Simple Woman's Daybook

I know I haven't posted for nearly two months.
Yes, we are still alive!
I think!?!

It has been a whirlwind around here lately. Spring has come and as much as I hoped to settle down and relax, I have once again made sure our plates were full, too full. Oh well, that's what makes life interesting.

I saw this Simple Woman's Daybook post on another blog, and decided to borrow it.
I want to fill you all in on life these last few months, but my brain is on overload and other than answering a few questions, I don't think I can come up with too many coherent thoughts at the moment.
So here ya go...

Simple Woman's Daybook  April 29th

Outside my window...
I see the trees blowing in the wind, and I'm thinking I should get outside and pick up the kids' toys that just may end up in the neighbors yard. I also see my small patch of grass trying to turn green, as the rest of the yard holds fast to the light brown color it loves so much.

I see my garden in desperate need of some attention, and my trees that have somehow survived the winter, no thanks to me!

I also see my compost pile that, at the moment, is a breakfast buffet to the squirrels and rabbits who dare to enter the yard with our ferocious little doggie.

I am thinking...
that I have once again filled my plate to overflowing! I love being busy and having many projects or commitments to keep my attention, yet, I'm feeling the strain of having spread myself a bit too thin and constantly taking on more and more. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have a million and two things going at all times. I just might find out how to relax.
One of these days I will learn to say, "NO" and leave some room on my plate for downtime, but until then, I'll enjoy this busy lifestyle and work to make sure I am keeping my priorities in order within all this mess.
Busy bee me, that's who I am.

Hi, my name is Amber and I'm a busy bee.

I am thankful...
for my family, my health (what's left of it), and my friends.
I'm also thankful that as so many are affected by the tornadoes, we are safe in our home.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all affected.

In the kitchen...
I'm wishing I had a cook! I hate cooking, but I like to eat. My family also likes to eat, and they insist on doing so three times a day! Three times...Every day!

 I know, as a stay-at-home-mom, I'm supposed to be super mom and make wonderful meals, healthy meals, and all from scratch with only the best ingredients and yada, yada, yada. Well, not this mom, not right now anyway. Unfortunately, this last few months I have made very few "good" meals and we have had way too much fast food, which is not only terrible for your health but extremely expensive! We've had too many late evenings when we haven't made it home until well after 6 or 6:30pm. At that point, trying to come up with a meal, cook and serve it in time for kids to eat, bathe and get to bed by a decent time, is just not happening. I'm embarrassed by how often we have fallen back on frozen pizza or a quick run through the drive through.

I am wearing...
As it's still early, and kiddos are sleeping, I'm enjoying the morning in my pj's! Sweats and a sweater. It is spring and we have enjoyed some beautiful days, but this is Colorado and today I am reminded of that by the cooler temps. At least the sun is out and shining bright!

I am creating...
a mess! Actually, I haven't had any time to get much (any) sewing done. My poor daughter is going to get upset if we make it to June and she still has no shorts! My hope to set some time aside in the next few weeks to make summer shorts for the kiddos.
It's very difficult for me to find shorts that fit my daughter well and that are appropriate, as she is nearly as tall as I am but very thin, and all leg! I'm not too picky on what she wears as long as it's modest and clean. With that said, trying to find shorts that fit her well and are decent, is next to impossible, so for the last 6 or 7 years I have been making shorts for her each summer.
I enjoy making something she likes to wear, and she enjoys picking out material and patterns. I laugh at the psychedelic material and patches she picks out, and think how well she would have fit in back in the 70's!
I love that she feels comfortable enough to keep with her own style and not care what others think, or what's "cool" or in "style" at the moment.
This is one of my favorite benefits of homeschooling; each child/teen is free to be exactly who they wish to be without feeling the need to hide any part of themselves!

I am going...
insane, crazy, loco, nuts, to the funny farm. Name it and I've been there or headed there quickly!
That's the joy of my life. It's so much easier when you stop trying to be "normal" and just embrace the craziness and uniqueness that is you!
I have officially given up trying to blend in or do as others do, now I'm allowing myself to enjoy being me, even with my many, many flaws!
God loves me, my family loves me, my friends love me, and to my surprise they all keep admitting they know me or are related. I'm taking that as a compliment!

I am wondering...
how the homeschool project fair is going to turn out.
A few months back, I decided to organize, and run a local homeschool project fair for local homeschoolers.
I set the date. I reserved a large meeting room at the local library. I made flyers and placed them at local libraries and homeschool events. I've talked with the local newspaper and they have ad for the fair in the weekly paper. I have shared our flyer and information with multiple local homeschool organizations, web sites, and Facebook groups. I have poured much of myself  these last few months into getting this project fair planned and set to go.
The fair is open to all ages and projects. We have entries as simple as a piece of artwork from a 6 year old, to books that have been written by teens. We have a model of the human body, photographs, possibly even a few Lego creations, and much more.  For our project, the kids, my mom, and I, have worked on a model of an old mining town to display at the fair. (I will share photos soon)
I wanted this fair to be a fun way for homeschoolers of all ages and skill levels to display and share their homeschool projects.
So far, it's looking like it will be a great time and a great turn out.

I am reading...
I just started this, so I can't say much about the book yet.
So far it seems promising, but we'll see.




I am hoping...

that May goes well. We have so many things going on in May, and I am hoping we can accomplish everything we have planned and still make time to relax and enjoy the spring!

I'm also hoping that we can keep everyone healthy! We have spent far too much time sick these past few weeks, despite my frenzied cleaning trying to kill any cold and flu germs that chose to invade our home.

I am looking forward to...
a possible mini-vacation. We had hopes to head to sunny California this spring, but with finances and hubby's job changing we are not able to make it work this time.
We are planning (hoping) to take a short trip to the Sand Dunes this summer. A couple hour drive, easy camping, and lot's of outdoor time, it should be enjoyed by all .

I am learning...
I can not do everything and take proper care of myself and my family. I am learning to make time to get away ,and recharge even if it's just for a few hours. I'm also learning, or being reminded,  how important it is for hubby and I to get some time away with each other.
We did manage to get out for dinner and a night out with friends a few weekends ago. It was a much needed night out, and helped us re-connect. We are hoping to get out once a month, even is it's just out to the dollar theatre or a to enjoy a walk somewhere together.
 As busy as life is with kids, parents must make sure  to invest in their marriage!

Around the house...
I see too many toys, too much clutter, too many things that need attention, but that's ok. This is our life. One day and one project at a time, right? Someday, I'll look back and miss all this craziness! Even the toys all over the floor.

Quote for the day...
“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”
― Allen Saunders

Photo for the day...

This is from our field trip to the Cripple Creek & Victor mine, to go along with out unit study of mining. It was amazing to see the monster machines in action. I'm sure you can guess what job my boys both now plan to have when they grow up!



If you made it though all that, I hope you are doing well and have a wonderful week!

 

Weekly Wrap Up...

Weekly Wrap Up...

 Do you ever feel like your life is a scene from the running of the bulls in Spain?
I do, well maybe not quite so dramatic. But there are days, weeks, and months that I do wonder when the whirlwind of craziness will stop. Then, I stop and remember that this whirlwind of craziness is our life. It's our normal.

So what's been going on in our life lately? A bit of everything!

In the home:
We spent a full week doing nothing and resting due to everyone being sick. The next week was spent trying to catch up on school work, housework, and all the other little things that went undone the week before. Laundry is no fun when it hasn't been done for a week. Even now, I feel like we are still playing catch up.

In our homeschool:
We have continued to learn about Colorado and mining. Our favorite so far has been reading a fictional story about a family making their way to Colorado City during the Colorado gold rush. The kids have enjoyed hearing the names of places they know and are familiar with as well as the little stories behind them.

We had planned to make a trip to the local mining museum this past week, yet due to the snow and cold temps, we decided to post-pone the trip until the weather warms up. A good part of the museum is outdoors and we would like to enjoy the visit without freezing.

The kids are also working with their grandma on building a model of a mining town. Using cardboard and items from around the house. They just recently started but have plans for quite the little town.
Here is the bit they have started so far.

A few little buildings, and the beginning of a water tower. I love that my mom is so open and happy to help out and involve herself in our homeschool journey.

In my life this week:
It has been another off week. The temps here have been below freezing, which means no outdoor playing for the kiddos. Which in turn means that mom is just about to pull out her hair! Our house is comfy but there is no extra space for the kids to run and really play, at least not without breaking something. So when we have a week or so when it's simply too cold to get outside, we all end up with cabin fever and desperately need to get out and run!

With all this indoor time, I have been trying to go through and clean out our school stuff. We have tons and tons of  "school stuff". And, oh my goodness, the books we have could start a small library. I'm not even sure why we go to the library, we have our own private one here at home. Eight different bookshelves of different sizes overloaded with books, books, and more books!

So far all this cleaning out is resulting in a lot of moving things around and not getting rid of nearly enough! I keep telling hubby that we need to sell everything, move into an RV, and travel. He's not interested in that idea at all...yet! I'm not giving up, just working it slowly. Wish me luck!

Homeschool fun club:
Awhile back, after not finding a homeschool group that worked for us, we decided to start one of our own. This summer we had a few families that would meet with us and enjoy an afternoon together.
Simply by word-of-mouth and a table at our library homeschool resource day, our fun club now has 43 families. I figured we'd end up with a handful of homeschool families that were willing to join our group and meet for fun events or tours, but I didn't expect our group to grow the way it has.

It's been wonderful though. We usually meet two to three times a month, and we have enjoyed quite a few events with these families. In the last few months we have enjoyed nature walks, toured a police station (kids even had their finger prints done and climbed on a SWAT vehicle), had a costume Halloween party at a park, spent a few afternoons at the roller skating rink, toured a local museum, enjoyed game nights at our library in a private room just for our group, gone to the art museum, and enjoyed some very simple play dates at the park. For February, we will be enjoying another game night, a tour to the humane society, and another night roller skating.

I'm known for jumping into things a little too quickly and often saying, "yes" to far more than I should, but this is one of those things I'm glad I just jumped in and started. It has been wonderful for the kiddos and myself.

Looking forward:
At the moment, I am really trying to not look too far ahead. I am trying, though not always successfully, to focus on today. At the moment we have nothing big planned or expected in the near future, thankfully. Yet, we do have a special little boy who will be turning the 6 in just under two weeks. Yes, my baby boy is going to officially be a big boy. He says he has been a big boy for a long time, but mama is just not ready to admit it just yet.

The growing kiddos:
My daughter, who is still my baby girl, is nearly 13 and growing way too fast. I am not sure I'm ready for this teen stage and all the changes that are coming with it. But I am enjoying watching her grow and change into such a beautiful young lady.

She has grown, or seemed to have grown, so much in the last few weeks. She is now babysitting and volunteering at our library once a week. As hard as it is to accept that my baby girl is no longer a baby, it's pretty awesome as well. I am enjoying watching her grow and take on more responsibility and yet keep her sweet and playful personality.

Wild Thing, my busy, busy boy! I love that boy so much and wonder at times, if God really thought I could keep up with him and teach him all he needs to know. Because I'm not too sure. I have learned so much from just being his mom. He has taught me to look beyond what we see and find an adventure in everything. He has taught me to really think outside the box, and that there is no such thing as teaching kids all the same way. He has taught me that being the one that's a little different or odd, is exactly what sets us apart and makes us pretty awesome people.

 I'm supposed to be teaching him and yet, he is teaching me far more!

Praying for:
My grandma! I love her and have not been able to see her as much as I'd like. I pray for her each night and that she will be comfortable and know just how many love her!

A dear friend who is dealing with some incredibly tough stuff right now. I pray for God to guide her each day, and for her to have the strength and courage to deal with the stress and struggles.