5 Favorites: Babiez mayk u dum edition

Thanks to the lovely Hallie for hosting!

5 Favorites: Babiez Mayk U Dum Edition

I'm 36 weeks pregnant and counting the days.  I know not everyone gets this fun pregnancy symptom, but I get major brain drain, especially during the third trimester.  So, my memory goes, my grasp of English is greatly reduced and I have trouble concentrating on anything (including books written for kids.  Yeah, it's bad).

1. Roku box

My kids have a mild flu, so we're having a sick day.  They're tired and cranky and still getting over a super eventful week last week.  So, they're being allowed a bit more screen time than usual.  My roku box lets me stream Dinosaur Train from Netflix online to my vintage TV.  There are other shows, too, but Dinosaur Train is the current favorite with the four different ages. The peace is priceless and the kids "buy" another episode with a chore, so it's not like they're vegging out for uninterrupted hours.

2. Pinterest, again.

This time I'm crowdsourcing my meal planning to all the smart blogging ladies who do freezer meals that go into the crock pot.  I'm going to be spending the next couple days putting up some freezer meals for those hazy post-baby days.  I'm starting with this smart lady who introduced me to the method and branching out to browse all the other possibilities out there.  I have a round up of these recipes on my pinterest board "survival recipes" along with my other school year, mom of many, super quick and easy recipes.

3. my laptop
What other device lets me stay in touch with my buddies, helps me make meal plans and recipes, runs my homeschooling lesson plans, and lets me bid on getting my mom the perfect "thank you" gift?  I love my twenty-first century tech.

4. my list app on my phone
Since I have no memory left, I have to write down *everything*.  I have so many lists and checklists I would never be able to keep them in the same place without the kids finding and destroying my stack... so I have them all on my phone.  Grocery lists, chore lists, reminders, they're all in the same place.

5. smart kids
Not just my smart kids, who are great helpers when I'm in the "ooohhh, that's a Braxton Hicks contraction and I'm going to be on the couch for a bit now" stage of the third tri.  My smart, college-kid sister comes over for a couple hours every day and brings my smart youngest sister.  Between the two of them, my house stays clean and my kids are entertained.  Surrounding myself with smart people when I'm feeling intellectually vulnerable has been so comforting.

Seven Quick Takes: Memorable Moments

Thanks to Jen at Conversion Diary for hosting. :-)

This week there was nothing earth shaking happening at our house, but sometimes it's all about the little moments.

1. Marty was being carried somewhere by one of his aunties. Apropo of nothing, he popped his head up and said "HEY!  Imma love you!"

2. Upon being given a donut, Kittybean (15mo) made happy smacking sounds with her mouth, punctuated by waving her arms in the air.  This is her rendition of the "happy dance."

3. At a coffee shop, I was putting cream and sugar in my coffee.  My curious Robbie was watching and started commenting. "Don't put in too much sugar." "Why do you need that much cream?"  "I think that's enough cream now, Mom.  You should stop now." Because a six year old who has never tasted coffee is of course an expert.

4. Girls' night at the cafe with dessert and coffee was awesome.  My girlfriends are wise, geeky, and the perfect group for me. Not to mention funny and supportive.  Love 'em to pieces.

5. While I was watching my son do his work sheet, he looked up and smiled ear to ear.  He loves his homeschooling.

6. Bri actually asked for more school work after she finished her quota. Her sister grabbed her crayon  and, instead of coloring on her sister's worksheet, made coloring motions over where Bri had already colored.  She's getting it!

7. Every day there are little moments where my kids interact with each other that warm my heart.  Yes, four is a lot and five will be more.  Yes, they keep me busy and a little tired.  But they fit together like puzzle pieces.  They love and help each other.  They belong together.

Hello, Monday!

After a wild and crazy weekend, I'm so, so glad I did my lesson planning last week.

Believe it or not, *not* flying by the seat of your pants increases the probability of getting things done by 1000%. I'm sure wiser heads than mine have pointed that out, but sometimes being a beginner means making your own mistakes.

Also, we have a full docket this week: out of town guests, Fourth of July festivities and rounding up the week  with a weekend at the Door County Renaissance Faire.  I'm making everyone pirate costumes this week (Except for B, who wants to be a blue pirate fairy princess.).  I'm running errands and meeting friends and getting our garden in shape (as much as a 35 week pregnancy will let me) and I am still confident that we are going to get our school work done this week.

Also, the kids keep asking to make sure that we're going to get our schoolwork in.

I always promised myself I would be a "summer off" kind of homeschool mom.  However, our little curriculum only takes about an hour, so they get the majority of the day off.  Plus, they will be ready to start the school year with a bang, since their mental hinges will all be oiled and in top working shape when A. the new baby comes in a month B. my teaching from home job kicks back in and C. harvest season rolls around.

And that's the thing about homeschooling. If you find something that works, roll with it.  If you find something doesn't work, change it.  There's a real beauty to flexibility.

Seven Quick Takes

Seven Quick Takes: New House Edition

Last summer, in the late summer, we moved into a new house.  For the first time in our married  lives, we're in an actual house, that isn't attached to anyone else's residence and that has a yard.  Here are some of my new favorite things about our home:

1. Lilacs.  The house previous owner (the only one, the one the house was built for) was an amazing gardener.  I'm falling behind in taking care of the sheer number of flower beds and garden areas.  But she planted these amazing lilac bushes that bloom in rotation, so we have had lilacs for almost a solid month.  I can smell them everywhere and the blooms are gorgeous.

2. Open windows.  We can keep our windows open most of the time starting in May.  We get a great cross breeze that keeps our house cool and let in the amazing scents of the garden, newly-mown grass, summer bonfires.  From my open bedroom window, I can hear the rainfall and hear the wind whisper in the trees.  I can also hear cranes, crickets, frogs and more birds than I can name.  We've never had "open window season" for a number of reasons, but I love it.

3. Our swing. We have an old porch swing in the back yard you can see a bunch of the garden areas and trees from.  It's one of my kids' favorite places in the world now.

4. Our big garden.  In addition to flower beds, we now have a huge vegetable garden with lots of sun and good drainage.  My mom is an enthusiastic gardener and thanks to her efforts we have gotten lettuce, spinach, radishes, dill, asparagus, garlic scapes, and wonder of wonders, strawberries!  I've never successfully grown anything before, so this bumper crop is overwhelming in the best possible way.

5. Our flower garden.  There are perennials everywhere! Right now it's irises, but I've seen alliums, bleeding hearts, lilies of the valley, flowers I don't know the names of, herbs I know but can't remember.  Crab grass has become my nemesis as it tries to choke out my pretty blossoms, but it can't lower my spirits.

6. The pool.  Yeah.  We have a pool now.  It's a big one.

7. The fire pit.  The biggest social draw has been our firepit.  Husband and kids love gathering burn material, getting the fire started, and cooking brats and marshmallows over an open flame.  We have cookouts a lot.

Bonus: 8.  My family lives a mile away.