A Simple Woman's Daybook

A Simple Woman's Daybook for June 30, 2008

Outside my window...I'm hearing a siren in the distance. A nice breeze is blowing in, a nice change from the usual hot breeze.

I am thinking...that I want to finish my last two projects so I can take a break from projects.

I am thankful for...my husband and kids. They cleaned almost the whole house this afternoon while I was out tutoring. They swept, mopped, dusted, vacuumed, and cleaned the bathrooms.

From the kitchen...homemade pizza tonight using flour that Cris ground for me last night. We had "clean out the fridge pizza." We had a pesto pizza--pesto sauce, mozzarella (with the moldy pieces picked out) and sliced tomatoes. We also had vegetable pizza. I sauteed onion, zucchini, squash, and eggplant and put that on sauce and topped it with mozzarella, goat cheese, and parmesan. Needless to say, Grace and Joe were less than thrilled with this meal.

I am wearing...brown shorts and a pink shirt.

I am creating...not much. I'm tired of creating to be honest. I may create some brownies tomorrow though. My aunt introduced me to a new recipe that is oh-so-good!

I am going...back and forth to downtown for theatre camp for two more weeks, out for Thai food tomorrow night, slowly crazy.

I am reading...Sidetracked Home Executives, Wolves of Willoughby Chase (starting tonight), and Family Fun magazine, Reader's Digest, and Guideposts.

I am hoping...for a peaceful day tomorrow.

I am hearing...nothing, everybody's asleep.

Around the house...I have a huge pile of sewing stuff out and I really can't wait to pack it all up for a while. Maybe if I put it all away I won't have ideas for projects and things I want to make that I don't have time for.

One of my favorite things...seedless watermelon

A few plans for the rest of the week...Hannah is being evaluated tomorrow then I can pack up and put away last year's school, I'm going out for Thai, spending some quality time with Joe now that Ollie is back to work and the girls are gone most of the day, making some brownies and muffins, sweating through the annual 4th of July parade, celebrating my 37th birthday on Sunday!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

This is a picture that a friend took at the annual snow party in our downtown. They truck in lots of it and then people wait in line for about an hour for a 15 second (or less) sled run down the hill. I love Hannah's hair!

If you want to participate in the Simple Woman's Daybook see Peggy here.

Pictures from the Homeschool Exhbition

Homeschool Exhibition

We had our second annual Homeschool Exhbition tonight. Ollie referred to it as the Homeschool Show Off Night and I guess it kind of is that but it is really great fun for families and kids. It's a great time to show something you've been learning. Tonight we heard the violin, heard some poems, some singing, saw some twirling, and some dancing, learned about fish and hydropower, saw a crossbow in action, and a weather report. It was fun to see the kid's shine in their various interests. Hannah sang a states and capitals song with two friends, Grace recited a poem, and was Toto while Dorothy (aka Madi) sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Here are a few videos:

6 Word Meme

I've been tagged by Crispy over at Peter's Peapod...

This meme originated over an idea that was prompted by the book written by Larry Smith & Rachel Fershleiser, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. It’s a compilation based on the story that Hemingway once bet ten dollars that he could sum up his life in six words. His words were, “For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn.”

1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it to your blog including a visual illustration if you would like.
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blog sphere.
4. Tag 5 more blogs with links.
5. Don’t forget to leave a comment in the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

So, here we go....my six word memoir:
  

I can't believe she's wearing that.  

Crispy's 6-words were so well thought out and deep, I loved it.  I've put off doing this because I couldn't think of anything well thought and deep.  So, I went with funny.  I have my own unique "style."  I use the word "style" very loosely.  Really I am a big bum!  (I have one too...)  I love t-shirts and jean shorts but I also love tiered skirts with an almost matching t-shirt.  I like goofy things.  I love fun shoes although I can't wear them now because I'm limited due to my feet problems.  I think you get the idea.  I'm sure there are times when my friends (and definitely my sister) think to themselves, "I can't believe she's wearing that."
 
I'm having trouble with links and tagging so I am just going to tag everyone who is reading this.  

A Little Geography to Cuddle Up With

Here's that state fabric I told you about. I very quickly made it into a quilt by adding a border, some batting, a back and a little quilting. Thank goodness I'm not a perfectionist because it would never get done. There are those annoying wrinkles and folds all over it. In fact almost the whole northeast is badly wrinkled. That's okay with me though! It's done and we all love it and it can be used Saturday night for the Homeschool Exhibition. I backed it with some cute fabric I found with kids and flags on it. Joe was looking at the back and took interest in all the flags. He correctly identified the flags of Japan and Italy. When I was 5 I had never even heard of Japan or Italy. This kid is amazing! He is so fascinated with geography right now and remembers so much. We have this wonderful talking globe, you use a little pen thing and point to the country and it tells you what the country is, he plays with that thing all the time and that has greatly increased his knowledge. Anyway, back to the flags--there were all sorts of flags on the fabric that I didn't recognize and we were talking about them and he points to a flag that is red, white, and black striped and says, "I think that's Egypt's flag." I have no idea what Egypt's flag looks like but I'm very curious to see if he is right so I pull out a handy dandy flag sticker book that I wisely bought three of at the homeschool conference. Hannah and Grace need it for their curriculum this year and I decided to get Joe one too just in case. Glad I did. So, I go on a search for Egypt. And guess what--Egypt's flag is red, white, and black. The one on the fabric isn't Egypt's flag but the colors are the same. Would you have known the color of Egypt's flag? Me either! I asked Ollie how in the world he knew this stuff and Ollie said that he's been using a world atlas computer program that Ollie has and has been interested in the flag part. We worked on the flag sticker book for a long time. He correctly located quite a few countries including: Japan, Turkey, Iraq, Russia, China, Taiwan, Canada, and Mexico. He can also locate at least a third of the states. I hope this post doesn't sound like I'm bragging. I'm just really surprised that he can remember these things and believe me I have taught him not a thing! Ollie's mom says that the Patterson men all have a thing for Geography so I guess he comes by it naturally.

Cobb Salad

I made this for dinner tonight and it was really good. The kids were okay with it but liked the pita pocket pizzas that I made to go with it a lot better.

1 head iceberg lettuce or a bag of salad greens
1/2 cup italian salad dressing
2 diced tomatoes
1/2 cup diced cooked chicken
1 diced avocado
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup bacon bits
3 hardboiled eggs, chopped

Toss lettuce leaves with dressing. Mound dressed lettuce on a platter (I just threw it in a bowl). Top dressed lettuce with all the other ingredients arranged in separate stripes.

Joe

At dinner tonight Joe asked Ollie and I to tell him about our life before we had children. So, Ollie was telling him how quiet our house was and how I would lay on the couch and read for hours and he would be on the computer. Then Joe said, "No, I want to hear about your adventures. Like climbing mountains and walking in forests and stuff." So, we told him about a few of our adventures. We don't have many but we could think of a few to share.

Children's Books

Just one question...why do sooo many wonderful children's books have characters who have no mother? What message does this send to our kids? You can't have an adventurous life unless you have no mother??

Just to name a few:

Anne of Green Gables
The Secret Garden
The Little Princess
The Penderwicks
Snow White
Cinderella
Wizard of Oz

I can usually think of a lot more but I am way too tired to think straight.

I Got Bit...

...by the sewing bug tonight. I bought this Wizard of Oz fabric on ebay.. The girls are working on a quilt with their sewing group and I thought a Wizard of Oz block might be a fun way to remember this summer. Well, I had the fabric laid out on the floor and boom--I just had to make Gracie this shirt. I was already tired from a busy day of running around but managed to whip this out with Grace's help. Before you think I'm some amazing seamstress--I have to say this is the EASIEST pattern ever! I think it took me about an hour or so to make this and that was with a 7 year old's help (not so helpful) and a few goofs. I think it turned out so cute. In case you can't see it very well, the main fabric is Dorothy in Munchkinland and the strip at the bottom is the Wicked Witch adn then the strap is yellow brick road fabric. Grace wanted the yellow brick road fabric on the bottom but I talked her into the wicked witch--this fabric I bought came in all sizes and this witch strip was really not wide enough to do much else with.

While I was making the shirt, Hannah played with the fabric I bought for Grace's costume and made herself an Emerald City girl.

More Fun With Sugar Baby

Here are a few pictures from our weekend with Sugar Baby. NO--we will not be keeping Sugar Baby--not that I haven't tried but Ollie says no way. The kids are okay with it, really, they will miss Sugar Baby but they've never once thought that they might be able to keep her so it won't be that bad to send her home. Besides, she will live just a few blocks away so we can visit her. It has been fun to babysit her for a few days.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

A Simple Woman's Daybook for June 23, 2008

Outside my window... a storm is brewing, I can hear the thunder rumbling. I wish I had the afternoon free to just lay on the couch and read while the storm rages. But--I don't. I have to go in just a half hour to tutor. Maybe tomorrow. The good thing about Florida in the summertime is a good storm almost everyday.

I am thinking...about balance in my life between service, hobbies, and family time.

I am thankful for...summer camp!

From the kitchen...we went to some friend's house for dinner last night and I made a really nice fruit tray in my sectional dish. I loved having the fruit cut, washed, and ready to eat. It is my goal this week to keep that fruit tray stocked in the fridge and encourage my family to eat it.

I am creating...a small quilt of the United States. I found an awesome fabric panel of the US with neat pictures in every state to show a little about what makes that state unique. Since Hannah and Joe are both totally into US Geography right now I couldn't pass it up. I'm just going to add a border and a backing and make a simple throw blanket and then let H and J fight over it.

I am going...back and forth downtown to pick up and drop off for summer camp.

I am wearing...jean shorts and a sleeveless pink shirt, comfort clothes!

I am reading...Life if Tough But God is Faithful by Sheila Walsh

I am hoping...to lose 10 more pounds. I need some serious self discipline

I am hearing...music from Ollie's computer.

Around the house...I packed up all my scrapbooking stuff, I'm spending too much time trying to get caught up and neglecting my house and kids.

One of my favorite things...iced coffee from McD's, the hazelnut is wonderful

A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week...making a quilt, playing some games with the kids, finally teaching them to play kickball, going for a daily bike ride, lots of reading

Here is a picture thought...

If you want to participate in the Simple Woman's Daybook visit Peggy.

Babysitting

We are babysitting a kitten for a few days. Ms. Amanda found the kitten and has been looking for a new home for her. We asked if we could babysit for a couple of days so here she is. Grace is having a ball!

A Family Bike Ride

Ollie bought me an early birthday present this week--a new bike! You can see it in the picture below. I absolutely love it. It's one of those cruiser bikes with the big seat for my big butt and big handlebars that I just love. So, in honor of my new bike we went on a bike ride today to the lake. It's hard to believe this beautiful lake and boardwalk are within walking/bike riding distance of my house and we only go a few times a year. Today there was a storm rolling in so it wasn't too hot and the sky was really beautiful.

We even saw an alligator. He was watching the night heron thinking about lunch.


There was a big beehive in this birdhouse. A local man pointed it out to us, I wish we could have seen inside. We're not that crazy to try that though.
In case you think this bike ride was so perfect--this picture shows what Joe did pretty much the whole time. He is a huge worrier and was a nervous wreck the whole time. It started when we said we were going to ride over to Liberty (the name of a street close by) and he thought we were going to New York. The poor kid, he couldn't have fun for worrying about everything. Maybe if we do this more often he will get used to it and relax. Ollie said he did relax some on the ride home. The girls and I had gone ahead so we weren't with them. Once he knew he was on the way home he had a little bit of fun.

Wizard of Oz

In theatre camp the kids are doing the play "Wizard of Oz." Even Joe will be in this one. They are having the little theatre kids (ages 4-6) in 3 numbers in the big kid's show. Of course they will be in the munchkin scene. Joe, his friend Jake, and another little boy are going to be the Lollipop Guild--is that going to be cute or what??? The girls also got their parts. Grace is going to be Toto for one of the shows (that part is double casted)--of course she is completely thrilled! She gets to be Toto when her friend, Madi is Dorothy. They are getting together on Sunday night to practice. They are both really excited. Hannah has three parts. She is a Private--like in the army (kind of a boss in Oz), she's in the Lullaby League in Munchkinland, and a Jitterbug. They are both really excited about their parts. Hannah has more lines than she's ever had so she's thrilled about that. It should be a good show. They have three more weeks to pull it all together.

Sports Camp

Well, the girls had their last night of Sports Camp last night. They had a great time this week but I think they were relieved to be done. They are worn out from Theatre all day and sports all evening. Hannah did cheerleading and Grace did soccer.

Guess What, Ya'll?

My bathroom is clean.  Just thought I'd let you know in case you were thinking about reporting me or were worrying about my family living in filth.

Not-so-simple Woman's Daybook

Steph--you inspired me to do a more realistic post about my week.  There isn't anything simple about it.  

Where I've been today...we all rode our bikes to theatre this morning (I got a new bike yesterday--more on that later), I rode home, spent a couple of hours at home, then went to pick up Jake and Joe and take them to Chick-fil-a for lunch where we were meeting Julie.  Ollie is not feeling well and I wanted to give him some peace so decided to go out for the two hours between Joe's pickup time and the girls' pickup time. The boys wanted no part of the play area because kids were screaming in there so we went to Target and hung out in the toys and even managed to get out without a toy or a fit.  Julie took Joe with her to the theatre so I could drive home, get my bike and ride to theatre so that I could ride home with the kids.  By the time we got home we had only one hour before we had to leave again.  I took a shower, switched the laundry (the sports camp shirts were in the washer and the girls had to wear them tonight), cleaned the kitchen and cleaned out the fridge.  Packed a dinner for the girls to eat at Julie's and left again.  I had to tutor from 4 to 5:30 and the girls have to be at sports camp on the same side of town so there is no time to come home and get them so they went to Julie's.  Took them to Julie's, tutored for an hour and a half, then to the grocery store, home to put away groceries and eat something and feed Joe and Ollie, and that brings me to right now.  I have wasted about an hour on the computer reading and writing blogs and e-mails and I have to leave again to get the girls in about 15 minutes.  Then it will be home, a snack, maybe a chapter of the Penderwicks and off to bed.  I'd like to finish that scrapbook page before I turn in, we'll see.  Not so simple!!!  And--almost every day this week has looked like this and I'm not exaggerating.  It's one of those weeks!

Outside my window and house...it's raining cats and dogs.  Now the grass can grow another foot or two and so can the weeds so I can look out and see everything that needs to be done out there.

From the kitchen...I'm hoping that all the rotten food I threw away today won't stink up the garage too much before the trash comes on Friday.  There was some old fish in there--yuck!!!  Don't come to my house for a couple of days!

From the bathroom...there's mold growing in the tub and the trash cans are overflowing and I wake up every day determined to get those bathrooms clean!  Maybe tomorrow?

I am creating...a lot of chaos and more messes by letting everything pile up but who has the energy or desire to clean it up when you are hardly home.

I am hoping...that everybody will shut up and leave me alone for the rest of the night (ain't gonna happen!)  :0)

I am thinking...as crazy as this week has been I wouldn't have it any other way.  The house will keep and believe me, even if I clean it all up tonight it will be a mess again by the weekend.  I'd rather wait until we can all do it together.  The kids are making memories and friends and it's all worth it.

Busy Week

Our week has been really busy but fun. Everybody started theatre camp and they are all having a blast. The girls had auditions today, they'll find out their parts tomorrow. Hannah was pretty nervous but felt like she did pretty well. We'll see tomorrow. Joe loves his theatre camp as well and wishes it were seven days a week instead of only three. Me too. So far I haven't used my free time for much of anything. I had visions of scrapbooking for hours and have only done a part of one page. I did get one junk drawer cleaned out. My goal is one task a day. Today was supposed to be bathrooms but that didn't happen. Tomorrow for sure. Today was grocery shopping. I've got a new tutoring job that I am enjoying. I'm tutoring three boys in one family twice a week for a half hour with each of them. The hour and a half goes by really fast and it's fun to change it up. The storms have started and I love the afternoon rumbles. It cools everything off which is really nice. For some reason I was thinking about gym class yesterday. I really hated gym class especially in middle school. Every Friday we would play a game called Bombardment. The classes would split up on each side of the gym and then throw a ball at each other and if you got hit you were out. Those boys could really throw hard. Me being the wimp that I am hated this game. I would always run in front of the ball in the first five minutes (when it hadn't been thrown too hard) so I could be out and sit in the bleachers and talk. Then we had square dancing which I actually liked except that we had to have boys as partners. There was this one boy that I really didn't like and I think I got matched up with him every other time. I was so rude and would not touch him if I could get away with it. Definitely not very nice of me. And then there was the Presidential Fitness Test. Man I stunk at that. I couldn't do the front arm hang for more than about 5 seconds. That was embarassing. I am thankful that I don't have to take anymore gym classes. Any good gym class stories???

A Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today...June 16, 2008
Outside my window...the birds are singing, it's warm but not too hot, the sun is shining

I am thinking...I have a heart of thankfulness today. Thankful for forgiveness, and for God's love for me that is beyond what I can even fathom. I am safe and have nothing to fear. Nothing can happen that God cannot carry me through. Thankful for the reminders God is giving me today to be thankful and not grumbling.

From the kitchen...I've got dinner in the crock pot, one of Ollie's favorites--Moroccan Chicken and Lentils. I love when I have dinner done in the morning and don't have to think about it again.

I am creating...I've been scrapbooking, trying to get caught up. I learned a new knitting thing yesterday and already have half a washcloth made.

I am going...here, there, and everywhere this week. Everyday we have multiple places to be. Two camps--one day and one night, some tutoring, a library show, and whatever else strikes our fancy.

I am wearing...my favorite shorts that used to be my favorite capris until I cut them off and before that they were my sister's favorite capris. And my new favorite tank top from Target. Even better than the ultimate tee.

I am reading...Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. I was ready for another mindless read with a great story.

I am hoping...to be able to relax and enjoy the summer and not do what I usually do--fill it up fast. Of course, I've already failed at that this week. One week down, about 7 more to make up for it.

I am hearing...nothing but the birds. My house is silent. All the kids are at theatre camp.

Around the house...can I skip this one? I don't want to even think about the house. It's pretty messy and needs to be cleaned from top to bottom. Maybe next week...

One of my favorite things...reading to my kids before bed at night. Especially stories I've never read before.

Here's a picture thought I'm sharing..

this is about how excited I feel about our official beginning of summer...No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks (oops, I'm the teacher)

If you want to participate in the Simple Woman's Daybook see here.

I Said, What Time is It?

Lay on your side and get comfy and watch Hannah rock out to this High School Musical song. :0)

What Time is it? Summertime!

I couldn't figure out how to rotate this video. My suggestion is that you lay down on your side and get comfortable and then press play.

A Fun Afternoon

This afternoon marked the beginning of the Thursday afternoon library shows. Our library system does a great job of keeping us entertained through the summer with all sorts of different things. Today was our favorite--our friend Mr. Scott is a magician who travels the country doing shows at schools and churches. He always keeps us laughing and his show never gets old. I spend the whole time wanting to know how he does it. I've asked if I can be his assistant but so far he says "no." Oh well. Hannah got to be his assistant for one trick today and she gave away the secret to me. :0) Don't tell Mr. Scott. Anyway, before the show we met some friends for the most expensive ice cream ever. Well, probably not the most expensive but definitely overpriced. The scoops were skimpy and over $2.00 a scoop. I think next time we will buy a half gallon and a bunch of spoons. Or maybe two half gallons--that would still be cheaper than what we paid. Oh well, the kids had fun and it was good ice cream.

Two Cute Videos

If you want to see some cute kids telling a joke and then reading a poem go check out Randi Sue's blog here.  

Prince Caspian

Remember how I said that we were going to have an at home day yesterday?  Yeah, well, that didn't happen.  We did stay home most of the day though but decided to go to the movie to see "Prince Caspian."  We were blessed with free movie tickets (Thanks Jane!) and the kids were dying to see "Prince Caspian."  We had recently listened to it on CD and see the poster at Disney all the time.  I had heard mixed reviews about it but mostly that it was pretty scary and intense.  I decided to risk it and just warned the kids that if there was something scary to just cover their eyes.  We all LOVED the movie.  It was a little scary at times but nothing too bad.  At one point I heard Joe tell Hannah, "I'll cover my ears but you get my eyes."  Too cute.  We didn't eat lunch and had planned to get popcorn.  Do you know how much popcorn is at the movie???  Almost $5 and that was the SMALL.  So, my kids had candy that we bought at Target for lunch.  Grace had Reese's Pieces and Joe and Hannah had Nerds.  Delicious and nutritious.  I made up for it though with a totally yummy and healthy dinner.  I now have a new, awesome fish dish.  I'll post the recipe one of these days.    

New Hair

I had my hair colored for the first time ever today.  I have started to get some gray hair and I've always said that as soon as I get gray hair I will start coloring it.  I was going to go for dark auburn but decided for highlights for the summer instead.  My hair is blonder than it has ever been but I like it.  It's different and will take some getting used to.   Here's a picture for all you nosy people.  :0)  As I looked at this picture I realize that it doesn't look that blonde in the picture but trust me--it is.
Cris--there's my kitchen behind me.  That's all there is.  Tiny,huh?

Lapbooking ad nauseum

In an effort to wrap up our school year this week we have been doing marathon lapbooking. This is definitely not how I would recommend completing a lapbook. Lapbooks are supposed to be fun but the fun is lost when you are working for an hour or more and pushing to do one more thing. The girls have had good attitudes but I think they would have benefited more if we had done a little bit at a time over the last couple of months. Anyway, we have completed the two I recently purchased and are most of the way through the Fourth of July one that Hannah and I started a year ago.

Grace's lapbook is titled Flowers and Insects in the Garden. It was different than other lapbooks we've done. For one thing, this was way too easy. We created more of an interactive lapbook than one that gives information. There is a flower memory game, matching the number words to the number, reading the color names on a caterpillar. I wish I would have researched it more but oh well. It is cute and she is the type of kid who will play the games in it over and over. We used a tri-fold board for this lapbook and for the Mary Cassatt one. We usually do file folders but I felt like trying something different. I let the girls paint them a couple of weeks ago to make them look a bit more colorful. I really like how they turned out.

This lapbook above and below is the one that we started last summer. It is all about the Fourth of July and our flag. I thought it would be a good way to top off our studies of the United States. We've got all the little books in but have only filled out half of them. We will be working on it the next couple of days.

Then there's Mary Cassatt. Mary Cassatt is one of my favorite artists and one of Hannah's as well. She was an impressionist and showed her work with Degas, Renoir, and Monet. She has a lot of mother and child pictures that are just precious. This lapbook had a lot of writing and it was a little more than Hannah likes to do. She would have enjoyed it more if we could have taken more time on it. She did enjoy it though and learned quite a bit. We both did. At the homeschool convention I bought a small book of stickers with artwork by Mary Cassatt. We were able to use them to liven up this lapbook and add some color. In the same little kit there were Mary Cassatt tattoos. Nothing like a little fine art tatooed to your arm. How corny is that??? We haven't used them yet but I'll take pictures when we do.

Simple Woman's Daybook~June 9, 2008

FOR TODAY June 9, 2008...
Outside my window...it is pitch black and way too late for me to be up and on the computer. When it is daylight though I see the fig tree outside my window and I just noticed today that there are lots of baby figs on it. I can also see the Macadamia Nut tree and a couple of days ago I watched a squirrel steal himself a nut. Good luck getting it open, they are incredibly difficult to get into.
*****
I am thinking...I finally have a day tomorrow with not one thing planned. The first day in weeks and the last day in weeks. I can't wait to get up and start our day in a leisurely fashion. I may even cook breakfast to celebrate.
*****
I am thankful for...a really full, productive school year and a break! Also, for my husband's job as a teacher. Just a few more days and he has two weeks off and then an abbreviated summer school schedule and then two more weeks off.
*****
From the kitchen...I'm trying two new recipes tomorrow night. We will be having baked fish and a Persian rice/lima bean with dill dish. I can't wait!
*****
I am wearing...PJs--did I mention I should be in bed by now?
*****
I am creating...an easy summer menu, I don't want to spend more than 15 minutes in the kitchen preparing dinner each night, it's too hot. I have a menu plan with lots of cold meals--salads, sandwiches, and even a cold cereal night.
*****
I am going...nowhere tomorrow--woohoo!
*****
I am reading...Homeschooling: A Patchwork of Days, it is a collection of 30 homeschooling families who share about a day in the life of their homeschool. Very fun read (if you are a homeschooler).
*****
I am hoping...to actually finish the 4th of July lapbook this week (the one we started a year ago).
*****
I am hearing...the fan blowing on me, crickets chirping outside, and Ollie typing next to me as he plays Call of Duty
*****
Around the house...I have been in organizing mode. I bought myself some baskets and plastic drawer thingys and slowly my closets and cabinets are becoming clutter free and easy to access.
*****
One of my favorite things...laying on the couch, reading a book, and listening to a big ol' thunderboomer rainstorm.
*****
A few plans for the rest of the week...read Grace's bug books to her, really finish school and quit talking about it and thinking about it, swimming with some preschool friends, seeing the first summer library show of the year, watching "Bad News Bears" in the park downtown on Friday night, teach my kids how to play kickball in the backyard, practice riding our bikes to the theatre since we will be doing it everyday for four weeks starting next week
*****
Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Visit Peggy here if you want to join the Simple Woman's Daybook.

Joe's Carnival

Here are the pictures I promised from Joe's exciting day. He really had a great time. It was a great ending to a great school year!