Misplaced

Yesterday, I actually sat outside on my swing. It was wonderful! Dinner was cooking and I was just enjoying some of the evening when Megan decided to join me. She flipped around on the swing and was instantly filled with questions about what she saw.

 Can you see it?

Somehow, this little robin's egg has made it's way to the railing on our porch. It's so sad. It just appeared there one day. We have no idea where it came from or how it got there. I'm thinking there may be a nest way up in our gutters and that some of these storms we've had just blew it right out. Megan really wants to bring it in and keep it warm so it will hatch. She doesn't accept that it won't. It just seems so....misplaced.

Forcing the Issue

A couple of weeks ago, we had some warm weather go through. We definitely took advantage and spent lots of time outside. But on the last day, I knew I wasn't ready to go back to the cold. I was dreading the huge drop in temperatures in just one day. I'm ready for SPRING! So I did the next best thing (besides a trip to a warmer climate ;))

I cut branches from our crabapple tree and stuck them in a huge vase on our dinning room table so I could have this! I picked up this idea years ago and have used it for many springs since. It makes these early weeks of spring a bit more springy for me ;)

It Works!!!

Last year, I wrote here lamenting over my beautiful tulips. Some animal was eating them!We suspected deer. I complained to spoke with our nature teacher at co-op and she recommended hanging old cd's around as a "scarecrow" of sorts. So I did:

I used hooks I had picked up last year at JoAnn's to hang them from. I also hung a homemade wind chime that Nick had made in art. It's working great! I'm looking forward to beautiful tulips on our table in April :)

A Day Like Today...

makes me look back with longing at the week's beginning.

It was so warm. The kids wanted to be outside all day. I pretty much let them! We schooled in the morning but after lunch they were outside until dinner. They shot baskets, played in their tents (a lot!), watched the birds, played on the swing set. It was a mini-spring break :) We really needed that! Of course, now we're ready for more ;) Hurry spring!

A Quote

This morning, as we started school, Brandon said to me: "I finally get to work with decimals! YAY! I love decimals!"

He wasn't kidding :) I love that kid.

(Let me add here that he's worked with them before just not recently. Wouldn't want anyone to think I'm some slacker not teaching decimals over here!)

Lunch, 2011 Style

That's fruit smoothies and popcorn! Yum!

Starting This Cold Day, Right!

We woke to even more snow than yesterday. Even though I don't mind snow for Christmas, I really am tired of being cold (already! I'm in trouble). We decided to start our day with a nice cup of hot chocolate (and peppermint coffee for me..yum!)

Don't they look happy?? It didn't last. We started our school work right after this ;)

Go Bucks!

I know I'm a bit late in posting this, but Go Bucks!

Getting the Wind Knocked Out of my Sails

We had wonderful plans for this weekend. Todd was out of town so I planned some fun ways to keep us busy so maybe we wouldn't miss him so much. It's not too bad when he's gone over night but when he has to go for four days, it's felt in a big way around here. So I planned lots of fun. This was our first no-game Saturday since the beginning of August so we were also looking forward to relaxing a bit Saturday morning and enjoying a bit of randomness.

All was going according to my plan. Thursday was co-op so we were very busy and the day went by quickly. Friday, I took the kids to Franklin Park Conservatory to see the last feeding of the carnivorous plants (tons of pictures coming very soon!). We spent a couple of hours there wandering around. It's a beautiful place. I can't wait to see it all decorated for Christmas! We ran a few errands afterward and by the time we got home that evening, I wasn't feeling so good. We had planned to sleep in the family room, the kids in the tent and me on the couch, while we watched a double feature. Brandon set up the tent and popped in the first movie but by then I was sick. Stomach  virus or maybe (hopefully) food poisoning. It was not my favorite night.

Saturday, we still relaxed but unfortunately, I was still pretty sick so the couch was my home most of the day. Thankfully, Kristen was able to be here all day to look after the kids. I could barely dress myself without needing to rest. Meal prep alone would have done me in! Those kids eat constantly! We missed their football awards ceremony. We're missing church right now. I hate missing things.

Today, I'm feeling much more myself! Still a bit ran down and sore. I can only lay around so much! My old bones start to ache! ;) I'm worried about this week though. We have so many important things this week, we simply cannot have anyone sick. Hearts will be broken. So I've been disinfecting every thing I can and praying to God that it was food poisoning (darn Subway!).

Todd came home early, driving all night to be here early this morning, YIPPEEEE! Today will be a better day :)

Enjoying Fall

I do not ever look forward to fall. I used to when I was younger, but I haven't for a really long time. Although I'm not sure when, exactly, the change in my attitude happened, I believe I can attribute it to the fact that cold, short days follow it and the more kids we had the worse my dread of winter became. I don't think I suffer from the disorder that affects some people in the winter, but I do long for summer all winter; maybe from the first day that is noticeably shorter. I miss the warm, sunny days. And I LOVE getting up in the morning, throwing on shorts, a tee, and a pair of flip-flops and being ready for the entire day! In the winter, it takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r to get everyone out the door only to be freezing cold. UGH! I think I live in the wrong part of the country ;)

But anyway, fall always sucks me in ;) I never look forward to it's arrival but it doesn't take me long to change my mind. I can't resist it's beauty! Gorgeous deep blue skies and trees full of color; it's just lovely.

And then this happens:

  Maybe fall's not so bad :)

What Happened the Rest of the Day

Everyone came home and had lunch.
Todd left to go hunting. (he'll probably regret that ;))
Kristen left to go to work. 
Things were going well for a while.
Then I heard it...."I'm bored."
They usually do not say that around me because at that point I find something for them to do....and it isn't always "fun"...for them anyway ;)
Today, however, I wasn't in the mood to come up with something to keep them busy. I was hoping they'd find something to do on their own.
They did.

This is their bedroom door. It's locked from the inside. No one is in there.

~sigh~


Yes, I know there are tools to pop those locks but I'm really not in the mood to find it. Or to pop the lock.

What I did do was get something out for them to do ;)

I had bought these at JoAnn's a week or so ago in the dollar isle. I thought they'd be fun to work on some rainy day to use to decorate our classroom for Halloween. I was right! They had a good time working on these a bit while I cooked a quick dinner.

Now it's bath time! That means it's almost bedtime! Although I don't know how the boys are going to manage all this with the door to their bedroom locked ;)

Silliness...

We left the house early for our field trip Tuesday because I had a few stops to make. We still arrived at the orchard very early which gave us the time to just be silly :)

Everyone had to be a worm ;)

Only the girls wanted to be ladybugs ;)

Crazy little camera-hogs ;)

We Made a Friend at the Orchard :)

Lovely :)

Party Girl

Megan decided this afternoon to make me stew ;) She was cracking me up with her apron (adult size) and all her pots and plates. Then we she came to me doing this:

Yes, she is banging on the pot with a wooden spoon calling me to dinner! Let me assure you that I do not call my family with a pot and spoon ;) She got that part from Tom and Jerry ;) Still, she was adorable so even though I was up to my eyeballs in school planning, I took a break and had stew with that sweet, little cook :)

Here's her set-up:

She wrapped our "silverware" in paper-towels!

Thank you, Megan, for the stew and the laughs :) They were both much needed today!

Babies Everywhere!

Saw this in our front yard today:

Even though we see alot of deer here, we rarely see them with their spots. Cute!

Our Summer List

We try to squeeze alot into summer. Alot of fun, alot of reading, alot of home-improvement, alot relaxing, and alot of family time. So when I saw this post over at Whatever (I love that blog!) I had to swipe it! She used the word "intentional" when telling about the reason behind the list and it's become my favorite summer word ever ;) We always have good ideas and intentions for the summer but summer seems so short and often it's the end and we didn't do half of what we'd wanted. A Cool Summer List was the answer! It's hanging right beside my desk so I can keep track of all the great things we wanted to do and intentionally plan them!

This is our summer list. There's even room at the bottom for more ideas ;) I had actually thought of something fun on the way home from dropping the kids off at VBS, but after I got home I couldn't remember it. See how much I needed this list! GAH!

A note about the "craft" listing; we've decided we'll have Craft Wednesdays. Choosing a day of the week made it more intentional (there's my favorite word again!) and gave me a day to have the supplies I need together. We'll probably do crafts other days as well, but at least Wednesdays! We've taken this week and last week off since they are at VBS for two weeks and doing crafts daily there, but we'll be back at it next week :)

We've checked a few more things off since I took this picture. I'm loving this list! It'll find a home in my filing cabinet at the end of summer for a forever record of all the fun we had :) Here's to an intentionally fun summer ;)

Crazy About Silly Bandz

These things are all the rage right now and our kids are loving it! They started collecting them last week when some friends gave them some during VBS so I bought them a few of their own to trade and they are hooked! Normally, we don't get sucked into the "latest thing" but these things are everywhere and really they're just plain fun. I even bought some for myself to trade with them. That seems to be their favorite part is the trading. A couple of nights ago, I was tucking Nicholas into bed and he told me that he'd had the best afternoon ever! I asked him what made it so special and he said it was because Todd and I sat down and traded silly bands with them. It's always the little things.

Happy Memorial Day!

On this day of remembrance, I would first like to thank family members who have served this country: my dad and my father-in-law who both served during the Vietnam War, Todd's Grandpa Clay who served during WWII and was at Pearl Harbor during the attack there, Todd and his brother, Scott, who also served, thank you all so much for your faithful service to our country.

To our friends who are currently serving, Aubrey, who is in Iraq, and Jon who is just finishing up boot camp and ready for whatever the Army has planned for him, thank you both for your service. We pray for your wisdom and safety. We also pray that you would be a light for Christ to all you are around.

Today we remember all the people throughout our nation's history who have served our country. Without them, our we would not have the freedoms we take for granted every day. Thank you.

Now That's More Like It!

I'm so ready for summer! Having doors open, watching the kids play outside, long sunny days! It looks like this week is going to be a beautiful one and we couldn't be happier! This is one of our favorite things to do in the summer:

When I tell the kids we are eating outside, you'd think they'd won the lottery! Even though we do it often, it's such a treat for them. A simple meal of subs and watermelon is special when we eat it outside. Top that off with some games (Uno Spin or Apples to Apples Jr.) and it makes for one special lunch :)

Finding Beauty

I was in Megan's room yesterday and noticed some really beautiful things outside her window. Of course, I ran for my camera :) I don't know why I'm so obsessed with pictures of snow. I've actually found myself longing for summer...leaving the door open while the kids play outside, grilling, NOT BEING COLD!

Anyway, yesterday morning, while the sun was out, the snow was sparkly and beautiful....I couldn't help myself!

Scenes from Megan's room:
From the living room:
I was lamenting to Kristen about how I would love to have a picture of the snow all smooth and glistening, but then I realized that my snow is rumpled and messy because there were little people playing in it and that made it all the more lovely to me :)