My week - day four

Day four - Thursday. This Thursday was such a random day. We usually do school work, go to the library and then to Girl scouts.

This Thursday I was watching a friend's (Sandy) baby in the morning. Her name is Rachel, isn't she cute?
So since Rachel was with us we tried to plug ahead and get some school work done - but having a baby around is a fun distraction! Another friend from church dropped by (Darcie). She used to homeschool but her 3 kids have all since graduated. She was coming by to pick up some rubber stamps. We were distracted even more while talking to Darcie! I really enjoyed talking with her about school stuff though - drawing from her years of experience!

At this point Rachel was asleep ...
and the girls were listening to a book on tape (so the ladies could talk!) ...

Darcie was so kind, she brought each girl a pumpkin!
We did get some work done ...
After I refueled with some of this ... J cut pictures out of magazines to add to her A, B, C charts ...

And the rest of my day was very busy too, but for some reason I failed to take photos of it! Sandy came back at lunch time with her other daughter Haley. And my other friend Caroline brought her son Morgun over since she was going to help at her kids school. So Sandy and I had lunch together and watched the kids while they played for a couple hours. Then Sandy and her girls left and it was just Morgun and us girls. Caroline came back for Morgun and then the girls and I headed out to run some errands.

It was 4 o clock at this point! We went to the mall and Target making some exchanges that we needed to take care of. THEN my stomach started going into these crazy fits of pain. It was unbearable! I was doubled over in the store! I realized it was the Fiber One granola bar I had eaten earlier in the day - don't EVER buy them, they taste great but oh the pain!

Anyway, we headed home and I did the lazy thing and let the girls have spagettios for dinner while they watched TV. (I know, BAD Mom! But I was still in pain so I did what I had to do!)

Later after the girls were in bed and my pain had subsided I folded more laundry while watching more TV.

My week - day three

Day three - Wednesday. A 'normal' school day. Whatever that means! Anyway, on Wednesdays we really do buckle down and get some work done. We spend all morning doing school work. This is morning snack time - they are counting and playing with bears while eating their snack ...
Here they are doing some school work ...
And in the afternoon we did arts and crafts. They made these funny scarecrows! (They hadn't finished adding hair or hats yet!) They even cut and glued on fabric clothes and stuck on buttons. J (of course!) had to make hers all fancy wearing a dress and jacket ...

H's has more of the casual/hip fashion - jeans and a top ...
Then we head out to watch H practice soccer. Her practice lasts for one hour so we usually just hang out and talk. My friend Caroline is always there with her daughter so I have someone to talk to!
Here is H and her friend (Caroline's daughter, one of H's best friends)

Friends ...
This night I was smart and put dinner in the crock pot before we left. It's great to come home and have it ready!
YUM, swedish meatballs and pasta!

My week - day two

Day two - Tuesday. Typically on Tuesdays we go to our homeschool science co-op class in the morning. There are 12 kids between kindergarten and 3rd grade. This month the kids are learning about 'weather'.

Here is J holding the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance and the Star Spangled Banner.

Here are both girls working hard! In front of H is a galileo thermometer and a barometer - very cool! (Hopefully I got the names of those correct!)
After class the kids get to horse around on the playground for a little while ...
Most Tuesday afternoons my Mother in law and Father in law take care of the girls. My Father in law usually does his art lesson with them on this day. Often times they also go to the library, go out for a walk, do arts and crafts, play games, etc ... my MIL is a preschool teacher and has tons of wonderful ways to keep little girls happy and busy all afternoon!

This is also a wonderful chance for me to 'get caught up' on things. I usually do my groceries and any other errands on this day. I also usually spend some time with hubby since he doesn't leave for work till evening. It's a great day to get some things done.

This particular Tuesday it was my co-worker's birthday. So after dropping the girls off with my MIL I went to the flower shop where I work. I don't work very much, but I love the people I work with. So it was Wayne's birthday and we all went in to work to give him a cake, card and gift.
After eating all that cake I felt really guilty ... so I met hubby at home and together we went to a local park for a walk/run. I love using my little timer when I exercise.

While we were out we picked up a new canister for my coffee maker - I can't live without my coffee and really needed one since mine had broken!
Then I made a yummy chicken parm with pasta and salad for Bob and I for dinner. It's kind of nice to have a quiet dinner together on Tuesday nights ... even if we do eat while watching the news!
After dinner the girls come home and get tucked in to bed. Hubby goes off to work and I face the laundry monster - the loads and loads of clean, unfolded laundry that I have let build up for days.
The only thing that gets me through it is watching my favorite show while I fold - Dancing with the Stars.
And finally I can go to bed ...

My week - day one

When I went to CKC a few weeks ago my friend Carol took this really cool class called "A peek into my week." It was all about the day to day happenings that you might never normally scrapbook about. I also took a class that was all about journaling - how important it is to get your thoughts down on paper for the future generations to see. Both classes made me think about recording my daily life for a whole week. After all, my kids and/or grandkids may want to see what a typical week was like for me when I was 32 years old. (Actually we NEVER have a typical week, something always changes or comes up, but at least you'll get the idea!)

So here it is - day one - Monday. Typically we use Mondays as our field trip/family day. We almost always try to do something that is physical too so that we're getting some exercise in. We do this because Bob has Mondays off - so instead of sitting down with schoolwork we decide to spend the time together.

This particular Monday we went to a state park for a fall hike. It was a gorgeous, cool day. We ended up hiking further than we planned and even got stuck coming down a very steep and scary hill. It was very nerve racking trying to get the girls down safely!




After hiking we had to pick up some groceries at the store ... I put them away and straightened up the house while Bob and the girls went on yet another adventure in the woods behind our house. I can't believe they still had energy after the first hike!
We had some free passes for a buffet restaurant so we decided that free dinner out is always good and went there for dinner that night. H loaded up her plate with all sorts of stuff before realizing that one thing she had chosen had squid in it! She was disgusted when she found that out!
The best part?? The dessert bar! All you can eat dessert! Doesn't get any better than that!

Back at home we all got cozy and then played some UNO and some Jenga together ... all in all it was a great field day/ family day!

Jupiter

One night a few weeks ago we saw Jupiter in the night sky! It was very exciting, especially since we've been studying the earth and planets in our science co-op class.


I know the picture isn't real clear ... but on the left is the moon, and that bright light on the right is Jupiter!

Miss Grumpy Pants

I have a confession to make. I was a real grump today. I was not a good Mommy today. I was not even a good wife today. And I was certainly not a good follower of Christ today.

I don't know what my problem was.
It could have been the mouse I saw scurry through the living room last night.
It could have been that I am frustrated lately that everything costs so much and I constantly feel the pressure of trying to save money for the family.
It could be that I'm tired of my house always looking like a crazy mess because we homeschool and we 'live' in our house every day - day in and day out.
It could be that I sometimes put too much pressure on myself as the girls teacher - and that I'm so afraid of screwing things up and what if J never learns to read and they both fall behind their peers?
It could be that even though I adore my kids and don't mind being with them ALL the time, sometimes I really do just need a few moments to myself.
It could be that I always feel busy, like there's never enough time to get it all done and I always feel like I'm running, running, running. (And wasting time writing on my blog doesn't help with prioritizing my time!)
It could be that I'm human and sometimes I lose my patience and put too much pressure on myself and expect too much of my kids and need to face the reality of life which is - no one is perfect! No one has it all together all the time.

So where does that leave me? Well thankfully my kids will forgive me, my hubby will forgive me (not that I did anything mean to him today but he knew I was grumpy), and my heavenly Father will forgive me. Thank you God that you love me still. Even through the grumpy days.

This CVS thing

I am slowly getting the hang of this CVS thing. I have been scoping the flyers each week, cutting coupons out like a crazy woman, and taking my time browsing the aisles while I add up my totals over and over again - trying to make sure I'm getting the best deal.

I'm still not as good as some other CVSers that I know of who are getting things almost free (still haven't quite figured out how to do that!) but I am happy about the savings I'm getting.

I have been in desperate need of a new swiffer mop since mine has been broken for awhile ... so this was a great week - I got the starter kit which included the mop, a HUGE pack of wet refills and a FREE duster starter kit. ( I already have a duster but the kids like to help!) All of this was $15 and I got $5 in extra care bucks!!!

Here was my cereal deal (my kids go through cereal SO fast)... 2 big boxes for $4 - the boxes are normally $4.39 each! (I probably should have scoped the net for some cereal coupons which would have made this even cheaper but I forgot.)

And even though we never get trick or treaters here and won't even be home I thought I'd pick up some candy just for those special times when I have a major craving or the kids have been really good ... I got both big bags for $2
If you do the CVS thing and have some hints you'd like to share with me so I can get even better steals (I mean deals) ... please feel free to leave me a comment and let me know! Thanks!

Why I love consignment shops

Reason #1 ... winter coat for oldest daughter $4.80!!!! Reason #2 ... winter sweaters for both daughters $2 - $5 each!
Reason #3 ... cute shirt for oldest $5
Reason #4 ... cute shirt for youngest $4!!!

My new 'do'

Now that I'm a Mom I find it funny to see which things I consider a true indulgence. I mean, I remember prior to having kids when I thought going on a cruise or going to a fancy dinner was an indulgence ... but these days, it doesn't take much to make me happy.

Today I got to indulge. For one full hour I sat at the salon having my hair washed, cut and styled. It was awesome. So awesome in fact that I almost fell asleep in the chair because I was so relaxed!

I have been talking about wanting to cut my hair for weeks now and it always seemed like something would come up or I couldn't see spending the money ... but today was my chance! I'm so glad I did, I love my new cut and I'm so happy to have the change. No more ponytails for me - I'm going to fix my hair - every day! {Added bonus ... I think the cut got rid of most of all the residual yucky color that was still clinging to my ends!!}
The back has the stacked look - each layer is a bit shorter - I love having all the bulk gone!

CKC!

A couple weekends ago I went to my first Creating Keepsakes Convention. It was so much fun! I can't wait to go again! We took classes about different scrapbooking techniques, shopped to our hearts galore, had LOTS of yummy Starbucks lattes, stayed in the gorgeous Marriott hotel, went out for awesome Mexican food one night and just had a really great time!

I went with two alumni from the Bible college I attended. One was Carol (aka Mrs. Potato Head or MPH) and the other was Susie (aka Shoesie). I had met Carol last summer, but it was my first time meeting Susie, she came all the way from Washington state to go to CKC with us! Wow!

Here are some photos of our fun weekend ....

Vendor fair ... a scrapbookers paradise!!!!!
This was my favorite!!! I texted the photo to Bob but I don't think he thought it was all that funny! (I was a good little girl and stuck to my budget!)
Marriott Hotel (we were on the 12th floor)

Can you tell how giddy with excitement I am? This was just as we sat down at our first class ...

um hum, I love me some pumpkin spice lattes ...
Back at my house ... the girls stayed overnight, then attended church with us the next morning before heading for home ... we are each holding up our nicknames (Shoesie, KitKat and Mrs. Potato Head)
What a blessing to share this experience with these wonderful sisters in Christ!