Friday, February 27, 2009

Evenings

Bed Time

Evenings are a magical time of the day. In the Far East it is believed that how you spend your evenings will set the tone for the next day.

How can we create a relaxing, peaceful and inspiring evening with our family?

“Just as there is a reassuring rhythm in nature, so should a comforting sense of rhythm be restored in the home through daily rituals.” -Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions

Winter changes into Spring and Summer to Fall and Fall back again to Winter -- the cycle forming a complete circle that embraces us.

So creating Order and Structure helps to nurture us and hold us up. Think of the basic things you want to have happen in your evenings. Keep it simple. Then write it all down so you won't forget. That's what I have to do. : )

Now to add the Spice!

Winter:

After a quick tidy up of about 20 minutes in the main rooms, snuggle in front of your fireplace and read on your own or with your children . If you don’t have a fireplace, lighting candles works too. : )

My children love to have me warm there favorite stuffed animal or blanket in the dryer before heading off to bed. They so enjoy the warmth as they crawl into bed.

Sweet Dream Potion: Warm milk, a 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, and just enough honey to make it sweet. Then warm it up in the microwave 'til warm but not too hot. Its also nice for the little ones if they have a cold. Just remember not to give honey to children under one year. I also wouldn’t give this to them every night, just when they need a little extra help.

Here are just a few ideas to help in starting creating an encanted evening.

I would love to hear what some of the things are that you do to help create a special moments in the evening time?

3 comments:

Lisa said...

What a very enchanting post. It really is lovely, I read it again and again. I loved the comment about how you spend your evenings will set the tone for the next day....such wisdom to pass along! Thank you.

Beth said...

Hi Jane! What a great post! I so agree that bedtime sets the mood for the next day. I hadn't ever seen it put in to words, but have always felt it to be so. It is something I need to work on! My kids and I have always enjoyed those last quiet minutes of conversation before bed. We also love to have story and song time then. It's a tradition carried on from my Dad - he always told us stories and sang to us at bedtime-great old folk tunes like "Froggy went a courtin".

Anonymous said...

I love this post. I try to keep a rhythm, but it is really hard for me. I recently attended the the tjed forum, and Dr. DeMille said that the peopel we spend our evenings with are the people that we bond with. Facinating thought, especially when you consider where most people spend their evening time. I am going to start reading a good book, and hope to get those around to listen. I don't want to make them listen and we already read together during the day. We used to do this, then we moved to the city and the neighbors are always hanging around outside. Thanks for the inspiration.