{pretty, happy, funny, real} on September 26

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Brought to you by Like Mother, Like Daughter

Just one photo today...

{real}

This is Jack. And Jack's blankie. He likes to stand on a little footstool and look out the dining room window in the morning, just to say hi to the world. It happens to be pouring rain on this particular morning! He's so cuddly when he first wakes up.

Happy Thursday everyone!



~lg

{pretty, happy, funny, real} on September 19

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Brought to you by Like Mother, Like Daughter

Here is our slice of life from the last week or so! It's all rather random, but mostly focused on life with the children. :)

{pretty}

Ok, food gets the pretty label this week! I've been enjoying our garden harvest. The tomato plants got blight, unfortunately (and just as the loads of beautiful tomatoes were ripening!), but the rest of the garden has done very well.

A rather oddly shaped tomato!

Swiss chard and tomato omelette

Garden helper

The carrots have been CAPITAL!

Spiced beef stewed for hours in the oven. So moist and delicious! (With our own carrots and turnips)

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

YUM. I am definitely going to do a garden again next year. This year was a great confidence building exercise!

{happy}

A sunny day!

Jack sure is getting his share of pink tea parties these days. Never fear, he also loves anything with wheels!

The kids played happily and largely independently for quite some time in the yard, and I just sat in a chair and let my mind wander into the crisp fall breeze...

{funny}

Ok, so now I must confess my little love of the monarchy.

"Hem, hem!"

Guilty pleasure - royalty magazines, usually supplied by Mom when she comes for a visit. :) On a rainy day, Arden was asking for more activities to do with her scissors and glue. Out came an old issue of Royalty, and we made these paper dolls!

I cut out some of the full length queens (past, present and future) and glued them onto cereal box cardboard. I wrote their names and countries on the back. I'm not sure who was having more fun, Arden or me.

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, FYI.

Any other royalty fans out there?  (I'll save my Coronation Street confessions for another day.)

{real}

Friday it poured rain all day. I had to be proactive. The following idea came from The Toddlers Busy Book.

Indoor car racing! I made tracks with painter's tape all over the dining room and into the kitchen. Between the cleaning up in anticipation of, the creation, and the playtime, it used up a good portion of the day.

Later on we added some more tunnels and bridges, but the most popular feature was the footstool ramp.

I hope what they say about the residue-lessness of painter's tape is true. . . because I haven't pulled it all up yet!





~lg

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Arden's Room

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Brought to you by Like Mother, Like Daughter

This morning (Thursday) the sun is shining through the after-rain mist in a simply glorious way! After quite a few chilly fall days, the windows are open as I sip my coffee and it feels like summer out. Which is good, because I wasn't ready to let go of the nice weather yet!

This picture can't really capture it, but here is the view...

I am embracing the fall routine and rhythm though. Arden and I have been doing "big girl activities" in the mornings when Jack goes up for his nap. It's nothing so academic that could be called "school," (she is only 3 after all!), but we are looking at and learning letters, singing songs, sharing stories and doing some kind of hands-on activity together. It's been good for both of us!

We've been learning the hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful," and colouring little pictures that go with it! 

~

But what I really wanted to show you was Arden's bedroom. It is a mix of {pretty}, {happy}, {funny} and {real}! It is by no means a big "reveal," but it is another step along the process of making it a special and beautiful place for her.

My friend painted this little sign for her! 

She moved into this bigger room sometime last year after Jack moved out of the bassinet and needed the crib. We had painted it this colour (BM Honey Harbour) when it was our bedroom, but I hadn't really got around to any sort of "decorating" or personalizing it in any way for her. Well, last night, Arden and I went up there and spent an hour together making things a little bit {pretty} for her. It was fun!

"We" decided to make it like a garden.

Arden's Garden. :)

It still needs some more details, but I found some flowery pictures to put up that I had stored away, and we imagined that the rug was a flower garden.

Her big girl bed was actually in pieces in the attic when we moved into our house. I've considered painting it, but right now it's as we found it. I got the quilt second hand.

These were recently given to me by my grandma - stitched by her and my great aunt in the '60s!
I wasn't sure where I was going to put them, but they seem to fit quite nicely in here. 

Her dresser is an antique (a kijiji find from a couple years ago), and I just love its curves!

Right now, one of Arden's favourite things to do is to wake up her dollies and stuffed "friends" in the morning and put them to bed at night! She is very caring and deliberate with the whole process, and is especially particular about which blanket goes where. She already had a little cradle, but she was running out of bed space for all her little friends, so that's why I brought the bassinet into her room!

The dollies are sleeping here, completely tucked in under the blankets! 

We also made a little reading corner, and this is how she arranged the pillows. Every day she comes up with a new arrangement - sometimes she makes doors with them, or tents with the blankets, or lines them up as a little bed. It's so cute. I love seeing her creativity and imagination start to take off!

The gardener herself!

Arden is very {happy} about it all, which makes me very happy! (I'm also happy that I was able to create something with what I had on hand, humble though it may be. That's the {real}!) And now that we've started to make it special, I will be on the look out for inexpensive ways to dress it up a little more. Any ideas for a garden themed girl's room?

Have a great weekend everyone!




~lg




asdf

sdf

{pretty, happy, funny, real} on August 8

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Brought to you by Like Mother, Like Daughter

More outdoor pictures this week!

{pretty}

{happy}

The kids are really enjoying the backyard this summer. Thanks to generous neighbours, we have a little playhouse set up close to the house. It's so fun for both of them! (Winnie-the-Pooh likes to visit too, though he's afraid to go in the door in case he gets stuck on his way out. Too much honey, and all that.)

Getting the hang of gliding

They are also growing like weeds!

{funny}

When Arden gets her bike out, Jack gets the wheelbarrow out!

I think he's making motorbike noises here.

{real}

Micah's homemade incubator!

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched" has taken on new significance!




~lg

{pretty, happy, funny, real} on August 1

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Brought to you by Like Mother, Like Daughter

There's not too much inspiration inside the house these days. At this time of year, there's much more pretty to be found outside, in my opinion!

After supper last night we left the dishes and went out for a walk together. This is what we saw. . .

{pretty}

"The dirt pile"

I am teaching myself to french braid after all these years. 

Pickwick

Thistles always remind me of Scotland! Which is why I let them grow, at least in the places where little feet are least likely to tread.

{happy}

The garden is growing! (I am still somewhat amazed.) So far we have been able to enjoy lettuce, green onions and swiss chard. I had never eaten swiss chard before last night - running out of time before supper needed to be on the table, I just boiled it for a few minutes and served it with butter and salt. I think I would like to try some recipes where swiss chard is one of the ingredients, rather than a big pile of mushy greens on the side. (It was still tasty.) Does anyone have any fabulous swiss chard suggestions?

The boys in blue. Love it.

Arden is becoming an accomplished chicken farmer. Having chickens has been a great learning experience for us all!

{funny}

Speaking of chickens, we have a new addition to the family. Meet Big Red.

We have been looking after a small flock of laying hens - 6 brown and 1 white. (Take note!) We want to get our own little flock underway, so we are planning on breeding these hens and hatching the eggs ourselves. Well, our neighbours also have a mixed flock, complete with rooster. A big white rooster. (Take note!)

So we thought we would stick him in with our hens and let him work his magic.

The magic was, um, less than spectacular. Non-existent, to be exact. The poor rooster was pecked into a corner by the hens. They even drew blood! We thought it might just be an initial lovers' spat. So we tried again the next day. And the next. After three days of him cowing in a corner with nary a crow nor anything remotely resembling male domination, we gave up. The hens simply would not have it!

We started looking for another rooster, and purchased this big brown beauty on Monday. The farmers at his previous home said that chickens were often like sheep - a flock would reject a male if he was a different colour. Ah ha. Now it was making sense. Six brown hens, one white hen. This white rooster didn't have a chance.

When we put Big Red in the mating pen, the first thing he did was run at the young meat chickens in the neighbouring pen! They fled under the bushes and he puffed up his feathers. We figured it was a good sign. Then he starting strutting around, flapping his wings above his head and crowing. Our hens in an adjoining pen seemed to take no particular notice, but when we put one with him as a trial, he very quickly asserted his dominance. And now they all seem to be, ahem, getting along quite well.

It seems we have a winner!

{real}

Sometimes it's worth leaving the dishes behind and seeing what beauty awaits out of doors. . .







~lg