Friday, November 16, 2012

Art Book AKA Violet's Book

My daughter began preschool this year, and we couldn't be happier with our choice.  It's one room, one teacher, ten kids, and totally free.  There are art and craft tables, dress up, a water table, and lots of large objects for imaginative play.  Violet, being such an artist, chooses to paint most days, and comes home with these paintings on a regular basis (sometimes with as many as 5).  It didn't take long for the fridge to get covered, so I started taping them to the cupboards, and then the car was full... and so on...

I wanted to save them, but obviously displaying this growing collection just wasn't possible.  So I came up with a better way.

Here's a dragon she painted, as if I needed to tell you

A little matching project we did this weekend.  
I got a 2 or 3 inch binder, and a large (200) pack of clear document covers.  I filled my binder up, and now I date and enter each project.  I even write on the name of her creation if it has one.  I add pictures that she does at home, and even our foam hand turkey projects got put in there.  She loves that it's HER book, the Violet Book.  I love that it takes up almost no room, is saved, and organized.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Two Toddlers!

We rearranged our bedroom, and while we were moving stuff around my husband found this beautiful picture frame that someone gave us while pregnant with our first baby (now 3 and counting).  It has pressed flowers and says;
"Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide to forever have your heart go walking around outside your body." -Elizabeth Stone

We just had a good friend who owns Free Spirit Studios take our family holiday pictures, and I decided to put one of the pictures in there.  Perfect.  While the quote in itself is so beautiful, it's even more apt now, as both my children are now walking, running, jumping (and wrestling).  I can't believe I have two big kids now, and no babies.

My daughter Violet is talking like crazy, and talking a lot about being vegan.  She tells anyone who will listen that she doesn't eat cow milk, she asks about what other people eat, and she's figuring out how to navigate the non-vegan world.  She's started preschool, and although everyone else shares a group snack, we pack her snack each day just for her.  I had so many fears going into this that it would be too hard or she'd feel too different.  Instead, she says, "They eat cow milk snacks, but I eat food."  No problem, as it turns out.  She's taken vegan books for sharing and had no issues with that, and when she brought her Adopt-an-Animal certificate from Farm Sanctuary, the teacher said she'd like to sponsor an animal as a class.  She's a total animal activist, and I've started a separate blog just for all the funny things she says and does in regards to veganism, Vegan Kids Say The Darndest Things.

Our baby boy is now a small man-child.  He's had the eyebrows of a man since birth, and it seems he's now growing into them with the personality to match.  He's learning to shake his head no, say "yeah," and give kisses on command (clearly this is my favorite new development).  He's a sweet cuddle bug, very independent, and he loves anything wheeled or round.  It's fun watching him grow and change in many ways that are the same as Violet and some so different.  While Violet has always been on the smallest end of the growth chart, Desmond is on the highest end.  We were recently at a gymnastics class for toddlers and all the kids were the same size, but it seemed like Dez was so far behind the others in speech.  I started asking around and discovered that the other kids (most of whom were shorter than him) were 3-6 months older than him.

There's a million more things, but what can you do?  Create time?  I'll try to catch back up, because I would like to reconnect in this way, it's just time and peace.  I've been using a lot of my free time to read or rest, and it's felt so good that I don't really find all that much extra time, but this is something I'd really like to pick back up.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

L is for Long Time... It's Been a While

Well, I took a little break from blogging.

I keep starting this post and don't know how to write it yet.  I had some severe post partum depression, hitting rock bottom when I realized I had a plan to kill myself.  I'm seeing a doctor, taking medication, and getting help now.  Things are looking up, and I'm doing so much better.  It was really hard for me to ask for help, and I feel really embarrassed that I didn't seek help sooner.

Catching up:
We went to Hawaii and had a blast!  We rented bikes and rode all over to the kids' delight! 
I got dreadlocks while in Hawaii and LOVE them.
Desmond is FIVE months old now!
After our travels, my milk supply dropped and I have had to start supplementing with soy formula.
Desmond has started on solids and he loves food (I'll post fun baby food recipes soon).