September Mother Culture

May, June, July and August "Mother Culture" goals had to be put aside due to a miscarriage and my autoimmune diseases flaring. Also the anxiety of covid and political and racial unrest in my country didn't help. But, this is real life. It happens. In September, I became slightly more functional and was able to start knitting and crocheting and reading again. I made something for Becky! I crochet her a hat and a sweater. Isn't she cute?!

I wasn't able to read any of the books I actually scheduled for this month, but that is okay. I'll celebrate what I was able to do, and that was also make something for Reuben. He was gifted this warm hat in green, which he adores, and I'm making it into a pattern to share with you all! He is in this stage where he doesn't like pictures, too, so I had to bribe him with chocolate chips. And of course Becky wanted some too. But I am glad he loves his hat!

I am reading Redeeming Money now for October and also need to find that stocking I started crocheting for my husband. It feels good to be making and planing again, instead of curled up miserably on the couch.

April Mother Culture

Are we still doing this? Writing progress posts about my personal goals in the midst of a pandemic and a miscarriage? Yeah, apparently I am. 

I have finished books through March! Yeah! But I feel zero percent like reading. I have not started on anything for April at all, and now it's May. I NEED to read Home Education as we will be starting a Charlotte Mason home school in August and I kind of need to read the book. So, that will be my goal for May: read that book. Some of it. Hopefully. Ignore everything else. Read book.

I have not felt like knitting at all. AT ALL. I finished half of my Happy Mitts (aka one mitt) and...I just could care less about knitting anything. I don't want to crochet anything. I don't really want to paint because I suck at it, and I don't want to read because I am tired all the time and it hurts my eyes. I probably need to go to the eye doctor, but alas, my care-o-meter registers no response to my brains futile wishes for an eye appointment. Maybe I'll do it next week. Knowing them, they are probably closed. Or require me to wear a mask. Meh.

So, what do I want to do? Um, I don't know. I've been playing a lot of animal crossing and eating sourdough bread. I think I want to sew something? But the thought of pulling out my sewing machine exhausts me. Also my husband is working from home in that room, so that isn't going to happen.

Lately, mostly what I want to to do involves sleep. April, the month of sleep. I have actually been sleeping a lot: taking a nap when Becky does every day. It's great. I don't know why I am sleeping so much. Hormones? Aliens? The Covid fifteen? Oh well. It's my new hobby.

Here is a picture of my bread. That I made. Why? I don't know.

All of this to find out I really don't like sourdough. And neither does anyone else in my family. I don't know why I wasted two weeks of my life fermenting flour on my kitchen counter, but no one will eat it. So I am eating it because I am not wasting food. And I didn't spend an hour making bread to throw it into the trash can. (also can we talk about the fact that I made it twice just in case the first time was a fluke? Nope. Still not tasty. Sigh.)

Mostly the indecision (over what to create, knit, read, write) is driving me crazy. I want to do something, I just can't decide on what to do. So I do nothing. A lot.

That's April! I feel like these posts just get worse and worse each one I write. Hahahaa.

Oh, I did start writing a book. It's horrible and I'll probably never finish it, but I did write. Something.

March Mother Culture

I think these mother culture posts have become sort of a joke. I am so behind! But with a global crisis in March, proceeded by the death of my friend in February and my miscarriage in January, I am giving myself grace. Goals and lists are not the priority right now.

For March, I had scheduled two books and one knitting project. I did finish up my knitting project from February (the Engle sweater) and I LOVE it. Made of 100% wool, its super warm. You can read the post here where I shared all the modifications I did. Suffice to say, I am pleased.

I also finished my own pattern, that I had scheduled for March, of these cabled legwarmers. I love them, and they are also warm.

I'm still reading the books I had scheduled for February: I Said This, You Heard That, and Lord of Chaos. I did start on the books for March, but now I am reading four books. This is not ideal. For April I plan on finishing up February's books. It is what it is.

I would like to say I am too busy with my kids to read, and that is true in part. But honestly I am too distracted by our Nintendo Switch to read much. Oh, well. Perhaps I will moderate my time better next month. Maybe we will be able to actually go places soon. The switch is just too easy to choose when I am depressed and anxious and have a headache. Reading while my children scream is a lot harder than playing the switch while they scream. Bahahaa. Real life motherhood right here guys. Don't judge me.

Here is to April, may she be virus free. And full of sourdough bread making, because this girl ordered 15 pounds of wheat and rye berries online. Huzzah! Don't tell my husband.

February Mother Culture

I didn't finish everything in February. February was HARD. I babysat at least one extra toddler four days a week, and on some days had two extra toddlers! Also, tragically a friend of mine (and community leader) died recently leaving behind a four year old and her husband. Our community has been in shock ever since. I've been randomly frozen in sadness thinking of her and her son. I can't believe she is gone.

After feeling guilty about my progress on my mother culture goals for about three days, I decided to just roll over Feb into March and push everything back a month. The purpose of Mother Culture isn't to finish my list, but to cultivate my own learning and make intentional time for myself. February was crazy, March will be hopefully less so. I'm grieving a loss and need to give myself space and be gentle with myself--time to knit and read will come later.

Right now I am half way through I Said This, You Heard That, and about 1/4 the way through Lord of Chaos. I'm finding it hard to make time to read, and knit! In the evenings I am usually just so exhausted I lay on the couch and watch my husband play Zelda Breath of Wind while my knitting sits on the floor because Becky is nursing. It is what it is.

I did manage to knit about 6 inches of the bottom!! I have four more inches to go, and 2 inches of k2,p2. So close! I will be making short sleeves so, I really am a week or two away from finishing if I work hard! I am loving the Engle pattern--its SO SOFT and I think it looks great.

I also wanted to start on sourdough bread making this month too, but I have zero motivation to make bread from scratch right now. Maybe later.

How was your February?

January Mother Culture

I am enjoying having some structure for my own growth! So, how did I do with my January goals?

I knit about 1/3 of my engle sweater--but as it is all stranded colorwork, I think I did great! The rest of the sweater is all one color, and should be an easy knit in the round to finish up in February. I also modified the pattern (by accident) in the beginning to that is why mine looks different...I'll go more into that on my project page.

My second goal was to read Missional Motherhood. I'm almost finished with it! Its such a good read, very encouraging, very humbling. I've learned a lot about motherhood, the bible, God, and myself. I highly recommend it for any woman. Even if you don't have kids--all women are called to nurture something, and that is the main point of Missional Motherhood. I also loved how she gives a overview of the old testament and highlights how it correlates to mothering. Foundational stuff, and something I have never seen in any other "mom book" out there-- a clear picture of Motherhood shown through the bible. She goes book by book. It's amazing. I didn't know there was so much in the old testament about motherhood. In short, read it.

My third goal was to grow in the art world. I love drawing and painting, but alas I don't have any skill in the above areas. You can only get better by practicing--so I want to make time to do that. I didn't make nearly enough time this month, but that's okay. In January I drew two things, (and none of them good, but that's just my opinion). The first was Becky, holding a balloon, and the second is supposed to be a tree but looks like an overly large bush. Neither are painted, but both use colored pencils. It's a start, and more than "creating art" I did have fun drawing with the kids and it helped me relax. So.

Next month, I hope to draw more and have a finished sweater. Today I am just trying to get over the fact that Becky refused to nap. Oh, well.

Mother Culture 2020

I was introduced to the term Mother Culture in 2019, and at first I thought it sounded lame. Mom culture? Don't sign me up. But as I have grown in my faith and in my motherhood, I have learned that being a mother isn't something I do part time. It isn't something I put on and take off. It has wholly encompassed me and revolutionized my life. It is my life. I am a mother. It's not just another notch on my to-do list or a slot that fills my itinerary. It's not like a college class I take for a semester or a part time job that I clock out of at the end of the day. I am Mother. Mothering is now my identity. 

And thus I grew to cultivate a mother culture in my home.

Mother Culture is a way-of-life, the skillful art of how a mother looks after the ways of her household. With a thinking-love she creates a culture in the home all her own. A mother does a lot of taking care, so she needs to take care of herself, too.

The best way to describe mother culture starts with one of Charlotte Mason's main foundational principles: that we learn always. This is something she wanted to ingrain into her students and thus, into her mothers. And, if I am not learning and growing, how can I expect to teach my children that education is a lifestyle?

If I think about it, my home already has a culture. But a critical analysis, an awareness of this culture  helps me see the negative aspects of our atmosphere and adjust accordingly.

Thus I have decided that every year I am homeschooling my children, I will be schooling myself. My education is just as important as Reuben's.

These are my mother culture plans.

I want to read through the Robert Jordan Wheel of Time series this year (I wanted to finish it last year but only managed to read 5 of the 14 books). Thus I'll be working my way through the rest in 2020, at least as much as I can!

I also plan on water-coloring at least once a month...we will see how THAT goes. Paint and toddlers......

January: 
Read Missional Motherhood by Gloria Furman
Knit: Engle 

February: 
Read: I Said This, You Heard That by Kathleen Edelman
Read: Lord of Chaos Robert Jordan
Knit: Engle 
Bake: Sourdough Bread

March: 
Read: The Battle Plan for Prayer by Kendrick
Read: The Beth Book Sarah Grand
Knit: Knee-high warmers (my own pattern)

April:
Read: Pilgrim's Progress
Read: A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan 
Knit: Happy Mitts

May: 
Read: The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit
Read: Risen Motherhood by Jensen Wifler
Knit: Nimbus Cloud

June:
Read: Charlotte Mason Companion
Read: The Path of Daggers by RJ
Knit: Flamingo Mitts

July: 
Read: Home Education (reread) by Charlotte Mason
Read: The Rainbow D. H Lawrence
Knit/Crochet: wash cloths and hand-towels

August: 
Read: You Are What You Worship by M Sharrett
Read: Winter's Heart by RJ
Knit: something for Becky for winter (3t)

September: 
Read: A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis
Read: Garden Spells By Allen
Knit: Something for Reuben for Winter (5t)

October: 
Read: Redeeming Money by Paul Tripp
Read: Crossroads of Twilight by RJ
Crochet: A stocking for my husband

November:
Read: Parents and Children by Charlotte Mason
Read: The Thirteenth Tale by Setterfield
Knit: Fox Scarf

December: 
Read: Come Let Us Adore Him by Paul Tripp
Read: Knife of Dreams by RJ
Knit: Twisted Cowl

I would also like to publish my book (that I wrote in 2016) at least in audio format on my YouTube Channel. But you know, I have two small kids, a house to run, and autoimmune issues, so let us not get ahead of ourselves.

Do you have any Year goals? What do you think of Mother Culture? I plan to do monthly update posts to highlight what I have learned.