Looking for the Quiet

 In November, I had grand plans for December.  I was going to bake and sew and string cranberries and popcorn.  There were going to be handmade teacher gifts and mama-made clothes under the tree.  The house was going to be peaceful, joyful, and holiday-laden.

 And somehow, life happened.  And my last free days while O was in school were suddenly so overscheduled I felt like I was being pulled in ten different directions and getting nothing done.

And I searched for the quiet where I could find it and promised myself it would come.

And you know what?  Today is December 22nd.  I was up (happily) at 6am making pumpkin muffins for Ella to take in for the teachers and staff at her school.  It is just after 10 and I have sat and read with O, needle felted my first little ladybug, and sewn cloth Christmas bags to put some gifts under the tree.

O is playing quietly by himself with a fusion of Playmobil, blocks, and The Dad's old GI Joe vehicles.  The house is quiet.  And all is good.  It's a little late, but it is here.  And I am oh. so. content...

O's New Favorite Pants

 

I love that O loves for me to sew for him.  The glee, the pride, the desire.

I took Liesl's sewing-with-knits class last weekend and came away with a pair of the Nature Walk Pants for him and an almost finished nightgown for E.  I used Michael Miller's new-ish Interlock Knit and while it was challenging, it wasn't bad!

O had the pants out of my bag before I even got into the car and had them on in less time than it took to fill the tank at the gas station.

They are his new favorites.  They are oh so soft and comfy.  He wore them for three days before I wrangled them away for the wash and asks for them every morning (unfortunately they haven't actually made it into the machine yet!)

Two more pairs are in the works.  One in a solid black and the other in a brown stripe.  They come together in less than an hour and I figure the more I practice sewing with this fabric, the better I'll get, right?

Somehow I Missed November

Somehow, I missed November.  Life got busy around here.  I did a big show at our local Waldorf School the weekend before Thanksgiving and at the last minute we ended up traveling for the holiday.  I told myself that things would quiet down after that, but they haven't really.  And somehow I am feeling even busier and overscheduled now than I was before.  And now it is December.

We have begun the tradition since moving here (this will be our fourth Christmas back on the East Coast!) of cutting down our own Christmas tree at a local orchard.  It's not quite the taking-a-sled-out-into-the-woods-on-a-snowy-day-and-dragging-home-a-tree that I had envisioned, but it has become its own family tradition for us.

At O's nursery school yesterday, they began talking about holiday traditions and things we all do that could be shared with the school.  Kids spoke about lighting the menorah or the advent wreath, sledding, and getting a Christmas Tree.  They also talked about Advent Calendars (which I am a little behind on this year and need to hang this morning!).  O raised his hand and said that one of our traditions is roasting marshmallows...  What?

But really, it is.  The orchard where we cut down our tree has a small bonfire where you wait to get on the hayride out to the trees.  They have benches, hot chocolate, and marshmallows for roasting.  So, in that little 4 year old brain of his, it is a tradition because every year, when we go to cut down our tree, they get to roast marshmallows. It may not be as heartfelt or reverent as lighting the menorah or an advent wreath but, evidently, it is tradition.

What is your favorite tradition of this holiday season?