one small change II

due to computer difficulties at the beginning of the month, i have not exactly kept up with my posting about our *one small change* commitments. so, here's the update...

for january we pledged to cut out our use of plastic baggies in the kitchen, particularly in lunches. at the beginning of the month, i hid the box of baggies that we had hanging around. on a very lucky score, i found laptop lunches at a store downtown for half off! picked up one for jasper, now they both have one. lunch packing has been greatly simplified. i do not love plastic at all, but have grown to love these lunchboxes. the kids really enjoy their little compartments and they eat all sorts of things when they are presented this way that they would not be keen to otherwise. i also scored a roly poly sandwich bag at our local consignment/ awesome toy and organic children's clothing store. i am waiting for more snack bags to come in....i guess the awesome mama who makes these just had a baby and hasn't gotten any into the shop recently....imagine that! ;)

on to february (yes, i realize this is the last hour of said month!)...matt and i decided on a couple of small changes to make in our routines. first, we are working harder to be conscious of our electricity use. with two kids in the house and the flow from room to room, it is easy to leave lights on and wander away or leave the heat turned up in a room that we aren't using at the time (the playroom and the *computer room* have baseboard heat). so, we are holding one another accountable for being aware of this wastage. this is also an exercise in kindness. ;) gentle reminders are appreciated. this is one the kids have really enjoyed being in on, too.

the other effort is to reduce our trips to the grocery stores. we have an awesome discount grocery that i visit regularly and then i stagger going to the natural foods store about every other week (when the farmers market opens again that is in the flow, too). with my somewhat hectic schedule, it has been easy to fall into a place of going to the store irregularly and picking up a few things here and there. i am hopeful (but have not yet mastered) to get back into a rhythm of meal planning. making a comprehensive list of foods needed to prepare those meals for the week and sticking to that trip.

i pride myself on trying not to take my children into the consumer market more than necessary. sometimes i can't escape bringing them along to the craft store, but other than that they really only experience the grocery store with me. though they usually enjoy the venture, i am happy to schedule my trips at a time when daddy can hang with the kiddos and mom can enjoy that luxurious (enter sarcasm) alone time. reducing my children's outings to the store is not particularly related to helping the planet, but is an added plus to planning my trips!

so, tomorrow is march! wow. i am ready. my first born came to this earth in february so i do cherish this month. however, march holds such excitement and anticipation for the new life ahead! it is exhilarating to think we are so close to spring!! i will be back soon to reveal our march *one small change*. we are going a little bigger this time.

by the way, two more giveaways to point you to! first, two mamas that i adore, nicole of gardenmama is having a giveaway on her blog. she is offering up a delightful assortment of toys made by the talented hands of linda. you can find the giveaway here.

the other one is at 60piggies. she is giving away a custom made softie doll. her dolls are absolutely adorable and if you win, you get to design your own! find it here.

much love til next time!
rae

bella luna give away at wee folk art

another great giveaway over at wee folk art. sarah of bella luna toys is giving away two $25 gift certificates! head on over and check it out for yourself.....

since there are two being giving away, i want you to have one, too! myself, i am planning to order the beautiful book *the sun egg* for my kids for spring equinox and would love to use the gift certificate for that! ;)

good luck!

interview and giveaway on *the artful parent*

we are fortunate enough to live in the same little town as the talented and lovely jean of the inspiring blog *the artful parent*. jean recently visited our classroom on *painting day*, witnessing the beauty that is wet-on-wet watercolor painting. she has posted an interview with my co-teacher and i on her blog. there is also an opportunity to win a copy of *simplicity parenting*. head over and check it out here!
also, since so many of you have grown to love her, too, i thought i'd mention that the *renee* referenced in the interview is the beautiful mama over at heirloom seasons. love you, girl!

i'm still here!

hi friends! so, yes i am still here. i have been without my pc for many, many weeks now. the generosity and support of my class parents has been incredible. one mom loaned me her *netbook* (read: tiny, but functional laptop) for several weeks so that i could at least have an online presence. another mom loaned me her apprentice who is a former computer programmer. after two long days, we are back up and running. hooray! i still have to reinstall my camera software, but i thought i would go ahead and say hello.

some things that have happened in our lives (in february) during my absence:

*sienna's golden birthday: 6 on the 6th! her grandparents drove in the sleet and snow to show up in our living room completely surprising her. she is still ecstatic about it.

*her party was intimate and sweet with two other 6 year old girls. i made these chocolate ice cream bowls. honestly, how could i resist this after my recent obsession with beeswax lantern making?

*the next day, we enjoyed a nice brunch with grandma debbie and grandpa charlie before their departure. i made this pavlova (also first experienced with emily at foundation year studies, as mentioned in her post). it was a huge hit! this is certainly a new favorite festive treat in our house.

*within a week she lost her first tooth! she has another loose already. wow. i had no idea it would happen so fast!

*jasper has officially stopped nursing. i really thought this would be a struggle one day as this child was a very avid nurser. alas, before i knew it he just stopped coming to me for his *nur-nur*. i am ready for the freedom this brings to mama, but do miss the sweet bonding time with my babe. bittersweet, indeed.

*for valentine's day, sienna, jasper, and i felted rocks in festive colors. sienna handed hers out to her classmates and we enjoyed a bowl full of them on our table as a lovely centerpiece.

*for other friends of the family (and ourselves!) we made peppermint bark. as per amanda's suggestion i had tucked away a pack of organic candy canes that i purchased for 99 cents after christmas. this was our first time making this treat and it was so much fun for the kids! they were able to do almost all of it themselves.

*for matt i made this divine chai concentrate. admittedly, i wanted it for myself and am probably the one who has consumed the most of it thus far (we are on our second batch already). it is so delicious!! the second batch sienna made. she ground the cloves and cardamom seeds in the mortar and pestle and grated the nutmeg, too. mmmmmm......heather has shared several ideas for using this concentrate in other creative ways that i can't wait to try (chai scones recipe here)!

*given the swirl of activity in my personal and work life, i have been quite reserved with swaps thus far this year. i did jump in on chris' vintage marble swap which was a lot of fun! simple and sweet, no creating necessary, an excellent excuse to get myself back in the antique stores. i also signed on to swap valentine's with my sweet cyber friend kristin. sienna and i had been working on these wooden hearts, having a blast with paint, glitter, and fabric scraps. i am looking forward to seeing what comes my way from sweet kristin!

i am happy to be back in this space and look forward to sharing some pictures soon. i will say now that our camera is also suffering some technical difficulties in the form of an ominous black spot that can only viewed on the screen, but not seen on the lens. drats. i strive for strategic placement of said dot so that it doesn't affect composition as much, but alas am just working with what i've got!

much love to you all!
rae

brrr.....

with the wind chill below zero, it was a great day for staying in pajamas all day!

we are experiencing a bit of *winter* around here this year. first there was the *blizzard of '09* resulting in a white solstice. my sweet mom was here last week for some very frigid temps when we nearly tied the all time record for consecutive days below freezing (mom is from alabama and NOT a fan of winter). it was forecasted that we were to get another significant (for wnc) snowfall last night through till tomorrow. that didn't exactly happen but it was extremely cold today!

daddy did rise and go to work today despite the bit of snow we did have and the low, low temps. he was back home before lunch though as the compressor they were working with froze up. they wisely decided to call it a day. that meant we got daddy for the rest of the day!


since we didn't get the snowstorm we hoped for outside, we made our own inside. these borax snowflakes are so fun to make. the crystals form in a matter of hours and they sparkle so lovely! we are hanging them from the wreath that hangs above our seasonal table along with our snow fairies.

pipe cleaner snowflakes submerged in borax solution awaiting the magic that is to come.

after 5 hours.

one the kids made with aunt heather earlier in the week.

hope you all are staying warm!

one small change

yes, i am a little late to the party. this has been on my mind and is something i am working toward but i am just getting to actually blogging about it. don't know what the heck i'm talking about? suzy at hipmountainmama has started a challenge. your mission, should you choose to accept, is to make one change each month until earth day that will make a positive green impact on our planet.

there was much discussion and contemplation of what we would do this month. sienna had a lot of input....mostly to stop using our car! i love that idea, but it isn't feasible for our family right now. we have several ideas that we would like to start in the warmer months, but this month we will be taking it small (that's the idea, right?). i am vowing to reduce (strive to eliminate) my plastic baggie use. honestly, given the rest of our habits it's surprising that we still use these things, but we do. they are so easy to grab...and then so quick to toss. no more!

this will likely mean some expenditures. sienna has a laptop lunchbox which i am loving really. i believe we will be getting one for jasper to both streamline the lunch packing process and to reduce the need for so many miscellaneous containers. as for matt and i (yes, we are all packing lunches 3 days a week now), i will be getting more of the reusable cloth snack bags. we have a reusable sandwich wrap and various small glass containers that we use already. he could benefit from a food thermos, too. luckily, our children's consignment shop carries most of these items and we can cash in our credit without forking out a lot of extra money.

i will be checking back in at the end of the month with how i did. don't worry, even though i am late blogging about this, i will go for at least a full month, though i intend for it to be a change that sticks for much longer than that!

there are many blogging friends on this challenge. you can find the whole *community of change* here. it is fun to visit their spaces and see what changes they are making. i have not had the time to visit them all, but two of the most creative and inspiring (to me) ones can be found here and here.

it's not too late to join us! won't you? every little change helps secure a brighter future for our children on this planet.

p.s. just for the record, we do use the wax paper bags, too. although they are a better environmental choice than the plastic baggies, i am striving to also limit their use also. they almost certainly end up in the trash can without reuse.

the season of giving

rainbow gnome clipped to the mirror in the women's bathroom of our local discount grocery.

today we made our first toy society toy drop. two drops actually, as part of the annual christmas drop. this project is so much fun! people all over the world make handmade toys and then drop them in secret locations for some unknowing person to happen upon.

my kids and i had so much fun playing secret elves! we *dropped* two gnomes. one in the post office lobby and one in the bathroom of our discount grocery. we will definitely be doing this again. i love random gifting, especially handmade love.

the gnomes were knit using tonya's gnome pattern. she generously offers the pattern for free on her blog, plain and joyful living. i have made so many of these while learning to knit. so fun!

i made a *special edition* of my bird ornament. i used a white sweater to symbolize the peace i wish for kelly
and strung quartz and mother of pearl beads to hang below.

the first round of ornaments at the wellness tree is being sent off to kelly. as mentioned here before, nicole of gardenmama has so graciously set up this special project to support kelly, a beautiful mom diagnosed with cancer and with a heartwrenching story. women all over the blog world have reached out to kelly by making her a handmade ornament and sending a wish to her. nicole has gathered them together and posted each and every ornament that she has received on the wellness tree blog. please visit the wellness tree. browse all the handmade beauty and do take time to read kelly's *letter to my breastfed baby*. have a box of tissues handy, too.

if this story touches you and you would like to make an ornament for kelly, it's not too late! nicole is still receiving ornaments and will send another package out in january. please join us in surrounding kelly with love and well wishes.

amazing collection of fiber goodness being given away at natural suburbia!

lastly, linda at natural suburbia is having a very generous giveaway! all the goodies pictured above as well as an adorable fairy mushroom house! do browse linda's etsy shop while you are there. she is an extremely talented knitter and makes the most adorable knit animals! she has been knitting since she was a wee girl and it shows in her work.

good night my friends!