it does.

I think I put my excuses to bed here yesterday and I went home thinking. I can do this. So I did. I threw open the windows and doors. I tied on my Grandma's apron. And I set about to cook dinner, do laundry, vacuum and dust. Scrub and wash.

We had a peaceful, simple family meal. And Isabel says, in her impromptu like fashion, "Let's do our 'Mostly I love about yous." which means we say what we love about each individual person in the house--  Lucy-dog included. And we had extra time to read library books and snuggle before bed.

I finished up all my tasks, post-bed time. 

And as the dishwasher hummed--  I sat down at the end of the night, listening to music across the kitchen table from Eric, I penned a few letters while he paid bills. A tiny date in the midst of the week.

I'm content. I just needed to realign myself, my home, my priorities.

I can't think of a better evening. Scrubbed house, gleaming heart? I think so.



*This is a little painting I made for a friend, remind me to tell you about my project!

Weekending: Wedding Sneak Peeks

This morning came too fast and now here I am with a cup of coffee trying to dig the littles out of bed before we start this beautiful day.

The sun is shining and the birds are singing. And I am ready for a new week.

This weekend, I spent with my college girlfriends. I don't even have any words to express how much love I felt this weekend. Reconnection, good coffee, sewing buttons, eating good food!

Here are a sneak-peek photos taken by the beautiful, Tea. 
 

 [Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage. -Catherine Douzel

The Cafe in Ames, IA]

 [Cleaning Lanterns for the walkway]

 [The table aptly named, WEDDING CENTRAL by Aunt Sandy!]

[Exquisite Cut Glass center pieces]

 [Three of the five Orcas!]

 [Wedding CAKE!]

[Super fun hand sewn wedding accessories.]

I love:: Washing Dishes

I have this reminder at my kitchen window so I stare at it while washing dishes. It reminds me to not begrudgingly wash dishes, my internal dialogue isn't so fierce "WHY WILL NO ONE HELP ME???" and WHO MADE THIS BIG MESS??"

These questions have been replaced (most of the time with) little prayers for the person whose dish I'm washing, thankfulness for enough food to eat or just feeling the warm water, smelling the soapy-smell, appreciating this is my little bit of time alone. It helps make this mundane task, a stepping stone on my life towards gratitude.

A full heart...

Actually all of this weekend was jam packed with goodness.

On Friday night we had a caramel rolls and coffee with Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa John, it had been too long.

Farmers' Market and breakfast with my friend and sweet baby. Then Grandma Bonnie took the kids ALL DAY so that Eric and I could get our house back in order. So much furniture moving going on lately-- a yard sale to come! Isabel got a big girl bed (it was Grandma Bonnies!). And Truman got a 'new' bed (don't mention to him that it looks exactly like Izzo's old bed. Ok? wink.wink.)!

Then our beloveds, watched our kids over night so we could go away. Good night, good wine and full night's sleep was just what my heart needed. I finally 'took a deep breath,' dropped my shoulders and woke up back in my life. Sometimes we get all tied up in the have-to's that we forget about the musts (like must take care of myself to take care of others).

Then yesterday afternoon,  I was able to host my beloved group of girlfriends in a baby shower extravaganza. Complete with chocolate friands, made by Eric. They were soooo good. And hours of good conversation, reconnecting.

I am floored everyday by the amazing-ness of our little community. There is so much love here.

Last night, when I asked the kids "what was the best part of your day?" Isabel said, "Being with Bon-bon two days!" And Truman said, "I'm going to marry Margo, and playing the moon game with Bon-bon on her lap."

Hmmm, what was the best part of your day (or weekend)?


*PS the photo is from Crafty Nature. I tried to make some bunting yesterday, but it didn't look this good.

Well, I didn't think that the August Break would lead me to take a break for almost 8 days. But, it did.

Since we last spoke, about my pet peeves of the craft closet.... my twin sister and her partner came to visit. It was really amazing to see them and invite them into our little world. The kids just loved having their Aunties here!

As you can guess, we've had a lot of visitors lately and this weekend, Eric and I are taking an evening away. We are staying in a place fairly local, but we need to reconnect, retreat and rest before we get into the school year (after labor day!).

A few things I'm excited about: 
The new edition of Rhythm of the Home will be out Septemeber 1!

I have something up my sleeve and it'll be up next Tuesday! Stop by then.


The shed project. Eric and I are shedding belongings like crazy. A big yard sale soon. If you read the article we won't be going down to 3 backpacks of stuff. We are just actively getting a smaller footprint. Donating, recycling, selling, trashing the things we don't need. Which it turns out is quite a lot.

I will finally get to see this movie.

And some of you know, but I'm starting my last class for college. Lord willing, by early December I'll be a college graduate. So send good, focusing thoughts my way. It could be a crazy season for all of us. 

Well all, have a great weekend and I might just be back for [gasp] a post this weekend!

*Photo by Cuba Gallery

Quality Art Supplies

One of my biggest pet peeves is unorganized crayons. Seriously.

I don't think I partcularly cared until I had kids. But now, naked broken crayons are the bane of my exixtance.

SO, I've had this dream for years. Pack the crayons in a large plastic bag and DONATE THEM. And then buy crayons one 8 pack box for each kid and then make the kids put them away each time. Sharpened and in their paper. Unbroken.

Right, this is a total day dream. And when did I become such a Nazi about crayons?? Anywho.

I finally did it. We bought two boxes of these short but jumbo crayons. Easy to hold, hard to break. AND they come in 15 colors, easy to identify and they are pre-naked crayons! No paper-- Score! Plus they are draw smooth and true to color. Which makes the artist in me jump for joy.

Then I dove off the deep end and bought higher quality watercolor, with truely rich color. Plus the oval pans are refillable. (Another pet peeve half empty pans with only brown and black left-- ahhh another day).

Throw a couple inexpensive but perfectly-small-sized sketchbooks(4x6). And that makes for loads of fun. In the car, at the resturaunt and back home at the kitchen table (Crayons only in the car and at the restaurant, however).

Here, here for high-quality products to make high quality honest works of art!

Do you have any craft-closet pet peeves??

Some House Keeping

Hello Dear Ones,

My blog cleaning has finished and I've implemented the last of the changes. Starting on this post--- I've installed a new type of comments to encourage a little more conversation. And I'll be able to answer your questions right in the post! If you have any issues with it, let me know. You should be able to use it just as you used the other comments.

As always, you can find some great handmade goodies on etsy,  become a fan on facebook, visit my inspiration board on tumblr and check out our photos on flickr!

Have a wonderful day (I'll check back in with another post in a few minutes)!



*Photo taken by Missy McLeish

Let's Make: Homemade Laundry Detergent

I have a little confession to make. I’ve been making my own laundry detergent for about 4 months now. And it wasn’t born out of some dire need to be Ma Ingalls (which most of my craft/homey pursuits usually are)-- it was out of um... money and needing to do laundry. So I set out to look for a recipe.  I found a few, all based on the same premise, bar soap and borax. Praise the Lord, that’s what’s in my laundry cupboard. I’ve made it four times now, with variations so I could fully report back on my findings.

I found that I liked Ivory above any other bar soap I’ve tried. If you like any other non-oily soap, I’m sure you can use it too. Zest, Lever2000 and Dial have all been suggested. I found that making detergent with just the fels naptha was harsh, I use this as a pretreated and as a laundry booster, but it works great as an add in to this detergent.

First off, this stuff is awesome. And you can use it on everything. I now use it for dishwashing liquid detergent and dish soap too. Seriously, it’s that awesome. It saves us about $22 a month or more (depending on how much laundry/dishes we’re doing) each batch three gallons costs about $1.35 to make and you get about 55-60 loads per batch. Two and a half cents per load. Woah...

This takes about 20 minutes of active work, and about 12 hours after that until it’s ready to use. I make this after dinner and it’s ready by morning. Cool, huh? Ok so here’s how it’s done...

Laundry Detergent
1 bar ivory soap
1/3 bar fels naptha soap
2/3 cup borax
2 quarts of water
3 gallons of warm water

Grate the bar of ivory and third bar of fels naptha soap. In a saucepan combine 2 quarts water and the grate soap. Cook on medium watching and stirring as needed until all the soap is melted. Take off the heat add borax. Allow to cool slightly. Add to three gallons of water and stir. Cover bucket and allow to sit over night. The mixture will be slightly gelled. I will have chunks of gel in a thickened liquid. Use 3/4 cup per load.

Notes:
*For homemade dishwasher detergent and dish soap, use as you normally would. It will not be as sudsy as other soap, but works just fine!
*I do keep a bottle of strong smelling commercial soap on hand for tougher jobs. But I’ve only had to use it twice in the last four months.
*I still use fabric softener, Method from Target I stock up when it goes on sale, which is often.
*You can add about 20-25 drops of your favorite essential oil to the 3 gallons of water to add a scent.
*Use this has a homemade pre-treater too! Naturally cleaner laundry!

If you have any questions I will answer to the best of my ability.

Now, you too can be a penny pincher or a Ma Ingalls— go forth and make your own laundry detergent!!



Don't you wish this was your laundry line? Photo from sxc.hu

First Sunday of Advent

Advent is my favorite time-- preparing for Christmas, for me it was always this magical time. Growing up we had little construction paper wreaths, my twin sister and I made in 1st grade. The purple-ditto transferred readings were rubbed off, and it was fading (pre-xerox copiers, my friends). But it was put out every year. Most Sunday nights we would gather around for the advent reading, and put some straw in the manger. Sang around the lit Christmas tree. We had a little wooden manger, we would prepare it for baby Jesus. Who always came Christmas morning, nestled in front of all the presents.

I want my kids to have clear memories of Christmas, like that. The things we did every year— I love my mom, but I don’t pack up 90% of my house and replace it with Christmas (thankfully, she doesn’t do this anymore). It took a bit of time to put up our tree last weekend, Izzo requested it for decorations for her birthday. Even though it broke my rule— no Christmas stuff up before Thanksgiving. But I can’t say no to seasonal birthday decorations. Actually, I really enjoy taking the first Sunday night of advent to decorate. And this year, that’s what we did.

Truman loved putting up the ornaments. He’d say, “I need otherone, Mimi!” before the previous ornament left his hand. And of course we had to redistribute a bit as all the ornaments were... um... two feet up from the floor and hanging in one spot. Isabel wanted to put up mostly snow men, and any Disney ornaments we had. “Oh, is this another Cinderella one?” (No.) It took all of about 30 minutes, finished off with hot chocolate and reading the Luke account of the Shepard's and angels— since we had put up our nativity I was able to relate to the kids better the pieces of the story.

For now I’m going to pretend we didn’t trade in vintage Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer DVD and watch Barney instead. But we did--the kids insisted. But it was the family time and the snuggling that was so worth it, Barney or no Barney.

What are your plans for advent?

The Long Awaited Playroom Pictures

Finally, here are the pictures of the playroom.

The bookshelf: Isabel said "Mom, all the books are out of the boxes!" We had a rubbermaid tote, and a few baskets around the house filled with books, which are all in this bookshelf.

The new art table: This has been so many things in our house since we got married, but this is by far, my favorite. The kids have been playing "Animal Doctor." They usually have animals spread out with the doctor's kit for operations and such.

The kitchen area: Before the lovely little bookshelf, there was a big cupboard that got shoved full of plastic food and 'tea party' dishes from Isabel's birthday number 2. I'm so glad that the kids can see what their looking for. Truman's been a culinary genius, making all kinds of treats, namely imaginary cookies. They are delicious.

The kitchen:
Here is our real kitchen! Exit mismatched chairs, enter these awesome new-to-us chairs! I love how our little house is set up now. Nesting always feels good to me.

Have a beautiful day!

Weekend Update

We had an amazing weekend, one where everything got done and we were not over-booked. I’m not sure how this happened but I want to replicate it.

On Saturday, we went to the farmer’s market with tons of breads, goodies and jam. Next week will be the last for the season. I’m a little sad to have this season ending-- but having Saturday morning time, is such a treasure.

A sneak peek of the kids bedroom: 

We napped then I proceeded to tackle the kid’s playroom. It too hours and my ‘helpers’ were um, quite helpful. These photos need a whole post, look for it tonight!!!

After this project was completed (at 8 p.m.) and after all the kids were showered and jammied up. We decided to leave the house for an unexpected adventure— we ended up in Sioux City for a little treat. And on the way home, Eric and I got a few quiet minutes to sip our cherry-limeades, with two content babes asleep in the backseat.

On Sunday after church, we went to lunch at our friend’s farm. We made homemade calzones, so delicious.

We had a loaf of apple cinnamon bread-- not gooey quickbread, but a yeast dough made made with apple cider as it’s base liquid instead of water. Yum! Eric made it into the most wonderful bread pudding, from Paula Deen’s recipe. Friends, I was a tad skeptical, but o my. I could have polished off the whole thing with a pot of coffee.

We picked the near-end of our garden. We still have peppers, pumpkins and tomatillos that are holding on for another week or two.

During nap time on Sunday, I got the rest of my housework done, and the laundry all folded and put away. I was a cleaning machine. It feels so good to have the whole house in working order!

How was your weekend?

Odds and Ends

Some good news, day two went much better! Their little room is so cozy. It seems like they’ve always been like this.

I really like that our bedtime routine became more cohesive just by proximity. No longer are we stretched between two rooms, with books and songs, hugs and kisses then our prayers. Each kid gets to choose a song, two each. I used to sing a string of songs, about eight, all the same songs, every night. I like the variety and the number four much better.

We all end our night together, which makes a great full circle moment for the day. And brings everything back together. We talk a little bit about what tomorrow brings and what we have to look forward to. 

We sing the old hymn At the Cross, which my grandma sings in Spanish and English (and now I do too).  To hear Isabel’s little voice singing, ‘where I first saw the light... And the burden of my heart rolled away.” It’s makes me think I’m doing something right.

:::::::::

Ahhh... On to what’s ahead for the weekend: 

I will be at the farmer’s market, come visit! Eric made five kinds of delicious jam and preserves— a loaf of bread and a jar of jam could make your weekend! Done!

Wendy and I are furiously crafting for a craft fair in October, more info coming soon! I'm going to be a knitting/sewing fool for three plus weeks!

Wendy and I are also participating in the Vintage Swap 2009 hosted by Heather. I am so excited about this! I can’t wait to figure out who my swap partner is. 

Yesterday marked the end of the 30 days of happiness, thank you bluebirdbaby for hosting it. You can find all my posts here (:

Jayne and I are going to bake apple pies and pumpkin pies until we’re stuffed to the gills this weekend. I should start making coffee (decaf) now.

And I want to get my house back into shape. I think I have a lot of tasks ahead! Done!

Anything exciting happening for you this weekend?

30 Days of Happiness: Not being lonely

(Day 30) If you ask Isabel she’ll tell you what’s been going on in our house lately. “MY room is becoming the PLAYROOM!” and “Trube and I are going to sleep in the same room so we don’t have to be lonely anymore!”

That’s right, last night we moved both kids into the same room. We decided that the kids should have to share a room. We want them to learn how to respect space, and the other person. If you are quiet everyone gets sleep, if you’re disruptive, someone wakes up. We just want to raise considerate human beings, even at this age. And so we embark on a change, I’m sure.

Both kids have slept with us on and off since birth, Isabel much more than Truman. So having her a little farther away is an adjustment for all of us.

Last night, the first night of the whole experiment, she had an accident (for the first time in weeks...) and then when Truman woke up, because of her crying. He thought it was morning time (at almost one a.m.). It took about two and a half hours to convince him that it was not time for the lights to be on and to play with toys.

So we’re all learning. But Truman’s smaller sized room fits two cribs (one’s converted to a toddler bed for Izzo), a little table, a rocking chair and the changing table. It’s quite sweet. We got done with it so close to beditme last night I didn’t have a chance to snap photos. And the playroom now fits our desk with filing and computer, and the long awaited art table!

Actually the whole house is undergoing a shuffling of sorts. When I’m all finished, I’ll shoot some video or take a bunch of photos so you can see!

Hope your day is wonderful, and that you feel more awake than I do right now! (:

*I've never really posted without a photo, so this one is from our trip to Chicago...

Lots of Little Things...

Good morning, friends.

This is what I would like to be doing all day... following my family to the park and taking pictures of them.

The air this morning is just beautiful. Truman, Lucy and I were up early, playing out in the front yard. They were running about in the grass and hydrangeas which are blooming and so lovely (a photo soon!)!

I’m proud of myself, I got all of my to do list accomplished for home yesterday. It wasn’t that long, but it did get done. Phew. That feels good!

After Truman went down for bed, I out and weed the garden.... and at the end of the night, a shared beer, a conversation that lasted pretty late. So sweet to have beautiful friends.

It was just a really fulfilling day, nothing remarkably special happened, but it was just summery sweet.

:::::::::::

Just a few little links and reviews for you today.

First off, I was invited by Simmer Down (a Food Lover’s Blog) to share my ideas about Hungry Monkey by Matthew Amster-Burton. It was a book club blogging style! If you’ve read the book hop on over and share you’re thoughts too.

Have you seen this? It’s by A Field Journal, how to make tea light vellum lanterns. I need to pick up a bunch of those battery operated tea lights— Can’t you just see these hanging from my apple tree in the summertime... I see a weekend project coming on.

I’ve recently added Reading My Tea Leaves to my reader, I love the photography and the sentiment. Her photos have color, texture, and her morning coffee— this is my kind of girl...

Beautiful Weekend...

I don't think I can accurately put into words what a wonderful weekend this was. We got much needed rest and family time. 

Being in the out-of-doors hopefully cleared my indoor funk. I wasn't into or excited about much lately. I rediscovered my beloved camera, I forgot that in the spring/summer/fall I can use my telephoto lens, because I'm actually more than 5 feet away from people. Hallelujah! The light was amazing. And I got some favorite shots of my beloveds. 

I did about a thousand loads of laundry, cleaned out drawers and switched all of the kids seasonal clothing! What a feat. My living room looked like an unorganized laundrymat for most of the weekend. I wish the house looked as though I've spent time on it. Unfortunately, it looks like we've been playing hard all weekend-- well it's an honest house!

We went up to Sioux Falls to our favorite Natural Food Co-op and stopped at the bread shop next door. We picked up ingredients to make sushi... I've never made it. But vegetarian sushi is so delicious, I just want to try it! Any tips before I embark?

On Sunday we ended our day with a picnic at the beautiful Oak Grove State Park. We all rode with Grandma Bonnie, ate our picnic dinner and took a little stroll. The kids (and Eric) were so tuckered out, we drove home pretty quickly as it was nearing bedtime (or the bewitching hour as it's called at our house). 

More weekend photos and stories to come. 

Let's Make: Green Cleaning Supplies

P1012851, originally uploaded by TheYellowDoorPaperie.
Let’s make cleaning products shall we?

Spring cleaning is here and since, I hate the idea of noxious, toxic chemicals around my little people. SO instead I’ve been known to make my own.
So I make wonderful smelling, natural, disinfectant cleaner.

You can get as fancy as you want with it. But the process that I use-- it works for me. You can could organic vodka, chamomile and lavendar to make an organic version.

Camomile vodka poured into borax and water (before mixing).

Lavender Chamomile Disinfectant
2 quarts Hot Water
1/2 cup Borax
1/4 cup Vodka or Chamomile Vodka (See Recipe Below) --- you can use cheap vodka for this.
15 drops of Lavender essential oil

In a big glass jar, or whatever you have, mix hot water and borax. Let set for about 20 minutes, shaking occasionally until all the borax is dissolved. Add vodka and lavender essential oil. ++NOTE: Strain mixture though a sieve or a coffee filter after the borax makes crystals. 

Pour into a spray bottle. I keep the rest under my sink until I need it as a refill.


Chamomile Infused Vodka
1 bottle of Vodka— you can use cheep vodka. We run ours through a brita filter a few times for purification. You can really taste the difference!
6 chamomile teabags, bags removed or whole leaf tea or chamomile dried flowers

Mix in a glass jar. Leave in a dark, cool, dry cupboard for 15 days. Strain with a coffee filter.

Books around our house

Here are some favorite books that have kept my attention lately.

SouleMama's, The Creative Family.

I can't say enough about it. It teaches parents how to create a culture of free flowing creativity within the lives of their children and for themselves too.
Lots of fun projects and lots to think about!



Amy Butler's, Midwest Modern.

Eye candy and a idea starter for all kinds of design and house projects.


Lotta Jansdotter, LOTTA PRINTS.

This lovely book has all the makings of timeless design inspiration. Lotta's eye is impeccable and her motifs simple but impactful. I want to be her.



Ellen Sandbeck, Organic Housekeeping.

This book reminds me how to have a schedule, what to clean and how to clean it. A super resource.

So there it is... the favorites of the hour.


Coffee break photo from sxc.hu