365Project.2016 | Week 38

Welcome back! I would just like to observe that I have blogged 4 weeks in a row. Four. Weeks. In. A. Row. This is exciting, folks! And SO much more fun! ♥ 

Day 263. Matthew lost his second tooth this week ... with significantly more drama than the first. Think tickle fight, bumped mouth, lots of blood. You get the idea. ;) It took us quite a little while to calm down enough to capture footage of the event ...

The kids received their Kiwi Crates this week ... Matthew's was a Spy Kit. I cannot even tell you how perfect it was for him. It's been secret codes and invisible ink for the entire rest of the week. :)

Day 264. Tuesday. Tuesday shall live in infamy. That was the day I ignored common sense and did everything I (thought I) *needed* to do regardless of the fact that it was really a good bit more than any one person should undertake in a day. So on top of homeschooling and mothering, I added in Freezer Meal Prep. Now, this is a good thing. It really, truly is. It keeps me sane and saves me boatloads of time throughout the month.

 However. Tuesday also happens to be our homeschool group day.

 So, we squeezed in a few meals before lunch and a few meals later on ...

 And by the time the day was done, I'd prepped 18 meals (6 recipes x 3 meals each).

But, the real adventure lay in the fact that our dishwasher is non-functional. And Chris was working night-shift. SO ... after I got the kids to bed, I got to tackle my kitchen which had been piling up all day ...

And thus the day ended ... as the next day was beginning ... 

 Day 265. And Wednesday happened to be a very fun day in which we went on a field trip with our homeschooling friends! :)

 We visited Fort Stanwix and Oriskany Battelfield.

 We learned a lot and had a great time! :)

We learned how they prepared a cannon to fire ... 

 

 And the kids participated in a bucket brigade. :)

 

 

We learned that Oriskany was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolution. It was a sobering, but good day.

 

Day 266. Matthew's been working on this school bus for about 2 years! Wheels were the new addition this week. :)

 Day 267. Daddy and Peter spent most of the weekend in the utility room installing our new water filtration system and water softener.

 So while they were working, Mommy hung out with our littler people. ♥

 Day 268. It was so sweet watching Abby feed her bunny! ♥

 

 Day 269. And then this morning she was having so much fun playing in her kitchen! She's been preparing plates of food and bringing them to the table for us on a very regular basis. :)

 

 

 One-by-one she sprinkled her bowl with salad dressing, milk, yogurt, cheese, OJ ...

And then very, very special for today ... Hannah-bug played her flute for the first time at church. ♥ So thankful for the gift she's developing! ♥

And that was our week! A bit of this, a bit of that. Thanks so much for joining us!

365Project.2016 | Week 36

 Welcome back! ♥
Thanks for letting me share a bit of our everyday with you. ♥

Day 248. These two were hamming it up before church ... Abby loves to take pictures with the old cell phone, and Matthew's quite pleased to oblige her. ♥

The Duplos are back out (in moderate quantities) for Abby's benefit, but the big kids are happy to play with them again, too. :)

Of course, the best part about building a tower is knocking it over. ;)

Day 249. I love this man. ♥ Night shift has definitely been an adjustment, but we're settling into a rhythm with it. Abby certainly didn't mind finding his lap available this afternoon ... ;)

 ♥

Day 250. Science experiments! :) If you happen to be bored, I suggest sprinkling a large amount of pepper into a sink full of water and then gently touching it with a sliver of soap. You're welcome. :)

Our homeschool group also started meeting today, but I totally forgot to get a picture!

Day 251. My friend Amanda and I had the surprise and blessing of winning a giveaway at a local salon for free manicures! We thoroughly enjoyed our girls' date!!! ♥ 

The kids were delighted this evening when they noticed that Mommy's nails match her favorite purple pen! :)

Day 252. With Daddy leaving for work right after dinner, Mommy's been letting the kids enjoy a few episodes of Richard Scarry cartoons before bedtime. :)

And then once the kiddos are in bed, Mommy starts her "second" job. :) It's actually more like play, but that's the blessing of it. :) The Lord has opened the door to become a "Lemon Dropper" for Young Living's essential oils. They have been such a blessing to our family, and I'm excited to have the privilege to share them with others! I have no idea exactly what He will do with it ... whether He'll bless with many opportunities or few, but I had SO much fun preparing a welcome kit for my very first and most favorite customer ... my Mom. ♥ I love being able to teach and help others, and by God's grace, I hope to be able to prepare similar welcome kits for many others down the road. ♥

Day 253. My budding author and illustrator thoroughly enjoyed putting together his second book today! (You may remember his first book, Corn Stalk, published this spring.) ;)

The big kids had their bags packed and ready by noon ... for their 4:00 departure to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a fun overnight! :) They had a blast, complete with flashlight tag, star gazing, and a cute pumpkin craft. ♥

Those of us left out of that fun made our own fun. ;) We began with a steak dinner ... (so much more budget-friendly on your own grill ...)

And concluded the evening with a thorough cleaning (and purging) of the boys' bedroom. No, we do not make a habit of cleaning (or purging!) our kids' bedrooms. However, it had gotten beyond the capability of the 6-year-old who was the primary culprit of the disaster. As crazy as it may seem, being able to work together on the project, without interruptions (or protests by the aforementioned 6yo), made for a very pleasant and satisfying evening. :) The bedroom is now back to a manageable state, facilitated greatly by two trash bags worth of missing "stuffage" ... (shhh! Only two items have actually been missed ...)

 Day 254. And then Saturday morning, while Chris launched into the utility room project (new water softener and filter system upcoming) ...

 Abby enjoyed some quality time with the Little People ...

And Mommy sorted Legos. Pins. Couplers. Axles. So. Many. Legos. Again, it was nice to be able to work together in the same area and chat without interruptions. ♥

And this picture was too cute to pass up ... my girls! Abby definitely approves of Hannah's execution of bath night. ♥ And Mommy's thankful for the help. ♥

And thus concludes our week. ♥
I'm so excited to be able to share just one week at a time again! :) Thanks for stopping by!

265Project.2016 | Week 35

Yippee!!! ONE. WEEK. Just ONE week!!! I am SO excited about this!!! (Can you tell????) I've been behind for so long. Here's hope for updating more regularly again! It's so much more fun and so much quicker to share just one week at a time! ♥

Day 241. Oh my yes, this cutie-patootie was way too pleased with herself for figuring out how to get in the desk chair and "use" the keyboard and mouse ...

Day 242. Somehow, I suspect that most students would prefer to be sitting like this to do their school work ... #welovehomeschool

Day 243. Tuesday was full to the brim and a little bit crazy and overwhelming ... 
 
Monday evening, we discovered that our fridge was leaking ... so it received a place of honor. Right smack dab in the middle of the kitchen. Lovely, isn't it? And trying to put groceries away while my hubby also occupied that prime real estate while trying to diagnose the problem hadn't worked too well. So I left them. On the counter.

We left that place of crazy to enjoy some fun with our homeschool friends at a park playdate. They did have playground equipment at this park. But really? Who wants to go down a slide when you can splash in the creek??? And though they generated significant amounts of laundry for their mamas, they all had a blast. :)

And then we came back to crazy. ;) And I had office work to do, so I continued to ignore the kitchen. #yikes

My fun really began after Chris left for work (night shift this week...) and the kiddos headed to bed. I had the opportunity to help my friend host an essential oils class! We've been using essential oils for about six months, and they've really been a blessing to our family. It was so fun to be able to share some of what I've been learning with others! ♥

Day 244. Abby-girl loves her Children's Bible. ♥

Day 245. The greedy and ever hungry Mr. PacMan has helped yet another 1st grader successfully navigate the waters of "greater than" and "less than." :)

Day 246. Miss Cutie enjoyed her toast. ♥

Day 247. I am so blessed by my Hannah-bug!!! Seriously. Every mama needs a Hannah-bug. Her sweet, helpful spirit is such a blessing and help to me, especially with Chris working some really crazy hours. ♥

 She had fun being sous chef for the day and made a killer meatloaf and twice-baked potatoes!

And that, my friends, was our week!
I love sharing just one week with you! 

Happy September!