The Big White Farmhouse

Another week in the books.  Between the busy days and the insomnia at night, I am tired!  Like fall asleep last night at 8pm tired!  Definitely the sign of a good week, though, right?  Here’s a little bit of what we did:      


After months of having the nonchalant attitude of “Oh, it’ll all get done”, I am definitely in nesting mode now at 35 weeks!  The baby to-do list is getting checked off with sudden urgency, hah!  The newborn clothes have been washed and bassinet has come up from the basement.  I’ve still yet to prepare any freezer meals, but we did manage to make a bunch of breakfast burritos (inspired by this post).  Next up is the hospital bag.  

I’ve also been on ebay, scouring deals for some of the kids’ fall clothing.  It can be tricky sometimes, but I’ve gotten amazing deals for brand new/like new clothing, while often spending $5 or less.  So helpful when you’re dressing a big family!

Favorite homeschool activities this week: 

• D and J loved playing with the Linking Cubes in math, making patterns and counting “huge towers”.  We also made alligators and apples for A week.
• For M, I changed up our spelling routine halfway through the week and it’s already made a huge difference!  Before, it felt like pulling teeth and I wasn’t convinced that he was actually learning how to spell anything long-term.  From here on out, we’ll be incorporating more games and hands-on activities.  We started with this fun game, which was a HUGE hit!

On that note, I’ve been working on a blog post about what homeschooling looks like at our house that I hope to publish early next week.  I’m always curious about what the day-to-day looks like in other families, so maybe it will be helpful to someone else.  

This post, I’m a Pinterest Mom and Proud of It, had me smiling and nodding in solidarity.   My favorite part: “We’re having fun. We’re not contriving magic. We’re not more concerned about our children than you are. We’re not better moms. We’re just crafty moms. We were crafty before we had kids, and we will be crafty when our kids are grown up. And we are just pleased as punch that we have teeny little willing crafting/cooking/baking partners.”  And this last line: “It’s not a competition because we were never competing. We were just having fun in the way that we have fun.”  Here’s to mammas being the best you can be, no matter what your talents are!


Have a great weekend, friends!

Can you believe we’re halfway through August already?  This summer has been wonderful in so many ways, but I’m anxious for what fall has to offer too.  I keep reminding myself to take it one day at a time and enjoy every day to the fullest (sometimes easier said than done!).  Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to this week:


We’ve been easing into homeschooling for a few weeks now and it’s been going better than I could have imagined.  The boys love it!  We’re starting to fall into a routine, while at the same time, being really flexible…I’m sure that doesn’t make any sense, but it’s been the perfect practice for when the new baby arrives.  Our favorite activities this week: making rainbows and robots with the little boys (and Sophie too!) and starting our study of ancient history with M by making a loom just like early settlers.     


Mark and I have both had long, exhausting days, so we had a little at-home date one night after the kids went to bed.  It’s so good to talk together, catch up about our day and laugh.  Oh, laughter.  The best balm for this tired mamma’s soul.  


A few updates at the halfway point for my August goals:

• I found a cross-stitch project from my stash and have been faithfully working on a few stitches everyday.  It’s a simple project with only two colors, so I’m not sure why I ever put it down!  Pictures to come next week.
• Surprise package “just because” to a friend who needed some sunshine: check!
• We’re one step closer to preparing Big White Farmhouse for Christmas with the addition of Gift Certificates!  I love that it’s a physical product vs. an e-mail (just personal preference) and that it will be filled out by hand.  Another little detail where we hope to keep our store personal. (And little side note if you’re interested: gift certificates will always ship for free, either to you or directly to your recipient.  We’re working out a few kinks on the website, so for now, if you enter “GCFREESHIP” at checkout, it will cancel out the default shipping charges.  Sorry for the inconvenience!)  
• Almost done with my walking challenge!  Just a few more days to go, but I think this has become a habit I’ll continue daily.
• Make a designated prayer request book: check!
• I’m in the middle of reading Another Man’s War: The True Story of One Man’s Battle to Save Children in the Sudan.  It’s hard to read about horrible things that happen in our fallen world, but I also don’t want to keep my head in the sand.  
• Some progress on the baby checklist: the car seat has been purchased and a freezer meal plan has begun.  I hope to get a few meals assembled this weekend!

TGIF!  We’ve had a rough week with a lot of sibling bickering, but some weeks are just like that, right?  We all survived and hopefully with a little extra sleep this weekend, they’ll be back to their happy selves.  I can hope!  A few other highlights from the week:
  
I’ve mentioned them before on Instagram, but I need to sing praises for Art for Kids on the blog too.  This is an amazing (free!) resource for art-loving kids like mine.  The videos are educational, easy to follow and my boys look forward to every video that is posted.  I highly recommend.      
  
Another fun resource if you have Lego-loving kids at home: Create Your Own Lego Minifigures.  I’ve been printing these out by the dozens and the boys have been creating lots of different superheroes.    

As for me, with just seven weeks to go, I’ve started my “new baby checklist” and freezer meals are high on the list.  I overlooked this step when Sophia was born and because of it, we ate way too much takeout.  Not good for the wallet or my (hopefully!) shrinking midsection.  My plan this time around is to knock out a few meals every paycheck until his due date.  So far, I’ve found a few pasta-type dishes, like this one for Cheesy Mexican Stuffed Shells, but I’m hoping to round it out with something less carb-filled.  Any ideas?  Let me know your favorites!  


Exciting news over at the BWF shop: we just launched the beginnings of a new section of the store, The Children’s Room!  Right now, we are starting with five different varieties of adorable plush animal dolls (so hard to choose, but I think my favorite is Lucy Owl), but we hope to expand the line soon.  I’m imagining wooden teethers and toys, felt dress-up items and more.  We are committed to finding the types of items that are so well made, they are sure to last for generations to come.  It’s definitely counter-cultural to the “Buy as much as you can for as cheap as possible!” mentality, but it’s one that I feel is important.  Look for a better blog post on the subject soon!  


One more thing: I came across this article on Facebook and I’ve been thinking about it all week: What I Learned After Taking a Homeless Mother Grocery Shopping.  It’s such a complicated issue, but the whole thing just makes me so sad.  I’m praying for inspiration for ways to help mammas in my own community.  In this situation, Mother Teresa’s quote comes to mind: 
“Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.”


Have a great weekend, friends!