The goals I had set for 2011

refering to this post.

1. Learn to knit
I certainly did! I'm very happy that I can say "Yes, I do!" when people assume I know how.

2. Cut on meat eating
We did, and it feels great, but we're still eating a lot of it...it's still a w.i.p.

3. Cut on cow milk, totally if possible (a hard one, I'm emotionally attached)
That one failed after realizing I'm quite intolerant to Soya mylk, makes my tummy ache. Rice mylk have enzyme in it that makes it not the best for children, and Almond mylk isn't the best to cook with, but we've cut on cow milk, just not totally.
4. Fill my etsy shop with organic doll goodness
I think that one is achieved. I also have new ideas that includes peg dolls :)

5. Don't buy any cloths for me or the kids, make them instead
Well, I'm very proud of this one!

6. Furnish our (upcoming) house with previously loved furniture, preferably unpainted wood N/A. Unfortunately!

7. Still breastfeed on December 31st
I'm 2 days away from this goal. I think I will make it ;)

8. Produce the majority of our veggies N/A for this one as well. I thought I we would spend the summer at "our new house"...oh well!

9. Make our bread
Not as much as I would have liked

10. Be more patient
Still working on it.

11. Enjoy every moment!
I think I did, most of the time.

I'm currently thinking of 12 goals I want to set for 2012 and went back to see what I had achieved this numeral year. I'm definitely not in the place I wanted to be, thought.

Winter Solstice and Xmas

We celebrated the Solstice day, which happened on the 22nd this year, with my mom before she left for Mexico. I made a cipaille, which is a traditional meal from our region consisting of throwing meat and potatoes in a pot and covering it with dough. It was good and the kids loved it, especially Merrick who likes potatoes so much.

We also made a batch of gingerbread men and pine tree, but they've gone missing before I had a chance to take a picture of them... I actually found some in the playroom, missing limbs, naked of all their buttons and eyes...Wonder what happened to them!

We opened our stocking on the solstice day. I like that, so xmas eve isn't too overwhelming and I feel they savour their gifts more. It might me egoist of me, but I knew my handmade stuff would be eclipsed by the huge cardboard playhouse the in-laws bought. I love it too!

I was heard and no one received plastic! Even me, I asked for knitting needles and crochet and received bamboo ones.

But I have mixed feelings about this year's holidays. I really feel like celebrating on the 24th is a fraud, so to say. Papa also informed me of his desire not to celebrate the 31st, as it's "Just a number". We pretty much agree that the real new year happens is November 1st, when the nature is finally getting a rest. So we are in this weird stage of creating our family tradition and finding what's right for us. You know, Boxing Day isn't our kind of thing.

What traditions did you keep? Which one did you create?

Other Handmade Gifts

My daughter adores Fairies. It might be my fault, as I push for her not to like the princess, fairy makes a good replacement. Those are the disney fairies. Even the "evil" one, my daughter's favorite, that never really gets to be displayed on their merch. I love how they turned out and find them really cute. Mariann loves them of course, and she installed them in the felt house I made last autumn.

I made 2 mechanics for Merrick to go with the cars Mariann painted for him.

And this crown was made for the little red-head best friend of Mariann, Zoe. She turned 3 in the middle of the month. I also made her a set of pretend cookies.

And I made this for one of my SIL. Now that she moved to study I thought she could use a sewing kit. I also made an infinity top to the other SIL, but she finds it too thights and the wraps aren't serged so she won't wear it... I made a red infinity dress for myself. I'll try to show you soon.

Winter Clothing and Emergency dollmaking

My goal of knitting a sweater for Mariann, Merrick and Papa wasn't achieved, but, I managed to complete one for Merrick! It still needs to be blocked.

Mariann's sweater dress was made out of a sweater I paid 1$ and Merrick's pants were sweater sleeves as well. I plan on turning the body of that sweater into stocking for next year...I found ours are way too small!

And you know what? After completing and giving this doll... I found Victoria!
We made a lot of reno upstairs and since Mariann doesn't sleep much in her bedroom anymore we had put the reno stuff in there. I thought I checked everywhere and moved every blankets, but Saturday I was seeking for dressing the new doll and while moving the doll cloths pile I saw the pyjama I thought we lost Victoria in.... And removing the blanket, there she was, in the pink pyjama!

Mariann was so delighted. She's playing with her ever since. Dressing and undressing, walking around with her in her sling. Ah! It made my day!

Giftmaking

Mariann's gift for Merrick.

I've been rather busy making various stuff for my kids. I've taken pictures but they are in the other computer... I've started the ribbing on Merrick's vest for the second time and scraped it again... I can't seem to do it!

We've lost Victoria. I must admit I'm more sad then Mariann about it.... She said I could make another one...another Victoria, she said. So I've started that... So that's why I'm not blogging much... A whole new doll to make before the 24th!

Tonight I told Merrick He was a Big Boy

Last weekend I picked up the No Cry Sleep Solution by Elisabeth Pantley. After 2 rough weeks of being tired to be a human pacifier at night, and not knowing what else to do, I seek for help.. You know, last night Merrick slept from 10 pm to midnight and a little bit between 7 and 9 am. So this afternoon, after getting at my mom's and getting Merrick to nap on my very self, I read the book cover to cover and it did help. Really.

She proposed a gentle way to help your baby to "detach from the breast" to get to sleep. She stresses that you should never let him cry by doing so, and that it takes a lot of time and patience. That you'll have to try consistently and it probably won't work the first night.... Didn't sound like a magic easy solution to a complicated problem, so I thought it was worth a try.

So tonight when we got Merrick to bed (with us), I breastfed him like I always did, only when he was a little more calm, and not sound asleep, I told him that he was a big boy, that it was time to sleep. I placed Ulrick (his cuddle doll I made him last solstice) between us and gently pulled out my breast. We stayed a little bit with him. I thought he would automatically moan and ask me back, but no. No sound. Just his regular, deep breath as he hold Ulrick. And I got up, and Papa got up, and we left the room. As magically as that.

I will try doing the same each time he'll woke up this night. I will fill you in with our (I hope) progress.

What I got through the mail...

I've agreed with Marie to make her a doll in exchange of her magnificent nativity set, that I would offer to my Catholic in-laws. I proposed to make a bigger doll so I can get a Winter King as well. But if you know Marie, you know that she is a sweet, generous being. So even when I came back at her telling that the doll I made was too expensive to ship to NZ (and her saying okay) she sent all the same. AND more then I asked!

The Winter King came with two gorgeous Winter Ladies ( and beautiful postcards of her work). I can't tell you how much they have been cherished since they entered our home. Mariann and Merrick love them so dearly, they are the new stars of their play. And they are so well made, they will last entire childhoods. I love them, a lot.

Thank you, Marie! Check you mail soon, you will have a little something from us as well!

This post is for catching up

I've been busy with custom orders and holiday crafting, and well, life. Merrick had a terrible week in terms of waking at night, leaving a Zombie-like mommy who didn't felt like blogger at all. But we did some fun stuff last week, and I wanted to share.

We made a batch of salt dough ornaments. My friend happily took pictures saying that I would be on them for once, so here I am (complete with the messy kitchen). I have some more beautiful pictures of others kids but haven't asked their mom if they agreed on having all those little faces on my blog. There were 12 pre-schoolers in my house last Friday. Sweet chaos!

Said photographer friend multitasking. The very next pictures of this series, Elie gets off the breast to say cheese. It is so very precious.

spot the 4th child.

I now have my driving license. New from today. It feels so good!

Yarn Along- Merrick's vest

I hope you knitters out there are proud of me.. I'm a very good way into making Merrick's vest. The back is done and I'm doing the front left side, it's going pretty smoothly. I love being able to stuff it in the diaper bag and take it everywhere I go, or just sit in the play room and while I look after the kids.

As for the book, it was lend to me by a friend who thought it might interest me. Well, it sure does! This tiny book is a true Waldorf toy how-to treasury! I'm following its instructions to make little dollhouse doll. They have a pipe cleaner frame and are wrapped in pure wool, then covered with organic cotton. Papa is about 4" and I'm 3" tall. Yes, those are the right proportions... Papa is 1'6" taller then me! Can't wait to cover little me, little Mariann and little Merrick, and make us little clothing. This will be Mariann's Yule gift, and I'm pretty sure she will be thrilled! Just for fun... Anyone has a little scrap of red fabric with white polka dot? I can't picture mini-me not having one red dress in her closet!

No show and tell

My blog has been pretty much show-and-tell lately. I'm doing a lot of stuff, I have some request from the shop and I've started making holiday gifts.

But sometimes it feels just great to hit the "new post" button and start to write, just because.

I have a crown and a doll to post tomorrow! I would have gone today, but I wait for we have something to get in the city to make the trip worth it. I'm itching to get my license now... My exam is really close, and I hope I pass it, now that I actually have places to go and people to visit. And time off to take, by myself.

I made a pointy hat for Merrick. He hates wearing it. Fortunatly, Mariann loves to model. With attitude.

We went out last week and I realized we were all dressed with something I made. Mariann was wearing her Birthday dress (above) and her Equinox tunic (above), Merrick was wearing his Equinox tunic and Mariann's old mommy-like winter coat (under) and I was wearing a polka dot long sleeve top which I failed to show you yet. But I really did sew something for myself. And I love it!

I really love the idea of getting rid of everything piece of clothing that is massively produce and replace it with handmade goodies, exception allowed to really cool vintage items and Papa's underwear and socks. And the red polka dot dress I've gave birth it. Twice. (and that I'm wearing right now.)

I thought Papa was actually tired of seeing red all the time. I always dress in red, I always dress the babies in red. If I need something new, I pick it it red, if possible. But he apparently doesn't. We're finally renovating our bedroom, the ceiling is insulated and when it was time to pick the paint, I've let him choose...And he choose red. A deep, rich red that I love. And he picked it without any influence from me. And that's awesome because now I have some more excuse of making red things! Even if it's just boring curtains.

And as randomly as I've hit "new post", I'm now hitting "publish post". Thanks!

Merro

I've got the habit of giving the doll I'm working on a nickname. If the doll isn't a custom order, I call her something random (I call the girl above is Adèle), but if I know the name of the kid who'll receive it, I mix my kid's name with his/hers and come for a nickname for the doll. It's silly...But it's how it works in my head!

So this little brown haired, brown eyed guy will soon be the possession of a little man called Matéo. He is a little ober 15½" and is button jointed. The mama didn't want to see it prior sending and then changed her mind, so here it is.

His brown pants once were a sweater, the burgundy long shirt was once a tank top, the boots were ones that I found and lightly dyed with tea, and the vest is a blend of wools, with remnant of Adèle's hair to make the hood.

Speaking of which, I'm pretty proud of myself! It truly was a make it work moment...Very few yarn to work with, and no pattern to start with! But I figured it out, and I love it. Updated Ravelry notes here. There's a lot of imperfection in this... But it's full of love, which fully compensate.

And so I found that I loved knitting...As if I didn't have enough projects going on!

Birthay Crowns close-ups

I've been requested a birthday crown for a little one turning 3, and while taking pictures of it before sending, I realized I still hadn't taken good ones of Merrick's, so here are both:

I carefully chose every details I put in my children crowns. Merrick's is yellow; he was born on a very sunny morning of a hot August day, he's a leo, sign led by the Sun. Oaks leaves are green, summer colored. I choose oak because of it's importance in paganism. My little boy should have the king of trees on his crown, nothing less! The M is blue, just like Merrick's eyes.

Axe and shield to represent the nickname my mom and his "godfather" gave him; Little Viking. His name is of anglo-saxon influence and means Ruler of the Sea or Great Conqueror. Add to that that he's bright blond with pale blue eyes, and always growling.

The spear and wheat is because he was born on Lughnasadh.

On to the custom order. I don't know the little Isabelle Mae that will have it, but her mom requested for pink, flowers and ladybugs. She was born in December, which inspired me to add the white swirls and snowflakes.

I found I loved doing crowns for other kids. I have another one to make, with a Moon and snowflakes.. I'm still drawing the design in my head. The initial will be a G for a change!

Laundry Fairies on a November Day

I think the curse has been lifted. That I was actually able to break the spell and, oh my gods, I am even enjoying November right now.



Being in the dark at 4 pm isn't so heavy now that we decorated all those lanterns, and lit all those candles in the kitchen.

I always have a mug of some hot drink by my side, while I'm knitting, sewing, blogging, etc... Often is 35% creme in hot water with a tablespoon of cocoa. Is there a name for that?

It's also my duty to start the wood fire in the morning. Love the 8 minutes of quietness in the basement by myself (and the spiders).

And I can now plan and start making winter solstice gift without being too much of a freak.



Mariann now understands the concept of cutting along a line. She did all the house by herself, again using lots of glue. She loves glue. With passion.

She now recognize her name, the syllable ma, and Papa taught her to read maman (mommy). There's a lot of motels on our way to the city, and passing by everyone of them she'll say "M like Mariann!!".

We got friends over today. We did some muffins and played and it's always fun to have them in our house. But Mariann skipped her nap, resulting of a horrid mealtime when Papa arrived. Really. She was so upset she felt asleep in my arms right about when the pasta were ready.

She's been pushing our limits lately and I've let Papa instore the "1,2,3...corner" thing. I don't like it one bit, but it works and saved me from going nuts many times. Now whenever she hits her brother or steal a toy from him, I just have to look at her and she goes in the spot on her own. She waits until I say okay, then she goes kissing her brother and saying she's sorry, without me asking. I usually don't leave her there for the whole 3 minutes, just the time Merrick has changed his mind.

When she yells and cries sitting in the corner, we know it's more likely not to calm her down, that she has a spill-over and will need us to ground herself. This might looks like spoiling, but I better like calming her in my arms then leaving her there alone with feelings that are frightening and hard to manage.

Same thing happens to Merrick is we miss the window time where he easily falls asleep. He gets so energetic, but also very grumpy. When this happens, when I try to breastfeed him but he's more interested by the door, Papa comes with us and lay down, sandwiching Merrick, and it really calms him down, and get him asleep in matter of minutes. But this is easily considered spoilage..."Why down you have a crib?? It would be much easier". Well, with did the crib thing with Mariann. It. Was. Not. Easier. And now, we have deep regrets that we did. But we didn't know better, and were told it was the thing to do. Never again.

We're constantly looking at ourselves, at what we do, how we raise our children, constantly asking ourselves if we do it right. I'm getting confident that indeed, we found the right path for us. It was right before our eyes.

My first completed knitting

I had a special request for a special little boy doll. The mama also requested a knitted vest with him. Since she reads my blog and does not want to see him before he arrives home, I've let Victoria model it.

It's the lovely free pattern made by waldorfmama, my ravelry notes are here.

I've added 7 stitches or it would have been too short, but the length of the body was okay. You can see I finally finished Victoria's hairs as well...

I'm really happy with the vest! It's meant to have a hood, and I will knit it soon. I'm also happy I can finally say that I can knit. Really...It was starting to be annoying, people assuming I could knit, me telling no, and them going You!?? You don't know how to knit!??? But you can do anything! Well, I guess now I can, thanks to a book from the SIL (that was all about gather stitch) I got last Yule and a friend who taught me how to purl. And google. Who showed me how to bind off.

So now I have to knit a vest for Victoria. I think it will be red.

Playing Together, Sleeping Together

I love teamwork. Both my babies are now down to nap. Mariann naps so easily when Papa is around... Of course now he's back to work and I will have to deal with her when she wakes up, but I know what will happen, and I will try hard not to loose my tempter and just help her make the transition.

Now that Merrick is walking, they play along so well. There's still some épisode of "NO!!!IT'S MINE!!!" but there's a lot of chasing around, laughing. Mariann shares her most loved items so Merrick can play with her, even if he just chew on the man dolly while she makes the woman make dinner.

Often Merrick will take a little chair and sit, so proud to be doing just that on his own. Then Mariann will serve him tons and tons of coffee, tea, juice, milk and water. All that is the same cup.

But I find myself needing a break, or a least a way to go out. I will have my driving licence, hopefully, at the end of the month, so that will help... But I really need something like, a weekend just with Papa. It would be the first time in 3 years... I don't think I abuse the concept!

What the Candy Fairy brought us

I confess, I did the Candy Fairy gift on the night of Halloween, when Mariann and Merrick got to bed. I first didn't think of making something for Merrick...But it didn't seem fair as he strolled around too.

After leaving her candies for the Candy Fairy, she went to bed, a tad later then she's used to...She was full of sugar. That's what she found in the morning.

I took vintage blocks from her block bins and turned them into a fridge, a stove, a sink and a counter. I also made an autumn gnome! It's the first gnome I make! and two oak leave carpet. The rest we already had it.

And I made this little quick star baby for Merrick to chew on. Oh, and he did chew it.



It was our first visit from the Candy Fairy...I hope she will come back next year!