Random

Sunflowers from the yard brighten up dreary, rainy days that make the end of August feel more like October. 

I love vacuum tracks.  It’s rewarding to me and speaks of a clean (dog hair free) zone, at least for a minute.

I absolutely hate coming up to bed and finding about eight loads of laundry waiting to be folded.  I secretly long for laundry fairies to come do this job for me.  I loathe it, absolutely loathe it. 

I love a little haircut on a cute little girl, especially the with clippies.  And I think it’s funny that she just pretends it’s coffee, I guess it’s a lot more fun to have water from a coffee cup.

The unusually dreary weather has prompted me to bake a cake and make soup, currently there’s a banana cake in the oven and beans simmering away in the crock pot.  I might have to face the hard reality that summer is just about over. 

And I’ve got a stack of photos about four inches high waiting to be scrapbooked, an art cabinet prepped to be organized and a mountain of laundry waiting for the laundry fairies to come along.  But the house is quiet because the kids are out back with dad and I’d rather curl up with a book.  I think the book just might win.  (Grin)

All in a Monday’s work, right?  Hope ya’ll have a fabulous Monday!

School Pics

Yes, we home school.  Our reasons for doing this are vast and perhaps boring to some of you, and we certainly are still newbies at this thing. 

But we are always learning, taking advantage of where our kids are and allowing them to learn and explore at their own pace.  We realize that learning cannot be contained to one specific block of time or one specific place, and it for sure is not a one size fits all approach.

Because of this (and many, many, many more reasons) we opt to stay home.  We go at their pace, we have fun and when it’s not too much fun we readjust and do things differently.  And we are grateful.  We are grateful that we get to do school at home, grateful that the opportunity is available to us, grateful that I am home with them during these precious years.

This is our little Aida, our quickly growing up, new haircut sporting four year old.  She’s a doll and a comedian.  She usually wants to do lessons with us, but mostly she just wants to tell jokes.  She keeps things light, which is a welcome thing sometimes.

 

She will (hopefully) be learning to read this year, and grow more adept at writing.  Perhaps we’ll take a stab at math, if she wants to.  She’s only four, and really just wants to play.  And that is just fine with this teacher.

Cayden is our precocious kindergartener.  She is reading chapter books, she knows way more math facts than she needs to and she can be a touch bossy at times.  But she’s spunky and she isn’t afraid to speak her mind.   And she sure as heck won’t let anyone push her around.  I love that.

She loves to draw and write and has written more than a few little books.  She is very quick, physically and mentally.  She can be pure joy and totally defiant, all in the same few minutes.  She keeps this mom on her toes and on her knees.  And we adore her.  She’ll be starting first grade math, continuing on in reading and working on more writing this year.  She’ll join her big brother for science and history, and art-lots and lots of art.

She’s an amazing, kind and loving gal.  And has a super cool sense of fashion too. 

Levi is a sensitive and tough second grader.  He loves, loves, loves to build with Legos and reads like a champ.  He has a unique ability to connect with people, and rarely meets a stranger.  His bright smile has a way of drawing people in.  And he can throw a mean temper tantrum. 

Levi loves his friend time, which can be a challenge sometimes when he’s just home with us.  He loves science and is learning to be okay with math.  He’ll be continuing on in all those standard second grade subjects like math and reading, spelling and grammar, history and science and a few others as well.  This year we’ll add in Bible quizzing to the mix and hopefully some Tae Kwon Do too.  He’s funny and all boy and so super cool with his new faux hawk. 

He rocks, pure and simple.

And there’s their teacher; trying to keep up with her students, praying for divine wisdom minute by minute and reminding herself that this an adventure like no other-so she should enjoy it like the adventure that is.  This teacher will be learning just as much, if not more, than her students.

Here’s to an awesome school year and be sure to go check out Mt Hope Chronicles, I’ve got to give credit where credit is due-Heidi totally inspired this photo shoot.

The Constancy of Shoes

It’s inevitable, like the rising sun or the changing of the tides or a monthly longing for all things chocolate.  The need for new shoes always comes.  For some it comes sooner than others, and some choose to let shoes wear out their welcome.

Once upon a time, for a five year old gal, sparkly shoes were the norm.  They were welcomed with love and smiles and unabashed glee.  And then they stayed, almost like those guests who just don’t know when to say goodbye.  They stay, until a mother notices toes sticking up from those sparkly shoes.  The toes remind me that it’s time to go shopping.  So we head to Target, the choice place to purchase sparkly shoes. 

And then it happens, right there in the middle of the sparkly shoes and grown up girl shoes.  A five year old girl makes a choice, she passes by the sparkly shoes with nary a glance and snatches up the black ballet flats.  There in the midst of Target I find myself swallowing a lump in my throat. 

Are you sure?  Are those really the ones you want?  What about these sparkly ones?  The answer is no.  And so we purchase the modest ballet flats.  And another milestone passes.

Well, at least the littlest gal still goes for sparkles.  At least for now.

 

And the propensity for wearing out shoes?  I guess she comes by it naturally.

The Bench that took the Long Way Home

Last week I mentioned a wall that got painted in the midst of our desk and project blitz.  It was a wall that has been begging to be painted for a long, long time now.  It was even sitting ready for paint for most of the summer.  My poor neglected (ugly) wall finally got a fresh coat of paint in anticipation of the arrival of a new bench.

First, here’s the space:

And here is what it looked like before this project, minus the Christmas decorations because I’m too forgetful to take before pictures before I actually begin a project but have to comb through my archives to give you a glimpse of what I started with (if you’re interested and all):

So, on to the bench.  Well, first about the table.  We (I mean, I) found it at Goodwill last December and fell in love with it’s rustic charm and narrow footprint.  I quickly snatched it up impulsively checked with Zac, as I should with all major purchases, and then with much thought and consideration bought the table. 

Fast forward a month to a long trip to Michigan where we stayed at an empty home next to my aunt’s house, well empty except for the owner’s possessions and a basement full of treasures.  It was seriously a junk/antique finders dream.  And there, nestled in a corner of the basement was this bench.

I knew I had to have it, I knew it would match our kitchen table, I knew I had no idea where I would put it and I knew I had absolutely no way to get all the way across the country back home.  But then my parents planned a cross country trip, by car (well, Ford Explorer).  This trip happened to almost coincide with an estate sale at that very same house, and through the generosity of a wonderful aunt and my parents’ clever packing in the Ford Explorer the bench ended up here in our home.  It sat in the playroom for a while but once the school desks came into our lives we knew the bench had to find a new home.  Slowly the plan was hatched, much furniture was moved and now the bench sits (appropriately so) by the table. 

It is just lovely. 

And then we bought the cool chairs at Target, love these.  Love the mix of modern and old and all, and I love that they’re easy to clean and lightweight and best of all-comfortable!

And I think it makes for a happy little place for our happy little family to spill milk and have breakfast and play games and spill juice and sneak food to the dog from under the table.

Mismatched and all.

Linking up to The Nester.

The School Room

In all it’s glory and imperfections, the school room is done (well, nearly). Here’s a little tour of the place. Coming in from the hallway you’ll notice the large chalkboard, all 12 feet of it. I love it, and the kids think it’s pretty cool too. You might spot the missing letters above the chalkboard; it seems that one missed the package, or I missed it when unpacking it. Either way, we’ll be fixing that. The aerial view, if you count me standing on a chair as aerial. We plan on moving out the loveseat and moving in some beanbags, someday.This is the desk that Zac built, that sits in the school room and holds lots of stuff. This is the desk that Zac built, made from mostly repurposed materials from an old hardware store. This is the desk that Zac built, that I love and will use often. And a few more shots, for your enjoyment. It is so exciting to us to have this room, and we are so very grateful for our free finds that made this possible. And we are so glad to have our very own school room, I know not many homeschoolers have this and so I’m appreciative of it. I think (hopefully) we’ll be much more productive and organized having a dedicated space, instead of using the kitchen table. I’m feeling blessed to have this room. It’s not something we really needed, I know that we could do school just as fine without the student desks and honkin’ big chalkboard. But I am grateful for the provision of things we don’t need, things we simply wanted and God stepped up and provided.

We always put our “hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (1 Timothy 6:17, emphasis added)

Yep, I’m feeling grateful and excited for the new school year.

Click here for more details on the desks that launched 1000 projects.

just a break

We took a break from the school room yesterday to head to the lake, although much less productive it was much more fun.  Today, it’s back to it-Monday always has to come, doesn’t it?  But the good news is we got the big honkin’ 12 foot chalkboard in on Saturday.  I’m sure we’ll be making some progress this week, unless the lake proves irresistible in this hot weather.

The Desk that Launched 1000 Projects

This is the desk (well, one of three) that has affected nearly every room in our home.

It has caused a ripple effect of projects, like a cascade of dominoes all around us.

It all started when a local elementary school was tearing down a wing, and with it everything inside.  (Okay, side note here-I don’t understand why it is acceptable to destroy perfectly good things like desks or chalkboards or chairs simply because the school is being rebuilt.  Especially when school budgets are so very tight.  It seems like such a waste of resources to do away with perfectly good things.  Okay, it’s off my chest, on to the rest of the story.)

So when we heard that there might just be desks for the taking we rushed to the school, hoping to beat the bulldozer.  I was told that I had to go around the fence and stay clear of the construction zone and to hurry, so I could really beat the bulldozer.  I contemplated grabbing one the kid’s dress up hard hats but thought twice about it.  Might look silly with my sundress.

Once the desks were home we were faced with dilemma of what to do with the desks, or really-where to put the desks.  We have a bonus room upstairs, that was the only option.  But the poor room was already totally full.  After stewing about for a while we came up with a solution.

It involved moving furniture out and building in a desk.  It also included moving a large piece of furniture upstairs and a bench downstairs.  The bench going downstairs resulted in the relocation of a large desk downstairs, and somewhere along the way a wall got painted.  Whew.

The dust has settled and barring any disasters I’ll be painting some things this weekend and putting the final details on our new school room.  A school room, don’t you love the sound of that?  Well, if you’re a homeschooling mom (or dad) you might.  And get this, if we can get it up stairs (which my amazing husband is pretty confidant we can) our school room will also have a 12 foot long chalkboard.  Squeal!

So all I can give ya today is a few sneak peeks, it’s coming together and tomorrow I should be slapping some paint around, it’s called Jaded Janet.  Isn’t that funny?  It matches the pipe you see above.  I can’t wait to get it all done.

And let me just say, I gotta give some major props to my man for spending an entire day off work building me a desk and shelves.  I really couldn’t have done this without him!

Stay tuned for the rest of the story…….

Linked up to The Inspired Room

Weekly Gratitudes

Summer.  Wonderful summer, even though it’s winding down, even though it’s been a bit cooler than usual and even though it’s flown by a the speed of light.  I’m choosing to savor these last days, enjoy the longer days and make the most of each moment.

Paint.  I am finally painting my kitchen wall that has been waiting for me since June.  It’s like the room took a deep breath, pictures to come soon.

Weddings and new neighbors.  We had some great friends get married over the weekend in a small, private ceremony.  I was privileged to be there taking photos.  It was most beautiful, sweetest wedding I have ever been to.  Ever.

Here’s the bride with Cayden after the ceremony at an open house celebration.  The coolest part is that they live down the street from us, and we are feeling so very blessed to have some very cool newlyweds down the street.

Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored. -Earl Nightingale

Being a Grandma (Well, like one anyway)

I’m not a grandma, and it will be many years before I am.  But there’s a lot to learn from the grandma’s and honorary grandma’s in my kids lives.

Lately we’ve been spending a lot of time a family friend, who happens to be a grandma.  I love how she loves on my kids.  She slows down for them, she turns tasks that require obedience into games, she listens to them and always gives them her undivided attention.  I think I’m learning a lot from her.

I must confess that I don’t always treat my kids like that.  I can be harsh and impatient, rushing from one thing to next. When I am this way with them the only result is frustration, for them and for me.  But if I were to slow down, say yes more, listen carefully and parent with intention then things would be a lot different.  A lot better.  I think everyone knows that kids do better when they receive lots of love and attention, and saying yes a bit more often probably never hurt anyone. 

So I’m saying yes a bit more, which is surprisingly hard.  I’m slowing down and letting my to do list pile up, against my compulsion to cross things off a list.  I’m trying to be more patient and more fun.  And in all that, I’m trying to find the balance of structure and rules and all the other important things that kids need.  You know what?  It’s kind of hard.  But it’s totally worth it.

I guess the point it that a grand parent’s job is to be nice and loving and even spoil their grandkids, just a little bit.  I think as a parent I can be a bit more indulging, at least every once in a while.  I can kick back and have popcorn for breakfast and cereal for dinner, because at the end of the day does it really matter?  Is it worth the fits over cereal?  I think not.  I think I want to act more like a grandma; they shouldn’t have all the fun now should they?

Cayden and I at Haystack Rock over the weekend.