i though i'd try something similar. i just can't seem to narrow things down to one picture, so, it's going to be our week's wanders. things that might not have been blogged about, but things that have made our week our week...
so, here we go...
Friday, July 15, 2011
wanders...
inspired by wordless wednesdays (which i don't know the original source, but see them all over the place!)... amanda blake soule's {this moment}s...
i though i'd try something similar. i just can't seem to narrow things down to one picture, so, it's going to be our week's wanders. things that might not have been blogged about, but things that have made our week our week...
so, here we go...
i though i'd try something similar. i just can't seem to narrow things down to one picture, so, it's going to be our week's wanders. things that might not have been blogged about, but things that have made our week our week...
so, here we go...
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
reasons for routine...
i often waver between the need for routine and the need for... not routine?
between structured days and unstructured days... for leo and for me....
and have realized that it just takes balance. a little bit of both.
but, lately, my need for routine has become more in favor. and here are some reasons why...
toddlers just can't tell time...
this has become my most important reason for routine. we, as adults, have the luxury of looking at the clock and knowing, "it's time for nap," "it's time for lunch," "we have an appointment in half an hour, so we need to clean up now to get there on time..." but our kiddos don't have that luxury. what they are doing RIGHT NOW is all that matters. each event in their day sort of runs their clocks. so, for them, a routine is their time table. if we do the same routine for naptime, there's no surprise when it's time to lay down. on the other hand, if leo's in the middle of playing, i look at the clock, and it's 12:30... time for nap... and i just announce "okay it's nap time"... i don't think anyone would handle that too well. so, by creating a routine for the different elements of our day, things go much more smoothly. once lunch hits the table, the rest of the steps just follow with ease.
it takes away the guilt...
i have issues with guilt. it's true. with everything. i almost always feel guilty about something. i know, i need to get over it. but it is what it is. how does that have anything to do with routines? well... if i create a routine for our day... some sort of schedule... then i know there's a time for each thing i should be doing. if i know that after breakfast everyday, leo and i spend some time together reading books, then i don't have that gnawing feeling of "do i read enough to him?!?!" if i know that each day, for an hour, i set aside for some housework, all the other hours of the day i'm not staring at the dishes, thinking "i should really get to those dishes..."
it gives me a sense of accomplishment...
for the same reasons as the guilt, if i know that each day, there is time set aside for housework... a new activity with leo... some reading... some crafting... whatever it might be... at the end of the day i can look back at what i've done and feel a sense of accomplishment. rather than feeling scattered, and seeing all the things that haven't been done, i know that there is a good deal that has.
it brings comfort...
not knowing what comes next can be stressful. for anyone. this sort of relates to the time reason above. if leo knows what to expect, what's coming next, it brings a sense of comfort. at night, when leo's asleep, just about every night, my husband and i sit on the couch, veg out for a little bit, and, most importantly, have a dessert. and i really look forward to that time. if it doesn't happen, sure, i get over it, but there's a little sense of disappointment... and even more anticipation for the next night. i can imagine that leo takes comfort, too, in knowing what is going to happen, and when it's going to happen.
don't get me wrong... it's impossible to create routine and structure for every element of life. and probably not healthy, even, to do so. i love the days that we just pick up and go somewhere. make new discoveries. and there are days that we just can't follow our routine... doctor's appointments, visitors... whatever it might be. and those are the instances that we all must be flexible... in our day, in our emotions, and in our time table.
but i have to say... once we settle back in... and get into our family groove... it feels nice. really nice.
between structured days and unstructured days... for leo and for me....
and have realized that it just takes balance. a little bit of both.
but, lately, my need for routine has become more in favor. and here are some reasons why...
toddlers just can't tell time...
this has become my most important reason for routine. we, as adults, have the luxury of looking at the clock and knowing, "it's time for nap," "it's time for lunch," "we have an appointment in half an hour, so we need to clean up now to get there on time..." but our kiddos don't have that luxury. what they are doing RIGHT NOW is all that matters. each event in their day sort of runs their clocks. so, for them, a routine is their time table. if we do the same routine for naptime, there's no surprise when it's time to lay down. on the other hand, if leo's in the middle of playing, i look at the clock, and it's 12:30... time for nap... and i just announce "okay it's nap time"... i don't think anyone would handle that too well. so, by creating a routine for the different elements of our day, things go much more smoothly. once lunch hits the table, the rest of the steps just follow with ease.
it takes away the guilt...
i have issues with guilt. it's true. with everything. i almost always feel guilty about something. i know, i need to get over it. but it is what it is. how does that have anything to do with routines? well... if i create a routine for our day... some sort of schedule... then i know there's a time for each thing i should be doing. if i know that after breakfast everyday, leo and i spend some time together reading books, then i don't have that gnawing feeling of "do i read enough to him?!?!" if i know that each day, for an hour, i set aside for some housework, all the other hours of the day i'm not staring at the dishes, thinking "i should really get to those dishes..."
it gives me a sense of accomplishment...
for the same reasons as the guilt, if i know that each day, there is time set aside for housework... a new activity with leo... some reading... some crafting... whatever it might be... at the end of the day i can look back at what i've done and feel a sense of accomplishment. rather than feeling scattered, and seeing all the things that haven't been done, i know that there is a good deal that has.
it brings comfort...
not knowing what comes next can be stressful. for anyone. this sort of relates to the time reason above. if leo knows what to expect, what's coming next, it brings a sense of comfort. at night, when leo's asleep, just about every night, my husband and i sit on the couch, veg out for a little bit, and, most importantly, have a dessert. and i really look forward to that time. if it doesn't happen, sure, i get over it, but there's a little sense of disappointment... and even more anticipation for the next night. i can imagine that leo takes comfort, too, in knowing what is going to happen, and when it's going to happen.
don't get me wrong... it's impossible to create routine and structure for every element of life. and probably not healthy, even, to do so. i love the days that we just pick up and go somewhere. make new discoveries. and there are days that we just can't follow our routine... doctor's appointments, visitors... whatever it might be. and those are the instances that we all must be flexible... in our day, in our emotions, and in our time table.
but i have to say... once we settle back in... and get into our family groove... it feels nice. really nice.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
a patchwork dress...
well... a new computer has been purchased. the old one has officially died. with a good amount of pictures on it. *sigh*
so, there would have been more pictures for this post (of the process), but now there's not :(
to be honest, as i'm not the best at tutorials, i'm not even sure all those other pictures would have made much of a difference :)
but...
here's what i made...
a patchwork dress for my niece!
made from some fabric scraps from liz scott, and some old t-shirts.
i pretty much just laid the pieces out, pieced them together, and serged them to each other.
then shirred the top...
and added that last gray strip down the back to connect one end to the other (mostly because i needed to make the top a little wider around), and then added the straps (and some loops for them to cross in the back).
for the ruffle at the bottom, i actually just did one row of shirring... i thought that would be quicker than doing a basting stitch and pulling it and all that...
fingers crossed that it fits!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)