Updates

So the biscotti came out just fine, I have been eating them a lot, officially starting the eating season, I guess.

I think they are a great gift, you can just place them in a fabric bag, such as this one I made for my son to take to art class for sharing.

They are esay enough, and the recipe is here.

My son made these Christmas decorations, I love them, he was very excited and told me were they had to be.

I havent finish the Advent Calendar, and tomorow is already December 1st, does this freaks anyone besides me?

Our Advent crown reinterpretation is going well, we are working in our virtues a reflex about our progress every night, and then we lit a candle and read a poem, the same every night for a week, this certanly changes our mood.

Could I process my own coffe?

On Sunday we went to the playground near our home, behind there is small a coffee plantation, and I could no resist and went to pick some grains from the ground, I'm going to try to process them myself.

Today I'm trying to make this biscotti, I also wish to try theses macarons, and butter from here.

Kinder family trip

Today we went to a kinder family trip on the mountains, I loved, I wish I could like in a little cabin on some mountain, with four seasons, may some day.

I have been in a quiet mood, I just want silence.

I have been trying to finish organizing the house, but there's still boxed packed.

I love how my little one is learning reading, founding letter shapes here and there, numbers and even musical notation, I'm so proud.




By the way, the music teacher was really happy.




What about you, how is your weekend going? I love this music that discovered via Soulemama.

Gifts for everyone

I just love to make gifts, even when I get a sale on the store, I always send some little extra.

In Costa Rica the school year ends on December, so along with Christmas comes the end of another life cycle, and classmtes gifr were in order.

I made this little bags and put a cookie on them for the music class mates.

And I made this rings for the teacher, she loved them and we get to used on the Friday class.

Our Christmas traditions

We are not religius, but still we enjoy to celebrate Christmas as a quiet time to enforce our family bonds.

This year I tought it will be nice to have an Advent crown, and to work in a specific virtue every week as it was described on this wonderful book All Year Round (Lifeways).

Let's see if I get it done in time.

What about your family traditions on this season?

Hand printing on fabric

I love to hand print fabric.
I have don it before for my produce bags and some La Milpa tags.

 This time I was printing names, for the Christmas gifts wrapping, I just don't want to use paper, because it end up in the trash, so I make fabric bags, people won't throw them away and eventually the use them for another purpose.

And while I was at it, I could not resist but to print animals too, and so I was able to complete one of the many projects I have in my mind for the Etsy store, a memory game to go, and it is already avaible at the store. Almost a yer ago I had made one for my son, but this new one it's super little, just a little bit more than 1 inch per side on the squares.

So, what about you, do you have other solutions on cutting the trash of gift wrapping?

Ice cream update

The other day I gave an Ice cream recipe in my blog (on the Spanish version but in English it's here), and it didn't turn out very well, it tasted well but didn't felt like ice cream, it seams that I dint mix the milk enough, so I tried again and took a picture of how I think it supposed to look, we will see if it turns out better.

On the other hand I have been reading every day the posts of the Handmade Holidays on the Sew, Mama, Sew blog, and I found this great tutorial and I decide to try it on my dad's birthday present, he is a University professor and travels a lot so I think it would be nice to have this around with his family pictures on it (I printed them at Spoonflower).

I also have been working in a book stand for the kitchen,

And we made some Christmas cards for our Mexico friends.

This is the one my son made for himself, I loved how he hug it.
How is your Christmas prep going?

Ice cream recipe

This recipe is super yummy and super easy, specially if you have a Kitchen Aid mixer.

You'll need:

1 can of evapored milk
1 cup of fruit
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water

Put the milk in a container and in the freezer.
When is half frozen take it out.
Blend all the other ingridients.
Mix the milk very fast until it raises.
Add the fruit mix.
Freeze.
Enjoy.

 

Winner

Congrats Azulitoclaro

A giveaway

I have had an Etsy store since 2006, but it had to go trough many changes to finally embrace all that I wanted to share.

I like to sew, knit, crochet, paint, build, write. I made jewelry, clothes, baby carriers, bags, toys. I love natural fibers. I care very much about earth and believe we must do and not to do as much as we can for making our pass on it as lightly as possible.

So finally, with Simple Loving Family I thing I have found a concept that holds all of it together.


And to celebrate it I will be making a giveaway for one of my favorite items on the store, the Red riding hood snack bag. It's actually a small bag good for many purposes, but the first inspiration on this was how to send my son's lunch in something practical that would not be plastic. You can also get one at the store, of course, they are $3.50

For a chance to win just leave a comment before Sunday and I will announce the winner that day.

About kids sleeping hours, schooling and unschooling

I always thought it was very important to respect the sleep time for babies and children, while I think it is very important establish routines, because that makes life better for parents and children, knowing what to expect. And that is why my first advice for new parents is to bathe your baby always at the same time of day (preferably at night).

Since Itzcóatl was one or two months old, I bathed him at the same time and so was made our nightly routine, dinner, bath and bed, with maybe a story or a lullaby, and this continues until today.
I always worry for him getting enough sleep. The way I know it is that I do not ever have to wake up him in the morning. If we need to wake up at 6 and I know that his daily sleep need is for about eleven hours and he  almost never naps, that means he must be on bed at 7, so I have to start the bath like 5:30 if I don't want to be stressed with dinner.
This does not mean that there are not exceptions, isn't great to have a special evening with mom playing something, doing an art project, learning, telling stories or even watching a movie?
But these occasions are almost incompatible with schooling, who decides our times daily no matter how we feel, on the other hand my son likes to go to school and needs to be with other children. I do not think that school is the BEST place to socialize, especially the elementary with traditional system (public or private) where most of the time children must be seated and silent and have only a minimal recreation and not even in green areas. But I see no other options, my child has no siblings, perhaps if we were more,  I will unschool all together at home. In addition there aren't many groups of unschool children in my region or at least I do not know where he could meet with other children and friends to have frequent and regular activities, so give in and I'm sending him to a Montessori Kindergarten, for now.
Some days I agree when he says he does not want to go to school and I don't try to convince him. We stayed home and do a thousand things, I enjoy it deeply, do not miss the time he is away and I have the usual time to do my things, what things?, why I can't do them when he is around?, Is not it also a learning process to watch that mom really works and that he has to wait at times?, beyond being able to go to sit at a cafe and attend a yoga class once a week I do not need that.

So that's what I think, though I'm a fan of home schooling, or rather unscholing, we will have to wait, as with co-sleeping and so many things I can not give a strong and decisive opinion because not only my way of thinking and feeling decide, but my son's, and he knows what he needs and when, he is the one who knows it best and I will listen and learn, obeying, loving forever.

 

{this moment}

A friday ritual from Soulemama, one image, no words.

Angiostrongylus costarricensis

 

I mention before that when I found a slug on the living room it's kind of a tragedy for me, because it means that we are at risk and I have to disinfect the whole house floor.

The thing is that  there is dangerous illness that is propagated by this insects.

The main source are rats poo, and then the slug eat it and leave the larva on their trails. Different varieties form this parasite affect animals and humans, but this in particular has only be described in Costa Rica and there have been cases in Central and South America. Slugs may infect also vegetables.

The risk population are toddlers ans babies, more the boys than the girls.

When they enter the human body go into the blood and then to the intestine where they develop, cutting blood access to the tissue which eventually dies and then the patient will not be able to get any nutrients.

Surgery has been necessary in some cases and at least one baby girl died from this, she eat the whole slug. Recovery can take months of hospitalization.

Symptoms include fever, diarrhea, and pain and hardness on the right side of the belly.

  

When a case is presented in necessary to analyze the whole family, since this has helped often to identify another sick person.

A study of slog population around Costa Rica showed that 50% of this animals were infected without matter the area.

So let's be careful, doctors recommend to be super clean, wash hand often and disinfect vegetables.

Sources:
http://www.gefor.4t.com/parasitologia/angiostrongyluscostaricensis.html
http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/y4743e/y4743e0c.ht
http://parasidiario.blogspot.com/
http://www.gowervets.co.uk/spotlight/lungworm/lungworm.html
http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?pid=S0001-60022007000100013&script=sci_arttext
http://wvw.nacion.com/ln_ee/2009/febrero/01/pais1860555.html
http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?pid=S1409-14291998000200002&script=sci_arttext

Sunday

I have been planing to make some virtual sewing e-course, tutorials and patterns in Spanish to take care of all those enthusiastic crafters who want to sew but have no classes near or can't leave their house but mainly are looking at all the beautiful goodies made around the world but can't read English, so all of the free tutorial and explanations are not for them, but I'm still designing it.



Today it was windy and cold, but finally rain stops, which was great since we had all sorts of tragedies in here caused by Thomas storm pass. We went for a walk and end up in the cemetery, my son found it beautiful, even after explaining him what it is, he said, what a beautiful place, and we enjoy it.

 

{this moment}

A Soulemama tradition.

Day of the Dead

I had to sleep out for 3 nights and that made very cranky, cause I missed my home and my sewing.

On Saturday an old lady friend came by to the Farmer's Market where I work and we went fabric shopping, I got this leaves fabric, so I made this Kimono, by adapting the Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching pattern for my size.

And finally on Monday we made our altar to celebrate the Day of the Dead, we also made the traditional Bread of the Dead (recipe soon), and eat it with chocolate, in water for me (as in the picture) and with milk for Itzcóatl.

I'm having a crisis, I don't think I'm taking motherhood, very well in this days, I need a change.