August 17, 2010

Simple and not

Posted by knittymama under home, simple
[8] Comments 

First, the simple:

This book, Living Simply with Children by Marie Sherlock found it’s way home with me from the library. I’ve only paged through it so far but I’m excited by what she has to share. The first part of the book is all about the “whys” and the second about the “hows.” I’m especially looking forward to the “hows” since that is the hardest part. I’ll share more once I’ve read it cover to cover.

The not so simple is the fact that we are now back in our house (yay!) after two weeks of living in a hotel while the plasterers/painters did their jobs. The house looks wonderful, but now I’ve got to unpack everything. It’s actually great timing to do this since it fits right in with our plans to simplify in regards to our stuff. I’m planning on being very mindful about what I unpack to keep and what I unpack to get rid of.

I’ve focused so much of the boys stuff and I feel for now we have a pretty decent handle on it. Time to take a break and get a handle on my stuff. That’s the not so simple part.

Although my studio is now that beautiful shade of aqua I’ve been pining for….

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I have boxes upon boxes of fabric, books, magazines, and fiber.

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And guess where I shoved everything that didn’t fit in a box?

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Scary, I know. And remember, there is also a wall of yarn behind all that stuff. Yikes. So the question is, it’s easy for me to let go of my kids junk, or the Skeptic’s t-shirts (enter the contest yet?).  But my stuff? I love it all yet it’s stifling at the same time. I need the room to work and this summer I’ve really felt my creativity being stifled. There is a lot of sorting, planning, a lot of mapping out but very little follow through and not much doing. I used to think I could never have too much yarn, fiber and fabric but it seems as if it’s time to whittle it down. Might be time for  a stash sale and time to be a bit more realistic on what I want and what I need.

 

August 12, 2010

What’s a mother to do?

Posted by knittymama under kids, outside
[7] Comments 

Ninety degrees, no breeze and humidity so think you could cut the air with a knife. The house full of the plasterers/painters which means you and the boys can’t be there, relaxing and enjoying the two wimpy window air conditioners that try to cool your little house. Your choice? Drag them all off to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, of course.

A brilliant move, at first. The newly reopened visitor center was cool and full of interesting stuff. Happy boys watched birds at the the feeders outside the window, checking out the exhibits and asking a million questions. Should we go for a hike? YES!!

We started off okay. We checked out a backpack full of goodies and picked a shady trail. We enjoyed the view, and set off into the woods.

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And then what shall forever be known as the Great Compass Battle of 2010 broke out. The boys were hot, tired and the mosquitoes had found us. Their mama was dragging them off into the woods and now it was discovered that there was only ONE very awesome thermometer/compass in the backpack. And it had a clip to hang it on your belt loop. If you know boys, you know that there is nothing better than something that can be clipped onto your belt loop. And that is how just two minutes later this peaceful hike turned into bloodcurdling shrieks in the middle of the forest.

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Math Boy gave in right away, realizing it just wasn’t worth it and went to look for snakes. Knittykid and Spinner fought to the bitter end when I was finally able to convince Knittykid that there was no possible way his little brother would ever give in (he is almost two, after all, and he bites) He tramped off in a huff. We made it another 50 yards or so and at that point I realized this was not the day and wisely convinced them to head back for and early lunch.

We ate and headed back into the city to play with friends and nap in a shady park. Reminder for the day to myself: don’t push it mama! Not every adventure will be an idyllic outing and that’s okay. No sense in forcing what’s not meant to happen. Enjoy the little moments and move on to something else. Your day will be the better for it!

 

August 6, 2010

A simple contest

Posted by knittymama under contests, simple
[23] Comments 

This week has found me with new challenges. The final tornado repairs on our house are in full swing. Our house has been overtaken by plaster and paint, which means we are spending our days out and about. It’s a nice break in a way,  a vacation in our own city, but not going about our usual routine puts a bit of a stress on everyone. Math Boy has been with his grandparents for a week having some big boy time. Knittykid and Spinner have been bumming around with me all week, heading out to the Children’s Museum, Hyland Park Reserve and whatever other outdoor spaces we’ve found ourselves enjoying. I’ve realized how blessed we are with our amazing parks here in the Twin Cities. We have huge wildlife reserves, state parks, county parks, city parks…..many right in the metro area. I’ve heard it often said that Minneapolis is the greenest city in America and I believe it. Now if only I could remember my camera when I leave the house…..

I’ve been trying to knit this week, but making little progress. I have an idea in my head for a vest I’d love to knit for Spinner, but I also want to write the pattern down. Of course this involves a chart, which involves trying to learn how to chart using the computer, which isn’t going very well. I can’t figure out how to chart cables. I might just go old school, draw it by hand and scan it in. I have little to show for now other than a wrinkly little swatch. We’ll see where it goes.

Since our house is in a uproar right now I have nothing really new to show you, but I did come up with a fun idea for a contest a few days ago when hanging laundry.

My Simple project involves not only simplifying for the kids, but for the Skeptic and myself as well.

Any guesses what this might be?

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I’ll give you a hint. If you have anyone of the male gender in your house, you have a bunch of them. The older the male, the more you certainly have.

Figure it out?

Yup, it’s the classic grungy t-shirt, full of holes. And the Skeptic has heaps.

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The contest? Guess how many he has. After the plaster work and painting is finished I’ll be cleaning out his collection (I’ve warned him!) and thinning them out. To give you an idea of the magnitude of the shirt collection:

  • It fills up one and a half dresser drawers, along with a pile on top of the dresser that I can’t fit inside when all the laundry is clean.
  • He’s in the audio business, which means he brings home a lot of free t-shirts after his gigs. He keeps them all, even when they are bands he hates.
  • He’s a hard working guy and therefore feels the need to have t-shirts for greasy work, grungy work, sweaty work, painting work, shop work, show work, everyday, and for good.
  • He has t-shirts that he got in high school. And he’s now 36.

That should get you started!! The contest rules are simple:

  • Guess of the number of t-shirts my dear husband has; leave your guess in the comments. Be sure to leave an e-mail address. If you’d like, give me an idea of what I should do with all those shirts. I have a few thoughts  in mind, but maybe you’ll think of something I haven’t!
  • If you’d like a second entry, place a link to the contest on your own blog and let me know about it in your comment. Then leave a second guess.
  • I’ll leave the contest open until August 30th.
  • The prize….I’m not totally sure about it yet but it will be something yummy and something crafty.

My goal is that he should be able to fit them all in one dresser drawer, easily. Now to convince him to let that many go…..

 

July 27, 2010

Stuff

Posted by knittymama under home, simple
[7] Comments 

Simplicity Button

Stuff. It’s the first thing most people think of when they think of simplifying. While that’s not the only thing, I do think it’s a great place to start. It’s hard to have a clear mind and find that sense of rhythm when you’re surrounded by clutter.

In order to find calmness, you need some space to think, some room to breathe…..

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I started with clothes, toys and books back in June and to be very honest, I’m still working on them. But I’ve learned quite a few things in the process that I wanted to share:

  • Don’t try to do too much at once. Honestly, I thought I would get through all the toys and books in the house, sorted, organized and donated in a week or so. That was in June. I’m still working on it.
  • Pick a category and work with it for awhile. Books? Toys? Clothing? Your own knitting/sewing supplies? Maybe you want to start with something big. Maybe you just want to get through a quicker category so you feel like you’ve made some headway. Either way, pick an area and stick to it. Ignore the rest until you’re done.
  • Work in stages and don’t just get rid of a ton of stuff right away unless that’s what you really want to do. I have a hard time time giving things away as I get too sentimental. So in my case, I divided things into three categories: definitely get rid of, pack away for now, and keep. This cleared out a lot of the immediate clutter and has given me time to sort through the middle stuff, asking myself more questions to decide what I should keep.
  • Choose the high quality stuff. Go for the well written books, the toys that spark imagination and thought. If it does nothing but beep,you might want to  say goodbye to it.
  • Ask yourself “How and with what do my children play?” “What do we love the most?” Really take the time to consider what you and your children actually use and enjoy. We had a beautiful wooden ball roller that I loved, but the boys only used it as a step ladder and threw the (very hard!) wooden balls around the house. So as much as I loved that toy, I found a mama with a baby just the right age to sit there and play with it rather than use it to possibly break a window.
  • Consider how many items in each category you really need. After counting, I realized that Spinner had nearly 30 pairs of shorts that fit him. (I took in way too many hand-me-downs). I decided that ten was plenty and found a new home for the rest. And now I can actually close his dresser drawer.
  • Put things into rotation. You’ll see in the pictures that I actually don’t have much out. I’ve gotten rid of about a third of the toys we had, mostly things that were outgrown. Another third are in storage downstairs and the rest around the house. As I get the storage toys better organized, I’ll rotate things in and out. It keeps the clutter down, makes the pick up easier, and it means I can always find something new and interesting for them when I need it.
  • If you can make some money, great, but don’t spend all your time trying to sell everything. You can spend a lot of time taking pictures, posting ads and responding to e-mails. It’s great when you can sell some stuff but just donating it is a lot faster.
  • Lastly, go easy on yourself. This is not easy to do and I figure it will be a good year until I’m in the place where I want to be. Take your time and try not to stress it. This is supposed to make life easier, not give you a headache.

So where am I at after two months of this?

The living room now sports a simplified bookshelf, with just enough books for browsing but not so many that they just throw them all over the place. More books are in their bedroom, but the majority of them are downstairs. I’m trying to switch them out as soon as I notice they are tiring of these. There is also a special stack for our weekly library trips.

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All the excess stuff was cleared out so that the dress-up basket is just for dress-up. No more random dinosaurs or trains hiding in here. Playsilks, armor and capes….this stuff gets used all the time.

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In the sunroom we have….

a cart full of building material,
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trains and animals,
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(these two buckets used to be so overflowing I couldn’t fit them on the shelves)
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musical instruments,
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and fort making supplies. (The cardboard blocks hide behind the chair).

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Overall, cleanup is much easier. The kids know aren’t so overwhelmed anymore, and they actually play with their toys rather than just throwing them all around. It feels like a nice playroom now rather than a room full of junk.

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Lastly, to be a realist I do need to show the basement closet, which still needs to be dealt with. Here hide the other toys, the toys that were scattered in random pieces all over the house. This is the stuff I need to sort through next, organizing it so it can easily be brought upstairs and used or realizing that it’s just not something the kids play with and finding it a new home.

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So yeah, more work to do but I feel as if I’ve finally taken some control back in the house. Now if only I could keep those legos in the boys room from migrating throughout the entire house life would be good!

Next up in my Simple series I’ll share my attempt at simplifying MY own stuff, yarn included!

 

July 19, 2010

Summer Studio Tour

Posted by knittymama under home
[9] Comments 

So I know I promised the first post in my Simple series, but today was one of those days, which means the photos I wanted to take weren’t taken. Poor Spinner was having a rough morning and was only happy when seated next to me reading books. The alternative was to let him follow me around, screaming “read” at full volume while trying to bite my leg. He is the king tantrum thrower of all three boys and I’ve learned over the years that when your toddler is in such a mood it’s best to just cuddle up. So Simple will follow, but I still have a bit of a preface to it by joining up with the Summer Studio Tour over at Beauty That Moves. (I’m a bit late but couldn’t resist).


There is a neglected (and nearly finished!) quilt sadly lounging on the table, but the real work in this room is the studio itself.  See the cracks?

This is what happens when your house get’s a nice shove by a tornado. We’ve let the place settle over the winter and in a few weeks we will be visited by the plasterers/painters who will be giving our place a makeover. Studio included.

New fabric for new curtains awaits:

Any guesses on the paint color I’m going with? No more green, that’s for certain.

I have big plans for this room. Simplification is not just about the kids, it’s about making my life better as well. I often feel lately when I go into this room that I can’t get any work done because there is too much stuff all over the place. My sewing table is usually a mess, the ironing board covered with fabric, baskets of yarn and fiber everywhere, as well as whatever junk the boys dragged in. So I’ll be rearranging, adding more shelves and figuring out what I can let go of…the toughest part. It’s easy for me to get rid of toys, not so easy for me to get rid of MY stuff. So we’ll see where it goes with this room. My hope is that I’ll be able to just come in and work, rather than spend half my time moving around clutter and feeling overwhelmed by project ideas.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a smoother day and I can get back to the post I promised!

 

July 17, 2010

Care to join me?

Posted by knittymama under simple
[8] Comments 

As you’ve probably guessed, the book Simplicity Parenting has really changed how I’m viewing our home and family life. The subtitle says “Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise to Raise Calmer, Happier and More Secure Kids” and I truly do believe it. It’s been a long time since a parenting book has influenced me so much. And even if you’re not a parent, I believe that the ideas put forth in blogs such as Zen Habits can make a profound difference in the quality of a person’s life.

There will still be plenty of knitting, sewing and spinning around here, but I’ll also be adding a post each Monday on how I’m using the ideas put forth in Simplicity Parenting to improve life around our household. And I really hope you’d like to join me!

So, if you’d love to create some calm in your life, please grab a button and leave a comment to let me know. Blog about it and share what ideas you have to add some rhythm and some simplicity to your life.

Simplicity Button

You can dive in head on or take it in baby steps. Either way is fine. Maybe you want to simplify things for your entire family, maybe you need to simplify your creative life so you can be more focused on what you do. Just don’t be afraid to give it a try. I think you’ll find it’s worth it!

 

July 16, 2010

Super Motorcycle Gloves!!!

Posted by knittymama under crafting with kids, tutorial
1 Comment 

Need a quick project?

Grab and old t-shirt. Cut off the bottom and wrap it around your favorite small persons hand with about a half inch extra. Cut a match. Stitch it up the side and cut a hole for the thumb about 1.5 inches down. Grab some fabric paint (I like Jaquard) and paint your design on the top.

Now the hard part. Try and convince your small person that no, they cannot wear them yet because they are not dry. Hang them on the line for a whole five minutes before your small person can’t bear the wait any longer and finally retrieve them, hoping the paint will not smear on anything. (It didn’t).

Now go feel like the coolest mom/grownup in the world and watch your small person at their make-believe finest!

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July 13, 2010

Simpler?

Posted by knittymama under Uncategorized | Tags: |
[3] Comments 

I’m sorry, did I say the end of June? Because I really meant sometime in July. I’ve just been enjoying the blissful simple life so much that I just couldn’t take the time to post.

And now those of you who are regular readers around here are splitting your sides because you know there is no simple around this house! Despite my efforts at Simplicity Parenting these last couple of months, we are still living on the wild side. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have much to share; I have a lot to share! I’ve learned so much, but I’m also realizing that although some of these changes can be done overnight, others will take months, and some I will likely struggle with for a long time. But the big change is in attitude. I feel like taking this blog break (both writing and reading, I miss seeing what you all are up too!) has helped me clear me head a bit and focus more on the things that matter the most for me.

I’m excited to pass this on to all of you, and I’m looking forward to seeing what changes you might be inspired to make as well. I’ll be posting every week with some basic information about the book and sharing what changes we’ve been making.  I’m going to try for posting on simplicity every Monday.

And let me know if you’d like to join me. I’d love to have some fellow companions on this journey. (Maybe I’ll even make a button).

Until then, I’ll leave you with a few before shots:
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(Don’t get too excited about that kitchen yet. We’re not even close on that one!)

And no worries to my knitting and sewing friends. I’ve got lots to share with you as well!

 

May 17, 2010

Balance

Posted by knittymama under family, home
[7] Comments 

Oh dear. I really wish I was going to show you pictures of my latest handspun. Or maybe the quilt top I am so close to having put together. Or perhaps the cute little knitting kits I have waiting for me in the closet, yarn and patterns all ready to go. (Don’t worry, that will all be appearing again, just not today). Instead,  I am here to talk a about the search for balance. And why I’ll be taking a little break.

This is the problem:

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You see here approximately one third of the boys books strewn across the living room floor. And yes, you also see one boy on the bookshelf and one trying to join him. And of course a fight did ensue, as well as much wailing about the picking up of the books. All while I was trying to make supper.

Now, if you take the above example and multiply it by, oh, let’s just say 10 or 20 a day and you can see how I’m feeling just a wee bit overwhelmed these days. Add the fact that the kitchen is ripped up (remodeling, good!), we have to have the whole house cleaned out and ready for re-plastering in a little over a month (last of the tornado repairs) and the fact that Little Man Math Boy is on an elimination diet of no wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, nuts or fish, which leaves me cooking constantly and well, that makes me feeling really overwhelmed.

But wait! It’s not all doom and gloom here. Life is a challenge right now, but I also know that these early, crazy years are but a blip on the radar. The boys will learn to fold their own pants, wash their own hair, find their own shoes and stay asleep once they go to bed. They will learn how to make their own lunches and do the dishes. They will learn how to not break down into a sobbing mess every five minutes when they are tired. I know this is going to get easier. But I also think I that even though life will be busy, and messy and shall I just say… energetic, I don’t think it needs to be as crazy and chaotic as it feels right now.

Here’s why:

Simplicity Parenting

Rhythm of the Home

Zen Habits

Calm and Compassionate Children

(And yes, you should click on all those links. If you don’t have time now, be sure to do it later.)

The basic question is this: what if there were only ten books on that shelf rather than the sixty plus books I picked up?

Now apply that question to every other nook and cranny of my life, and you’ll see where I’m headed.

Because I realized that the stress in my life, the craziness, the lack of time and energy is pretty much caused by the large amount of stuff, stuff and more stuff. I want the focus in this house to be on our family and not trying to trudge through and clean up the stuff that’s all over this house. It’s time for the stuff to get cleaned out.

So I’m taking the next month or so to get started on this new journey of ours. I’m going to follow the ideas lined out in Simplicity Parenting, and use the other links/books as further inspiration. I know I’ll just be  making a dent in what I want to do this month, but the break from the blog will be one less thing for me to worry about as I get started. I’ll try to take lots of photos,  and my plan is to return in late June and do a five week series on what I’ve been working on and some ways that you can do the same in your life. My hope is that as the stuff leaves, we will find more time in our house for each other as well as for the things we really want to be doing, rather than the daily drudgery of wading through the stuff.

In the meantime, take some time to read the above books or visit the sites. Let me know, what do you do to bring more calm into your life? How do you make sure you have time for the people and things that are really important? This isn’t just for frazzled mamas like myself either. I think we all can benefit from looking at life this way.

Wish me luck! I’ll see you in June….

 

April 29, 2010

There is a reason.

Posted by knittymama under kids, outside
[9] Comments 

There is a reason that the Skeptic and I don’t sit down often in the middle of the day to have a conversation. At least we don’t sit down for more than five minutes. But after a long day at work we were a bit delusional and thought we could. Math Boy and Knittykid were playing in their new fort in the back yard. Spinner was toddling around the house minding his own business.

So we sat. And chatted. And had a very nice conversation, uninterrupted until the two boys came inside, Knittykid saying “happily, look what we painted!” While Math Boy hid his hands and tried to run upstairs. Their hands were purple. Their clothes were purple. And outside?

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They wanted to paint their fort. (You’re looking at the logs from our poor maple tree, lost in the tornado last summer and waiting to be cut up for either firewood or backyard play materials.) It’s not much paint; I think they stopped before going too far, realizing that this was probably not as good an idea as it sounded. What blew me away was how they got the paint out of the cans. Got a guess? Go ahead, think of a good one. If you’ve been reading this blog long enough you should know by now it was not with a paint can opener.

Got one?

Ready? A pitchfork. Bet you didn’t guess that one, did you? Makes perfect sense, right? Because, “We couldn’t get the top off Mom, so we just used a pitchfork!” (To poke a hole in the top, of course.)

I am thankful for their creativity. I am grateful for their  innovation. I am in love with their spirit. I am blessed with an “idea guy” as the ringleader for my rowdy little trio. And that is why I don’t sit down for more than five minutes, as least not until they are all asleep.

And tonight we will remember to take all the paint out of the garage.

 

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