Intentional Outdoor Hours: 27+ hours (of 1000)
We had some beautiful weather mixed with really chilly weather this week. The girls and I headed outside one afternoon and explored all the deer paths we could find since the weeds aren't all overgrown yet in 'the tunnel' (two rows of parallel pine trees between us and the neighbors). The girls climbed trees and picked up pine cones and danced in the fields behind the house. It always feels like a hassle to get every suited up in coats and boots and trek outside, but I've never regretted it - no matter how much of a starved, overtired tantrum it
Reading The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison
Getting tricked by that sneaky leprechaun! He did fall in our trap, but then cut a hole in the box and escaped! He even left us one single gold (chocolate) coin just to tease us! That mischievous little guy!!
Celebrating (although bittersweetly) the end of indoor soccer season. It was a great season and really brought out something in our Gemmi Ro that wasn't there before (balance, control, and a love for the game!) Grey grew so much this year and learned so much about passing the ball and helping his teammates learn too - while also pushing himself to play on the 8-10 year old team (and really compete!) It was an awesome season!
Participating in a local author's fair at our library as The Hunting Daddies. It was a great event and our first time on the other side of the biz. We usually attend Outdoor expos where everyone is already interested in our topic - but this time we learned so much talking with people who know the difficulties and struggles that come with book creation, publishing, and marketing. It was nice to do some networking and have a chance (for me) to talk with other writers...where I also dipped my toe back into talking about picking up my novel again and maybe getting into a local writer's monthly group. It's got my brain and heart spinning again which I am grateful for.
Spending time on the slopes! The snow tubing slopes! My parents and sisters took the two big kids out on Saturday after the soccer games (the little ones stayed with Pap and Gigi) and then after the author fair, Bud and I drove out to watch them have the best time ever ("!!!") The kids loved it big time and loved being with their aunts and grandparents (and I loved seeing how much our kids keep our parents young, moving, playing, and giggling!)
Introducing some Waldorf learning into our home routine. I still harbor some worries about Gem's learning styles (especially when it comes to the alphabet & name recognition) so I've been doing some research and so much of what I've read up on Waldorf sounds so much like Gemma - it just feels like her. So I've been incorporating some of their methods in how we do things at home. I have requested her help in the kitchen (cooking, dishes) everyday this week and we've been making a point to make meals feel a little more special (candles, place settings). We've also been using natural elements (painting pinecones) and doing more music and movement together. It's definitely engaging for her which is promising. And after Gemma's kindergarten Dial4 testing this week, I got a chance to chat with a few of the K teachers afterwards and they gave me a lot of fun suggestions for working on the alphabet with Gemma which was helpful and encouraging. We have more work to do before the end of August, and we are both excited about digging in and learning together.
Kon Mari'ing the upstairs linen closet (100 small things task!) which looks incredibly less stressful now. Then I headed into the upstairs play area and I cleared out a half-busted bookcase that has been burning the back of my mind for months. And then that domino'ed me into sifting through my book collection where I was able to donate/share my books with five other people who will get to enjoy them! (thanks facebook!) After the book case was cleared out, I went bananas with the toys and what a difference a garbage bag and an afternoon can make! The kids love the less-is-more feel of it and keep claiming that they'll keep it clean (HAH!) but so far it's been good actually and they have been so much more engaged in their play now that there is less to play with!
Missing Daddy all week while he was away for a school admin conference for four days/three nights. The kids were all pretty well behaved and helped a lot - but we were all feeling the aches of homesickness while missing Brandon.
Making irish soda muffins for breakfast on St. Patrick's day (so yum!) grilled church picnic chicken (one of our favorites!) with grilled veggies to celebrate the first day of spring! We had sloppy joes one night and baked pork chops (bread crumbs & dried italian) with green bean almondine. We also got a waffle maker and I preceded to cook every.thing. in the waffle maker for a whole day (hahhha!) I scrambled eggs in it, made churros, and pizza wafflewiches. (I may need an intervention). And Gemma made (mostly by herself with direction) baked ravioli and korean beef.
I am so inspired by you finding ways to work with Gemma that match how she learns. You're such a good mama!
ReplyDeleteI'm working to finish my konmari'ing, wrapping up in the kitchen and it is seriously ridiculous how happy (and peaceful) I feel when I open the cupboards to see only things I use and all in their place. I am working to make sure every room in our house is clutter free so that come summer, we have some wide open spaces here in the house to accommodate having all the boys here at home with us.