This blog works again!!!

So many things have happened since I've been unable to update the blog.

The biggest is: team Prelogar will be getting a new player this summer!  We have an unexpected bundle due August 28th-ish.  Stay tuned for updates!

We are all so very over winter.  Even for Kansas this has been a particularly hard and cold winter.  To say we have cabin fever is an understatement!

R is no longer in preschool.  We couldn't make it work (time wise and financially) with childcare for S, me teaching and working, and N working and going to school.  So we are working on things at home.  Since we are mostly inspired by Waldorf philosophies we haven't pushed letters or reading, but some of it is coming naturally, especially with the amount of books we read.

I'm still involved in swaps, but thinking about scaling back.  Currently I'm hosting a St. Patrick's Day Swap for BOG and a Tiptoes Lightly swap for a Facebook group.  (Tiptoes is a character in a series of books).  I was hesitant to stay in swaps with all the holiday dissappointment, but I want to have a stockpile of nature table goodies and more natural things for the sensory bins.  So I'm keeping up for a while longer.  I most certainly won't be doing anything for a while after the baby comes.  

Speaking of sensory bins... I put together my first one for Etsy.  And I already sold it!  It was for St. Patrick's Day.

Our own St. Patrick's Day bins look like this:

Since I'm trying not to spend money on "new" things for the bins, I'm forced to get creative.  It's especially hard to spread our goodies to two bins with the same theme, but I'm finding that helps with sibling contentment.  These bins are filled with green split peas and i think they still turned out fun despite the lack of "stuff".

Technical difficulties

I've tried to post a couple times since Christmas.  And so far it isn't working.


It appears that photos lock the site up.  So maybe if I don't post a photo this will work? 


Let's see!

The Chalkboard

So this summer I found a small chalkboard at a garage sale for $0.50.  I've been meaning to try it out.  And who doesn't love incorporating new traditions into Christmas???

Here's what I've done with the chalkboard the last few days...

I realized a couple days in, just having words wasn't working for the kids.  So from this point on it's just pictures and maybe a word or two.  They knew exactly what the Gingerbread house meant and they were so excited to see it.  It's a good opportunity for me to brush up on my drawing skills too.  As you can see by said Gingerbread house, they are quite rusty! 

Solstice

Happy Solstice!  On this the shortest day of the year, we give thanks for the Sun!

Here is our Winter Nature Table which pays homage to all our Winter traditions.  Which ones can you spot?

 

And our newest idea (could be a tradition) was sparklers!  We had a small box left over from the 4th of July.  The kids loved getting bundled up after dark and playing with the sparklers.  It was a good opportunity to tell them that this is the shortest day of year and we want to celebrate and welcome back the Sun! 

 

 

Frugal Friday

Kid clothes! 

An adorable Baby Gap Sweater, a pair of leggings, and a dress.  I also got a pair of Kamik snowboots for the little man.  Salvation Army again.

Grand total: just under $10

Crafting: Part One

There's been a lot of crafting between finals and work around here.  Here's a brief breakdown:

Swaps:
Martinmas (which seems like ages ago) Hats

Note: I am still waiting to get my Martinmas package, there was an issue with shipping from Canada, but I expect it any day. 

 

The next swap I did was the one-on-one Winter where I made the Tomten and trees.

 

Then there was another one-on-one Autumn swap where I made some fall themed wood goodies, but I forgot to take a picture.  I am also still waiting on to find out what that mama made for me.

 

Facebook Waldorf Swap - theme Winter Nature Table Swap:

 

 

 

 

 

 I made wooden owls with little tiny owl books and placed them in these little bags. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the amazing things I got back from this swap

A wooden snowflake candle holder, a bear in his den, a "icicle gnome" who I have renamed Jack Frost, and this lovely playsilk (the background).  There was a beautiful heart ornament, but my rotten dog ate it right away. 








 

Etsy Stocking Stuffer Swap:

 

I made bean bags - two to a set, ten sets.  It was a lot of sewing. 

 

 



I just got back my items and I'm sad to say that I will only be able to use a few of the 10 items I got back as actual stocking stuffers.  Some are just not a good fit for the ages of my kids and some aren't what I would think of as stocking stuffers.  So a little disappointed here.