This Week At Home, 2013, No. 25

Little notes written in order to remember each precious day...  

Grandma and Trevor.

Monday the 10th...

Grandma (Jeff's mom) came down to visit us.  She is so kind to take us to lunch, the ceramic shop, and we also stopped at the library to replenish our book supply.  We grilled a yummy dinner and enjoyed a lovely family evening at home. 

The three happy swimmers.

Tuesday the 11th...

Grandma left early.  Then the kids and I packed up and headed to Nana and Granddad's new neighborhood pool.  Truthfully, we did not do a whole lot more today, except the normal chores that must be done.  Blissful summer day!

Painting is fun, even for geeks.

Wednesday the 12th...

Hot and humid today, over 90 degrees!  We spent the day catching up on our reading and math.  I let the kids play extra Wii since it was too hot to be outside for long after noon.  In the evening, Jeff and I went to Costco and dropped Grace off at a church function for her youth group.  And just a side note, gas is still over $4 a gallon!  Ouch. 

Grandma and Grace.

Thursday the 13th...

Storms came through overnight. Woke us up a couple of times.  Decided to cancel our camping trip this weekend.  Jeff has a cold, and they are calling for more stormy weather Saturday night.  Grace and I went to Trader Joe's this morning.  We spent a little time cleaning up the house today.  Otherwise, it was a low key day. 

Nana likes to spoil them.  :-) That's her job. 

Friday the 14th...

This is the day I have been dreading.  This morning, I let foster cat Nikki have some time in the living room with open windows so she could see the birds on last time.  Then I packed her up and returned her to the shelter.  The foster coordinator asked me if I wanted to take home another cat, but I said not yet.  It was so hard to leave her there knowing she will be in a cage for months and months.  I cried all the way home.  Back at home, I cleaned up the room she had been spending most of her time in.  Ryan surprised me by being able to start the riding mower for the first time.  He took care of the yard again this week, giving Jeff another week off.  What a guy! 

The rider mower is conquered.

Weekending....

Playing basketball with Daddy. 

Saturday we took a day trip to a pool an hour south of us.  Saturday night big winds and lots of rain came through, so we were glad to be home safe home.  Sunday, after church, we got together with grandparents, two generations!

It was a lovely, but busy weekend. 

~Jenn

This Week At Home, 2013, No. 24

Little notes written in order to remember each precious day...

Grandpa's geranium in full bloom.  

First off, I want to answer a question.  Yes, I do write down little notes each day in a paper journal. I used to write them here as I go and then publish, but I find myself less and less on an actual computer these days.  I like my tablet or phone.  Actually sitting down with or at a computer is, well, so yesterday!  Now back to the show!  :)

Park dam.  

Monday the 3rd...

Got down to the 40's, first time in awhile.  It is going to be a cooler, less humid week, my favorite kind of weather.  The kids want steaming hot swimming weather, so they are not as happy as I am.  Today we did not do too much other than keep the normal chores going, spending time outside, and just enjoying summer break.  We did read some history and the kids did math.  In the evening, we went to a park with grandparents and played disc golf.  It was an awesome evening to be outside.

Lovely Nikki. 

Tuesday the 4th...

Wide open day.  Woot, woot!  Kept up with the laundry and dishes.  Spent more time outside.  We are enjoying our foster kitty, Nikki.  She is very affectionate.  Love lazy summer days like this.

Park number 2. 

Wednesday the 5th...

81 degrees at almost 2PM, but still no humidity.  Went to the library to sign us all up for the summer reading program.  Then we went to a candy store so Grace could buy a birthday present for a friend.  We then tried to buy bread, but discovered our Great Harvest bakery closed without warning!!  Talk about depressing!!  That is my signal that it is time to eat less bread, because, the commerical stuff is full of junk and we don't need to eat so much wheat anyway.  I may go back to baking some in the winter.  In the evening, some of us went to a local park to ride bikes and practice disc driving.

Thursday the 6th...

Starting today, we are expecting stormy weather.  It is cloudy, but the birds are singing merrily as usual.  Today we get to go see Grandma with Nana.  The visit was grand.  Grandma was awake and interactive. She loves to see us, that is plain.  After our visit, Nana took us to Panera.  Yummmm.

By Grace.

Friday the 7th...

Busy today!  This morning, I had to take foster kitty to the shelter 30 minutes away for a check up and then to the vet for a post operative check up.  It was really neat to hear how much the vet thought she is improved in just a week.  She needs to gain a little weight though, so I hope another week here can make the difference.  After lunch, I worked on laundry and dishes, the never ending job.  Ryan spontaneously volunteered to mow the grass.  Amazing!  Then, it was time to drive Grace to a slumber party.

We sure find it easy to slip into a summer routine!  The kids have read so much in the last few days.  They love the summer reading program.  Math is humming along,too.  I don't require math every day, just 3 times a week, when they want to fit it in.  Sometimes, I wish summer would last all year!

Happy weekend,
~Jenn

WW: Like a Kid in a Candy Store

This Week At Home, 2013, No. 23

Little notes written in order to remember each precious day...

Monday the 27th...

Happy Memorial Day!

Packed up the camper in record time, one hour!  Got home, popped up the camper so it could dry out, although, rain was predicted today, too.  Ryan and Jeff had enough energy to go play 9 holes of disc golf.  I worked on unpacking and started laundry.  It was good to be home.  The kitties missed us.  Today is our first official day of summer vacation, too.  We are not touching a school book this week!

To summer vacation! 

Tuesday the 28th...

So nice to be back home with running hot/cold water, less bugs, and indoor toilets!  Today is laundry day.  It rained last night and more is on the way.  It is very, very humid, but not so bad that the AC needs to be on, thankfully.  We rode our bikes a little bit.  I also saw a hummingbird at the feeder, but it doesn't come as often as last year yet.

By Grace 

Wednesday the 29th...

Must get the camping blankets washed and hung out to dry today as it is going to be dry.  Had a sweet visit with my friend who lives near Grace's art class.  Today Grace is done with art until September.  It will be good to have a little vacation from the expense.  And, the crazy thing I did was to answer a plea on Facebook to be a foster to a cat who needs a quiet place to recover from a dental surgery.   In the evening, Grace, Ryan and I went to our VBS meeting.  We are all workers this year.

Giles loves to play! 

Thursday the 30th...

Had a morning park date with good friends.  It feels so good to be able to do things with friends again.  During the school year, I am too serious all the time.  I guess I feel as if we need to keep our studies first and that is sometimes over relationships.  It is a hard thing to balance.  I found out that I was approved to foster the cat, but she was not released from the vet by closing time, so I will go get her tomorrow.  This evening was the last karate for the school year.

Miss Nikki

Friday the 31st...

On the way to the animal shelter, I dropped Trevor off for a grandparent sleepover.  Grace and I went to get Miss Nikki, the foster cat.  The shelter is OVERWHELMED at the moment.  Cages are everywhere.  Dogs barking nonstop.  It is a sensory overloading kind of place with noise, smell, and sorrowful sights of cats in cages.  I decided I can't go there to volunteer, but fostering is still a big help to them.

Nikki is an 11 year old stray.  She is skin and bones.  She had a bad tooth abscess.  She is so very affectionate, though.  She purrs and loves to be on your lap.  I have to give her an antibiotic twice a day, which is not my favorite thing to do, but we will for her good.  She is set up in Trevor's room.  We have her for 2 weeks, then she goes back to hopefully be adopted, but truth is, it will be a very long time for her at her age and condition.  Poor gal.

Saturday, June 1st...

Cousin's graduation open house!  Got to see family and eat too much cake.

Aunt, Uncle, Cousin! 

Cake! 

Sunday, June 2nd...

Dodging rain while hosting our small group for a cook out.  Oh well, at least we try.  And we did enjoy good food, friends, and the dry moments! We were all really tired out afterwards, a good tired.

Hopefully, I can post about this week on Friday.  And maybe I will remember to take my camera out a little more often!

~Jenn

This Week At Home, 2013, No. 22

Little notes written(mostly photos this week) to cherish each day at home...  our last full week of lessons!

Sunday, May 19th... Got to meet Jeanie and her wonderful family!
 

Monday, May 20th... Working hard on finishing strong!

Not really an Apple, just a sticker.  lol.  

Tuesday, May 21st... I hosted my bunco group.  Did not take any photos. Ut-oh.

Wednesday, May 22nd... Lessons, art, and the last AWANA!

Thursday, May 23rd... What else?  Lessons, groceries, and karate!

Friday, May 24th... Jeff got the day off, so we mowed, got packed up and went camping!  And, yes, we did finish our school year.  Day 180 is in the books!

Saturday, May 25th- Monday, May 27th... Clifty Falls State Park in Madison, IN.

And that was our week!  Stay tuned for the first week of summer vacation.
~Jenn

This Week At Home, 2013, Week No. 21

Little notes written to remember each precious day...

Sunday the 12th...

Made for Mother's Day with love.  

The moms.

Monday the 13th...

The wild weather roller coaster ride begins.  It got almost cold enough to freeze this morning, so we covered all our tender plants up just in case last night.  Today is supposed to be 60 degrees and tomorrow above 80.  The goal of today is to get as much done in our lessons as possible because tomorrow will be a busy day away from home sweet homeschool.  Still no hummingbirds here yet, by the way.  I am trying to be patient.  I put out a suet cake and it was gone by evening, so no more will be going up for awhile.  Time for them to eat bugs.

Sweet Mom and Grandma. 

Tuesday the 14th...

Today is Grandma's 91st birthday.  To celebrate, we went to Panera with Nana and then to the nursing home to deliver a bunch of ballons, which the residents all enjoy.  Grandma was very excited to see us.  Her whole face lights up and you just know she knows who we are.  She even called my aunt by name.  And she wanted to hold everyone's hands.  My aunt brought all of Grandma's photo albums and we spent time dividing the photos.  I am in picture heaven!  In the evening, the guys went to play disc golf while Grace went to a meeting a church with Nana.

My salad at Panera.  Yum! 

Wednesday the 15th...

Oh, it is so warm today, over 85 and so humid, too!  We need to spend time today working on lessons and catching up laundry.  Isolated thunderstorms are moving in tonight.  Otherwise a quiet, lazy day after art class. I made pizza for dinner. I am getting really good at making dough by hand.

11 year old Trevor! 

Thursday the 16th...

Storms woke us up during the night.  Nothing very violent, just noisy enough to wake us all up.  I am thankful for the rain.  Everything is so green and the leaves are about full sized.  Today, Grace and I went to a couple stores before school time.  And, I broke down and turned the air on!  Not a thing I take lightly.  But it is so humid that I can't think straight, much less work!  Hopefully, the humidity will go down again soon so that I can enjoy this view.

The view from my hammock.  

Friday the 17th...

Thankfully, the humidity is back down to tolerable, so the air was turned off last night before bed and the windows are back open this morning, making the kitties happy.  Speaking of the kitty cats, I have not given them a chance to interact this whole week.  I have kept them apart hoping to try to reintroduce them  when I get the courage to try again.  Today we will stay home and work on finishing up our lessons.  Since the weather is better, I also want to ride bikes after lunch.  We will also make an effort to put away all the books, too.  We have not done too bad of a job keeping a clear path through the living room, my request this week.  Usually the books get scattered on the floor along with a ton of Lego bricks, making it a hazardous journey across the floor by Friday.

This weekend, we will be visiting with family from NC and friends from NY.  I am looking forward to the chance to meet Jeannie and her family.  It is always fun to meet online friends.

Have a great weekend!
~Jenn

This Week At Home, 2013, No. 20

Little notes written to remember each precious day...

Monday the 6th...

It's a cloudy morning, but still 56 at 8 AM seems warm.  Today is a normal Monday at home.  After lessons and lunch, Grace and I go off on a bike ride.  This evening we all went outside to enjoy the great weather.  I spent some time in my hammock for the first time this season.

Tuesday the 7th...

It's another pretty and warm morning.  More lessons and chores to do today.  Getting the laundry under control is the big priority.  Again, we rode our bikes after lunch.  After dinner, the whole family went to play disc golf at a local park.  Unfortunately, it was not all roses today.  The cats had a big fight during lessons.  I had let them be unsupervised because they had been doing better together and I also thought I know where they both were.  Well, they were put back into separate but equal quarters.  Sigh.

Wednesday the 8th...

Lessons and then off to art class.  The picture below is not a current project of Grace's, just something she drew for fun at home and I liked it a lot.  During art class I visited with my friend.  She is such a  good friend to me.  On the way home, we picked up 3 neighbor kids and they all had a nice play date at our house.  The girls made us chocolate no bake cookies, too.

Thursday the 9th...

Lots to do today. Hoping the rain holds off until after our busy evening.  We were very distracted today.  Trevor was interested in looking at old photo albums and so was I to tell the truth!  We did get our work done, but not in as timely a fashion as usual.  It did start pouring right when we had to leave for karate, choir, and grocery shopping.  We have had a lot of rain again this week.

Friday the 10th...

More rain today, but scattered, so maybe not an all day thing.  We worked hard to get lessons done and the house cleaned for small group.  I made homemade hummus and cut up colorful peppers to dip.  The men of the group helped Jeff hang a new tree swing rope for Grace.  She loves her swing!

Saturday the 11th...

Finally, it was dry enough to mow.  The yard was looking pretty bad.  Today, I went to the grocery store to get a few things and then baked a cake for tomorrow's BBQ here after church.  Ryan and Jeff went to play disc golf.  It's a cool 65 degrees, but sunny.  Tomorrow is not supposed to be ideal BBQ weather, either.

To all my friends who are mothers, Happy Mother's Day to you!!!
~Jenn