Author: amanda

amanda

Sartorial Saturday–Miss Candyfloss

Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted a Miss Candyfloss dress?!? I have long admired their vintage cuts, but I have been reluctant to order, because the company is based in Sweden, and I was worried about how their clothes fit, and how much of a hassle a return would be if it didn’t.

Enter Unique Vintage, who recently had the Tamrika swing dress available in my size on their website. Ordering from a California-based store is way less intimidating than ordering from overseas, so I figured I didn’t have much to lose. In the end, I needn’t have worried, because it fit perfectly!

I decided to go with simple black, pink, and grey accessories, including a hat that I haven’t worn for a long time due to lack of coordinating outfits. Also, isn’t the collar of the dress cool?!?

I love the material the skirt is made out of…it’s a very soft flannel…perfect for winter!

I’m glad I was finally able to purchase a Miss Candyfloss dress, and now that I’m familiar with the fit, maybe someday, I’ll even order a style directly from the company!

2020-21 School Year–Week Thirteen

Hymn of the Week–“Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” (Lutheran Service Book #892)

This has been A Week. It started out well enough, with a Sunday evening visit to the Missouri Botanical Garden for Garden Glow.

And Monday was nice, too, as it was Moose’s birthday (although we did still have school). Things kind of fell apart after that, however, as my mom was admitted to the ICU on Tuesday. So we did school this week, but I have to admit, I think we were all pretty distracted.

Turkey and Bunny did derivatives of trigonometric functions in calculus. In advanced biology, they learned the names and functions of a lot of muscles. Ryan commented that it learned like we were casting spells from Harry Potter one day! They learned about language development in psychology. They read about “El Norte,” “New France,” and “Tidewater” in American Nations.

Ladybug continued to work with systems of equations in algebra. She and Chickadee read about the Boxer Rebellion in history. In science she learned about valance electrons and how chemical reactions occur. We started reading Treasure Island.

Chickadee started some simple division in math…I was not ready for that! We finished reading Mr. Popper’s Penguins…she wanted it to last forever! In science, she learned about several different kinds of nests. She was relieved to have a review week in spelling…that means no test!

I don’t know what next week will look like, but hopefully it’s a little better than this week has been!

Garden Glow in the Time of COVID-19

On Sunday night, we went to the festival member preview of Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Things were (of course) different this year:

But some things were reassuringly familiar:

I tried to see some things in a new way:

My favorite part might have been the gingko leaves on the ground around much of the Garden. Garden Glow started far earlier this year than it has in the past, so we’re not used to the golden carpet they provided. It was a beautiful, if not strange, sight, and added an extra pop of color to the lights:

The exit was routed through the new visitor center (which is a fantastic building!), and this guy was right outside:

I only took one video this year, but I think it was a good one:

It was strange attending Garden Glow so far in advance of Thanksgiving. It’s also strange to know that this might be the only Christmas event we attend this year. But I’m really glad the Missouri Botanical Garden found a way to host it safely, and I’m especially glad we got to do something that felt almost normal in this very strange year!

Tasty Tuesday–Cooking Through a Pandemic, the Eighth Month

Kind of getting tired of cooking, but we have tried quite a few new and delicious things in the last month or so (and we got to have Pizza Hut and White Castle, too!):

I don’t think we did quite as much baking over the last month…we did keep making cookies every Sunday, and we also had a few other special treats, including a birthday cake:

The holidays are yet to come, so the cooking and baking is really just beginning!

15!

Today is Moose’s 15th birthday!

We started the day with a breakfast of his choosing…toaster strudel:

He did have school today (which was a bit of a disappointment after the unicorn that was the birthday long weekend last year!), but since he’s doing distance learning, he was able to open his presents at lunchtime, which is way better than waiting until after the school day is over!

For dinner, he requested White Castle, which is easy enough to carry-out:

And he wanted a chocolate cake with m&m’s…I was pretty happy with how it turned out!

Now all five children have celebrated their birthdays in the time of COVID-19, from Turkey’s 17th birthday in March the week the stay-at-home order was announced to today, at a time when we’re wondering if we’re going to see increased restrictions again. We haven’t been able to go out to eat, or have family and friends over, or even go somewhere fun for any of the birthdays, but I think we’ve still had special celebrations, and it’s certainly a year of birthdays we won’t forget!

Home for the Holidays

I have to admit, as much as I love this time of year, I’ve kind of been dreading the holidays. Most of what we would normally do (or I had planned special for Turkey’s and Bunny’s senior year of high school), has either been cancelled or just isn’t doable in the midst of a global pandemic. Thanks COVID-19. But there are some new and different things that we’re doing to make some unique memories this year, and one of them arrived yesterday.

Like so many other things, the Christkindlmarket in Chicago has been cancelled. Now, we weren’t planning on going to Chicago this year at Christmastime, but knowing it (and Belleville’s Christmas market), had been cancelled bummed me out. So when I heard that they were going to offer some special boxes for a “Home for the Holidays” celebration, I thought I should check it out.

I chose to get the “A Few of Our Favorite Things” box. The main attraction, in my opinion, was two Christkindlmarket mugs (and a packet of glühwein spices), but there were other goodies in the box including a candle that smells just like Christmas and a bonus box of European chocolates.

Now, this won’t replace our favorite Christmas activities, and it represents something we hadn’t even had on the schedule for this year. But I feel good about supporting one of my favorite Chicago Christmas attractions, and it’s something fun that will make a special memory in a very strange year!

Quote of the Day

How many people have had “The only way out is through” as their motto this year?

“He says the best way out is always through.
And I agree to that, or in so far
As that I can see no way out but through–
Leastways for me–and then they’ll be convinced.” Robert Frost, “A Servant to Servants”

2020-21 School Year–Week Twelve

Hymn of the Week–“For All the Saints” (Lutheran Service Book #677)

I’m so happy it’s finally November (even if it has been unusually warm the last few days)!

On Monday, we took our annual walk around Creve Coeur Lake…it was the perfect day for it, and there was still plenty of fall color to see. And most importantly, we got out of the house!

After our very rare field trip day, we got back to our regular work. Turkey and Bunny learned the chain rule for derivatives in calculus. They started reading two new books for history: American Nations and Light in the Dark Belt. Now that they’ve learned about how muscles work in advanced biology, they’re learning about specific muscles/muscle groups.

Ladybug worked with adding, subtracting, and multiplying systems of equations in algebra. She learned how elements are grouped on the periodic table in science. She also learned how to write a scientific paper. We finished reading The Trojan War. In history, she and Chickadee read about the Oregon Trail.

Chickadee started carrying in multiplication in math. Her writing lessons focused on passages from 101 Dalmatians. She learned a bit more about migration in science. We read about the first theater performance of Mr. Popper’s Penguins.

Ladybug and Chickadee put the finishing touches on their election lapbooks this week. The biggest addition was the “Vocabinet,” which summarized all the terms they’ve learned over the last month:

Both Ladybug and Chickadee were very proud of their finished projects!

Next week will be a pretty normal week, and then we’ll add in our Thanksgiving studies!