Weekly Wrap-Up: Like the Old Days

Well, I'm finally around to do a weekly wrap-up!  Despite my house being torn apart (literally- and I'll get to that soon) and being canceled from work, and being extremely low on funds, this week has been a sweet reminder of what I love... my family!  They're wonderful!  This week felt like "the old days" before I worked a bazillion stinking hours a week.

I started reading a book to the girls last week, The Cabin Faced West, and Little Bit just loved it! She braids her hair, puts blue ribbon in the braids, and pretends to be Ann Hamilton 90% of the time.  We went to a nearby vegetable garden to pick some veggies and Little Bit tied a small apron around her waist to collect beans in, just like Ann!  She's so sweet.  She also did her first creative narration and wrote a letter from Ann to her best friend back in Gettysburg.  She thought that was so fun... I typed it, and she is in the process of copying it on paper she stained with tea!  This girl....

Since that book was so loved, I decided to pull out the Little House series.  At first Little Bit said I'll never love Laura like I love Ann. . . can you guess how long that lasted??? Not long; now she's confused.  It's been a great opportunity for me to share with my struggling reader, just how wonderful books can be.  Baby T however is enjoying Laura's stories much more than Ann's!  It's so funny how they are so different.  Baby T also didn't think it would be fun to write a letter, so I didn't make her.

Oh- I forgot to mention that the girls thought churning would be fun when we read about Ann doing it. So, we went over to Grandma's and made butter by shaking it in a mason jar.  Let's just say I'm glad I don't have to rely on them to make our butter every week!  They wimped out. ;) If I can get my courage up, I will try to help them make rag dolls, and we want to try our hand at Johnny cakes.

Bean Boy has had a fantastic week (or so).  Last week we offered to pay him handsomely to pull up all the oak parkay flooring in our main room.  Before we moved in, we knocked out walls to make a huge room, but we've never been able to really make it one room because the flooring is different.  In an effort to move that process forward, we are planning on staining the concrete.  But first, the floors must come up.  We offered Bean Boy the opportunity to "do hard things" and he surprised us by taking us up on the offer.  Further more, he surprised us by setting his timer during his breaks, by being more diligent than we've ever seen, and by being protective of his work (not wanting to share it).  We told him if it wasn't done by a certain time, we may have to "outsource" and he was not about to let that happen!  We offered him 3 different prices. . . X amount (a big number people!) to have it done by Wednesday, X-$25 to have it done by Thursday, and X-$50 to have it done by Friday.  He finished Wednesday!  I'm telling you people- I COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS WORK!!!  I'm so proud of him.  He's ready to move on to the mulch pile outside, hauling it to the back, and not wanting to share that either!  Who is this kid??

He added that entire section he's got marked off there to the pile!
That was his biggest mound of the week!

Here is the big mound... The chilies thought it was fun to walk on them!

It's finished!!!! BTW there is a lot more floor than I could squeeze into this pic!
 Sorry for the phone pics, but that's all I got!

Some other things that have been going on:

We have caterpillars!  Well... we had caterpillars.  A friend gave us one that is now in its chrysalis. I'm hoping that even though it fell, and I'm scared to tie it up like someone suggested, that it will still get a butterfly.  The other two caterpillars that we pulled off our milkweed plant have mysteriously died.  There are still 1-2 we left outside on the plant.  We totally missed this one making it's chrysalis, but hopefully we'll see some action outside.

While BeanBoy has been hard at work on the living room floor, Hubby got to work on the kitchen floor... we have bare concrete now in our 4 main rooms.  Due to scheduling and such it may take us way longer than anticipated!  Most of our furniture is squeezed into other rooms of the house, and today, everything will be moved out! Crazy!  Hopefully, Hubby can get it all done soon!

Hubby and I are also teaching a summer class to some teenagers/pre-teens.  He is teaching a logic/debate class, and I will be going through the book Do Hard Things with them.  Bean Boy started his lessons early!  We start this coming Wednesday and will go for 8 weeks.  I'm getting excited!

Just a note too... not sure how we've done it, but the kids have not turned on the brain drainer all week!!! PTL!

Hopefully I will have time to share about Baby T's Angry Birds birthday party (what a blast!) and some things I've been inspired to do with our almost 12 year old!!!  Even when things are at their worst, God is good.  There are blessings to be found. . . if I'll just take a moment to find them.

Have a good weekend!

Weekly Wrap-Up: Coming out of the Funk

Well, we started back to school again, which should mean you'll be seeing more regular posts from me. . . at least in the weekly wrap-up department!  I'm still not really over my Christmas "funk" so I've had a super hard time wanting to write, but rest assured, I'm sure God is stirring up something in there that will eventually overflow onto my empty page.  That's usually how it works.... I get in a funk (bad attitude and all) He teaches, disciplines, I change and overflow with what He has taught.  It's such a painful process, but I usually like myself better on the other side of it.  I'm kind of sitting back letting Him take the lead and waiting.

As for school, this has been a fabulous week!  As much as I stomped my feet and pitched a fit about going back, (my bad attitude has pervaded every part of life! lol) I'm glad we're back at it.  It has been quite the adjustment though.  Baby T has cried every day this week!!!  She rarely cries.  In fact, we went for a bike ride and on the way home, she cried the entire way, "Momma, I can not take any more!"  Now, one might expect this from a 5 year old who just rode a bike over a mile, but Baby T takes 2 hours of gymnastics twice a week and just the conditioning part is something I could not withstand!!! Yesterday she took a short nap and woke up crying!  I kept her home from the gym.  She must be growing or something...even though she's in the 95th percentile for her height!  Poor Baby T!

Bean Boy has had an amazing week as well.  His work load has been lighter as I'm still waiting for some things to roll in, but he's had some major accomplishments.  I promised him a new game on the Nook if he could simply put his school books away daily instead of leaving them all over the house... I'm sure by the time I post this, he'll have a new game.  He hasn't slept well this week, but has a determination, like I've never seen in him before, to get his school work done.  I wish he'd apply that to chores as well, but I'm not a choosy beggar!  We're making progress.  He's done a great job in school, keeping up with all his work, staying on task, and making good grades with fewer careless errors than usual! Yiiiiipppeeeee!!! You guys remind me to read this the next time I'm complaining!

Little Bit has had a good week.  We've backed her up in reading and started at the beginning of Hooked on Phonics.  I keep trying new things for her, knowing for quite certain that she is dyslexic...even though we've not officially tested.  She doesn't like to be challenged in anything she does, so backing up to easier reading has been good for her.  She has not complained once this week about reading, and yesterday, we ended our reading session while laughing!  I was so happy with that!!!  We'll keep plugging along at her pace (hopefully I'll remember that "her pace" part!).

As for me, I've had a couple of projects.  I got a new sewing machine that we are all in love with! ;) I made several aprons, and am hoping to start selling some of the sets soon.  I even checked at one of our consignment shops, and they are willing to talk about keeping 1-2 on hand to sell for me!  Exciting!!! VERY NERVOUS about that though.  SO, I've got to sit down and figure out how much to charge and all of that, make the hats, and oven mitts too.  I even made an apron for Baby T's doll, at her request, and it turned out so cute!  I also, finally, finally finished my chore chart!!!  I think I started this at the beginning of the school year!  Geesh!  It took long enough.  I think it looks so pretty, and it is right outside of the school room, so I don't forget to keep up with it there. I love it....

I used the same bulletin board I was using for our last chore chart and kept the heading. Wood glue and double sided duct tape were used to keep each clipboard on.  Each kiddo has a board of personal things (their animals and clothing) and then there are the weekly and 2x/week and the $$$ board...since we don't pay an allowance for chores, I have a list of things they can do to earn money.

Funny that this board is the least used, but has the most on it! 

Now mom and baby match!  She has asked for a hat for the baby... I'm not so sure I'll ever get there.

Be forewarned... while I am going to get back into a regular twice a week posting, next week may be an exception.  I will work four nights in a row starting Friday, and then will be going on an anniversary vacation with my husband next Friday!  Wooohoooo! Thank you to my MIL who is helping make it possible once again!  Don't know what I'd do without you! Have a great weekend! Linking up with

Catching Up

Well, I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas.  I have not been posting much, as December had an exceptionally difficult work schedule, and I've found Christmas a bit much to take in this year.  It has been a hard season.  I do not have a weekly-update prepared, but am hoping to start back with that next week.  However, I have prepared a cute, short, little story of my morning!

If You Give a Mom a "To Do List" by Kristy Mikell. . . If you give a mom a to do list, she'll probably get started right away. She'll ask the kids to help her put the laundry away. There's no room in my drawers the first kid will say. So, the mom will help her chose which clothes should stay, go away, and be saved for the next one in line. The mom will then ask the next one to help sort the mess. Cute as can be, she'll roll her eyes and say why me? Newer clothes are fun, but you don't have room for even one. So, the mom will go through with child number two to decide which ones to toss, consign, keep. The to child number three, the mom will say, "Let's take a peek." This child is the most difficult of all, being as for most of his clothes he is too tall. The bags are packed, labeled and ready to ship out. Back to the chore list, let's knock this out. Well, the mom still can't vacuum, number two on the list, because the filters are still covered with a wet mist- despite having them in front of the fan! So, the mom will try again for number three on the list. Complete the project of chore list that was started months ago...but where did the chore tags go? Mom will wonder through the house, promising candy to the first one to find the prize. While looking for the prize, mom's eyes gaze over the mess. Number four on the list, get the trash off the floor, while dad paints the cabinet doors. The laundry must be moved from washer to dryer, and then started again, but now she sees the mess on the floor again. Then the call from work cuts her time in half, cause now she has to squeeze in a nap. Next she'll try to find something for lunch. To the freezer she flies, only to find it has died! Now the mom will quick bake the pizzas, toquitos, and try to save the shrimp before it goes. After having a day like this, where only one thing on the list gets done, it's nice to know I can have some fun! Writing this quick story may be the only thing that gets done. . . until I'm interrupted again!

Blessings!

Weekly Wrap-up: Still breathing. . .barely

I am going to keep this short and sweet. For the two of you who missed me last week and this previous week, I'm alive, doing ok, dealing with all life has to throw at me.

Last week was just a killer... my regular night shift work was anything but regular.  I worked 2 on, 1 off, 1 on, 1 off, 1 on.... for anyone who has ever worked night shift, that's a killer.  Then, over the weekend I had one of the most stressful classes I have EVER taken, and an extremely difficult/stressful/obscenely hard test I have EVER taken!  It was for Trauma certification so I can keep working in the Trauma ICU.  So- I passed (happy dance) and won't have to do it for 4 more years!!!! (I can't believe I'll have to do it again!) SO that was Sat/Sun.

THEN, on Monday we left for our 3 night camping adventure.  I have started a post about this and will post it as soon as I can...but since we came home yesterday, and tonight starts 4 days in a row for me, you'll just have to wait!  Yes, my life is crazy. Sigh!

Until I'm able to update about our camping adventure, just keep me in your prayers.  I'm ready to settle down!  I love my crazy life though!  Here is a picture preview...

The mirror manatee at Blue Springs State Park.

Weekly Wrap-up: Vacation Projects

In our homeschool this week. . .
Woohoo! Loving vacation!!!! Ya'll should join me!

In my life this week. . .  I have become a Pinterest Princess! My mom continues to say how much I'm putting everyone else to shame by completing projects.  I've made several more aprons, chef's hats to go with them, as well as oven mitts. . . They are completely fabulous!!! I'm in love with them!

Someone asked, and yes, I sewed on a t.v. tray, my iron is on the other one. . . cutting was done on the coffee table from a kids school desk chair!  And, they still turned out soooo stinking cute!!!  See the mess??

We took these to her the day she found out her dad died.  It was good to see her smile! Hers is my favorite set.

This sweet girl looks like a Keebler Elf every time she puts that hat on.... it makes me smile!

I did put a link for the website to the apron tutorial in this post.  The oven mitt, and chef's hats were both in different tutorials.  I used the same material as the aprons, and had a matching set for each kiddo; apron, chef's hat, oven mitt, and for Crazy K, an adorable pot holder from the front pocket of her sweet jeans!

2 of my chefs did some holiday baking for me! It looks like they were  really concentrating here, hehe.

Here they were decorating Pringles cans with holiday paper so they'd have a pretty way to deliver them! Another  idea from Pinterest, but I don't think I pinned the link. . .oops!

NEXT, I decided to try to make a cute little bag.  Now, I think the total time spent on this project was 10-15 minutes.  However, it took about 1 hour to finish it due to one cranky, whiny, crying Baby T who interrupted several times, one broken sewing needle, and several other interruptions!  I forgot to finish the edges of the ruffles before sewing them on the bag, but it's still cute.  Don't you think so?  Instructions for that are here.  I had some small black bags I bought for $0.79 at Michaels after Halloween last year.  They were just sitting in a drawer, so I pulled them out to try my hand at ruffles. . . I don't think it's too bad for my first time.


Oh... In all honesty, and with full disclosure, I didn't spruce up my pictures, because I wanted you to see, that while I'm accomplishing wonderfully amazing projects on the sewing machine, my life is in disarray, especially my house!  I haven't done anything else.  I've washed several loads of laundry more than once, stayed up waaaaay too late, and have even, dare I say it, slept in! I've continued to be the "yes, mom". I've made crockpot meals and big dishes so I only cooked dinner 1.5 times this week...my 7 year old cooked the lasagna (oh and hubby helped).  My 7 year old made breakfast all week.  There's STUFF everywhere.

I'm praying for. . . 
My God-daughter Crazy K has had a tough life in her short 11 years!  This past week her biological father passed away.  I can't imagine being faced with the mortality of my parents at such a young age.  She didn't feel up to school the day after she found out, so we had her over.  That's how I got the pic of her all dolled up in the apron and such...that was hers from a pair of jeans she gave me.  She's so amazingly strong, and dealing with all the grown-up issues in her life in such a mature way.  She's so dear to me, and I love her.  I'm praying that God will show her that He's blessed her with so many fathers that have been good to her, loved her like their own, and are still here, and that He Himself has adopted her as His own princess entitled to be His heir!  He is good, even when life is bad!

My favorite thing this week was. . . being home, sleeping in, crafting, saying yes to the kids, wearing pjs at 1:07 while writing my blog post, and eating all the cookies we made!  It's been a fabulous week!!!

Things I'm working on. . . thanks to Pinterest, I will never forget all the things I want to accomplish.  It's like a to do list you can't lose.  There are several projects I have pinned that should be coming up soon.  Next week though, the girls would like to make aprons for their American Girl dolls. . . I'm not quite sure I have the patience to deal with them and the sewing machine (they did try sewing straight lines on scraps today).  If I'm not too exhausted from my crazy work schedule (2 days on, 1 off, 1 on, 1 off, 1 on, yuck, yuck, yuck) then we might give it a try. . . AND I guess at some point, I have to clean out the school room again (sigh) and start planning for our next semester (double sigh). . .

Well, I have to go to bed and start my weekend job. . . Ya'll have a blessed weekend!

Weekly Wrap-up: Thanksgiving Postponed

Well. . . this week is a little out of the ordinary. The holiday has been postponed at our house till Saturday, due to the fact that I had to work on Wednesday night and Thursday night. I hope the rest of you enjoyed your turkey, family, and fun.

In our homeschool this week. . . 
We are officially on winter break! Woohoo! That means that I let the kids sleep in. They had no official work, except for my son who had to do the assignments for his writing class.  We did have our park day friend come over on Monday (too cold for an early morning park/school day....yes we are wimpy Floridians).  This was a sweet time of doing some Thanksgiving crafts and reading some stories about Thanksgiving.  I had my God-daughter who is 3 weeks older than my son.  These older two helped to read one of the Thanksgiving books to the youngers.  We had a fabulous time... my friend contributed a lovely acorn shaped snack for her craft! YUM!!  I do love this time of year, and pray we can do the same thing for Christmas.   (Good news...found my camera!)

I'm pretty sure my friend got this idea from Pinterest, but I don't know where.  They were fun, easy, and delicious.  The kids could make them with no help at all!

This is our thankfulness pumpkin patch!  Each of us made one pumpkin with 9-10 things to be thankful for.  

Got the idea from that addictive little site... you know it, Pinterest! Here is the link to the website http://www.playfulcrafts.com/thankfulpumpkincraft.html Keep in mind, I vary EVERY project I do!

One little caveat here... I am truly thankful that we can homeschool.  I was so saddened that as we were reading the VERY ABBREVIATED  story of the first Thanksgiving, my God-daughter piped in that she has never been taught this!  I was floored.  We live in a very conservative, Christian area. . . how has she never heard of the Mayflower?  People, we need to pray for our nation and our children!

In my life this week. . . Well, I enjoyed being the "yes" mom this week!  It seems like because of our busy schedule, our disciplined life, our lack of extra time, I'm always telling the kids "no". "No, you can't play on the computer" (not that I would let them do this a lot anyway. "No, we can't ride bikes today."  "No, we can't do that, we can't do this, we have to do this and that and go here and there." Ugh.... well, I realized also that some of that "no-ing" is habitual.  So, the other day when Baby T asked to play the Nook...I said "Yes!" I ended up having all 4 children on a different electronic devices (Bean Boy was typing his paper...).  I was sewing and listening to Christmas music, and thought, "You know, it feels good to tell them yes."  Then Crazy K said, "I want to bake." I looked up from my sewing and said, I think there's a cake mix in the pantry....that was it, an hour later and we were eating warm lemon cake!  I like the yes mom (and the cake that goes with it!) So...here is how it has been going:

"Mom, can we color?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can we play outside?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can we turn the music up really loud?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can we watch a movie?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can I play a computer game?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can we make pumpkin seeds?"
"Yes."

Since we don't celebrate Halloween, the we didn't make jack-o-lanterns.... But, our master gardener friend brought us a HUGE pumpkin.  The girls wanted to make pumpkin seeds, so we cut it open...they turned out yummy!

"Mom, can I have a snack?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can I play on the Nook?"
"Yes."
"Mom, can we play silly string?"
"YES!!!"

She's viscious!

Watch out!

The only downer was that they had to clean up the yard when they were done...but Bean Boy  found a way to make that fun too!!!

So what if I got a little stringy!

They even got me to say "yes" to playing some too!

Back off!

The poor dog had no idea he was shot! LOL!

Things I'm working on. . .

I just absolutely LOVE these!!!

Well, I'm working on aprons again!  Made two more for my niece, and they turned out beautifully!  I posted the link for these in last week's wrap up.  Next week I'll try the adult size ones.... I'm a little nervous about that, because there will be a lot more cutting involved.  I spend about 20 minutes on the sewing machine for these, and about 1.5 (with interruption) hours on the rest of it!  I was able to use pre-cut quilting strips from a package.  All four aprons that I have made so far, have come from 1 package of strips ($10.87 at Wal-mart) and 2 pairs of jeans; I think there is enough to make 1-2 more, but I don't like the way the rest look together. I'm sure I'll mix and match some other stuff at another time.  So, I'm sure the adult ones are going to take longer, because I'll have to cut my own strips so they'll be long enough.  I also found patterns on Pinterest for oven mitts and chef's hats.  All the kids say they want the chef's hats too!  SO, that's what's to come after  the adult aprons are finished... I think! ;)  Wish me luck!

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Wrap-up: Winter Break is Here!!!!

In my life this week. . . Well... I'm doing a little dance!!!! I'm so excited, we have finally reached winter break!!!! Yippe! Yippee!  While Bean Boy still has his writing class, and might elect to do some math, we are officially on break!

I've started to work on some of my Pinterest projects.  My mom again has told me how I'm making everyone look bad by completing projects.  But it feels soooo good. And, I've had so much fun!  My favorite project this week was making aprons out of jeans for the girls!  They turned out so beautifully...and I'm not exactly a professional seamstress.  I think I borrow my mom's sewing machine about once every 5 years!  It's a love/hate/hate relationship.  But these turned out so darling,  actually want to make more!
 

The girls loved them! I can't find my camera right now, so please bear with the phone photos!

I must give credit where credit is due... if it hadn't been for Pinterest, and A Girl and A Glue Gun (even thought there was no glue gun in this project. . .) I never would have made this!  Here is the link to the apron tutorial.  And, here is where I learned how to make the cute flowers!

In our homeschool this week. . .  well, we've been winding down, so there is really not much to report here.  A little math, handwriting and reading and we've been done as soon as possible each day!  Our most productive day was probably when we did school at McDonald's while the Bean Boy was in writing class.  But now, we're done till January!!! It just makes me want to dance!

Things I'm working on.... expect to see more pinterest projects completed over our break!  Next week the kids and I are having our park/school day with our friend, and it will be filled with Thanksgiving fun... I can't wait to share! Pray my camera turns up!

This week's wrap-up is short because I ended up pulling an extra shift at work.  I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Linking up with : 

Weekly Wrap-Up: Fabulously Crazy

Well friends... it has been another fabulous/crazy week!  Or should I say fabulously crazy?!  We have been busy as usual, but in a super fun way.

In My Life This Week. . . (and some of last week)
First off, I need to back up to last week just a tad (remember my weeks are weird cause I work Fri/Sat).... I had a Friday night off of work!  *Insert here whistles, applause, streamers, and balloons!  It was weird.  But, we made the best of it! ;) Hubby and I decided we'd get the kids some bikes for Christmas, and ourselves too.  And, as you know great deals on Craigslist don't last. So Friday night, and Saturday morning we ALL got bikes. Well, except for Baby T.  She's going to practice on Little Bit's old bike, but will be getting a bigger one for her before Christmas.  Back to Friday night... we cooked together (even Bean Boy who usually prefers to be alone, joined us without being asked!), we had a family movie, popcorn, and just an amazing time together.  Saturday we went to get the rest of the bikes, we went to a little outdoor sale and got a free lunch, and just had fun.  Of course, then it was back to work...but 1 night doesn't really bother me! I feel like superwoman when I only have to do one night! :) Sunday, they woke me up at 3:00 begging to go for a bike ride.  I couldn't say "no".  Especially since Hubby spent Saturday while I was napping, cleaning out the garage to fit the bikes in!  It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time...even ran into a great friend!So, now, everyday I hear, "Can we go for a bike ride?" Which is great!  It will keep me accountable to exercising, and give the kids something other than TV to look forward too!

I've also been getting ready for THE PARTY.... Friday is shopping day.  I'm hoping Hubby will make the chili the day before (he doesn't know that yet!). Thursday and Friday will be organizing day.  I've got lists for what goes on which table (all number nicely like an organizing fool) and will put each list in its own box for each table.  Sunday, I'll sleep after work, then run over to my mom's house and get it all ready.  Thank you Mom for letting us use your amazing yard for such a fun party! I hope we can pull it off after me working the two nights before!

My crazy kids decided to beg me for Christmas music!!! It's playing in the background while the kids work on school and cleaning and such!  I love Christmas music, but feel like it's a little early.  We found our Thanksgiving joke book to offset!  I'll have the girls practice reading by reading me a joke a day until Tday!!!

In Our Homeschool This Week. . .
Well, I'm not going to lie... I'm still struggling with sticking to the plan.  I'm totally rebelling and wanting to do other things.  I think part of the problem is that I have yet to figure out, in my 7 years of homeschooling, how to maintain our home the way I like, and do school.  One or the other suffers...until I feel the walls closing in, at which point they both suffer.  And that is where I am now.  I can't stand the mess, the dirt I know is there, the kid-cleaned bathroom desperately needs mom's touch, my room is worse than any other place!  Geesh!  Ok... this part is supposed to be about school.  We ARE getting everything done, I just don't want to! hehe! With the girls, I'm doing a lot of games, and different things to practice with reading.  Math has been much of the same.  Because of Bean Boy's writing class, every week the girls and I spend an hour in McDonald's   working on our school- they get the bonus of hot chocolate and they work really well there.  It's nice to change it up every once in a while!

I Am Inspired By. . .
Well, while we were in McDonald's this week, an older gentleman (who I believe sat behind us last week) came up to me and said, "I've been bragging about you to my wife.  She is a school teacher.  I told her what a great job you're doing and she wishes that more parents were like you. Your girls are smart and beautiful." Well...even though I don't wanna do school some days, I think that will get me through the next 7 days till vacation!  Thank you Lord, for the encouragement!!!

Places We're Going and People We're Seeing. . . 
We had an impromptu lunch with a friend this week.  My son's best friend and his family, to be exact.  I felt bad, because it had been a long time since we had seen them.  We were already out for writing class, and the chiropractor, so we invited them out.  It was a special treat!  And, I'm so looking forward to Little Bit's birthday party...cause it's just going to be so cool, and because it will be a reunion with friends we love dearly and don't get to see often enough!

My Favorite Thing This Week Was. . . 
I have such an amazing family, that it is hard to decide what my favorite thing this week was.  But, I think it would have to be our times together.  It is a blessing to not have to send my kids away every day!  I love being with them.  Our bike ride, our family movie, school/park day, school at McDonald's, cooking together as a family, late night talks with Bean Boy, late night talks with Hubby, how can a mom decide?

Ya'll have a great weekend!

Weekly Wrap-up: November Already????

Here we are at the end of another week...and I'm floored that we've already made it to November! Can you believe it??? Incredible!!! I'm so excited, and I'm not counting down or anything, but we only have 10 days of school left till our long winter break! Being that we live in FL, it's just too hot to do anything in the summer, so we take off for the holidays. We'll start again some time in January. I truly can think of little else than all the things I want to do on our vacation!!! I doubt I'll get to it all, but I'm so super excited! I have pinned many, many things/ideas to my Pinterest boards...that pesky website has gotten the best of me, and well, now I have more to do than ever! I'll fill you in as we get closer! Planning has begun for Little Bit's 7th, yes folks, 7th birthday!!! How did we get this far along? Her birthday is the day after Veteran's Day, but we'll celebrate on V-day this year. We've invited several families for a "Glow in the Dark" party... you can check out that pesky little website (hehe) Pinterest for ideas. We will try things like glow in the dark bubbles, kickball, ring toss, and possible a glow in the dark treasure hunt. There will be a bonfire, hot dogs, chili, and an outdoor movie with our DVD projector...she wants to watch Pocahontas. I can't wait to report how it all goes...especially since I have to work the night before!

Bean Boy's creation!

It is supposed to be Little Bit's Butterfly....I might have it upside down????

Despite the frustration of the wind, Little Bit made two...this is her bird.

Mom's bird...

Baby T's cat and tree.

In our homeschool this week… Ok...so I've already told ya'll I have senioritis. We did have a very lovely park/school day with our friend...one where we made these really cool things (see pics). I gave copies of the printouts of the really cool leaf animals from a blog to my friend, so I don't know who to credit, but it wasn't my idea! I have backed down to "just the basics" with the girls. AND, Friday....well, Friday we skipped school! Bean Boy did his writing assignment for co-op, and that was it. No quizzes this week. I let him off the hook...shhhh don't tell Hubby!!! ;)
I am inspired by… I'm sure at some point the inspiration of Pinterest will turn into frustration, but for now, I'm inspired!

My favorite thing this week was… Having a Friday night off with my family! AND, a Saturday morning!!!

What’s working/not working for us…I'm not sure if it's me, the curriculum, the kids at all different levels, or WHAT, but I feel like Story of the World might not be working for me. We've been doing 2 chapters a week, which has seemed fast. But, I feel like we're flying through it and the lessons aren't sticking.  I'm not making connections, so how could they be? I've never exactly found what works with us for history, and it is a subject I have a love/hate relationship with. I love it, but am clueless about it, so I feel like I keep going in circles. I'd welcome suggestions about how to make SOTW work, or other curricula you guys are using...

I’m cooking… Chili!!!! Pulled out the crockpot and had our first chili of the year!!! I always find the first chili of the year exciting.

I’m grateful for… I'm grateful for this season of thankfulness. I love seeing everyone's posts on their blog and FB about all the things we are grateful for. It is proof that God is good, has been good all year, and will continue even after this season passes. It is proof that He cares about the little things, even me! Ya'll have a great and very blessed weekend!!!

I am praying for.... I am praying for all the people affected by Hurrican Sandy.  Specifically, I am thanking God for all the hospital staff in the hospitals that had to be evacuated.  Seriously, every year we have evacuation training.  We go into the stairwell and laugh about how they expect us to put patients on a glorified cardboard box, and get them down the stairs.  I saw pictures of people doing this in New York!  I know that the loss has been devastating for people in the path of Sandy.  I hope that people will see God's grace and all will feel His compassion and love.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Successful in Survival

So this week has been successful in survival....  I see light at the end of the tunnel for my husband's school, for our homeschool, for the holiday/birthday arrivals, and for some fun!  Woohoo!

I say holiday/birthday, because this is a wild time of year for bdays... If I new how to put a calendar in, I would, BUT... birthdays start Oct. 25 and go like this... Oct. 25th, 26th, 2 on the 27th, 28th.  Nov. 2nd, 12th, 15th, 26th. Dec. Hubby and I have the same bday on the 11th.  And of course, two weeks later we celebrate Jesus' birthday!  SO...including Jesus, that's 12 birthdays, 2 major holidays, 2 minor holidays (if you include Halloween), and a lot of craziness!  Whew...that always wears me out!

In my life this week....  This is my last week of orientation in my new job, and then I'm on my own.  I am extremely nervous and excited.  I do really like it and am glad I'm there, but am extremely aware of how little experience I have in this area, of how smart the people that I'm working with are, and of how far I have to go.  My insecurities are at their height when I'm at work...so it's kind of strange that I'm really enjoying it.  Also, I got some super, amazing news this week from a dear friend.  And, that makes me sooooo happy!

Not only did we get to history, but we did our history projects too!

Mom might not care for painting, but the kids sure do love it!

In our homeschool this week...  I've been stressing a lot about getting through our history lessons because we've been skipping some.  Turns out, I didn't plan as many as I had thought, so as far as my planning goes, I'm not behind!  That's good news!!! That relieved a lot of stress.  I do however feel bad that my son and I have not had enough time to read our read aloud...and it's The Hobbit, which I really want to read.  He has had several days where he is still doing school up till dinner time (his fault not mine!).  I have to figure out how to get this read aloud time back.... The girls are progressing in their skills with reading and math, and I'm excited about that.

My favorite thing this week was.... Our surprise trip to IHOP for free scary pancake day!  The kids had no idea what was going on when I woke them up before the sun was out saying, "Get dressed, I have a suprise! Hurry up!! Let's go!"  It was nice to wake them up and have them happy to get up...of course they weren't thrilled to go back home to school and chores, but they did...

Things I'm working on....  Part of the reason I'm so terribly excited that we only have 15 days of school until our winter break (15 days, yippee, yippee) is that I have a list of craft projects, gifts, chores, and stuff that I want to do.  This sacrificial life is hard on me.... I need to do what I want to do sometimes instead of always doing what I have to do. I love schooling the kids, love taking care of them, but as moms all know...sometimes we need "me" time!  They'll be around helping and doing their own projects I have planned for them!

I'm grateful for.... No one is as blessed with a rich family life as me!  I have been given the pot of gold as  far as I'm concerned!  I love my kids, my husband, and our life together.  God has lavished grace upon me in this area!


Have a blessed weekend!

Unplugged and On the Farm

My soul is refreshed!  I told Hubby that he should look into researching the effects of simple farm life on anxiety for a school project!  The kids and I have all come home with a new confidence, a refreshed feeling, and relaxed.  I had no idea how much I needed to unplug, relax, and enjoy God's beautiful, amazing landscape.

Our days on the farm were fantastic!  We hooked up the wagon to the big FORD tractor and went on hours of hay rides... A hayride like few can experience.  Not commercial. Just us. Just our friends. Just nature.  We would stop every now and then to get a lesson on a tree, to climb a deer stand, or to jump the hay bales.  We call them "bay hales" because my mom could never say it right!  It was hysterical... one of things where you have to be there I suppose. Oh...and I got to DRIVE the tractor! How cool is that?!

This was a 17 foot deer stand that everyone (except me) climbed up....even Grandma did it! 

Those "bay hales" were huge, and the kids jumped from one to the next ....this  photo was taken after they went down the row and back a few times!

Me driving big blue... This is right by the pond, and I drove it from the fence at the top of the hill down... that was quite enough for me, but exciting!

Farmer Mitch (our guide and friend) gave us a great nature study on trees and their nuts.  He was so knowledgeable about the different kind of trees, we could hand him a nut or leaf and ask him which tree it came from, and he would know!  We took some neat pictures you can see below...school with what we had on hand....

This one tastes like a pecan, but is quite a bit more work to get out than a pecan.

The perfect fall acorn!

Very bitter tasting.

The "stains" is on there because the "meat" between the shell of the nut and the "fruit" is used as furniture stain...

We had all hoped to milk a cow, but they aren't milking them anymore. However, we did get to pet one, while she was nursing. We also watched them wade in the pond while we were fishing.  Fishing was quite the experience.  They have a pond for the cows to drink from.  About 20 years ago they stocked it, and have not had to stock it since.  We each caught about 10-15 fish (maybe more....you stop counting at a certain point).  Sometimes you would put a new worm on your hook, throw it out, and pull it right back with another fish!  What a great first experience for the kids!  We only caught small blue gill that had to be thrown back even though he swore there were catfish in there somewhere!

We had a biology lesson like no other.  The girls wanted to know what the inside of a fish looks like... so Mitch obliged and cut one open to show them the insides!  They were enthralled...don't let Little Bit's face fool you! She was pretending, but the whole time kept saying how "cool" it was to see the inside.... Bean Boy however, kept his distance. It was interesting that at the end of the day Mitch finally told him, I'm not taking this fish off for you...you have to touch it... and, he did it!  Now, you have to understand that he has OCD tendencies, especially when it comes to being clean and having clean hands. So, it was a big deal that he actually touched the fish and took it off the hook!!!  I was so proud of him!

Bragging rights:  Be forewarned, now I will start bragging about my kids....  I'd just like to say that they were WONDERFUL!  Poor Bean Boy was sick during the ride up, but still tried to work on his school work. He was sick the first day there, but mostly kept a good attitude, until his fever got the best of him, at which point, I gave him Tylenol. The girls were amazing.  There were NO ARGUMENTS the entire trip between the 3 of them!!!  They didn't ask 500 times how much longer....Baby T asked a few times, but not excessively.  They obeyed well. They were kind to others. They had happy hearts. They were helpful. I would have loved them if they weren't any of these things of course, but it just made the trip spectacular! (Ok, I'm done now!)

One last thing that made this vacation super fantastic.... NO CHORES!  For any of us!  Our sweet friend Debbie was so quick with the laundry that I never beat her to putting our laundry in the washer or dryer!  I did fold clothes as often as I could, and the girls helped with the towels.  Debbie loves to cook and we ate like kings and queens!  And, she did all the cleaning!  What more can a tired momma ask for?

I truly wanted to have this post out and ready for the Weekly-Wrap Up, but we drove all day Wednesday. We arrived around 8:30 pm, ate a late dinner, which Hubby had ready for us, took showers and went to bed.  Thursday morning I had a meeting, and Thursday night began 3 in a row at work!  Yes, we got right back into the swing of things!  But, I don't mind... (adding this in much later.. I left my camera at work and have just been able to pick it up to add in pictures! Will post this mid-week and probably use as my wrap-up...)

I'm thankful that we had so many fantastic experiences, that I could only highlight them for you. I'm thankful that the lack of phone service and internet service provided me with time to "unplug" without feeling guilty for doing it! I'm thankful for friends who interrupted their life to host us and show us a fantastic time.  I'm thankful that my mom and I were able to work out our schedules to go together. I'm thankful for seeing and enjoying so many amazing things. I'm thankful my kids were so wonderful.   I'm thankful that God is faithful and keeps His promises.... 

Matthew 11:28 Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. 

Jeremiah 31:25  I will refresh the weary, and satisfy the faint.

Linking With: