I love browsing different blogs and websites of families that are living a conservative, intentional Christian lifestyle. If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know how much I adore the Duggar family (my deepest, heartfelt prayers go to them after their devastating miscarriage), the Bates family, and more families I've found through those two main websites. One night I just started blog-hopping (you know how it goes - one leads to another, etc. etc.) and I just enjoyed my time so much. It's funny: I'm very drawn to families that would be consider "fundamental" Christians. You know the type - typically more old-fashioned dress, lots of children, homeschooling and the like. While we don't dress that way or believe that we're called to have an unusually large amount of children (at this point anyway), we consider ourselves to be VERY much like-minded with these families. Among many other things, one thing I love is their commitment to old-fashioned childhood.
I want Evy to be a little girl for as long as possible. I want her to play, make believe, dress up, have tea parties, for as long as possible. Likewise, I want Liam to explore our backyard, play in our treehouse and just be a little boy for as long as possible. In all honesty, it's a definite contributing factor to our decision to homeschool. Like I've said before, this doesn't mean that we're completely shielding them from the outside world to the point that it's a detriment.
I really love finding resources and inspiration for old-fashioned childhood. At some point I'll do a comprehensive list, but something recent I found was the Girlhood Home Companion. It's a series of publications that celebrate girlhood and developing godly character. They are only publishing one issue at a time and only as often as they can (I believe they have a relative they're needing to care for), but I bought their two "Albums" which contain ALL of the back issues! They have a recent issue they just published highlighting Louisa May Alcott and Little Women. I wanted to share these with y'all because they just feel like they're from a different era, and it's so refreshing.
In (kind of) related news, I'm already thinking about Liam's big boy room. We definitely aren't moving him anytime soon, but for some reason I just really started getting my plans together. In keeping with the old-fashioned childhood theme, I'm going to try and make his room look like Christopher Robin lives there. In all of the Winnie the Pooh intros (and the recent movie that came out), it's a lived-in room of a little boy who loves to explore, pretend, and has curiosity about every topic. Of course it helps that it matches my love for English design. :) I love the concept of traditional English nurseries. The nursery wasn't just for infants - it was for children up until their teenage years! All that to say, I'm going to try to keep the room the color it is. I know I'm going to do two twin beds, because his room is large enough for that. I found beautiful plaid duvet covers at Pottery Barn Kids, and I ordered two shams just to test them out. If they don't work I'll just send them back. I've learned that when you find something design-wise that you love, it's usually wise to go ahead and get it. Things are discontinued all the time! I'm also particular about the colors I want to use, and this plaid has many traditional colors to pull from.
 |
| "Wesley" bedding from Pottery Barn Kids |
 |
| "Anderson" bed from Pottery Barn Kids |
I love PB's new "Tuscany" finish - the perfect brown with a little distressing. We're going to keep an eye on the beds to see if they go on sale, because they would definitely be an investment. But I think they are definitely the kind of bed Christopher Robin would have had. :)
I want to fill his room with "treasures" like maybe a teepee (homemade), a classic Pooh Bear, a map of the world and more. I want to make it Andy's Room from Toy Story with a little Europe thrown in. That's very much "me."
I'm so thankful to be "doing" childhood again through my kids!
