Oh Daylight Savings Time.  You mess us up every time.  I’ve spent the week chugging cups of coffee to compensate for my early risers and I’ve been ready for bed by 8pm!  Hopefully, we’ll get back on track this weekend.

On Monday, I was nursing the baby and looked around at all.the.stuff.  With Christmas right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to do a sweep and declutter before all of the new stuff enters the house.  I managed to label a few boxes (similar to this) and make a to-do list (you know me!) and I hope to really get started tomorrow.  

Favorite homeschooling activities this week:

• Our new read aloud is Owls in the Family and we’re really enjoying it.  We looked up Youtube videos to compare different species of owls, drew one with the help of Art for Kids, and made paper bag puppets.
• It was C week in kindergarten.  We made cookies and caterpillars.

I got the green light from my OB last week, so I am full speed ahead on exercise.  This week was a mix of Couch25K runs and the last section of my postpartum exercise DVD:

• BWF Behind the Scenes: A Reflection on the Past 10 Months: a journal entry of sorts to remember the ups and downs of being a new small business owner 
• From the Archives: Gratitude Journals. This was #3 for my Life List goal to support 100 small business mammas.  She still sells these little books, check them out!  I love mine.  

I’m still reading Let’s All Be Brave but hope to finish up this weekend.  This quote stuck with me: “The longer I live, the more I think I’m figuring out that courage often looks like sacrifice and service.  In the places where you find the most comfort, you have to have a little extra something to give there.  Home is where we rest.  Home is where we find peace, so to give from there, to sacrifice in that place, is to sacrifice deeply, I think.  It’s brave.”  


Have a wonderful weekend.

What a difference this week was compared to the last!  Our life is still full to the brim, but it’s good and I’ve been able to take it all in stride.  TJ is largely to thank, as he has still been sleeping well at night and that has really helped my productivity during the day.  Here’s a peek at our week:

HOMESCHOOLING.  Week 13 was pretty low-key.  We didn’t really do any “exciting” activities, but I appreciated the week off and the boys didn’t seem to really notice.  Part of the reason may be because of the two Usborne books shown above.  We gave D this one for his birthday and M was so interested, I gave him this book early!  They both have a combination of activities (like, “Find all the snowmen with scarves and color them blue”) and coloring pages with lots of different themes.  I highly recommend them! 

EXERCISE. This was the first week that I scheduled out my workouts.  I mixed walking (2-3 miles each time) with the first stage of this postpartum workout DVD.  I wouldn’t exactly call Progression 1 a “workout”; it was definitely heavy on stretching, but it felt good to get back into the routine.  

ON THE BLOG.

• What Homeschooling Looks Like Here: A recap on our homeschool weeks 7-12
• The Second Annual BWF Pajama Drive: There are just a few weeks left to donate jammies to help needy children in my community!  This year, we’d like to collect 30 pairs and are currently about a fourth of the way to our goal.  I’d love your help!  E-mail me for more information.

BIG WHITE FARMHOUSE SHOP.  Exciting things are happening in the shop!  I photographed and started the behind the scenes work for our Holiday Collection!  We just released a “Gather” dish towel, which would be perfect for Thanksgiving and makes a great hostess gift.  I really love the metallic gold lettering – so fun!   

ON MY NIGHTSTAND. I just started Let’s All Be Brave: Living Life with Everything You Have and it’s good so far.  One quote I’ve underlined: “To believe in yourself means to believe that God made you and there is no one like you, that you have a unique call to courage, and that you can do the thing that is staring you in the face.”

P.S. Have you taken this personality test?  I seem to recall taking something similar in college, but I can’t remember the results.  I’m ISFJ and the summary was so true for me!  What are you?


Have a great weekend, friends!

In my gut, I knew it would come.  For three weeks, I’ve felt great, empowered even.  I may have gone so far as to declare to my husband that being a mamma to five was a piece of cake!  But deep down, I knew the high couldn’t last forever.  And it didn’t.  This week was hard.  

It was a rollercoaster of emotions.  Some days, when the laundry was washed and folded, dinner was homemade and the schooling completed, I felt on top of the world.  I loved this homemaking gig!  But the other days…the days where the boys seemed to always be fighting, the house was a disaster, Sophie spilled smoothie all over the couch and the baby wouldn’t let me put him down for more than two minutes…those days had me incredibly overwhelmed and I just wanted to climb into bed and hide under the covers.  

But time goes on.  Life is all about changing seasons and this is one of those times.  The addition of a new life is a change for everyone, a good change.  In the overwhelming moments, I panic and desperately seek what little pieces I can control, but what’s the lesson here?  The reality is, I’m so not in control.  So I’m trying again, clinging white knuckled to Him and praying for the grace needed to do this vocation well.  Here’s to a better week.

A few good things to mention:
+ We celebrated D’s 6th birthday!  He went out to breakfast first thing with his Daddy and chose a McGriddle from McDonald’s.  (Side note: on their special day, we let the kids pick anywhere they want to eat.  Their choices crack us up.)  His favorite gifts were this Ultra Agent Lego set and the Uncle Wiggily Game.  For dessert, he chose a cheesecake sampler.  He declared it was “the best day ever” and that made me so happy.  He’s growing into a pretty great kid.
+ I’ve been walking everyday and it’s been so good for my mental health.  I’ve also been hitting my weekly goal of 8,000+ daily steps.  I’m hoping to add some light exercises soon.
+ Pajamas have started arriving for the BWF Pajama Drive!

Hope you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend.

Wow.  Another week has flown by!  Here’s a peek at what we did:

HOMESCHOOLING.  It’s been a light week in homeschooling as we finished up the last bits of Week 11.  I enjoyed splitting up the work into two weeks…it’s been a gentle way to get back into the routine with a new baby now in the mix.  A couple of notes:

• I’ve decided to make Fridays all about history.  M will have his weekly spelling test and a math page, but the rest of the day will be diving into ancient civilizations.  It will allow us much more time to incorporate activities, crafts and cooking – all things that M really enjoys.  He was so excited about the idea that we ended up having History Day on Monday!  We learned all about mummies, mummified an old action figure using this example, and even had mummy pigs in a blanket for lunch (inspired by this idea).    
• M’s science book, Usborne World of Animals, has been a hit for all of the kids.  We have learned so much!  We just started our study of Asian animals and the boys really enjoyed this video about Japanese snow monkeys.  

Plans for the weekend: soccer games, celebrating my big 30th birthday, and a trip to the apple orchard.  I can’t wait!  Have a wonderful weekend, friends.

With Mark back at work, I was a mamma flying solo with five kids this week.  It was a bumpy ride, but we survived!  We ended up easing back into homeschooling because we needed the structure.  I like to consider ourselves pretty flexible, but the boys really struggled with all the free time and oh man, the bickering.  Getting school accomplished was a way better alternative!    

A few homeschool notes from week 11:

• It was S week.  We made snakes.
• I’m not convinced that the phonics curriculum we’re using is working for D. I need to do a little more research, but I’m considering switching to either Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons or Phonics Pathways.  Anyone have a preference or recommendation?
• M’s favorite spelling game of the week: Scrabble Addition.  Math and spelling practice in one!
• We are almost halfway through Thomas and the Dragon Queen and I am so impressed with the life lessons sprinkled throughout.  I have really enjoyed the conversations it has created about courage, adversity and trying our best.  

Last but not least, a little update on my favorite two-week-old: TJ has been sleeping 3-4 hour stretches at night, which is amazing.  Who knows if it will last, but I’ll take it while I can!  He also had his first bath and actually liked it.  Sophie hated baths for almost an entire year and screamed every time, so this is a very welcome change!  He is just a doll baby and every one of us is so smitten with him.  We are so blessed.


Have a great weekend, friends!

How do I begin to describe our first week as a family of seven?  Surreal.  The transition has been gentle and the big kids have been great.  There hasn’t been any jealousy…if anything, they fight over whose turn it is to hold the baby!  Sophia has claimed TJ as her own “bay-bay” and is so helpful.  I can’t get over how much she loves him.     

Sophie turned two this week and we had the most simple, special day celebrating her.  She woke up bright and early and went with her Daddy to get a doughnut and Frozen balloon at the grocery store.  While she was gone, the boys and I set up her new kitchen, which was a BIG hit!  She played contentedly off and on all day!  We made cupcakes together in the afternoon and had homemade pizza (one of her favorite foods) for dinner.  It was the perfect day.  We sure love that girl of ours.

We took the week off from homeschooling, but still managed to fit in a little read aloud time.  We just started Thomas and the Dragon Queen and it’s already sparked lots of conversation about knights and courage.  


Plans for the weekend: TJ’s first trip to the soccer fields!  
Have a good one, friends!

From the looks of these photos, I apparently only photograph our homeschooling mornings these days.  The rest of the day is a blur of housework, baby preparations and lots of conversations and cuddles with the kids.  I am keeping up, but my body is definitely sending the signals that baby time is near!

Since I’m days away from having four (!!!) little boys in this house, I pulled out Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys from the bookshelf for a re-read.  If you have a little guy at home, I highly recommend this one.


Exciting news of the week: I was so honored to be interviewed for The Mom Next Door series over at Tabitha’s blog, Team Studer.  I love how Tab explained the purpose of the series: “Every Mom we see or know carries within her a story and history that guides her in decisions, worries, and the love she gives to her kids as best as she can. This interview series was created with the hope that, given the chance to chat with any mom, we would find that no matter how different they are from ourselves, we would come to see that all moms are really just A Mom Next Door.”  Be sure to check it out!  

Favorite homeschool activities this week:


Kindergarten

• It was P Week, so we did all things pirate!  It was fun to devote an entire week to one theme and see how it sparked the boys’ imaginations.  We read two of our favorite pirate books, 1001 Pirate Things to Spot and How I Became a Pirate, and made treasure maps, pirate puppets and newspaper hats.
• D also pulled out our well-loved Ed Emberley drawing book and has been busy creating all kinds of things.  I love how much he loves to draw.

Second Grade

• Spelling is still a big hit for M.  This week, I had him spell his words using letters cut from magazines and newspaper ads.  Fun for both of us, hah!
• Math has become a little hard for him, so I’ve decided to slow way down and supplement with worksheets in between lessons.  I think the extra practice with addition and subtraction facts will really help his self-confidence.  I’ve had some luck finding free printables around the web, but I think this Star Wars set may need to be purchased soon. 
• We are also about a third of the way through our study of Ancient Egypt and had a great week of activities.  Deciphering hieroglyphics (“I feel like a detective figuring out a code, Mamma!”) and making our own papyrus (using the instructions here) were both big hits.   

One last thing: Do you know Mary from her blog, Passionate Perseverance?  I first “met” her through my Penpal Project last year and she is such an amazing, holy woman to me.  Her sweet family is going through so much right now, so I would love if you would keep them in your prayers or even consider donating through their Paypal button (which you can find on her blog).  Thank you!  

Have a great weekend, friends.  Hopefully the next time you hear from me, I’ll be introducing you to our newest addition!

I reached the pregnancy milestone of 37 weeks this week.  Full term.  I’m equal parts amazed that we’re here already and panicky that I haven’t accomplished everything I need to do before he arrives.  Control freak much?  This is always such a crazy emotional time for me anyway; I’m soaking up the last days with my “current” baby, while pepping myself up for the upcoming labor and delivery of the next.  I’m getting excited for what’s to come, while enjoying to the fullest what I already have in front of me.  It’s this complicated, yet beautiful and sacred push and pull.  I’m trying to embrace it.  


I just read this post, Pursuing Big Plans in the Middle of Motherhood, and I could draw so many similarities to my experience with Big White Farmhouse.  We are a family business in every sense of the word, but I never guessed how invested my kids would become.  It makes me so happy to see such excitement from them as the company grows.  To hear one of them exclaim, “We got a sale?  High five, mamma!” or “When I’m big, I’m gonna have my own store too.”  I feel so lucky to be able to share this adventure with them.  My point to this rambling: if you’ve got a dream or idea that you keep down deep, maybe it’s time to try it out. 


Favorite homeschool activities this week:

• The change in M’s attitude toward spelling has been incredible since we switched gears and tried something new.  He actually looks forward to the subject now!  One of the activities we played this week was Waffle Words and we both took turns creating and completing the puzzles.  I had fun too!
• D and J are still loving math.  We used Pattern Blocks, which are always a big hit.  I also printed these Transportation Themed Mats for more practice.  For H week, we made hats and hearts.

I finished Peace Like a River on Wednesday and wow.  Definitely the best fiction book I’ve read in a long time.  Have you read it?

A few little things I want to remember about my sweet Sophie, who’s almost two and about to be promoted to one of the big kids…
+ how she puts her arm through mine when we sit together on the couch
+ how, all of a sudden, her favorite movie is Frozen (she calls it “Le’ Go”) and she asks to watch it almost every day
+ how she’ll point to my belly, say “Bay-Bay” and then run to find her own baby doll
+ how she loves to sit up on the counter and “help” cook…making chocolate chip cookies is her favorite (for obvious reasons!)
+ how her favorite thing is to go on a date to the grocery store with her Daddy…when he asks her to join, she runs for her shoes, blows me a kiss and tightly grabs hold of his hand
+ how crazy she is for her brothers, as they are for her (Overheard: “Sophia, did you know that you’re my best friend?” – J)

Have a wonderful weekend, friends.

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!