Wonder-Full Summer.....

      It's been so long since I've been in this space but, for good reason. I have been having so much fun spending time with all these children. The highlight of this job is my ability to work with kids. I just recently got an assistant so I am finally able to have the weekend off to spend with my family! I am sacrificing a lot for this. We've decided to wait to buy a home, and to have another baby just so I can have this job. I feel like I can make a difference here. In the past, this place has had a really bad reputation and I am determined to make that change! I feel like I need to help others who are less fortunate than I am so I feel that the small sacrifices I'm making will be worth it in the end. We have been working with the Food Bank to bring a project called Kid's Cafe to the community to help feed the lower income children in our area. At the beginning of this project, a lot of these children didn't even know what some basic vegetables were let alone, never tried them! Now they're eating them.
       We have made many friends and have had so much fun just giving these kids some time and attention.

We played with silks.

We gave "horsie rides",

And we rode them too!

Planted flowers to make a fairy garden,

It was a litte tough talking these kids into touching dirt but once they did, they got really into it. 

We searched for bugs and helped tend the flower garden,

We got to go in a bike ride with the mayor!!!

We made bubbles,

We walked for good causes!

And made wishes along the way,

We laughed ,

And danced in the rain,

We made bird feeders,

And fed the birds.





We have had so much fun. And that was just a few of the things we did!

A New Job...

It has been a while since my last post. It seems to have been too long really. I've been struggling with our daily rhythm here since I started this job. I've gotten a job as a Resident Manager for an apartment complex here in our city. I had to think of a way to work and stay home and this way, I can have the perfect balance of both. I can be home, I can work and I can still have my little one with me! I haven't had much time to knit, to craft or to really do anything for myself because I've been doing this 7 days a week for a while now. I suppose I should just take my yarn bowl to the office with me! It's right outside by the playground and I have a perfect view from the windows there! So I hope to be back soon with some interesting stories. I've been running a science class and putting together a craft and knitting class for all the children here in the summer. We have even got plans for a huge community garden!
Yesterday, I discovered a swarm of bees had moved in by our playground. So here is a picture of that! The week before that we had a tenant who lost a python in their apartment before they moved. That was horrifying. We eventually found him hiding in a drawer and returned him to his owner. It's going to be interesting but I'm hoping I can build a community up and make it a better place!!!

Our newest Residents.  Bees!

Gratitude Sunday..

This week I have been grateful for:
~the green grass (FINALLY) under the melting snow.
~snow boots!
~hard work's pay off
~an entire weekend without children. I missed them but it was quite refreshing to have time with John.
~eye glasses
~my job. I'm quite busy now but I'm able to have Lily with me while I work and how wonderful is that?


Linking up with woolymossroots to share my gratitude....

What's In Our Refrigerator?

Eight different kinds of greens (including dandelion greens and  parsley), carrots and plenty of  other stuff for juicing. My gallbladder has been acting up so I think it's time to get serious about eating better.

Many kinds of fresh fruit!( Although it won't go into the fridge.) Meyer Lemons!!!!I was sure I counted Four plums at the market but there's one missing!

I should have known!

Spring Wreath....

Fishing for Easter Eggs.

She was made from a tutorial HERE! One of my new favorite blogs!

Waxed Cloth Food Wrap Tutorial

You will need :
Parchment paper,
 beeswax,
 cloth (large enough for what you plan on wrapping)
 scissors,
old cookie sheet (or something you can iron on that you don't need to worry about wax getting on)
 almond oil or another food grade oil,
 paint brush used for wax only,
  a pot used for wax only. (You may want to use a craft iron if you have one specifically for crafts.)
 Paper towels or old rags.
 Optional: pinking shears and ironing board

I used almond oil because it's what I had. I wouldn't suggest mineral oil because it's petroleum based.

Iron your cloth so that its nice and smooth. Then cut your cloth to size. Pinking shears may be helpful and add a nice edge around your cloth.

Grate your beeswax and melt in a double boiler. I used local beeswax which ended up changing the color of my fabric. A bleached beeswax would eliminate most of this though. I added just a few drops of almond oil to the beeswax to thin it out just a bit. This helps to get a more even coat on the fabric.

Put your cloth on top of the parchment to protect the surface your working on.  Start painting on the wax.

You will get some pooling of the wax but no worries, we'll eliminate that in the next step.

Put the waxed cloth in between 2 pieces of parchment. Make sure you have room all the way around the cloth for the excess wax to leak out.

Cover the waxed cloth with the top sheet of parchment and iron on a med-high setting.

You can see how the wax melts and moves to the edges as you iron. 

I like to use the edge of my iron to press out the extra wax.  

You may still see a slight layer of wax on top of the fabric. You can use a paper towel to blot this off while the wax is still hot. Let the fabric dry and then they are ready to use! 

Voila! Plastic-free food wrap. Next time I make them I will use a natural unbleached  cotton. This way I don't have to worry about dyes in the fabric. I really like wrapping cheese and butter in them. To was them use cool water and a little dish soap. Hang to dry.

Our Root Children Spring Garden...

Today has been gloomy here in Co. so Lily and I decided it was time to make a spring garden for our nature table.

It's not "our" idea. We got the idea from Daily-Colours. What a beautiful garden! I had to show my children and of course they asked if we could make one. I don't see how anyone could resist! 

One little root child fishing. Lily says she'll let me know when she catches one!

What do you think?

Tiny Treasure Pouch....

I have been so busy with work these last few weeks I haven't had time to do anything else. Today I finally got a day off. I found a cute pattern for a treasure pouch on thesittingtree. I decided to knit my own using her pattern.

As you can see, it's pretty tiny. Just so for tiny treasures.

Keeping Calm and Felting Eggs....

I thought the title of this post to be rather funny:) I decided to do a little "eggs-periment"  today  with wooden eggs and wool roving. Last year I wasn't happy with the way they turned out with plastic eggs. I think it was the tape I used to hold them together or something.

I used smaller wooden eggs. That way I could see if it would work or not. It did! I'm pretty happy with the results so far.  

As I was felting, Lily akked if she could color.  When I looked at what  she was coloring and the story she was telling me about her artwork my jaw dropped!
This first one is (in Lily's words) a rainbow cave!

This picture is (in her words as well) Balloons! I haven't started to restrict her to just the 3 primary colored block crayons yet because I didn't want to start that to early, But with this, I know she's ready. I cannot believe it! Waldorf really DOES WORK!

I also found this beautiful rock on my nightstand yesterday morning. Tory found the rock on a hike this weekend. She's so thoughtful! 

Quiet Weekend...

Enjoying having the coffee table back in the living room.

I made an Ostara nest for my nieces and nephew.

Before wet felting....

I use my "Mama-Time" to finish knitting up a little dress ... I posted about that in my last post actually.