Amanda Blake Soule

It's nothing special this stool, obviously it's really quite ugly. I was relatively young, twenty three, and I don't know who spent more time crying in those early days - he or I. And the little sister (with three in between them) that I never could have imagined even existing at the time, is officially too big for using a step stool to brush her teeth. But it's time for that to end, and after a few great giveaways over the next week, I'll officially be closing up that end of things here, full of gratitude for all the businesses that I've shared this space with and who have supported me!

When vacation was looming and all of us were still in various stages of recovery from the many kinds of funk that have been going around our family for the past month, I have to admit that I had my doubts about how this week would go. The kids said that "ALL" of their friends were traveling to warm places, and what would we do all day at home? Which means that there were several days of skiing, an epic cousin sleepover that we hosted, a few more friend sleepovers, a fun Nordic state championship, and gosh, so much more I can't even remember now. I made a horse-themed tote bag for a little friend's birthday (I told you kids, not EVERYONE is someplace warm right now! ), and a pile of new potholders because the old ones were so beyond washing/repair that making a new pair seemed the wiser option than putting them back on the shelf as is.

I'm Amanda Blake Soule - mother of five, author of three books on family creativity, and editor-in-chief of Taproot Magazine. I live with my family in an old farmhouse in Western Maine where we raise animals, grow vegetables and make lots of things. I write about it all here on the blog. Thank you for visiting!

That's what Ani said to us this morning when she woke up - "Happy Valentine's Day Eve Morning! " It's a snow day too. Another ten inches fell overnight, and so the kiddos are all home from school. It's perfectly timed, of course, for making all those class Valentine's that we hadn't quite finished before, interrupted by breaks for sledding (and shoveling! ).