We try to keep things simple, though, it wasn’t always so. My eldest will be 7 this year. For the first few years we did themed parties with relatives and friends. I know we frequently overdid it on the gifts, too. But for the past 2 or 3 years we’ve scaled back and simplified things. In no way diminishing the celebration, but making them smaller, closer to home and, I think, more meaningful.

Traditions are always evolving in our home. If it doesn’t suit the people we are growing into or creates more stress, we easily let them go or skip them this time. We also add or try new traditions out as the inspiration strikes.

One tradition that we started on my oldest daughter’s first birthday and joyfully keep for each child year after year is the birthday morning gift. I take one small, specially selected gift and my camera to bed with me the night before the big day. In the morning, when the birthday girls wakes, she comes straight to my bed (or we go to her if she’s being a sleepy head) and we all gather round as she opens her ‘morning gift’. It’s always small, usually mama-made, but such an exciting way for them to start the day. My girls love this so much that, as they’ve gotten a bit older, they like to contribute a special morning gift of their own. Some of the morning gifts I’ve given them; a hair clip, gnomes like I make in my shop, a new coloring book, books, small knitted animals. And I always look forward to capturing with my camera them opening their gift as they wake up a year older!

The birthday crown is a new tradition for us. I made the crown for my youngest and my mother made crowns for the older two (as she’s more gifted in embroidery) based on their likes and personality. The crowns are made from wool felt and the back is elastic. I’ve sized them so they fit from the first birthday all the way to the last. The crown comes out first thing in the morning and it’s the birthday girl’s choice how much she wants to wear. We use them simply because the make my girls feel that much more special on their birthday. The older two like to wear theirs all day, even if we go out so that everyone can see this is their very special day.

Other than that, we like to stay flexible, doing what the birthday girl wants to do; going out for lunch or to the park, staying home and playing, spending time with a couple of friends or just intimate family… whatever. We keep the gifts minimal and preferably handmade, even more preferably handmade by mama or daddy. Yesterday was my youngest daughter’s 2nd birthday. Her morning gift was a felt hair clip I made. She also received a handmade wooden horse puzzle I had purchased from a local crafter, a set of picture puzzle blocks  painted by my husband and I knit her a doll. Sweet, simple and suited just for her. For our family we choose not to bring too many things into the home and to choose few things of good quality.

Most of all, the emphasis is to show whoever’s birthday it is that they are cherished and loved and we are so glad that they came to be with us on this day however many years ago! I usually cook a special breakfast, let them choose whatever they want for supper and make a simple cake. We follow their lead for the day, asking ahead of time what they want to make their day special. One day a year it’s all about them and I hope I do impart to them how very special they are and how very blessed we are they came into our lives.

Julie Hunter is a wife and mama, raising 3 spirited girls, two babydoll sheep, angora rabbits and a gaggle of chickens and ducks in the North Carolina Foothills. She spends her days at home, crafting with her children, homeschooling, taking long gathering walks in the woods and knitting Waldorf-inspired toys. You can find her blogging and keeping shop at This Cosy Life.

I decided to hunt for more of it. Hunting for fabric is one of my favorite activities. I am kind of a “fabroholic”. Or is there another word for this addiction?  Luckily I found 3 different sellers who still had some of this fabric I love so much. I wrote to each of them. Everyone was really kind and responded quickly. All of them did great on the shipping time. Within a week I had more of my beloved fabric.

But one seller stood really out by the way they wrapped their product. I am including a photo here so you can check it out. I had so much fun when I got the package. I still have not had the heart to take the wrapping off because it looks so neat with the little bow with buttons and all.

I like it when sellers put some thought into this. It makes such a huge difference. After all, when you shop on-line there is no face behind a counter. All your interactions and communications are via a computer screen. To me it almost felt as if this package was smiling at me. It said: Hey, I care about you as a customer and hope I made your day better. ” Does this sound silly to you?

I wrote about this on my own blog. I sent the seller on Ebay (angl1952, named Cyndi) and note. I think she was quite surprised that I took the time to do such a thing. Every day millions of sales happen on-line. But you know what –  only once in a while does one get a package that is personal and looks really nice. I hope my packages feel that way to my customers when they receive them.

I hope I make them smile and think somebody cared about them beyond just being another sale…Well, done Cyndi!

What is it used for? The tool was invented with quilters in mind. It is for rolling and flattening very small seams so they don’t have to fire up the iron. I found it perfect for my little doll dresses, too. I love that little gadget so much. It is so beautiful and useful on top. I could not find an on-line shop for the maker from Utah. But I found a link where one might possibly contact him. In fact, I believe it’s a son and dad team called Westenskow & Sons.

The company also makes seam rippers with wooden handles. I wish I had spent the money back then and bought one…The plastic ripper I have is so ugly.

Ulla Seckler  is a dollmaker who was born and raised in Germany. She lives in beautiful Colorado with her husband and two kids. You can find her Notes by a German Dollmaker on her blog where she shares some great German recipes, pictures of her sweet dolls, and life lessons learned.  Don’t forget to stop by her Etsyshop and take a peek at her wonderful doll creations.

The recipe, or waffle project, came from  Kit’s Cooking Studio, an AmericanGirl cookbook… Kit is the AmericanGirl Doll character whose story is set in the Depression era.  Accordingly, the recipes revolve around that topic. So it’s really fun to learn a bit of history while cooking.

The waffle recipe called for the following ingredients:

1 2/3 cups of flour

1/3 cup of corn meal

4 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup of rolled oats

2 cups of milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

butter

some kind of topping like syrup/ honey/ fruit

How to make it?

Step 1. Put the flour, corn meal, baking powder, and salt into a sifter. What is a sifter, mom? Hmm, we don’t have one. I guess back in the depression era people had to sift everything because there may have been little bugs in your flour. So we didn’t sift our flour and mixed all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Step 2. Put the milk, honey, and vanilla in another bowl.

Step 3. Here it comes…” Have an adult help you separate the egg whites and the egg yolks as shown.” Followed by a little picture where the adult is carefully separating the eggs. My daughter who is not exactly Miss Patient wanted to forgo the “help by adult part”  so we went through a couple of eggs before it worked …

Step 4. Mix the egg yolks into the wet ingredients (bowl with the milk in it).

Step 5. This step was followed by the next disaster. The recipe goes on telling you to stir the wet mixture into the dry flour mixture of ingredients. Huge mistake! We instantly got big lumps. Years of cooking and baking have taught me that it’s always better to put the dry ingredients and stir them into the wet ingredients. Why did we not follow our instincts and do it that way? Dad had to come to the rescue and get the hand mixer out to take care of the lump situation.

Step 6. “With adult help” beat the egg whites until they are shiny and slightly stiff. Yippee! Success! This was the easy part. Not a problem since our eggs were perfectly separated after many attempts. LOL

Step 7. Next you are supposed to fold the egg whites gently into the batter. Some lumps of egg white are okay!

Step 8. Last,  have your adult slave put the Waffle mix into the preheated waffle iron.

Well, that’s when the whole project went totally South. The batter stuck to the waffle iron so badly that we could not get it out.  See photos. What went wrong? My husband got so annoyed that he wanted to toss the waffle maker into the trashcan. Then came the tears of disappointment. We all started joking that it was a book about the Great Depression after all.

I think it’s great my daughter wants to learn how to cook, and I love the idea of teaching history while we do it,  but can we please have easier recipes that don’t wipe out the whole kitchen after I spent all of Saturday cleaning my house from top to bottom?

We ended up making pancakes with the batter. And let me tell you they were REALLY yummy!

Ulla Seckler  is a dollmaker who was born and raised in Germany. She lives in beautiful Colorado with her husband and two kids. You can find her Notes by a German Dollmaker on her blog where she shares some great German recipes, pictures of her sweet dolls, and life lessons learned.  Don’t forget to stop by her Etsyshop and take a peek at her wonderful doll creations.

Allison

Congratulations, Allison! I do not have any contact info for you so please contact us right away thiscosylife @ yahoo dot com If I do not hear from you by 1-24-12 I will draw another winner.

Etsy treasury created by This Cosy Life

My thoughts are beginning to turn toward Valentine’s Day. Check out some of the wonderful Valentine inspired items from our team members!

♥I love these DIY suncatchers, made from glue!

♥This homemade, heart shaped paper tutorial is terrific… wondering if they might be made with seeds in them?

♥These heart shaped tea bag tags would make a sweet grown up gift, maybe kids could make for Grandma?

♥Valentine babies… very sweet and I’m thinking would look extra sweet strung as a necklace.

♥Wouldn’t heart shaped pie pops be a sweet Valentine treat?

♥Love this pretty heart wreath!

Julie Hunter is a wife and mama, raising 3 spirited girls, two babydoll sheep, angora rabbits and a gaggle of chickens and ducks in the North Carolina Foothills. She spends her days at home, crafting with her children, homeschooling, taking long gathering walks in the woods and knitting Waldorf-inspired toys. You can find her blogging and keeping shop at This Cosy Life.

Whats the story? Because of Winn-Dixie is the tale of 10-year-old India Opal Buloni. Sounds like Baloney, doesn’t it? The entire book is full of characters with strange names. The girl Opal has just moved to a new town and is feeling rather lost. The story revolves around the mystery of her mother who left Opal and her dad when she was 3 years old. Opal’s father is a minister at a little roadside church he started in a poor community. One day he sends Opal grocery shopping. Instead of bringing home the food to prepare dinner with, Opal returns with a stray dog, who she names after the grocery store Winn-Dixie . Through the adoption of the dog the father and daughter are finally able to bond and talk about the disappearance of her mother. The dog also becomes the means through which Opal is able to become part of the new community.

What I found most extraordinary about this book is the old time feeling it has to it. When I looked at the publishing date of 2000 I could hardly believe it. Maybe it’s the description of the quaint folks Opal meets or the description of her surroundings, the stores, the houses, the church her father preaches in? I can’t put my finger on it. The story is sweet and simple, and right to the point. What do we learn from it? I think the main lesson of the story is about prejudice. That we should not judge people based on first impressions such as their name (they didn’t choose it after all) or their reputation. We should always go seek out the truth for ourselves and not believe what other people say about someone…

I can’t help but want to share my favorite passage from the book. You know the kind of passage you want a write in your reading log if you keep one…

About the invention of Littmus Lozenges:

“Well, Littmus came home from the war…And he sat down on what used to be the front step of his house, and he cried and cried. He cried just like a baby. He missed his mama and he missed his daddy and he missed his sisters and he missed the boy he used to be. When he finally finished crying, he had the strangest sensation. He felt like he wanted something sweet. He wanted a piece of candy. Hadn’t had a piece of candy in years. And it was right then that he made a decision. Yes, ma’am. Littmus W. Block figured the world was a sorry affair and that it had enough ugly things in it and what he was going to do was concentrate on putting something sweet in it….” quoted from Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick Press,  Cambridge Massachusetts, 2000.

I guess this passage really spoke to me because this is exactly how I feel about the toys and creations that members of the NaturalKids team on Etsy make to send out into the world. I see them as little beacons of light in a world that is full of darkness and sadness.

Ulla Seckler  is a dollmaker who was born and raised in Germany. She lives in beautiful Colorado with her husband and two kids. You can find her Notes by a German Dollmaker on her blog where she shares some great German recipes, pictures of her sweet dolls, and life lessons learned.  Don’t forget to stop by her Etsyshop and take a peek at her wonderful doll creations.When asked about her favorite tool in crafting and creating goods for children her answer was simply: colors.

Instead we will go for the Perfect Protein meal this year…

I received this recipe for the ”Perfect Protein Salad”  many years ago at a food tasting  while visiting Whole Foods Market in Fort Collins. I think this particular version was adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook, but I can’t say for sure, since the recipe is all but in shreds from the many years of using it. Even my husband, who would much prefer to eat the fried chicken, loves this salad because it’s so crunchy and good.

Here is the most healthy and wholesome list of ingredients needed to make it:

Please note that you have to soak the soybeans and wheat berries each for a number of hours. Soybeans need 4 hours of soaking. Wheat berries need to soak for about 1 hour. Accordingly, this meal needs some thinking ahead.

3/4 cup dried soy beans

3/4 cup wheat berries

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 cup cottage cheese

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 medium sized carrot, diced

1 small cucumber, peeled seeded, diced

1/2 bell pepper, diced

for the dressing:

1/3 cup of cidervinegar

1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise

1 teaspoon of salt (I use less)

freshly ground black pepper

chopped dill to taste

How to make it:

Put the soybeans and wheat berries in a pot and cover with water. Some people boil each separately until they are tender but still chewy. I boil mine together because I am a freak when it comes to saving energy…

Once the soybeans and wheat berries are tender put them through a colander and rinse. Let them drain well.

Meanwhile prepare the dressing. Combine the dressing, grains, soybeans, and all the vegetables in a bowl. Mix in the cup of cottage cheese. If you’d like you can decorate your salad with some radish slices or tomatoes.

This salad is very filling and will serve about 6 people as a meal. You could also serve this as a side with a meat if you really feel the need for more protein. Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Ulla Seckler  is a dollmaker who was born and raised in Germany. She lives in beautiful Colorado with her husband and two kids. You can find her Notes by a German Dollmaker on her blog where she shares some great German recipes, pictures of her sweet dolls, and life lessons learned.  Don’t forget to stop by her Etsyshop and take a peek at her wonderful doll creations.

Etsy treasury created by Mosey

♥I really want to try out this No Knead Crusty Bread recipe.

♥Walking Water… this is a very cool little experiment!

♥I think if my toddler had a play garden like this I might actually get some gardening done this year.

♥We’ve been telling this sweet story in circle time all week.

♥Wooly Bear Caterpillars, how fun! I think I’ll make some with my girls today.

♥Do you have a 2012 calender yet ( I don’t!)? This one is a free printable and very pretty.

Julie Hunter is a wife and mama, raising 3 spirited girls, two babydoll sheep, angora rabbits and a gaggle of chickens and ducks in the North Carolina Foothills. She spends her days at home, crafting with her children, homeschooling, taking long gathering walks in the woods and knitting Waldorf-inspired toys. You can find her blogging and keeping shop at This Cosy Life.