A full weekend!

Isn't this warm weather nice? It's so refreshing to sleep with the windows open and let the still cool night air fill the bedrooms. 

We put the beautiful weather to good use this past weekend. Saturday morning we had my favorite breakfast, eggs over easy served with pesto, a sprinkle of romano cheese and a toasted croissant (what?!? You've never had pesto with your eggs.....you really ought to change that).

Then it was off to the library as a family. We have a wonderful, large library here and we make use of it regularly. We came home with scorpion books for the future arachnologist, bluebird books for the budding ornithologist, every led zeppelin album on cd for the husband, and I decided to take a break from reading my typical DIY/science/anthropology/homeschooling books and read a novel for pure pleasure. I chose Ruby Red Heart in a Cold Blue Sea by Morgan Callen Rogers because I liked the title and needed something New Englandy to read. It's pretty good so far :)

We happened upon the best rummage sale ever that afternoon and found some amazing treasures and people too! 

The buffet/hutch we have some really fun plans for! We are going to scrape off the peeling veneer and replace it with colorful mexican tiles, stain the wood darker, and replace the knobs with glass. This piece will be perfect for extra counter space in my small kitchen and will be great storage for all my cast iron which is currently camping on my stovetop.

The end tables we will leave as is, they are just beautiful, and for now the small vanity stand will stay as is until I decide exactly what I want to do with it. 

We also got some fantastic books and statues too!!!

Sunday was a quiet day at home as daddy went fishing on the big lake in the morning. I packed the boys up to head to the greenhouse to find some flowers to plant in the front beds. The hyacinth have passed and the tulips nearly have and nothing else had popped up. We had turned down the block when I spotted a "free day lillies" sign and the woman who had just pulled them out of her garden was kind enough to offer to drop them by the house for me (I'm still surprised sometimes just how nice people are in this part of the country). 

We spent our afternoon transplanting lillies into the front garden beds. She said they will match our shutters and door when they bloom! 

It was a very fulfilling weekend! I just love finding treasures and getting my hands in the dirt (and so did the boys). 

I hope your weekends are just as fun!!! What family activities do you enjoy in the warmer months?

Introducing Game Night......and a tire swing.

You may (or may not) know that we are a family of hockey fans. It started with my husband who grew up in a Midwest state that turns into a sub-zero frozen prarie several months out of the year. He spent his days shooting pucks for hours on end. The memories he has surrounding hockey are some if his favorites from childhood and the love of the game never left him.

In our early days together I decided to become a hockey "fan" too. I didn't understand much about the game itself, but figured it was the only major sport fast paced enough to hold my attention. Plus, I loved skating too (figure skating is a sport......don't listen to my husband)!

Now our two older boys play hockey and I have a feeling once the littlest is 3 he's gonna get padded up and sent out on the ice too. 

So what does this have to do with family game night? I'm getting there I promise. But first......

(That's his hockey face)

(He fell asleep in his Wild jersey during playoff game 7, they still won ;)

So when we first moved in to this house in September I VERY reluctantly agreed to getting cable. I'm not a tv person but my husband really wanted to be able to watch hockey season now that we live in the same region as his favorite team, Minnesota Wild. So I said okay, but we cancel it at the end of hockey season. It's round 2 of the playoffs (btw, I now understand a good deal of the game and have been known to yell while watching the game) and the season will be ending in the next few weeks. Which means family game night will be replacing hockey night (the boys finished hockey last week and have a 2 month break). 

We bought some new games since we didn't have too many that were fun for all of us. It's so fun having kids old enough to play games that parents find fun too ( I can only stand so many rounds of Candy Land). We bought Yahtzee, Family Trivial Pursuit, Clue, and Uno. I'm so excited to start doing this!!! Do you have a family game night in your home? What games do you enjoy?

Oh and we now have a tire swing!!! Though both boys will use it, it was an 8th birthday present from Oma to our middle son. He is loving it. 

Look at that big 8 year old of mine! He's such a sweet kid :)

He had a wonderful birthday, complete with a rice crispy treat scorpion (he wants to be an arachnologist) custom made by daddy.

Birthdays are always a little bittersweet for me. It's hard to know your babies are growing up, each year represents one less year of them being little, wanting to hold hands with me, or climbing in our bed when they have a bad dream....but it's also pretty incredible to watch them grow and see who they are becoming independent of us. I'm lucky, they still hold my hands, crawl in bed (sometimes) after a nightmare, and cuddle up on the sofa with me. They are good, loving kids. 

This middle boy of mine, he is so smart. He will work at any project till he has it just right. He's always happy and willing to help around the house. He loves to run around, ride his bike, and play outside for hours on end. I could go on with a very long list but I'll end with my favorite thing about him; he is an amazing brother! He is so caring and empathetic. I've never seen anyone who can get a baby laughing the way he does with his little brother. He loves spending time with his older brother too and is always trying to come up with things they can do together (this is not always appreciated by our oldest, but such is life with siblings).

Happy Birthday sweet boy! I love you to the moon and back again times infinity!

Spring has sprung!

Hello bloggy friends! I do apologize for my absence. I've still been hibernating as spring has been taking it's sweet time in arriving here on the western shores of Lake Michigan. But I dare say it's here now! 

This is our first spring in our little brick cape, and with spring comes the discovery of flowers! 

I have sweet little crocuses springing up alongside the house and hyacinth too! My mom was here visiting this past week and cut a few bouquets of hyacinth to put around my house. It is the best air freshener I've ever smelled. The scent is so sweet, I'm putting it right up there with lilacs as my favorite flower to smell. 

The baby has been picking me handfuls of flowers. He has the biggest sweetest smile handing them to me (that I haven't been able to catch on camera yet). 

We went kite flying when my mom was here. It was a perfect day! A picnic at the lighthouse followed by kite flying while the baby napped in the fresh, brisk wind. 

I have never seen blues and greens like the ones in this Great Lake of ours. 

The next couple weeks we are planning on taking some bird watching hikes at the nature center, building some garden boxes (that will hopefully be bunny-proof), setting up a tire swing for the boys, and I'm thinking some fresh paint in our bedroom and building some bookshelves in the living room will make the "to do" list too! 

52 weeks, week 2

So this is technically week 3 of the new year.  What can I say? I'm perpetually behind. 

Also I realized I only took one photo of all my kids. It's not a great photo but it captures a super awesome moment, and that's what matters.

This baby of mine is getting older by the moment. He wants to do everything his big brothers do, and he's pretty lucky to have awesome brothers who want to include him in everything. 

The other night these 3 sons of mine played with a cloth tape measure and a stuffed animal for hours. Something about dropping it over the banister brought out the cutest baby laughter ever, the screaming giggles! 

It was a moment I want to remember forever. I love my boys!

52 weeks, post 1

Good morning! It has warmed up to -6 (-18 wind chill) so today I feel like celebrating!!! 

In all honesty it has little to do with the weather (cause it still feels bombassdiggity cold to me).......my baby boy is 1 entire year old today!!! Well at 10:40 am he will be, I'm trying to keep him a baby as long as possible. 

Birthdays are always bittersweet for me when they involve my kids. My oldest turned the big double digits 2 weeks ago and now my baby is no longer months old....how does a year go so quickly?

I'm watching him right now playing with toys, dancing while sitting, babbling on about dadada and brudders, and I realize walking is right around the corner. The reality is this is probably the last time I will have a child who is in the baby stage, and from here the time just disappears into thin air. 

But it remains a day to celebrate despite the twinges of sadness I feel. This year has brought so much with it, major surgery when he was 6 months, oh I'm so glad to be past that! We are all stronger for it, more grateful for each other, and closer too. This little boy has made our family perfect :) He is happy and healthy and just the biggest joy!!!

Okay now on to the subject of this post....So last year a couple of the blogs I like to follow did 52 weeks in photos and I decided I'm going to do it this year! It's a photo of your children each week for the 52 weeks of the year. 

I meant to get this post up last night since today is officially the start of the 2nd week of the year (already?!?), but the big boys had their first hockey practice last night and well I was tired ( but I'm officially a hockey mom.....sweet!!). 

So these count as week one because they were taken yesterday ;)

And just for fun, here is a photo of my 3 boys from this week last year!

Sigh, the memories.

If you'd like to join along in the 52 weeks of photos leave a comment with your blog link, I'd love to see your photos!

Happy New Year!!

We had some snow fall overnight and awoke to sparkly, soft, snowfall this morning too. 

We are spending our New Years Day cozied up inside watching the snow accumulate. Later we will venture outside to shovel and play. Followed by hot cocoa and writing some goals for this new year. 

I hope your day is filled with warmth and love (and a little snow too)!

St. Nicholas Day

Do you celebrate St. Nicholas Day? I never had even heard of it until last year when my children came home from school on December 6th upset because they were the only kids who didn't wake up to a shoe or stocking filled with treats from the saint. 

Apparently St. Nicks Day is much more popular here in Wisconsin than in my native New England. It makes sense, it's a German holiday and this is a predominantly German region. Interestingly, this is our first year doing a Waldorf inspired homeschool and St.Nicholas day is also celebrated amongst many Waldorf families.

This year I was not going to be without a plan on the eve of December 5th. 

St. Nicholas was a real person, who really helped other people. The day isn't about gobs of presents, rather a few treats and maybe a trinket. 

I found some sweet hollow chocolates from Germany for the older 2 boys, and since the baby can't have candy I made him a small set of clothespin dolls with knit hats and scarves. 

After stockings were opened, we had a nice discussion of things we could do to help others. We planned a meal for a family with a child in the hospital and the boys made a plan to shovel for our widowed neighbor. 3 snowstorms in and they have kept their commitment :)

I think St. Nicholas day is becoming one of my favorite traditions of the holiday season. 

How do you celebrate St. Nicks day? If you haven't before will you next season? 

This website has some excellent info, history, and ideas for celebrating!

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/st-nicholas-day/   

Happy Holidays!!!

A Thanksgiving Reflection

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! At the moment I'm very thankful I'm feeling well enough to cook tomorrow as I've had a rough go of it this week. But I'm on the upswing and the pumpkin pie is baked and tomorrow promises a morning filled with a busy kitchen and some great food! 

As I was rolling out pie crust tonight I got to thinking about thankfulness. Some people choose to pick something to be thankful for each day of November, others will perhaps take turns going around the table tomorrow and sharing their thankfulness while enjoying turkey. 

All great choices, but sometimes I wonder how deeply we reflect on the powerful moments that shape what we are thankful for. 

One of the most common responses is being thankful for ones family (which of course is a wonderful response). Let's face it, we'd kinda be assholes if we didn't say we were thankful for our family, our children, our significant other. But it want to take it deeper than that. 

This summer I had the most powerful experience of my life. The experience that showed me just how deep the bonds of siblings run. The experience that defines thankfulness for this family of mine.

We welcomed our 3rd beautiful baby boy last January. 

In May we found out that he was born with a condition called craniosynostosis and would need major skull surgery in July. We were beside ourselves with anxiety over it. I can't even remember much about the weeks leading up to surgery, I didn't sleep much and was pretty much a mess. 

Surgery was hard. Because of a hereditary bleeding disorder (sorry boys, you got that from mama) he had to stay sedated for 24 hours post op. That was the hardest. Not being able to hold your baby for 24 hours,while you watch them moan through the pain despite morphine and being sedated....well it makes your heart break a little. 

When he finally was able to come out of sedation the swelling really kicked in. I could now pick him up but his head was so swollen it felt like 3 times the size. His big beautiful eyes swelled shut, all but a little sliver shone through on his left eye. He moaned but was otherwise unresponsive to us, and then the most amazingly powerful thing I've ever witnessed happened. His big brothers arrived. As soon as he heard their voices and felt their hands holding his, my sweet little baby started to babble to them. He even smiled a little. Those wonderful big brothers, even though they were a bit dismayed by the incision across their baby brothers head, and his face which now resembled a sumo wrestler (even his poor little ears swelled) they just kept rubbing his hands and talking to him. And that's when I knew just how amazing the bond my children have with each other is.

It's that moment I thought about while mixing up the pumpkin pie. I'll never forget it, not in all my days. The love of siblings, the love of a family. 

So this Thanksgiving, as you're passing around the cranberry sauce and the gravy, take a moment to really think about the powerful experiences that have shaped your thankfulness. 

And do share them here :)

On minimalism and holiday giving.

I'm still working on my closet folks. 

Purging. Is. Hard. 

It's not really getting rid of stuff that's hard, it's the fear of getting rid of too much. However will I survive if I get rid of too many shirts? (Duh, I'll wash the ones I have). 

We are surrounded by this fear of not having enough things to get by. Or not having enough space. Or going without things that are considered a societal norm. 

When our third son was born we kept hearing that it was minivan time. Sure a minivan might make car trips a little easier or more comfortable but 10 months later we are still making the Civic work. 

We haven't hooked up our dryer since we moved, because I don't consider it necessary. Sure, most of the population considers it a need but I'm happy with some good ol' sunshine. (Yep, even in November).

My point here is not that minivans or dryers are bad, because they aren't! My point is that it's okay to think outside the box when it it comes to weighing "needs". I've decided that I don't need 10 long sleeve t-shirts, a dryer, or a minivan ( I'm pretty psyched to rock out a station wagon when we do decide to upgrade).

When it comes time for holiday gifting my husband and I of course put a lot of thought and effort into making it special for our boys, and in years past we've worried that maybe they wouldn't have enough presents to open under the tree. But where is that line between not enough and enough, who draws that line? 

Maybe you've heard of the " want, need, wear, read" movement when it comes to gifting? If you haven't it's quite simple. You give one gift from each category per person. We've adopted this in our family and it suits us. Each boy this year will get a pair of cozy winter pajamas for the "wear" category. For "read" a special book, I haven't picked them for sure yet but I'm leaning towards some lovely winter stories. "Want" is a work in progress, and "need", well need can be a tough one. As parents we tend to provide anything our children need right away. I've found the best way to think about "need" is to consider what they may need for the winter season. This year I'm knitting them each a hat and mitten set, something they will definitely need for the Wisconsin winter but it will be special since it's mama-made. 

The other nice side effect of this little gifting motto is that we are not stretching our budget to buy a lot of quantity. Quantity inevitably ends up crumpled in a corner or shoved under a bed and that's just no fun for anybody. Since we aren't stressed about getting lots of gifts for our kids we can focus on getting quality gifts for them. 

That's a comment I hear often, the desire to buy quality items but not necessarily be able to afford them. We can't spend gobs of money either but by limiting the amount we purchase we can buy better quality items. Side note: this desire can also be used as motivation to learn a new craft or skill. 

So as we enter the season of gifting take some time to reflect on the true needs in your life. Consider where you feel comfortable drawing the line on enough. Really contemplate what gifts will be meaningful to give to your loved ones. Make a plan to buy quality over quantity, and perhaps make some gifts yourself (if you don't have the time to learn a new craft then choose to support a local crafter). 

And remember, it's about time with loved ones not stuff anyways :)

Purge It Tuesday #1 Being Honest

Too much stuff! 

This is the current contents of my closet. Not too bad right? Wrong!!! 

By rough estimate I'd say I wear about 1/4 of these clothes on a regular basis. What's worse is we just moved last month and this is only what I've unpacked so far! There are still boxes in the basement of clothes.

So I'm starting my purge by getting honest with myself. I'm accepting the fact that I have too much ( I don't want to become one of those chicks on House Hunters who complains about closet space even when the closet is the size of my childhood bedroom). 

That was pretty easy to accept. The next part is a little more difficult. Being honest with myself about what is reasonable to keep. 

So I'm starting simply by trying it all on and being really picky about what clothes suit my body type, what clothes are comfortable and practical for my lifestyle, and what clothes make me feel good when I wear them. If it doesn't fit all 3 categories, it's gone!

Now, I must interject here. I'm a crafter, a creative soul. I want to modify everything! That's where purging gets tricky for me. So I'm giving myself some leeway here; if something doesn't suit me as is I'm allowed to put it in the modify pile.......but I have to actually do said modifications within a 2 week period or it's out!

Join me won't you? Empty that closet and find what fits, what works, and what you really like on yourself!

If chicken soup is for the soul, what is curry soup for?

The heart. 

Curried soup is for the heart friends, it's soothing yet spicy, a combination that makes you feel happy, full, and gives a swift kick here and there! Which is how our hearts can feel; happy, full, and sometimes kicked around. 

So here's my recipe for curried squash soup ( please keep in mind I do not measure when I cook). 

Curried Squash Soup for the Heart

- coconut oil

- 1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded, cubed)

- 1 medium onion

- 5 cloves garlic

- approx 4 cups chicken ( or veggie) stock

- fresh ginger root (about 1 inch peeled and grated)

- green curry paste, heaping spoonful

- 1 can coconut milk

- 2 scallions, cilantro, red pepper ( all optional

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a soup pot, if you don't have coconut oil use olive oil or butter. I love cooking with coconut oil though ( plus it has so many other uses too.....best nighttime moisturizer ever!). 

Sauté your onion till translucent, add in minced garlic and cook about 1 minute. Add in squash and ginger and cook on medium heat stirring frequently. After about 5 minutes add in your stock. I use the crockpot method to make stock from our Sunday roast chicken, store bought is fine just make sure it's a good quality one without added yucky ingredients. 

At this point add in a heaping spoonful of curry paste (red curry paste would be fine too).

Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer about 45 minutes or until squash is fork soft. Reduce heat to lowest setting and get out your immersion blender. Alternatively you can use a regular blender and blend in small batches, but do yourself a favor and invest in an immersion blender, $20 will save you lots of dishes!

Now it's time to add in the coconut milk, make sure you get all the creamy fat in there ( yes, please lick the spatula. It's good for ya and I won't tell). Stir until it's well blended. 

Add in your scallions, red pepper flakes, and garnish with cilantro. Serve, enjoy, and don't do any heart kickin' unless it's with this soup!

P.S. Don't worry I didn't forget about that old closet purge! Truth is our hearts are a bit worried around here as a loved one is having some setbacks after surgery. I'll return next Tuesday for some epic purgyness!

The Great Midwest Clothing Purge

We just got done with a move.........again. I've lost track of how many moves have happened over the past decade but trust me when I say too many. I've met every move with the excitement that comes along with big changes in life, and this move was no different in that regard. What was different was the way I viewed this move, this house. I no longer thought " We'll rent here for a year or two and then onto the next place/city/state". Instead I find myself hoping for a sense of permanency. I don't want to move again. I don't want to try out a new city or a new state ( unless it's Alaska.....Alaska + yurt = my own personal heaven). I want to stay put and get to know our new neighborhood and community. Even though our house is a rental I'm hoping maybe the tides of change can somehow turn to make it our own.

Maybe this is what happens when you hit your 30's, that desire for a sense of permanency? I've got another strong desire too; for simplicity.

If a move does anything it makes you realize how much crap you own! Friends, I will admit I have waaaaaaay too much. Mostly in the clothing arena. Sure, I just had a baby 9 months ago so I could use my changing size over the past year and a half as an excuse, but it'd just be an excuse ( I didn't buy or wear any maternity clothes this time around, but that's another post). The truth of the matter is I just like clothes, but I'm also very particular about clothes. So I tend to have several pieces that fit in the category of " it was on clearance, and even though I take it off after 20 minutes of wearing it because I can't stand a, b, or c about it, I'm still hanging onto it because someday maybe I'll find time to fix a, b, or c". If a category has a name that long I'm thinking it's time to move on!

So I invite you to follow along over the next few weeks with me on Tuesdays as I get brutal and purge my closet, my kid's closets, and maybe even my husband's (shhhh don't tell him, the man has more shoes than me). I promise lots of pictures that will make you feel better about the state of your own closet ;).

Been around this land and back again....

Hey there!

 I'm Eryn, the New England born and bred part of the alliance. Over the past decade or so I've lived in several states around this country but always considered myself a New England girl......until I fell in love with the western shores of Lake Michigan. I now call Southeastern Wisconsin home along with my reggae lovin' husband, our brood of boys, and the coolest kitty this side of the Mississippi; Allspice aka Spicy Cat (this I feel is a valid claim as Annaliese and I are on opposite sides of the river).


 My days are full with homeschooling my older boys, crafting, cooking, all the fun that comes along with a 9 month old, and in general keeping this house of menfolk in line. I truly enjoy being in the kitchen preparing food for my family and it doesn't seem like a chore to me. I'm obsessed with all things wool; knitting, spinning, and someday I dream of having sheep ( I also dream of goats, chickens, and a dairy cow).

As a family we enjoy shopping our local farmers market (which just ended for the year, boo), spending time at the lakefront (especially in the fall/winter), hiking, camping, going to local events and festivals, and family bike rides with our bakfiets (bucket bike).

I'm so excited to be on this blogging adventure with my two long time friends and I just hope they can put up with my excessive use of punctuation and parenthesis.

Other places you can find me are:
etsy
facebook
pinterest

Bakfiets 

Spicy Cat

My 3 sons up a tree

Mama on the prairie

Sexiest man alive ;)