The Big White Farmhouse | intentional living, little by little

September 7, 2015

{link list} Best of the Web Vol.03

Kitchen Sink Missionaries // With all the horrible things in the news these days, I often feel helpless. This is just one small example that we can do something, right where we are.

Crash Course Kids // A gem of a Youtube channel, featuring science topics for kids. I’ll definitely be adding these to our lessons.

Postpartum Depression is like the Ocean // This one was incredibly powerful and brought back a lot of painful memories of my own postpartum depression. A good reminder that is okay and even admirable to get the help you need.

A Teenager’s View on Social Media // In short…I’m old.

The Crayon Initiative // Recycling unwanted crayons into unlimited possibilities. I love this.

Reading Out Loud // I love the idea that the kids can flip through and reminisce about their favorites. Definitely starting a book of our own soon.

September 4, 2015

{around here} Week 35/52: Week of 8.31.15

A collection of our ordinary days, recorded every week. At the end of the year, I’ll publish them into a keepsake to treasure.

Around here, I have been:

having a hard week. Between adjusting to a busier schedule, having cranky kids, struggling to fit in all of my commitments, horrific news stories, crazy hormones and car trouble, I am beat. TJ is into everything and I can’t seem to get ahead of the household chores either. I’m so thankful for a long weekend to sleep and catch up.

starting our new soccer season routine. Practices are twice a week, back to back, which means quite some time on the soccer field! The little ones have been troopers. I’m brainstorming some surprises to get for them to pass the time.

watching Reading Rainbow on Netflix. I thought the kids might think they were hokey, but they love the show! In the first four episodes, we learned how bowling balls are made, about the benefits of composting, how to make a comic book and that we’re never too old to learn something new.

buying new fall pajamas for the little kids. The big boys have decided that they’d just like to wear sweatpants and a shirt to bed now and that makes me a little teary. Where did these big kids come from?! I’m compensating by buying these and these and these for Sophia and TJ.

finishing up the first phase of T25. I absolutely love this program. I love that I am seeing results in a time frame that works for a homeschooling, small business owning, mother of five! If I can do it, anyone can.

reading Love Does for me and Pippi Longstocking as our school read aloud.

loving how Sophia says her “f”s as “s”s. Her family is her “sam-ly”, she loves “shench shies”, and she hurt her “singer”. Like the boys, I know I will blink and she’ll be saying all of these words correctly, so I’m eating it up for now.

September 2, 2015

{book report} Better than Before: A Review

Even if you haven’t read this blog for very long, you probably can tell that I love goals. They excite and energize me and the practice of setting them monthly has really changed my life for the better. So you can imagine my excitement when I was given the opportunity to read and review Gretchen Rubin’s latest book, Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives!

The premise of the book is that we can create and then use habits to ignite positive change in our everyday lives. Rubin believes that we have the ability to modify less desirable behaviors (like eating junk food, not exercising, clutter, etc) and then turn them into actions that become as rote and routine as brushing your teeth.

In order to know which strategies will best work to accomplish that goal, Rubin starts with the descriptions of what she considers four main tendencies: Upholder, Questioner, Obliger and Rebel. (You can find out where you fit by taking the quiz here.) Just as many people learn differently, we also use different strategies when it comes to habit building. (So what may work for me as an Upholder might not for you as a Rebel.) Rubin believes that this self-knowledge can be the key to being more successful in the habits we wish to create.

The book is packed full of strategies and anecdotes, but here are just a few things I found thought-provoking:

+ I really enjoyed the section on distinctions, which helped me discover things about myself that I’ve never really taken the time to address. For example, it turns out that I am a Lark. I don’t mind waking up around 6:00 and I tend to do my best, most focused work in that early morning time frame. My other distinctions: I’m an underbuyer (I call myself cheap, but underbuyer sounds better), a simplicity lover (I’m always decluttering), a finisher (I will keep a tube of toothpaste until I get every.last.drop) and am promotion-focused (hello gold stars!).

+ When it comes to dieting or eating healthier, are you an Abstainer or a Moderator? I was surprised to realize that I’m an Abstainer. As Rubin writes, “…if I try to be moderate, I exhaust myself debating: How much can I have? Does this time ‘count’? If I had it yesterday, can I have it today?” This played itself out in real time during my Whole30 this summer. While the idea sounds extreme and miserable, I actually found freedom in knowing exactly what I could and couldn’t eat. I didn’t have to mentally debate whether I should have one or two pieces of bread – I just couldn’t have bread.

+ I was really inspired by the section about starting. The takeaway: just start. Not tomorrow and not when the time is right. Today is just as good a time as ever to begin. I tend to like neat beginnings, like goals that start on January 1st or beginning something new only on Mondays, so this was tricky for me. I put it in practice by starting T25 on a Tuesday and launching my 100 Little Things project in the middle of summer.

I enjoyed Better Than Before and I think I have gained a greater understanding of myself, both in strengths and weaknesses.

Have you read this one? What did you think?

I received this book from Blogging for Books, but all opinions are mine.

September 1, 2015

{thrive goals} August Review // September Goals

August…holy moly, where did it go? With school back in session, the weeks have been flying. As is usual for me as we adjust to new seasons, I’m still struggling to find that sweet spot of getting it all done. Trying to learn as I go, but I’d be lying if it didn’t stress me out a bit.

A few of my favorite blog posts in August:

+ 100 Little Things: Round Two
+ Our Homeschool Curriculum Choices for 2015-2016
+ Five Reasons We Love Jet.com

My August goals, reviewed:

1. Go on a date. Done. While my parents watched the kids, Mark and I had a lunch date complete with stops at the antique store for me and Gander Mountain for him. We lead such a wild and crazy life, hah! It was awesome (and really strange) to be kid-free for a few hours.

2. Complete a Week in the Life project with Ali Edwards. Done. This project was intense, but I really love the result. I feel like it’s a visual time capsule of our life right now and I’ll treasure the pictures in the years to come. I’m sure I’ll do it again someday.

3. Buy a birdfeeder. Done! We purchased this one.

4. Revamp my blog’s sidebar tabs. Didn’t complete. I significantly reduced my screen time this month and this fell to the wayside. Someday.

5. Continue work on my office. I didn’t touch my office this month! Need to get on this before the busy holiday season comes around.

And a few new goals for September:

1. Make more concrete plans for PreK. // We are starting our fourth week of school and I have been incredibly unprepared for the enthusiasm of my two littles. I thought I would do a very laid back, reading-rich PreK, but they are demanding more! Instead of scrambling with Pinterest searches each morning (my current crazy plan of attack), I need a better system.

2. Make an emergency preparedness kit. // With seven people in the house, “just winging it” probably isn’t the best idea.

3. Go to the dentist. // I have anxiety attacks just thinking about the dentist, so this is huge. Deep breaths…

4. Get back to making reading a priority. // With other projects to take my free time, I lost my momentum this summer. I’ve got a nightstand with a tall stack I can’t wait to dive into.
5. Go apple picking.

What goals do you have planned for September?