A Circle of Quiet

I'm a voracious reader. Always have been, and hopefully, always will be.

Even though I'm consistently reading at least one book (if not two or three), I rarely write about what I'm reading here on my blog.

This year, I want to get in the habit of sharing books I love, and this book is definitely worth mentioning.

Madeleine L'Engle, best known for writing A Wrinkle in Time, penned this gem of a memoir, A Circle of Quiet, back in 1972.

Forty-two years have passed, and yet I think L'Engle's thoughts and experiences are just as relevant today as I imagine they were back then.

It's the kind of book where I read a sentence or paragraph, and then stop and re-read it again because the words really resonate with me.  

That's so profound, I think.

Or Man, she nailed it! What a beautiful and articulate way to say that.

If I'm lying down in bed, I get up to grab the yellow highlighter off the top of our dresser. (We don't leave any pens down low for fear that our 2-year-old will get a hold of them. Smile.)

I run the highlighter across words like these...

"I don't know what I'm like.  I get glimpses of myself in other people's eyes. I try to be careful whom I use as a mirror: my husband; my children; the friends of my right hand."

And these, in the following paragraph...

"But we aren't always careful of our mirrors. I'm not. I made the mistake of thinking that I "ought" not to write because I wasn't making money, and therefore in the eyes of many people around me I had no business to spend hours every day at the typewriter. I felt a failure not only because my books weren't being published but because I couldn't emulate our neighboring New England housewives. I was looking in the wrong mirrors. I still do, and far too often." 

As a wife and mother and writer, I could completely relate to these passages (and many others).

It felt like I was sitting down, having a conversation with a wise woman--someone who is older than me and can clearly articulate the challenges and joys of marriage, motherhood, friendship, and writing.

Unlike other books I've read recently, I'm not in a rush to finish this one.  I've been reading about ten minutes or so each night right before bed, highlighting sections, rereading them, and just really letting them sink in. 

There are three more books in the Crosswicks Journal series (woohoo!), and I'm planning to look for them at our local library. 

Have you read any books lately that had a profound effect on you? That had you nodding your head, Yes, yes, that's it!  That had you highlighting line after line like you did back in college?

Tell me! I'm always looking for the next good read.
 

Tickle Monster Laughter Kit

Photo Credit

I absolutely adore children's books.

Always have, probably always will.

One of the big perks of being a new mom is I get to read (and re-read) lots of children's books.

Being a former teacher, I'm no stranger to books for kids, but I hadn't heard of the Tickle Monster Laughter Kit until a friend of ours bought it for Noah earlier this year.

The kit contains a book, written by Josie Bissett (of Melrose Place fame), along with two tickle mitts.     

Photo Credit

This adorable, well-written book is so fun to read to Noah.  I hold the book in my left hand and tickle Noah with my right hand.  Noah just giggles and giggles.

It's sure to be a favorite for years to come here at our house.

And I think it will be my go-to gift for little ones in our circle of family and friends.

Also, while I was searching for the Tickle Monster Laughter Kit on Amazon, I discovered that Josie has created a second kit, the Boogie Monster Dance Kit, which is meant for kids ages 3-9.

It has received rave reviews on Amazon, so I've placed it on Noah's wish list, hoping to remember to purchase it in the future.

J

Noah's Nursery

As you may have heard, my husband and I recently adopted a newborn baby boy!!

For years...5+ years...we'd been yearning to become parents.  During all that time, though, I never really gave much thought to how I wanted to decorate a baby nursery.  I just wouldn't let myself get swept up in thinking about baby stuff. 

However, a few weeks after we "matched" with the birth mother, we found out she was having a BOY.  It was then, in late August, that I got right to work on planning the nursery. 

I had so much FUN decorating Noah's nursery!  I may not have carried Noah in my womb, but I certainly carried him in my heart as I decorated the nursery and prepared for his arrival.

And here it is:

BEDDING
I started with the bedding.  I scoured the internet looking for baby bedding that I liked.  The search took awhile because I'm pretty particular.  I didn't want anything too cutesy, too kid-like.  Rather, I was looking for something simple and elegant, with stripes or polka dots or both.  And I was drawn to the colors: baby blue, cream and chocolate brown.

















When I found this bedding, I fell in love with it.  It was more green than blue, but I loved the swirls, the dots, the stripes.  I hemmed and hawed over it for a couple of weeks, though, because it was pricey, but ultimately, I bought it.  And I'm really glad I did. 

WALLS
With the bedding colors in mind, Brian and I selected the paint: Behr's Contemplation.  We bought the bead board at Home Depot.  I can't take credit for the painting or installation; it was all Brian's effort. 

 
















CRIB
We found the espresso crib at Loved Again, a delightful children's boutique in Auburn.

ABOVE THE CRIB
We purchased the wooden "Welcome" sign from Jo-Ann's and painted it white.  The wooden espresso letters were bought on Amazon.  


















CHAIR
Our good friend, Brian, gave us a glider/rocker chair and ottoman.  As of late, I've been spending a lot of time in it, and it's so comfy.  This bear, resting comfortably in the chair, is quite special to me.  It was mine growing up (thanks for saving it mom and dad!), and now I get to pass it onto Noah.























BOOKS
I plan to read, read, read to our son, so I've placed a basket of books right next to the chair.  More books can be found in the closet.  And downstairs in storage.  There will be no shortage of reading material here in our house.  In fact, one of the things I can't wait to do with Noah is to take him to the library, so we can check out MORE books.  :-)























SIDE TABLE
We needed somewhere to put a small lamp and an iPhone for music.  Enter this table.  Brian made the wooden fire engine sitting next to the lamp. 
















MUSIC
Yep, it's true: Little Noah has his own iPhone.  Just kidding!  It's actually Brian's old iPhone that we're using to play music in the nursery.  We added a few playlists to the phone (mainly classical music for now--thanks to my in-laws for buying us a few new CDs) and placed it in an iPhone speaker dock.  We also downloaded Sleep Machine Lite from iTunes (it's free!).  This application plays soothing sounds for Noah as he falls asleep in his bassinet. 

CHANGING TABLE
Originally, we had planned to put a dresser in the nursery, but I wanted something that matched the crib (and wasn't too expensive), so we purchased this changing table instead.

CHANGING PAD COVER
I bought the changing pad cover from this Etsy seller.  It's so soft and fuzzy, and I adore the raised dots on it. 
















BURP CLOTHS
During my Thanksgiving break, I sewed a dozen burp cloths using this tutorial.  For now, they are stashed in the changing table baskets.  















ABOVE THE CHANGING TABLE

The idea for the white shelves came from this blog post.  On the left shelf sits a white teddy bear (one of three in the room) and a framed 4D ultrasound picture.  Below the shelf, there are two special items.  I wore the sleeper on the left; Brian wore the sweater on the right.  On the right shelf, I placed a piggy bank (well, technically it's a sheep), so we can start saving for Noah's college education now.  Next to that sits a framed piece of white card stock which reads "For this child, I prayed..."  We're going to put Noah's footprints below the quote.  (This idea came from Pinterest.)

 















BULLETIN BOARD
Walking into the nursery, the first thing you see is this bulletin board.  The idea for this board came from an old issue of Real Simple and a blog post (which I can't locate right now).  With my help, Brian transformed an ordinary cork board into this framed bulletin board.  I LOVE it!  It will hold Polaroid-type pictures of family and friends who come to visit us!  Above the bulletin board, I applied this wall decal.

All in all, I'm really pleased with the way Noah's nursery turned out.  A BIG thanks to my husband for letting me dream BIG and helping me to transform my vision into reality. 

THE FINAL FRONTIER
I have one more wall to conquer--the wall stretching from the door to the crib.  My plan is to showcase several black-and-white or sepia pictures of Noah in a grouping of espresso frames.

Thanks for letting me share!
J (aka Noah's mom)