Day ONE of school!

Today was the first good day in a long time. Reuben had a one day illness and Esther is on the mend. But she broke out in spots! Remember in January when I had a spotty Esther? Esther is spotty now but they are pitted and more itchy. Poor Esther. Hopefully she will be better soon. These spots are on the backs of her legs, arms, and much less on her face than before. Why? I can only guess. At least she is feeling better, although a bit itchy. Whatever it is, I hope it isn't contagious and I hope she heals soon. I suspect HFM, but I'm not an expert.

I don't think its chicken pox given that Reuben and Becky are spot free and have never had chickenpox. Reuben had one day of a fever and feeling ill but he's back to himself today.

My 5th grader and 2nd grader!

Anyway, we started school. Today we did just the "together" subjects, or what I call morning time. We did devotions and prayers, poetry, hymns, bible verses, picture study, phonics, paper sloyd and painting. Then I did some math with Becky. Tomorrow we will start to add in the other various subjects and get the ball rolling! I'm so excited. 

My health is really not good these days. Hoping it improves soon. I like to give 100 percent to my family and when I have a stomachache, no energy, high blood sugar, and/or an allergy attack I can't do that. And sometimes I have all those things at once, and even more...little problems that drive me crazy, like eyesight issues, pain that comes and goes...breathing issues...sigh. I don't like thinking about this. 

I need to learn to rest, and be happy with the body God has given me, but I do wish my body could do more, like go out in the evenings and have time for friends. Sometimes I feel so stuck and at those times I have to remind myself of what I do have: a lovely family, a beautiful house, an amazing hardworking husband and an atmosphere of peace and joy that I can cultivate and grow. God really is good. 

Last week was really hard as it was also the due date for the baby I lost in October. I kept thinking "I should be holding my newborn now. I should be introducing the new baby to Esther and she'd be a big sister" and then I'd start crying and it just wasn't a good week.  Miscarriage is never easy and I am so tired of having them. Another reason my body sucks and I wish I was healthier. I'm not getting any younger, and while I am so blessed to have three beautiful children who are amazing and spoil me every day--I always wanted a big family--and as time goes on that dream becomes less and less of a reality. Some day soon I will hit menopause, probably in the next 5 to 8 years, and then it won't be a maybe or a if but a dream in the past that can never come true. And that is hard to face. When I had my first miscarriage I was in my 20s. My last one I was 37. I am now 38, and wondering what is next. I've had seven miscarriages and I miss each baby. 

I didn't want to end on such a sad note, but Esther is throwing a fit because her kombucha cup is empty and my full cup sitting here next to me isn't at all the vogue she was dreaming of. 

Okay...

 Well, um, hi. Everything is terrible.

First off, Esther has a temperature of 103 and it's our first day of school. Can we all laugh together? So I don't start crying? Reuben is sick too, but not as a bad. Becky feels better after her herb bath.

School? Yeah, didn't happen. 

Screen time? Yeah. Uh. Let's not talk about it. Esther is two and only wants me to hold her unless she's listening to Elsa and Anna sing. Or Bluey. She loves Bluey. I think we watched at least 12 episodes today.

I did notice that I made an error in math in my budget post so I fixed that and I deleted the title of my last blog because no, there will not be a part two to our last week of summer vacation, because that was full of arguing with my husband and crying and being so anxious I couldn't move...but we won't talk about that.

Everything is fine in that department now. I think. Communication is hard and this is 13 years of marriage in a economy that's beyond dumpster fire and I have three children (who are wonderful) who desire food at a bare minimum of three times a day. Why is everything so expensive? 

I'm going to make cookies now and who cares if we are all getting sick, this is a cookie kind of day. 

It's a good thing I have Jesus. 

Budget July 20-26th

Last week we ended up with $140 leftover. This week we had 1,100 for the week, with the $140 added that made 1,240.

We wanted to pay our home taxes this week--they are due in December and that's always a bad month to have an extra bill with Christmas. But we were not able to swing it. 

What we Spent July 20-26th:

• Credit Card Payment $200
• Tithe $50
• Homeschool Stuff $33
• Hobby Lobby School Supply Run $111
• Natural Path Visit / Supplement Purchase $170
• Chick-fil-a for the kids $22
• Taproots (bought electrolyte powder x2) $75
• Savings $100
• Walmart $212
• Withdraw from bank (fun money/ farmers market fund) $100
• Pizza night for kids and hubby (I can't eat it) $38
• Gas $31  

All together that was $1,142 which means it was $98 from our budget. And I didn't get to Krogers for some groceries I really needed. Um, this week caused me to be really introspective. I don't think I"ll be going to the natural path again, we can't afford it--she is 145 an hour and I also purchased a probiotic. (I love my natural path though and she's helping me a lot with my health but yes, it is an added expense). 

We ate out twice, and we probably shouldn't do that while we are trying to get our budget under control. We did need the homeschool supplies. We have been out of oil paints forever and our paintbrushes are literally glued together, we needed paper and clay for earring making (that is what Becky chose for her craft this term) but I suppose I could have waited to buy a few other of our school supplies until next week. We also could have cut back on Walmart. We did buy a $40 box of diapers with our groceries but that $18 sweater I really wanted I could have done without (but it's so cute and it goes with everything I own, and it would be perfect for fall!). I could have only bought one electrolyte powder--see the kids like a different flavor and I hate that flavor and last time I only bought their flavor so I wanted my flavor but we also needed theirs... but...but... you see how it goes. I use the powder at the gym every week.

SO this week was a disaster in slight impulse shopping and eating out. And we had no bills going through this week or it would have been a nightmare. 

Honestly I think I forgot to check our budget when I was out. Each time I was like, this seems reasonable, and it wasn't until I got home to clock it in that I realized we were cutting it really close. 

I'm sitting down doing our budget for next week on paper right now--the 27th of July to the 2nd of August and we really need to pay that tax bill! And we have to pay off our credit card in the next two weeks and that's another $346... So, next week will be interesting to hash out...

The Last Week of Summer Break

Just like the first week of summer break, the last week has surprised me with Hard Things. In the summer I always get smacked over the head with thoughts about home improvement. And I don't mean the kind that starts with a hammer and nails. 

I guess self-reflection is not tenable while teaching two kids, managing my home and chronic illness and trying to find time for myself and my husband and laundry. But in the summer when things are more relaxed it's like the issues stand out! Suddenly they are everywhere and I'm confronted with my own selfishness, my children's moods, the fingerprints on our walls and the fact that I haven't swept under my fridge in six months. 

Our family needs to work on unity and screen time consumption. Our media hours have been through the roof this summer but my husband says not to worry about it--we do very little screen time during school. But I am Worrying About It. I don't have a time machine and I can't go back and change it so I am trying to take steps to reduce our screen time this week and of course my lovely children don't like that. And honestly neither do I. It has been a lesson in perseverance and discipline. But I know it is better for the atmosphere of my home, and thus we go on. We all like each other better when there is not copious amounts of noise and distractions around. 

So what did we do this week? On Monday I set up some stations around for Esther to play with during school and organized her toys. Keeping her entertained will be half of the day! We are stocked up on play dough and Elsa and Anna have their own shelf. 

On Tuesday I had a painting class with Becky! We had a ton of fun! This was also Reuben's last day being sick and he ended it with a killer ear infection. No one in our house has had an ear infection in at least a year so I was stumped as to what to do. I knew I knew what to do, or at least I did, but what was it? I started with putting colloidal silver in his ear but it didn't work and then I finally remembered garlic drops which did the trick. 

On Wednesday we drove up to visit my natural path and friend, Kim Fuhrmann and had a meeting with her to get some insight into my health. I'm going to keep doing what I am doing and add in a probiotic at night.

We also got in a walk somewhere in the week and worked on the kids free reads.

On paper it was a good week but we dealt with a lot of hard attitudes, mine included. I think transitions are always hard and I don't know why I forget that every year! What kid wants to end their free time and go back to school? I mean some parts of it are exciting but it's also a lot of work. And for me too, as Mom and Teacher. 

We all treated ourselves to bubble tea and lots of animal crossing to compensate. Forget what I said about screen time, it's the last week of summer break. What was I thinking?

If you want to visit my dream island, there it is. I love my island-- I guess it's a norm core. With flowers. I have lots of flowers.

Becky has her own island too that she wants to share soon as it's done! And now I need to go start my day...I woke up at 4:30 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I definitely need a nap today...hope the baby will take one with me!

Budget Talk

We have done a lot of different things with budgeting. I've done the envelope method at the beginning of our marriage followed by using YNAB. Now we wanted something free but also not cash all the time--and I've been using this budgeting sheet I made on Canva. The link will take you to Canva where you can edit it, or you can download it here below. 

I see a lot of budgets for monthly--but I needed a weekly one. So, obviously you would write what week it is--for example I just did our budget for the week of the 13th-19th--in the first box, and the income for the week in the second. Then you list your expenses (like "ice cream" or "gas") followed by the price and subtract the price from the income box to get your running total. 

I love it, and it's free! I just have to remember to log each purchase as it comes. I write two items in each expense box because we wouldn't have enough space if I didn't do that.

Here is what we spent for July 13th-19th in case you are interested. Every family is different so don't compare! 

First I paid our HSLDA membership. When we started 5 years ago it was only 100 a year but now it's up to 150 a year. I have never had any issues legally with homeschooling but I like to have the membership just in case. If you don't know what HSLDA is, they will help you with any legal troubles over homeschooling--say the state says they didn't receive your paperwork or tries to ask you for information that they legally can't, HSLDA will help. Even with bigger issues like child protective services or police cases as long as it's related to homeschooling, they will help. 

For obvious reasons of brevity I always round up to the nearest dollar. Makes the math neat and easy. 

• HSLDA $150
• Vitamens $145
• Liver Supplement $46
• Phone (mine) $25
• Audible $23
• Credit Card Payment 100
• Gym Membership $95
• Tithe 
• Water Bill (budgeted 60 it was $68 this month--lots of sprinkler use here)
• Withdrawal $80 (spent 40 at the farmers market, rest is in my wallet for fun money)
•  Kroger $180 (this was my shopping trip)
• Walmart $239 (this was my husband's shopping trip, but I had things on the list for him. Our biggest $$ items were a tub of maple syrup for $17 and frozen hamburgers for $18)
• Gas 26.71
• Savings 100

This was everything we spent. As you can see, our grocery budget is kind of out of control.  $439 for the week for a family of 5? Next week we will try to keep it under $100. 

But we do have three very hungry kids? And I try to eat healthy...(organic when we can as long as it's not insanely different price wise) but my husband buys junk food often (which annoys me but he's a grown man so I won't complain and I"ll just love him and try to keep feeding him kale.)

I have no idea how this compares to what everyone else in the world spent, but there we have it. Anyway, that left us with $140 unaccounted for in our budget that will roll into next week. Some weeks we have piano lesson payments (we pay every 4 months) or raw milk share payments and those are quite crazy so I try to save up for them. Right now I am getting a quart of keifer, 2 gallons raw milk and 1/2 lb raw butter a week and that adds up!

I'll be honest, some weeks we cut it quite close. Inflation has been crazy, in other years we did all this and more--I regularly bought new clothes for myself and Reuben and I were also taking violin lessons. Now we carefully budget each week. 

I'm so grateful for the ways God has blessed our little family and how we are able to meet everyone's needs (Becky gets new shoes this week!) with what my husband can provide. God is so good, and I try to remember that when I get frustrated. I want to be a good steward of what He has provided. 

Year 4 and Year 1 Nature Notebooks

Our homeschool nature journals! This was Reuben's Year 4 and Becky's Year 1. What a wonderful year it was. We all grew so much and I can't wait to see what we draw, sketch and paint next year!  

We got outside so much more than last year (when we had a 1 year old baby) and Esther has loved the nature walks and activities almost as much as the older two. Although lagging behind with a baby was hard on her mama who did not get to chat as much with adults. Oh, well, nature group is about the kids but community sure is fun all around. 

Here is to next year and more nature!

Normalcy?

Well, Esther is sick. Poor Esther. She has a very stuffy nose and a low grade fever and I can tell she feels bad. But she's two, so she still has 600% more energy then she needs... also, she woke up 7 times last night so her mama and her dada are tired. SO today was interesting. 

I did a little bit of deep cleaning, and a lot of holding a sick baby. I luckily had leftovers for lunch and made fried rice and garlic bratwursts for dinner. It was so good! For desert I had a chopped apple with a little bit of pudding drizzled on top, with peanut butter and sugar free carob chips. So delicious. 

Yesterday we had nature group at my friend Melissa's new homestead. She has a little over three acres (I'm not completely sure on the specifics) in the beautiful countryside. She has room for her goats, ducks, chickens and all four of her children! All of them seem over the moon in love with their new property and it was so fun to congregate there and enjoy the open skies. I know they will do so much with it!! I have two friends house hunting right now and I hope they too find their forever homes. 

I've given up on convincing my husband to move and am trying to get used to this being our forever home and not giving in to crying or holding resentment. I mean, our house is great, it's just not what I wanted. But I don't want to talk about that right now. 

Anyway, my husband is back in the office. He's been texting me the temperatures. For some reason his floor is still hot. It was 85f one day and 90f the next. But the lab (and other floors) are 70f and so he's been spending more time there. He says the equipment on his floor is still putting off too much heat but they are working on it and it should improve next week. I still think this is crazy. But it gets even crazier. Remember when I talked about the air conditioner that fell through the ceiling? I didn't think it could get worse, but it did. The crane they were using to install the new air conditioner was so heavy it broke some water pipes below the ground. But no one knew about it right away because they are underground right? Until the water started puddling and now there is a massive sink hole there and the crane started to sink into it! Crazy. I feel like there are going to be multiple lawsuits related to the air conditioner issues at my husband's engineering office job. I mean, what?

My husband said the hole was paved over now. But still. What a wild crazy story. 

He also said we have a 2 ton air conditioner for our house and wanted me to guess how big the one for his work was. I guessed 30. But, no, they have two 25-ton air conditioners for his workplace. 

That's a lot of air conditioning. Hopefully it cools off his floor soon.

Poor Esther is so sick and I hope no one else catches it. Tomorrow's the weekend and I'm beyond excited for some rest! Here I am hoping I am not up all night with a sick baby and wake to more sick kids (or get sick myself) but at least I have soup in the freezer.

Goodnight!

The last few days...

I feel like I'm holding my breath for summer to be over. Only one week left (after this) and then we will do a week of trickling in slow before I start school full-time in August. I'm so excited but I'm also nervous. Can I really juggle it all again? Time will tell. 

Reuben's downstairs making cookies right now and my mom said she's going to try to visit today. I have no idea what's for lunch but here I am blogging! I have really enjoyed writing here this summer and I hope I can keep it up during the school weeks but who knows. I am not going to stress about it! 

Monday we went out for a breakfast family meeting. I like to do one before the beginning of the year! We go out, have snacks, and drinks and relax together as a family. I try to inspire us all that we are in this together and instill some comradely into everyone's spirt. Sometimes I can't get my kids to pay attention but I work with what I've got. 

Becky was drawing in my notebook and left it at the coffee shop by accident and she came home and made me another one with staples and our paper sloyd paper. Isn't that just sweet? I plan to go back to look for it later, but I haven't had time yet...

Tuesday, after piano lessons, we spent 3 hours at the pool and it was lovely. Everyone had meltdowns after. Perhaps we stayed too long. I usually only stay 2 hours... it was okay. We got through it (and I had dinner in the crock pot waiting for us). Esther took an hour nap when we got home but then she cried for about 45 minutes after she woke up, and Becky was crying too. Definitely hard times for this mama, but we all did great and the night's sleep seems to have rejuvenated everyone.

Tomorrow we have nature group! Friday I have a thermography scan and plans to finish up the deep cleaning in my house. How are you all? 

Stripe Hype Sweater

I finished my stripe hype sweater. I mean, it's hardly sweater weather in the middle of July, but It's Done! I didn't even need to block it. 

I used stash yarn--all fingering weight knit picks wool yarn. I ran out of some colors and had to improvise a few times but it still turned out lovely and I am obsessed. I can't wait to wear this all fall!

I need to bribe a child to get a full body shot. 

Because I used so many colors there were a million ends to weave in. I feel like that is what took the longest. 

Oh, but I love it and all the pink/purple/blue goodness. All the colors are my favorite and I swear my fashion icons are a mix between the rainbow and Miss Frizzle from the magic school bus. You only live once, why not make it magical? 

Days I finish a knitting or crochet project are the best days. 

Talking about Blake Lively

First of all, I found a list of all the creators subpoenaed by Blake Lively's legal team. Is anyone else following that? It's crazy. I don't understand why her lawyer, Esra Hudson, is filing all these subpoenas with independent Youtubers--if she thinks Wayfair or Justin Baldoni paid them to make slanderous videos about Blake Lively, an easy subpoena to Wayfair or Baldoni parties would give all the financial information. Why is she after these little content creators?? 

Of course they won't find any such malicious information. I do not believe these YouTube personalities like Candace Owens, Popcorn Planet, Without a Crystal Ball, et cetera, were paid to make those videos! There is no smear campaign from Baldoni's side. Obviously Blake had one going against Justin, that I would believe. I clearly think she's the one behind that NYT article. 

Clearly I am Team Baldoni and I have been for a long time--since Justin put up that website with all the texts and audio/video of the movie. Um, I have never seen the movie It Ends With Us or read the book. I'm just here for the drama? That's okay, right? 

The subpoenas from Esra Hudson are crazy if you read them. They want tons of personal information, emails, bank numbers, everything. I don't know how they will be able to fight the subpoena in such a short time. The deadline on the subpoena reads next Wednesday, but google says they have until the end of July. If you want to read it, Kjersti Flaa shows the subpoena she got in her most recent video, if you pause and make the screen big you can read some of it. (actually without a Crystal ball has a better picture of it) 

Seeing Justin and Blake continue their legal fight has been hold-my-popcorn insane to this exhausted mom of three who needs something to watch when crocheting and something to take her mind off dirty diapers and sinks full of dishes. I wonder if it ever really will go to trial and what will happen. If it does, I, and the rest of the world will be watching. 

If you have no idea what I am talking about, you are probably better off. I should stay in my own lane, but sometimes that is blurred with celebrity pop culture rabbit trails. At least rabbits are cute, which is more than I can say about Blake Lively. I feel really sorry for her and I hope she learns her lesson. People do bounce back from this sort of thing. Look at the Dixie Chicks, they were able to save face after they totally trashed America when they were on tour in France in 2003. Also, no one seems to remember that Kanye West dissed Taylor Swift at the MTV music awards (okay he's had other controversial issues since but still, that seems forgotten...) so there is hope for Blake? Maybe? I'll certainly never forget it. 

I feel the most sorry for her kids. I hope no one talks to them about this and they can have as normal a life as possible. I hope the same for Justin's kids. Kids dragged into lawsuits over their parents fighting is tragic collateral damage. Protect all the kids! But to the whole world it's pretty obvious Blake lied and she lost her best friend and "Dragon" Taylor Swift over it. I'm forever referring to my besties as Dragons now. LOL.

Blake's putting forth a brave face but I hope she learns from this. Even the elite lie, and no one has it all together. Even the elite who seem to have it all want more. Blake is willing to cheat, lie, and use her pretty face to get what she want as she stands on the backs of real victims shouting for a justice that isn't hers to have. 

I get it, everyone should be able to make mistakes and move on from them. When you are in the public eye it is hard when your every move seems to be watched! But Blake filed a slanderous lawsuit against Baldoni calling him a predator and saying he sexually harassed her. I can't believe he had to be in the basement of his own premier! A lawsuit full of lies doesn't happen by accident and she needs to be held accountable. The NYT should be ashamed of themselves for the manipulative article they put out about the case! The whole thing shows how much power money really does buy you, and how guilty we think men are just by a mere word that someone rich and famous may drop.

I totally think we should investigate each and every reported instance of sexual misconduct of any kind, but innocent until proven guilty, even if that guilt is crowd funded--is what I stand by. 

That's my two cents, what do you guys think? 

Shopping Day

We did a lot of shopping today--for a couple who never shops! It seems to happen once or twice a year. First we went to the farmers market where we bought some sourdough bread. I do make it occasionally but buying it is satisfying too. I also bought a pair of earrings for $4. They have strawberries on them and I love them!

Then we went to look at math curriculums at a local store. It was quite hard to browse while navigating a toddler. Finally we had Becky and Reuben walk Esther over to the toy section so we could chat about math. We ended up buying Rod and Staff books for both kids and I won't tell you how much it costs...but it was a lot. That's okay, curriculum is important. I'm so glad to have that over with! I was overthinking/stressing about math for awhile now...I think the kids and I will both enjoy this new math curriculum this fall. 

Then we walked over to hobby lobby and I bought a new planner for our home-school year and also some really cute erasers, because why not. I also found some doll clothes for Anna and Elsa, who we picked up over the last few weeks at two different thrift stores, and who are quite without wardrobe options. For 6.99 they now have 5 dresses to share between the two. Elsa is wearing blue (so typical) and Becky put Anna in pink. 

my erasers <3

Then we went out to eat for Reuben's birthday. We have a tradition that the birthday boy or girl gets to pick the restaurant for lunch! Reuben wanted wings, so we went to Buffalo Wild Wings. I got a bunless burger with fries and it was really good. I was afraid I wouldn't like anything there so I was extremely surprised to enjoy it, until...

Esther alternated between crying for soda and climbing on things, and screeching at the top of her lungs. (Hah) Which is super great when in a more adult-ish restaurant...She ended up eating half my fries while watching bluey on Brian's phone out of sheer desperation. Dining out with a baby is hard, I had forgotten. We don't eat out much. Brian and I both realized we should have bought an appetizer to distract her, or brought a toy, or all of the above...

We honestly don't let our kids drink soda. This was Reuben's second ever soda. He tried soda for the first time at 9 and he was shocked that we let Esther try it today at 2. But what could we do? It was at the table and she was at the table... and it definitely won't be a staple in our household, that's for sure. 

After Esther fell asleep on the way home and totally skipped her nap after I tried to transfer her, we went to Target for some back to school shopping. I got index cards and pencils and notebooks and a new dress  and stickers for the kids to decorate everything, and boba to make boba tea some time...it was a hodgepodge of cart clutter! Brian brought jello, promptly went home and made it and now everyone's lips are tinged pink. Except mine, diabetics don't eat jello. 

While there I spied this bag in the teen section. It looks like something my grandma would have loved. And it looks like a bag I am convinced my mother bought from goodwill just the other day! Is gen-z getting back into cottage core because let me tell you I am here for it. 9 year old me would love to fall headfirst into a knockoff Vera Bradley bag. 38 year old me honestly would need a bigger shoulder strap. 

The end of the week draweth nigh! Summer is coming to a close and I am praying for a good year for our little family. One that glorifies God in the upmost!  May that be ever on our lips.

Crochet Flower Bracelet

You Need

• worsted weight yarn
• 4.5mm crochet hook
• fingering yarn (for flower)
• 2.5mm crochet hook
• button (approximately .8 inches / 21mm) 

Cuff:

These are USA crochet terms. Using the worsted weight yarn and 4.5mm crochet hook, Ch 7.

I start each row with a starting double crochet st (see video) but you can also chain 2. For brevity I will put SDCS.

R1: sdcs, 6 dc (7sts)

R2: sdcs, ch 1, 1dc, ch 1, 1 dc, ch1, 1 dc (the ch1 count as a st, so skip a dc in the row below)

R3: sdcs, 6 dc. (one dc in the ch1 space, then one in the top of the previous round dc)

Repeat R2-3 until bracelet wraps around arm. For size 7-years old, I repeated it 5 more times. For a size medium adult, repeat 6 more times. It's very stretchy! You can stop on the end of row 2 as well for a smaller size.

When done, single crochet around the bracelet doing two single crochet stitches in each corner. I did two sc stitches per DC st on the side and 7 across the top and bottom. sl st into the first sc and ch1, break yarn leaving a long tail to sew on the button if you wish. 

Flower:

Using fingering yarn and a 2.5mm crochet hook, do 16 dc into a magic loop. sl st into the first dc.

R1: ch 6, and single crochet into the front post of the first DC. X3

repeat *ch 6, sc into front post of the next DC* three times in each DC around. 

Then your flower is done, and all that is left is to sew the flower on and the button, and wear. My daughter loves it! 

Reuben Turns 10

Reuben's birthday celebration was today, and we celebrating him turning 10. It was a beautiful balmy summer day and we had a little party for him at our house with carrot cake (his favorite) and sourdough pizza. He invited his friends and had a wonderful time.

I didn't take many pictures between hunting for Esther, fetching things and cooking...I feel like every year its less! But it was such a wonderful day. After the party we went swimming at the local pool and Reuben spent most of the time on the high dive with his friends! 

Then we all came home after sun, snacks and swimming and took showers. Chlorine always makes my skin feel weird for 24 hours or so... Esther fell asleep to Wall-E, the movie Reuben picked, while I did the rest of the cleaning up after the party. We all had another round of cake and ice cream! 

What a wonderful beautiful day to celebrate Reuben. We ended the day with daddy making stir-fry shrimp and playing Reuben's choice of family game--Upwards. It's unnecessary to say how proud of Reuben I am and how amazing he is...I love you Reuben Alexander and I am so blessed to be your mama. Love you so much! In 10 more years he will be 20 and that sounds unfathomable. He's growing up so fast! He's so smart and funny and he loves jokes, crochet, reading, cooking...not to mention Minecraft and Super Mario. 

Thank you Jesus for giving me the gift of Reuben. 

Thursday

I've been reading Clarissa by Samual Richardson. It reminds me of Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy if it was mixed with Elsie Dinsmore. The book is written (at least in the beginning) in a series of letters mostly between two best friends. It's surprisingly stressful to read and I haven't been enjoying it much, but it was apparently a pivotal novel of the time. Should I finish it? Should I abandon it? I don't know. 

We had bagels for breakfast. After, we cleaned Becky's bedroom and I found where all the apples are disappearing...I thought it was Esther, but in Becky's room I found one half eaten apple, one with only a few bites taken out of it, and two whole apples. I guess it could still be Esthers fault...but Becky says she usually takes an apple to bed as a snack and forgets to eat it. Hah. 

The kids and I ran to the thrift store today. The first thing we found was this lovely wooden doll house for Becky! It was only $15 and in amazing condition. And it fit perfectly in the van. She loves it. I also bought two shirts that I thought would fit me but on retuning home did not. I really need to figure out what size I am or try things on in the store (but that's impossible with two kids and a baby...) I'm either a medium or a large depending on brand/sizing. It's a little hard to figure out. I'm pear shaped so in dresses/skirts I am a large or x/l and sometimes I've even needed a 1x in bottoms. I think I'm a size USA 12/14 on bottoms and a 8/10 on top. 

Well, Reuben has been wanting a cotton candy maker for a while and we found one for $5 at the thrift store and he was so happy! We hardly ever find things for him since boys generally wear out their clothes and legos don't make it to thrift stores. He brought it home and it works! We just need something to favor and color the sugar.

My allergies have been abysmal today. I'm suffering and my nose is suffering and this is zero percent fun. Can we be done with allergies now? I never have them! Why now? Ugh. I thought they were done because I had a few days without any but they are just as bad now as they were in early spring...

I was deep cleaning our bedroom today and made a hasty lunch at noon of PBJ sandwiches with a side of grapes and served it all with a keifer smoothie. Small lunches call for snacks, so after finishing up my clean I made sourdough cracker snack plates with cheese and pepperoni. Yum! I had a lot of discard left over after making sourdough pizza crusts for Reuben's birthday party tomorrow, so I also prepped some greek yoghurt discard flatbreads for dinner. I'm making soup for dinner and I feel like it would go perfectly. 

During all that my mom came over and I took some time to start a new book--Waverley by Sir Walter Scott. It's so much better than Clarissa. Mom played math and letter games with the kids and they were thrilled. Somewhere in the middle of it all Esther had a nap. 

Only three more weeks of summer break--and tomorrow is Reuben's birthday party! I am about to go to Goodwill and look for pajamas for Esther. She's outgrowing everything. 

Interim Days

I have a little bit of sunburn from our lake day on Monday and it's in the pealing stage. By the way, I wore a hat the whole time and stayed in the shade, who knew you could get sunburned like that?  Becky got a little sunburn on her T zone, even though I did put sunscreen on the kids and they wore their hats for most of the time too. Oh well. It isn't a terrible sunburn but it does make me look like a tomato. At least I don't feel like a tomato.

There is supposed to be a huge storm sometime this evening! We are forecast for over an inch of rain, isn't that crazy? I need to go roll the tarps up on our windows before it hits. Right now it is sunny and 95f and we are indoors reading books and relaxing with snacks of cheese.

I made a berry crisp this morning for breakfast and served it with yogurt and honey. My dear friend Kim came over for lunch and I made BLTs. They were delicious. I plan on making some type of pork chop meal for dinner but I am not quite sure which yet. Maybe I should go down and throw those chops in the slow cooker with an onion and an apple and spices...I think I just might.

We are preparing here for Reuben's birthday party which will be celebrated this Friday. I'm making sourdough pizzas for everyone since the party is through lunch time! He's so excited. He's invited all his special friends, Eli and Zebb and Danny and William and Vivian and Aslan and Uriah, and the Fisher boys (there are 6, I forget all their names...). Sadly the Fishers can't come they said they have plans with swim friends. Eli and Zebb and William and Vivian are all coming (thats three families there), and Danny is a maybe, Aslan and Uriah's mom just messaged me with a perhaps as well! Should be a full house here, and much fun and pizza and cake will be had. Reuben's favorite is carrot cake so that is what I will be making. He likes to get a store-bought cake but we have one friend with an egg allergy so I always make an egg-free equivalent. What kind of kid likes carrot cake for his birthday? My kid, of course. 

I always expect the week after a birthday for someone to get sick, so I am also making soup to freeze. Which now that I expect it...probably won't happen. Oh well, it will eventually happen and we will eat the soup. I need to do a week of freezer prep before school starts in August...

I've been grieving so many things this July. Mostly a good friendship that has slowly died these last three years. She was my very best friend and I don't know what happened. I talked about this a little bit in different post but this one is still hitting hard. She's been throwing up boundary after boundary for the past three years and now when I text her she doesn't even reply--for days. Sometimes not at all. I think she has my text muted. And I don't know what happened! I don't know what I did. I still bring her meals when she asks through group texts, because we are on a few groups together. Sometimes I see she replies to group things but never to me, and it hurts. 

I still try to support her, but she doesn't want my friendship. Behavior is a language and her behavior tells me she doesn't want anything to do with me. Which is sad because her kids are best friends with my kids and I'm not sure how to navigate that. When I ask her in person about her silence, she just says she's busy or tired, so for a while I was worried about her being depressed but I don't think that's it.

I thought we were better friends than she did? Or she is withdrawing from the friendship for some reason. Honestly, it's probably both. The hard thing is I can't do anything unless she talks to me and tells me what is wrong. 

I am letting go. And trying to be okay, but I'm not okay. It's hard when your best friend ghosts you. I hope she's happy, and I hope one day we can be friends again. 

That's the biggest thing I'm grieving lately. That and my health, which this week has been abysmal. I've been tired and struggling and not able to do much, but I am hoping that is a season as well. I haven't been exercising as much and I have been eating ice cream sometimes (I usually avoid all sugar) so I think upping my cardio and cutting out the sweets will help. 

I also tried to make an appointment with my natural path and even confirmed the day and time only to have her tell me later she meant to tell me for the week after that, and I am not free that week. Ugh! So now we are fishing around for another day to meet. Crazy things do happen, but only to me. Okay, that's a lie I tell myself, but still, last time I made an appointment with her she forgot to put it in the books and gave it to someone else and that's why I confirmed my current one, only to have a kerfuffle all over again!

I can only laugh. Everyone makes mistakes, even me. I'm sure she feels terrible! 

Well, that's all that's going on in my life besides the huge and colossal argument my husband and I had over the weekend, but that's a story for another day. And yes we still love each other. Being married is hard. 

I wonder how much rain we will actually get? One inch is a lot. It's days like these I'm glad we don't have a basement. 

Week 9, Days 1 and 2

Week 8 ended with helping a couple from our church move to their new farm about 30 minutes from the city. I helped mostly with packing up their old house and only a little bit with moving into their new one! But a lot of their friends and people from our church were there so it went quick. Afterwards we all had lunch around 2. 

Sunday I was in the nursery at church and we all felt tired from the move Saturday. Esther Rose is starting to like the nursery which is quite nice. Here she is with her baby cooking for the nursery worker (me) and being cute as a button. Becky was my helper this time and loved coloring with the other littles at the table.

We didn't swim last week which was a nice needed break. 

The rest of Sunday was spent in recovery and contemplation. There are so many things I need to work on in my life and no time! The ever-revolving chore roulette is all consuming. The loneliness is palatable. Maybe if I wait long enough it will all work itself out. I'm praying and cleaning and trying to have community. 

Monday Brian took off so we went to Mill Creek Lake and had a blast in the lake! We had the whole lake to ourselves for an hour! It was such fun to relax and watch the kids swim and splash. We met a new friend from a local pool who lives out that way and it was nice to hang with someone new. She has kids exactly the same ages as my oldest two and the same genders as well. It was perfect. 

And now it's Tuesday, full of piano lessons for Becky with a whole house to clean and I just want to curl up in bed and eat chips while listening to an audio book. Well, life is never about ease and rest and here I go to start on the chores with the kids and figure out what is for lunch and make my to-do list! Mothering goes on, and so do I. 

Summer Break, Week 8, 4th of July

Happy 4th! I've been having a week of really bad allergies and it's no fun. I've been tired and struggling to find energy after 4pm. It's been rough. I have been attempting to rest this week and not agonize myself with guilt over everything that isn't getting done. Usually I try to ignore my chronic illness, or whatever it is I have, but it has been unavoidable lately. Though my blood sugar has been okay...ish. My highest this week was 156 but last week my highest was around the 170s. But my brain fog and fatigue have been debilitating. My heart has been acting up at that always scares me. It's not fun to have your heart jumping around and frightening you out of your wits with irregular beats while you are trying to parent. 

Yesterday we went to Nature Group, our co-op, at Old City Cemetery. It was as beautiful as could be! I have not been here in years and years and my two youngest children have never been (maybe Becky did as a baby?) but Reuben remembered. We met up with two other lovely ladies and had a great nature walk. We found a butterfly bush with beautiful purple flowers and also played under a magnolia tree. You might think it's weird to meet in a Cemetery but it's not quite a cemetery--though there are graves--it's more like a museum. 

There were even goats to feed! When we were feeding said goats, one of them was greedy and grabbed the plastic bag and gulped it down, pellets and all. He just nipped it right through the fence! We went back and told the lady in the gift shop in case it was an issue...I think it's fine though. The kids thought it was hilarious. When we ran out of the pellets everyone started feeding the goats grass. 

I don't know why but everyone seems to have woken up in a bad mood today. It's only 9am and I've had to break up ever so many fights between the children and soothe many a tear. My husband also seems grumpy, and with my allergies I'm struggling too. Husband needs a break but all three of our children keep intentionally and unintentionally pushing his buttons. I finally had him sit down with his coffee while Becky did her morning chore and things seem to be calming down.

It's really hard to have three lovely kids who need you all at the same time, while simultaneously you yourself need a break. Parenting keeps me on my toes. I need a vacation. I love my kids and would do anything for them, I really would, but I also need 15 minutes to myself sometimes! Everyone needs breaks, but scheduling them and breathing through the interruptions...thats where the real trial is!

Anyway, I cut my hair myself last week. I really like it. It was getting abominably long and giving me headaches especially when I try to exercise or swim. It isn't as short as it looks in this picture, I layered it (or tried) and it's longer in the back. I need to go in and clean up the ends, but right now I'm just enjoying lighter hair and less weight on my neck. 

My mom also was able to visit last week and that was lovely. 

Oh! And I ordered most of Reuben's year 5 books for Ambleside. I'm so excited I even got Becky's year 2 books out and put them all on a shelf so I can stare at them. I can't wait to read Robin Hood, The Little Duke, Understood Betsy...there are so many good books in year 2. The only one I really don't want to read is Burgess Animal Book. Maybe I'll find a substitution for that. Well, dreamy homeschool plans are floating through my head and I'm picturing cozy mornings reading to the kids with tea and scones. They are less excited but I am in the air castle construction phrase of homeschool planning. I need to make a list of school supplies we need... I thought there wasn't much but actually we do need things like pencils and modeling clay and white paper to draw on. And each kid needs a new math book and Esther should have a homeschool box for moments when I really need to concentrate. I'm hopeful this year will be better than last year...having a toddler in your homeschool is kinda crazy. It gets better when they can be brought into the fold in some manner with crayons or a busy book, but that doesn't really happen until around 3. 

I also finished my rainbow sweater! I have some ends to weave end and then I will block it and post pictures. I'm so excited to wear it this fall. I've already started on another crochet sweater that I also hope to finish before fall, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Here is to a day of vacation, relaxing, and grocery shopping. Happy Forth of July! 

A busy weekend

Saturday, we had Becky's piano performance. She did so amazing! I am in awe of her. She loves the piano and even though I can't play a note, she's doing amazing. It's all her because I don't play the piano! This makes "teaching" her during the week really hard. I can't sit down and show her what it's supposed to sound like. I can't understand sometimes when she plays it wrong. She really has to do all the work herself. 

The very next day we went to the early 4th of July celebration at a local mega church. It's always a crowded blast. The kids loved it. I was overwhelmed most of the time but we all had a lot of fun. And Esther loved the fireworks at the end! I was afraid she would be afraid, but she was fine.

Anyway, it's Monday now and 8pm and my husband just got off work. What a long day. We had a stay at home recovery day after our busy weekend and I did a lot of cleaning and chores. We also finished reading Becky's free read, All of a Kind Family. I loved the surprise ending and so did the kids. Becky immediately picked out the second book in the series All of a Kind Family Downtown. I can't wait to find out what Ella, Henny, Charlotte, Gertie and Sarah get up to in the next book!

Only four more weeks left for summer break. Counting this week, five. I'm so excited to get back to homeschooling and learning. Today I also did our homeschool paperwork, the notice of intent and proof of progress and mailed it off. I need to find a math curriculum for the kids as we are done with Masterbooks, and I need to check and make sure we don't need a new phonics or handwriting book for each kid. And we need more modeling clay. And I need a new planner. 

This week is a relax week, I have declared. I have some cleaning I need to do, think deep-cleaning, and I want to finish my novel about diamonds. The Eustace Diamonds. It's such a good book! I'm in over the moon with the writing and the depth and Anthony Trollope...it's perfection. Then I want to watch the whole BBC series from the 1970s (it's free on Youtube) and see if it lives up to the book. 

But today we will start with going to sleep early and hopefully being woken up less by my very adorable toddler. 

Paper Modelling: Kitchen Table, Pocket Book, Bed

More lovely Paper Modelling Tutorials for your homeschool. Here we have the Bed, Pocket Book, and Kitchen Table. Enjoy!

Another Pool Day!

Today my beautiful friend Mandy met us at the pool and we had an amazing time. Oh, it was the perfect day for the pool! It was cooler than two days ago when we went--only 85f instead of 99f. Also there was some cloud coverage. It was just perfect to lay in the pool with her and chat and hang with my husband and all the kids. We all had a smashing time and Becky finally tried the waterslide which she loved. 

I don't even know what else we did. Today was such a blur. Brian did the grocery shopping before swimming and Esther Rose took a beautiful 1.5 hour nap after swimming. I read my new book The Eustace Diamonds while she slept. Yes, I finished The Castle of Otranto and honestly, while I loved it halfway through by the end it was reminding me to much of Lady Macbeth. The twists at the end!! It was definitely a novel for an adult. My new book though is entirely consuming and entertaining.

What a day. 

The only picture I got was one of Esther Rose enjoying a chicken sandwich. Hah!

The pool was barely populated today, When we got there we even had it mostly to ourselves for a few minutes! 

Definitely a day to remember. 

Now that I am home and clean and the dinner dishes are put away I think we very much need a break from the pool. I don't know what next week holds but it probably doesn't hold much swimming. 

I also took a break from testing my blood sugar for today which was nice. 

God is so good and daily I try to renew my trust in him. Only four weeks of summer break left!!

Meria

This morning, we relaxed. I tried to sleep in, but alas we room in with my toddler so...I got pummeled in the face and mommy'd around 6:30. That's okay. My husband is so great and he took her down when he got out of the shower and I had a blissful 10 minutes until he had to leave for work...then all three of my lovely children came up to find out what I was doing. 

So I made pancakes. I'm fasting, so I didn't eat them. That's okay. Sometimes it's hard but sometimes it's life. I was starving so I decided to start eating at 10 and stop at 5 but I actually didn't get home until after 5 so I did have dinner at 6. Oh, well. Life, and I tried! 

For lunch we had egg salad wraps! They were good. With bacon and apple slices.

We had such a wonderful day. We rested in the morning and did chores. Becky found her stuffed animal that she lost weeks ago. It was wadded up in the sheets we keep for making forts! Yay! She was heartbroken to lose her favorite bunny snuggle and now it's back again and peace is in our house. 

We had lunch and Esther's nap. My husband had to go into the office and his office is still closed so he had to be escorted around the premises. He said it was down to 70 degrees there which is great! The air conditioners are working slowly and they are turning things back on. I think he goes back to the office full time next week. I'm almost certain nothing this crazy will happen again anytime soon. Right? Hah.

After Esther's nap I did my first ever public school pick up and we went to get Meria (not real name), my friend Kim's foster son. He is in first grade at a local school and let me tell you I felt like an imposter in their driveway picking him up! Gone are the days of kids just running out to their parents cars like in my time---they had two teachers outside with walkie-talkies and you gave the name of the kid you were picking up and out they came! We had to take Meria to visitation with his mom downtown in an hour so first we went to the public library and chilled. It was around 99 degrees so I was so thankful for the library. My kids were thrilled to play on the computers and so was Meria. 

We also checked out some library books. After the library we dropped Meria off and walked around. We ended up getting ice cream downtown and playing at the new park.

We then picked Meria up and saw him hug his mommy for a long time. I know she loves him so much! I don't know their story and I didn't ask questions. I took the kids home to play in the sprinkler for an hour while I finished up dinner! This morning I was suave enough to put a big piece of meat in the slow cooker and set rice on a delay in the instant pot. I hastily made some veggies and we dined in style. The kids played out side for another hour then Kimmy came and picked up Meria, and my kids finished off the night by watching the Mario movie. Kim had three (or two?) teeth operated on! Pray for a quick recovery. 

I'm about to put Esther to bed, Brian is finishing mowing the lawn, and it's about to storm. Perfect night to end a fun day. Tomorrow Brian has off and I can't wait to spend the day with him, even if it's doing chores.

Pool Day

Another hot day. I was texting a friend that if hell had a winter I bet it would feel like today. Hah! It was a beautiful day for swimming. Unfortunately many others thought the same and the pool was packed! You can't really tell from the 4 pictures I managed to snap, but it was completely overflowing with swimmers. It was fine, just hard to keep an eye on my kids! 

I decided to take it easy this morning and I spent some time knitting and crocheting and relaxing. We heated up leftover fried rice for lunch and got ready for the pool. I tried something different this time and put everyone's sunscreen on before we left the house. It worked so well! I didn't have to listen to any whining about how much they wanted to get into the water while I slathered them up. 

It was over 100 today. And we all felt it. The pool was the place to be for sure. I was literally sweating every time I got out! The kids got hamburgers, french fries and watermelon at the pool (they serve free lunches for kids 17 and under) and they also bought a hotdog (Reuben) and each bought an ice cream. Seeing them get excited over treats is so fun for their mama. We don't buy junk food here, but they do get it sometimes when we go out. 

Esther was living her best life. She is a water baby for sure. Reuben was going off the diving board and stayed mostly in the deep end and made a friend! Becky paddled around but stayed near me. The concrete was boiling hot. You had to sprint or get burned feet! 

Reuben jumping off the diving board

It was so fun. I lasted two hours, then we changed and ran errands. I had to pick up a meat order, pick up my milk, and I dropped off some kombucha for a friend. Actually, I had extra bucha with me and I gave some to Arden who sells veggies right next to Restoration Acres, where I was picking up my meat. 

Esther slept on the way home and that was all the nap she got. Pool days are for swimming, not sleeping. I made popcorn and iced tea for a snack and they are all curled up watching Castle in the Sky. I, uh, haven't made any dinner. I think we will do PBJs and bananas and call it a night. That's what pool days are for right? 

Hot Tuesday

It's so hot! Supposed to be a high of 97 here but I'm sure it feels like it's over 100. I'm so thankful for air conditioning! We've had a broken air conditioner through at least 2 summers (never for the whole time, usually only for a few weeks) and I am praying every day ours does not decide to go legs up until at least fall this year.

Today has been such a good day besides the muffin mistake. Oh, and poor Esther Rose did fall off a chair, but she's okay. Being two is hard!

We started the day out by making muffins, only they went wrong somehow and tasted like soap. I think it is these reusable inserts. Anyway, we didn't figure it out until we served them at a friend's tea party. BUT luckily I figured it out first and threw them away before everyone tried one. Still a bit embarrassed about it if I'm honest! Of all the things! 

Regardless of the muffin-soap problem, we had a lovely tea party with my friend Emily and her kids. Anyway, recently I learned that there are more rabbit books about Peter and Benjamin bunny, and I had no idea! Emily read one at the party and then her son read a different one that I had never heard of! There is one about Benjamin who is married and has a slew of kids that almost get bagged by Mr. McGregor! And apparently there are more! I need them all for Esther, Peter Rabbit is her favorite book.  

After tea we went straight to Becky's piano lesson. It's her last lesson before the recital on Saturday! She's picking out her dress and we need to clean her shoes. 

Then we went home to lunch. Brian made curry and forgot to tell me he put honey in it, which as a diabetic I avoid. My blood sugar was 145 an hour after eating which isn't terrible but I wish he had let me know before I went back for seconds.   

Reuben's turning 10 soon so we planned a little birthday party for him and invited all his favorite people. I hope some can come! Summers are busy travel times for many families. But I'm so excited. We are doing a home party and I'm going to make lunch and he just wants to hang with his friends. I hope he has an excellent birthday. 10 is so big! He's been reading this summer and I love it. That was my favorite summer activity. His is swimming! He really wants a cotton candy machine for his birthday. This health-loving mama isn't sure if he will get one. 

We are having leftover fried rice for dinner. 

Grandma came over after Esther's nap and entertained the kids for a hour while I did laundry, cleaned the living/kitchen room, and wrote this post. I'm so happy she is able to come and hang and give me a break sometimes. I'm beyond grateful.

Brian's work office is still closed due to no air conditioning. I'm elated to having him working from home, seeing him for lunch is so fun. It feels special every day to look forward to him popping in and out to grab tea or use the bathroom and getting a 45 minute chunk with him for lunch is special. I know he has to go back whenever they fix his office, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can!

Summer Break Week 7, Day 1

Finally time to slow down after the crazy camp weeks! I highly doubt we will do any camps next year. 

Anyway, I finished Rachel Ray by Anthony Trollope. It was such a good lighthearted romance novel! Not like romance novels of today, I'm talking akin to Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. But actually the heroine (Rachel) reminds me mostly of Fanny Price from Mansfield Park, well, without much of Fanny's wit. Rachel is very timid. 

Rachel Ray is still a good novel and I enjoyed it. I kept it for the kids to read in high school but I don't think I will read it again.

Esther is napping by herself again! Today she did a short 45 minute nap by herself on the couch, and then she spent another 45 minutes contact napping with me. I'll take it. I'm so glad!! The 2 hour contact nap was literally sapping my energy. 

Anyway, it gave me time to read some of my new novel, The Castle of Otranto. First impressions: I'm so glad it isn't as long as The Mysteries of Udolpho because I stopped halfway through that book and I am not sure if I will ever pick it back up. It's too long. Maybe I should buy an abridged version. Anyway, I like the writing style of The Castle of Otranto. And I should finish it soon! 

I'm back to the gym today and my blood sugar is doing better, thank goodness. It was 110 one hour after eating lunch today. We had a salad (from fresh market) and ground sausage patties I made, roasted veggies and rice. I'm shocked! That's such a good number! I probably ruined it by having cake awhile later but I didn't check and what I don't see won't hurt me, right? Uh, I bet it's fine. It was a really tiny slice of cake.

We went to the park at 8am this morning to beat the heat--it's going to be 96 today and honestly we stay inside if it is above 90. It's just too hot. After an hour at the park it was already pushing late 80s so we ran to fresh market to grab a cake for tea time and also picked up some flowers and the salad. And I read books to the kids when we got home. It's been so long since I have had time to sit down and read to them it was so nice. Becky picked two Dr. Seuss books and Reuben only wanted me to read one book about the trinity and apples, called 3 in 1, A Picture Book About God.  Then I read All of a Kind Family to them.

It's been a nice day. I even put chili in the crock pot for dinner.

I'm working on beating the 2pm slump too. So, today we did the tea party after lunch when Esther was doing her couch nap, and then we did a drawing prompt from Raising Little Shoots. I love their nature prompts, they have a book with one for every day and that's what we use. I got mine bound by the Homeschool Printing company when I started homeschooling 5 years ago and I'm still using it today.

Can you believe I've been homeschooling 5 years? I need more chocolate. And applause. Wow.

Well, the nature prompt only took me to 2:25 so now I need more ideas. Thinking of doing a family game and more read aloud time. Trying to avoid screens for the rest of summer! Today the kids are only getting an hour of screen time and they used it to watch HopeScope on YouTube. I can't stand her videos. But my kids love them. To me it is either unnecessary clutter, followed by a lot of sugar. No issue with Hope personally, just her style of videos are not my jam. But they are definitely someone's niche because she easily gets 1-2 million views per video. Perhaps I should dye my hair pink and eat viral ticktock candy? No, I'd die, lol.

I also have chores, laundry and cleaning and many other things to work on today...including the last arm of my rainbow sweater! Maybe I can get a good chunk of that knitted this afternoon.

And that was my Monday thus far. Maybe I'll have time to add some this evening about the rest of our day when Daddy gets home. 

As of now, the kids are being extra loud so I need to go check on what they are doing...there is too much happy squealing going on for sure!