Morning Time, Dog Days of Winter

8am, January 8th.  -11 degrees outside.  Our 3 minions keeping warm inside. (We call them our minions for some reason, even though none of them really ever do our bidding.)

Emmett's New Reading Corner

We have been continuing to put together Emmett's new room, and this weekend we finally got to put up the picture ledges for his books in his reading corner. The design concept behind this idea was both aesthetic and practical.  On the practical side, he has trouble putting his books away on a tight bookshelf, squeezing the books between each other and making space can be very frustrating.  So this way I thought it would be a snap for him to be able to pick up his books and put them away. (wishful thinking? quite possibly) Also, I think they look cool, visually striking, and it gets the point across about what the space is for.  It is also a great way to fill up a big wall, and if you are light on big pieces of art, and heavy on books like we are, it is a great way to fill the space.

And I think the fact that Emmett was really excited to help us put his books up on his new shelves is a good sign for their appeal and functionality.

I'm starting to feel really glad that we went with very minimalist and soft colors, like grey, white and a little yellow for our basic design scheme for his room.  As soon as he started adding his own things, like his books, games, puzzles and toys the room is suddenly filled with a fiesta of primary colors.  If we had done the room with wild patterns and paint colors I wouldn't be able to stay in there for more than 30 seconds.  This way it will keep the room feeling a little more calm and restful.  Oh, and in case you are curious, the triangles on the walls are decals from urbanwalls on Etsy. They couldn't have been easier to apply, Emmett even helped, and I love the effect.  And since I used a random pattern I didn't have to worry about lining anything up.

So it's not done yet, we still have to get the right rugs and bedding, lighting and bedside tables.  But he is very psyched about his new room, and I think we'll move him in there next weekend.  Next project: the redesign of Emmett's old room for the new baby!  And I think we'll continue the soft color theme in there as well.  Sometimes there is just something so nice about white. . .

18 Hours in Portsmouth, NH

TH and I escaped to Portsmouth, NH last weekend for a night as a belated birthday trip for me, and just a general change of scene and night off from parenting.  Neither of us had ever been there and we really enjoyed it's salty and artistic atmosphere.  We left Emmett with some friends, and realized it was the first time we had left him and gone away together since he was about 14 months old.  I'm not quite sure how we let that long of a time period elapse.  We were, of course, totally tweaked about it, and almost bailed at the last minute, but I'm really glad we didn't.  And Emmett had a great time on his sleep over, came home full of stories, and told us he wants to do it every night. Phew!

We got there around 3:30 and checked into the Ale House Inn, which is a great little boutique hotel with iPads in every room, a little lobby with fresh fruit and snacks, and very friendly staff who are more than happy to help you find ways to fill up your time in Portsmouth.

The we walked around for a bit, looked at the water, and did some exploring and shopping.  And then we started eating, and managed to hit 3 restaurants in the remaining 15 hours.  First we went to Cava for a few small plates to refresh ourselves after our walking and shopping.

 And then we met up with a friend at the wine bar at the Black Trumpet, and then downstairs for a delicious dinner, where I had the most delicious foie gras I've had in years, which was pan seared and served over a flambeed apple slice and served with a beet and citrus relish.  SO good.

And then home to bed, because after all, we are still exhausted parents, even on our night off :)

It was truly lovely though to get out of our routine, get a chance to actually talk to each other without being interrupted, and just soak in a new atmosphere.  The really is something so rejuvenating about being in a new place, and taking in new sights and smells.  It helped me pull back a little and refocus on the big picture, and take a break from all of the little day to day demands and distractions.  And if 18 hours can do that, just imagine what a long weekend would be like! Maybe next time. . .

No Rush Weekends: A Mini-Manifesto

I'm trying to institute a new household policy around here, and it's called "No Rush Weekends." And even when the whole household can't follow it, I try to follow it on my own as much as I can.  Now that Emmett goes to school five days a week we are trying to be more like normal 9-5 families, and just work on the week days and do family and personal things on the weekends.  For years TH and I have been fitting in work in whatever tiny slivers of time we can manage to scrape together, be it nap time, school time, weekends, whenever we can slip away and cross one more thing off the never ending list of work tasks.  It is kind of the trap of being self employed, and the down-side of setting your own hours.  It is very hard not to take work home with you, especially when your studio is attached to your house.

But now I am trying to set some boundaries for myself, which is, of course, a hard thing to do.  But I finally realized that no one was in charge of my schedule except me.  And I am trying to be more disciplined during my work week so that I can relax with less guilt on the weekends.  Seems so obvious now, when I write it down.  But I hardly ever sit down and read a book, or a magazine, take a walk with a friend, lie in the autumn sun, enjoy the outdoors, or do any of those wonderful things about living in the country.

And a lot of this process is also letting myself, and all of us, off the hook for many of the things we all feel pressured to spend our time doing, like active involved parenting, and house cleaning, and all of those sorts of productive activities. If Emmett wants to wake up on Saturday and watch a movie? Fine.  If he wants to go outside and sit in the dirty driveway in his underpants, that's fine by me too.  If he immediately wants me to play trucks, or read him a really long factual book about construction equipment?  Mmmm, maybe in an hour or so.  We all need a little time for independent play.  Am I sitting and leafing through a magazine, or catching up on my blog reading in the middle of a shitstorm of a mess?  Very probably.  Sounds kind of selfish I guess, but it is pretty wonderful to just sit and breathe, without always working my way down a list of tasks, or running out the door to a playdate or the children's museum.  And yes, eventually the laundry and the vacuuming need to be done.  But not clogging up the weekend with work stress makes those tasks a little less onerous as well.  And sometimes this means that an order goes out a day later than I had hoped.  And for now, I guess I'm ok with that.

And of course one of the most amazing things about this is that we actually get to do things together as a family, all three of us, instead of one parent working while the other takes care of Emmett.  Now we can do outings, or not outings, all together, and get some nice calm quiet time together, and have time to enjoy each other.  If we never take the time do that, what on earth are we working so hard for the rest of the time?

And of course this won't always work.  Craft shows are always on weekends, for one thing.  And this system will only cause less stress if it is a flexible system.  But I am trying to take that extra step to ask myself "Is this something that can wait until Monday?" before I break up my weekend zen.  And of course I mostly really enjoy my work, so it is a slippery slope. But it is still work, and this is the proverbial "stop and smell the roses."  I'm just getting to it now at age 35, but I'm glad I'm finally here.  Here's hoping I stay here!

The Baby is 4!

And I guess he isn't a baby anymore.  No more diapers, no more crib, a new school, some great friends, and some long, long legs.  A lot can happen in one year.

Tom Hutten outdid himself again this year with an amazing cement mixer cake.  Emmett has already wished for a cold planer cake for next year, which may well take a whole year of planning. (Curious what a cold planer is?  Click here)

We had family and friends visiting from out of town for the big birthday, so we decided to forgo the big kid party this year, and wow am I glad we did that! Emmett was already completely emotionally wrung out from the family celebrations and school celebrations, that I think one more thing might have put him right over the edge.  Being the center of attention can really be exhausting, poor little dude.  And us grown ups were pretty tired too.  Celebrating for four straight days is a big undertaking, I don't know why I didn't realize it would be.  Am I the only Mom who feels this way?  But it was wonderful to have all of Emmett's special people here for the weekend, and see him so celebrated by people who love him.  What a wonderful thing a loving family is.

Togetherness

I'm sure a lot of you have spent lots of time with family this summer, maybe even big family vacations or long visits.  It is one of the best things about the slower pace of summer, being able to have a leisurely visit.  My brother and his family have been here visiting for the past ten days, and will be here for a total of two weeks, which is an amazingly long visit.  And even though it isn't really the best time for a vacation for me, due to the ever-looming pile of orders waiting for me in both studios, having them here has forced me to slow down a little bit and enjoy what summer in Vermont has to offer, for which I am grateful.  My friends up here and I often lament the fact that we never do the lovely summer things we intend to do, like hike and swim and even just sit around on the porch drinking iced tea.  So I am very glad I made myself take the time to go swimming at Buttermilk Falls, our friends' pond, the town pool, and today at Lake Rescue.  We've also been to Bromley Mountain Adventure Park, cooked hot dogs and s'mores over an open fire, the little boys caught frogs and went fishing, and we've all done some good puzzling over mysterious pond creatures.

 But with a large group of people always comes the problem of how to feed them all, and really, who is going to do all those dishes?  How does your family deal with this challenge? I'd really love to hear, so please leave some of your ideas in the comments!  Ever since I was very small my family has created a daily chart to try to evenly split up the work (and fun) of feeding a small hoard.  My mom has always said that vacations for her when we were small children was "just a change of sinks." And so as soon as we were old enough we got drafted into service.  The chart with a family of 4 was pretty simple.  But now with a combined family of 9, look what we have come to:

I mean just creating the chart is a huge challenge in itself.  Luckily I have an older brother who loves to sort things into columns. ;p  So we have a childcare column (which right now is just taking care of Emmett, which is great for us), a table setting column, cooking, clearing the table and washing the dishes, and then "Riley" is for the people "leading the life of Riley," or in other words, just relaxing and doing nothing.  And somehow I just realized this year that the only way this system works is to absolutely not feel guilty about being Riley when it is your turn, and really enjoy it, or otherwise you just feel like you are cooking and cleaning all the days long.

Of course Olivia does almost nothing except lick the occasional plate and generally be in the way.  But she looks good doing it, doesn't she?

So that's how we do it.  It's a lot of work feeding 9 people every lunch and dinner!  I don't know how those big old farm families did it on a daily basis! There must be a trick to it, and you probably don't make lobster pasta much.  But for 14 days we are going all out!

Summer Cool and Fresh + a Little Honesty

What is it that is so nice about drinking out of a mason jar?  Are you all having this endless heat wave?  Isn't it brutal? But iced tea in a mason jar is helping get me through it.  A little.  Well, that and air conditioning. . .

Alert! This is a special message for those of you who think I spend all of my days in a lovely clean house with a super well behaved three year old sipping iced tea.  Please let me tell you that this is really not the case.  I have heard from a few readers and friends that Campestral makes them feel like they need to get up and clean their house, and makes them feel somehow bad about their lives. This really makes me feel terrible, because, well that's awful, plus if you saw what things mostly look like around here you'd sit right back down on the couch.  So I'm putting together a little peek behind the posts, so you can see the chaos outside the frame of the photograph.  But it's not quite done yet, so stay tuned!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!  We are on vacation in California, enjoying some sunshine and time with family.  I'm not blogging every day out here (I know, I know, I haven't been blogging every day anywhere) but I am posting an Instagram photo every day for our 10 day trip.  So if you want to see what I'm up to follow me on Instagram here!  I'm always late to every tech-party, but I've been really enjoying Instagram recently.  It's such a great way to capture life's daily beauty and special moments in images.

Swedish Secret

My Swedish friend May just let me in on a little kids-in-cold-weather secret.  I was lamenting about the gap above the top of Emmett's parka collar, and how blowing snow seems somehow magnetized to that tender spot. So she showed me how she had tied a handkerchief around her son Fisher's neck to keep the snow and breezes out, and said that that is how they all do it in Sweden.  So simple, and so genius!

Today Emmett and Markus tried it, and it turns out to be a great idea for multiple reasons: it can't get tangled, or wrapped too tight like a scarf, and it also can't fall off, it is totally adjustable to different size necks, and the cotton cloth is soft and not itchy against sensitive baby skin.  Also, they are cheap, and readily available, and easy to wash. Thanks May, and thanks Sweden!

Christmas Cookies

Emmett is finally getting old enough to be interested in kitchen projects. He likes measuring, pouring, and mixing the ingredients, the rolling pin, and all the flour everywhere.  It is a total free-for-all, but it is fun.

Thanks so much to everyone who came over for the open studio on Sunday!  It was so fun to see you all, and really great to reconnect with some old old friends.

Emmett Bean Turns Three!

Hooray!  Yesterday was Emmett's 3rd birthday! We had a really fun party, that was equally geared towards kids and adults (well, maybe a little skewed towards the adults).  But the kids seemed to really enjoy the giant blue truck cake that TH and our friend Garet made together.  They worked very hard on this cake, and on top of being a big rig, and hilariously blue both inside and out, was actually quite delicious.  (Emmett's main request for his birthday cake was that it should be blue, so they really had no choice about the color) I was so busy at the beginning of the party doing all the last minute cooking etc. that I didn't even get a chance to take any photos.  I haven't thrown a big party in a long time, and I am way out of practice, and so things were a little hectic.  I probably shouldn't have had such a leisurely breakfast at the diner that morning!  Anyway, I am bummed that I have almost no photos of the party, but I do have a lot of photos of the cake making process, so I'll put those below.

Pretty amazing, isn't it?