what i do for work and a job opportunity

One of the most commonly asked questions that I receive is asking what I do for work. Although I do miss my job as a librarian, I also love that I get to be home with my small ones every day and am able to spend so much time with them.

Last year three of my brothers started a company called Flocksy (I've talked about it before). It's an online website design company, and much more. One service that they offer is copywriting. That means that a client can request anything written, from an email campaign to a blog post. And that's what I do. So, on a daily basis, I can be found typing away on my computer, whether it's for a writing project or here on this little old blog.

Now, I suspect that I am only one of many stay-at-home mothers (or anyone, for that matter!) out there that either don't want to work outside the home or are fully aware that their job would only be covering gas and childcare and therefore a bit pointless. However, that doesn't mean that maybe you are looking for a little extra income while being home and in that case, I have a job opportunity for you! Flocksy is looking to add new members (up to three) to their copywriting team, as it's been expanding rapidly.
If you love writing, are interested in learning about new styles of writing, have access to a computer, and would love to be part of a great team, then maybe this is the job for you. I'd like to stress that this is not a freelance job, you are part of a team that connects and dialogues.

No experience is necessary (but if you do have some it would be great!) other than what I listed above. If you are 18 and older and looking to add extra income working from home just let me know. You can also apply directly here (you are applying for a copywriting position), or, if you'd rather, contact me (forestglademaid(at)gmail(dot)com and I can give you the contact info for our copywriting manager to talk to you about how the process works and give you more details.

Honestly, I personally would be more than thrilled to have one of you guys as a co-worker ;)

And, on that note, have a fantastic weekend! 

winter afternoon tea party

I am fully aware that not everyone will enjoy these photos of yesterday afternoon's tea party (served with apple juice in place of tea) and therefore please feel free to simply skip over this post. 

However, if you'd like to see Adri Rose's masterpiece of about 15 stuffed animals gathered around our big old kitchen table, being served "tea" and animal crackers, please keep scrolling.

Cozy Books To Read At Christmastime

I've slowly been adding to our holiday books over the years, and I just last week pulled out most of our Christmas ones and stacked them up for reading. I thought maybe others would enjoy some of them as much as we do, so here's a list of good and cozy reads for Christmas 2018.

+A Book Of Christmas. This is a fun little pop-up book, illustrated by Tasha Tudor. It talks about different Christmas traditions all over the world.

+Letters From Father Christmas. If you've never read this book you must. Every year Tolkien wrote letters to his children from "Father Christmas", and they wrote him back. They are compiled in this book, and simply enchanting.

+ Christmas. Susan Branch. There's no way to describe my love of her works. My mom loved her as well, and we'd buy Susan's books for her as gifts. These two Christmas ones (see below) are delightful.

+Unwrapping the Greatest Gift. Anne Voskamp captures the joy of the season and its meaning. This is a beautiful book for the Advent season.

+Unwrapping the names of Jesus. Once again, a wonderful Advent devotional. Something perfect to leave on the table and read a bit at dinner every night.

+Christmas. Not the same as the book above, although the title is the same. A wonderful little book to warm the soul.

+The Christmas Day Kitten. Ah, James Herriot. I grew up reading his books, and they are what inspired me to want to be a vet (alas, I let go of that dream once I found out all the years of college I'd have to put in). A cozy and happy Christmas read here.

+Spot's Magical Christmas. Who doesn't love Spot? My kiddos sure do. This book is a little long. It holds Adri's attention, but definitely not Piper's.

+Little Grey Rabbit's Christmas. Same as above. Adri loves it, Piper, not so much. We love Little Grey Rabbit though!

+Emma's Christmas. This book. If you haven't read it before read it now! So, so good. I love the illustrations too. It's for older kiddos, though (my children don't like it yet, but I do).

+Bear Stays Up For Christmas. We love the Bear books, and as Piper is obsessed with all things Bear, this one is well-loved.

+The Twelve Days Of Christmas. The title says it all. I really like the art in this one though.

+A Christmas Carol. Gotta have a traditional read. Fun fact. Growing up, every Christmas Eve we watched the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol and got pizza. I love the size of this version though, as it's fairly large.

+Little Blue Truck's Christmas. I'm pretty sure that I've talked about our love for the Little Blue Truck Books before on here. This is a cute Christmas one.

+How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Okay, being totally honest here, this is one of the only three Dr. Suess books that I like. That's right. I really don't like Dr. Suess. The Grinch is great though.

+Apple Tree Christmas. We had this book (like most of the others above) when I was growing up. I love, love, love this book. It's sweet, charming, and the illustrations are great as well. 

after the weekend: all the things

We had another quiet and lazy weekend. It was the last weekend of hunting, so Adam was gone both Saturday and Sunday until in the afternoon. I was able to get my house cleaned, read my book, catch up on work, and help Adri to decorate her Gingerbread Train (yes, she picked a train in favor of the traditional house). 

We were basically snowed in all Saturday, which wasn't as bad as it sounds. However, the snow let up a bit late morning on Sunday and I took the girls out with me to do some Christmas shopping (I'm all done now except for one gift!). 

Adam was back when we got home and we had another lazy afternoon, making (and eating) Mushroom Pie, catching up on t.v shows, and playing the new game that I got for Adri Rose.

For some reason the girls are not sleeping well at all lately and we've had way too many late nights/early mornings. Today they both woke up at 2:30 am and have been awake since. Piper took a short nap, but Adri is still going strong. Last time this happened she fell finally fell asleep at 10 am and slept for 3 hours. I'm working on a second cup of coffee and drawing on all the strength that I have for a LONG day ahead.

Meanwhile, in our wee morning hours I've been finding new shows for the girlies to watch and today we make a happy discovery of a short little film based on one of our very favorite books (we read it on a daily basis). If anyone else has Amazon Prime, some small ones, and is thinking of curling up with popcorn and watching something on a Winter afternoon I highly recommend this.

Have a wonderful Monday (and hopefully you got a bit more sleep last night than I did!)!

p.s is anyone interested in a What We've Been Watching Lately post? Other than this cooking related one that I posted last year (I think?) they don't seem to get a lot of traffic, so I assume (maybe falsely) that there's a lack of interest? Am I right? Wrong? Let me know!

Round up of the past week

What's this? A Saturday post!?! This never happens, amiright? I'm not going to lie, this past week was a crazy busy one, and it seemed to go by SO slowly! I had a lot of work for the first few days, but thankfully around Thursday things calmed down and I was able to get groceries, and today I got caught up on the laundry and run a few errands. 

I know that the Elf on the Shelf gets a bad rap, but I've got to be honest, I'm having a lot of fun with it. Seeing how excited Adri is to hunt him down makes my morning. It's so cute!

Yesterday we managed to fit in Storytime at the library. The nearest library is the one in town and we go there about once a week or so (they have a really fun play section with a whole little shop/grocery store area). 

However, the library that I used to work at is our favorite, and we go there every week for Storytime.

I just got this book in at the library yesterday (I had it on hold) and am really excited to read it this weekend. Claire (my-sis-in-law) recommended it to me after I told her that I had loved reading Educated and The Glass Castle. 

Don't worry, I'm sure I'll let you know all my thoughts after reading it! 

Don't forget that my giveaway with Jord Wood Watches is ending tomorrow! Just click here and scroll to the bottom of the post to enter.  

We woke to more snow this morning, and I didn't even know that it was supposed to snow! 

That's the second day in a row. Clearly I need to start checking the weather.

I'm hoping that it clears up since I have errands to run, and there are some Winter festivities going on in town later.

Have a great weekend!

Snowy Holiday Drink (recipe)

I've talked in the past about how one of my very favorite things to do is to create a new mixed drink. I think I really hit the jackpot with this snowy holiday one! It's both easy and delicious.  And, bonus, you get to use snow ice cream! 

You will need: 

Milk-about 1/2 cup.

Clean Snow-about 2 1/2 cups.

Sugar-3/4 cups, maybe more, depending on how sweet you want it.

Vodka- 1 shot.

Kahlúa- 1 shot.

To make:

Mix the snow, sugar, and milk all together in a bowl. You want it to start to just melt and everything to be slushy.

Pour mix into a cup.

Pour vodka, and then Kahlúa slowly over the top (they trickle down into the snow cream). 

Serve immediately. 

Makes enough for one large drink.

Piper Mae at Fifteen Months Old

Look who's 15 months old! I still call her "the baby," and think of her as so little, but the truth is she's growing crazy fast. Piper Mae is on the move and not ready to stop! 

As I type this she and her sister have been awake since 2am. Yes, that's right, and it's currently 4:30am. I have a LONG day ahead of me. 

Other than not sleeping, Piper has been busy doing lots of things ;)

At 15 months old she can:

+walk.

+run.

+point/ask for things she wants.

+talk (lots of words and a couple of sentences).

+dance.

+climb everything (including stairs-we a have monkey on our hands!).

+read books (to herself ;)).

At 15 months old Piper loves:

+food.

+books.

+watching P.J Masks, and Masha and the Bear (I hate that show with a passion but my children love it). 

+showers and baths.

+outside.

+did I mention food? 

+any and all animals.

+Adi. Like, for real, she's obsessed with her and her most loyal little Minion.

+she loves "cow beetle" (we got it for her for her birthday) and she and Adri fly around the house, her on cow beetle and Adri on her Cat Car. It's the cutest thing ever. 

a side note: that little wheely car makes the best gift for a one-year-old!

Piper Mae is sweet, silly, stubborn, and we love her so! 

after the weekend: at home

How was your weekend? We had a good one! It was pretty quiet. It was dreary and rainy almost the whole time so we opted to stay in and take things easy.  We made food, Adam brewed beer, I read a book, and the girls played a lot.

Our Elf on the Shelf finally made his appearance (and brought two Advent calendars with him) and now Adri is on the hunt to find him (his name is Happy) as soon as she comes down the stairs every morning. 

I'm trying to slow down and drink in this season. I have a tendency to feel a little low in spirits as the sun hides (here in NY we go for weeks in Winter without seeing sunlight) and I'm trying to not fight it this year.

We light candles, read books, watch more t.v than normal, and take hour long showers (the two girls and I get in our huge upstairs shower). So far it's been a slow and steady uphill battle, but I'd like to think that I'm winning ;)

Don't forget that there are only 6 days left to enter my giveaway! There are not a ton of entries so your chance of winning are GOOD ;)  If you are looking for the perfect gift this holiday season for someone that you love, Jord doesn't disappoint!

Adri and I also worked on her new KiwiCo crate that she got this weekend. I've got to admit, I am NOT a subscription box person, but we LOVE KiwiCo and I feel like it's worth every penny. 

If you use this link you can get $10 off your first order, if you feel like giving them a try! 

We did have plans to go to playgroup today, but it's been canceled, which is actually fine with me since today is a busy work day and I have a lot to catch up on. 

Have a lovely Monday!