We've emptied a bottle of glue

Along with the tons of art supply my mom gave me, was tons of tissue paper.

Seeing that Mariann is ready for gluing things, I remembered a fall project we did in school, it was an apple, made with tons of little balls of tissue papers. I was 6. But does a 3 years old gets tired of pouring glue? No.

I realized I didn't take a picture of the lovely final result...Shame on me, I will before we give to Mariann's "godmother" this weekend , for her birthday. Well, that's what Mariann said she will do. So aunt Marie-Eve will be really really really really happy. Really. Right, Maman?

I've also wanted to try making one of those for some times now. Here's the instruction from A Child's year. Simple enough. Just try to keep glued-covered toddler hands off of your points while you shape them.

So now we have a pretty star to welcome people on our door.

And here's the cleaning team. 3 littles spontaneously picking up brooms. Is my floor that dirty?

Merrick is so proud of walking. He follows the girl around and steal their snacks, enjoying multitasking. 2 free hands!

Halloween Happenings

I haven't updated for a little time now. I'm busy making various sizes of doll. I'm sewing like a mad one. I have scratches and cuts all over my hands. Fortunately, no blood was shed over the dolls... And I have no pictures to prove, but I finished something like 15 dolls this month.

Monster Cake!

Our daily rhythm activities concentrated on spooky things and the like. We made a bean-based cake that Lili can eat, and poured bright green icing on it. On a day we didn't have our little friend home and graced with a nap from Merrick, we painted some paper plate orange, painted spooky faces, and glued green leaves. It was the first time Mariann glued something. She loved it. Now I need a project she can glue and glue and glue and glue over and over again...

We also stencilled on that day. Scary stuff, of course! Mariann was very proud of this one, and proceed to show every person entering the house.

Um... Modpodge with toddlers.

It actually went well. I didn't have to scrape all the tablecloth afterward, just some places. Even Merrick did a great job. We've let them dry and decorated them with sharpies...I didn't want to take out the mod podge again... I love them... We will do some more for the winter solstice.

And now prepare for cute....

Mariann's helping Merrick to walk. It was from last week and now Merrick walk around, alone. They are no longer little babies.

Swapping for Holiday gifts?

This summer, Marie oven at SoSoftheart proposed to exchange a nativity scene she made for something someone would propose her. What a great idea!

14" Waldorf Doll

So here, I'm proposing to swap stuff I can make (dolls, crowns, wands, baby clothing, even crocheted dishcloths!) for something you can make (soaps, knitted doll clothing, wooden toys (even if they are used!), dry herbs, homemade teas... or anything you think might interest me).

Sounds like a good idea?

Personalized Birthday Crown

Comment here or leave me a email :D

{This Moment}

Photo snapped by Mariann, 3 year old.

I love the lucky shots.

Yarn Along and Doll Washing

Have you seen that? I've actually started a sweater!
It's for Mariann. Design from here. I'm using some purple wool I found at the thrift store. It cost me... I don't know, very not much! It's my first real knitting project. So far it's going great. I might have miss some spots and the cabling will probably look weird. But... I guess my daughter won't mind.

I'm reading Stephen Lawhead's Arthur. It's the third books of a 5 series and it's pretty great. It pictures a very catholic enviroment for the legende. There's still some magic...Since Merlin is so leet.

See the stickers and the sippy cup? That's how I manage to get Mariann to nap this week. She sleeps; stickers.

Ah! Poor Victoria. Looks like someone walk over her with his work boots. Beside, the plum on her feet and the chocolate ice cream on her arms needed to go as well...

Making with what you have

I drink a lot of chamomile. I'm an anxious type of person, and the smooth beverage does wonderful job on my nerves.



Luckily there's a field in front of our house, that one that leads to the to beach, that was not worked on this year, so chamomile pretty much invade it. One morning I only had Merrick with me (rare, I know!), I put him in the sling and crossed the 132 road to pick some of this pretties, tied them in bundles, and hung them to dry in my workroom's closet.



The peppermint comes from my mom's backyard. At one point in our life, she attempt to have a garden... It's now pretty much left to itself, and well, the mint acted like mint, so there was plenty to grab and take home.



Yummy teas ahead.

Sharing with friends

I've finally start making friends that share similar values.
It's so... Validating in terms of the way I parent my children.



People that want to create themselves what their baby wears. People that makes food from scratch, or encourage a local enterprise that does food from scratch. People that joyfully learn me how to knit.



People that have their child's best interest in mind, constantly reading on the subject, with a strong will to do the best job they possibly can at being a mom.



A 60"next to a 54" mattress right on the floor? Normal.
Toddler joining family bed at night? Normal.
Just the concept of a family bed? Normal.



Oh, and how I enjoy this new normal!

My heart pinch as I see my friend's 2 year old asking for mama milk, when Mariann stopped wanting it at 10 month old. I tell to myself.. If only I had some support.... Things would have been different! But now I'm glad I can freely talk without being rejected for marginality. I found I have very strong opinion on hot topics, and find myself preferring to keep my mouth shut in regular mommy groups because it's not worth trying to be heard.

New friends are freedom, and I like it.

A table Full

There's actually one 3 year old in the playroom too

I made a friend last spring. She let go of a brilliant lucrative career to stay at home with her four children. She breastfed her twin girls for 17 months. She has a very spirited 3 year old, yet never use the word "time-out". She's busy and organized yet is able to look relaxed and carefree when you speak with her. She also listen. There's all sort of other things that as we speaks, made me feel like we shared the same values. There's something that made us click, and she, at one point, as we got to know each other, almost muttered, a real confession not to be told to everybody:

I think I will homeschool Emilien next year.

Her big boy, she felt, was not in his best place in public school. The little guy is a genius, but dixpraxia make him trapped in his own body. She simply wanted to eliminate some frustration, and most of all, keeping the fire of appetite to learn alive. Because, you know, kids can be so mean. ( I resumed something so complicated in so little sentences)

So the adventure is started. The mom's a scientist, so I offered her something in my lines; arts!

Today we made finger paint (1 part corn starch, 3 part water, heat in a pot, add coloring) and it was really thick. Yes, Merrick ate some. With the spoon.

Emilien ended up making something really cool when he realized he could spread the whole thing with his whole hand.

And I love having so many kids in my house. I love chaos.

Yarn Along: Actually knitting!

I started knitting for real this week. Thanks to my friend who learnd me how to purl!

Now my mom brought me some yarn she found in her supply room (she's an art teacher) and so far so good, it looks like it should. I'm pretty proud of myself! She requested it for Yule, so I think it's an achievable goal.

And as to what I read this week; I'm still not finished yet with Spirited Child, I'm at the point where she gives advice on how to manage mealtime. I've also cracked and commanded The Rhythm of the Family, which I think everyone knows about, and The Children Year, full of interesting little crafts to do (mostly knitting). I got all three from amazon, used. Ah! Used books. I love you.

My friend Danni over The Whimsical Cottage is hosting a Countdown to Hallowe'en (see sidebar button for details).
I won't post something Halloweeny everyday, but I'll try to catch up once a week. I'm doing a bit of themed crafting with the kids and some decoration myself, and I'm making their costume again this year.

So, yesterday we craved a pumkin! Its seeds are currently soaking in salt water, waiting to be roasted. We also harvested mapple leaves from my mom's neighbour yard. You'd think with all that land we got, I would have plenty of leaves for ourselves, but since we are by the sea, the first maples we encounter in our land are very deep in the woods and not quite child friendly to access. So, the city mapple produced a nice bunting non-the-less !