Just One Room

I fantasize about creating a serene oasis of romantic potential in our bedroom. For now, unpainted walls, a ceiling patched with drywall, and mismatched curtains adorn this grand central station of laundry sorting. I use the word sorting loosely: it's more a dump-the-laundry-here-because-we-need-the-basket kind of place. We dig through the pile to find what we need, and wade through it to collapse in the bed at night.

Ironically, I HAVE created a serene oasis in my children's room, and guard it lovingly. I make the bed every morning, and tidy up the floor every night. Every day, they play rambunctiously, jumping on the bed, dumping the costume box, scattering wooden train tracks and little dolls around the floor. Still, I persist in tidying it up through the day; I think it gives me a sense of control over what sometimes feels like an avalanche of mess.

One day in July, I managed to capture it before things went downhill.

This is how I picture my whole house looking: thoughtfully-placed, well-loved objects on tidy display,

artwork properly mounted (this was one of my masterpieces from childhood),

artfully draped quilts,

and lovely objets d'arts (or crafts, or old Chinese checker boards) placed just so.

Horizontal surfaces are not dumping grounds for papers and detritus of all sorts, but important display areas.

 Books are returned to shelves after they're read, and the titles always face OUT.

Ah, an oasis. I think the other word for an oasis is a mirage. Look, quickly, for it will be gone in a blink of the eye.

A girl can dream, though, can't she?

A Letter at Christmas, AND a Promotional Discount!

I've calculated that since giving birth to my first child six and a half years ago, we've celebrated Christmas with kids six times, and acknowledged twelve birthdays. I did the math: that's eighteen opportunities for our loved ones to give gifts to our kids. That's three sets of grandparents, five sets of aunts and uncles, plus the gifts we give.

So the question is: how do you politely request certain kinds of gifts for your children? We have been blessed by many grownups that love our children and don't ever want to seem ungrateful. It's just that after so many years, I have had to discard so many cheap plastic/battery-powered toys, or worse, toys that cost lots of money BECAUSE they were battery-powered. They still break. We're overwhelmed with boxes of stuff our kids don't really play with, or those toys that have so many parts it's impossible to keep them together.
About four or five years ago, Mothering Magazine featured a letter that could be sent to friends and relatives well before the holidays to polite state your intentions for your children. I've always felt a bit unsettled about sending it...like I was being difficult, or a toy snob, or taking the fun out of the mad consumerism of Christmas. But I think this is the year.


After visiting a friend's small and beautiful home, I was inspired to take things in hand. The limitations in space demand that her daughter's toys are well-chosen. A few baskets of Waldorf toys (play silks, wooden tree blocks, felt fruit and vegetables, a little wooden play kitchen, and so on). I breathed of sigh of peace at the sight of these beautiful toys. My children HAVE toys like this. But they're so bound up with all the other "stuff" that they're hard to find.

So, upon returning home from her house, I fired off this email:

Relatives and Friends,

I'm just thinking ahead to Christmas (and the many birthdays ahead of us) and the INSANE amount of toys we have in our house. I would like to gratefully acknowledge the wonderful gifts you've given over the years, and respectfully request a certain "kind" of gifts this year. We're working hard at simplifying the "stuff" in our house, and are ditching a lot of toys that have broken over the years, or requires constant battery changing, or was brought into the house from yard sales, thrift shops, etc.

We just have too much; the kids don't even know what to play with anymore, pieces have gone missing, and we're always struggling to keep the toys in order.

Order her at www.babynaturopathics.com

So, as we attempt at achieve a bit more order in our busy house, I'd like to ask you to consider checking out www.babynaturopathics.com or www.naturalpod.com which are both Canadian businesses that support handmade/natural toys. We'd LOVE to build a collection of Holztiger animals (available at the first site)...we love the farm animals, daughter, farmer, and princess/queen/king/etc. kind of figures. Natural pod carries "Baby Bolga baskets" which would be so handy for the kids as they wander on their adventures (eggs, berries, apples, beach treasures!) , as well as beautiful coloured play silks (which are marvellous for dress up and imaginative play).

Visit http://www.naturalpod.com/ to order!

Please, no plastic toys this year, or toys with tons of little parts that will get lost...there's no need to spend tons of money on wooden stuff; a lot of the items I've mentioned are around $10.

Find this beauty of a marble run on etsy!

If you enter the code KnittyGritty11, you'll get a 5% discount, and so will I!

Kirk's wife Erin grew up near my hometown; they're good people. Support real craftspeople!

Jude is really into experiments and building stuff; we hope to get him a wooden marble run on etsy (made by Erin Egan's husband, Kirk); he already has a microscope, but would probably love a magnifying glass, or a small aquarium/terrarium, or anything that allows him to keep things from nature to study! He also loves drawing and music as usual.

Other ideas include: an amaryllis bulb that they can watch bloom in the winter months, gift cards to a bookstore, a bug-viewing kit, art supplies, or camping gear (a flashlight, an enamelware cup and bowl), contributing towards lessons or classes, or just making a date to spend time together!


I hope no one thinks me rude...this is the desperate plea of a desperate mother; I really want to pare down the amount of stuff in our house and have found through experience that the toys my kids keep returning to are the open-ended, natural ones...they feel nicer, last longer, encourage imagination, and don't need batteries or make annoying noises. They are made by hand, with little or no impact on the earth. These are the values we hope to pass on to our children, and hope you can help us!


Thank you for reading through all these mama thoughts of mine, and for respecting our request!


With all that said, please know that our children do not expect gifts; they do not keep track (nor do we!), and always remember the joy of being with loved ones when they talk about Christmases past.

We so appreciate your role in our children's lives, and appreciate the love you show them by choosing gifts thoughtfully.

With gratitude,
Stephanie

When I mentioned in yesterday's blogpost that I'd written this letter, several people commented on my courage. It's less courage (because it's taken me six years!) and more that I really, really want to stop stepping on sharp plastic toys. I want to feel peaceful when I see my children's toys. That, I hope I can achieve with words.

If you're feeling similarly fed up, and possibly courageous, please feel free to copy or adapt my letter! You can replace the Canadian sites with others (I also love Nova Natural Toys in the US!), or tailor it to reflect your child's interests.

It is time to do more than THINK about making change. I'm the person who picks up messes and has to dispose of broken craptastic toys (with the eco-guilt that entails). So I'm taking charge of what comes into my house. I should have done it years ago, but I'm starting now instead!

Creating Order

I KNOW I'm not alone in feeling that I work in my house all day, only to have my husband arrive home from work to a house that looks like a bomb went off. These humid days, my hair is in a frizzy halo, my shirt is sweaty and dirty, and I have that incredulous look on my face. I MUST'VE worked all day because I'm exhausted and my feet hurt...but where are the results?

You know what the day is like with small kids: you just go from one disaster to the next, one mess to a bigger mess; they manage to undo in minutes what it takes me an hour to accomplish. It's enough to make you cry, tear your hair out, gnash your teeth, and beat your chest in frustration. Playdough to painting to splashing at the sink to requesting more food to pulling all the books off the shelf in search of the one perfect story...

It is sometimes hard to remember that PLAYING IS A CHILD'S WORK. They really aren't doing this to drive you crazy. It only feels that way. They are impulsive beings, children, and don't worry about the mess they leave behind...they just look ahead to the next fun thing they can get into.

It's taken me years to get to today...to a point where I feel like I have the energy, creativity, and desire to create some order in my house, after years of childbearing and exhaustion. Children ages 2-6 ARE capable of cleaning up after themselves. It works like magic in my classroom; I just start singing "Now it's time to tidy up, tidy up, tidy up, now it's time to tidy up and put our toys away!" (to the tune of London Bridge), and off they go, like little automatons, sorting toys into their appropriate baskets, putting things on shelves, sweeping up sand, carefully stacking blocks, cooperating. I'm amazed, every single day.

The neat thing about a Kindergarten classroom is that everything is at a child's level. They don't have to ask me if they can paint, because the paint is accessible to them at all times. I'm starting to apply the principles behind order in the Kindergarten classroom to my home, to great success (so far)!

I started out by putting all the materials necessary to paint into this yard sale find: a low wooden crate. When Margot asks to paint at 7:30 a.m., I pull out a dollar store palette (at right), fill each little space with a different colour, (naming them with her as I go), and pull a brush from the jar at the left. When she's done, I cover the palette with plastic wrap, and when she inevitably asks to paint AGAIN, I'm all ready to go. This has made an activity that used to make me groan into something quick and painless. Please note that this is NOT at her level; at this point I still want some control over the paint mess! Once the day is over, I clean the palette, and stow it back in the crate, all ready for the next morning's creativity.

Another problem area is the living/play room. A large basket was what we used to store everything, all jumbled together. I'd half-heartedly sort stuff now and then, only to find it all jumbled up in the big basket again. Children do not play well with toys that are a)too numerous and b)too messed up. Since Jude mostly plays at his desk with Lego now, I made up these two baskets (purchased at Giant Tiger!), using white craft paint. One holds all the doll clothes, and small dolls. The other is for play food, dishes, etc. The girls are old enough to sort their toys, and tend to play MORE now that there are LESS toys.

Gratuitous close-up of my dream house...

Another GREAT idea (and one that I used when Jude was two and in speech therapy) was to photograph certain types of toys (e.g. cars, animals, people, blocks), laminate the photos, and stick them onto bins. At two, though non-verbal, Jude was able to find the toys he wanted, and could help put them back in their own place. Sorting is an important skill for early learning, and being able to "help" is so very empowering for little ones.

Playdough is right at my kids' level, so that if they want to play with it, they can grab it. Yes, I bought playdough. Yes, I have a recipe for homemade...I just don't have time to make it, am always out of cream of tartar, and noticed that the storebought kind costs less than two dollars for four colours. Just in case you were going to offer me your recipe...ha!

Workbooks and colouring books are also at my children's level, as are blank paper, markers, and crayons. Scissors and glitter are kept out of their reach.

It takes a bit of time and effort to organise your house for little ones. But once they feel a sense of ownership for their toys and learning tools, they are likely to take more pride in them, which will hopefully lead to more responsibility. I remind my children about how nice it is to know where their things are. I feel that children are capable of reaching a target, as long as they know what that target looks like. If for you it looks like your kids tidying up after themselves, well...they can do it.

They really can...I've seen it with my own eyes. I haven't seen it in my own house yet, but I have hope that by taking little steps like the ones above, my children will start helping me accomplish that of which I dream: a somewhat tidy house at the end of the day.

You need not spend piles of money on fancy storage systems. All of my baskets come from yard sales and Value Village, or Giant Tiger if I find them on sale. Baskets are a pretty way to contain any mess! Be creative, and remember: LESS is always MORE when it comes to toys for your kids. Think quality, not quantity (unless it's playdough...then think cheap and easy!...heehee!)

Summer Rhythm

Small children thrive on structure. I've known babes who sleep anywhere and anytime. I occasionally veered from our sleep routines, but felt it was important for my babes (AND for me) to be well-rested, at home and in their own beds.

Not that I avoid spontaneity...I love an impromtu road trip or visit. I was thrilled to find that Margot (who has been the least flexible of my children) was happy to sleep in a Pack and Play while visiting my sister last weekend! My children love to be surprised, and are flexible when our day involves events that are out of their routine...they also love sleepovers at Nanny and Papa's house, or at their Aunts' homes.

But here I am, facing summer; my husband is gone for 10 hours a day, and so far I am without wheels (he has my van, as his car finally gave up the ghost and we're still looking for a replacement). I knew that a visual schedule would be as useful to me as to my children.

I'd created these little cards on a program called "Boardmaker", and use them every day in my classroom. There are children who fly by the seat of their pants all day, and others who want to know: what are we doing next? After a few weeks of directing them to the class schedule, they begin using it independently to ease their transitions from one activity to the next, or to figure out if it's lunch time or snack time.

This 'schedule' is not written in stone, of course. But it's cool to see Violet consulting it and saying, "Time to get dressed!" or "Can we paint now?" Snacks and meals are dictated more by hunger than the time on the clock, and outside play is spontaneous...the more the better!

My children seem calmer somehow, with a visual reminder of what was already our daily rhythm. A visual schedule also allows your child to talk about their day when your spouse returns from work. Sequencing events is an early reading strategy; the more you get your child talking about events in order (how to make a sandwich, the main events in a familiar story, or the rhythm of their day) the better. Model the use of "first, next, then, last" as often as possible.

Without a vehicle, I find I need to plan a little more, particularly when it comes to meals...no more running out to the grocery store for a forgotten ingredient. The beauty and order of this little meal plan astounds disorganised me, and has added such an element of CALM to my day...I've completely eliminated my daily, "What the HELL am I making for dinner tonight??" rant. It's even allowed me to make some food the night before which has made for a happier, more engaged mama. I imagine this will also really help with our tighter summer budget, and will be a habit I carry into the school year.

Jude, at age 6, has a more developed concept of time. Still, he has been asking me EVERY DAY, "Do I have school tomorrow?" I finally found these pages from a desk calendar to show him July and August. I reiterated (for the 100th time) that school is done, that summer is two whole months of soccer, swimming lessons, visiting, and play! I've filled in important events that are written on my kitchen calendar (if they are pertinent to him)...like seeing "The Lion King" on July 16th! I fill it out by the week so as not to overwhelm him, and will "x" out the days as they pass. You could also add symbols to keep track of the weather (a sun, a cloud, a raindrop, a lightning bolt!), and graph them at the end of the month.

These little reminders of the hours and days passing, and the rhythm of our summer, help me to live in each moment, and to plan ahead to the days and weeks to come.

So Long, Farewell...

"I don't have time to (enter activity of choice)".

Exercise. Cook healthy meals. Play with my kids. Paint my bedroom. Put in a garden.

What? When did this happen? I LOVE these activities. Or at least, I used to, before blogging and commenting on the blogs of others gobbled up some of the most precious commodity in every mother's life: my time.

I need to centre in on my real life for awhile. I came to this conclusion last August when I wrote this post. I was inspired by the brave decision of my friends at Twig and Toadstool to step away from a space they'd nurtured and loved when it became clear that their real lives were suffering. Remember "Childhood Magic" and how shocked we all were when she closed her wonderful blog? I wonder how she's enjoying her life and time these days...I imagine she LOVES it. Nicole at Frontier Dreams wrote about this very busy-ness today. I have also been deeply touched by this heartbreakingly honest post over at Apples With Honey.

I feel myself floating away from the mother I want to be. I want to be engaged. I want to be in the moment. I want to breathe through those moments (and there are many) of impatience and anger. I want to sit and have a tea party with my daughters for hours if they so wish it, without glancing away in distraction. I want to build Lego robots with my son.

I love that feeling of flipping the page of a calendar and seeing that the coming month is mostly blank. You can choose to fill up every square, or make a solemn promise to carefully consider your yeses for the month.

After a month of birthday craziness, I flipped the calendar to June.

Case conference. Stag and Doe. Stag party. Shopping for weddings. Wedding rehearsals. Friend's wedding. Brother's wedding. Birthdays. Class trip. Kindergarten graduation. Grade 8 Graduation. Report cards due. School Fun Night. Assemblies. Gigs. Doctor appointment. Anniversaries. Data due.

Oh. My. Goodness.

How can we possibly have writing on 26 of the 30 days in what is already a busy month in the home of two educators?

So. I'm taking the phone of the hook, so to speak.
If you're a new visitor to this space, please read through the archives, or check out some popular posts (by clicking on the buttons at the right). If you're an old friend, you can email me by going to my profile page. I also highly recommend those wonderful women over on "Kindred Spirits" roll.

July is looking good. Two music gigs. One bellydancing gig. Kittens due. A birthday and an anniversary.

Bring on July.

(*haha...I had to take a deep breath before I hit "publish post"...but as with any great leap, I know the fear will soon be replaced with relief that I just did it...there). Phew.

Seeds, Serendipity, and Spring Cleaning

Today we're preparing the house for Spring. No, we're not putting out pretty nests and coloured eggs (yet)! The basement has held a winter's worth of wood, and the bits of bark and kindling must be swept up before the inevitable Spring inundation. I'm exaggerating...it's more of a trickle, but enough that we have to use a sump pump to keep the freezer, furnace, washer and dryer well out of the water's reach. The cobwebs also need clearing, the shelves some organising, and the little corners of scariness tidying.

The basement is one of those unpleasant places to clean, especially if you live in an old farmhouse. The floors are rough, the walls are damp; constant vigilance is required to prevent mildew, mold, and mushrooms (I'm not joking). I've read that if the house were a person, the basement would represent our subconsious mind. No wonder they're so often damp, dark, and creepy! Ha! I'm looking forward to creating order in this neglected space. I visit it often each day, to fill the furnace with wood and the washer with laundry. I'm picturing a cold storage room full of bins of potatoes, carrots, squash, garlic, beets, and so on, and tidy shelves of jewel-coloured jars of preserves and sauces. I'm also hopefully planning to try fermenting with the help of a new friend...more on that later.

We're also getting ready to start our seeds. In years past, a dear friend and gardening mentor started all our seeds and shared the gardening work. Since we've moved here, we've had a spring baby that required medical attention, and a garden started from greenhouse (purchased) seedlings. This year I'm starting my own! We've moved a shelf into our kitchen where the south facing windows are, and are taking a look at what we hope will be a cold-storage room in the basement.

The webcam works in a pinch!

If you happen to be in the Ottawa Valley this weekend, please consider stopping by Fellowes High School in Pembroke where the annual Seedy Sunday event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Vendors, guest speakers, live music, fresh local food, and a kid zone all conspire to entice winter-weary souls into thinking: Spring! I'll be volunteering at the door, performing some music, and selling a few hand-painted cards at a friend's table.

Hooray for the webcam!

And now for the serendipity, that quirky little force that brings good things into your life just when you need them (and least expect them). Some of you are aware that I've had some camera issues lately. I had resigned myself to reducing my normal amount of blogposts, using my mom's camera, and slowly saving up for one for myself, without any expectation of when I might be able to afford one.

Then I got a message on Facebook from a university friend who now lives in Australia. We haven't seen each other in 15 years or so. We've been in touch sporadically. She told me in her message that she is one of those silent followers of my blog, and loves the glimpse it gives her of a life so different from hers. I had no idea she read my posts, and was touched by her words.

Imagine my delight and gratitude when she told me she had a camera to send me! Turns out her dad loves to buy new technology, and sends her his castoffs. She didn't like the idea of me not being able to take pictures of those little daily moments (like yesterday's mental photo of Violet in a too-big, saggy-bum bathing suit and a Santa hat), so is generously offering me one of her dad's cameras!

To say I am touched and overwhelmed by the way life provides is an understatement. So, a shout out to Nikki, away on the other side of the globe, and to everyone who has offered suggestions and encouragement.

Three

Every Sunday evening, in preparation for the next morning, I lay out three sets of clothing.

I set three bowls and three spoons on the table, ready for the morning's oatmeal.

I dig through the storage baskets for three pairs of mittens, three hats, and three scarves, and lay them out with three snowsuits.

In the morning, I'll hear one little voice singing, "Happy burday!", "Baa baa baa" (to the tune of Baa Baa Blacksheep), and "Jude! Juuuude!" Soon, two other little voices will join, creating a trio of music that brings me to full consciousness. Their door opens, and I listen to their sweet interactions; Violet encourages Margot to take her hand as they set off in search of mommy, Jude telling them to wait while he goes pee.

It was a bit of a surprise when we found out about this bonus third child. Three tips the balance; you're officially outnumbered. As a friend of mine (and mother of five) said when I told her we were unexpectedly expecting again, "In parenting math, three is twice as many as two". Wise words, indeed, from one who knows.

I'm busy. These mornings of getting three kids in snowsuits out the door are sometimes harrowing, but increasingly rhythmic and peaceful. Two are dropped off at the daycare, one comes with me to school. For a few days a week, they are 2+1. But two plus one always equals three, and to me, three is a blessed number.

Livingroom Re-Do

In a fit of energy, one 13-hour burst, I painted our livingroom this past weekend. I can hear your envious thoughts: she is truly a super mom! She knits and sews AND singlehandedly paints her livingroom with her three kids around? Wow! I could never do that!

Let's be honest here. None of us is Super Mom. And all of us are. We're having a party this weekend, and I decided it was time to paint the livingroom that has sat untouched for 2 years, overrun with children and their messes (and wall scribbles), walls bare of pictures, bookshelves stuffed with any crap I found lying around. My dear husband entertained the kids in the attic (a picnic? in the attic? FUN!), made a fire outside for them to roast marshmallows, and sustained me with tea when the sky got dark and I couldn't move my arm anymore.

It was a daunting task, certainly not one for the faint-of-heart. But, having laboured and birthed three times, I face jobs like this with a "Pfft...I can do this!" attitude. It was exhausting, but it was worth it.

The playroom/front corner BEFORE:

And AFTER:

The livingroom/back corner BEFORE:

And AFTER:

We're now considering getting rid of the TV all together, as I find it doesn't fit in this newly freshened space. It feels like a place for knitting, reading, conversing, cuddling, listening to books on tape and music, and cozying up for the coming winter. It was a lot of work, but it was so worth it. Now, I just need a few months' rest, and I can tackle my kitchen!

The colour is Benjamin Moore's "Cedar Green"...if you're a local friend, I have an extra, unopened gallon up for sale (best offer!). It's high-quality paint, and does not require priming!

Please visit my sister's blog to read a loving tribute to our mother on her 65th birthday...see if you can pick me out in that photo from the 80s!

Holidays, and a Giveaway

Early yesterday morning it occurred to me that it was almost August. I felt a moment of panic, like the time had flown without my awareness, and in some ways that is so. Recently, my children have been responding with "Just a minute" when I ask them to do something.

I know where they've learned this, and when...it has been over the past few months as I have become more and more dedicated to this blog, and to following the many wonderful blogs out there. Every "free" moment (i.e. when the kids are watching a movie or playing on their own, or in bed for the night), I am "connected"; hours can be lost just browsing other people's blogs. I was reflecting on that terminology: how, when I'm off the internet, I'm considered "disconnected". But I've found that since I started actively blogging and following other blogs, I am actually disconnected from my real life.

So, I'm going to ease back a bit, just for the month of August. I have a few music gigs booked (just getting back into performing after years off having/nursing babies), and want to get started on my Christmas gifts. I also have to prepare my classroom for September. Oh, and spending time with my kids, getting this house in order, maybe painting the livingroom, doing some sewing...just a few things on my to-do list!

Even moderation should be taken in moderation, so rather than taking the month off entirely as I'd initially intended, I'm just going to post once or twice a week.

Now, for the giveaway! Awhile ago, Twig and Toadstool offered a "Pay It Forward" Giveaway, where the winner would then post a giveaway on HER blog, and on and on. The winner of the first giveaway was Sheepish, who then offered a sweet felted toadstool purse as a giveaway. And I won that!

Sheepish not only sent the purse to me, but added some other wonderful treats to the care package. Imagine my delight at finding a parcel in my mailbox, containing some lovely handmades PLUS a lovely skein of hand-dyed sock yarn!

So, today I present my own item for the "Pay It Forward Giveaway"! The lucky winner will receive a Mushroom Cottage, handmade by yours truly, plus a few other little items that I will pull together. Please enter your comments below; if you're a Follower, you can post a comment every day until next Thursday, August 5 at midnight, EST. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Friday, August 6.

The only stipulation is that if you win, you need to "pay it forward" by offering a giveaway on YOUR blog!

Enjoy the August long weekend, Canadians...and everyone else, enjoy your usual weekend!

The Flip Side

This bag sat here unsorted for at least 3 days.

Let's pretend you just popped in for tea. The pictures in this post are what you'd find here at the Knitty Gritty Homestead. They were taken weeks ago, but things are pretty much the same here today.

When I started this blog, I was intent on making sure it wasn't one of THOSE blogs...you know, pictures of my perfect, imaginative, quirky kids dressed in handmade clothes, my perfect home, the perfect meals I cook, my perfect life. Today at the beach, a dear friend who hasn't really been following my blog told me she'd had a look today. Her response? "I felt like an inadequate mother!"

Another sinkful of nice hot water that will get cold before I get to the dishes.

Wow. I know that feeling well. I've been to blogs where the absolute decorative perfection of the house (white couches? in a house with kids??), or the prolific craftiness of the mama (does this woman ever sleep?), or the amazing meals she creates with apparent ease (while I ask my kids "How 'bout scrambled eggs...again??") is enough to intimidate and dishearten the most accomplished and well-intentioned mothers.

I KNOW that blogs do not represent the whole picture, and I've actually been grateful that in my daily search for a post I am encouraged to pick out the very best moment/recipe/craft of the day or week. It helps me focus on the positive, and I know that other bloggers do the same thing.

Food and craft preparation blend into a picturesque mess

(see how the paint colours reflect my happy bowl? I meant to do that...)

As bloggers, we do tend to put a bit of a shine on our daily lives. And who can blame us if we want to focus on the best parts of our day? We all deal with whining kids who won't eat the food we cook, follow behind us and sabotage our every attempt to tidy up, mess their clothes several times daily to ensure you do not have one day without laundry, overwhelm us with demands for food, drink, and crafting opportunities, and challenge our creativity and patience every minute. Why would anyone want to read about this?

See that pretty violets tea cup? With (wilted) violets in it to match the violets tablecoth?

See how my family has destroyed my pretty display?

Perhaps the isolation and inadequacy a lot of mothers feel would be lessened if we WERE more honest about the nitty-gritty of our days. In addition to the berry-picking, pie-baking, toy-knitting, and tea-drinking that goes on around here, there's also a lot of stress, chaos, tantrums, mess, less-than-perfect parenting, junk food, baggage from childhood, miscommunication, jobs to avoid, and mouse droppings in the drawers.

Note the crying child in the background. I think she slipped on something (I can't imagine what)

and banged her elbow...

So for today, I present to you the flip side of those pictures I take, where I clear a space on the island to place my lovely cake, or examine the backgrounds before I press the shutter to make sure there's no crap lying around on the floor. I feel like coming clean (haha! no pun intended) with what my house really looks like; my efforts to keep it tidy are half-hearted at best, as it seems a futile activity...

Welcome to the Knitty Gritty Homestead! Where I choose knitting and blogging over housework, and the tea is always hot.

*The winning number of my knitted hat giveaway, selected at http://www.random.org/, was 20
which means that Stephanie G. is the winner! Thank you for all your sweet entries...I may have to make this a monthly thing!

By the way, Maureen at Twig and Toadstool started a "Pay It Forward" giveaway awhile back; Karen at Sheepish won that one, then offered a toadstool bag as her "pay it forward" item. And guess who won? ME! Thanks, Maureen (who lives down the road and wins an UNBELIEVABLE amount of giveaways!) for starting it all off, and thanks, Karen, for participating! Now it's my turn! I have a lovely little knitted set to pass on...so watch this space.

Have a great weekend!

Take a Picture

Take a picture; it'll last longer...

My husband often talks about that great day when the kids' toys are out of our livingroom. I've stepped on enough Transformer arms, wooden blocks, and other unbelievably hard and angular objects to understand where he's coming from. But I secretly dread that day. That is when my kids will no longer be underfoot, when I will have to call them down for dinner, only to have them disappear into their lairs again once they've eaten. Our playroom is evidence of the presence of the most wonderful kind of humans in our house: children!

It can be so easy to get caught up in the desire to have THAT playroom...the one with a gorgeous, colourful, and miraculously lint-and-cat-hair free rug, wooden play arches and mounds of playsilks, woolen foods and beeswax crayons. I LOVE seeing playrooms like that. I understand the motivation: plastic is terrible for the environment and for children. Natural materials are aesthetically pleasing and durable, and more healthy for our children to play with. They encourage more imaginative play, appreciation of the natural world, and an awareness of the skilled work of human hands.

My reality is that I can hardly afford gas for my car some weeks, let alone $300 for a pretty wooden play kitchen. Ours comes from a set that was being chucked from our kindergarten classroom. I do know a high school student who is willing to build me one in shop class. Will it be as professional and pretty as the one I saw in the Nova Natural Toys catalogue? Doesn't matter. What matters is spending money responsibly, and recognizing that my kids don't really care. Instead of play arches, we hang blankets from the hooks that we've installed on the window frames, and drape them over chairs to create play spaces.

I have finally reached the point where I can say, "No, I don't need that". Do I want it? You betcha. For lots of reasons. Do my children know the difference? Nope. While I'd love uniform, labelled containers to store our toys in, I just don't want to spend the money on them. I use maple syrup buckets for storing Jude's driftwood collection (magic wands, walking sticks, lazer guns, conductor's batons), and plastic fruit baskets for keeping our playfood together. Yep, the playfood is plastic, too. And they love it. I can knit wool food. And I do. But I haven't yet found the time to replace every piece with a wonderful handmade.

(I did make the strawberry and the orange wedge at the bottom right!)

Here are some things I think are essential in a playroom, and they don't need to cost a lot of money:

A place to create art (this easel came from IKEA). These papers are AMAZING: they're Wall Post-Its by 3M. I LOVE them! Quick to stick up, remove, then stick somewhere else for display.

A good trick for painting is to line a cup with a small zippered plastic bag, and put the paint in it. When the painting session is done, just seal up the bag and store for next time!

A cozy place to cuddle up, daydream, draw, read.

We often drape a blanket across this window to create what the kids call their spaceship.

Crayola makes great window crayons that children LOVE. They're really appealing to use, and easy to clean up. Just wipe off with warm water!

A place to store odds and sods. This armoire was at my Nanny's house when I was little. Mom passed it to me recently and it has been a big help in keeping all those craft materials organized (glitter, pipecleaners, googly eyes, stickers, etc. are all tucked neatly away!) I plan to brighten this thing up with paint one of these days when I have some time to kill...check back with me in about 15 years...

And some bits of nature, to touch, hold, play with, draw, and experience. Driftwood, rocks, nests, flowers, and so on can be found in corners all around our playspace, and you need only step out your door to find them.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to create a lovely space for your children. What I find most important is really picking through the toys regularly, cycling things out and back in, and trying to give everything a place of its own. My children wander aimlessly and complain of boredom when the playroom is a mess. And although it sometimes feels futile to tidy it up (as they'll tear it all apart in under an hour), I do find they will sit and really PLAY when they know where things are. I also feel more motivated to sit and play WITH them when the chaos has been subdued. And they'll also happily tidy up when they know where things go.

This state of tidiness is fleeting, which is why I'm happy to have the above records of our playroom in its perfection. I'm happy at the end of a busy, creative, fun day to see the little messes my kids have made. It's like a message carved into a picnic table-top: We Were Here.

Small Steps

One of these days, I'll post before and after pictures of our kitchen. Since we're still firmly ensconced in the "before" phase, I will share one of the ways I've attempted to bring a bit of order to this busy, messy house:

Stitched labels are a quick, simple, and effective way to personalize those Ikea baskets, and helps me feel like I'm getting more organized (please don't look inside or you'll see that it's all an illusion... papers, bills, earphones, gluesticks, etc. are all just crammed in there willy-nilly). Hey, it's more about how they make me feel, right? I envision these in my craft cupboard, on my bathroom shelves, and on and on...a plethora of pretty stitched labels shouting to all who see them: this chica has her sh*t together!! If you ever visit, you'll know better, but like a well-fitting bra, illusion is everything...

The sewing here is of the most basic kind; I opted to skip the tutorial as I think there are probably lots out there. I used a backstitch to do the letters, and a running stitch around the edges. If you really want a tutorial, please let me know in the comments, as I'd be happy to help you "organize" your home, too!