mindfulness

An Answer

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If you are a regular visitor to this space, you know that on Fridays I normally post a kairos moment.  Today, instead of capturing this moment in a photograph, I would like to share with you a different sort of kairos moment.

When I left teaching three and a half years ago, I exited the profession for the simple fact that I wanted to be home with my girls.  I have always felt teaching is a vocation for me, rather than simply a job, and it is a vocation I truly love.

As my youngest nears the age when she will begin kindergarten, and enrolled in school all day, I have been at odds with myself as to what to do when this next step in our lives rolls around.  I found myself fighting this internal battle about educating my girls.  I adore teaching, and I want to teach them.  It just seemed so unnatural to me that I would drop my two little ones off at one school, and I then drive across town and teach an entirely different group of students all day long.

My interior conflict waged on…Do I homeschool the girls so that I can directly educate them each and every day?  Do I not go back to teaching full time and just sub in the school where my girls attend?  Do I just bite the bullet and drop the girls off each day and head to another teaching job?  This debate went on and on.  It consumed my thoughts by day, and the differing scenarios played out in my dreams at night.  Each evening I prayed that God would  give me some sort of small indication of what I should do.  What am I ultimately called to do as a teacher?

My answer came to me, not wrapped up in a perfect box, but one that came up rather suddenly.  One that will take hard work, drive, and a whole lot of energy.  Although what lies ahead of me will be a challenge, I am ready to face it head on because I am fully confident that this is what God is calling me to do.  I am called to teach. Teach my girls.  At the school in which they attend.

Today I begin a new chapter of my life as the junior high math and science teacher at Cathedral of St. Peter School.  Today I will drive to school with both of my girls, see them in passing in the halls, and drive home with them in the afternoon.  I will educate their schoolmates, and in a few years they too will sit in those seats, in my classroom, where I will have the chance to educate them for three whole years, in a setting that I absolutely adore and feel that I belong.

Sleep Hats

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As I’ve mentioned this past week or so, my littlest one has asked for a “sleep hat” for Christmas.  Now, I’m not sure what exactly a sleep hat is exactly.  All I know is that she requested a nice comfy hat she can wear when she reads stories before bed.

My mind starting running through possibilities for a sleep hat sort of idea, and then it hit me:  ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.  You all know the part, “With Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap…” That’s what I wanted to make!  I wanted to craft a cap like I had seen in all of the illustrations of Papa in ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

With a bit of trial and error, I bring you my first ever created “sleep hat” for my tiny ones to wear on a cold winter’s night.

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One down, one more to go, and only a few days remaining.  I better get to work 🙂

Nona’s Biscotti

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Nona Zanocco’s Biscotti has become a staple around our house each Christmas.  This buttery crisp cookie is perfect for a morning coffee with friends around the holidays, and also a wonderful additional to the cookie platter at a holiday party.  The word biscotti means “twice baked,” so although they do take a bit of time to make, these treats are worth the wait it takes to prepare them.

Nona’s Biscotti

Using a stand mixer, place 3 sticks of room temperature butter in the mixing bowl.  Mix until the butter is creamy and smooth.

Add 2 cups of sugar and cream the butter and sugar.

While the mixer is running, add 6 eggs (one at a time).  Then add 1 tablespoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon almond extract.

In a separate bowl, mix together 6 cups flour and 2 tablespoon baking powder.

Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture.  Run the mixer until completely combined.

Form logs of dough (roughly 2 inches wide by 12 inches long by 1 inch tall) and place on a greased cookie sheet.

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Bake the logs in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the logs from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.  Then, slice the logs into one inch slices.  Spread the slices out and re-bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the slices are just starting to turn golden.

You can serve the cookies as is, or you can drizzle them with a glaze.  (I like to mix a bit of powdered sugar with a touch of almond extract and some milk to make a glaze that I then drizzle over top.  I then top with naturally-colored sprinkles, or lemon or orange zest.)

Enjoy!

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*A note about all my recipes:  I use all organic ingredients, local when available.  I use non-homogenized milk, and all of the dairy we use is from animals raised on pasture. I also use oils that are non-GMO verified.  All our meat is raised locally on organic feed, and our beef is grass-fed, grass-finished.  All our spices and cane sugar are fair-trade certified and purchased through a cooperative.

At This Moment

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At this moment, I am…

~preparing my eldest’s Girl Scout Daisy smock.  Today is her first Daisy meeting, and I am just praying her little cough from last night is better this morning so she is able to attend.  She is so very excited.

~putting the finishing touches on the sleep hats I mentioned last week.  More on this to come later this week.

~frosting biscotti.  It’s my Nona’s recipe from Italy, and they are delicious.  No worries, more on these tasty treats later this week as well 🙂

~wishing a few extra hours could be added to each day this week.  There is so much that needs to be done.

~reminding myself what is important this time of year, despite the above mentioned craziness that seems to be seeping into each day.

~awaiting an important day in my family’s life.  Check in on Friday for more about this news.

~hoping each of you has a wonderful start to your week.

Best Made Plans

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Yesterday morning I rose early to head to the grocery store before dawn, before my girls woke up, and before my “To Do List” really got moving.  I returned home at 6:30 am, with arms full of groceries, and two little girls with pink eye. How quickly all those plans on my “To Do List” were put on hold, and a new (much better, I must say) plan developed.  Cookie-Baking Day.

The girls felt great, but still unable to attend school, dance class, and tumbling lessons, so we just stayed close to home and had ourselves a wonderful little day.  It’s these moments spent with my little ones in the warm embrace of our home that I will remember most as the years move on.  I will never forget their baking experiments with flour strewn all about the kitchen, their voices in the play room as my seven year old reads fairy tales to her little sister, or the tiny fists full of cookies being shoved as quickly as possible into their smiling mouths.

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Some Christmas Sewing

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As I mentioned last week, my Singer has been calling my name lately.  I’ve found myself nestled in front of the sewing machine more and more, busy creating some goodies for the holidays that are so quickly approaching.

The first item I’ve completed this week is a felt garland for our homemade Christmas tree.  (We have one Christmas tree in our home, specifically designated to house all of the homemade ornaments the girls have crafted over the years.  It is one of my favorite spots in our house right now.)  I actually got the idea for the garland from my daughter’s piano teacher.  And the best ideas are always “borrowed” from others, right? Thank you Ms. Nelson for the fabulous idea!

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I am also working on our annual Christmas jammies for the girls.  I’ve completed one pair of pants so far, but I think I’m most excited for what I have next in the works…a sleep hat.  My little four year old requested a snuggly hat she can sleep in.  So the PJs are coming first, with a matching “sleep hat” to follow.  More on this to come 🙂

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What are you making for the holidays this year?  Feel free to share your homemade project ideas in the comment section so that others may become inspired by your craftiness.

Winter Sewing

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My sewing machine spent it’s summer and fall days collecting a nice little layer of dust in my basement.  I never really felt overly drawn to it during those months.  I’m guessing because my time and attention focused on all of the outside work that needed to be done, and sewing never really seemed to fit with that particular rhythm.

But now all of that has changed.  It’s darker earlier, it’s colder outside, and it’s time to begin sewing again.  I have quite the stack of projects in the works, because I couldn’t decide on just one project to start.  It all seemed so fun!  I have forced myself to get a bit more organized in the past few days, and I’ve now completed a pair of nice flannel night gowns for my two favorite gals.  My little ones much prefer to wear night gowns than any other form of pajama, and I’m happy to oblige.  For is there anything cuter than a little girl snuggled up in a warm comfy night gown?  I cannot think of anything better.