stART - What happens in November?

This week for our story + art project we read "In November by Cynthia Rylant"

Now, I usually set out a selection of books for the kids to choose from when we do a stART project. But this week I really wanted to do this book. So mom got to choose. It's a sweet story about what happens in November. From the animals burrowing down to families getting together to share a special meal. What really drew me to this book though was the beautiful illustration of Jill Kastner. The pictures were so lovely and inspiring that we each made a painting of our own about the wonderful month of November.

And in other, slightly off topic news. I have my camera back!! The body of the camera ended up being fine, it was only the lens that was broken.  Still not the cheapest thing to need replacing but better than a whole new camera. So I'm thankful for that.

Until next time.....

~Kayte

{i n h a b i t} learning by example

Some mornings start earlier than I want them to. I’m burrowed comfortably under my mounds of covers when I hear the tell tale patter of little feet down the hallway. After debating whether or not to ignore them for a few more minutes, I drag myself out of my cocoon of a bed in search of three. And when I find them my mood changes like the tide. All tiredness and irritation are swept away by the three of them peacefully inhabiting this space called home. 

So I stumble into the kitchen to make coffee and hot chocolate before asking to join them in their little space to enjoy the early morning.

This post was inspired by the new {i n h a b i t} series going on at The Little List. This is one of my favorite blogs and I highly suggest checking it out if you haven't already.

Until next time.....

~Kayte

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  A la SouleMama, Head on over and join in the comments, there are so many great moments.

 Until next time.....

~Kayte

A Handmade Holiday

The closer we get to December I find myself thinking a lot about gifts this year. Specifically, how many things would be homemade versus what we would purchase. I usually make a few gifts for family members but this year I've been thinking about doing a little more. After spending a whole afternoon in a mall yesterday I finally decided to commit to an idea that's been bouncing around in my head for a while.

A handmade holiday.
*or at least 90% handmade:) *

Now I don't think it would be possible for me to actually make gifts for everyone. So whatever I'm not making myself will either be handmade by someone else or something purchased from a fair trade retailer. The only exception to this will be one gift for each child, like the pillow pet Ezra has been asking for. I've been making my lists and have decided to dedicate each Thursday to updating everyone on how my handmade holiday is progressing.

The first thing I've started is Chez Bepper Bebe's Spelling beanbags for Mateos. I can't even tell you how much I love her blog. Her tutorials are really well done and easy to follow. Unfortunately the broken camera situation means no good pictures of this project yet. But here are a few of the fat quarters waiting to be used.

And for the "not made by me" but made by some fabulous artisans from around the world I've been checking out Ten Thousand Villages.

Everything they sell is fair trade and extremely well priced. I've already picked out a few things that would make great gifts for friends. 

Hopefully next week I will have my camera working again so this whole show and tell will be more exciting.

Until next time.....

Kayte

To the mall we went

Yesterday the kids and I spent the day in NY with my sister and her little guy. And we ended up taking the kids to see Santa in the mall. Now this is the first time I've done this since Jael was a baby, so it was a pretty novel experience.

Here they are posing with Santa and their cousin William.

 

Cheesy but fun. Do any of you visit mall Santa?

 

Until next time....

~Kayte

Oh camera of mine, what terrible fate has befallen you?

I love my camera. And if you've been following my blog you can no doubt tell that it's with me all the time. I just genuinely enjoy taking pictures; of my kids especially. But today my poor camera has had an accident.

It's never good when your three year old whispers in your ear that the camera is broken.

Apparently Mateos was being a little too rowdy in the office this afternoon and knocked the camera over onto the floor. I have no idea yet if it's fixable or if I'll need to replace it. Either way I'm missing it already.

But I'm looking at this as a perfect chance to model right responses to the kids. My first instinct was to freak out when I saw the camera lying on the floor. I just stood there for a minute wanting to cry but somehow I kept it together. I may have gotten a little weepy on the phone with the Mr. Later, but the kids saw me composed, which I'm thankful for.

Now it will be a challenge for me to see how much I can document with my camera phone :)

Until next time.....

~Kayte

The end of soccer season & decorating with fall leaves

To my utter delight we’ve managed to draw out the last few tepid days here with some fun outdoor activities.  We all enjoyed Jael’s last soccer game. The boys managed to entertain themselves quite well. They literally just raced each other back and forth across the field for an hour.

We also worked outside on a fall leaf mobile to decorate our front porch with. The kids had been helping the Mr. rake all the leaves up and I couldn’t help missing their lovely color across the lawn. So the kids and I gathered some up to string together. 

We liked the first one so much we added one to the dining rooms as well.

Until next time.....

~Kayte