life lately

 

We had a family getaway to a waterpark.

I posted on FB the story of this waterpark trip:

This post is a “thank you” to the woman in Meijer back in January who paid for my groceries. I don’t know what you saw as you looked at me and my girls as we squeezed in a grocery trip between speech therapy and morning nap. But you came over to us and told me you felt led to pay for my groceries, yes, all $270 worth. You pushed your cart away with a smile and a wink and you told me “go do something fun with those girls.” The very night before, a coworker had told me about a different waterpark and as Doug and I looked it up we filed it away under the category of ‘sure when we have an extra $250 laying around.’ I drove home from the grocery store humbled, and in thankful tears, and I came right home and booked the trip. So, thank you, whoever you were. Your generosity was just so touching to my heart that day. And you have five very happy people who spent some wonderful family time together.

Jeanie learning at speech therapy.

Caught some sibling love at swim class.

Some sibling love of my own! Going line-dancing with my sister.

Doug's adventure of making maple syrup!

Baby girl is 18 months. Time fliiiiiies!

I had a list of books Doug reserved from the library and this was one of them, we didn't know it was going to be 2+ feet high, lol, where do they even shelve that?!?

Love catching little moments like this <3

Fixing my daughter's Warmie

My daughter was gifted this little puppy Warmie a couple years ago and it is her f-a-v-o-r-i-t-e... she sleeps with it nightly and rolls it around in her stroller and takes it everywhere. Which is why, despite my 'no toys in the bathroom' rule, he was in there and fell into the (full) potty chair. EW. 

Anyone with a Warmie knows the #1 rule is you can't wash it. BUT, as I said, it fell in the potty chair. So into the washer he went, along with another Warmie, a bear one we bought for her at Oswald's Bear Ranch that was also in on this bathroom party.

As soon as I pulled it from the washer and it was like 10 pounds I realized why they say don't wash it. Because those Warmies are filled with flaxseed for weight and lavender seeds for smell so when you put the toy in the microwave it provides a nice warm, scented "warmie". My daughter had never even used it as a Warmie, so I didn't care about that, but I had to fix him!

So, I slit him open in the back and sure enough he was filled with now heavy, wet, slimy, expanded seeds.

Looked so weird. Most of them squeezed out easily, but the seeds tucked into his paws and just stuck on the inside took a long time to rinse out. I wanted to get them all out because I was googling how to fix it and I read someones' Warmie sprouted something after they had washed it! 😲

Next up was the bear.

If someone had told me that having kids meant spending 2 hours on a Friday night disemboweling stuffed animals of their innards I would've said 'hmmm... we'll see about that', BUT the things you do for love.

Little empty animals.

I had fluff and I bought a bag of the stuff they put in those weighted blankets to give them both some heaviness.

Another fun hour stuffing them up, and spilling impossibly tiny plastic beads all over my table and floor, and sewing them up again. 

But, she was SO happy to see them again outside her door when she woke up. It made it all worth it. 💓

on my heart

 I've been thinking about homeschooling our oldest ever since his first week of starting kindergarten. Something just didn't "feel" right. But I was intimidated. I purposefully did not go into teaching, started to, got overwhelmed thinking about being responsible for creating 'lesson plans' and changed majors.

Sometime during the fall shortly after he started school I heard about a hybrid program that was 2 days school (but like a charter type, not public curriculum) and then 3 days homeschooling where you finish up the check-off list of the week's schooling. I've talked at length to the administrator, interviewed 2 moms who go there, toured the school, prayed, and step by step we have come to the decision to apply. It feels really good, the coming to a decision after months of prayer, thought, and research. So I hope soon we will know the outcome. In the meantime, I have really been loving the school more and more where he is. It's never really been a problem with the school, except for it being expensive, it's always been about wanting more time with him and to foster an environment of trust, care, love, and learning. 

One of the moms that I talked to told me about a homeschooling mom she follows on Instagram and I have started following her too. I've already got so many good tips and things I just agree on. Toy recommendations, book recommendations, started the online piano academy her son went to. And the other day she posted these:

This is me. This is exactly where I'm at. Overwhelmed, but overwhelmed by wanting to do my very best by these three little hearts. Struggling with doing it, but wanting to spend more and more time with them; the good, the bad, the ugly (and very often, the poopy at this particular stage). 

I'm praying for the Lord to guide us. Either he gets into this new school and we begin a new chapter in our lives this fall taking a little different of a road- or he doesn't, and he continues at a great school, I'm trying to trust in Him and His plan. 

And me. Reminding myself that I'm in charge of my attitude, and my response. And it's so good to remember this LEANING IN, in all areas, as a daily offering to Him.

busy week

 Another busy week in the books. While I was at my work weekend, my dad and Doug took the 2 oldest to the circus. They said it was kinda frustrating at first because the tickets were advertised as (and in writing as) a free kid with each adult purchased ticket, but it was super long cold lines outside and then re-routed to other lines to trade the other tickets for "real tickets", which they had to pay for. And finally got bad seats due to waiting in lines for so long. But, Doug said the kids really liked the show and it was a good performance.

3 cold people waiting in line.

Siiiiiigh. We have been potty training Jeanie, well, cracking down on the potty training we've loosely been doing the last year. Sometimes that means getting out of the bath to do your poop, and apparently sometimes that means having a second poop mere minutes later IN the tub. Ewwww. It's getting real old quickly the soaked underwear and pants and constant reminders. But hopefully soon it'll be behind us.

The other day I thought I was tucking a long stray bang behind my ear when I realized no, I just have several areas of 3-4 inch strands of random hair. ??? I'd heard once that when you're pregnant you grow "baby hair" and so maybe that's what's been growing since being pregnant. Who knows. But I guess it's a good as reason as any why my hair won't all be up in a pony in the back.

So apparently I need to wake up earlier. Last week my snooze habit (sometimes I don't even know I'm doing it!) Really bit me. 

First, woke up late, so was rushing to get August to the bus. Second, Jeanie who has recently been switched to a toddler bed from her crib and therefore she just comes out whenever she wants, came out of her room smelling like THE WORST diarrhea I'd ever smelled. Even her hair stunk, but yet it was all contained to her night diaper?? PTL. Anyway, then he missed the bus. I had to shower her off and get her ready. We raced out and dropped August off at school. No make up or shower for mom. 

None of the girls had breakfast so we stopped at Mc Donalds. 

And a successful potty for my girl, while baby girl got wheeled in too since we were alone at McDonalds.

Jeanie had her speech therapy and as we drove there in the freezing rain I watched a small crack from the left corner of my windshield spread the entire way across to the right corner, popping as it went and leaving me terrified that I was about to get a face and eyes full of glass. I didn't, but it was very scary.

After speech we went to do a grocery run, and as we were checking out a woman came over and said "I feel like I have to do this" and she paid for my groceries $270 WORTH (!!!!!), wow, so completely generous and such a blessing. And she just said "go do something fun with those girls". I drove home in awe and in tears. Just the night before I'd been talking with Doug about doing a family overnight at a waterpark hotel, but it was like, where do we just have $250 lying around not allocated to something else. But now it is booked! Thanks to a generous stranger. 

The next day August had a half school day so me & Jeanie picked him up, we got burgers at 5 Guys (Oh my gosh, everything is SO expensive these days, $35 for 3 burgers and 1 fry!)

And went to the kids' swim lesson

Caught them hugging mid-lesson 💗😍💕

And just back to regular work and life. I got a new vacuum, well 2 actually, and things have been feeling a little less chaotic/messy at home, which is needed. Also I'd been trying several times to reach out to people about piano lessons for August, with no responses (?!?). I just heard on Instagram about a guy Hoffman Academy who has some free program (and more options if you pay and subscribe) but one 15 minute lesson down and here is my son:

So I'm pretty excited to start it out, he seems excited and we can try this for awhile and then either pay for his subscription or get in-person lessons some day depending. There are so many talented people out in this world, it's so neat to be connected online. 

 

little boy photographer

 I found these pictures August took last month around Christmas time :)

It was like taking a tour of our home through his eyes, haha.