finally a little sewing

I went way too long without using my sewing machine! Last week I had some friends over for craft night and I finally made something! I found this fabric last week and I just fell in love with it. Yellow and brown aren't my usual picks. Well, yellow is, but I guess that particular combo isn't. Anyway, it is a super soft lightweight cotton.

I knew it would be a great choice for an infinity scarf. I only bought a yard and it was the perfect amount for the scarf and it sewed up very quickly. So quickly in fact, that I had time for another project that night that I look forward to sharing this week! There's no stopping me!

This was the first day I could post photos of the scarf because it has been rainy/cloudy for over a week! The rain was great and all, but I was starting to get rather drained. I need sunlight!

I hope your days have been sunny and creative!

little reader

The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

-Dr. Seuss

I have said many times that one of the most touching things as a homeschool mom is teaching my children to read. Actually, I get excited about my children learning, period. But, there is something extra special about watching them learn to read. Just seeing all the pieces come together...I love it!

Lucy is learning to read. We use this book for our lessons. We are about a third of the way through it. Most days she will ask to do more than one lesson per day. She gets so proud when she reads something new. Her eyes light up and she clasps her hands together in excitement.

She has not been reading books, but last week during a trip to the library she asked to pick out one she could read. In the past, I have liked the small simple books by Margaret Hillert. I pulled this one off the shelf first and Lucy was very pleased with the pumpkin on the cover.

She was so excited about reading it that she tried to start while we were still walking through the library! Once we got home, she had to have a little bit of help, but I was so proud of how well she did.

Maybe one reason that it is so exciting to see them learn to read is knowing that once they are able to read, they can take some other learning into their own hands. Not to mention all the places they can go with books (thanks, Dr. Seuss)!

I was just getting ready to close this post and Lucy entered the room and I asked her why she is excited to learn to read and she replied, "So that I can read on my own." And then I asked her what is so great about being able to read. And she replied, "You get to read mysteries and funny books. And you get to read the Bible and learn about people in it." I think those are some pretty great answers.

insta-friday :: week 7

So, I skipped a few Insta-Fridays. Oops. Don't worry, I won't share every photo that I would have posted had I been keeping up, but some of these are a couple of weeks old. Indulge me :) We have been doing artist studies with our history lessons. The photo above was taken during one of our Da Vinci lessons.

{Bird mapping. We love using Apologia's Flying Creature's of the Fifth Day.}

{Nature study with a house centipede we found on the back stairs. Eek!}

{We have consumed more marshmallows in the past couple of weeks that I care to admit.}

{The kids have been taking part in an electricity class with some fellow homeschoolers. They love building batteries and circuits!}

{A little road trip with the family may have involved singing Yankee Doodle to entertain ourselves while we were stuck in traffic.}

{The first banana bread of the fall.}

{Our study of Michelangelo involved seeing what it would be like to paint on a ceiling. In our case, the ceiling was the underside of the dining room table. I use this book along with our history for activities related to each artist. I highly recommend it.}

{The Smalltown Poets Christmas record has been mastered and we are really excited. Lucy was listening to it with Michael in his office/studio/library that we dubbed "Christmastown" during the recording of the album.}

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ok with that

My, this has been a quiet week here on the blog. I have thought about posting, but every time I would think of something it seemed kind of boring. For me, sometimes when I read other blogs I get a bit overwhelmed and I feel a sense of pressure to post something amazing.

The truth is, in the past few weeks, my days have looked a lot like the photo above. By the way, Lucy took that photo with my phone and I was really impressed with the composition. I haven't created any amazing dishes, or sewn anything, or worn any outfits that would make you all drool, or made an amazing craft to make my home sparkle. And I am trying to be ok with that.

I do remember the day that this photo was taken. I was in a bit of a grumpy mood and I was being very short with the kids. And it made me feel horrible. After I sat and read to them and I got up from the couch, I felt a sense of peace. Kind of like I had a chance to start the day over.

The only thing my children have been concerned with me creating is time with them. Well, and meals. I think they care about me creating meals. But seriously, I am learning that, while crafting and baking and the like do fulfill me, knowing that my children are happy and feeling loved (or, as we call it around here, that their "mommy tanks" are full) fulfills me way beyond those things. And I am more than ok with that.

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balcony homeschool

We are finally starting to enjoy cooler mornings here! Yesterday morning Michael suggested that we start school on our balcony. He is a genius. We have a pretty large second floor balcony, so we went out on it, spread a quilt and then piled our schoolbooks on it. We actually did almost all of our school day out there until we had to come in for lunch

{I think that being outdoors may have actually helped them focus.}

{The oak tree was kind enough to give us acorns to go along with our lesson about seeds.}

We so enjoyed yesterday, that we have already had school out there again this morning. This may be a frequent happening until the weather gets too cold. I think it was beneficial for all of us. The change of scenery was so nice. It is easy to get in a rut with school, but this was a simple way to change things up a bit and refresh us!

simply connecting

Today is a rainy day and I am pretty happy about that. I love how rainy days seem to slow us down a bit and make us enjoy simplicity. Michael is home and we actually did a lot of our school together as a family and I really enjoyed it and I know the kids did, as well.

I love spending time with my family. I guess that is a good thing since I homeschool my children! And I love "date nights" with my love. Last night was one such night and you can see from the photo, I really dressed up for the occasion. By the way, I know it is perspective, but my feet look huge. I do have long feet, but they are not bigger than Michael's!

We don't get a lot of date nights out of the house, but at least once a week we have one at home. Once the kids are in bed, I pull out the air popper, mix up a mean batch of popcorn, hit the secret dark chocolate stash and we watch a little television. Ninety-nine percent of the time we watch re-watch episodes of Psych (Hey, I told you that we are addicted. Watch Shawn and Gus and you will be, too.). The other one percent allows for movies and Project Runway. He watches Project Runway with me...I love him.

These date nights may not look like much, but I cherish them. Don't get me wrong, I love a night out as much as the next girl, but I am so very thankful that we can connect in such a simple way. And how often do you get to take your dog on date nights? (See bottom right corner of photo).

So, as this day nears to a close, I am thankful for my family who are happiest just being together, even in tattered pjs on the couch.

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insta-friday :: week 6

It has been a beautiful week here. We have had a teeny bit of milder weather, so I am now itching for fall. Who's with me? Anyway, here is our week in review in Instagram photos.

{Any other mothers of daughters find that these are everywhere you look?

I really don't mind though because I find they are so very cute!}

{My little helpers for the surprise cookies}

{Friends came over one night with a soft pretzel recipe.

Have I mentioned my soft pretzel addiction? These didn't help me overcome it.}

{A little chalk art to help the kids remember Columbus sailing the ocean blue.}

{My new necklace from heather's happys. It does make me happy, as does Heather's blog.}

{We are studying this (we love this series) and Lucy loves to draw while I read from it.}

{My sweet fella helping me with a surprise for his little sister.}

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