The Big White Farmhouse

Around here, I have been:


cleaning the carpets!  (You know you’re getting old when this brings sincere excitement!)  We rented a Rug Doctor from the grocery store for 24 hours and there’s something so satisfying about the process.  Of course, within days, one of the kids knocked over an entire cup of coffee…AND this is why we can’t have nice things.


surviving a busy week of appointments.  All five kids had doctor’s checkups (all healthy and perfect!) and a dentist checkup for me (cavity free!).  


feeling so inspired by this podcast with the founder of Neighbor’s Table.  My mind is racing with big dreams and ideas for implementing something right where we are.


starting a bullet journal.  I already use a similar system, but decided to invest in a special hardbound book.  I LOVE the mix of daily to-dos with a little bit of creativity.


reading The Mapmaker’s Children.


watching Fluffy, our neighborhood cottontail rabbit, build a nest in our yard.  We think she is preparing a space for her babies and the kids are beside themselves!  They check for her every morning.

Around here, I have been:


starting spring cleaning with a bang.  I’m feeling the pressure to get my to-do list accomplished before soccer season starts!  This week’s accomplishments: I dragged the vacuum around on my hands and knees and sucked up every last dust bunny and crumb in all the nooks and crannies.  I also thoroughly vacuumed the stairs vs. the quick brush they usually get.  Next up: finishing the painting in the living room (which I’ve been meaning to get to for…a year?) and cleaning all the carpets.   


reading Bakhita: From Slave to Saint, The Mapmaker’s Children and Better than Before for book club.

trying a new blend in my diffuser called the “Afternoon Blast”: lemon and peppermint.  I didn’t mind it, but the kids thought it smelled weird.  (P.S. I also started a journal page for my essential oils where I’ve been jotting down what I’ve been learning.  My goal is to research or try something new at least twice a week.)  

thinking about the class I’m teaching at the co-op next year.  The co-op is in the planning stage for next year and I volunteered to teach a class for the 5/6-year-olds.  My running idea is “Travel Around the World through Literature” and it will be picture books with some geography, crafts and food mixed altogether.     


buying last minute things for Easter.  Everyone has clothes (even me!) and the baskets are complete except for the chocolate, so I’d say I’m pretty prepared.  Lent went by so quickly this year and I definitely feel like I bombed in preparation.  I had such big goals and am sad to say that I don’t think I did well at any of them.  Maybe that was God’s lesson for me (as always!): I don’t need to be in control.


working out and loving Dollar Workout Club (if you sign up through this link, you get the first week free!).  I start half marathon training in two weeks, so I’ve increased my weight training to give myself the best jump start.  I definitely plan to continue (to a lesser degree) in the months to come too.  This week’s exercises:

letting TJ paint with the kids for the first time and ahh, what a disaster!  Dropping paint brushes on the floor, trying to climb onto the table, putting paint all over himself, adding his own touches to his siblings work….SO not ready for that level of fun!  I can’t help but laugh at the craziness.


ordering standardized testing for the boys and in disbelief that we’re nearing the end of the school year already.  Time sure flies.


homeschool notes:
+ I’ve been having the boys do some free writing using these Star Wars notebook pages.  Writing is always more fun when you have the right tools!