routine visit

we have been lacking routines in our life to say the least, or perhaps, more honestly, developed routines that are not healthy for ourselves and household. having committed myself to schooling more in the waldorf manner, i'm taking this opportunity to visit our routines and start tweaking them.

two places i want to start are morning routines and bedtime routines. we have slipped into the habit/routine of watching too many dvd's. it has become custom to pop a dvd into the player as soon as jaden gets up, at her request. generally, i'm fumbling around on the computer, trying to catch up on emails and work a bit while they sleep which is just silly because they always wake w/in 20-30 minutes of me. so, one thing i've tried with success is popping a cd into the player instead and listening to some gentle waking music such as cat stevens. morning has broken is one of my favorites by him so i try to have that playing when they rise. i also am trying to get into the habit of leaving the computer off for that time and getting breakfast made pronto. instead of us scattering (kids usually eat breakfast while finishing up their movie and me at the computer), i'm working on us sitting at the kitchen table together. we've started saying a waldorf type blessing (jaden requested we start saying a blessing) that i've tweaked a bit:

earth who gave us all this food
sun who made it warm and good
mother earth and father sun
we thank you for the work you've done.

it works well for us. after that, i'm trying to get us into the habit of combing out hair, no easy task with all our long, wild, tangly hair (mine included). i try to braid all of it or put it into a ponytail but jaden is in a princess phase right now and won't let me braid the entire hair, just the sides and pull them back together.

once we get that routine established, i'll start getting our circle time established. more to come when that actually happens.

the other routine we just started tonight is getting them to bed by 8:30. this is no small feat. again, they are accustomed to watching a movie and falling asleep (usually) on our laps while doing so, around 930 or 10. so, i suggested to greg that we DON'T watch a movie every night (something i detest doing anyway but if i don't put one in, he goes upstairs and sits on his computer all night and leaves me to deal with the kids alone). i suggested that we establish a bedtime routine starting around 8pm by putting on their jammies (we don't bathe daily so i'd rather do baths during the day), having a snack at the table, brushing teeth and then sitting down to read a book. sage was not into it tonight and greg finally took him up to bed. jaden loves to be read to and fell asleep laying next to me while i read. so, the first night was fairly successful although my intent is that greg and i get alone time at night to either a). watch an adult movie (rated r movie) b). read c). talk d). work on a project (for me right now, it's working on sage's solstice gift). greg ended up falling asleep when he took sage up but i managed to get some work done on the solstice gifts.

holidays and weekends are generally killer on routines and starting one today seems a bit odd but we didn't go anywhere for thanksgiving, stayed at home and had the best one in our lives. greg cooked a lovely meal of pork roast with potatoes, carrots, bacon, scallions and bell peppers plus gravy, sauteed zucchini, fried apples and scalloped potatoes. i contributed homemade bread and homemade cranberry sauce (grind up a bag of cranberries with a whole orange, skin and all, add about 1 cup of honey and chill. yum!). plus, i made two butternut squash pies with freshly whipped cream.

tomorrow, we'll most likely all get up later than normal since greg's alarm won't be waking us at 5:00am. but, i'll attempt to get up and start breakfast so that it will be ready to eat when everyone gets up.

i'd love to hear everyone else's homeschooling morning and bedtime routines...are your weekends different than your weekdays? how do you handle the grey area of morning between you waking and the kids waking (if there is any)? i get great ideas from all my blogging friends. :) care to share your routines?

updating

i really do need to organize my blog links. i've been adding some homeschooler links that are inspirational. one i've recently added is annette's blog. annette is the author of the wonderful seasonl preschool waldorf curriculum seasons of joy. she JUST came out with an advent curriculum that looks delightful and is giving away a copy on her blog. stop by for your chance to win it!

absinthe makes the heart grow fonder...

...that IS how the saying goes, isn't it?!

i finally have wormwood in my garden and decided to harvest up a bit and try my hand at absinthe making. i'm currently converting the grams to ounces and dried to fresh so i can brew up a batch and see what happens...i'm thinking of a few friends who would be tickled green to get some absinthe for the holidays...

the ginger beer making efforts have been a flop twice. i keep forgetting to feed the starter. oye. too many distractions at this moment. i must try again when i've got it on my mind. ginger just so happens to be january's herb so i'll be working on projects for that very soon and will try again while i'm focusing on ginger.

our washer completely died but greg patched up my maytag wringer washer which i absolutely love...i worry about energy conservation using it but i suppose it can't use any more than the regular washer did. now that it's working again, it is overcast and threatening to rain. i washed a load anyway but they are just hanging on the line, not drying at all. unfortunately, it is too warm to justify building a fire in the stove so i can hang them inside as well. this time of the year is hard for drying clothing!

lorilee posted a great website/blog that has ideas on incorporating books into real life. the blog is called jump into a book and the subject is 'something to do book review.' it's got me thinking of how i loved acting out/doing things i read in books as a child (gone away lake and my side of the mountain are two that come to mind). i'm going to have to dig through our books and start bringing them to life for the kids!

progressive pioneer giveaway

this week, the progressive pioneer is featuring herbal roots zine and luna herb co (my herbal product line) in a great calendula themed giveaway! head on over for a chance to get a copy of calendula (august 09) plus my cale-comfrey salve, baby oil, spicy soap and rose calendula lotion!

holiday gift thoughts

i hope to knit up a bunch of small items this year for solstice gifts:

crowns for the kids (aren't these great? you can do them with or w/o the hat...i plan to do w/o and do a different color band for each of the 3 kids i'll knit them for)

scarves for the american girl dolls simple 1" x 18" knit scarf with fringe for nina and jaden's girls

sewing:
american girl doll clothing for jaden's fake kirsten doll: jammies, dress, leather shoes

painting/woodworking:
i found this great etsy seller (from bek) who makes very inexpensive wooden blanks. i ordered dinosaurs, king, queen, princess, prince (she made one just for me and then added it to her shop!), dragons, castle set, tree asst. i get to paint them and decide who gets what.

comtemplating:
creating a doctor's kit for jaden (who wants one and likes to play with my medical supplies: stethoscope, otoscope, blood pressure cuff, etc.)

my 3 youngest are the easiest to shop/make for. the 3 oldest are the hardest and i'm stumped...it's hard making things or buying inexpensively when their tastes/desires are not! but, i'm working on it...

more to come!

November Blog Party: Coffee/Stimulants/Morning Ritual Beverages

i'm hosting november's herbal blog party! the subject is morning beverages...be it coffee, mate, or some herbal concoction, we herbalists are sharing our early (or late) morning beverage ritual. want to join in and share with us what gets you going in the morning? give me a link to your post and i'll add it to the blogroll:

karen vaughan writes about the benefits of coffee and talks about mixing them with herbs

lisl writes all about chai and includes a recipe for her favorite blend

susan lubbers writes about waking up with a holy cuppa...holy basil!

darcey blue french shares her chocamatamatelatte recipe

kiva rose writes of the wild woodlands morning brew, with a combination of herbs that you might never have thought of trying

need a little caffeine in your morning ritual? try rosalee de la foret's suggestions for black tea

my idea of a great caffeine free morning beverage: roasted root chai

aquarian bath's secret to a great cup of earl grey tea

stephany shares some great recipes for all sorts of moods!

aartiana writes about her favorite morning infusions

My Morning Ritual

this is my post for the november blog party. be sure to check out all the great posts as there are quite a lot of delicious and eye opening recipes!

during the late spring, summer and fall, my breakfast beverage generally consists of wandering around in the garden and picking a handful of whatever speaks to me. but once winter takes over, i must turn to my shelves for that morning cup. generally, i will do a combination of dried herbs or grab some mate or green tea. but when i want a real treat, i reach for the roasted root chai.

i can never make enough of this ahead of time to store for the winter! seems i'm always searching out more roots to keep myself stocked so i can blend a quart at a time...i should probably blend a half gallon! kids and adults alike gulp it down and request more, every time! this recipe will make about a quart of pre-mixed chai. this chai is caffeine free but you could add some green tea if you'd like a blast of caffeine.

roasted root chai
2 cups mixture: roasted dandelion roots, roasted chicory roots
6 Tbsp. fennel seeds
6 Tbsp. anise seeds
6 Tbsp. cardamom pods, gently broken up
6 Tbsp. whole cloves
4 Tbsp. dried ginger root
2 Tbsp. largely grated nutmeg (i buy it whole and use a cheese grater to grate it for this project instead of using the finer holed nutmeg grater)
3 - 4 tsp. black peppercorns
24 bay leaves, broken up
14 cinnamon sticks, broken up (a mortar and pestle works well for this)

blend the mixture in a bowl and pour into a quart jar to store.
to use, add 1 Tbsp. chai mix per cup water. simmer for 5 minutes then let steep for another 15 minutes.
add 1 Tbsp honey per cup and 2 Tbsp per cup of water. Stir, pour and serve!