Getting it Together

It seems as if Abby's interests and intellectual needs have been changing so quickly that I'm barely able to get things together to head in one direction and she's already going in another. I realized that I needed to get things more organized and make our home more functional for her learning. I am noticing that the things I have done to our space are part Montessori and part OCD. Either way, I'd say things are improving!

I have been looking for a small and attractive coat rack to hang at Abby's level so that she can be responsible for getting her own coat before an outing and hanging it up when we return. I haven't been able to find one that I liked enough to pay the asking price for and haven't had the time to add it to the Honey-Do list. I was shopping for craft supplies when I ran across this wire coat hanger at the Dollar Tree. It's not as attractive as I would have liked for it to be, but it allows for Abby to be more independent and I'd call that a dollar well spent.

Simple & Cheap. Pretty much sums me up!

Abby has recently started pulling all of her toys out and dumping all of her bins out until there is no room to play, let alone even walk through the living room, so in the interest of preserving my sanity I created labels for her bins and shelves. I chose to use a font that is simple, clear, and similar to fonts used in beginning printing lessons and because Abby can't read yet I also wanted to include pictures of the toys. If you would like a pdf of the file I would be glad to email it to you, just leave a comment with your email address in it.

The ideas behind the labels is that she will be better able to take her toys out, play with them, and then return them to their "home" when she is done. It's very important to us that our children learn to treat people and their things with respect, taking care of your belongings is part of that. Today was day one with the laminated labels and here's what I learned...

1. Adhesive velcro tabs are pretty much useless after they've been toted around and stored in extreme hot and cold temperatures for five years. I will probably be hole-punching the tags for the bins and attaching them to the handles like luggage tags.
2. Scotch tape is no match for a 21-month old. I was afraid to use stronger tape because I wanted to keep the labels mobile while salvaging the finish on the cheap shelving we have. Still working on a solution for this one.
3. Abby LOVED knowing what to put where and was so much more excited to help with clean up! Score! Insert Happy Mama Dance Here!

Labels velcroed to bins. Those that are labelled with a STOP sign are materials that require assistance from a parent, such as DVDs, CDs, and special books.

The drawer unit next to her kitchen is new and already well used. It has freed up several fabric bins for other materials and has contained her kitchen mess to a smaller area.

We have been slowly collecting arts and craft supplies for Abby, but haven't really had anywhere in the house to store them which means that every art project, even something as simple as coloring, requires a minimum of two trips out to the garage. That means cold feet and a rush of cold air into the house, which doesn't exactly thrill me. I had been thinking of inexpensive ways to store art supplies in a more accessible way when I ran across the idea of using an over the door shoe organizer. Less than ten dollars? Heck yes!

Please don't look at my pantry. It's embarrassing. Getting that organized is nowhere near the top of my to-do list though, so I guess I ought to accept it the way it is!

I am very pleased with the results and I think Abby is too! In fact, we have been doing so much more painting and coloring lately that we decided to create an area in our dining room to display her artwork. I chose to frame a famous quote by Pablo Picasso and hang a clothes line where art can dry and be displayed in a way that is easy to change out.

Greg says he sees a lot of happy trees.

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Pablo Picasso

I really struggled with how to arrange, frame, and display the quote. Greg insisted that it needed to be artistic and unconventional, so it is. I guess. It serves its purpose and will probably change before I get used to it, so it'll do for now.

Christmas Morning

We tried really hard not to go overboard this Christmas, but in a few ways we just couldn't help ourselves. It was our first Christmas together as a family since Abby was born and last year she didn't grasp the concept of the holiday by any means. We got a full-sized tree, put lights up outside, and even decorated a gingerbread house!

This wonderful kit was sent to us by my good friend Barbara. This is as far as we ever got. I had big plans for landscaping that never came to fruition. Oh well. there is always next year!

This year Abby was in awe of the lights and trees, but mostly by the concept of presents. We didn't put any presents under the tree until Christmas morning and although Santa didn't give her any presents, we did tell her that he delivered all of the presents. We tried hard to remind her that this was all because of Jesus' birthday by reading Christmas story books of a Biblical nature and signing Christmas songs along the same lines throughout the month of December, but especially in the week leading up to Christmas. We made birthday cupcakes for Jesus and sang Him "Happy Birthday" on Christmas evening.

Our family traditions are pretty simple. We don't have any close family nearby and although we wish we could have spent the holidays with them, it can be nice to not be obligated to do a lot of running around. We had planned to make homemade pizza on Christmas Eve, but after waiting in line for nearly an hour for a free horse-drawn carriage ride before giving up we ended up going out to a late lunch and never got around to the pizza. On Christmas morning we had our wonderful neighbors and Abby's stand-in grandparents over for a huckleberry pancake breakfast. We stayed in our PJs all day and it was awesome. We ended up having our homemade pizza on Christmas, postponing our more traditional ham dinner another day.

Here are some pictures of Abby's favorite Christmas present - a second-hand desk hutch that Greg and I turned into a play kitchen...

Look at all those presents! Can you say "spoiled"? Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa Baker, Aunt Debi & Uncle Larry, Gram, Aunt April, and everyone else that sent cards, gifts, and warm wishes this year!

She knew exactly what to do with it and got right to work!

We'd hidden presents in the oven! We're so tricky!

Her best bud, Haylie, has been the only one over to play with it so far. She is four and a half and I'm very glad to see her enjoy it as much as she is. Hopefully this means that Abby won't be done with it next week!

We outfitted it with cheap pots, pans, and various utensils from the local Hospice Thrift Store. Grandma and Grandpa Baker supplied fruits, veggies, and a BBQ set. Abby was also given two homemade aprons, kitchen towels, pot holders, and a chef's from our sweet neighbors, her Great-Aunt Debi in Oregon, plus one that was made for her by Jenn.

At one point I was keeping track of much we spent on the renovation, but I smarted up and quit. It probably didn't end up costing any less than buying a plastic one when you factor in various tools and parts we needed to buy but will now have for future projects. I am very proud of our team work and am excited for all of the things we're planning for next Christmas.

I got the camera that all of these pictures were taken on and lot of odds and ends things that I'd been wanting for awhile. Aside from the camera, my biggest score was probably three sets of new jammies! Greg got lots of new power tools from his Mom and Dad and a pretty cool gift from me, not that I'm biased or anything. I put together twelve preplanned and prepaid dates, an idea I got from none other than Pinterest! He really liked it and had fun comparing the thickness of the various envelopes. For January we will be going snowshoeing, something we have been wanting to do since we moved here. I'll be sure to post each month's date as we come to them so that you can follow along on our adventure!

Greg's reaction to his gift from me. Pretty much priceless!

'Tis the Baking Season

As we were decorating our tree, we explained that it was for Baby Jesus' birthday, so now Abby thinks that Baby Jesus is actually IN our Christmas tree. When we turn on the lights she gasps and says "Look at Him!! Baby Jesus! Aww." (Have I mentioned lately that I love my camera?! Thanks again Love. You're too good to me!)

This year I have way more time than we have money, so all of our Christmas gifts are going to be homemade. Last week it dawned on me that the postal mail cut off for Christmas delivery is fast approaching. No biggie. Except that I have NOTHING done!! Not one single project is completed. I've always said that I work better under pressure and here I am proving it to be true yet again.

If you're expecting a Christmas package from me, I'd stop reading now. Unless of course you need a reason to stalk your mail carrier until it arrives! 

Friday and Saturday were spent working on crafty gifts for grandparents and some other pretty special people. I am so excited to share this project with you (my one faithful follower!), but you're just going to have to wait a few more weeks! The rest of my weekend was spent working up a baking plan and shopping for the coming week's meals and baking mayhem.

Today I was given the rare opportunity to sleep in. (Thanks Husband!) When I woke up I got straight to work - I baked bread for the second time this week, made coffee chocolate cake, Bailey's Irish Cream frosting, Orange-Almond-Cranberry Biscotti and Spritz/Press/Butter/Whatever You Want To Call Them Cookies. Then I made Slow Cooked Ratatuille with Polenta for dinner. After I cleaned up dinner and got Abby off to bed, I formed cake balls, which are now hanging out in the freezer waiting to be coated in chocolate tomorrow. I have also prepped for tomorrow's meals and measured dry ingredients for making Gingerbread Cookies and Peppermint Cocoa Kiss Cookies. Phew.

Oh my goodness I don't even think I can tell you how many times I have washed my mixer today! I am exhausted, but I absolutely must get a workout in tonight to make up for all of the finger-licking and taste testing I did today...and will do again tomorrow! For tonight, I will leave you with a few pictures and a promise for recipes to come!

Slow-Cooked Ratatouille and Polenta from America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. Hands down heartiest meatless meal I have ever made. I will definitely be adding this recipe to our regular rotation!

Orange-Cranberry-Almond Biscotti cooling and waiting for some white chocolate lovin'.

I love just plain ol' vanilla Spritz Cookies. It must be the simplicity and the less is more philosophy.  That and my cookie press was given to me by a very special person and I think of her so fondly every time I use it.

Montessori Made Simple

In the past Abby has done quite well using silverware at mealtimes, but lately she seems to prefer her hands. I decided to try a few Montessori life skills activities to see if I could pique her interest in silverware while also working on mind-hand coordination.

Our first activity was moving beans from one bowl to another and back again using a tablespoon. She did very well and responded better than I had expected to the "tray" concept that MM was so fond of.

Look at that concentration!

I got a little ahead of myself for the second activity and gave her a small pitcher with water and several small glasses. She did well, but was clearly not ready for the water. I regrouped and brought out two small glasses one of which was filled about two-thirds of the way with dried beans. I demonstrated how to pour from one jar to the next and then back again. She eagerly took the reigns. At first she was using her right hand to pour from right to left and her left hand to pour from left to right, but then she stopped pouring with her left hand altogether. Instead, she would use her right hand pour the beans from the glass on the right to the glass on the left then she would put the empty glass down, pick up the full glass with her left hand, transfer it to her right hand and continue.

She went on and on playing this "game" for quite a long while longer than I expected it would have held her interest. When I told her we were all done she protested quite vocally! Later in the evening when I brought the game out again she used her first two-sign ASL phrase, "fun game." Score two for Abby!