Come see our latest recipes to help bring some yummy flavors to your Candlemas celebration. You will also find links to other folks who will inspire you to be creative and celebrate! Enjoy and thank you for stopping by!
~ breathing, wandering, celebrating, homeschooling, creating, playing, growing, loving, being ~
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
New Post on DO
In preparation of what lies ahead our posts this week will focus on how we can prepare our homes and hearts to celebrate and allow the Light in. We will focus on and offer suggestions for a good spring cleaning, lantern making, candle making, art projects, planting seeds/sprouts, and recipes that will help make this Candlemas a week long preparation and celebration! So to start......let's get cleaning!
There's also a little incentive to get you cleaning........I'll leave a little hint!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
{ this moment }
{this moment} - A Sunday 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.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
inspired by Amanda Blake Soule
. . . . . . . .
Friday, January 27, 2012
New Post on HEAR
Come take a gander at our newest post on HEAR! You'll get a glimpse of how we're accepting more of the Dragon into our lives as well as a super, special surprise that has come to life within our creative world!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Playtime
Playtime is a gift that many children in today's over worked, over booked, over teched society, don't even get to experience anymore. Between preschools or day cares at such a young age with toys that take away any notion of imagination, kindergartens that push to write, read, and understand math concepts first over understanding the world around them and how it works. Then the lower grades that have almost zero time for free play. By the time our children reach the age of 10 they may have almost forgotten what it means to have an imagination, to play by themselves without an iPOD, a laptop, or another hand held electronic device. When I was a child, by the age of 10 I was still playing with toys, rode my bike, went for walks in the woods, with or without friends. I didn't have a cell phone, a computer, or any other portable gaming device. It was me, with a book, a friend, a notebook, some crayons, a swing set! We did have television and my sister had a Nintendo (which I played when she let me but not everyday and certainly not all day). Regardless, most of my childhood memories are me sitting amongst the trees, making forts and pretending; this is what I strive to give back to my children.
Now that I am a mother to four (with another on the way) it has become so important to our family to 'take back' what it means to be a child. We don't have cable, we don't have any hand held gaming devices or ones that hook up to the television, no iPODs. We do allow the two older children (ages 10 and 12) an hour a week on the computer and they do have an MP3 player (which I attribute to the modern Walkman which I had as a pre-teen) that they are allowed to listen to when they are in their rooms only (which is hardly ever because we're so busy being together as a family). We struggle to accept talking and music making toys for our little ones, we try to intimate what types of toys we'd like sometimes with great success sometimes not. The toys the little ones do have are ones that will allow them to pretend, to imagine, to create their world in the physical form; animal figures, doll house, costumes, art supplies, cars/trucks, blocks, and lots of books, soft baby dolls and musical instruments. We keep our dining room table free from clutter (as much as possible ;o) ) to allow for any crafting, coloring, painting, or baking that may take place at any given moment. We strive to keep our children's environment stress free and simple to allow the creativity to flow, to allow their genuine selves to shine through and create the vision that their imagination sees.
In today's society, it is hard to not fall prey to wanting your child to keep up with the times, to have the same things that their peers have so they don't feel left out. Sometimes our older two feel very left out and wish for the things their friends have. As their parents, we do our best to show them that it's never a good idea to compare ourselves to someone else, and in the end, it's our bond as a family, it's our ability to laugh together, play together, and have fun together that reminds them that if they did have all that other stuff.......we wouldn't be the family that we are. By not allowing our kids to plug in and knowing in our hearts that their 'play time' is the most important gift we could give them, we've invested in our family as a whole. That simple choice means that we have chosen our family over 'keeping up with the Joneses'.
As parenting our children becomes more difficult with each day, I ask you this.......how do you allow your children to just be? To be with themselves (not plugged in), to be with their friends (again, not plugged in), to be with you (dare I say it, not plugged in)? If you're lifestyle is one that supports iPODs, gaming devices, loads of plugged in time, I would ask that you think about how those choices might have affected your relationships with your children. Do you still spend a good amount of quality time together? Do you talk, play, or interact with each other outside of a video game or text? How could you limit their screen time and reinvest that time inward to allow for free play and downtime together?
At the end of the day, these are each simple lifestyle choices. In the end, one needs to chose what type of living works best for them, based on actual life experiences. My hope is that by providing a window into the alternate choice, one might be inspired to look at how their child exists in their own playtime and implement a change for the better........for the child and the family as a whole.
*For ideas and inspiration on interacting with your child more fully and helping them to discover that life isn't just about being plugged in, check It's a Simple Life's blog roll. These are lovely people choosing to live a very connected life simply because they now that in the blink of an eye, their children will be grown and that precious time they are given them will have shifted into something else. Savor your time with your children, hold them close, smell them when they are near, look them in the eye. Hold their tender heart in your hands and remember that they are only yours to experience fully for a short time.*
Monday, January 23, 2012
New Post on FEEL
Head on over to FEEL to see how we've begun our celebration of the Chinese New Year and the welcoming of the Dragon. How are you welcoming and honoring the Dragon in your life? Share your thoughts with us and how you're celebrations will unfold. Happy New Year!!!
"Reach high, for stars lie hidden within your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal." ~ Ralph Vaull Starr
Friday, January 20, 2012
New Post on TASTE
Here it is!
Make it! Enjoy it! Let the children help!
Make toast, make french toast, or eat it warm out of the oven. Whatever you do let us know what you think!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
New Post on DO
Head on over to DO and discover how It's a Simple Life is spending this Wednesday in January. We've included a full tutorial on our featured project which includes; making salt dough, painting and a unique way to display your creative pieces of artwork! These would make great gift ideas as well as a functional addition to your organizing needs! It's simplicity doing double duty! Have fun and let us know what you think!!!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
New recipe added to our Recipe page!
Check out our new Recipe page! Tonight, on this cold, wintry Northeast night we're cooking up Three Sisters Stew (It's a Simple Life's way!!! Simple and with what we've got on hand!!!) Give a try and let me know what you think!
A poem to warm today
The Sun Is In My Heart
A.C Harwood
from the Waldorf Book of Poetry
The Sun is in my heart
He warms me with his power,
And wakens, wakens life and love,
In every beast and flower,
In every beast and flower.
The stars above my head
Are shining in my mind
As spirits, spirits of the world,
That in my thought I find,
That in my thought I find.
The earth whereon I tread
Let's not my feet go though,
But strongly, strongly doth uphold
The weight of deeds I do,
The weight of deeds I do.
The must I thankful be
As man on earth I dwell,
To know, to know and love the world,
And work all creatures well,
And work all creatures well.
The Waldorf Book of Poetry is a very special book. They are offering a look inside the book which you can find at here ~
Monday, January 16, 2012
New Post on TOUCH
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Snow Fun
This picture is from our winter fun play from last year. We've just received a bit of snow in the last few days but the temperature is pretty close to 0° so we're hesitant to go outside for more than a few moments at a time. So, to remember how much fun the snow can be and how even the littlest ones can enjoy it (assuming their bundled up very, very well!!!!), here is our youngest, KiKi, crawling around and discovering the cold, wet, edible, white, snowy goodness! How do you and your family experience snow fun?
Friday, January 13, 2012
New Post on TASTE
If you're on Facebook, look for us here:: It's a Simple Life on Facebook
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Burrrr!
Well, we asked for winter weather and boy we sure got it! However, it's not quite the weather I think most of us were dreaming of (i.e. actual snow!!!!) but, it adds that certain element that had been missing. Nonetheless, this cold and wet day is the perfect day to stay cozied up inside and bake, bake, bake!
After years of fiddling with our oatmeal cookie recipe, I think I've managed to come up with something that is crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside, and chock full of spices that will warm up even this cold, wintry day! Also....... on days like today we tend to always make hot chocolate, which, in my opinion, isn't all that bad, but.......we're out of regular milk sOoOoOoOo we'll make homemade chai tea instead! It's sweet, warm, spicy and really good for you, plus, it tastes better when you use an alternative milk like soy or almond, which I happen to have on hand. Gotta keep it simple!
Thank you for spending your moments reading what's happening over here on It's a Simple Life. We enjoy your comments and feedback so keep it coming! Stay tuned for tomorrow's post which will have both recipes from today's baking frenzy!
Thank you for spending your moments reading what's happening over here on It's a Simple Life. We enjoy your comments and feedback so keep it coming! Stay tuned for tomorrow's post which will have both recipes from today's baking frenzy!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
New Post on SEE
Visit our SEE page to 'see' what we were up to on our winter walk the other day. Aside from a walk we have a lovely micro-tutorial craft idea! Give it a try and let me know what you think!!!
Monday, January 9, 2012
New Post on DO
Share with us in the celebration of our 4 year old's birthday. Her crown, her cake, her smile.
*A tutorial for the crown and recipe for the cake will be posted as soon as possible.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Sunday
Here is my Sunday pictoral post. A little late, and not all the photos I had intended. However, the vision of our beloved Christmas tree standing in our barren garden is a beautiful sight. Our tree will provide a home for birds and other critters. Our tree's branches hold little balls of birdseed and peanut butter as a bountiful treat for our woodland friends. So, not only has our tree offered us such beauty within our home but now it will outside our home. We feel so blessed.
Friday, January 6, 2012
To shine Above
It's been a bit quiet on Rhythmic Silence. Once the children returned to school we had become riddled with all the new germs and illness that arise during the new school year and being around friends, old and new. Not to mention the children being cooped up for 6 hours a day which is diametrically opposed to how they spent the summer months, out of doors, breathing the fresh, warm air, getting dirty in the garden, and bathing in a pond or stream. Life is so different when you follow the rhythms of the 'school year'. In years passed, we've been lucky enough to be a part of the local Waldorf school, and then home school, and then public school (supplementing as much a possible the rhythms and loveliness learned through Waldorf education). This year, either for all the illness and other distractions that have come up as of late, we have had a bit of a hiatus. In many ways it shows. I won't go into how we each have missed out on the crafting, baking, less outside time, stories, songs, etc. because that would take several months worth of lamenting, so, I'll just let out my *sigh* of relief in knowing that Epiphany marks the end of our 'family rhythm celebrations hiatus'. Epiphany marks the day that we return to our simple celebrations of life and living in our rhythmic silence.
To begin our march into this reverent silence, we've quietly taken down all the little beauties that adorned our beloved Christmas tree as well as around our home.Quietly, tonight after my husband returns from work, we will watch as he brings our tree outside, into the unseasonably warm Northeast winter, and place it in the center of our garden. Our evening activity will be baking biscuits and bird seed snacks to hang on our tree as a winter's garden bounty for our bird friends, and whatever else may need a snack in these bleak mid-winter months. A simple celebration in merry-making as we end the Christmastime season, sip some warm homemade cider, refocus our hearts on being together and sharing this time, that slips away so quickly, in ways that are growing more and more in meaning. It is my wish that our hearts are so full, everyday, that not a moment goes by where we feel as though we've missed out on sharing ourselves with each other.
I look forward to redirecting our lives, not necessarily back on a path we've been together before, but returning to the familiar place of being,of living, of not getting washed up in our daily struggles but 'shining above' it all to be better, do better, feel better, love better.
"My path is not clear though I follow the star;
Come, be my companions it cannot be far."
*Sundays will be just photo posting days. I will post our events from this evening to tie it all together then!
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