A Recipe: London Fog Tea Latte

This afternoon during our Quiet Hour (see below post), I decided to be more adventurous with my afternoon cup of tea. After visiting a David's Tea store yesterday and seeing a woman with a fabulously yummy-looking drink, which she told me was a "chai latte", I ran a search on how to make such a latte for myself. Luckily, I have a fancy new milk frother (thanks, husband!), and with its help I may have found myself my go-to afternoon drink from today on!

How to make a London Fog Tea Latte (aka an Early Gray Tea Latte)
*I should mention that I am not even a fan of earl gray tea normally...not until today, that is!*

You will need:
One Earl Gray or Lady Gray Tea Bag (I used Lady Gray today)
8 oz. of boiling hot water
1 T. of regular sugar
1/4 t. vanilla extract

Directions:
Place the tea bag into the 8 oz. boiling water and let it steep for about 5 minutes.
Remove the tea bag and stir in the sugar and vanilla extract. (I actually used 1/2 T. of sugar for fear of it being too sweet. I think I'll put in 3/4 T. next time).
Steam the milk either in a frother/steamer or on your stovetop. Add in to the tea and stir. Voila! Enjoy!!

Preferably, drink in a beautiful tea cup :-)

Quiet Time

One of the most commonly asked questions I get as a stay-at-home Mama to several little ones is, "how do you not go insane?" That's a question I have to often ask myself so that I make sure that I stay sane (even though, my priest once told me, "we are all a little bit insane". I love that.)

One of the main things I have tried to learn how to do in my almost 5 years as a mother has been to keep myself grounded and in a good psychological state so that I can be the best mama and wife that my children and my husband need me to be. One of the things that has become a custom in our house is "quiet hour", which is at least an hour long each day, immediately after lunch. This is the time when the toddler naps, and the older two children each sit on a couch within my sight. It is also the time I sit down at the table for usually the first time all day (not including our morning lessons, when we sit on the couch together). For our Quiet Hour, the rules for the kids are that they need to stay on the couch (or inside the teepee, or on their Anywhere Chairs), and do something quiet. I have always dreamed that I'd put together nice "quiet time boxes" like I see on Pinterest, but in my reality, this has not happened and I am ok with that. I kind of prefer they learn what to occupy themselves with, anyway, because I will not always be there to hand them a box of fun goodies (lol). So, they choose books or quiet toys and sit resting for a solid hour. Before I go on, please remember that my reality is far from perfect: so, the kids do not always sit perfectly silently, and there are always interruptions of one sort or the other. But the point is, I do not end quiet time until a full hour has passed because that is what all parties need after a busy morning. Some days are very successful, and other days, I need to remind the kids what "quiet hour" is all about.

My routine during this very beloved time of day is to clear off the table from lunch (which the kids help with), wipe down the table, and put everything away (food and dishes, napkins, etc) so that I have a clean kitchen to work with in the afternoon and evening. Once the kitchen is clean and the counters are wiped down, I make myself a nice hot cup of tea, or a cafe latte. This is my favorite time of day! I sit down and savor every sip of that latte, and usually I either read a book, browse Pinterest, or knit as I sip. This gives me the right amount of time to re-gain energy for the rest of the day, and also to get some mental quiet/peace time, which is always very needed. Some days, if the kids rested nicely, I let them watch 45 minutes of a TV show (99% of the time, something in Russian), and I continue my quiet time by knitting, or do quiet housework, or knit.

My husband recently sent me a surprise gift in the mail - a milk frother. This, together with my stovetop espresso maker, has been making the best afternoon lattes!!! Today, I tried something new: a tea latte. I LOVE it! I will post the recipe I used in my next post so that this post doesn't get all cluttered.

An Easy November Project

This year, so far, we have been very blessed with some pretty mild fall weather. Though we have had a few days that required bundling up, most days we can still get away with being outside in just a sweater. It has been so nice! There is nothing I personally hate more than having to bundle up each kid in layers before going outside...and doing it for months and months on end. Definitely enjoying this mild weather while it lasts!

We have been keeping busy with some fun and very easy fall crafts in the house. I have noticed since we began homeschooling that my son is extremely artistic, and he isn't even 5 yet. He can take a glance at something and copy it really well. He colors completely in the lines, and he draws a really impressive picture off the top of his head! However, I have always been less than a lover of art and the reason for that is probably because of my serious lack of skill in the art department! That said though, I want to nurture my little guy's talent as much as I can, and since getting him into an art class right now is not really feasible, I figured I would try to give him as much opportunity as I could at home. Don't be impressed though, because I really am taking it slow. I am not a fan of projects that require me to run on a shopping trip to Michael's and spend a lot of money on materials, followed by the prep work, or projects that leave me more exhausted than I was before we began. So it is with great thanks to Pinterest that I have been able to find a few easy and low-stress/low-mess projects to do with the kids. I thought I'd share for the other Mamas out there who want to keep their kids busy with something a little more special than just plain old coloring.

The first project we tried out was making leaves on bare trees with the use of a dish brush and some paint.

I downloaded the template here and printed out one for each of my older kids. I printed it onto cardstock because I thought it would be nicer to use rather than paper, considering the paint factor.

Then I had the kids color in their trees and the grass below. I helped my 3-year old because she is not a huge fan of coloring.

Next, I gave them some fall-colored paints on a plate and a dish brush each. I had them dip their brushes into whatever color paint they wanted, and paint some leaves onto their trees. We also put some "falling leaves in the wind" for effect. They did need some help getting started and a few examples for technique. When the trees were dry, I cut the white off the bottom, mounted them onto some colored construction paper, and voila! They hang so nicely on our huge bay window, adding some fall color to my kind of bland decor (I'm still learning the ropes of home decor!!!) :-)

Just a note to add. I have been slooowly reading through the book The Artful Parent, and this book is so wonderful in guiding clueless, not-so-artsy mothers on how to incorporate art into their kids' everyday lives. I love it! This project was not from that book, but I wanted to recommend the book to other Mamas because it is that good. It is worth every penny. I am going through it slowly for a second time, in hopes that I can actually incorporate the recommendations the author gives into our lives one bit at a time. So far, we have built play-doh into our daily routine pretty well, and coloring as well. The kids are having fun experimenting with different mediums for coloring and drawing. Though it can sometimes get messy, like when they are using markers, (nothing a hand wash cannot fix, though), it is really fun to see what they each do with the various types of coloring tools! Even the 22-month old joins in on the fun!

November

I have been absent for a whole month because things have been going non-stop in a whirlwind and frankly, I've been exhausted! I am about to head into my 3rd trimester of this pregnancy, and some days I feel a rush of what I need to get done in preparation for this baby, and I just start without stopping again until the kids are in bed at night. Most of what I have been busy with has been housekeeping and de-cluttering, which is a job that never seems to end! I'll share some of what I've been up to in later posts.

For now, a few days late, a little look ahead into November.


Faith
St. John of Kronstadt (Nov. 1)
Archangel Michael (Nov. 21)
Start of the Nativity Fast (Nov. 28)

Note: These are clearly not ALL the important days on the calendar for this month in terms of feasts, but since the kids are still little I am keeping things simple (and also so that I can keep up better!!) Mostly, we are learning about the feast day and talking about it, and if I can, I find a video on YouTube, or an icon for them to color in pertaining to the saint/feast. The Nativity Fast will have an activity of its own.


Homemaking
Continue with the fall clean-up of the home
Plan out a cleaning list for the Nativity Fast
Start thinking about where to set up baby's crib and clothing in the next few weeks to prepare for his arrival

Themes
Turkeys
Thanksgiving
Fall

Special DaysThanksgiving on the 26th! This year, we will celebrate with my almost entire extended family!

Goals
Plan and budget for gifts for our December birthdays and Namesdays, and St. Nicholas Day
Finish planning and creating an Advent Calendar and activities for the kids
Finish learning & Practice our "Thanksgiving Concert" (we are planning to perform it for family on Thanksgiving Day), and practice "stage etiquette"

KnittingFinish knitting baby's blanket before Thanksgiving and blog about it
Start knitting a black scarf for hubby for his birthday

October!

Happy October! I am so excited for this month! Every year, October brings a sense of new, since it is the start of fall (not officially, but the fall weather never really hits before October :-)).

Yesterday we kicked off our first truly fall-like day by taking the kids apple picking! It was so. much. fun!! My hubby teased me the entire trip that I was smiling ear to ear. I told him, "You don't understand...I looked forward to days like this my entire life!" Having a bunch of kids, a little circus wherever we go, carrying heaps of jackets as we walk, plus a coffee in another hand...taking pictures on the tractor...scouting the highest limbs of the tree for apples.. It was pure perfection! Of course, there was a moment where the 3-year old was having a fit about walking "too far", and I ended up carrying everyone's jackets plus my bag, plus the coffee I was using to cure my headache...but it was a laughable moment and comforting, too, because I just thought to myself, "this is our life at the moment, and it's wonderful!"

Here are some of my goals for our family for October a "Living & Learning" of sorts:

October

Faith & Feasts Days: 

Protection of the Mother of God (14th)

St. Paraskeva (27th)

St. Peter of Cetinje (31st)

These feasts are my center point for our faith study this month. I will introduce the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God to the kids, and do a learning activity on both of these saints in preparation for their feast days, as well. For starters, I chose the Protection of the Mother of God because it is the feast day of our monastery, New Gracanica - we attend the feast each year. I also chose the "red days" in the calendar, since the kids are small and we have many years of learning ahead of us. 

Trips: 

We hope to make a trip down to Nashville, TN towards the end of the month for our good friends' parish slava (feast day) - St. Paraskeva.

Homemaking:

I hope to get back to my housework schedule from the book, Large Family Logistics as soon as possible! I don't know how I got off track...but perhaps the pregnancy exhaustion would explain it. Hopefully I can at least set a timer each day to stay on target and get the main stuff done. 

Themes: 

Leaves

Nuts and Squirrels 

Apples

There are a few picture books that I will intertwine with our normal curriculum for our lessons, to "fall-ify" things a bit. :-) 

Rituals:

Baking 

Playdates

Learning: 

"Our Father" in Slavonic (we get the English here every Sunday at liturgy)

Singing the prayer before and after school together (instead of just me)

Sweeping the floor after each meal

Folding laundry

Continue going to story time once a week 

Continue swimming lessons

Apple Picking

Visit a pumpkin farm (we'll be doing that with the parish Church School soon!)

Art at home

Wisdom from St. Theodora of Alexandria

I fell in love with the following excerpt from today's Prologue reading, from the "For Consideration" section:

"Blessed Theodora took on a strange child without a word, accepting it from her slanderers as her own. Out of love, she brought the child up in the fear of God. At the time of her death, she counselled the child thus: 'What more does a man need than God and His divine love? He is our treasure, our riches, our food and drink, our clothing and shelter, our health and strength, our mirth and joy, our hope and our confidence. Strive to find Him, my son. If you find the one God, that is enough for you; you will find more joy in Him than if you had found the whole world.'"

Could there be anything more perfect or more beautiful to teach one's child than that? I really do not think so. What a beautiful example.

Our Playroom

It has been over half a year now that we are in our new home, and I have put off posting any photos of our playroom until I felt like I really love how it is set up. Finally, we've reached a point where I feel like I want to share it.

We chose the room straight off of the kitchen and eating nook for our playroom. Since it is an open floor plan in that area of the home, I am able to see from the kitchen into the eating nook, and past that into our playroom. Part of living in a parish home though, is using what you've got and what they have provided you with and making it work for your family. We had an already-furnished room (which we are so grateful for!) but I did not want the entire room to be a sitting area, because the kids need a space of their own, too. Had we had no furniture in there, the room would have gotten set up completely differently. So after re-arranging the furniture a few times, we came up with the idea that we can divide the large room into two sections: the sitting area/family area, and the play area. To do this, we simply took our larger couch and put that one in the center of the room, and changed the love seat to be the one against the wall by the fireplace. This made a really big difference (I wish I had a "before" photo to show!). Now it almost felt like it is two separate rooms. You'll see what I mean in some photos below. Oh, there is a coffee table in the sitting area too. 

Just behind the couch

The area behind the couch took quite a bit of arranging and re-arranging before we made it perfect. For right now, I am very happy with this set-up. On the left wall, we put our ever-so-famous IKEA Expedit unit. This is my favorite piece of furniture ever, because it is so versatile! We used to have it in our son's room for his toys, but after moving a few times realized it functions best as a general home for all the toys. We have gone through several baskets in the past, but these IKEA wicker Bradas baskets are now the favorite (I think they are $12 a piece). They look a bit fancier than cloth baskets, and they have surprised me in being sturdier, too. The kids used to sit in the cloth bins (like the turquoise one that is left over), and stretch them out/de-form them, but these have not been tempting to them at all! We organize the baskets by type of toy. The first one contains farm animals (our Schleich collection) and the farm fence. The next basket is for dress-up clothes. The third basket is filled with all the babydoll and doll items like clothes and accessories, plus my daughter's famous purse collection (she plays with them ALL on a rotation every few days). Finally, the last basket contains a few race cars, trains and my son's miscellaneous small toys. The cloth bin happens to be kind of a miscellaneous bin right now which I need to go through and purge. 

About the books - every few weeks, my husband usually tells me to get rid of some of the books from the shelves so the kids stop making such a mess. However, I have taken books away and found myself adding them all over again a few days later because I see how much the kids love to read. All three of them look at all of the books. We do clean-up as a team, so I am hoping that they get better with time at putting back one book before taking a new one. We are working on it. But since they do most of the clean-up, I am not really too bothered by their mess-making. It is the one room in the house that is really 'theirs' to make a mess in and then clean up. 

The refrigerator from the play kitchen fit best in this nook too, and kind of makes it more fun for the kids too, because they feel like it's more realistic when they walk to the refrigerator from the other kitchen play area. 

The shelves above the Expedit unit are IKEA's picture ledges (RIBBA - the longer ones). I had seen many photos of these ledges used for books on Pinterest and just loved the idea of using colorful books as a decor for the room while at the same time keeping favorite books out of reach of children by keeping them high up. Ideally, I would have needed three of these shelves but I have other places in the house where I keep the other precious books that I do not want the kids touching. 

Behind the couch on the other side is our teepee, which I planned to be a reading nook. One day I will probably put a basket of books by the teepee or inside the teepee, but for now, there is a blanket in there which functions as a cushion, along with a few pillows. I plan to find some teepee lights for it one day, too. The kids absolutely love going in there! It was an Easter gift to them this year, and I love finding my girls in there with their dolls or someone reading in there (usually it's the littlest one!) My middle two take turns in there during quiet hour as well, and that has significantly reduced chatter and fighting during quiet hour (which was on the two couches before). In case anyone is wondering, the teepee is Kidkraft and it was from Walmart. It is the only teepee I ever found for less than $100 so I bought it right away. You can buy them on Amazon, too, or if you're more creative than I, you can make them (see Pinterest for a tutorial). 

The rug is from Costco and we bought it for $17 on a whim a few months ago. I love that it is educational, and it adds a bit of cozy-ness to the hardwood floor in there. I may move it into our classroom one day...

The play kitchen is Pottery Barn Kids found on Craigslist for a ridiculously cheap price when someone was moving and needed to get rid of it. I searched for months and months for a wooden play kitchen, both new and on Craigslist, and though I practically drooled over PBK's catalog play kitchens, I never expected to actually find one for a reasonable price! 

All in all, I love this room for now! I tried to not make this post confusing, but it probably was, so I'm sorry about that!