Kitchen update.

After painting the cabinets this summer, the whole kitchen slowly underwent a paint overhaul. It’s almost finished – it needs a new window and a new curtain above it, but overall, it’s done. I love how it turned out. I didn’t plan on using these photos for anything other than sharing them with my mom, so you’ll have to excuse Pierce in his pj’s from this morning, but I’m too excited about it all to not share. :) With a few antiques to decorate with and my new-to-me butcher block, it’s become a pretty useable space despite it’s shortcomings.

It’s so fun to say finished.

Gives me goose bumps kind of cool.

Last week we were in Walmart. I was searching for elastic for a Christmas project, and an older gentleman in a motorized cart was trying to get information from a store employee who had none.

“Is this the right thread to hem my blue jeans? Are these needles the right ones?

“Umm… I’m sure they would be fine.”

Yeah, right. They were knit needles that would break in a heartbeat and thread that wouldn’t hold up. So me, minding my own business as I’m prone to do, dove straight in.

“Can I help?” The Walmart ladies nodded and bolted, and the man and I headed off to find the proper supplies. In the course of conversation, I, again minding my own business like I ought, offered to hem his pants for him. What is it about watching older people struggle? It kills me. I just want to jump right in and help, but I always wonder how I’ll feel when I’m there. Want help and wish someone would? Wish people would see I’m not so old and feeble as I look and wish they’d just mind their own stinking business? I just don’t know.

Anyhow. I offered help. I gave him my phone number and told him if the sewing machine he’d purchased at an auction for $10 to hem his jeans that are suddenly too long now that he’s 81 failed to perform, I’d gladly help him out.

He asked where I lived. I told him, and through a bunch of incredulous questions from him, found out our pasture behind our house backs up to his property.

What are the chances?!

We walked away, both shaking our heads at the improbability of it all, and out of an adjoining aisle comes yet another older person, this time a lady, who came over, hugged me, thanked me for helping the man, and told me she’d been listening the whole time and couldn’t stand how cool it was, all that had just happened.

It was a great trip to the store. Far better than most. I couldn’t help but be reminded of this story and remember God’s providence in it all – even meeting friendly neighbors in a stand-offish neighborhood – and making a good first impression, even before I knew he was a neighbor.

That was just cool.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com review

As a new member of the 2013 The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew, my first assignment was to review the www.SchoolhouseTeachers.com website. Oh. My. Fun.

From the publishers of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, it’s written to be a whole curriculum in and of itself, or can be used as a supplement to the books you’re already doing. With a long list of authors who contribute, I love that I can use the gifts of another to round out my curriculum.

With more topics than my computer time allows me to explore, I've been digging around in there for days. Math helps. Reading. Guitar! History. Spellings lists. The list of kid-friendly crafts has me itching to carve out time in our week to try more of them out.

Realizing Sterling, my kindergartner, does not have a Spelling curriculum this year (waiting for that boy to read fluently seemed wise) I was picking through the age-appropriate spellings lists for him and was glad to find out he was still able to spell the words they had listed for this week. With a full range of curriculum available for K4 through high school, there’s an abundance of topics and subjects I had yet to consider studying. SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers downloadable planners as well. Planning isn’t my strong suit – I hope to get better at that with these!

The reading list was something I really appreciated. With two elementary daughters voraciously devouring books, I’m excited to add those to our lists and hopefully find some new favorites.

The subscription rate is $5.95 per month, but the first month is just $1. You can also purchase a full year for $49.

The Everyday Explorers U.S.A. section in the Dailies was pretty fun. The author’s excitement for history was contagious. It’s certainly more fun – and memorable – when history is made interesting! I’m planning to jump into that for history for the rest of the year. They really liked what we've done with that so far.

When I had a quiet moment, I went through This Month’s Menu. How fun to have a section on there for me – and my older girls who can help me cook. The Music – Voice section was fabulous. With several of my girls looking forward to the year they are old enough to participate in the Jr. High/High School choir in church, I think this is a great way for them to prepare themselves. It has great lessons from behind the people and music and offers ideas and instruction. Maybe I can learn a bit along with my kids!

I love this site. I plan to get much use out of it in the coming year, rounding out our school year and remembering it next year, before I buy curriculum. As a homeschooling mom that would rather my kids not be in front of the computer too much, this brings a nice balance and encourages family-involved learning in many areas. Much recommended!

Check out what other members of the Review Crew thought HERE.

Disclaimer: I received a free subscription to this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Catch up.

Having very nearly disappeared after the laptop took it’s little coffee break and the old dinosaur roared to life rather protestingly, I have a long list of catch up to play. We’ll start with Sterling.

He announced he doesn’t like salad. “It’s just leaves, Mom.”

Yup.

Tonight he informed me you have to have an odd number if you’re going to have a middle. Where that boy gets his math brain, I don’t know. It’s scary.

A friend told me that when asked if he was hoping to have kids when he’s grown, he matter of factly announced “No.” When pressed for more information, he said, “My wife will have them!”

He told me he says “Shhh” a lot because he really likes it when it’s quiet. Like father, like son. Problem is, eight people in 1200 square feet doesn’t exactly allow for silence.

Agreed.

Last week, I began one morning by frying what turned out to only be the keyboard of our laptop (An $18 fix if all goes according to what I think. Not holding my breath on that one though.) Today, it was my pajamas.

Yep. I squatted down to change Pierce’s diaper first thing this morning and my 6 year old much-loved pajama pants split up the backside. Whether they were trying to tell me something regarding my backside or if it was just their time, I’m leaving alone.

Just all agree with me that we are so, so glad they gave up now, and not three weeks from now when I had a houseful of Christmas company.

Ruby.

As we were driving past a yard with a freshly removed tree down the road from our house, the discussion began on the reasons for cutting down a tree that had appeared perfectly healthy. Explaining things are not always as they seem, and the health of the tree was likely not good, Ruby had a funny scenario.

“If the tree fell down and landed on that house, the people inside would be EXACTLY dead.”

When I agreed that she’d named a likely possibility, she she, in all seriousness, returned, “Unless the people were out visiting friends. Then they might not be exactly dead. They would be glad about that.”

Oh yes, the musings of a four year old.

Three of my girls and I went to a graduate piano recital last night. Graduating with a master’s degree and having spent two and a half years practicing for his one hour and forty five minute recital, the music was spectacular. Ruby fell asleep about an hour in. She woke up in time for the reception – a beautiful piano cake, salmon tar-tar, and more foods that are fancier than anything she’d experienced in her short little life. She had a blast. When we got home, she came bursting in the door, ran to Blaine and exclaimed, “They had FOOD!” The music? So beautiful. BUT THE FOOD! Quite the night for Miss Ruby.

This afternoon, when she piped up in frustration, “You guys aren’t listen to me explain the problem!” what she really meant was, “You guys are ignoring me! Pay attention! I’m WHINING here!”

This week in Review

It's been a long week. Tuesday morning Pierce kicked my coffee (unfinished from the day before... I hadn't even gotten that far yet) and the coffee spilled all over the desk. A few drops hit the laptop keyboard, but I wiped them off quickly and didn't think too much of it. And then. Twenty minutes later, after creating 18 soap labels to sell soap, the g and h wouldn't work. Then the backspace quit working. Then the whole screen went black. It was like watching a bad movie play out in front of me.

The laptop is quarantined with little hope of revival, the old dinosaur has been dusted off and is proving itself fairly reliable despite it's age and the little "full hard drive" messages it gave me at first. I've never been so glad that we never got rid of it as now.

Tuesday morning, moments after the laptop met coffee (but before I knew the extent of the problem) I tried to wash the dishes with the pizza cutter instead of the sponge.

Yesterday, the nurse at the doctor's office asked me if I was babysitting. The look of horror on her young face when I said each and every one of these young children belonged to me made me wonder if I should laugh or cry.

Charlotte didn't cry for her shot. She still is talking about how it hurt her leg but she was tough.

Pierce thought the finger prick was the coolest thing he'd seen all day. The shots he disagreed with, however.

Sterling doesn't know who Big Bird, Cookie Monster, or Elmo is. He says Sesame Street doesn't exist. He does, however, know Bert and Ernie. They're in a book. Barney is another unknown. I'm not sure if our level of social norm education is quite adequate. But the tv is eerily, blessedly silent in my house when children are awake.

Pierce can stand up, pick up the push toy, turn it the other way, and continue along his chosen path. But he won't walk alone willingly.

After grumbling at my children at the number of minutes it was taking them to exit the van so we could enter the fabric store, I told them that the sooner we got inside, the sooner we could find what we needed and be done. My exact words are sketchy, but it was something along the lines of "You guys are what is making this take so long! It doesn't have to be so stinking hard!" or something like that. Sterling, however, had a different reason after watching me stare at the fabric choices for more than 1.6 seconds before making my decisions. "Mom, you're the reason the stores take so long. You keep stopping to look at stuff!" I didn't have the wherewithal to correct his attitude. I was too busy laughing.

Clean-release tape is on my hit list. I'm spending my available moments repainting everywhere it took all the paint, primer, and top layer of sheetrock off in my laundry room.

My van has been squeaking for months. At first, I was concerned it was mechanical - until I realized it squeaks whether it's running or not. Still, it's been driving me nuts. I made the kids jump, trying to get it to do it again and locate it's origin. (That resulted in two girls knocking their heads on the roof of the van. I'll admit it. I laughed.) I've walked around the outside, making them jump, trying to find out where it was coming from. No use. I couldn't find it. Some trips it wouldn't do it at all. Some days it wouldn't stop. Finally, months of hugely annoying squeaking later, I saw Sterling move his seat belt shoulder strap and it squeaked. After making him do it again several times, each time resulting in another screeching noise, I located the problem. The seat belt on the third row, driver's side. Blaine promptly went and bought silicone spray and fixed the problem. My hero.I almost lost my sanity over that one.