The Humming Meadow

ruby sings “i’ve got peace like a river” as “I’VE GOT PEAS BY THE RIVER.”
which sounds pretty peaceful to me, if you ask.
score all around.

advent stocking garland6, originally uploaded by kitchenkisses.

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we don’t buy lots of things for christmas. even before ruby was born, we decided that we weren’t going to buy loads of silly toys and things for her. so on christmas, we give away some of the toys we have. and ruby and atticus get three special presents. we do three b/c Christ recieved three gifts when he was born. we also sing happy birthday to Jesus and make a birthday cake. (ruby says we should make a peanut butter birthdaycake b/c “God likes peanut butter.” a;dslkf)

i’m more excited about these advent stockings than i can say. i’m just so stoked to fill them up w/fun things! little treats and crafts and fun things to do. and so last night i finished number 6. and on and on.

mondays are always a bit hard(er) b/c loran is back @ work. and i miss him! but next week, he has some vacation days and i can’t wait.

some other things:
-soon, apple-picking!
-the 21 c museum/hotel/restaurant is amazing! i just loved being there. i wanna go back. soooon.
-i prefer cheap jewelry over expensive..that way i won’t be too too sad if i lose something. i seem to always lose my jewelry. loran gave me a gorgeous necklace as a birthing gift after i had ruby. and then he gave me another one right after i had atticus. and i really can hardly bring myself to wear either one of them b/c they’re so precious to me, i’m scared i’ll lose them, so they hang on our bedroom mirror.

i think i’m becoming more of a morning person. i like to get up and open the kitchen door and have my coffee or tea. just to have some quiet time to poke around the internet and write emails and listen to music.

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by kitchenkisses.

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The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
— Wendell Berry
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we’re v. excited to be staying busy w/church. and every sunday after church, we head to the library downtown. it’s a nice little ritual we’ve gotten into and we really look forward to it!

some of ruby’s favorite books are:
-don’t let the pigeon drive the bus and don’t let the pigeon stay up late
-owl babies
-the napping house
-where does God live?

i love leaving w/a new stack of children’s books. and we come home and make a big lunch. they are my v. favorite days.

in crafting news, i’m working on our sixth advent stocking for the garland. i got the idea from soulmama and littlebirds. there’s something so comfy about handsewing. after we put the babies to bed, i make a mug of tea and put in a movie (right now it’s sense & sensibility) and sew.

ravenclaw scarf. in progress., originally uploaded by kitchenkisses.

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right now, i’m working on one scarf, one cowl and one blanket. i quite like having loads of knitting projects going on @ once. idk why. i also need to begin christmas presents. dishtowels! and i also need to go on the hunt for fabric to make advent christmas stockings.

THESE are the best cookies you’ll eat in yr life. i made them last night. my bff, elisabeth, usually makes them for me. we eat the lot of them and stay up too late! and then we eat them for breakfast.

i’ve been listening to whiskeytown a lot. and wishing it would rain again.

IMG_4922, originally uploaded by kitchenkisses.

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i like: the smell of dirt. the be good tanyas. jane austen novels and movies based on jane austen novels. sushi & wasabi. vitamin water. bloomington & nashville, indiana. october. high school football games. being ridiculous and silly. making bread. yarn shops. mos def. sleeping in. chamomile tea. green.

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in the crafty dept., i am working on a ravenclaw scarf for loran. i’m thinking of making another one for atticus. and a gryffindor one for ruby. boys, ravenclaw. girls, gryffindor. sounds like a plan.

i’m also working on craft boxes for our house. i need to go restock shopping. just basics like paper plates and white glue and new markers. we got a new computer yesterday and ruby and atticus have turned the cardboard computer box into a car. w/a steering wheel and four wheels and they can both fit in it. ruby was more excited about the box than we were about the computer.

there’s this part in knocked up when seth rogen and paul rudd are talking about how kids get REALLY excited about seemingly not-exciting things. like BUBBLES. and paul rudd is all like, “i mean, look @ how excited they are about the bubbles.” and seth rogen is like, “yeah…but bubbles are pretty cool. you can see through them. and you can pop them. they float…” (something like that) and what i mean is…how can we ever really, truly forget what it’s like to look @ the world like its magic? and i mean, it IS. but we forget! we forget everyday. everyday, we forget.

&& everyday i try to remember.

IMG_4903, originally uploaded by kitchenkisses.

As hard as it is sometimes, we try to do @ least one thing that is crafty and fun w/our children everyday. We have a little boy who just turned a year old and a little girl who is three-and-a-half.

Making cookies w/my babies is one of my v. favorite things in the world. It’s so messy and ridiculous, I’m forced to surrender and let go and not worry about the flour on the floor. And not worry about the dog tracking flour-y paw prints onto the living room carpet.

My v. favorite easy cookie recipe is Nigella Lawson’s Cut-Out Cookie Recipe. I make two batches of it and then freeze one batch. And I won’t tell you how many of these we can eat in a day in this family, b/c it’s slightly embarrassing.

But! The recipe is super-easy and quick and yummy delicious and the cookies are even better if you don’t put the icing on them and just dunk them straight into a jar of nutella, instead.

I’m just saying.

THE END., originally uploaded by kitchenkisses.

I finally finished my Gryffindor scarf last night. I used the atypically.knit pattern and although I felt like a maniac for knitting w/wool when it was around 100degrees outside, I’m stoked to have it done! I feel like I’ve been in a Harry Potter Haze, b/c I have. The movie and the last book and the scarf. I love it, I do.

Idk if this will be a knitting blog or family blog or a random blog or maybe none of that and all of that.

But, hello.