Looking for a way to bring peace and joy to your day?
Seasons of Joy is my 10-week seasonal guidebook to add rhythm and fun to your daily routine. Each guidebook has ten weeks' worth of circle times, stories, arts, crafts, and handwork, painting, playtime activities and more!
Seasons of Joy seeks to empower families to create peaceful rhythms and routines and joyful celebrations that follow the circle of the year. The blog also chronicles our adventures in living simply, loving exuberantly, and Waldorf inspired homeschooling.
What started out as a simple cold has morphed into bronchiolitis, and we ended up in the emergency room last night for a breathing treatment and a chest x-ray. It’s not RSV, thank goodness, but seeing her struggle to breath and feeling her baby heart race was certainly scary!
Even having a stuffy nose can be frightening for a baby. Infants are obligate nose-breathers, God’s design for allowing them to breathe and nurse at the same time. So when little noses get stuffed up, things can get very difficult very quickly! Read more...
We’re several weeks into our switch to whole foods and we’re doing OK. Today I had a crazy need for chocolate so I used the last of my giftcard the hubby got me for the local natural foods store to pick up some yummy organic peanut butter cups. This way of cooking takes a lot more time and energy and intentionality. We’re getting there…
Even though I’m surrounded by books and papers with ten tabs open on my browser as I prepare for a Sunday night frenzy of lesson planning, the last word is enough to make me look up and pay attention to what my four-year-old is saying.
“What about blood?”
He lifts his foot and shows me a smear of red covering several toes.
“Daddy said it will be OK. I either stepped in paint or it’s just a little blood.”
He wrinkles his brow and looks to me to tell him that he is indeed fine. I see the question in his eyes. Read more...
View of cascading water frozen on the mountains on some back roads of Pennsylvania
When icicles hang by the wall
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail;
When blood is nipt and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl:
Tu-who!
Tu-whit! Tu-who! -- A merry note!
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
When all aloud the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parson's saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marian's nose looks red and raw;
When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl
Then nightly sings the staring owl:
Tu-who!
Tu-whit! Tu-who! -- A merry note!
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
~Shakespeare, Love's Labour Lost
I’ve been seeing lots of posts on various message boards, email loops, and blogs about circle time and I figured what the heck, I would give my unsolicited opinion as well.
OK, I have had this book for over a year and have been putting off my review of it because to be honest, I just didn’t enjoy it.
The basic plotline is as follows: mankind is doomed, but is given one last chance to set things right. Who will be the one to find the solution to set the world aright? David Ponder, together with the greatest minds in the history of the world. Read more...
Last Friday, I planned two weeks worth of menus. After shopping my stockpile and freezer, I took the remainder of my list and went to the store.
Well, stores. My grocery budget for the 8 of us has just been raised to a high rolling $225 every two weeks. I can make it work, too, with careful planning, shopping multiple stores, and loading my pantry with bargains as I find them. My budget doesn’t include household goods or toiletries, which also helps. We use WIC as well, although rather selectively, and we don’t get everything on the checks because there are some things that we simply can’t get as whole foods. For example, my only choices for peanut butter involve high fructose corn syrup. I do get Cabot cheese, whole milk (BHG free), fruits and veggies, eggs, dry beans, oats, and brown rice. Read more...
My lack of blogging speaks to two ongoing issues in my life right now.
First, no camera. It hasn’t been the same since Michael accidentally spilled his drink on it at the Little League World Series. It hung in there for a bit, but finally gave up the ghost right after Christmas. I had my eye on a really nice replacement until my hubby decided to renew his on-again off-again relationship with Dave Ramsey and pay off our two remaining credit card bills and the remainder of my student loan instead. So instead I have a cute little purple point-and-click Nikon on its way instead. Ah well- easy come, easy go. Read more...
You know, typically if I had arrived at Wednesday night and still not posted this, I’d just skip it for the week. But as we’re attempting to transition to real/whole foods, it feels important for me to document our progress in this space. So… away we go! Read more...
We’re several weeks into our switch to whole foods and we’re doing OK. Today I had a crazy need for chocolate so I used the last of my giftcard the hubby got me for the local natural foods store to pick up some yummy organic peanut butter cups. This way of cooking takes a lot more time and energy and intentionality. We’re getting there…
