Every week I like to take a moment to showcase the moments that brought me the most joy, but also keep it real with the chaos. The key is seeing that despite the chaos, there is still so much good! Sometimes it’s awesome activities and other times it’s a sweet moment between the kids. There are always moments that can fill us with joy if we choose to see them with a thankful heart.
“It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day in the neighborhood…”
Seriously, such a good week! Oh sure, it was hot, and there were moments that I seriously wondered where my children’s brains had wandered off to for the time being, but I really can’t complain.
On Monday I watched a friend’s three girls (such a different vibe than four boys + a girl!) and Mercedes LOVED it. She and the one girl that are only about 2 months apart played Barbies, ran around the yard, played dress up, and spent a good amount of time on the swings together. She is going to love making girl friends in school this fall!
Jamison had a pack of Minion temporary tattoos so each kid picked one out and waited patiently for me to apply them to their arms. I have no idea what is going on with their faces here but I think they were trying to yell, “Tattoo!” while I took the picture, haha!
After the girls went home, we got ready for bed and as we were talking about our days and praying I looked over and saw this. I had to snap a pic before the moment ended – as it usually does far too quickly!
Tuesday started with an 8x batch of waffles. Yes. I multiplied the recipe by eight. It took some serious math skills with all the fractions. Way too many for 6am. I wrote it down so I don’t need to do the math again… until I lose or destroy the paper.
I love this recipe for waffles from Meg’s Everyday Indulgence. I met Meg what feels like ages ago in our MOPS group and then she and her family moved away so now we keep in touch via social media and I love to drool over all her food. Seriously, if you love real, practical food that is delicious and can feel fancy if you want it to, go follow Meg 😀 She’s also the one that introduced me to one of our family favorites – Thai Chicken Pizza. So good!
Remember the cabbage that Parker brought home from school a month or more ago?
I’m pretty sure it hasn’t really grown. We water it frequently but I keep forgetting to take it out of the little biodegradable cup it came in and give it more space. So that’s on me. But you’d think we’d see something resembling a cabbage by now, right? Nothing. Gardening is not my talent.
Mercedes and I have been working through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Some days aren’t easy… some days remind me very clearly why I went into secondary education and don’t homeschool.
But the good days? The days when she is excited and eager and focused? The days when she lights up because she remembers the sounds and how to put them together? Those days are awesome. Those days are the ones when I’m excited to keep going. Those days I want to work through more than one day in the book. Seeing and hearing someone learn to read is incredible and I’m so glad I get to do this with her.
Thursday I decided to color my hair. Totally on a whim. See, I had a box of color in my closet that I got for free from some promotion I found online. One of those, “Hey, we changed our formula and are giving out free boxes – sign up here to get one!” So I did.
I have this issue where if I have a box of color and I get slightly bored, I’ll color my hair. It’s astonishing I don’t change on a more frequent basis!
I totally thought the color I would end up with would be a very rich chocolate brown. Like Hershey’s dark chocolate – dark, but still obviously brown. This is almost black. Like it’s hard to tell it’s brown unless you are up close.
Check out my “I’m super shocked at the color of my hair” face 😀
I’m now mostly used to the new color. I still get a bit of a shock if I’m half asleep and wearing no makeup, but its a fun change!
Also, the boys have discovered the ant hills along the sidewalks on the way to school and must stop to inspect nearly every single one. This can make for some v.e.r.y l.o.n.g w.a.l.k.s. But they are so excited!!! It makes up for it 😉
Oh Friday. Friday, Friday, Friday.
I started biking a few days a week because it was an easy way to get in a workout while I was still feeling sick but it also didn’t require any additional funds. I wanted to start running again but I need new running shoes and don’t have the cash yet so I figured biking was a good idea.
Well, it was. Then Friday happened. See, I was biking along on Friday and then my head started to itch. Under my helmet. I tried putting my finger through one of the vent holes to scratch it… only it got stuck! Like, really stuck. I panicked, hit the brakes SUPER hard, and could not stop the momentum.
I ended up crashing and tearing up my knee. Thankfully I was wearing capris so it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. It’s healing now but I felt like such a goof crashing my bike with my finger stuck in my helmet! And I get to rock these sweet TMNT bandaids 😉
The hot temps meant lots of sprinkler time last week. And apparently some in yard water fountains for the kids.
Mercedes was kitchen helper so Friday night she got to help make pizza. We’ve upgraded her to cutting with a butter knife now that she’s five and she thinks she’s pretty darn special. It’s not always easy to relinquish control in the kitchen but I know it’s so worth it.
We had a few final errands to run on Saturday morning so we hit up Target where Anders tried on a big, floppy, striped hat.
And several of the kids tried on Jurassic World claws and masks.
I also got to take Parker on a mommy-son date. He chose Olive Garden because he loves the bread sticks and he knows I’m willing to go. Of course I’m willing! I love the bread sticks, salad, and just about any pasta! He chose the mac n cheese because it comes with two sides and I picked the shrimp scampi. Both were big enough to give each of us enough for a second meals.
And the week ended with hair cuts for four of the family members. Jamison, Cade, Anders, and Micah all got trimmed so they are ready for summer. Cutting hair at home is one of our top ways to save a bit of cash. Parker is saving us money by still rocking his long hair. We made the deal that as long as he showers and brushes it daily he can keep it long. So far so good!
And that’s a wrap on the week! Oh sure there are moments that are hard, that hurt, or that we would love to do-over, but there is always so much joy.
Where did you find joy in the chaos this week? What was your favorite part of the week?
