Happy Sixth Birthday, Sarah Beth!!

Today Sarah Beth's sixth birthday.  It's hard for John and me to believe that we have a six year old child because it seems like just yesterday that she was Mary's age.

 

Sarah Beth is such a big help for me.  She loves to help set the table, and she frequently asks me what she can do to help me.

Sarah Beth loves doing school, as well.  Of course, we have some difficult moments, but once I explain things to her in a way that she understands, she is off like a shot.  We have had so much fun doing school this year!

Like most (all?) six year olds, Sarah Beth has a silly side.  She specifically wanted me to share this picture with you.  She was so proud that she could balance that little box on her head.

I enjoy watching Sarah Beth with Mary.  She is so gentle and kind with her, and I try to encourage her to spend time with Mary.

I look forward to seeing how Sarah Beth grows and matures over this year.

3 in 30: Sorting Galore!

We took the week off from school and most non-pressing chores.  I knew that we would be out of the house a good bit, so I didn't want to make us more anxious than we needed, trying to fit everything in.  It was a fun week, and it was nice to be more relaxed with our daily tasks.

Here's how I did with my monthly goals:

• Walking on the treadmill.  I used my treadmill three times this week which is close to my goal of four to five times.  I'll be honest:  I just overslept one morning.  *Sigh*
• The playroom.  Our playroom is not completely neat, but we are picking it up a little bit everyday after playtime.  Since that is my goal, we're doing well.
• Sorting something.  After I confessed last week that I didn't do too well with this goal, I caught up on Friday afternoon and moved ahead on Saturday.  On Friday, I got all of the sorted clothes put away finally, then I tackled the armoire.  With the window men here to babysit, I mean, to distract my children, I went through all of their coloring things in the armoire.  I found lost crayons, dried out markers, and colored pictures by the hundreds.  (Well, it felt that way.)  My children, especially Sarah Beth, feel like they have to keep every single picture they have ever colored.  I took the opportunity to throw some of them away.  On Saturday, John took our older two children to look at a boat, and I went through their books.  There weren't many that I wanted to get rid of, but I did put away the Christmas and Easter ones so we can pull those out at the appropriate times of the year.  This week I emptied a box of games; it had been waiting for me since we moved into this house.  Amazingly, it only took me about fifteen minutes; so why had I waited so long to empty it?  *Sigh*

What did you accomplish this week?  Do your children hang on to their colored pictures like they are treasure?  Do you procrastinate with chores that end up only taking fifteen minutes to complete, or is it just me?

My New Hobby: Soapmaking

If you've been reading my book reviews lately, you have probably noticed that I've read a couple of books on soapmaking.  I have wanted to try my hand at this craft for a while now, and I finally took the plunge.  For my birthday, I asked for the tools I would need.

Soapmaking is so much fun!  Well, the process itself isn't great (it's not bad, either), but the finished product is wonderful...at least, I hope it is.  I haven't tried mine out yet because it needs another week or so to finish curing.  But I love just looking at my soap, the soap that I made all by myself, and dreaming of the time when I can use it.  I plan to try it in another week or so.

When I was trying to figure out what scent to use (because you can't have unscented soap; how boring!), I asked Sarah Beth for her opinion.  I was thinking of a floral scent, but Sarah Beth suggested strawberry.  I thought that was a great idea, and so we have pink strawberry soap.  The whole house smelled like strawberries for days after I made my batch of soap.  Yum!

Have you tried making your own soap?  Have you tried any other "forgotten" art like this?  What did you think of it?

Tuesday's Tip: Double The Recipe

Some dishes are just better with some kind of bread to go along with them:  things like Ham and Spinach Pie, chili, and Slow Cooker Corn Chowder.  I enjoy baking, so I like to serve homemade cornbread muffins or honey muffins with these dishes.  However, I don't always have the time or the inclination to make these muffins when I prepare one of these meals.

So I double the recipes when I make them.  Ta da!  Then I can freeze the ones we won't eat for the next time I need them.  It's so easy to pull frozen muffins out of the freezer and microwave them for a bit, and I honestly can't tell a difference.

Do you double your cooking or baking so you can put the extras in the freezer?  What types of food do you double?

3 in 30: Still Doing Well

It's been another busy week.  Hmmm.  I wonder if that's my new "normal."  Definitely, something to think about.  Anyway, the electricians finished up their work Tuesday, so we have lots of light, new ceiling fans, and new smoke detectors.  Hooray!  I also drove over to see my aunt and one of my cousins Wednesday, and we had a great visit.  Today, we're getting new windows.  (Remember, I told you this whole house needed to be redone, and we've started!)

So, how did I do with my monthly goals?

• Walking on the treadmill.  I used my treadmill three times this week, instead of the four or five I wanted.  I'm going to blame my not-quite-making my goal on my children; I had to get up early one day for a doctor's appointment with one of my children, and Mary woke up early and hungry one day.  Three times' not bad, though.
• The playroom.  We've done a pretty good job with tidying up the playroom almost daily.  
• Sorting something.  Not so good.  I have put up most of the clothes that I sorted last week, but I haven't started anything new.  I am hoping to sort the kids' books tomorrow as John plans to take the older two for a day trip.  I want to get rid of some and put away the Christmas ones.

In other news, Mary is getting her first tooth.  I look forward to that snaggle toothed grin!  She is also learning to roll from her back to her tummy.  Yea!

How was your week?  What did you get accomplished?

Mary is Five Months Old!

Mary turns five months old today, and five month olds seem to do more than four month olds.

Mary is turning into such a happy baby, although if you just see us out, you may not see it.  She likes to sleep in her bed, and when it's time for a nap, nothing will do but her bed.

Mary has been turning over from her belly to her back.  Hooray!   Except for when she's trying to sleep.  Sometimes, it's hard keeping her on her belly long enough for her to get to sleep.  And when she is able to roll over in the middle of the night, she decides she would like a little midnight snack.  Other than that, however, Mary sleeps through the night.

But she has also rolled over a couple of times from her back to her stomach.  Hopefully, it won't be long before she's able to do it on demand so I won't have to.  (Is that bad and lazy of me?)

We love having our little baby Mary around, and it is so much fun to watch her grow and develop.

Finished Object Friday: Table Runner

Our beautiful dining room table is finally in a good position to show it off.  At our last house, the dining room was a pass-through to the kitchen, so we tended to drop things on it.  In order to protect the table, I kept a pad on it and covered it with a table cloth.  At this house, however, our dining room can be seen from the front door, but you can't walk through it; it's a dead-end.  So we can show our table off without worrying about hurting it.  But it still needs something on it, I think, so I started this table runner.

While this table runner isn't "finished," I thought I would show it off anyway.  I've done a lot of work on it, and I still have a lot left to do.  Working with thread is harder than regular yarn, but I enjoy it, too.  It's more time consuming and delicate, but the finished product can be really nice.  We'll just have to wait and see how this one turns out.

What have you made lately?  For more Finished Object Friday (which is now monthly instead of biweekly), head over to Fresh from the Chari Tree.