Around Here Forty-Five AND Forty-Six: 11/04-11/17

A glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this minute.

  

 

Intentional Hours Outside: 506 hrs (of 1000)
It's been such a weird two weeks with big changes, days off of school, and unreliable weather.  I have not been doing well with my outdoor hours - but the girls, Rusty and I made a playground pitstop after running some errands this week and it was a perfect dose of fresh air and vitamin D.  It felt great to be out in the wide open space.  Later that night though I was explaining to B how frustrating it can feel that there just are not enough hours in the day.  Especially now that the days are so short (!!) We got in some much needed playground/outdoor time - but then I had two loads of laundry unfinished.  Ugh, adulting is the worst.

Reading My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman with our Inspired Readers book club

Celebrating.  Big BIG news in our life.  After almost ten years as a district manager, Brandon got a new job as a business manager at a school district only a few miles from our home.  We have been so grateful for Brandon's job, his co-workers, and all the benefits that came with it for the past decade - saying our goodbyes these last few weeks has been bittersweet.  (hello to all of you who read our blog!!) But we are so very excited about this new adventure.  With four little kids who are turning into big kids with activities and friends and busy lives - a new schedule that is synchronous with their schedules is going to be life-changing for our whole crew.  Brandon and I were even able to sneak away for a proper celebration dinner (thanks to my sis Uch and Kevin for babysitting and Steph B for the Longhorn gift card - we finally got to use it!!) It will feel like completely new operation around here and it couldn't be at more perfect timing as Basketball season begins this week!

Hosting a dia de los muertos food day at school for my students which was a nice little break in the studying for a little while.  Then I invited 30+ of them to the Q1 challenge breakfast if they brought their grades up from the first marking period halfway point.  I'm trying some different tactics to inspire and motivate them and it's taking awhile - but it does seem to be paying off in the long run, little by little.

Feeling so much gratitude for our veterans, especially our Aunt Kitty who was able to come in all the way from Pittsburgh on Wednesday morning to attend Greyson's Veterans Day luncheon at school.  He was so proud to have her there!  My little sister is an Army National Guard veteran who spent a deployment in Kosovo in 2004-2005.

Konmari'ing in our bedroom/closet/bathroom for several hours one afternoon with B.  We both were so fed up with clutter that it was a no-nonsense throw-all-the-things-out mission!  What a huge relief I have to walk into our room every day and feel like I can see the floor (hah).  Then I took to the kids living room play area with a vengeance that's been building up inside of me for months.  We pulled the cubbie bin that had previously been in the laundry room (built by my dad! thank you!) and used it to organize the toys and books that we pared down in a big way.  The kids love the new space and because we combed through all of our board games (and put them in plastic bags vs. broken ripped boxes) we have been squeezing in lots of games of Go Fish, Spot It, and HeadBandz in the past two weeks.

Loving seeing the kids all together.  They definitely do their fair share of bickering and teasing each other - but for the most part, they all just love each other so very much.  The way the big kids crack up about Rusty when he grabs them by the hair or ears and gives them wide, open-mouthed kisses on the noses.   The way Rust smiles and delights at the sight of them - he is so bored if they are not providing him entertainment!  I love standing back and taking in their hilarious conversations and seeing the way they interact with each other.

Obsessed with finishing our 2015-16 Family Yearbook!  I switched our yearbook to run the school years and it's knocked me a little off balance of my usual yearbook creation flow.  I made some substantial headway though in the past few days and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!  Our whole family loves looking at the yearbooks so much and finishing our first one that includes Rustin will be such a relief.  Almost there!

Making cake mix blueberry muffins for breakfast on a school day off, a pork roast in the slow cooker with apple cider,  If I'm being honest, I've been terrrrrrible at meal planning and we've been squeaking by on whatever is left in the cupboards.  A big time grocery trip is in order for sure - good thing Thanksgiving and lots of leftovers are nearly here!