MommyCoddle

starting fresh: my quest for creative, simple kid spaces

rearrange the toys and they'll play for hours

Dan and I are doing what we lovingly refer to as "trickling" over to the new house. I doubt we'll ever have a big moving day. But someday soon, we'll find that we're miraculously spending the night over at the new house. Last weekend, the girls took naps over there–Elizabeth in a pack n' play in her room (pack n' play naps are never good), and the girls together in the big double bed in the guest room/office. The guest room is one of my favorite rooms in the house. It boasts the best light–with windows on both sides–and the best bed–a big soft pillow top that we "inherited". I told Dan that if he notices an absence of his wife by his side come morning, to look for me in the guest room.

Each day, a few more things disappear from the apartment–a desk, a rug, a bookcase. And every time I take something away, I am reminded of how refreshing and peaceful it is to keep things simple. To only have what you really need and really want.

When I took away some things yesterday, I did a little rearrange of the spaces that were left bare–throwing a few pillows in a corner with a basket of books, bringing out a basket of schleichs and a wooden barn…and immediately the spaces are filled with activity as each child found their special place to play.

It reminds me that children don't need much to stir their creativity.

So I've been doing a little research, going to a few of my favorite, books and catalogs for inspiration. And I'm making a list of what things I want the girls to have in our new house. Which toys and materials and spaces are most important to us–a dollhouse, a basket of blocks, a can of colored pencils and sketch books, a corner of throw pillows and books, an old suitcase of dress up clothes…

I'm taking this move as a chance to start fresh, to simplify, to clean out and to be more intentional about what things find their way into our new home.

I know we won't find that perfect balance right away. It is a work in progress. My research is often interrupted…ahem, Elizabeth! And I believe you need to live in a space for awhile to see how you live in a space. I'll let you know how it goes, maybe I'll even share my list as I try to organize my way into simpler, more creative, peaceful surroundings.

I love starting fresh.

Dan and I are doing what we lovingly refer to as “trickling” over to the new house. I doubt we’ll ever have a big moving day. But someday soon, we’ll find that we’re miraculously spending the night over at the new house. Last weekend, the girls took naps over there–Elizabeth in a pack n’ play in her room (pack n’ play naps are never good), and the girls together in the big double bed in the guest room/office. The guest room is one of my favorite rooms in the house. It boasts the best light–with windows on both sides–and the best bed–a big soft pillow top that we “inherited”. I told Dan that if he notices an absence of his wife by his side come morning, to look for me in the guest room.

It reminds me that children don’t need much to stir their creativity.

So I’ve been doing a little research, going to a few of my favorite, books and catalogs for inspiration. And I’m making a list of what things I want the girls to have in our new house. Which toys and materials and spaces are most important to us–a dollhouse, a basket of blocks, a can of colored pencils and sketch books, a corner of throw pillows and books, an old suitcase of dress up clothes. I’m also thinking about giving them a solid wood playhouse so they have a place to play outside.

I’m taking this move as a chance to start fresh, to simplify, to clean out and to be more intentional about what things find their way into our new home.

I know we won’t find that perfect balance right away. It is a work in progress. My research is often interrupted…ahem, Elizabeth! And I believe you need to live in a space for awhile to see how you live in a space. I’ll let you know how it goes, maybe I’ll even share my list as I try to organize my way into simpler, more creative, peaceful surroundings.

I love starting fresh.

19 Comments

HOMESCHOOLING

first grade here we come

this picture has nothing to do with my post

First grade here we come.

Last week was our first homeschooling review and it all went really well. In reality, it was approached more like a celebration of the year versus a check-up and evaluation. And it was really good for me, to be forced to take stock of all that we had done during our first year of "official" homeschooling.

I'll be honest, there were many days where I was ready to throw in the towel, many emails to a few friends begging for advice and encouragement, and days when I questioned if this was the right decision for our family. For me. For Emma.

I learned a lot this year, and I hope Emma did, too. I know Mary did, which is one of the amazing perks of homeschooling. How the little ones can come along for the ride and benefit so much from it. Mary's gone from glazing over when I talked about letters to making very successful attempts at spelling words and trying to read. She begs for school.

I feel like Emma and I reached a sweet spot early this spring. An understanding, perhaps. And I hope that will carry over to next year. I think the physical circumstances will be better next year, things that have made it a little difficult this year–the distractions of living here on the farm, a small apartment where it is hard to find her own spot to work without distraction…

And can I tell you how much relief I felt when a few weeks ago, driving in the car, Emma told me she wanted to be homeschooled again next year? It was a wave of reassurance washing over me. This is what she chooses. This is what she wants, too.

She was still awake when I got home from my review late Thursday night. I went into her room to kiss her goodnight and she nervously asked from under her quilts, "What did they say?" And I could tell she was hiding a very large, very proud smile under all those blankets as I told her how well everything went and how she'd soon be able to call herself a first grader. And that made her happy. And a wave of reassurance (and sleep) washed over her as well. I'm pretty sure of that.

(and what does this post have to do with the picture? absolutely nothing. but when you completely clean out your iphoto and put everything on an external hard drive like a responsible photographer/mother/blogger, you lose that easy-access to some of your old 'go to' pictures.
But this would be one of my grandmother's beautiful roses…and that rain? That would be the rain that arrived the moment my door slammed behind me as I stepped inside from hanging my laundry on the clothesline. Another rinse, perhaps? Or another rinse in acid rain, as my grandmother put it….)

First grade here we come.

20 Comments

good finds / link love / LIVING WELL

Going green and healthy :: with my laundry :: part 1

After Elizabeth was born, and I had a new set of sensitive skin in my house, I knew that I wanted to begin to address something that I'd been thinking about for quite awhile–a greener and healthier approach to doing laundry. Not only did I want to try to find some laundry detergents and products that were safer and gentler–free of all kinds of chemicals and dyes, I wanted to find ways to make my laundry more efficient, cost-effective, and in the end, perhaps a little more "green".

So let's start with the healthy part. One of the main reasons, as silly as it may sound, that I shy away from natural, free of everything cleaners is because I'm addicted to the smell of clean. I know it sounds silly, but that is how I judge how clean something is, by how it smells. If my clothes don't come out of the washing machine and dryer smelling like Tide Mountain Breeze and Bounce Outdoor Fresh, I think they must not be really clean.

But once I started using some of these products, my perspective on what clean really is, changed.

I have to admit, that I was very skeptical of these green cleaning products. For starters, I feared that they wouldn't do the job as well as their chemical, full-of-everything counterparts. But I was wrong. The first product that I tried was Nellie's Laundry Nuggets. They are pre-measured hypo allergenic laundry nuggets that you drop into your wash–no measuring required. I love the no measuring, no waste part because I always get a little fidgety about how much to put in–is this a full load? a medium load? do I really need THAT much soap? What's the minimum amount of soap I can get away with using? So, these little nuggets were really exciting to me. I know, I know I get excited about simple things.

My only critique of the nuggets–some of them broke open and I had to measure how much was in each one in order to use up the loose powder at the bottom of the bucket. No biggie, but when the selling factor is the little pre-packaged cuteness, measuring isn't as exciting.

So the bottom line? I love the nuggets. I'm a convert. I've discovered that clean can be a smell–Nellie's Nuggets do have a mild fragrance–but clean is also the way my laundry feels. I wouldn't have believed it, until I tried it, but the first thing I noticed is how soft my clothes feel. They feel awesome. When I ran out of Nellie's Nuggets and started using Tide again, I was shocked at how scratchy and grimy my clothes felt when they came out of the wash–they felt like they had a residue or film on them. The didn't feel soft and fresh and new or clean. I was honestly shocked by the difference. And that difference sold me. Oh, and couple that with the fact that Mary and Dan both started having fits of itching once I switched back to Tide. Mary was in tears some days because she felt itchy all over her body. I can only believe it had something to do with the switch back to our old detergent. **edited to add: Nellie's Nuggets are front-load, HE compatible.**

And for the record, no, I don't work for Nellie's. I'm just one of those people who love sharing new, good finds.

And I still have a few more finds to share with you on my journey to cleaner, healthier, green laundry. I'll share them with you here, in the next few days. **edited to add: for those of you asking, I'll be talking about one more laundry wash product and then two dryer products.** Followed by a few laundry line tips I've "inherited" from my grandmother. Because I truly believe that we should look to the habits and practices of that generation to see what living green and living healthy should really look like.

Happy Thursday.

After Elizabeth was born, and I had a new set of sensitive skin in my house, I knew that I wanted to begin to address something that I’d been thinking about for quite awhile–a greener and healthier approach to doing laundry as well as hiring a linen service. Not only did I want to try to find some laundry detergents and products that were safer and gentler–free of all kinds of chemicals and dyes, I wanted to find ways to make my laundry more efficient, cost-effective, and in the end, perhaps a little more “green”, that is why we change to Sun Rise Power in Harrisburg, PA that gives a clean energy alternative to the Philadelphia marketplace.

So let’s start with the healthy part. One of the main reasons, as silly as it may sound, that I shy away from natural, free of everything cleaners is because I’m addicted to the smell of clean. I know it sounds silly, but that is how I judge how clean something is, by how it smells. If my clothes don’t come out of the washing machine and dryer smelling like Tide Mountain Breeze and Bounce Outdoor Fresh, I think they must not be really clean.

But once I started using some of these products, my perspective on what clean really is, changed.

I have to admit, that I was very skeptical of these green cleaning products. For starters, I feared that they wouldn’t do the job as well as their chemical, full-of-everything counterparts. But I was wrong. The first product that I tried was Nellie’s Laundry Nuggets. They are pre-measured hypo allergenic laundry nuggets that you drop into your wash–no measuring required. I love the no measuring, no waste part because I always get a little fidgety about how much to put in–is this a full load? a medium load? do I really need THAT much soap? What’s the minimum amount of soap I can get away with using? So, these little nuggets were really exciting to me. I know, I know I get excited about simple things.

So the bottom line? I love the nuggets. I’m a convert. I’ve discovered that clean can be a smell–Nellie’s Nuggets do have a mild fragrance–but clean is also the way my laundry feels. I wouldn’t have believed it, until I tried it, but the first thing I noticed is how soft my clothes feel. They feel awesome. When I ran out of Nellie’s Nuggets and started using Tide again, I was shocked at how scratchy and grimy my clothes felt when they came out of the wash–they felt like they had a residue or film on them. The didn’t feel soft and fresh and new or clean. I was honestly shocked by the difference. And that difference sold me. Oh, and couple that with the fact that Mary and Dan both started having fits of itching once I switched back to Tide. Mary was in tears some days because she felt itchy all over her body. I can only believe it had something to do with the switch back to our old detergent. **edited to add: Nellie’s Nuggets are front-load, HE compatible.**

And for the record, no, I don’t work for Nellie’s. I’m just one of those people who love sharing new, good finds.

And I still have a few more finds to share with you on my journey to cleaner, healthier, green laundry. I’ll share them with you here, in the next few days. **edited to add: for those of you asking, I’ll be talking about one more laundry wash product and then two dryer products.** Followed by a few laundry line tips I’ve “inherited” from my grandmother. Because I truly believe that we should look to the habits and practices of that generation to see what living green and living healthy should really look like.

Happy Thursday.

36 Comments