Nicole's Daybook

Outside my window... it's chilly! Yay!

I am thinking... about how frustrating it is that the citizens of our town abused the FREE recycling trailer by throwing in bags of trash, and now it's been taken away. There is now no recycling available in town and I will have to go back to driving 20 minutes (to a nearby town) to take my recycling. Now that we have done it for so long, I just can't go back to throwing recyclable items away.

I am thankful ... that I had a good night's sleep last night after three nights in a row of not sleeping too good.

I am wearing... a "Keep Calm and Homeschool On" t-shirt, black capri sweats, a white zip-up hoodie and tennis shoes.

I am planning...  Halloween costumes. It's that time of year again, and I need lots of time.
 

I am creating... organized closets. I brought our winter clothes home from Oklahoma, and need to figure out how I am going to put all our clothes in these tiny closets!

I am going... to spend some time today looking over my sheet music for bell choir and highlighting my notes. I haven't played the bells since 1984. The first practice was entertaining.

I am reading... The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd ... STILL!!  I need to get it done because I have a really good book waiting to be read! I am going to make it a priority to finish it this weekend.

I am hoping... that Dawson continues to excel in school and with his new friends. He is doing so great and I am very proud of him.

From the learning rooms... We have been doing a lot of storytelling, art and nature. Today we are starting back with our intense math program. I am hoping Eli does as well with it as Brynne did last year.

Noticing that ...  I have to go buy a laundry basket with a lid. Every time I leave the house, Crusoe pulls out the dirty laundry and chews up things. Urghhh!!

From the kitchen... Making some cookies today. Eli has been asking for them for over a week.

Around the house...  are more boxes to unpack. I brought back yet another load this past weekend. I'll be saying that every couple of weeks for a while.

One of my favorite things... the television show Parenthood. It's back on and is so good. I sobbed at the end of the premiere.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Lunch at mom's today. Church dinner and bell choir tomorrow night. Fishing derby on Saturday morning. Otherwise, not a thing.

From my picture journal.

The bridge on the walking trail where I walk every morning, and the location of our nature study yesterday.

Lots of women Daybook. See what they have to say at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Menu Plan Monday

We had a really great time in Oklahoma this past weekend, even though we had lots of work to do. Rick and I got all of our sorting and organizing completed by 7:00 p.m. Saturday night so that we could go out for pizza. We headed home yesterday and had fish and party potatoes at Grandma and Papa's.

This week we are having all of Dawson's requests. Here is what he wanted:

Monday ~ Easy chicken cordon bleu sandwiches and fries

Tuesday ~ Chicken fettucine

Wednesday ~ Taking hot dogs to pot luck at church

Thursday ~ Hot ham and cheese sandwiches, chips and apples

Friday ~ Calzones

Saturday ~ Salisbury steak and macaroni and cheese

Sunday ~ Dinner at my parents'

House Pictures

I think it's time for some pictures of our house, don't you? As you recall, we purchased a 1918 bungalow that was a complete disaster on the inside. We had to paint every single surface, add flooring to the bathroom and kitchen, and refinish the hardwood floors in order to save them. And we did it all in one week.

There is still much to be done, in the little things .... new countertops and appliances in the kitchen, a bathroom redo, new light fixtures, decorating the bedrooms, etc. But, the bones are done and it's pleasantly livable, so those things can wait until we get our house in Oklahoma sold.

I think I'll post one room at a time for now. Let's start with the living room and sitting room. Here is a reminder as to their condition when we bought the house.

Here are the pictures when we were doing the renovations ...

And this is the living room and sitting room now ...

Everything is very cozy and intimate and functional. I love every single thing about these two rooms.

We'll do the kitchen next week. Have a great weekend!

Kids Night ~ Red, White and Blue

Last night was the Lion's Club Kids Night.This is a community activity that has been going on since I was a little girl. I can still specifically remember the elaborate tricycle decorations of my brother's one year ... my dad made it into a horse so that Tim could wear his cowboy outfit.

Kids Night involves lots of races ... foot, bicycle, leap frog. And, there is a pet parade. They used to have the bicycle parade, which is why my brother's tricycle was a horse.

Eli and Brynne entered this year. They took Crusoe as their pet. He was SuperDog and won second place.

Then they each ran the foot race and the leap frog. Brynne didn't place, but gave it a good shot in both races!

That's her on the right hand side, wearing black.

She was so sweet to pair up with a little girl who was about 4 years old, so that she would have a partner.

Eli surprised us all and won the blue ribbon in the foot race! He was so excited!

Then he and his leap frog partner won third place!

For prizes, the kids got to choose items from the concession stand. Hot dogs, M&M's and Pepsi made the night extra fun!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love small town living??

Nicole's Daybook

Outside my window... it is beautiful! It's sunny, with a slight breeze, and the humidity is down. Perfect day!

I am thinking... about how purposeful each and every moment of my day feels.

I am thankful ... that my grandma is doing so well! She is back on track physically and mentally and we have really enjoyed our time with her.

I am wearing... a brown and gold fleur de lis shirt, a pair of denim capris, and black frayed flip flops.

I am planning...  a trip back to Oklahoma this weekend to help Rick with the purging so we can get our house listed.
 

I am creating... some kind of "costume" for Crusoe to wear in the Kids Night pet parade competition tonight. We're thinking Superman!

I am going... to take the kids to the annual Kids Night tonight. It's lots of fun!

I am reading... The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (obviously I didn't get any reading done last weekend, like I had planned.) I DVR'd the movie the other day, but I don't want to watch it until I finish the book.

I am hoping... that we have a really nice weekend with Rick, and that we get to see some of our friends.

From the learning rooms... We have started a two-week unit on Fairy Houses and Forts, using the book Alice the Fairy by David Shannon as our focus literature this week. Yesterday we learned about voice and perspective, and made up our own rhyming words for our own spells. Today we are making wands for art. And we are making up or own magic powers and spells later in the week. This is all leading up to a field trip to Powell Gardens to their Fairy Houses and Forts exhibit. Dawson gets his first set of progress reports on Monday. He knows that he has a high A in Geometry, and he was really excited about that. But, he is concerned about his art grade because his teacher seems to get great joy in her students getting poor grades. I have a feeling a parent-teacher conference is in order.

Noticing that ...  my relationship with my dad is so much better now that we have moved home. I guess it's just hard to build relationships with people when you live so far away from them, especially when neither of you are phone talkers.

From the kitchen... Lots of muffins! Earlier in the week it was banana. Today it's zucchini.

Around the house...  are a couple of new pieces of furniture from my mom and dad. They gave us a couple of black occasional chairs (one for my desk and one for in the sitting room) and a 4x4 foot coffee table that looks GREAT in our living room. Now I just need a rug to put under it.

One of my favorite things... all the small-town activities.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Tonight is Kids Night which is a fun night of races (foot, bicycle, sack, etc.), a bicycle parade and pet parade. Tomorrow night starts our Wednesday evening activities at church. We are going to go to a potluck dinner (each week), and then the kids will be in childcare with my niece, Rylee, while I am at bell choir practice (I was in the inaugural bell choir at this church when I was in junior high, and haven't done it since then. I bet I need some practice!). Thursday night my mom and I are thinking of driving out of town to my niece's volleyball game. And then this weekend we are heading to Oklahoma for the weekend.

From my picture journal.

Grandma Alice with her great-grandkids Eli and Brynne on Grandparents' Day. Before we went to participate in our church's Serve 2012 day on Sunday morning, we went and had church with grandma and the kids made her a sign to hang on her door. We also took her a mum, some fall decorations for her room, and some muffins. They were so sweet pushing her oxygen tank down the hall while I pushed her wheelchair. Good kids!

Lots of women Daybook. See what they have to say at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Menu Plan Monday

It's time for another week of culinary delights in our home. Just kidding. But, I do have a plan. We are heading back to Oklahoma this weekend to help with the purging and preparing of our house to go on the market for sale. So we'll just be eating at home a few nights this week.

Monday ~ Tomato soup and grilled cheese

Tuesday ~ Spaghetti with meatballs

Wednesday ~ Potluck at church

Thursday ~ Bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits

Friday and Saturday ~ Eating out in Oklahoma

Sunday ~ Frozen salisbury steak and macaroni and cheese (we'll be getting home right at dinner)

The Princess of Quite a Lot

When Kyndal was a little girl, she had a picture hanging in her room from Mary Engelbreit titled "The Princess of Quite a Lot".

On Tuesday night she competed in a fall festival queen contest in the town where she lives. She was mostly doing it, I think, to promote her family and their businesses in town. And she confessed she really didn't want to win and take on the responsibilities the crown would have required. But, my mom, Brynne and I went to watch the competition and support her.

There was a talent competition, evening gown competition, and impromptu question. She really looked so pretty.

She performed a cheer and tumbling routine for her talent.

In the question portion, the girls were asked for their stance on global warming. Really, they asked that question to 16 and 17 year old girls. Most of the girls didn't know enough about the topic on give an intelligent answer. It was torture. Kyndal did well enough. At least she didn't try to b.s. her way through it. She said that she believes that global warming is real and that she doesn't really know much about it.

Some of the other girls tried to pretend that they knew what they were talking about. They had on their pageant faces. It was really pretty disgusting. I was actually proud that Kyndal didn't act like a pageant contestant and, instead, was just true to herself. She was really just adorable.

Why didn't they ask a question like this: "If you had the opportunity to speak to a group of 10 year old girls and give them advice about their futures, based on your experience, what advice would you give them?" I would have loved to have heard the insightful answers to that question.

Kyndal didn't place. The "suck up girl" won, naturally. The girl who won 1st runner-up really should have received the crown. After the crowning Kyndal came out with nothing but smiles and hugs for everybody. All she really cared about was getting out of there and going to eat.

She knew that she didn't need to be queen of the fall festival. She's already the "Princess of Quite a Lot", and that's all that matters to her.

Nicole's Daybook

Outside my window... is a typical day here in mid-Missouri. It started out raining, is clearing up, and will soon be humid and hot. I do love waking up to the sound of rain, though!

I am thinking... about how helpless I feel here, all happy and acclimated to our new home and life, while Rick is dealing with all the stress of our old life.

I am thankful ... that Kyndal is true to herself, even when peer pressures ask her to be someone she is not. She participated in a queen contest last night, and I would have just puked if she would have turned into a teenaged Honey Boo Boo like the winner did. Really? Yuck.

I am wearing... a Fitz's Bottling Company t-shirt, gray capri sweats, and tennis shoes. I think I will just be staying in this attire today. I have some work I need to get done around the house, and we actually have no plans today.

I am planning...  to finish unpacking the few boxes I have left to unpack. I'm going back to Oklahoma in 9 days and will be bringing back even more stuff. I want to be able to have room for everything.
 

I am creating... a little more inviting and usable basement. 

I am going... to start doing all of my grocery shopping locally. It's an experiment of sorts. Although the actual grocery prices are higher at our local grocery store, the varieties are much less and I think I will actually save money by not impulse buying like I do at Walmart. I also think it would be nice to support our little local grocery store. I can get my toiletries at the local Dollar General (yes, it's not a mom-and-pop store, but at least it's local), and I plan to try to buy fresh bulk foods at our Amish store.

I am reading... The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (hoping to get some reading done this weekend.) I DVR'd the movie the other day, but I don't want to watch it until I finish the book.

I am hoping... that our house sells quickly (in Oklahoma) and that we are able to have patience until it does.

From the learning rooms... This week it is all about Penguins! We are having a unit study, art, and nature week. Dawson also gets out of school at 1:00 on Friday, so it's a shorter week for him.

Noticing that ...  Rick is really being tested right now. I am praying for him. Would you join me?

From the kitchen... You probably didn't notice this, but I thought yesterday was Monday. I posted my menu, thinking it was Monday, and even had last night's dinner plans on Monday. The holiday has completely thrown me off! Anyway, Wednesday is usually Fend For Yourself, but then we had decided we would start going to Wednesday night potluck at church. But now that we are off, and really don't feel like doing much tonight, we will just eat Tuesday's meal tonight and be back on track on Thursday. Geez!

Around the house...  it's quiet! Eli is still asleep (we had a late night last night). Brynne is playing Presidents vs. Aliens on the iPad, and the dogs are taking a mid-morning siesta.

One of my favorite things... are days at home with nowhere to be.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Things are a whole lot quieter this week. Dawson is leaving on Friday to go to his dad's hometown fall festival for the weekend. The little guys and I will be home alone all weekend. On Sunday, our church is participating in the Serve 2012 campaign sponsored by the United Methodist Churches. We are going to go celebrate early worship with my grandma at the nursing home, deliver some mums for the residents to enjoy, and then go to Sunday school to see what service opportunities there are for the kids.

From my picture journal.

Grandma Alice with her great-granddaughter, Ashtyn.

Lots of women Daybook. See what they have to say at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Menu Plan Monday

This weekend I had planned to cook Rick's favorites for dinner every night. But, we were invited somewhere for dinner Friday night, Sunday night, and Monday night. So I only actually cooked one evening. Therefore, I have a few repeats for this week.

Monday ~ Chicken and dumplings

Tuesday ~ Meatball subs and onion rings

Wednesday ~ Potluck at church

Thursday ~ Beef stroganoff

Friday ~ Soup and grilled cheese

Saturday ~ Hot dogs and chips

Sunday ~ Spaghetti with leftover meatballs from Tuesday night

Weekend Wrap-up

WOW! What a busy weekend! Didn't we just move to a small town so we could have a simpler life? Oh, wait. This is a simple life. It's just enjoyable!

Our weekend really started on Thursday night when Rick came to spend the weekend with us. He wasn't supposed to be here until around 11:00 p.m., or so, but surprised us when he came walking down the midway at the carnival at 7:00. We were so excited! And the kids just lept into his arms.

The rain from Isaac came in on Friday, so our outside schooling plans were ruined. But, Rick had some science discussions with the kids and we did art. Then he and Brynne went to run errands while Eli and I chilled for a while. Friday night we were invited over to my walking partner's house for dinner. They had a big gathering and we had a fun time eating and chatting with old friends.

It was another rainy day on Saturday. Rick and I volunteered to help serve at the luncheon at our church with our new Sunday School class. We spent most of the day there. Brynne went with us while the boys had a lazy Saturday. She decided to enter the tractor pedal pull. She didn't win, but she gave it a real shot!

After the luncheon, my mom and I went to the craft show. Then her and my aunt came over for dinner. We called it an early night.

On Sunday, the sun came back out. We drove the hour to my parents' lake house for a day of fun. The kids caught their first fish!

Then they rode on the new "tube".

Daddy decided to get on with them, but ended up getting bounced off the back.

The kids cried and cried. Eli said, "This was the worst plan ever!" We laughed until we cried.

Then my dad spent the next 10 to 15 minutes trying to kill Rick.

For dinner we walked down a couple of houses for a potluck meal of bbq smoked turkey and all the fixins.

This morning, my paternal grandmother, aunt and cousin stopped by, and dropped off my cousin, Chandler, who is 14, so he could hang out with Dawson for a while. We took him back out to my uncle's after a couple of hours, then stopped by to see my other grandma. After dinner at my parents', Rick headed back to Oklahoma.

We were going, going, going all weekend. We are so used to being home all weekend doing absolutely nothing. Rick just can't believe the way things are in a small town. I had plans to make him all of his favorite meals this weekend. But, we only ate at home once. We were invited somewhere every other night. It's not always like this. But, a lot of times it is. It's a lot of fun.

Now I'm finishing up some laundry, housework, and doing lesson plans. I am exhausted and ready for a good night's sleep! Back to school tomorrow!