Shamrock Window Transparency

Photo from Twig and Toadstool

A Little Brown Bulb

A little brown bulb went to sleep in the ground.

There she slept very sound.

While Old King Winter raged and roared overhead,

The little brown bulb did not stir in her bed.

Then came Lady Spring tip-toeing over the lea,

Fingers to lips as soft as can be.

And the little brown bulb just lifted her head,

Slipped off her nightie and jumped out of bed. 

I am having a hard time not anticipating the return of Spring! I'm eagerly awaiting the warmth, the songbirds, the longer days, dirty finger nails from being in the garden.......I dream of Spring! Today, we in NY are anticipating a snowfall *sigh* which is equally as exciting for the littles. To help get me through until Spring has officially sprung we'll be making these beautiful shamrock window transparencies. They are lovely to look at, the dimension in color, the shamrock frame. Our front door window will be decked out to welcome the 'luck of the Irish' and yours can be, too!

What you'll need::

Green card stock (2 pieces for each shamrock)

various sizes and colors of tissue paper

a larger piece of light colored tissue paper

glue stick

tape

scissors

First, cut our a heart shape with a cut out center. Position this on your green card stock paper and trace

four times. This will take a bit of arranging but once you trace and begin cutting it will take shape!

Make sure to cut out two shamrocks! This will be your frame from your transparency work.

Next, you'll glue on your larger piece of light colored tissue paper. It's OK to leave it overlapping because
when you add the other shamrock you can go around and give it a trim!

This is the fun part.....gluing all the little pieces of colored tissue paper onto your shamrock!

Cover the entire piece of light colored tissue paper with the little colored pieces of tissue paper.

Lastly, match your last shamrock to create a frame for your transparency work. Trim around the edge to
remove the tissue paper that is hanging over.

Aren't they beautiful?! Hang them in your window and watch the rainbow of colors come shining through!

I hope you enjoy the coming month and all the wonderful colors that come with the Springtime!



New Post on TASTE

Continuing our talk on rhythm.......in this post you will find some suggestions on helping ease your morning routine; including our homemade granola recipe!!!

Click here for our New Post on TASTE

Also!!!! A totally big surprise to find out the It's a Simple Life has been nominated for a Homie award for best family blog! We're so humbled and honored that someone thought of us enough to include us in the nominations! Please head over to Apartment Therapy and give us a vote! Thank you with smiles from ear to ear!!!

In like a lion, out like a lamb

by Lorie Hill

March roars in like a lion

So fierce,

The wind so cold,

It seems to pierce.

The month rolls on

And Spring draws near,

And March goes out

Like a lamb so dear

It isn't quite March yet but I can already see the signs that winter is holding on. After several months of a 'non' winter (hardly a flake of snow and mild temperatures) here in New York we received a significant cold snap with ice, snow, and bitter winds! Needless to say, the children were thrilled! With just 3 inches of snow the children were out exploring, decked in snow pants and layers upon layers to see what this new world looked like dressed in white! My husband was just as eager and spent the afternoon hiking the hills with the children in search of skinny fallen trees to use in our garden as 'ribbon trees'! With these preMarch winds the ribbons blow beautifully and add such an etheric feeling to our barren  garden. The faeries will be delighted upon their return!

In response to this 'lion's roar' I spent the weekend crafting. I've discovered that needle felting is like breathing to me. I love it and it brings me no greater joy than to make little treasures for my children to use whilst they create their world around them. In their experience, watching Mama turn pieces of wool into something else was pure magic! They couldn't wait to see what would come out of the wool next! Their imaginations went wild and they cherished each and every piece that came to us.......I love childhood! We also created the first of our gnome family, Mama and Papa Gnome. They each are lovingly dressed and Papa even has a goatee just like our Daddy! Our little wooden figures that are awaiting their clothes are still held and played with and included in whatever adventure Mama and Papa go on.

On another note, we will be welcoming another little into our family in June. We are over the moon that another little soul has chosen us to love and guide them through this earthly life. We have so much love in our home......our cup runneth over! To that end, I have become a little apprehensive at the prospect of having a preschooler, a toddler and an infant at home! Three children under five years old......at one time...... plus our 12 and 10 year old (however the big kids are at school during the daytime and are extremely helpful and supportive when they are home)! I have only ever experienced being home with two, about 23 months apart. I'm sure it will all be fine, however it's been a real eye opener and all of a sudden I'm realizing that we've had quite the 'footloose and fancy free' existence. Not to say that this not a good thing, I've just become worried that my two littles who I am home with now will really flounder in a home with a newborn and Mama being distracted, sometimes largely distracted, with the care and attention an infant deserves.

Several weeks ago I spent a few days dreaming up how our home might run smoother, being influenced by Waldorf inspired rhythms, I created a chart on our large cork board that has hung in our dining room as a means to display an array of art projects. This is what I came up with::

(I saw a similar chart posted on Chocolate Eyes, a beautiful Waldorf inspired blog I follow).

Our chart consists of the major parts of our day. There aren't any times attached to our rhythm chart although I do try to have meals at set times to regulate hunger etc., it simply flows naturally with the transition of time throughout our day. Here is a little explanation to how our day might go::

1. Breakfast! We wake up and complete our morning routine (get dressed, brush teeth, etc.) and sit down together and enjoy our morning meal.
2. Our Morning Blessings! This time begins after breakfast has been cleaned up. We go outside and visit out sheep friends, check the bird feeder, go for a walk, play in the sandbox.
3. Inside Playtime! This is a time for the children to breathe in a bit and focus on some free play.
4. Lunchtime! Together we prepare our food, wash up, set the table and enjoy our afternoon meal.
5. Breathing In! This is our creative expression time. With every day we have a special project to focus on:: Monday is a seasonal craft, Tuesday is modelling with beeswax or play dough, Wednesday is painting/drawing, Thursday is baking, Friday is handwork, Saturday is house chores, and Sunday is our day to rest and do.......or not do!
6. Time to Rest! After our activity we slowly make our way to a resting spot and take an hour or so to snuggle in and read a story or two and maybe (hopefully!) nap! If the littles are resting comfortably without needing me close by I use this time to get some other quiet chores done; sweeping, dusting, laundry, etc.
7. Afternoon Blessings! This is a breathing out moment. We come together and have tea and a snack and then make our way out of doors, tidy up the play space, etc.
8. Dinner! Together we prepare and/or get the dining room ready to receive all six of us for our evening meal. Since our dining room has multiple uses, it's important that everything has it's place and that everyone knows where that is so dinner time can come with ease and as less stress as possible.
9. Bedtime! After dinner we usually have an hour or so of breathing out, so the littles (and even the big kids) can get their 'ya ya's' out, as my husband says! Then we move to bath and stories and then sleep.

Now, don't think for a second that this goes effortlessly and perfectly all the time, because sometimes it doesn't. Some days we want to stay in our jammies longer or someone might be ill so we rest lots. Other times we might have errands to run, grandparents to visit or play dates so our day would look a bit different. That's the beauty of refraining from rigid schedules.......a natural rhythm exists between the child and caregiver, it just needs to be identified and acknowledged. A gentle rhythm, one that holds the caregiver accountable for how the child expresses them self, eats, rests, and spends time out of doors is all that is needed to create a vision for how the day will go. Think about your days with your children, even if you work and your child spends time with someone else during the day, think about the time you do spend.......how does it feel? Does it feel hurried and rushed? Does your child spend a lot of time crying for your attention? Does your child spend a lot of time watching programs on the television instead of quality time in child's play? What I discovered is that following and really using the natural rhythm that already existed between us my children spent less time saying they were bored, less time arguing, less time wanting a movie on, and have easily come to realize what comes next in their day! That is exactly what I was hoping for. This way, when new baby arrives we are already set in a healthy, gentle rhythm, that the girls can feel and move through throughout their day and feel safe and supported. *sigh* I encourage you to try it.......even if a new baby isn't on the way, having an expectation to the day is so crucial for our littles so they can have a sense of understanding and a bit of structure on their day!

Here are our morning and evening rhythm charts, the ones the littles use to wake up and start their day and begin the bedtime process. They are the same chart, just flip it over to the correct time of day!

What I love about this rhythm chart is even our two year old KiKi can understand what comes next thanks to the picture descriptions! It's really very sweet, she'll run to the bathroom door, look at the chart and go down the list! For me, it's a real sense of comfort to know that they have a bit of control and say in their day.......I believe it will help a lot once baby arrives!

There are so many wonderful ways to establish a healthy rhythm in your home. One great resource comes from Eileen at Little Acorn Learning. Not only do they offer monthly guides with weekly activities but they offer monthly Afterschool Enrichment Guides, a Caregivers Calendar, Menus, and all sorts of E-courses to help you along your creative journey. Another wonderful resource (and one of my personal favorites) comes from The Wonder of Childhood. This is a rich resource with a bounty of connections for living, parenting, celebrating, education, stories.....you name it! Rhythm of the Home is a delightful blog full of inspiration for creating a beautiful home life and genunine experiences for you and your littles. The ideas flow with the seasons and provide you with a rhythm that flows through the year, from one season to the next!

These are just a few of the many wonderful resources available on the web. I encourage you to think about what a rhythm in your home looks like.......maybe you'll find some of these suggestions useful in your creating!

Blessings for peaceful and loving transitions between your moments today!

To Nourish and Replenish

As we embark on the spiritual awakening that might come for those who seek the journey during Lent, regardless of religious orientation, this time of year is overflowing with a newness and anticipation for a budding out. All of these attributes to this time of year I find beautifully symbolic; new lambs, budding trees and flower buds peeking from their cold winter beds, the sun's warming glow turning brown grass in to a brighter green, seeds going into the ground where they will sprout and provide our summer bounty. New, alive, to begin again. Life during Lent is profound in that we are asked to look deep within ourselves and see where we might find a bud peeking out waiting to be found. What new life is sprouting within you? How might you cultivate the newness that lies within you to be a gift to the world around you?

I've been speaking with several around me who are devout in their Lenten celebrations. They always give something up for Lent; chocolate, sweets, meat, alcohol. I always question them about their particular choice as a way to understand how giving up that particular item for 40 days will make a difference in their devotion to their God of choice, themselves, and their greater community. The idea of 'sacrificing' a particular item for Lent shows that they are a devoted follower of Jesus, that by giving up something they are mimicking Jesus' 40 day fast as he prepared his body to receive enlightenment, a closer connection to his Higher Power, the Light, the Creator. I agree that a degree of cleansing is a good idea during these Holy Days, cleaning and nourishing our bodies and spirits to bring forth a replenishment that will bring us closer to remembering who we are and what greater good we are seeking to provide in this life time. How can we clean out the old stuff, the stuff that wears us down and drains our energy? What is that stuff......emotional, physical, relationships, spiritual? Is this stuff that we can work on to let go of and allow the newness within ourselves to unfold, like the flower?

During Lent, we choose for it to be a quiet time in our home. Our seasonal table is bare, holding vigil is a candle, a bowl of earth, and some bare twigs. The empty landscape allows us to see how the preparations begin........through the creation of our Lenten garden, we see Life spring anew. Celebrating Lent with our children is a lovely and reflective time. We hang 'Our Lenten Journey' poster that helps us travel through the 40 days, reflecting on a particular emotion or other word, that will allow us some clarity into our depths. This is a great exercise for our bigger children as they are old enough now to ask questions of themselves and can clearly express how and why it is they feel a certain way. Last year, they found this to be a very nourishing activity and looked forward to putting up our new leaf everyday; focusing on the word of the day and allowing whatever thoughts or emotions that came up to come through so that they could process........and then replenish. It is a beautiful experiment in self care and healing. We found that this process provides a space for the child to feel the work of the Light within them. Seeing and knowing that there once might have been a space within them that was clouded and hurt and now.......there is Love and Light.

The season of Lent is also a wonderful time to reach out beyond our doors; to bring about a healthy balance of give and receive during Lent is like magic. As Jesus sacrificed himself for the world, we can give of ourselves to those around us.  While you are preparing your body with nourishment and cleansing.......reach out and provide a 'random act of kindness' to your neighbor. Visit your local shelter and share your gifts with the animals that are seeking their forever homes. Volunteer your time. Clean out your closets and donate what you no longer need to an agency that will then give your items to someone who could use them. In fact, why stop there........clean out your homes from items that just sit and take up space, whether it be energetic space or physical space, let those items move on to a second life where they will  cherished and needed. Leave love notes to friends and family or randomly scattered around your town. Someone will find them and be touched at the notion that they are being thought of and loved at that moment. Any and all of these activities are wonderful ways to share the Lenten season with your children. They will see that they don't have to give something up to show that they are connected to Spirit.......by giving of themselves they are simply honoring the connection that is always there.

And yet, as we seek the peace and solitude of Lent, what might we do to prepare the foundation for substantial growth? How will we tend to our gardens and allow the sunshine to warm the earth to prepare for the planting of seeds? When I think of ways to go inward I think of quiet walks in the woods. I think about sitting creek side and listening to the water flowing and with journal in hand, feeling the freedom to express whatever might be asking to come out. When I think about tending to my spirit I think of sitting snuggled up with my children, feeling their breath and the deep and constant connection we have to each other and how that relationship binds us to the Universe. When I think of nourishing my spirit I think of holding my partners hand, basking in the memory and the reason for our union and how that connection to each other brings us closer to knowing ourselves more fully and our Creator. Reinforcing our foundations, our spirits, nourishing and preparing our bodies and hearts to receive the gifts that surround us, to open our hearts to receive the Light, and then in turn, give it back to the world around us.......that is what the season of Lent means to me.

As we travel through these quiet days, I hope that you are able to disconnect from the things that might be taking up too much time and space within your spirit.......the things or people that drain your energy and keep you from knowing and giving your best self. My hope is that you find the peace in these 40 days to deeply nourish yourself and your families so that you all feel full and replenished and ready to begin again.

In all things good and in peace.......

Shrove Tuesday

Here we are.......nearing the end of another month! It's amazing how fast these days and weeks pass us by. I am grateful we have chosen to live in harmony with the rhythms that surround us......the seasons, festivals and holidays, birthdays, and our quiet days. They are all pregnant with meaning and experiences that create memories for our children that will carry them through to a time when they might have their own families. It is there that they will choose what rhythms they will follow, they will recall on their moments in childhood and reflect on a time when they, too, celebrated a day, for whatever reason. I am excited to think that by simply choosing to live and celebrate the seasonal rhythms with our children we are creating another generation that will live a little more closely to the world around them. What a lovely thought!

Today is Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday. All over the world folks are celebrating with masks and costumes to end almost 40 days (or more depending on the region but usually begins on or after Epiphany) worth of carnival celebrations. The biggest celebration is today, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season.

Mardi Gras in French literally means 'Fat Tuesday' referring to the last night before the annual fasting of rich and fatty foods before Lent. In English tradition the week leading up to Ash Wednesday is called 'shrovetide' and has it's own celebratory activities like football games and pancake races!

Today, It's a Simple Life is celebrating by making masks and using our felted beads from the other day to make a necklace. We will make pancakes for dinner and an applesauce cookie that I have been dreaming of for days now! Choosing these simple activities to share with our children will allow us to feel apart of our greater world, celebrating a moment rich with history as well as giving a beginning to the next phase of 'quiet' celebration for Lent, leading up to Palm Sunday, Holy Week and then Easter! Spring abounds with so many reasons to celebrate the newness in our lives; how will you celebrate Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday and then the beginning of the Lenten season with your family?

We wish you a beautiful start to your season of Lent!

New Post on FEEL

Come join us on our journey in felting beads! It's fun! It's wet and soapy! It's a wonderful way to spend an afternoon........try it! Let me know what you think!

Click here to visit our new Post on FEEL

Misty Rains

"Let your love be like the misty rains, coming softly, but flooding the river." 

 ~Malagasy Proverb

Today is Valentine's Day, what does that mean to you? Does it have any meaning? Is it just another day of the week, the month, another day in your year? For some it's a day of sadness for they feel as though they have no one who loves them, or maybe they are missing a loved one. For others the commercialization of this day drives them into protest. There may be some people who simply just don't partake because they feel as though this holiday doesn't represent anything significant because they spend their lives loving fully and intentionally everyday.......which is really how we should love, don't you think?

I've read many peoples thoughts on the day today, amazingly, there aren't many positive attributes to share! So many folks are feeling dragged down by the thought of sharing love, receiving love, admitting love. Has love really become a lost emotion? Are so many feeling that love is not worth the time or energy or that there are better things to do than to express how one feels about another? I'm not an expert and to be honest I live in a bit of a bubble but I would hope that somewhere deep inside those folks they can find that there is more to today than just roses, diamonds, fancy dinners out, and Hallmark cards. Somewhere I hope they can see, like any other festival or holiday that marks a milestone in time, that this day commemorates the celebration of love. How love has triumphed over evils. How today there are more and more people who are able to freely love whom they choose without laws and fewer protesters to hold them back. Today, in my heart, marks a day in our history where love prevails. It reminds me of how fortunate I am to be loved so deeply by so many; my husband, my children, my family and friends.......my cat! Like any other day, today brings up my intention to be more mindful and grateful for the life that I have. Promising myself to live each day more fully and with less fear. I think about those who love but are missing and for those who feel like they are not loved or those who think they just don't have anything left within them to love. In my mind, I imagine loving them, sending them hugs and loving thoughts that will carry them through the day, imagining that magically they feel loved but are unsure as to where it's come from. Maybe they will find a sense of strength that comes from within and they realize that someone does love them......that they love themselves! From that moment, they smile more, reach out, and in turn give back this magical love that they feel to someone else who might feel lonely or sad. Love is eternal, never ending. It spreads faster and wider than any other emotion, why not do amazing things with it?

There are many conflicting stories when it comes to the history of St. Valentine's Day. One thing that is for sure is that the word Valentine comes from the Latin word valens meaning worthy, powerful, and strong. If today is considered to be a day to celebrate the love in our life........aren't we all worthy of love? Are we not powerful and strong in our emotion to love and be loved? Isn't our love so powerful that it has affected another being? Are we stronger in heart and soul when we know that we are loved by another or when we are free to love and express our deepest passion for another being? Like the quote from above, our love should flow gently and steadily like a misty rain but overflow the boundaries of the one we share our love with. Our love should exceed any walls, break down any fears, hold strong all that is good

On this day, if you are one of the folks feeling low, think about how your love is strong, worthy, and powerful. Consider how you might think differently about love in your life; how you express your love, how you accept love, how you give love, or even what you might expect out of love. Do something special for yourself and another being if you choose........prepare a delicious meal or treat, spend time feeling loved in nature by going for a walk or sitting near a stream or river, visit your local shelter and share some goodies with the animals who are seeking their forever loves, volunteer your time with a group that prepares free meals to those who are less fortunate, make some birdseed treats and hang them in your trees to share the love with your feathered friends, or simply remind yourself that you are loved by someone, somewhere and you don't need some material object to make it so. Sit quietly and think deeply on those you love or have loved. Thank them for that precious gift. Try to open your heart to the possibility of loving again, or rekindling a love in your life.  Any and all of these ideas can happen today, tomorrow, next week.......any day! Love doesn't come and go with Valentine's Day........it is eternal. Share your love eternally, the only consequence is your heart may double or triple in size!

Wishing you nothing but love in your life, to give and receive, today and everyday!