The Kitchen

 First here is my before picture.  This is what the kitchen looked like before we moved anything into the house.

 Now these are the pictures of what my kitchen looks like now.

I got my curtains from IKEA, and then hemmed them to make them the right height for the window.  I took an extra package and made the roll up shade for the back door.  I plan to take another one and make it into curtains to go on the window above the sink.

Showing how things really are....

We live in  a world where there is a great online presence.  Everyone knows what is going on in everyone else's life right?  WRONG!  We only know what people show us, and then we feel incredibly critical of ourselves for not measuring up to all of the lives we see on the internet.  My messy house is one of those things I try to keep hidden from the world.  I admit, it isn't as messy as it could be, but sometimes it is really bad.  For this reason, I have held back posting pictures of my new home, because I want to wait until everything is perfect, which lets face it.  I am a mom of 5 kids, and we homeschool.  Is it ever really going to be perfect?  Probably not.  So I decided, after having a conversation with my mom yesterday, that I need to take pictures as is, and post them, so y'all know how we live, seeing as how many people who are near and dear to my heart, might only see where I live due to pictures that I post.

We did a little bit of straitening up, but there are still some places I am embarrassed about.  So please don't be critical of my lack of house keeping, but please stay tuned, as I post pictures of where I live.  I took a bunch yesterday, and hope to get some posts with them up later today.  It all depends on how cooperative some children are, if we actually get it done.

Lets go swimming!

Dinosaurs!!!

We went on our first field trip with our homeschool group.  We found a place to see dinosaurs!  Well statues anyway.  Guy loved it!  The other kids enjoyed it.  

Lunch

Sometimes I hate lunch.  Well I don't actually hate eating in the middle of the day.  I just hate coming up with what to serve my kids in the middle of the day.  I want to have a healthy lunch.  I don't want to spend all morning making lunch, we have other things to do.  I want my kids to at least be willing to try what I make for lunch.

Most days are like this.

We start our morning school time at 10:00.  Our goal has been to have school last about 1 hour in the morning.  Thus allowing me to be done by 11:00 to get lunch for the kids sometime between 11 and 12.  Well that is the GOAL.  In actuality, most days we have a bunch of cleaning up that needs to happen before school can start.  However kids don't want to help, so it takes a long time to convince them otherwise, or clean it all up by myself.  Then we start school late.  Some days we don't but most days we do.  Then Guy often has a very hard time applying himself, and so he doesn't get done in an hour.  We have been working on that by just telling him he doesn't get lunch until his work is done.  Overall I find that I don't make it downstairs to start on lunch until I have children whining for food and clinging to my legs.  This doesn't inspire nice lunches.  Nope, I just want to get food in those mouths as quickly as possible.

So what happens, most days, peanut butter sandwiches and fruit with a glass of milk.  Not the most exciting meal, but it covers a good  portion of food groups.  That is if the kids actually eat it.  A lot of times they don't.  Some will, but not all of them.  I have one child who I never know what she will eat, so I don't cater to her at all.  My other children sometimes will ask for something, and if I have the making I will make it.

Cinderella will every once in a while ask if she can make lunch, and then make for everyone. But most of the time it is left to me.  It is rather discouraging at times.

Time Machine

George and Martha

When you hear the names George and Martha you may think of the Washingtons.  However those names have a different meaning in our home.  They are the names of Cinderella's cheeks.  Yes she has named her cheeks, and refers to them by name.  She likes to put air in her cheeks and "duck talk" then tell us her cheeks are talking.

Tonight while we were reading scriptures as a family, Guy decided he wanted his shark to read for him.  After his turn it was Cinderella's turn.  She told us George wanted to read.  Unfortunately for her, I didn't want to take the time for her to have to translate.  Was I being fair?  I don't know.  Maybe I should have let her cheeks have a turn if Guy's shark got one.