While it’s still technically summer, we’re feeling the coming of fall here in many ways. I can feel it in the air, and also see it on my calendar. The days are full as we have just added travel baseball for two boys to the schedule. It seems there is so much going on all around us, and this homebody is doing her best to go with the flow.
Just a few very random notes today:
~goggles~ worn by my children when onions are being cut
~tell me a story cards
~winding~ yarn that I bought with a gift certificate ages ago, and finally got up the nerve to wind this week. I’m going to attempt to knit myself this. However, my knitting over the past few days has not left me feeling very confident. I’ll save details for Yarn Along
~bees~ We have at least one queen! Remember the swarm? We’re still watching the remaining bees to see what will happen. We split them and the queen cells up between two hives, and now we wait. We’ll open them up today and take another look.
~those two girls~ There is so much fighting at bedtime that Jonny is building them a bunk bed. They look so angelic sleeping though, and last night Beatrix said that she’ll be too scared to sleep without Larkspur.
~Silas~ and just like that, he’s talking all of a sudden, and much of what he says is along the lines of “what about me?” and “where’s mine?” He’s not about to be left out, including those times he sees an opportunity to swipe a swallow of my tea.
Happy Monday! I’ll be back here tomorrow with something fun.
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I’ll warn you – my two girls (6 and 10) who share a bed thought that they wanted bunk beds, too, but when it came time to actually move the full-size bed out and the bunks in said “nooooooo” and are still cuddled up in the full-size. So now their brother has the bunk beds – even though he doesn’t share a room. Goofy girls!!!
Summer does seem to be slipping away. Our weird Virginia weather makes it seem so, too. This has to be the coolest August I can remember. I tend to judge a summer by the activities we were able to do as a family. Unfortunately, because we moved (that was the fortunate part) we’ve been trying to get settled for months now and I feel like summer is slipping through my fingers. My latest project is also building built-in bunks for my girls. They are pretty excited and I’m SO ready to be done. Just need to paint the trim and install it so I’m nearing the end. My wife would like it done by the time school starts – ugh, another sign that summer is drawing to a close. Thanks for sharing your stories.
Hi Ginny, I was wondering how old Silas is, my son is 18 months and isn’t really talking at all. He has said a few words in the past very clearly, so I know he can, but he doesn’t really seem that interested. My pediatrician suggested at his last check up that he go to speech therapy if he isn’t using 8 words in the next 3 months. That doesn’t seem necessary to me as all children develop differently, but I would love to know the experiences you have had with children. Thanks 🙂
Silas turned two in May this year. He wasn’t saying much at 18 months, and he’s not my first child to begin talking past the age of two. 🙂
Thanks Ginny. I know I should trust my instincts, but I’m so afraid of making a mistake when it comes to my children!
Unfortunatly, I can’t feel the end of winter in this end of the world – it is icy! xx hope you are feeling better!
So much inspiration here!!!
xoxoxo
This doesn’t pertain to anything you wrote in particular, but I saw knitting, books, and bedtime problems and thought of this 🙂 Have you seen the new children’s book Mouseton Abbey? It’s adorable, loosely based upon Downton Abbey of course, with unique illustrations using knit mice. Perhaps this could help ease first-night-in-bunk-beds fears? 🙂
I love that picture of the sleeping beauties!
We are feeling summer’s end here also! We are still praying daily in our evening prayers for the bees in our world and when I am praying it, I think of your bees…
Where I live we have a long warm fall, but this week I’ve been craving the cool crisp of fall. Probably because I want to knit. That’s beautiful yarn!
The goggles for onions crack me up. Genius!
I love reading about all of the creative solutions you come up with for things that life throws at you – home decor, homeschooling, family life, etc. I have to confess that I always wear huge ski goggles when I cut onions. They actually live in my kitchen for that purpose!
that yarn <3
and that sweater is totally my type of handknit….. much like my recent one.
the goggles + the sleeping girls are melting my heart.
my girls were the same way when they were little. they could have the worst day and still end up snuggled together at the end of it. i have many fond memories of seeing them tangled up in sister love. good stuff…..
That picture of Beatrix with the goggles on cracked me up! I thought she was wearing it for safety water painting or something, but onions makes way more sense 🙂
Silas’ hair is so pretty! I love that picture of him! Poor guy, he is going to have to work hard to not be left out-at least until the new baby comes, then he can have someone else to leave out 🙂 Being the youngest (or younger) is hard!
I love your family! <3
This is my favorite blog because of your honesty and rawness. Thank you for sharing so people in Northern Calfornia like me can see a glimpse of such a beautiful life.
Love the goggles – kids are so funny!
My girls closest in age are teenagers right now (17 and 15). They’ve been good friends, but they have very different personalities and habits. The older one is artistic, melancholy, messy and moody; the younger one is practical, joyful, neat and very pleasant. I’m reading aloud the Mitchell’s family’s “Friendly Gables” and the beginning describes the invisible line dividing Joan’s side of the room and Patsy’s. My girls can really relate. It was necessary to carve out a private space for each of my girls. We had an open room when my eldest daughter went to college, so my younger daughter moved into that. But I think if you don’t have the space, separate beds are a good way to go. At least with bunks shecan each have her private place (even if it’s only 6 by 3). Or single beds on opposite sides of the room. There were five girls in my family and my father built a 20 by 20 room for us. We each had a bed and a tall cabinet/desk. We had a large closet and large common dresser. It was great to have our own spaces – to decorate as we liked and keep our personal items away from the younger ones and to study. If money were no object and I built my own home, I’d have bed nooks or closets like the northern Europeans.
Awww, they do look so sweet sleeping there! What are their bedtime fights about?
My husband wears swimming goggles when he cuts onion. I laugh at him, but I don’t wear them when I cut onion and I end up looking like I’ve just gone through a break up by the time my onion is diced!!
The Summer Solstice will be a nice transition piece from pregnant to non pregnant. I am thinking of the Mama Vertebrae right now for during pregnancy but I feel like the lack of closure in the front will bug me.
I had to unravel 4 hours worth of knitting on my Clothilde. It was a test of patience and now it is sitting and I don’t want to touch it for a while. Deadline early October, just need some time apart.
My sister and I shared a bed until I was 11 and she was 13. It stank. I kicked her. Her breath stank. I hogged the covers. Her breath stank. 😉 We tried hanging a piece of string across the room and taping cardboard to it as a “wall”. That didn’t work. We went straight from sharing a bed to having separate rooms and I missed talking to her at night and listening to music as we fell asleep. Same room but separate beds sounds just about right!
Oh that picture of the girls is so precious. I sort of wish I had started my boys sleeping together but I was always afraid of that disrupting their sleep too much. I grew up sharing a bed with two of my sisters and it was definitely a mixed bag…sweet times talking and sharing but some not so sweet times of bed hogging and a bed wetter!
Beautiful photos as usual. Those cards look so charming and fun. The photo of the girls is so very sweet.
you can knit that sweater and if you need help I’m an email away! Love the flowers in the field. I am more than ready for fall to arrive, never been a big fan of summer.
The photo of Beatrix and Larkspur sleeping together is so sweet and touching. Lovely post today, Ginny.
Oh my, your girls and mine…they are in the same space right now. Big hugs to you!! We bought our girls separate beds (twin) to help them not fight as much at bedtime but then they were sad not cuddling together (even though their beds were maybe 2 feet apart). They pushed them together but then the fighting started again *sigh* We were just talking about bunk beds for them, too. It’s funny how similar are families can be at times! We hope to get a tiny, tiny home in Idaho so the girls might be sharing a room with L, too and bunk beds make more sense for that. Rambling now… Sending you love!! XOXO
Oh and Larkspur painting “God” on her picture – that gave me a big smile. My K does that with all of her pictures, I adore it!
We are feeling the same here, winding down one season while gently moving towards the next. As always, many hands are busy in your home. Lovely photos!
I just love your photos and your family!…looks like a lot
of fun and creativity going on. I can’t wait for fall….just love it….
and warm wooly knitting on cold nights!!!
Corinne
bees…yikes…looks scary to me!
Busy, beautiful days. I am surprised by how autumn is already showing her first signs of coming for a couple of weeks now. This is a new and happy experience! Beautiful brown yarn…yes, it’s feeling like fall. 🙂
I so happy about your bees. I am buying my Mike bees for his birthday, but am a little nervous.
I feel fall in the air here too, even if the temps are in the 90’s.
I don’t think I’ve ever not loved one of your photos, but the one of the girls (plus the little background story) really speaks to me. It reminds me of my sisters, our relationship, that is unwavering and filled with unconditional love and yet still involves the right amount of arguing typical of any strong sister bond.
that sweater will be lovely.
i like those cards, we have something similar by a company called “blue orange” the kids make up the weirdest stories. LOL
I thought the goggles had something to do with the art project!!
I second Gretchen – I loved your pictures today too.
I’m looking forward to Fall. For many reasons, the change in seasons are very medicinal for me. I can’t imagine living in a place where there is really only two seasons.
I just cast on “Nanook” by Heidi Kirrmaier. It’s been in my queue since about the day it came out. I love your pictures today just so much. Well, I always do, but today they especially make me smile. My kids have hidden my camera battery charger, so I’ve been without my camera for over a week and it’s driving me crazy. I have a new/used charger coming in the mail soon. It’s amazing how much you go through withdrawls when it’s gone!
Isn’t it true? I’m ready for autumn over here and the weather has been cooperating. Lovely to see the same summer light in your photos as our my window, these many miles away.
We too are feeling the end of summer coming on. This week is busy with preparations for the start of our school year. I got our books all unpacked and organized last week, this week will be busy with getting dear son’s and my daily schedules in place. Have a blessed day. Heather