Thursday, May 28, 2009

small successes

FaithButtonHere is an idea as a pick-me-up from Faith & Family. Sometimes I start to feel overwhelmed with what I have to do and how there is still so much to prepare for the new baby (just over 3 weeks away now!!!) etc., etc., so this helped to list 3 small successes, which for mothers can amount to a tremendous success!


1- I cleaned every nook and cranny of my kitchen counter-tops. No small feat.


2- I have been diligent in getting into the Great Outdoors with the boys at least 3-4 times a week; this has proved tremendously worthwhile in the adventures,
exploring and good old bonding times we've had. We're trying to be in different
habitats... visits to the pond, beach, forest, and fields... I'm thankful for
where we live. Also began nature journaling!


3- Refining, refining, refining our curriculum and learning center plans for next
fall. It's ever a work in progress but it FEELS like a success whenever I add in
a nugget of wisdom, great idea or book, or delete/modify current plans. For not
being a huge planner in day-to-day life, I LOVE homeschool planning. Check out
our seasonal notebooks I made: chock full of themes, ideas, feastdays, reading
lists and crafts for each time of year. There will be constant additions to this.

Monday, May 18, 2009

must say

how much I love Crafty Crow again...

Just entered in the fabric contest!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

it's waning...

I'm feeling less and less inspired to blog these days. The problem is Facebook. Most people who read this blog are on Facebook and it feels rather redundant to post updates in two places. Plus there are some on FB who never read blogs and it's easier to keep up with them there. I can't deal with more than one social network online at a time I think. So, even though I've been posting only monthly or so, don't expect too much from this anymore. Get a facebook account! See our photos, updates and very important ridiculous quizzes there!!!

That said, here's the latest bullets:

  • Steve is neck deep in EMT classes. They are very time intensive and consuming but I'm really proud of him for buckling down and ploughing through his homework every night. We have 2 more weeks to go and so far this hasn't had a negative effect on our marriage like I thought it might. The communication is still great and we're on the same page with everything. Last night I felt so loved as he even took it upon himself to make dinner and SERVE me and the boys while I was sewing. Then he did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen! I pointed out to my boys how Papa was showing his love for me and the family and they marveled at it. (Steve in the kitchen isn't too common, unless he's rummaging for cookies.) Steve said "That's right boys, this is how you make love to a woman." hahahahaha! I'm so blessed. In addition to the EMT thing, Steve is also one of the coaches for Xavier's T-Ball and that takes up 1-2 evenings a week. Plus Wednesday night bowling league which he does for the chance to hang out with his brother.

  • I went to the NW Catholic Homeschooling Conference and it was very nice. I loved how the kids all just jumped in and played with each other, big and small, old and young... pick up soccer games for all. The talks were okay, nothing too novel for me since I already have a good grasp on what I want in an education and how I want to accomplish that. But I did get a chance to browse a lot of great vendors and get my hands on a lot of the curriculum that I've only READ about so far (managed to BARELY stay under budget in my purchases). As of now, I'm 33 weeks along and still without any set baby names... have a feeling it's going to come down to the wire with this one! I'm feeling fine, reading lots of books, spending lots of time outside, organizing the home when I'm motivated...

  • Xavier loves T-Ball; he has a GREAT throwing arm. He likes everyone on his team and this has been an overall positive experience. He's looking forward to going to the Mariners game we got tickets to later this month.

  • Leo is still his own special self. He's at his finest when he and Xavier are buddies at the moment. His tantrums are slowly becoming both less frequent and less intense; thank you Lord. He still needs some special attentions to help him work through some of his emotions occasionally. He and Dominic play awesome together when Xavier is at his games.

  • Dominic is a loveable lump of cuddles, preferring his father to anyone else on earth. He cries when he can't play ball at the games with Xavier, he wants to do sporty things all the time and he is the child who is always most eager to spend time outdoors.

There you have it! Here's the boys' Easter picture.