a spring surprise

Well, hello there! Apparently, I have been slacking again with blogging.

The kids and I made a quick run to Target last week, while Joe was out of town for work. They were ALL out of toothpaste, and I wanted to stock up on some toilet paper that was on sale. I let them browse around the toy aisles for a few minutes. An hour later we came out with five tubes of toothpaste, 4 mega-packs of tp, and a couple of little goodies from the dollar spot. Five tubes of toothpaste might seem like a lot, but I've found that it's less fighting going on and more teeth brushing happenin'.

I grabbed these goodies just for one of you! A little giveaway thinking maybe this will get me in gear to blog more often. Enter using the rafflecopter below. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

it's not a race

The weekends seem to be super busy.
I'm not sure with what though since the kids' activities are all during the week.
Maybe it's because I'm at home all day with the kids homeschooling, so I try to cram in all that I need/want to get done into those 2 days that Joe is also home.
Hence, my blog schedule has been a little inconsistent to my liking.

I have another long to-do list for this weekend as next week is twice as busy since we're preparing for a vacation.

I have:

-Halloween bags to sew
-headbands to make
-lesson plans to complete
-to clear off the desk
-laminate some school items
-help J with some sewing lessons to complete a project
-laundry to wash
-take the kids costume shopping, or make their chosen costume
-and on, and on, and on.

It never seems to end, but I'm trying to let some of it go. To not have to race to get the list finished before the end of the day. To just be with the kids even if that means I'm knitting outside in a chair, while they're running around outdoors. To give them time and more attention than in the past. A good reminder to do just that from my favorite blogger.

a few favorites

 

Since we have moved this year, I thought it would be nice to list a few favorites

that we're going to miss from our "old" state this next year.

 

 It will always hold a special place in our hearts.

 

A list for us to remember, and not forget.

-the rides at the park during the summer

-our short drives around the lake

-walking the lake with friends when the water was released to work on the dam

-visiting the "museum" and watching the miniature Wild West Show

-the ice cream and cotton candy at the little "shack" in the park

-driving over the viaducts and saying "Whee"

-all the trains

-the layout of our house, and our house in general

-the junk stores (otherwise known as thrift stores)

-being able to ride our bikes in the street with neighbor friends during 4th of July weekend (The city allows you to block off the side streets for firework displays during the holiday. The kids loved being able to ride in the road without looking for cars.)

-the comfort and ease with which I felt to allow the children to play outside in the yard alone

-our preschool teacher and preschool that all three bigger kids attended

-the place where we started it all with our first flock of chickens

-little Miss' first home with us

-the friends we made and families we met

-book club evening once a month for mom :)

-the home we will greatly miss and hold dear in our hearts

outdoor time....

One night, in the week before we moved, we took some time to enjoy being outdoors in our yard.
Here a few of the pictures from that night.

He's teasing little sister.

Little sister is trying to get her siblings' attention.

He wanted his picture taken with a leaf.....

and a ball.

Swinging time with Dad...

 It wouldn't be outdoors time without our cat slinking around.

 

goats....

Rylan's preschool class had a field trip to a local goat farm this week.
We were invited to go along.

It was a cooler day in April, with the wind blowing.
The wagon ride was pretty chilly.
Little sister was in the ergo on my back. Hence, why there's no pictures of her.

Joci was in heaven!!
How could she not be when there were newborn babies not even a day old,
rabbits, chickens, and cats galore.
11 cats and 3 kittens to be exact---she asked.

It was a good trip.
An encouraging trip for myself.
I came home with a desire to save, save, save for that farm we want.

I wish we would have been introduced to those farmers earlier.
They would have been a good resource for Joe and I, and a place where we could have spent some time learning their practices.

weekend shenanigans....

This weekend was Byron's first communion.

We also celebrated Joci's birthday.

Grandma, grandpa, an aunt, and cousin came for the weekend.

 

Joe moved some cabinets from the living room to the kitchen.

He also tiled the kitchen backsplash.

It was a short weekend for house projects.

 

We still have a ton to do on the house before we move, and

are able to list it on the market.

 

It rained all weekend.

We had chickens "flying the coop", eating eggs, and

bullying each other.

I added oyster shells to their feed today.

Hopefully, that will stop the egg-eating.

The rest of my week will be spent figuring out

why they're bullying and pecking on each other.

 

what they've been saying

Joe's been gone during the week for work.

He leaves around one on Sunday, and returns late Friday evening.  

This is his 6th week of working at his new position, and away from home.

Thankfully, we only have more week to continue this way.

 

It's tiring, and wearing on me.

My patience has been a little thin with a certain 3 year old.

Of course, he would be really testing his limits this week.

I'm sure he's tired of the situation also, and unsure of what is really going on.

He keeps asking questions about when we move, why we move, what we take with us, etc.

 

Here's a little bit of what they've been saying lately.

 

Owen

"Boys not doing schoolwork."

"Boys not helping me."

"Boys not letting me swing."

Do you see a recurring them here?

"Those cute pinktails."

"Mom. Mom. Mom."

"When's we move, me get a fishing pole?"

"Why?"

"Mom, Joci's not a boy."

 

Joci

"I'm not a boy Owen!"

"You're just a chip off the old box."

"They're pigtails, not pinktails."

"I only have 1 more chapter to read in this book."

"Sophie, no."

"Owen."

"Owen, I'm not helping you anymore."

 

Byron

"What do I need to do to play my kindle?"

"How much schoolwork do I have to do?"

"How much kindle time do I get?"

"What's for dinner?"

"Owen get out of my candy."

 

Rylan

"What can I have to eat?"

"Can I play my kindle?"

"Owen stop being mean."

"Sophie, no, no, no."

 

Sophie

Crying because she couldn't get out of the Pepsi crate she climbed into.

"Mama, mama, mama."

She's doing a lot more jabbering/baby talk lately, but no new words.

 

weekend shenanigans....

This weekend we were busy.

 

Our babysitter's wedding was this weekend. 

Half of us went, the other half stayed home. 

Joe worked on the house.

Little sister took her nap, and the two older boys played.

 

Isn't she a beautiful, radiant bride?

We are definitely going to miss her when we move.

Without a doubt, I'm certain we won't be able to find another babysitter like her.

 

B had to serve the gifts at mass on Saturday.

On Sunday, he had his final class, a 2 1/2 hour retreat, for his first communion.

This coming Sunday, he will be receiving his first communion.

 

When we didn't have commitments or appointments,

Joe was working on the house, and I was doing laundry or cooking meals.

 

This weekend was busy.

Next weekend will be even busier. Sigh...

truckin' along....

Over here, the projects are lining up as we prepare to sell our house.

Joe is such a trooper. There's not a house we've lived in that we have owned that hasn't needed some major overhaul done. I truly believe he loves working on houses, unless it's down to the wire like we are now.

Joe and I finished laying the majority of the hardwood floors this past weekend.

We have both the entryways to complete, and
then need to decide on whether we're leaving carpet on the stairs and the upstairs hallway or not.

This week I plan to paint, paint, and paint some more.

Of course, it wouldn't be a normal week without some minimizing and clearing out.

Oh, the stuff! It's time to let it go and seriously downsize.

More than anything, of course, I want to sit down and make more stuff.
Stitch, paint, sew, knit.

There will be time when the projects are complete, and the weather is so hot that we can't stand to be outside.

For now, it's work all day long.

where i've been.....

We had a "spring break" last week.

My sister-in-law and niece drove up to see us and help out on house projects.

I packed up boxes. She carried them out to the garage. I'm not sure who had the worst job.

We pulled up old flooring*, and hauled it out to the truck.
We pulled up nails, and sheets of felt paper.

We tried to visit the park one afternoon for the kids to burn off some energy, and
ended up stranded with vehicle problems waiting for Joe's co-worker to help us out.
After the fact, it ended up being a little blessing in disguise.
Unbeknown to us, there was a fire behind the park that day.
We would have been asked to evacuate anyways.

She did my laundry, while I cooked 1500 meals.

I packed up more boxes. She hauled them out to the garage.

I pulled up more flooring. She hauled it out to the truck.
We pulled up more nails, and she pulled up more dusty, dirty paper.

We took a break out at the beach one warm afternoon after our vehicle was repaired.
Little sister loved the sand!

We stopped at the "new-ish" frozen yogurt place for a treat.
The kids weren't impressed. They didn't even eat all their yogurt if that tells you anything.

Joe made it home for the weekend.
He started laying the new flooring.
We packed up our clothes and suitcases.
We drove to KS so she could go back to teaching, and
I could drop off kiddos at grandparents while we have Sophie's surgery later this week.

*We originally planned to refinish the floors, but because the floor was not level we decided it was best to put in new so Joe could level the floors.