• Uncategorized

    Back to School Intentions

    It’s finally time for Henry to return to Montessori school (photo is from his first day of school last year). This summer has been a bit hectic (to say the least) with a new baby, two different childcare situations, three visits from family, and an impending move. Since we didn’t know when our house was going to be completed (which is in northeast Austin), we set up part-time childcare up there and part-time childcare near our rental house (which is in south central Austin). He was doing three days at one and then two days at the other until the three-day option ended in mid-July and he started five days

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  • Montessori

    Recommended Montessori Toys for a One Year-Old

    A friend of mine asked for Recommended Montessori Toys for a One Year-Old, and I immediately went to Kylie’s post. Sadly, I misread it and thought many of the links were only available in Australia, so I decided to recreate a similar list for my friend (and later realized the Australian links were in addition to the U.S. links!–how long can I blame the post-partum hormones?). There’s some overlap, as well as some different items. Henry has enjoyed most of these toys for the past year and a half. Here are the basic guidelines for choosing Montessori toys for one year-olds:  

    Basic Guidelines for Selecting Toys

    • They are very
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  • Uncategorized

    How to Build a House

    A few folks have asked me to write a post about the process of building a house. I’ve been resisting it because I honestly don’t have that much to say! But I will give it a shot…

     
    First, let me explain why we opted for the least environmentally-friendly option (buying an existing house or renovating an existing house is way more responsible than building new). For the longest time, my dream was to build a pocket neighborhood. I wanted to buy two acres of land and invite like-minded people and families to build their homes within an intentional community. (Editor’s Note: This plan involved building rather than renovating because
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