The Big White Farmhouse

enjoying a lazy Labor Day weekend.  We purposefully kept our schedule clear and spent the time hanging out as a family.  It was wonderful.  I have a new appreciation for a loud, messy house.  


watching the boys start to find their groove.  At dropoff, they confidently leave the car with a “Bye, Mama.  Love you!”  They look out for each other, cheer each other on and can’t wait to share stories at the end of the day (like the silly girl who loves to hug all the boys and chases them around the playground!).  One of my fears with sending them to school was that they would lose their special bond and I’m so encouraged to see that it hasn’t happened.  Family comes first.      


(slowly) finding a new routine with the little ones.  I’ve been so used to a self-imposed strict daily schedule: wake up, coffee on, dishwasher unloaded, check BWF email, laundry started, breakfast…and on and on and on.  Every moment of my day was scheduled to “fit it all in” but now with the boys in school, I’m realizing that I don’t need to be nearly so rigid.  And it’s so weird!  Learning to just “be” with my little ones again – playing on the floor, reading story after story …those are sadly things that got tossed to big brothers or on the back burner.  I’m feeling so lucky to be able to give the little ones some of the same focus I was able to give the big ones at this age.  I’m really enjoying “just” being a mom.

thinking about hosting another Pajama Drive for Northern Virginia Family Services in October.  I totally forgot about it last year (I blame it on the Write 31 Days challenge!), but it’s something I’m really passionate about and would love to have others join in too.       


crossing off a few projects from my to-do list and it’s so good for my nesting heart.  Still can’t find that elusive solid-wood dresser though!
+ I’ve been slowly adding some of Sophie’s outgrown clothing to sell on Kidizen (on my to-do list for months!).  Happy to clear some room in her closet, while making some money to buy more clothing that we need for fall.  
+ My shower is my cleaning nemesis and I can never keep it as nice as I’d like.  So I stopped being cheap, bit the $9 bullet and bought a shower squeegee (affiliate link!) on Jet.  I love it!  Why does every seemingly common sense purchase take me so long?  Mark also swapped out our old, half-functioning shower head and what a difference!  It’s the little things.


feeling nervous about my upcoming glucose test.  I had gestational diabetes when pregnant with J and while it’s certainly not the end of the world, it’s a time consuming (and expensive) process I’d rather not repeat.  Not to mention the 3-hour fasting glucose test is brutal for me (I had it done as a preventative measure with Sophia too and…bluh.)

reaching a big milestone with Big White Farmhouse, which has me dreaming and scheming for the future.  A few other notes:
+ New fall candles are arriving today!  I chose four scents perfect for the cooler months ahead and love their names: Cozy Cabin, Mulled Cider, Pumpkin Caramel Latte and Sweater Weather. 
+ We had a successful Labor Day sale and sold out of a lot of products.  I’ve spent the rest of the week working on reorders, including the To Market totes and Gather Around the Table towels.  Hoping to keep the shop fully stocked through the Christmas season!  
+ I’m trying Later.com to help me visualize and schedule my Instagram posts better.  A beautiful, curated collection is such an underappreciated art and I’m continually learning and tweaking…hopefully I’ll get it down by 2017, hah.


baking blueberry muffins (J’s favorite from last week), Strawberry Crumble Cake (SO good for breakfast the next day too) and cupcakes to celebrate Mary’s birthday.


reflecting on how quickly this time of my life is going.  I’ve never been one to wish time away and have always tried to just dig deep into the trenches, but even I can’t believe how fast it’s all happening.  My oldest turns 10 this fall and for whatever reason, that feels like a huge milestone for the both of us.  This sweet boy, who for so long adored the tackiest, most superheroed clothing available, recently told me that he’d really like just plain colored shirts for school this year, if that’s okay.  I grinned and added it to the list, but choked that lump back in my throat.  It feels like the end of one era and the beginning of a whole new one.  Bittersweet.  

Around here, I have been:


starting a new adventure with the three biggest boys going to our neighborhood public school.  It’s a big change, but one that feels right and we’re excited to see what’s to come.  A few thoughts from this week:


– Surprisingly, I don’t really miss the teaching part of homeschooling.  I wasn’t aware of the incredible mind space it required of me: books and lesson plans and extra-curriculars and the pressure to give my children a worthwhile education.  It feels nice to take a breather.  That said, I definitely miss their presence throughout the day.  We are used to being together, all day every day, and it’s quite the transition away from that.  I think for the best – but still strange and surreal.  
– It’s quieter at the house, but definitely not quiet.  Sophia is enjoying having my undivided attention.  So.much.talking.  TJ is full-on terrible two’s already, so his tantrums and mess-making definitely keep the house lively too. 
– My sweet J was the most nervous of the bunch and I am so proud of his bravery.  On the first day, he confidently got out of the car, held the nice helper’s hand and didn’t even look back.  It still gets me all choked up to think about it.  Much to my surprise, he seems to be adapting to school even better than I could have imagined.    
– We couldn’t have asked for a better teacher for D.  After sharing with her his assessment, we found out that she has extensive experience with dyslexia and dysgraphia!  She will be helping us navigate the best route to take to get the extra help he needs.  He is enjoying school, but much like his mama, has been observing the new kids and slowly finding his place.  Praying he finds a buddy soon.
– M actually knew a few of his classmates from his previous school and soccer, so has had little problems socially and is excited to return everyday.  His perfectionist tendencies (also courtesy of his mama) make him nervous about what’s to come academically, but I’ve been encouraging him just to take it one day at a time.  
– There have been a few out-of-the-blue emotions from the boys, but I knew they were coming.  They all are internalizers like me, so I knew at some point, they’d need to release all of that pent up stress and nervousness.  One day at a time and lots of listening, hugs, and going to bed at a reasonable time. 

figuring out my new role in our new adventure.  For months, I have been mentally preparing for this week: for the boys’ worries or fears, for the new routine we’d begin, for the logistics of dropping off and picking up.  I never really thought much about myself and how all of this change would affect me.  While homeschooling a big family is physically and emotionally exhausting, the blessing is being able to be with your kids through all of the good and bad, happy and sad moments.  And I think that’s the part I’m struggling with the most.  I miss that more than I expected.  Having my big kids home for only a few hours everyday is both a relief and a terribly lonely feeling – I know it will get better, but whew.  So many emotions.


holding Sophie as she cried after hearing that J met a few new friends.  “But he’s my best friend, mama!”  After having your siblings as your best friends for all of her (almost) four years, it’s hard to hear about the competition.    


enjoying the boys and their new interest in survival tactics.  We’ve been watching Bear Grylls’ Man vs. Wild together and while parts of it totally gross me out, they are all entranced.  M is also newly interested in military history, so he borrowed a World War II book from the school library and I bought him the first book of a new series to try out too.


baking after-school snacks every afternoon with Sophia.  She is so happy to be in the kitchen and the boys love having something delicious to come home to.  This week, we were on a muffin kick, so we picked up a mega-pack of cupcake liners and made lemon blueberry muffins (minus the lemon and added a splash more milk), cinnamon apple muffins (and almost burnt them – next time, only 25-26 minutes to bake), and banana muffins with a homemade strusel topping.


reaching 26 weeks, but had to look it up on my phone to figure it out.  Time marches on and I sometimes forget there’s a baby in there!  Poor sixth baby.  I’ve been taking my blood pressure twice a day and having really good readings, so I’m anxious to discuss at my next appointment…maybe I just have general anxiety at the doctor’s office?  

working a lot on Big White Farmhouse.  The little two are so used to playing on their own that I’m finding I have tons of time now to work on the business.  This week, I’ve been sitting in the living room with my laptop while they’re playing and it’s been working well.  A few notes:
+ I ordered new products to add to our Children’s Room – this time, for the toddler/preschool crowd.  I am SO excited about these and can’t wait to share.
+ I’ve also been researching ideas for marketing this fall and it’s all a little overwhelming.  Do I collaborate with Instagram ladies?  Find a few farmhouse decor blogs to buy ad space?  Go the Facebook Ads route?  Hoping for some better direction in the upcoming weeks.