I forgot how to be fun.

It seems like this time every school year I find myself in a rut. Every single day feels the same. Get up, drink tea, read my Bible, wake the kids, make breakfast, brush my teeth, do school/laundry/dishes/lunch, start dinner, eat dinner, do dishes, give baths, clean up more messes, fall asleep while the 2-year-old is crawling all over my face. And repeat. Throw in a few trips to the grocery store, ballet lessons, baseball practice and church and there you have it. Kinda mundane. Sometimes I feel like we are crazy busy, but we aren't really doing anything or going anywhere.

 One thing that has been creeping into my thoughts lately is that I haven't been a very fun mom lately. All business and no play, and that leads to a burned out mama and frustrated kids. Some of my most fun, favorite memories are the ones just doing simple things. Like sifting through the button box with my grandmother. Taking long walks down Highway 17 between Elgin and Fletcher picking up aluminum cans. Playing Wonder Woman and Super Man with my little brother in the backyard. Making mud pies, playing office. Games of Skip-Bo and Uno. So this week I changed things up a little bit. We have spent a lot of time digging in the dirt. Pulling up weeds, planting Sunflowers and Shasta Daisies. There isn't anything else that make me feel as good as digging in the dirt, especially with my kids. 

As our day came to an end today I walked into the kitchen to find a sink full of dishes waiting on me. I invited my little 3 to pull up a chair to help wash and rinse. I have such sweet memories of washing dishes next to my grandmothers (and some not so sweet memories of sharing the duty with my younger brother!). When the dishes were done and all the little hands were dry, my 9-year-old smiled and said, "That was fun!" 

It's the simple things, ya'll. 

So if you are finding yourself in the same place I was, I would encourage you to find something to do that will help slow you down and have FUN! 

**Disclaimer**
Washing dishes by hand and digging in the dirt will NOT, I repeat will NOT be seen as a "fun" thing to do by your teenagers. This will only work for kids under 10 or 11. For teens.....I got nuthin'. 

Annabelle's Fun Farm, Art Lessons, and Fun at the Park

Every year we take a trip to the local pumpkin patch and it is the most fun thing ever except not. It's terrible to feel this way, I know. But the crowds and the over-priced pumpkins and over-fed goats and expensive pony rides just kinda takes the joy out of it for me. Until this year! We discovered Annabelle's Fun Farm in Welch, Oklahoma and Lord willing, we will make a trip there every year for ever and ever. And ever. It was a 90-minute drive on a gorgeous day through beautiful rural Oklahoma and totally worth it. Get ready because there are lots of crappy phone pics to follow! 

We picked our pumpkins off the vine! No pumpkins hauled in on a truck and dumped here! I'm so glad the kids got to see how they grow on a vine.

Pumpkin Bowling

This year, Autism Awareness was the theme for the maze. Part of their proceeds went to the Bill and Virginia Leffen Center. 

Playing in the Corn Crib

Tug-of-War

3-D Paintball

Took a break for lunch!

I couldn't pass up the chance to get a selfie with my favorite flower in the world! And also, I would just like to say THANKS A LOT to all my friends for letting me go around in PUBLIC with these sunglasses. Why did someone not tell me that I look like a bug?? It's like letting your friend walk around with spinach in her teeth or toilet paper stuck to her shoe or wearing only one earring...you get the idea. 

There was just so much to do there, be sure to visit their website at www.annabellesfunfarm.com to get all the info. 

~

I have been searching for a fun art curriculum for my younger kids and I finally found one that I really, really like. www.deepspacesparkle is now my go to place for art lessons. Here is what we did this week. 

And some time at the park. These are my favorite days of homeschool. Getting outside with the babes, soaking in some sunshine and fresh air is just what this mama needs. Whether we are at a farm, hanging with the chickens and pigs, or walking through fields of pumpkins and sunflowers, or just an afternoon at the park. Outside makes everything better! 

How are you spending these gorgeous days of fall? 

Happy Fall, Ya'll! 

September Reading

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I love children's books. I want to own all of them, I want to read all of them (over and over and over), I want to jump into the pictures and live in them. I know, it's a little over-the-top. I love the illustrations, the colors, the simplicity and the innocence I find in children's books. I thought blogging about what we read each month would be a great way for me to keep a list of the books I really liked. So, here is what I read with my littles in September. This is not a list of everything we read, but it's a list of the ones I would love to check out again. Or buy. 

I'm not even a cat person, and I fell in love with this book. It is precious. PRESH-US. 

Sweet little book about a boy and his dad and their Friday tradition.

This is one I will probably buy. It's about a little girl who spends the day helping her grandmother do the laundry, with lye soap and all. Something about a granddaughter/grandmother story just sucks me right in. 

I'll admit. This was not one of my favorites (it was kinda sad) but my 6-year-old and 9-year-old really liked it. I was surprised, really. 

Loved it. It's on my Amazon wish list. 

Little House on the Prairie is ALWAYS a winner. 

The illustrations were beautiful and the little girl reminded me so much of Rachel. Very sweet story.

Oldie but a goodie.

I remember my mom reading this one to me and my brother. I think I've read this one 7,864 times to my own kids. It's a classic. And so much better than the movie. 

And lastly, Ferdinand. This is another one that I have read more times than I can count. I love it every time. If I could, I would adopt Ferdinand and spend the days smelling the flowers right alongside him. 

So, those are a few of the books we read this month. I try to read each one at least 3 times before we take them back to the library. I love reading with my babes. Love it. 

What are some of your favorite children's books? I would love to know!

We moved, started another school year, and various ramblings.

Our summer break is over and school is back in session! But before I get into all that, WE MOVED!!! 3 years ago we packed up our little house, 4 kids, and Henry Bob and we moved to a much larger home, because that is what I thought we needed.  We kept our little house and God sent to us, the best tenants we could ever have asked for. They were an answer to prayer.  18 months after we moved in, we welcomed baby #5 and I thought this was the house that we would live in forever. But the newness wore off, and I missed the closeness that comes with a small home. I felt like my kids were strung all over the house (mostly upstairs), and I missed those earlier days in our little matchbox home. I also felt like I had become a slave to the house. It was impossible for me to keep it picked up and organized the way I liked it, and it seemed that when I finally got things in order downstairs, the upstairs was a disaster. You know the rest....I would spend a few days getting the upstairs back in shape and the downstairs was chaos. I do not do well with chaos. I need things to be where they are supposed to be and it was a losing battle in that huge house. So we began to pray about what to do, and just a few short weeks later our renters notified us that they were moving out. Fast forward to Labor Day weekend and we were moving out of the "big boy" and back to our sweet little house. We had to do A LOT of paring down. We had a garage sale and made many trips to Goodwill, but we did it! We moved back in with 5 kids and yes, Henry Bob. And 3 days later we started our new school year. Because we like to do things THE HARD WAY. 

This year, I have a 9th grader, 7th grader, 3rd grader, Kindergartener, and a 20-month-old curly-headed little tyrant I mean helper. But not. 

Here are a few thoughts I've had over the past 2 weeks. 

~ Why am I doing this?
~ I don't want to do this.
~ Am I cheating them out of the public school experience?
~ God, why did you ask me to do this?
~ Could he possibly scream any louder?
~ I cannot believe it is only 10:30 a.m.
~ I could still totally enroll these kids in school.
~Why am I doing this?
~ I do NOT want to read all 900 pages of that Dr. Seuss book,     please, please, please do not pick that one.

It was a tough few days getting started, but then I was reminded of this verse:

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." 
Galatians 6:9 (NLT)

And I love what Elisabeth Elliot said, "Don't dig up in doubt what you planted in faith." 

I'm excited about this school year, it's always hard jumping back in to a routine, but I'm looking forward to seeing how God moves in our family. 

5 Things Friday

1) Rebel Green Fruit and Veggie Clean. Have ya'll tried this? I bought some a few days ago at Target, and I really like it. I try to buy organic, but feeding a family of 7 is expensive! We can plow through some strawberries. So I gave this a try and I could not believe what the water looked like after soaking for just a few minutes. Gross! 

2) Tazo Orange Chiffon, if you are a tea drinker, getcha some! 

3) I have been an Emma Bridegwater admirer for a really long time. I don't own a single piece, but I would love to someday! Look at these coffee mugs! There are so many weddings going on right now, I can't think of a better gift! 

4) And look at this sweetest cup and saucer ever!! You can find it on the Dayspring website.  

5) I have slightly curly hair. Kinda wavy, kinda wrinkly. Anyway, this stuff is awesome if your hair needs a little encouragement to curl, or hold curl. And it adds lots of volume. And your head will smell like a lemon sugar cookie, so, how could THAT be wrong??  

Happy Weekend!!