It's the most wonderful time of the year....

Yes I'm singing that in my head, and have been for several days now. I'm a Christmas freak. I love this time of year - Halloween kicks off all the fun stuff. Probably goes back to my childhood and my Grandma J. She loves the holidays. Decked the halls, baked the cookies, played the music, yada yada -- tons of gifts under the tree, lots of talk of Santa Claus, great big Thanksgiving meal. Some great memories. I am so enjoying re-creating those memories and adding new ones for my little girl. And for myself, if I'm being totally honest here. :) This time of year feeds my soul in so many ways. Maybe it's because of the way people are a little nicer to each other, or the way families reconnect, or how everyone becomes openly spiritual, which IMO makes the world a truly happy place. When we all believe in something bigger than ourselves, we realize we are all connected.

And speaking of Grandma J, Nat and I are taking a trip to visit her in a few weeks. She is 88 years old, and I have not seen her in 2 years. She is in a wheelchair now, and each year her health gets a little bit worse. Nat is named after her, she had such a big influence on my life, and I love her dearly. I am looking forward to spending time with her and I know she will love to see her precious little great granddaughter. My mom and I are also hoping to get a 4-generation picture. While we are there, it will be the 5-year anniversary of my grandfather's death. It should be a special time, and quite emotional.

On to lighter topics -- this week, my little girl will be a bumble bee. Here is a picture of her, when I was trying to make Halloween cards. I got them through Wal-Mart and they blew. So I'm not sending those out! Luckily I only spent $8 on about 15 of them to send to some family. Last year, we got photo books for Christmas there, too, and they were horrible. So no more Wal-Mart photo purchases for me!!

We are going to carve pumpkins Thursday night, and take her trick-or-treating to a few houses on Friday night!! Parties on Thursday and Friday mornings... oh yes, the holiday season has begun! :)

In the world of parenting -- things are going pretty well. Nat had a few mini-breakdowns last week, I think the craziness of the month before finally caught up with her. But once she and I got back into our regular routine, the meltdowns stopped. It's amazing how much routine and stability affect toddlers!

I haven't done any more research on different types of schooling. We do live in a good (for this area) school district, so we may just give that a whirl. We have a few years before worrying about kindergarten, though. I have heard some good reports about a preschool, as well, so I feel like I can sit back until the spring now and then think about whether I want to send Nat to preschool next fall or the fall after. I am going to set some things up around our house after the holidays to do some early childhood homeschooling activities. Nothing too intense, but I know she would love it. I can already tell she has a thirst for knowledge! Loves to play games where B and I quiz her on what color things are, playing the "who am I?" game, etc.

OK this has turned into a very long post, so I'll leave it at that. :) Happy Halloween!

Thoughts on Waldorf...

Our parent-child classes at the Waldorf school finished up this past week. It was a great learning experience for me. While I like some aspects of Waldorf, I found that I didn't feel like it clicked for me. I think it's a little too out there. I'm learning as time goes on, as N gets older, so much more about myself as a mother and as a person. I think that I am basically a "normal" person with a few "granola" tendencies... so going so far to the extreme just didn't feel right for me.

I have learned about a local preschool where a few friends' kids go - it's cheap, it's at a church, and it's nearby. So I think when we get closer (sign-ups are in February for next fall), we'll go check that out.

It's been fun exploring the Montessori and Waldorf schools of thought, though. I have learned things I would like to incorporate here at home -- mixing and matching those two methods, and some of my own ideas as well.

Back to "normal".. whatever that is! :)

So my husband got a job here in town. We don't have to move!!

I didn't realize how settled I was here and how much I love living in the land of eternal sun. In spite of the past seven years being lived in anticipation of moving someday b/c of B's job, I have put down roots and really made a little life for myself.

So, while there would be wonderful things about a move to the Pacific NW (cooler weather in the summer for one!), I am very happy that we are settling in and staying put.

Which means that now I have the daunting task of putting our house back to normal. Our garage is filled with packed boxes and personal items are all tucked away and out of sight for any potential house-buyers (there were a whopping 5 people who looked at our house while it was on the market!). So I am going to spend the next few days moving back into our own house.

And then -- it's my favorite time of year, so I am looking forward to all the fun fall/holiday crafts and rituals my daughter and I will be doing! I'll post more with pictures and such.

I'm getting into the swing of things...

Once again, months have gone by...

I'm horrible at posting to my blog when life gets crazy. And oh boy has it been crazy!!

Our house is officially on the market, B is officially interviewing for jobs in Seattle, and that means we are MOVING!!! I'm excited but also sad. As I went through last week and did all my little decorating/painting things suggested by the Realtor's decorator, I shed some tears. A lot of great things have happened in this house. A lot of healing, a new life created, and just many joyful moments. But I know a new adventure is in store for us, and better weather too!! :) I am looking forward to sitting down in the morning with the door/window open, and enjoying a cup of coffee while looking out over green and water!!! I have missed both of those things, as well as the brisk mornings.

Ok a little munchkin is sitting on my lap begging for pictures of her friend Gabe (who visited us last month!!! It was very funy :)) so I must go do that.

I will post again soon with pictures of all the work we have done throughout the house and more info about our move!! :)

Montessori & Waldorf & Sewing

So I have spent much time in the past couple of weeks researching these two types of education. I know it's early, b/c N is only 2, but when I called the Montessori school to inquire about maybe sending her there when she is 3, I found out they have a waiting list for Fall 09!! I always considered myself a Type A overachiever, but I guess I was slacking in this area. :)

We went and observed the Montessori school, and while it was better than I expected (I had done some research and a couple of things didn't resonate with me), it still didn't feel 100% right to me. N loved playing with the different toys, and sat very focused while doing each activity. She enjoyed running around and checking everything out. The director was very nice, and not at all super-rigid with the Montessori curriculum, which fits nicely with my outlook. However, the price was too high, and the kids all seemed a bit... too quiet. They sat and ate their snacks without much of a peep. It was a little creepy to me. (This was the 18 month to 3 year old room.) I left feeling like "Hmm that was nice..." but not super excited. I did like the concept of having purposeful toys around, so I am going to work on that for our house a bit more.

We then went to a Waldorf school to look around, and WOW what a difference. I am in love. I already had good feelings about Waldorf, so I guess I went in a bit biased. Everything I have read really goes with my beliefs and my feelings about education, and as I posted awhile back, I used Little Acorn Learning last year with Natalie, which is Waldorf-based. During our visit, there was a small summer program going on, and the kids were cleaning, but were boisterous and happy while doing so. That felt WAY more normal to me. The layout had a much better vibe, and I really felt great about all the teachers I met.

So we are going to sign up for the Parent-Child classes they are holding this year. It's 2 hours, once a week, and it's to get a feel for the Waldorf school. I'm really excited about getting involved in this, and it feels better to me to be doing a parent-child group at this point, instead of sending N off by herself. It's a good way to dip my toes in, so to speak, and get a feel for the place. I have a couple of years to figure this out, but it will be nice to get involved with a group like this and see what's what.

Here is a link to the Wikipedia page about Waldorf Education in case anyone out there is interested in more about this type of program. :)

So that has been my major project this month so far. I have also been working on some sewing. Here is my first home project - it's a skirt to cover up underneath a desk in our kitchen. It has become a storage spot, so it's nice to have something cute covering it up. Next up -- a skirt to cover under the craft table in my office/project room.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Television...

So, I love TV. I'm a TV junkie. The list of shows I enjoy is embarrassingly long.

But, it's amazing how much having a child changes you. The main reason my list of TV shows has shrunk is because of how valuable my time has become. When I have downtime, I want it to be filled with things that I REALLY enjoy. The bar has been raised on my entertainment. The only movie I have gone to see in the past 2 years is Sex and the City (SO GOOD!). I just don't have a burning desire to see as many movies as I used to see. Same goes for TV. I want something different, something that truly entertains me. I am no longer just sitting there, checking out, and watching TV for 3 hours a night. The other reason for this is because having a daughter has made me re-evaluate who I am. What do I put into my brain, how do I spend my time, what do I eat, what purpose do I have? It's almost like a revamp of the early 20s -- when you figure out "who you are" or "find yourself". It's a more grown-up version of that.

Anyway -- I have to say that I may need to retire my title of "TV Junkie" when the new season comes around this fall. And I'm not all that sad about it. :)

Along that same vein, I have been letting Natalie watch WAY too much TV this summer. It starts out with a show in the morning and a show in the evening. And then when we get up into the triple digits and can't do much outside, unless we drive to a water park or pool, it becomes a few shows in the morning and a few in the evening, until it feels like the TV is on ALL DAY LONG. So I have started limiting the TV. Especially since my daughter's favorite show right now is "Yo Gabba Gabba". This isn't as obnoxious of a show as I thought it would be, but let me tell you, after hearing the same episode on 5 times in a row, it gets old! :) So right now I'm trying to do some work while keeping Natalie entertained with other things besides the TV. Every so often, I have to stop and draw a choo-choo train or a smiley face for her, and we have "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" playing really loudly on repeat in my office, but it feels way more satisfying than having a little zombie sitting in the other room watching TV.

That's all for today... I have to go draw another train, so no time to review/edit this post! :)

Oh and Happy 4th!