265Project.2016 | Weeks 39-40

It's been a busy couple of weeks .. two weeks ago we were slogging through our last week of school before our "Sabbath week" ... and then Sabbath week flew by in a flurry of activity. We've had some runny noses and coughs here and there, but everyone is on the mend now and we're thankful for it. 

Day 270. Sweet Abby having fun with dominoes. :) I'm not sure the kids have ever actually played a game of Dominoes ... at least not recently. But they've seen a lot of action these last couple weeks regardless. :)

 Day 271. I'm so thankful for my Hannah-bug ... she's such a good big sister. ♥

 

 Day 272. The pudding was 'ummy! :)

 It was too cute to watch Abby reading books to the dollies. ♥

 Day 273. National Coffee Day. A day well worth celebrating. :)

Day 274. It's so fun to be able to capture the kids' perspective on life through ordinary "school" assignments. I love homeschooling. ♥

 Day 275. The job of "Toddler's Favorite Dolly" really needs hazard pay.

 Especially when there's bears about.

 Day 276. Picnic lunch. ♥

 Day 277. Just enjoying a few good books Sunday morning ...

 Day 278. Dominoes! :)

 

 

 Day 279. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Great Grandma and Grandpa today! ♥

 Who's the best milkshake maker in the world??? GREAT GRANDPA!!!

 Abby was giggling with Grandma as she ate her milkshake. ♥

 My cousin Sean grew these amazing pumpkins!!!

 And we were blessed to be able to take some home! ♥

And this little bottle felt a little bit like magic as it made what has historically been a rather challenging trip SO. MUCH. EASIER. I diffused Stress Away in the van by putting a few drops on a makeup pad and then sticking it in the vent. Abby, who has NOT been a good traveler, at. all., and generally gets distressed at some point in every car ride exceeding 30 minutes, never fussed once and fell asleep both directions of an hour+ car ride!!! I'm really looking forward to seeing if it will help again on a longer trip we have planned for this week. ♥

 Day 280. It's makes a mama's heart happy to stumble upon her girls enjoying an afternoon siesta together. ♥

 

My Hannah-bug is 11. I'm pretty sure she was 4 just last week, but when I blink she'll be 20. ♥ Love this young lady so much. ♥

And this little lady is a hoot! :)

 Giggles!!! ♥ Catch me if you can, Mama!

Day 281. Thursday was a super crazy busy (but profitable) morning of errands, which included a visit with our friends! We had to get a picture of Matthew and his friend Nathan with their toothless smiles. These two are two peas in a pod! And no, the John Deere shirts were not planned. ;)

 Mommy made the "mistake" of mentioning that Daddy was on his way home. It's a good thing he has a short commute, cause Abby-girl wanted nothing but to wait on the steps for Daddy to pull in the driveway. ♥

Day 282. A Label Maker!!! I've wanted one of these for so very long, and it was one of the first things I purchased with the commissions I earned from new role as a Young Living Lemon Dropper. I had so much fun creating pretty, professional labels for my essential oil roller bottles!!!

 Pretty labels on the front ...

 Clear ingredients list on the back ...

Day 283. Dominoes and Jenga blocks ... Nope. We haven't played Jenga in a while either. But this set includes special messages from dear friends down in SC and I loved seeing all of them again. ♥

 And such were our weeks. Just lots of ordinary, everyday life. A mix of work and play, friends and family. ♥ So thankful for all of it. 

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!