My Blah-g

As we enter my favorite season of the year, let me take a moment to reflect on blogging. Where have I been?

Well, sometime mid-Summer I realized that my life was changing in some big ways. Most notably, we decided to send Luke off to high school. I've written about this before. So, I won't spend time on that, but I did spend this summer savoring our last moments of home education. I hoped that I'd accomplished my mission of teaching him the joy of lifelong learning. I hoped he'd always bring a book with him. I hoped that he would find time for all the things he loves since he's away most of the day now.

One of my closest friends commented that my blog, in a few previous posts this year, sounded ominous at best. I had hinted at change and transformation. I didn't mean to be vague, but we had a little upheaval  this summer getting ready to send two boys to school and moving kids to different bedrooms and me getting ready to be home with the littlest ones all day. I acknowledged that I would not really be homeschooling this year with the exception of teaching little Tess to read and some math. I guess I can see that my blog thoroughly moved into the blah-g variety.

If I'm honest, I realized that blogging really started to drop off for me with increased use of Facebook and Instagram. It's easy and quick and well, I reasoned that I didn't have much time to sit and compose all of my thoughts like I used to. For the most part, I stopped reading so many blogs and especially blogs devoted to home education. With the demise of Google Reader, I now read only five blogs with consistency.

We're about a month into the school year and we're starting to feel our way into a Fall rhythm, but I'm still a little bit off-kilter. There's still that feeling that time is controlling me rather than the other way around.

So, here's what happened this summer:
 I didn't knit quite so much (I'll be back to the Yarn Along soon.)
 I read a lot of YA fiction. I'm still reading YA.
 I thought about increasing happiness.
 I went to the movies a lot. I really enjoyed The Way Way Back and The Sapphires.
 I decided I needed way more exercise.
 I bought pink running shoes.
 I bought paint in a nice Barn Red to paint our front door.
 I canned pickles.
 I learned that all five of my kids can handle being in the car for 15 hours. (We drove to Virginia this summer driving two 15 hour days. Yes. We are crazy like that.)


 If you're interested, here are the blogs that inspire me every day:

In the Heart of My Home
Elizabeth is my kindred spirit. She writes about everything. Food. Time Management. Home Education. Reading. Knitting. Home Life. Faith. Jesus. Children. Eerily, often, I will find that I will have thought of something and when I go to read her blog, she will have written something about that very subject. She's my very fellow introvert. I won't give her up.

Modern Mrs Darcy
Anne is also another kindred spirit. She writes about everything. We tend to read a lot of the same books. She writes about happiness, fashion, home education, and well, being the best version of yourself.

Happiness Project
I've read both books on happiness by Gretchen Rubin and she really kicked me into high gear about increasing happiness and teaching me that I really need to know thyself to be really happy. I wrote about it here. I'm learning a lot about myself by reading Gretchen's blog.

As Cozy As Spring
I love Jenn. She makes beautiful things. She thinks deeply. She confesses her shortcomings. She makes me laugh. When I want a dose of cozy, I'll spend a little time at her blog. We both hate the same thing in By the Shores of Silver Lake.

Small Things
Ginny takes beautiful pictures, but she's honest about life outside those pictures. She hosts the Yarn Along. She knits and reads voraciously.

I also spend a fair share of my online time at GoodReads because I really enjoy both reading about books and reading book reviews. My to-read pile never shrinks.

There. Inspirational reading. Every day.

Back to my blog. I'm thinking about revamping my corner of cyberspace. It definitely needs a makeover. I started this blog in 2007 and well, life moves pretty fast and it's time for this space to reflect now. I'll think about that tomorrow. I'm thinking about writing more about what I'm reading and what I'm watching. I'm thinking about photography and diversifying my crafting. I'm thinking about where our family life is going.

Right now, I'm going to go and think about a pumpkin spice latte and enjoying everything Autumn!

Sammy in October

I should have added this picture in my October collection. This might be my new favorite picture of Sammy. This kid is so cute, sweet, and lovable. I know I added this picture to Facebook, but I couldn't leave this picture our of my Autumn 2012 collection here on my blog.  Oh, October why do I have to wait another year for you? Actually, I can wait. I don't want this little boy getting any bigger faster. I'm holding on to the here and now.

The October that was

My little corner of cyberspace has been so neglected of late. Honestly, I just haven't felt like blogging recently. Since I returned from my trip to the UK and Iceland, we were without a computer. After the demise of our last laptop, we bought a new one only to have it quit on us after five days! We sent it back and for whatever reason, they could not send a replacement within a month. The shipment kept getting delayed and we decided to cancel the order. So, I started taking lots of pictures on Instagram and posting them to Facebook while we were without a computer. I have to admit that Instagram is just so easy and quick. I suppose that some of my enthusiasm for blogging has transferred over there. Anyhow, I'm back and I apologize if you've seen some of these pictures already either on Facebook or Instagram.

Here I am on the first of November lamenting the end of my favorite month of the year. I love October as it's truly the best time of the year for me. The oranges, browns, yellows, greens, and earthy hues fill my senses and make me long for warm hand knit items and pumpkin spice lattes. It's cozy and well, it's over for this year. The trees are now looking almost barren, but there are some that still have leaves, but they are past their prime. It doesn't matter. I still love that deep complex brownish-orange. I soak up all of Autumn until that last leaf drops.

Here's what made our October. Our little twins, Liam and James turned 2. I actually cannot believe that they are 2 already. Our little chunky monkeys are 2! I'm so happy that they decided to be born in my favorite month. October got even better with their arrival. This year, I wanted to celebrate in a low-key fashion and head out to one of our favorite pumpkin patches in Boulder, but it was a very rainy day. We went to the pumpkin patch anyway and only Sammy and I got out of the car. We raced in and bought three pumpkin pie pumpkins for the twins and Tesss and then, since we trekked all the way to Boulder, I dragged everyone to a yarn shop. Liam ended up getting sick in the car and well, it wasn't the birthday I had envisioned for the twins. I baked them a little pumpkin bundt. There's a picture in my collection of October photos above. I think it goes without saying that I love Autumn baking (all those spices!) as well.

I did my fair share of knitting too. I started a sweater for myself! It's miles of stockinette and I've already started to doubt that this sweater will look like anything other than a hand knit sweatshirt. There's a reason I don't knit for myself. There's a picture of the sweater in the photos above as well. It's the red, pink, and black-striped yarn. What was I thinking with horizontal stripes? Of course, I've set it aside for other projects like a blue dress I'm knitting for a certain little girl I know (not Tess).

Luke and I are tackling a lot of school work  right now. He's doing a fair share of his work independently these days, but I still ask him to cook with me or write with me. We're planning to read Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival together for some science reading beginning tomorrow. It's not the kind of book that I would normally read aloud. We're each going to read a chapter every couple of days and then discuss it. He's plenty busy reading, making stop-motion films with his Legos, taking care of his five chickens, learning high school Latin, writing a novel, and finishing up Algebra I. He would have been done with Algebra in early summer, but that's when we started to have some computer issues and the computer lost all of his work. I made him do it all over again, but Algebra has become something that he loves. He keeps a nature journal. He grumbles about French, but I'll get him back on track there. We're diagramming sentences and we talk the importance of good grammar every day. As the weather has become more chilly and the twins are napping, we watch The Story of Us and talk about the history of the United States. I love the home educating life and I'm passionate about lifelong learning. It's the biggest lesson that I try to instill in my children. I want them to want to learn all the time. I want them to be curious. I got off on a home educating tangent, but all these things are/were part of our October learning. For some reason, I'm always more optimistic and idealistic about our learning plans in October. Right now, as I blog, Luke is in the room with me. He's working on his novel. I'm sure it will be in the science fiction/fantasy genre. It's quiet right now and we have this time together. I'm cherishing this moment. Right now.

As I move into November and the Advent Season, I hope for more moments to cherish.

More Autumn Knitting

Okay, full disclosure: I made her pose with this book (the inspiration for Pip's Acorn Hat).  We are fans of Elsa Beskow's picture books around here and after seeing Jenn's little hat, I had to knit one too. It can be a little tedious with so many p3tog stitches, but it's worth it and it knit up very quickly. This particular hat is going to a friend's daughter. Poor Tess. She models so many things that she doesn't get to keep, but she knows I'll knit her her own little Acorn hat. I used Berrocco Vintage in Mocha.

                     

Candy Corn Hats #1 and #2

                                                        James and Liam

Autumn Aspens Ablaze

    Yes, I know that Liam is missing. Paul had him in the front carrier when he took this picture.

Pumpkin Pie Squares

Pumpkin Pie Squares were the featured dessert at my last book club. Of course, it wouldn't be a Fall Treat without pumpkins. These pumpkin pie squares were like combining  the best of both traditional pumpkin and pecan pies. It's easier to prepare than regular pie and it's just delicious warm served with some whipped cream on the side. I don't think that I will ever again make a pumpkin pie without the brown sugar, butter and pecan topping.

I followed the directions, but doubled all the ingredients for the toopping! I live at a really high altitude and I had to bake it longer, but that's not unusual here. I also added more Ginger and added some Allspice. I like it a little spicy!  Try it and taste Autumn!

Autumn is here!

Delicious autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it,

and if I were a bird

I would fly about the earth

seeking the successive autumns.

- George Eliot

I'm still here!

I didn't mean to disappear from the blogging world.  Is anyone still out there??  I can't begin to tell you how diminished my brain power is in this pregnancy.  By far, this has been my most difficult pregnancy.  I feel like I've been in the 3rd trimester almost the entire time!  I remember just barely two years ago, I was out trekking through the forest on a quest for a Christmas tree on little T's due date.  I had plenty of energy.  Sure, I was tired of being pregnant, but I could still walk and walk quickly!  I have never felt like this before.  I know that I've seriously neglected my little corner of cyberspace, but I hope to be back in full force soon!  I hate that I haven't documented some of our activities throughout the Fall.  I haven't talked about how homeschooling is going this year with Luke or how Sammy's doing in two-day kindergarten or how my little T has ceased to be my little baby girl.  I feel like there's a big blank over the past few months, but I suppose I needed the blogging break.  As most of you know, Autumn is my favorite time of the year and October is my favorite month, but I feel like I'm missing it this year.  I'm trying to enjoy the Fall leaves as much as I can, but most of my energy is going to growing twins!  I do hope to make some pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin pie and a delicious caramel dip to celebrate the glorious season of Autumn, but first I have some hard work ahead of me!  I hope to update you very soon with the arrival of two small twin pumpkins!

Settling in to the rest of the year

I'm a little late getting the Halloween pics posted, but here's our little flower.

Batman and the Landshark

Land shark

"I'm just a dolphin."

Jack O' Lanterns!

Somehow, Paul and I get stuck with all the dirty work when carving pumpkins.

I knew we'd find a use for this hat.

The deck after our recent snow storm.

Snowed in with a good book

More snow

The pumpkin patch

posing with pumpkins

riding in the Ergo while wearing a very cute pumpkin hat (I might add)

I've got the cutest pumpkin.

Now onto November and the rest of Fall...