Nicole's Daybook

Outside my window... it's raining on and off. It was beautiful this morning, but pretty muggy. Then about an hour ago the wind picked up and it started thundering. And then it poured for a few seconds and then stopped immediately. It was so strange. But, what a wonderful sound to listen to while doing school!

I am thinking... about how much I love fall.

I am thankful ... for fun community events for the kids and for "papa time". It means a lot to all of them.

I am wearing... a pair of knee-length black gym shorts, a white athletic t-shirt, black and white zip up hoodie, and black Adidas flip flops.

I am planning...  Dawson's 16th birthday, which is in a couple of weeks.
 

I am creating... small closets that actually hold all our clothes. It's a challenge, but it's going well.

I am going... to really enjoy this week of fall primetime television premieres!!

I am reading... The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd ... Yep. I haven't touched it. Maybe the book just isn't that good.

I am hoping... that money stretches. This is an extremely stressful time of year for me every year. With Halloween costumes, Dawson's birthday (his 16th this year), Kyndal's birthday (her 18th this year), and then Christmas. I have plans for things I want to do, especially since the kids' birthdays are special ones, but I don't have any income to contribute to these high expenses. And then this year we have two households we are trying to manage.

From the learning rooms... We seem to be doing so much storytelling and writing lately. No matter what unit studies we are doing, writing comes into play. Eli and Brynne are really enjoying reading their pieces outloud when they are done. Our other favorite part of the day is our Bible lessons. I am astonished how much they have learned so far, what they remember, and the verses tey have memorized. Lots of smiles over these things. We learned about the American Flag today, and they were really into it. They love all things history and geography, so learning about the War of 1812 and the inspiration for the Star Spangled Banner at Ft. McHenry really interested them. We have so many places we want to travel to in this country.

Noticing that ...  I am feeling so much less tired these days! It's probably the right combination of things: I am regularly exercising (that means every morning); I am taking a new vitamin called Alive! (honestly, I think it works); and I have now eliminated caffeine from my diet (I took about 3 months to do this). I find myself waking up at about 6:25 each morning, without an alarm, and not tired. I find myself not completely exhausted at night (when I used to be dead on the couch in my pj's by dinner time), and am going to bed right at 10:30 p.m. The whole "eat good, exercise, get 8 hours of sleep at night" thing really works, apparently.

From the kitchen... Making some more cookies today. Dawson's favorite Betty Crocker pumpkin spice cookies were back on the shelf this week. I also posted yesterday about the dietary changes I have made for Brynne because of her IBS and lactose intolerance. It will affect the way we all eat.

Around the house...  are flies. Geez! I've killed a bunch today, and one is currently buzzing around my computer.

One of my favorite things... is getting all my work done and then collapsing on the couch with the dogs to watch some t.v. at night after the kids go to bed.

A few plans for the rest of the week... It's a usual week. Lunch at my mom's today. Handbell choir practice and dinner at church on Wednesday night. Otherwise quiet nights at home. We are heading to the lake this weekend to do some fishing and to spend the night at my parents' lakehouse. On Sunday, it's my week to cook for the family dinner.

From my picture journal.

Doing some outside learning last week.

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

Menu Plan Monday ~ Dietary Changes and The Kitchen

Our actual menu is really not that exciting these days. I am definitely cooking kid- and budget-friendly foods, since Rick is still in Oklahoma and we have two households right now. This week we are having chicken and rice, cheeseburger macaroni, easy chicken parmesan, and pizza bread.

On Wednesdays we get to go to potluck at church before I have handbell choir practice. I bring a food that I know my kids will eat, because they are the only kids there. One week I took pizza rolls, last week it was hotdogs and peaches, and this week I am taking a frozen lasagna. Funny how those foods get eaten by the elderly of our church, too. It's so cute to see a little old man eating some pizza rolls.

On Sundays we go to my mom and dad's for our weekly family dinner. My dad is loving doing that. Even Kyndal comes down to have dinner some weeks. On the weeks that he is at the home Chiefs football games, I am in charge of dinner. This week we had broccoli noodle soup and hot ham and cheese sandwiches. This coming Sunday I am bringing chicken tortilla soup and chips and queso.

We have determined that Brynne has IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and mild lactose intolerance. We have always known that she had some kind of aversion to milk (since birth), but we have determined that the very bloated stomach she has is a true sign of it. Now that she is having obvious bathroom issues, it's clear that she picked up my childhoold IBS. It is hereditary. So, we have had to make some dietary changes.

It's strange because we are taught to feed our families primarily fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. But, many of those things are bad for her. Now I am having to switch her to white bread, white rice, pasta, minimal soluble fiber, which includes bran, the peels on her apples, dairy, and many fruits that she loves. The diet has a lot of gluten-free aspects to it. I have also put her back on lactose-free milk. If you have a child with these issues, do you have any advice??

So, while we are talking about what goes on in the kitchen, I thought today I would share our kitchen makeover (so far). We still have new appliances to purchase, new countertops to install, and a change in sink cabinet and sink. But, for now, the improvement is spectacular! I love it!

The Before

The After

I am planning to paint the metal cabinet under the sink a contrasting red and add grout to the side to make it a chalkboard.

We are planning to (eventually) put in granite countertops. But did you know you can put a finish on your existing countertops to mimic granite? It's only about $75. I saw some pictures of someone who did it, and I am thinking I would like to give it a try. We won't be able to put in real granite for a while.

Would black appliances be too much black, or would you go stainless? Don't want to over-improve too much. Also, I am going to paint that microwave shelf a distressed red.

I love those tall cabinets! I use it as a pantry, and it works great!

I have a rooster theme because my grandma had a lot of old roosters that she gave me. I love them, and have a bird fetish, so I kept up the theme in this house, too.

See that cool trim at the top of the cabinets? We didn't even know it was patterned until we were sanding the cabinets to paint them. My aunt just put red and black paint on a rag and gently rubbed it across the raised pattern. I think it turned out SO COOL!

There was no flooring in the kitchen or bathroom when we bought the house. So we put in tile. Wanna know a secret??? It's peel and stick vinyl with a special vinyl grout! We floored both rooms for about $120. When you buy a $30,000 house in a poor town, you absolutely do NOT want to put in high-end finishes. You will never get your money back out of it should you want to sell later. We did everything as pretty and CHEAP as possible.

My kitchen is actually wonderful to cook in! I love it! It's a decent enough size to move around, and the cabinets and countertops are very functional. I also have a little t.v. in there so I can watch t.v. while cooking or unloading the dishwasher. There are tons of cabinets so (so far) everything has a place.

My Favorite Time of Year

Yes, I love the weather.
Yes, I love the colors.
Yes, I love the fragrances.
Yes, I love the holidays.

But what I am most excited about is the Fall Primetime Premieres that are happening this next week!

Source

We are a t.v. family, but not how you might think. We don't just sit on the couch watching t.v. all the time eating junk food. In fact, we rarely have the television on during the day. If the kids want to watch something, they turn on the t.v., watch what they want, and then shut it off. They would rather play-act the show than actually watch it.

I typically don't watch any television until the kids go to bed at 8:30 at night. And then I watch things I have DVR'd all week. With fast-forwarding through the commercials, I can usually get in two one-hour shows a night. If I don't have anything to watch, Dawson and I usually watch an episode of Chopped or Cupcake Wars.

The premiere of my absolutely FAVORITE show happened two weeks ago ... PARENTHOOD!! It is soo good and I look forward to watching it every week!

And, I've already been watching Project Runway ... Fave Number 2.

Although I am hit or miss with Survivor, I did start watching it last night. It looks promising.

And next week the rest of my Faves are starting!

What other shows will I be glued to this Fall? New Girl (love Zoey Daschanel), Criminal Minds (in love with Shemar Moore ... I am quite certain his character, Derek Morgan, is going to save me from something tragic some day), Law & Order: SVU, The Big Bang Theory, Dateline, 48 Hours (love me some good murder mysteries), and Amazing Race (I've never missed a season).

I think I am going to also start recording Revenge. My sister says it's her absolute favorite. I missed last season, but it is on Netflix so I can get caught up.

Next month I'll add Whitney and America's Next Top Model (maybe on this one ... Tyra got rid of hottie Nigel Barker and the two Js, which were the only reasons I continued to put up with her ridiculousness. But, I love the photo shoots, so I might record it just for that.)

What shows do you watch? Am I missing anything good?

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.