The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

{around here} Weeks 6/52 & 7/52: Weeks of 2.8.16 & 2.15.16


A collection of our ordinary days, recorded every week.


Around here, I have been:


recovering from almost an entire week of a crippling stomach bug, hence the double recap this week.  It came suddenly and went through five of us.  Passing any illness in a big family is hard, but this one was particularly rough.  But what a way to enter into Lent!  I spent the next few days furiously disinfecting everything and doing loads and loads of laundry, so we’re good as new – fingers crossed! 


receiving new product for Big White Farmhouse.  We just got in three new signs made from reclaimed wood and they are super cute.  I’ve managed to add two of the three to the site (our nest and kitchen) and hope to carve out more time this weekend.  


exercising every day this week and each day doing something new.  It’s pulling me out of my rut and I’m starting to look forward to it each day.  Now if I can keep this up!


thinking about running another half marathon in the fall.  The race location is 10 minutes away from my house, which seems too good to pass up.  A little nervous to train through the summer, but I like a challenge.  


reading A Man Called Ove for book club and falling for the cranky, yet endearing main character with every chapter.


sneaking in special time with the kids one-on-one.  After spending way too much time overwhelmed and moping about how hard it is with my toddler, I decided to think in terms of what I could “sneak” into our days vs. what I was missing out on.  So I started “Coffee, Cocoa, and Cards” with J and we played a few hands of Crazy Eights after breakfast.  After getting all of the supplies, I grabbed M and we sneakily made marbled paper together.  D and I found a hiding spot and did his reading where no one could find us.  Life is what you make it and I’m too incredibly blessed to be grumpy about this season of our lives.    


noticing my oldest and my youngest and how quickly they are changing.  The others are too, of course, but wow.  Time is flying, despite my holding on tight with both hands.


homeschool notes:
+ Starting to bring some more fun back into our school days.  We did the Naked Eggs and Walking Water experiments and they were both big hits.

{five favorites} Vol.13: Snow Pants, Multiplication Practice & Customer Service


Welcome to the Five Favorites linkup!
A reminder about a new twist I’m adding to the linkup this year: At the end of each month, I’ll be giving away a prize pack to one #5Faves participant!  Here’s how it works: every time you link up a blog post, it counts as one entry.  So if you link up a post every week, you’d get four entries.  I’ll keep track throughout the month and then randomly pick a winner on March 1.  

On to this week’s favorites:

{1}

After being totally unprepared for the blizzard a few weeks ago (my poor kids!), we decided to finally invest in some real snow gear.  We purchased these pants (along with these boots, which we love too!) and the boys took them out for a test drive after Monday’s snowfall.  Two thumbs up and while pricey, they are well-made and will be able to be passed down from kid to kid to kid.

{2}
“For 40 days, I paid attention to the people in the service industry, letting Mother Teresa’s words, ‘We belong to each other’, mean more to me than a pretty phrase to hang on my kitchen wall. For the 40 days of Lent, I treated every person in customer service as if they belonged to me, and soon, they did.”

{3}
Third grade is all about those multiplication tables and M is currently right in the thick of it.  He’s struggling a bit, so I put his math on hold and decided to add fresh ways to practice those facts.  We just started this activity book from Usborne and it is awesome!  Colorful pages and fun activities that use the facts in different ways.  There are even “Quick Quizzes”, which hopefully will help with speed and recall.  
(Jessica is my go-to Usborne Consultant – I’m sure she’d love the support if you’re purchasing for Easter baskets!)

{4}
“Maybe you and your daughter both have thick thighs or wide ribcages. It’s easy to hate these non-size zero body parts. Don’t. Tell your daughter that with her legs she can run a marathon if she wants to, and her ribcage is nothing but a carrying case for strong lungs. She can scream and she can sing and she can lift up the world, if she wants.”
I would add that it’s okay to tell her she’s beautiful too. 🙂

{5}

Sophia has curly hair that easily gets knotted and tangled.  Lately, she’s had a low tolerance for hair brushing (so much whining and dramatic tears!) and I was desperate for a solution!  After a little late night Googling, I came across a random forum and someone recommended this leave-in conditioner.  We use it, along with a regular detangler spray, after her shower and the difference is amazing.  We are both happy girls, hah!  
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I’d love to hear above five of your favorite things too!  Need some ideas?  Here are a few to get you started:
+ Tell us about five of your favorite go-to breakfasts.
+ Share five of your favorite small business or etsy shops.
+ What are your five favorite workouts?

{five favorites} Vol.12: Five Recent Blog Posts that are Inspiring Me


Welcome to the Five Favorites linkup!
A reminder about a new twist I’m adding to the linkup this year: At the end of each month, I’ll be giving away a prize pack to one #5Faves participant!  Here’s how it works: every time you link up a blog post, it counts as one entry.  So if you link up a post every week, you’d get four entries.  I’ll keep track throughout the month and then randomly pick a winner on March 1.  


Today I’m sharing five recent blog posts that have been inspiring me this week!

 1 // Tabitha’s 1000 Hours Outside Goal (as part of her 100 Small Things list)
I especially love what she wrote last week: “This week was a turning point for me in looking at my outdoor hours. For the past month it felt like a chore and something that needed checked off the list. But this week, it was ha,tingly obvious that making outdoor time a daily occurrence is such a relief to my soul. When things start to unravel with my patience and the kids are especially wacky, a trip outside to stomp about in mud puddles or a walk to the mailbox does incredible wonders for all of us.”


2 // Nicole’s Makers Gonna Make: My Master List for 2016
“I should also mention that I don’t have a goal to create 25 new things this year or anything like that.  This is all for fun and learning and peaking my curiosity.  Nothing more.”

 3 // The comments from Janssen’s Tell Me What to Read – Winter 2016 Edition
Lots of great new books to check out!  I was furiously writing down titles, hah!

 4 // Stephanie’s My Month in Photos
“I didn’t want the calendar pages from this book going unused, so I decided to mix things up a little and use it as a photo journal/thankful book!”  Love this idea.

 5 // A Long Winter’s Nap: How Hibernation Helps You
“Now we act as if it’s always summer, demanding consistently high productivity at work and at home. But our bodies require cycles of activity and rest—daily, annually. When days are long, our metabolisms and energy levels amp up.  In winter, we produce hormones that make us sleepy, giving us time to restore body, mind and soul.  And there’s nothing wrong with that cycle—except that we work against it, forcing ourselves to operate at summer levels even in winter. No wonder so many people feel depressed at this time of year!”



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I’d love to hear above five of your favorite things too! 





{around here} Week 5/52: Week of 2.1.16

A collection of our ordinary days, recorded every week.

Around here, I have been:


hearing rain outside.  We also had some warmer temperatures this week, so between the two, almost all of the snow is gone.  Crazy to think we were snowed in just a week ago!  


feeling overwhelmed with homeschooling with my toddler.  TJ is so hard at this age: climbing onto everything, having fits when he doesn’t get his way, destroying everything in his path… I really need to figure out how to create a school day that benefits everyone.


cheering for D as he finally lost a stubborn tooth that has been bothering him!  

seeing little pink blooms on my Christmas cactus.  But then…TJ ran down the planter with his car and it shattered into a million pieces.  I’ve temporarily replanted it in another pot and am hoping it doesn’t die.


reading A Man Called Ove.

watching M make scones all on his own.  He learned the recipe in his co-op cooking class.  I love how he is growing more confident in the kitchen and making delicious things to boot!

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